What's the oldest anime you like?

[Gorse]

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The first Cyborg 009 show from 1968 is an absolutely awesome watch. The artwork and character design is fantastic, there's loads of hilarious comedy with 006 and 007 (who's very different from the other interpretations of the character, and is voiced excellently by the chick who played the original Rita Repulsa), and some of the plots are INSANE! (But great!) It's cartoony, dramatic and theatrical, action-packed, and just an awful lot of fun. I love how they drew anime characters back then. Aaah-aaah, Cyb-oooorg, zero-zero-niiiiine...

I've also seen the two movies based on this series, the first of which predates it (and is one of the very first feature-length anime movies ever). They're great, too! The only problem is that the guy subtitling this dumb show takes FOREVER to put out now eps. WHAT A JERK!!!!

And if you want to go earlier than that, Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae is just a fucking beautiful series from start to finish. It's a quiet, contemplative "cop show" set during the Jidai Geki starring a righteous young samurai and his blind masseuse mentor. Both characters are just realized fantastically – they're entertaining, charming, and the sort of honourable that you can look up to.

There's loads of action against evil criminal ninjas and cackling villains and the like, but there are also many gentle, ruminative moments where you can just chill the F out with the characters. Sabu and Ichi have a wonderful "knowing father/upstart son" relationship that makes them both really endearing, as does the very theatrical relationship between Sabu and his bride-to-be. I've watched this show before I gone to bed in the dead of night many times, and it just puts you in a really relaxed, mellow, happy mood.

It's also an anime series that came out so early that they didn't even know how to do a lot of animation techniques in the first several episodes, so you'll get things like water being actual, live-action footage of a pond with character drawings project onto it. Animation is limited, but it's so cool to think about it in relation to where anime has come in the following six decades. I love this show to bits.

And finally, if you're looking for a great '60s anime movie, The Flying Phantom Ship is right up your alley. It's a fun adventure film about a mysterious ghost ship that appears over Japan, and the only two meddling kids (and their dog!) that cane save the day. It's packed to the brim with ghosts, monsters, skeletons, giant robots, explosions, angry politicians, aerial battleships, and heart.

Anime fans will also be interested to know that this movie was a certain Hayao Miyazaki's very first animation job – he designed the giant robot in it! The characters are all cute and kooky, there's plenty of action and comedy, and the colouring is immaculate – total '60s chic. Very much recommended if you're after an hour or so of classic anime fun.


I love, love, love '60s anime. Oh my god, so much of it is exactly what I want out of animation. I have examples from the '70s, too, but I'm going to hold my little tongue for now – this thread is great!

 

[bjork]

I watched Speed Racer from a mesh playpen thing when I was really little, so that's probably the oldest. Next oldest I can think of is Anne of Green Gables, that I think was 79 or 80?

 

[Annohalder17]

I see a zoomer

Post automatically merged: Mar 14, 2025

probably not unless you've watched Golion, it's like a different show

Post automatically merged: Mar 14, 2025

To be fair to those of you who can't go earlier than the 90s, I probably like 90s anime best, just aesthetically if nothing else, back before everything was that creepy moe stuff

I don't really even like anime that much lol

That's cause I am.

 

[Big Finger Jim]

Lupin III

 

[Yukyon]

Lupin III (1971)

 

[Dawg19]

Good times man

Ah yes, my favorite anime. Garfield and Friends

 

[UnDubious]

Never watched Lupin III but the music sure is banging. Like a lot of '70s anime. Composers like Yuji Ohno and Masao Yagi (Ashita no Joe) came from the film and tv industries rather than just scoring for anime, and this was a great period for movie soundtracks too.

 

[dejiko]

urusei yatsura and gundam 0079, possibly nyo?? i like a lot of old ones tho, nyo...but these are the oldest i can think of, nyo!

 

[opeb]

I loved Gundam '79 but since it was already mentioned my next oldest is Space Runaway Ideon. I need to check out some shows further back

 

[fmsynthetic]

Probably Ranma 1/2, that I'm actually watching. In my life I've seen many anime since early '90 and other from the '80. But those are anime I don't like anymore, like Dragon Ball or Saint Seiya. I wanna try to watch other old anime though, step by step.

Dragon Ball like the original Dragon Ball? See I think DBZ is more subjective and I only really like it because of nostalgia, but the original is kind of unimpeachable and classic. It's dick and fart and boob jokes, those are always evergreen

Post automatically merged: Mar 15, 2025

That's cause I am.

you are forgiven

 

[UnDubious]

Pre-Z Dragon Ball is more of an action-adventure story and the fights are much quicker so I like it a lot more than Z now that I'm not 12. The manga over the anime. DBZ is cool and all but the pacing is painful.

 

[fmsynthetic]

Pre-Z Dragon Ball is more of an action-adventure story and the fights are much quicker so I like it a lot more than Z now that I'm not 12. The manga over the anime. DBZ is cool and all but the pacing is painful.

I like some of the filler, like Gohan and the Robot. And when it's a comedy show like the original and not so obsessed with the action, it still shines.

 

[SolarSpectre]

I think probably Urusei Yatsura is the oldest anime I really like, which came out in '81 apparently, though it feels like a more modern show.

 

[DeadVoivod]

Goldorak (UFOrobo gurendaizā) 1975, grew up with that.

Post automatically merged: Mar 16, 2025

I think probably Urusei Yatsura is the oldest anime I really like, which came out in '81 apparently, though it feels like a more modern show.

I love it, my all time favorite, watched the whole series several times, although in French where it is called Lamu. Hilarious as hell

And I also love the original Fist of the North Star series, how more violent can it get.

 

[CardcaptorEd2019]

Someone else mentioned Nausica, so the next oldest anime that I've seen and liked is Angel's Egg(1985)

 

[DeadVoivod]

I also always loved Nicky Larson aka City Hunter, also very funny.

 

[fmsynthetic]

I think probably Urusei Yatsura is the oldest anime I really like, which came out in '81 apparently, though it feels like a more modern show.

Animation was incredible in the 80s

 

[Yousef]

Ginga Sengoku Gun'yūden Rai
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أسطورة

 

[TheWanderer]

أسطورة

You know it

 

[Duke_11037]

Cyborg 009, which i think is from around 1965. I'm eventually going to watch the little prince and the eight headed dragon.

 

[Taukyrie]

Mashin Hero Wataru from 1988 is probably the oldest series on my list of favorite anime.

 

[Antilocal123]

None.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

Speed Racer

 

[cjl8336]

my first foray into the mecha genre - 1989

 

[RebelofDaNeonGod]

For me, it's gotta be this big-bodied motherfucker right here.

I adore Tetsujin-28. it's what started my deep love of simple mecha designs. Things like Getter Robo, Giant Robo, Ideon, etc etc. There is something about the bulky body that really appeals to me.