1978: The Year of Leiji Matsumoto

AJtheFourth is a writer for the team anime blog Altair and Vega. When she's not writing about anime or working an unfortunate retail schedule she can be found bemoaning the Red Sox and the Packers, running, painting, playing altogether too much League of Legends, and fervently wishing she owned a Bernese Mountain Dog so she could ride it like Chiyo-chan in Azumanga Daioh. Her favorite anime include Aim for the Ace!, Touch, Rose of Versailles, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Honey and Clover, and Do You Remember Love?

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Initially, I had chosen the year 1978 upon noticing that one of my favorite series of all time, Aim for the Ace!, had aired in that year. Upon further inspection, it became clear that it was the second season of the shojo adaptation and not the infamous first series that saw Osamu Dezaki burst onto the anime scene. This turned out to be a fortuitous oversight, as 1978 was a breakout year for one of the most influential creators in manga and anime history: Leiji Matsumoto.

Although previous works of his had been adapted for the small screen, 1978 saw Galaxy Express 999, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Starzinger, and of course the continuation of his first known success: Space Battleship Yamato.

1977: Conventions and Innovations

A blogger turned academic scholar, Carl writes about a variety of topics concerning anime and manga new and old in order to encourage and foster greater thinking about the way fans interact with their media. Comfortable with just about any genre of anime and manga but particularly fond of giant robots and magical girls, you can read his blog over at Ogiue Maniax and follow him on Twitter @sdshamshel.

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The year 1977 is something of a contradictory time in anime. Although the industry at this point was at the beginning of an animation boom and had been firmly established for over a decade, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact level of experimentation vs. continuation of formulaic trends, simply because in many cases the individual works of 1977 featured both.

The '70s were the golden age of giant robot anime, and with six super robot-themed anime debuting (as well as five holdovers from the previous year) 1977 was no exception to that trend. Somewhat unfortunately for the robot anime of that year, the legendary arrival of Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979 tends to overshadow them as a whole, but while nothing in 1977 broke the mold as Gundam would, there were a few series which pushed that mold to its very limits. These shows managed to convey new and interesting ideas while working well within established convention, an impressive feat in its own right.

The Limits of the Super Robot

To first understand the strength of the more daring robot anime of 1977, it’s important to get an idea of the heights of mediocrity the genre reached as well. Combining Squadron Mechander Robo is a near-inexplicable mishmash of thin story and toy functionality with the worst weakness for a giant robot ever [Footnote 1]. Superhuman Squadron Barattack is a goofy show whose most enduring legacy is an attractive female character. As for Super Uniting Magic Robo Ginguiser, well, take a look for yourself.

1971: Anime Undergoes Puberty

Rose Brazeale is a Theatre and Film Studies undergraduate at Agnes Scott College and is preparing to work on a senior research project looking at Catholicism and its representation and influence in Trigun and Blue Exorcist. She has been an avid anime fan since she was in elementary school playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game on the playground. She also is a co-panelist on the Anime Academia panel at Georgia Tech's MomoCon 2013 with Brent Allison.

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When I volunteered for this project, I looked to see which years were still available. Only a few were still up for grabs, so I looked up which anime came out in the years that were still available and volunteered for the first one that had a title that I recognized, which ended up being the year 1971. The title that I had recognized was Lupin the Third. However, I had never watched any anime older than the ‘90s, so this was an adventure into unknown territory for me where I learned a lot and exposed myself to anime that I ordinarily would not have given much thought to.

The immediate indication that Lupin the Third is a significant instance in anime history is the new revival of the franchise in the form of the 2012 series Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine. If Lupin the Third is able to still be relevant to today’s audience, then it must be significant in some way, and I made it my job to learn why it was. Pushing off from Lupin the Third, I then investigated which other anime that came out during that year had the most information available. It quickly came out that one other series, of a vastly different genre, could hold a candle up to Lupin the Third—Marvelous Melmo, a magical girl anime geared towards children.

Granted, there are other shows that came out in 1971 that didn't hold an impact to Western fandom as much as Lupin the Third and Marvelous Melmo. Wandering Sun, a drama covering the story of two women switched at birth, was more significant for its production staff, as it united Yoshiyuki Tomino and Yasuhiko Yoshikazu before their venture with the Mobile Suit Gundam manga. Tensai Bakabon, a comedy series about a boy and his father who isn’t all that bright, has been a memorable show, mostly in the minds of pachinko fans. While there were other shows that debuted that year—Sarutobi Ecchan, a magical girl anime; Hyppo and Thomas, a comedy about a hippopotamus and a bird; Andersen Monogatari, a fantasy series aimed at children and based on the Hans Christian Andersen tales—there were really only two shows to cover.

That said, let’s dive right in.