A History of Anime: 1907 to 1969

Though anime in Japan refers to animation in general; for the rest of the world, the term is specific to Japanese animation. Dating back to the start of the 20th century, the oldest known animation is a 3-second clip from 1907. In the clip, a sailor boy writes out "moving pictures" in Chinese, turns, and tips his hat to the viewer. Discovered in 2005, the clip is a precious 50 frames long, with each image drawn directly onto celluloid. There is no knowledge of the animator. Prior to this discovery, the oldest animation had been attributed to the mid-1910s. However, the 2005 discovery proved that ideas were beginning to surface some 10 years before.

As for the next two decades, there is more archival evidence of Japanese animation beginning to rise. Among the pioneer animators was Kouchi Jun’ichi, a caricature artist and painter who was hired by Kobayashi Shokai in 1916 to work in the new artistic field. In his career, Jun’ichi would produce 15 titles. In addition to his work, there was that of Shimokawa Oten, who worked for Tenkatsu in the early years, and Kitayama Seitaro, who worked for himself. Works from Murato Yosuji, Kimura Hakuzan, and Yamamoto Sanae also helped comprise the silent-era of anime. The stories at this time tended to revolve around well-known folktales.

The 1923 Great Kanto earthquake would disperse the early animators to various parts of Japan. Some began their own studios, while others simply worked on their independent projects. When the 1930s arrived, an imposed Japanese nationalism impacted much of anime, as far as story, character, and theme. As wartime neared, the government also insisted that animators create works that reflected a strong Japanese spirit and that would inspire national affiliation. The most notable of these propaganda works was Mituyo Seo’s Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors.

Commissioned by the Japanese Naval Ministry, Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors was influenced by Disney’s Fantasia and was meant to capture the dreams of children and inspire hope in the nation’s people. Released in 1945, just before the war ended, the film had little impact on the nation as far as propaganda, but for Japanese animation, it would be its first ever feature-length film.

After the war, animators were able to return to their individual pursuits. Yet, the war left the Japanese economy and national pride in recovery mode. What did the people need at this time? Both manga (Japanese comics) and animation helped Japan in this respect, by helping to capture and convey its fears, doubts, hopes, and dreams for the future.

In 1948, a major milestone in Japanese animation took place when Toei Animation was founded – the studio which would a decade later be the first to produce a full-length anime film in color: The Tale of the White Serpent. This ambitious work aimed to capture the success of Disney’s features, emulating its formula of musical numbers and "talking" animals. Though Japanese animation existed prior to The Tale of the White Serpent, it is credited by most historians to be the first true example of anime.

Toei Animation did stick with a Disney formula for several of its works, but it also gave its animators room to explore their own artistic visions, evinced by Isao Takahata’s Hols: Prince of the Sun in 1968. This film would prove one of the first examples of the auteuristic movement, in which animators parted from tradition to pursue a style identifiable as their own. This movement would help open the field for animators like Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii.

Set to rival the works of Toei Animation however was Osamu Tezuka, the "father of manga" who made a detour into anime towards the end of the 1950s. In 1961, he founded Mushi Productions, which would be Japan’s very first TV animation studio. There, Tezuka and his team would create original series the public could follow on a weekly basis, including the adaptation of his own manga Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu) and Kimba, the White Lion.

With its departure from the fairy tale, Tezuka’s manga work was a key into what would come for Japanese animation: a leap into the futuristic. In the decades to come, Japanese anime would foray into unknown territory, whether it be the imagination or space. Indeed, at the close of the 1960s, the auteuristic movement, the mecha genre, and an unstoppable influence around the world was just on the horizon.