Top 10 Most Important Moments in Anime History
For better or worse, these changes have defined the medium ever since. Join Ashley as we look over the moments across the anime scene that radically shook things up
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most iconic moments,
00:10 scenes or episodes that completely changed the anime industry.
00:20 Number 10 – 20th Shōnen Olympics Arc
00:30 These days, every great shōnen anime has a good old-fashioned tournament arc.
00:34 If you want to know why, you have to go all the way back to 1983's Kinnikuman.
00:39 More specifically, the 20th Shōnen Olympics Arc.
00:43 At its core, it's nothing more than a classic tournament.
00:47 Kinnikuman enters, meets some quirky characters, beats them up, and calls it a day.
00:53 But the brilliant intersection of plot development, character growth, and high-octane action was
00:58 so popular, it quickly became the formula for all future shōnen.
01:11 Whether you're a fan of the World Martial Arts Tournament, the Chunin Exams, UA's
01:16 Arts Festival, or something else, you have Kinnikuman to thank for it.
01:27 Number 9 – Usagi's First Transformation – Sailor Moon
01:42 While not the first magical girl anime, and not the first to have a transformation sequence,
01:47 Usagi Tsukino's is easily the most iconic.
01:51 After all, she shook the entire anime landscape with nothing more than heart, pigtails, and
01:57 of course, some Moon Prism power.
02:14 Sailor Moon's legendary transformation scenes popularised the trend of creating highly detailed
02:20 cuts of animation that could be used across several episodes.
02:24 Usagi's influence spread way beyond the magical girl genre, though.
02:28 Nowadays, it's commonplace for any kind of show to reuse high-quality animation for
02:33 specific transformations, attacks, or evolutions.
02:37 In fact, at this point, it's weirder if they don't.
02:39 Who knew the Moon Prism power had so much impact?
02:52 Number 8 – Naruto vs. Sasuke – Naruto
03:05 The fated throwdown between star-crossed rivals is an anime staple for a reason.
03:11 But even compared to the decades of jaw-dropping bouts that came before, the original Naruto
03:16 takes the trope to another level.
03:19 The series spent over 100 episodes meticulously nurturing the conflict between the two young
03:24 genin.
03:25 Then, when Naruto and Sasuke finally came to blows at the "valley of the end", the
03:30 animation went all out.
03:33 That's right, we're talking about Sakuga.
03:43 The gorgeously fluid action pushed the limits of not only the rival trope, but the entirety
03:49 of Battle Shounen.
03:51 This one fight single-handedly proved that Naruto was something special, and its peers
03:56 needed to catch up or risk getting left behind forever.
04:15 Number 7 – Combining 2D and 3D – Ghost in the Shell
04:26 Back in the 90s, most anime productions were hesitant to acknowledge the growing viability
04:32 of CGI animation.
04:34 Ghost in the Shell, however, took that as a challenge.
04:37 With a groundbreaking new process called "digitally generated animation", Ghost in the Shell
04:42 managed to combine traditional cell artwork with three-dimensional graphics.
04:47 To say it worked would be a major understatement.
04:56 All it takes is a single viewing to understand why this film is considered a benchmark for
05:01 3D animation in anime.
05:03 Without Ghost in the Shell revolutionising what the medium could do, it's hard to say
05:07 if there'd even be a market for CG anime today.
05:21 Number 6 – Ace Dies – One Piece
05:30 Anyone who flicked on this show expecting sunshine and rainbows all the time was left
05:35 sorely disappointed.
05:37 In this famous scene, Luffy actually fails, big time, and as a result his older brother
05:42 dies.
05:48 Ace's death marched a major tonal shift in One Piece, and since it's one of the
05:57 longest-running anime of all time, that alone is grounds for respect.
06:02 But above all that, it shook the foundation of what fans expected out of battle anime.
06:07 In this case, the hero couldn't just power up and overcome the odds.
06:11 It sounds simple, but when this episode aired, Ace's death showed the world that One Piece
06:17 and shounen as a whole wasn't playing around anymore.
06:29 Number 5 – Shortest Seasons – My Hero Academia
06:43 You know the saying, "less is more"?
