The particular style of Japanese animation known as 'anime' got its start in Osamu Tezuka's 'manga' comic book series in 1952. The Astro Boy TV series was fairly crude by modern standards, but the Japanese lapped it up and international audiences weren't far behind. The hero is a robot who tries to fit in with the human world.
Details are sketchy, but up to 96 episodes may have been made of the first of the "giant robot" anime series to air, with only 52 dubbed into English. When terrorists, crims and nasty aliens become too much for the military, a giant robot is built to do humanity's fighting for us. Based on Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1958 manga comics.
The original 'henshin' (superhero) anime series successfully based on the US prototypes. A team of five superhero ninja working for the International Science Organisation take on a group of high-tech crooks who are out to swipe the planet's natural resources. The best known English adaptation aired as Battle of the Planets.
Space Battleship Yamato 26 episodes (1974-75) 30m
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Space operatic fare has the wreck of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato brought back to life as a spaceship to fend off an invading alien race trying to irradiate the planet. The war themes and violence were dumbed-down a bit for Western audiences, with the series best known as Star Blazers to American audiences.
Neon Genesis Evangelion 26 episodes (1995-96) 30m
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By the mid-90s computer age, anime had become decidedly more cutting edge. Suffering the effects of depression, Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno used the show's characters to express what he had learned in psycho-therapy. Biomechanical Evas are piloted by 14-year-olds to thwart the invading 'Angels'. Somewhat intense.
Martian Successor Nadesico 26 episodes (1996) 30m
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A real treat for enthusiasts, Nadesico is essentially a parody of a host of sci-fi anime favourites. When the Jovian Lizards attack, a mega-corporation helps out by building the ultimate spaceship. The hero is a crew member who loves cooking and watching anime. He's also a pretty good combat robot pilot and a bit of a heartthrob.
Cowboy Bebop 26 episodes (1998) 30m
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A team of bounty hunters crewing an old fishing spaceship try and track down jobs that pay using the hyperspace gateways that connect the solar system. Best known for its adult themes, the dramatic tension mainly revolves around the blood feud between the main character and his ex-partner nemesis from his dark past.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 52 eps (2002-04) 30m
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In the near-future the agents of Section 9 combat all manner of cyber-crimes. Each episode tips the viewer off as to whether or not it is a 'standalone' or 'complex' containing implications for the overarching plot. Unlike most modern anime, individual episodes can usually be watched without too much background info being necessary.
