However, older anime still have value as the earliest example of characters, tropes, and genres that are still around today. As simple and old school as these classic 1960s anime shows are, they were pioneers in their field.

10 Sabu & Ichi’s Arrest Warrant

Before he created famous tokusatsu franchises like Super Sentai and Kamen Rider, Shotaro Ishinomori created this Edo Period crime manga. Adapted into an anime by acclaimed director Rintaro, the series followed the young thief taker Sabu and blind swordsman Ichi as they traveled from town to town solving mysteries and fighting crime.

While most anime at the time was seen as kids’ stuff, Sabu & Ichi stood out for having dark themes like murder and assault. It appealed to an older audience that grew out of the kiddy fare. The series produced two live-action adaptations as well: a TV series in the early 1980s, and a film in 2015.

9 Golden Bat

Also known as Phantaman or Fantomas, Golden Bat started off as a figure from kamishibai: a mobile theater where the story was told with paper slides. Some people even consider him the first superhero, as he debuted nearly a decade prior to Superman in 1930. He shares similar abilities to the Last Son of Krypton, like super strength, invulnerability, and flight. He also scares his foes like Batman, albeit by cackling through his skull mask than brooding in the dark.

Golden Bat got his first anime series in 1967, where he was an ancient Atlantean who reappeared in modern day to fight crime out of his secret mountain lair. The show caught on in Europe and Latin America, but few of its English dubbed episodes survive today.

8 Princess Knight

This is the first appearance on this list from anime and manga legend Osamu Tezuka, and it won’t be the last either. Princess Knight followed the adventures of Princess Sapphire, a girl raised as a boy who fights the evil Duke Duralumin under the guise of Prince Knight for control of Silverland.

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Its gender-twisting premise was inspired by the Takarazuka Revue, an all-women theater troupe who play male, female and any other roles. In turn, Princess Knight would inspire similar shojo stories with androgynous leads like The Rose of Versailles and Revolutionary Girl Utena. For a 1960s product, having a female lead with masculine coding was a step forward for LGBTQ media at the time.

7 Attack No.1

Princess Knight was a popular early entry for women and young girls alike. But how about a shojo series that was made by a woman? Chikako Urano’s Attack No.1 began as a manga in 1968, and was animated in 1969. It was a slice-of-life story as Kozue joins the Fujimi Academy volleyball team.

Kozue quickly rises through the ranks due to her talents, but soon discovers great skill brings more complications. The anime was the first shojo sports series ever made, and would lead to a boom of similar athletic girl anime like the tennis-based Ace wo Nerae and the judo-themed Yawara!

6 Sally the Witch

Of course, Attack No.1 wasn’t the first shojo anime around. Sally the Witch predated it by 3 years, and even beat Princess Knight’s adaptation by one year, arriving in 1966. It was also the first magical girl anime, beating its manga predecessor Himitsu no Akko-san to the punch. Without Sally the Witch, there would be no Cardcaptor Sakura or Sailor Moon.

Sally, the princess of the Magic Kingdom, gains her wish to visit the ‘mid-world’ (Earth) when she makes a mistake during a teleport spell. She adjusts to a regular life by keeping her powers secret, though she breaks them out every once in a while to help people or have a little fun.

5 Shonen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru

Based on the manga Ishimaru of the Wind, Toei Animation changed the protagonist’s name to ‘Fujimaru’ to tie in with the show’s sponsor Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals. It was a bit of a rough deal to its creator Sanpei Shirato; however, this decision was out of the hands of its director, future Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki.

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The show followed a boy abandoned by his mother as a baby. He was adopted by a samurai called Sasuke, who trained him in ninjutsu. Fujimaru shows a talent for the martial art, specializing in wind magic. When he comes of age, he has two goals: to find the Ryuen Book before his rival Japosai, and find his long-lost mother.

4 Gigantor

If creating one of the first magical girl manga in Sally the Witch wasn’t enough, Mitsuteru Yokoyama also made the first proper mecha series with Tetsujin 28-gō. The original manga was about Shotaro Kaneda, a young boy who uses his father’s giant robot, originally meant to fight for Japan in World War II, to fight crime and solve crises.

The anime was first broadcast in 1963, though it was more light-hearted than the manga. Its English translation as Gigantor and its new names (such as ‘Jimmy Sparks’) weren’t a big departure from the Japanese series. Still, its themes resonated with a young Katsuhiro Otomo, whose series Akira was also about a wartime weapon reappearing in peacetime. As a tribute, he would go on to name his own protagonist after Yokoyama’s original robot-toting boy.

3 Dororo

Fans today will be more familiar with Studio MAPPA’s 2019 adaptation, but Dororo is another Osamu Tezuka classic. Originally animated in 1969, the series was actually more about the wandering samurai Hyakkimaru than his sidekick Dororo. It was also rather dark for the sixties, with the producers lightening its tone a little with a few edits, and giving the duo a pet dog called Nota.

But even that couldn’t take away its heavy atmosphere. The anime was about a disabled man killing demons to reclaim his missing body parts. Hyakkimaru was born without limbs and facial features because his father’s pact with the demons meant they’d have a claim to them. Abandoned by his parents, he was adopted by a medicine man who gave him prosthetics. If he can kill all 48 demons, he’ll regain his missing features bit by bit.

2 Speed Racer

Does this one need an explanation? Tatsuo Yoshida’s original manga and series Mach GoGoGo, localized as Speed Racer, was synonymous with Japanese animation right up to the late 1980s when Akira and other cyberpunk adventures overtook it. Still, its quirky intro theme (“He’s a demon on wheels!”), curious dub, and animation have been enjoyed by generations of viewers.

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And the anime wasn’t the only adaptation of Speed Racer’s escapades. It got a sequel series in 1993, a Nickelodeon reboot in 1997 in Speed Racer X, a spinoff with Speed Racer: The Next Generation, and the Wachowskis’ surreal and vibrant 2008 live-action film. Whatever its form, Speed Racer has stuck in peoples’ minds for over 50 years.

1 Astro Boy

It’s one more appearance for Osamu Tezuka. Between Princess Knight, Dororo, and Kimba the White Lion, this list could have been Tezuka’s resumé. But out of all of his work, his most iconic creation has to be Astro Boy. Originally known as Mighty Atom, the 1963 anime adaptation of Tezuka’s manga was the first to go abroad and define the anime look. The big eyes and other features can all trace a line to Astro Boy, hence why Tezuka is known as the ‘Godfather of Anime.’

Astro Boy had various adaptations too. Some were modernized takes on the same stories, like the 1980 and 2003 series. Others, like Naoki Urasawa’s detective manga Pluto, expanded upon Astro Boy’s themes with more mature storylines. That’s not counting the other works it inspired, like Capcom’s Mega Man video games with its own robot boy hero. However people look at it, Astro Boy’s importance to anime as a whole cannot be understated.

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