Top 10 Anime That Changed The World

WatchMojo

They're landmarks in the medium. Join Ashley as we look over the anime that blew everyone away and will never be forgotten

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the anime that have had

00:14a major impact on either the medium, pop culture and or the world.

00:31Number 10.

00:32Akira

00:33When it comes to landmark anime films, Akira stands at the very top.

00:38The cyberpunk movie follows teenage bikers, one of whom has developed psychic powers that

00:43pose a threat to Neo-Tokyo and the world.

00:59Akira quickly achieved a following worldwide, and it's often regarded as one of the best

01:05animated films ever made.

01:07Its impact on the cyberpunk genre, as well as on more mature animation as a whole, can't

01:13be understated.

01:14In particular, Akira acted as one of several major gateways for anime coming into the West,

01:20especially in illustrating that anime, unlike a lot of Western animation at the time, was

01:25definitely not for kids.

01:33Number 9.

01:34Cowboy Bebop

01:35Another major Western gateway into anime, Cowboy Bebop follows the bounty hunters of

01:41the ship, Bebop, as they get into various scrapes all over the solar system.

01:55Episodic yet also featuring an ongoing plot that explores the protagonists' pasts, Cowboy

02:01Bebop is very accessible to casual viewers, particularly if you discovered it while flipping

02:07through TV channels back in the day.

02:16The god-tier soundtrack, beautiful art direction, and unforgettable characters help to ensure

02:22its popularity on both sides of the Pacific.

02:25A perfect mix of space-Western, noir, and a few other genres besides, there's really

02:31nothing else quite like Cowboy Bebop.

02:37Number 8.

02:38Yu-Gi-Oh!

02:39Duel Monsters

02:40An ancient Egyptian pharaoh sharing the body of a Japanese teenager, and helping him play

02:45a trading card game that's essentially Uno with extra steps is a wild concept on paper.

02:51But, in practice, it makes for a hugely popular anime.

03:02The Yu-Gi-Oh! anime spawned not only a media franchise that continues to this day, with

03:07spin-offs and sequels galore, but also plenty of imitators that sought to replicate its

03:13game-based anime success.

03:17Also, while it certainly didn't invent the trading card game phenomenon, the tie-in card

03:24game became a huge success as well.

03:27With all that going for it, Yu-Gi-Oh!

03:29Duel Monsters has become a hugely popular and profitable anime worldwide.

03:43Number 7.

03:44Sailor Moon

03:45While the magical girl genre predates Sailor Moon, this 90s anime certainly helped popularize

03:51it.

03:52The Sailor Guardians, or Scouts, each have wonderfully distinct personalities, and their

03:57battles against evil have proven popular enough to spawn a long-running media franchise.

04:10Sailor Moon anime can often be focused on male leads and aimed at young boys, but Sailor

04:15Moon was an early breakout hit with female leads that proved that Shoujo, or young girls'

04:21demographic, could be just as successful.

04:29Plus, without Sailor Moon, we doubt that elaborate transformation sequences would be as frequent

04:37or complex in anime.

04:45Number 6.

04:46Attack on Titan

04:47Streaming changed everything for most forms of media, including anime.

04:52And the anime that debuted at just the right time was Attack on Titan.

05:05Eren Yeager and his allies' fight against the gigantic creatures surrounding his walled

05:10homeland is full of shocking developments, incredible action, and great character growth.

05:24The dark tone and frequent plot twists give it a similar appeal to other major streaming

05:29hits like Game of Thrones.

05:31It's this kind of appeal that helped Attack on Titan, as well as anime in general, finally

05:36break through from being a niche hobby to becoming the mainstream.

05:49Number 5.

05:50Neon Genesis Evangelion

05:53Mecha-anime are everywhere, but few have had quite as big an impact as Neon Genesis Evangelion.

06:10The battles of the EVA pilots against the apocalyptic angels are filled with fantastic

06:15animation.

06:16Plus, the religious symbolism, psychological analysis, and more proved very popular with

06:22critics and fans.

06:32In addition to influencing plenty of anime that followed with everything from its tone

06:37to character archetypes, Evangelion helped increase the popularity of anime both within

06:42Japan and around the world.

06:44It really says something when, even to this day, people are still discussing its complex

06:50narrative.

06:58Number 4.

06:59The Big Three

07:00For much of the 21st century thus far, three anime have stood head and shoulders above

07:05their peers in the popular battle shounen genre, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach.

07:17This trio of anime has helped introduce an entire generation to action-packed fights

07:22involving pirates, ninjas, and shinigami.

07:25And while only One Piece has source material and an original anime that's still running,

07:30the other two have spin-offs and sequels continuing to this day as well.

07:43All three have proven enormously influential on the anime that came after them, and some

07:49of them have outsold certain western titles to set incredible records.

07:54They don't call them the Big Three for nothing.

08:06Number 3.

08:07Pokemon

08:08Although the Pokemon games were plenty successful already, the debut of the anime catapulted

08:13the franchise into a pop culture phenomenon.

08:23Generations have watched Ash catch him, and his shockingly few successors go on journeys

08:27to become the very best Pokemon trainers.

08:30The timeless friendships and hundreds of cute or cool pocket monsters have made the series

08:36incredibly popular with kids and adults worldwide.

08:55Pokemon's cross-media appeal meant that the anime became the first exposure many outside

09:00of Japan had to the medium.

09:02In fact, the Pokemon anime has been a major factor in turning the media franchise into

09:08the single highest-grossing one ever.

09:18Number 2.

09:19Dragon Ball Z

09:21It's difficult to overstate the effect Dragon Ball Z had in bringing anime to the West.

09:37Despite its predecessor's popularity, Dragon Ball Z brought a level of intensity to its

09:42action that just blew away anything that western viewers were used to, and immediately made

09:4790s kids obsessed with it, and anime in general.

09:59DBZ also had plenty of influence on anime as a whole, as it codified many tropes found

10:05in the battle shounen genre like power-ups, energy beams and transformations.

10:14Oh, and it inspired plenty of memes too.

10:25It's safe to say that anime wouldn't be the same today if not for Dragon Ball Z, nor

10:30with those who watch it.

10:56Number 1.

10:57Astro Boy

10:59While it's far from being the first piece of Japanese animation, if there's a single

11:03series that can be considered to have begun the modern conception of what is considered

11:07anime, it's Astro Boy.

11:17It was one of the first weekly animated series on television.

11:20Its art style became iconic.

11:23It's an adaptation of an existing manga.

11:25It was also one of the first anime to make it onto U.S. television.

11:29It even began the practice of including anime original material or filler.

11:34Yeah, it wasn't all good stuff.

11:42Some have also accused Astro Boy of normalising underpaying animators in the anime industry,

11:48though there's some debate on that.

11:50Regardless, anime, animation and indeed the world owe a lot to Astro Boy.

12:11Is there an earth-shaking anime your surprise didn't make our list?

12:15Let us know in those comments below.

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