06:44 Well, it took some anime a long time to learn that lesson.
06:48 Luckily, My Hero Academia was the exception.
06:52 Its first season only ran for 13 episodes, and since then, it's never aired more than
06:57 25 in a single year.
06:59 But the studio wasn't cheaping out on quality – quite the opposite, actually.
07:10 In the past, most battle-heavy anime – specifically shounen jump ones – aired year-round, leading
07:16 to glacially slow pacing and lacklustre animation.
07:21 By pouring more resources into fewer episodes, My Hero Academia became an all-killer, no-filter,
07:27 sensation.
07:28 The trend took off, and now almost every single shounen airs in tight, pre-planned seasons
07:34 instead.
07:36 Just look at Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, hell, even Bleach now.
07:40 My Hero really did save the day.
07:53 Number 4 – Movie Mayhem, Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba, The Movie, Mugen Train
08:06 With one quick trip to theatres, Demon Slayer went from a hit show to a record-breaking
08:12 phenomenon.
08:13 The numbers don't lie.
08:14 Mugen Train was the highest-grossing film of 2020, period.
08:20 No ifs, ands, or buts.
08:22 For context, that's the first time a non-American production has ever topped the worldwide box
08:27 office charts.
08:29 Alongside that, Mugen Train also became the top-earning Japanese movie of all time, too.
08:35 Just in case it didn't have enough records under its belt.
08:47 Given these staggering results, it's really no surprise that every popular show is now
08:52 getting a theatrical release.
08:54 If Mugen Train was any indication, the future of anime is on the big screen.
09:11 Number 3 – The First Super Saiyan Transformation, Goku, Namek, Golden Hair, Need We Say More?
09:21 With a legacy that almost speaks for itself, the debut of Super Saiyan helped usher in
09:36 what anime is today, especially for action-oriented shows.
09:41 Even by today's standards, there aren't many iconic power-ups that don't owe something
09:46 to this historic scream-fest.
09:55 But it didn't just influence anime itself, it also influenced those who watched it.
10:01 On a pure fan level, this scene had kids around the world yelling out in hopes of growing
10:06 their own golden hair.
10:07 Talk about good marketing.
10:09 Over the years, there's been a lot of rip-offs and remakes.
10:13 No matter what, though, Goku's first Super Saiyan transformation remains the literal
10:18 gold standard.
10:27 Number 2 – Spirited Away Wins The Academy Award For Best Animated Feature, Spirited
10:34 Away
10:35 Despite its creative merits, anime has traditionally been considered a niche in English-speaking
10:40 countries.
10:46 But then Spirited Away came along.
10:49 Hayao Miyazaki's magnum opus drew such rave reviews, English-language critics couldn't
10:55 ignore it anymore.
10:56 In 2001, the movie made history as the first Japanese film to ever win the Academy Award
11:03 for Best Animated Feature.
11:06 Just like that, Spirited Away was a trailblazer for the whole medium.
11:17 Its unprecedented success put anime on the map as not just a mainstream form of entertainment,
11:23 but a worthwhile art form in its own right.
11:26 The fact that anime continues to grow in the worldwide market is at least in part because
11:31 of what Spirited Away accomplished.
11:57 Number 1 – The Porygon Episode – Pokemon
12:09 In 1997, Porygon debuted in Pokemon, and anime hasn't been the same since.
12:15 We aren't kidding.
12:16 Dubbed the "Pokemon Shock", the now-infamous episode features Pikachu unleashing a Thunderbolt
12:22 inside the internet, causing a frenzied light show in the process.
12:27 The visual effect sent more than 600 viewers to the hospital with symptoms of epileptic
12:33 seizures.
12:41 In response, Japanese broadcasters came together to enforce industry-wide regulations on flashing
12:47 colours in anime.
12:49 To this day, any scene with bright lights or lots of movement are intentionally dimmed
12:54 in post-production before they're allowed to air.
12:58 So, if you ever have to crank up the brightness to watch a cool fight, remember that Porygon's
13:03 to blame.
13:10 Did we miss any industry-shaking moments?
13:13 Don't be shy, let us know in the comments below.
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13:27 [music]