Anime History

The history of anime began at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques that were being explored in the West. The first generation of animators in the late 1910s included Ōten Shimokawa, Jun'ichi Kōuchi andSeitaro Kitayama, referred to as the "fathers" of anime.^[1] During World War II, propaganda films such as Momotarō no Umiwashi(1943) and Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei (1945) were made, the latter being the first anime feature film. During the 1970s, anime developed further, separating itself from its Western roots, and developing distinct genres such as mecha and its Super Robot sub-genre. Typical shows from this period include Lupin III and Mazinger Z. During this period several filmmakers became famous, especially Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii.

In the 1980s, anime was accepted in the mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production. The rise of Gundam, Macross,Dragon Ball, and the Real Robot, space opera and cyberpunk genres set a boom as well. The film Akira set records in 1988 for the production costs of an anime film and went on to become a success worldwide. Later, in 2004, the same creators produced Steamboy, which took over as the most expensive anime film. Space Battleship Yamato and The Super Dimension Fortress Macross also achieved worldwide success after being adapted respectively as Star Blazers and Robotech.

The internet also led to the rise of fansub anime. Spirited Away shared the first prize at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival and won the 2003Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, while Innocence: Ghost in the Shell was featured at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anime