What Is The First Anime Ever Made
Lights, Camera, Action! Wait... Anime?
So, you're a fan of anime? Giant robots, magical girls, samurai showdowns – the whole shebang! Ever wonder where it all began? Like, what's the very first anime ever made?
Well, buckle up, because the answer might surprise you. It's not some epic space opera or tear-jerking romance. It's... shorter. A lot shorter.
Enter: The Grandfather of Anime (No, Not Goku's Grandpa)
The title of "First Anime" usually goes to a film called "Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki". Try saying that five times fast!
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Made in 1917 by Oten Shimokawa, it's about a doorman named Mukuzo Imokawa (bet you guessed that one!) who gets distracted on the job. Not exactly Attack on Titan territory, is it?
Imagine: you're used to these beautifully rendered, hour-long spectacles. And then you find out anime actually started with a four-minute short about a lazy doorman! Talk about humble beginnings!
Lost and (Partially) Found
The sad thing is, the original film is largely lost. We only have fragments that have survived. Imagine trying to understand the Marvel Cinematic Universe by only watching tiny snippets of each movie!
But even those surviving bits are fascinating! They offer a glimpse into the very earliest days of Japanese animation.
Think about it: no fancy computers, no sprawling studios. Just one guy, Oten Shimokawa, painstakingly drawing frame after frame. Pretty impressive, right?
Other Contenders for the Crown
Okay, so "Imokawa Mukuzo Genkanban no Maki" is generally accepted as the first. But, there's always debate, isn't there?
Some argue that other films from around the same time, like "Namakura Gatana" (a samurai comedy!), deserve the title. It was made around the same period by Jun'ichi Kouchi.
Really, it comes down to semantics. They were all pioneers pushing the boundaries of what animation could be.
Why Does It Matter?
You might be thinking, "So what? It's just a four-minute cartoon about a sleepy doorman." But it's more than that. It's the seed from which a global phenomenon grew.
Every Studio Ghibli masterpiece, every epic battle in Dragon Ball Z, every heartfelt moment in Your Name… it all traces back to those early, experimental works. They are the shoulders that these giants stand on.
It's a reminder that even the most amazing things have simple beginnings. So next time you're watching your favorite anime, take a moment to appreciate the quirky, forgotten doorman who helped pave the way.
And maybe, just maybe, look up those old shorts. You might be surprised by what you find. You can catch glimpses of history!
Who knew a lazy doorman could be so important?
