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
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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]