2021: A year of anime anniversaries

 

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

(10th anniversary)

Has it really been ten years since Gen Urobuchi unleashed his tale of magical girl entropy on the world? This first anniversary hardly seems real, since Puella Magi Madoka Magica hasn’t gone far in the intervening years. But it’s true.  Movies and Magia Record aside, this series is a full decade old as of January 7.

Anniversary festivities are underway for the show, so look forward to new surprises throughout the year.

 

Spirited Away 

(20th anniversary)

Of all the anime anniversaries on this list, Spirited Away is probably the only one that coincided with the anime in question getting surpassed in its own Guinness record. Nonetheless, this Studio Ghibli classic is still the first anime ever to win an Academy Award, and continues to reign as one of the greats.

Celebrate this year on the day of its premiere, July 20.

 

Otaku no Video 

(30th anniversary)

Gainax’s two-part mockumentary about life, love, and otakudom came out back in 1991. The OVA has gone on to become a much-loved anime, offering a tongue-in-cheek perspective on both otaku life and the beginnings of an anime studio.

Relive the magic by celebrating two anime anniversaries in one — on September 27 for Otaku no Video 1982, and December 20 for More Otaku no Video 1985.

 

Adieu Galaxy Express 999 

(40th anniversary)

Leiji Matsumoto’s Galaxy Express 999 was a thoughtful and action-packed tale of humanity and coming of age. But when the series ended, the story wasn’t over. 1981’s Adieu Galaxy Express 999 continues the story after the fallout of the TV series. Tetsuro Hoshino is a teenage freedom fighter, and must board the space train to begin a new adventure.

The film officially hits the big 4-0 on August 1. If you’ve never seen the original series or the 1979 film that came before Adieu, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy.

 

Lupin the 3rd Part I 

(50th anniversary)

Wrapping up our list of anime anniversaries is the master thief himself. Four years after Monkey Punch’s manga debuted, the grandson of Arsène Lupin made the jump to anime. “Part I,” a.k.a. the Green Jacket series, premiered on October 24. It ran for 23 episodes, and it would be four more years until he would get the red-jacketed Part II.

Fortunately, there’s so much Lupin out there, you’ll have no trouble finding as much as you want to watch.

And don't forget to subscribe to this my other blog!

World Domination Enterprise

Ever wondered how many plastic Gundam models exist in the world?

(Photo by Domenico)

Over 500 million, apparently.
Gunpla first debuted in July 1980 with a 1:144 scale model of the original RX-78-2 Gundam. There are now over 2,000 variations, reports Mantan Web.

(Photo by Stefan)

According to Bandai Spirits, if you lined up the packages of every model sold to date, they’d wrap around the earth four-and-a-half times and weigh about 350,000 pounds. That’s a lot of Gunpla.

(Photo by Domenico)

There have been many improvements and variations on the line over the years, including in 1987, when Bandai released the first model that could snap together without glue.
In 2010, the number of units shipped reached 400 million.
Here’s looking forward to the next 40 years of plastic Gundam models.


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Shonen Jump turns 50!

The Shonen Jump 50th Anniversary Exhibition, hosted in Roppongi, Tokyo, have virtually every volume of the magazine available for reading.

The exhibition is divided in three parts, and part 2 is currently under way. It covers the 1990s and runs until June 17

Meanwhile, a visual for part 3, which runs from July 17 to September 30 and covers manga released in the 2000s up to now, has been revealed. Of course, the two most prominent characters on the poster are Luffy from One Piece and Naruto.

 

The exhibitions and manga library are all found at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo. The exhibitions cost ¥2,000 for general admission, while the manga library is free.

100 years of Japanese animation

2017 was a very special year in the history of Japanese animation as it celebrated its 100th anniversary. In fact 1917 saw the release of what is considered the country's first animated work - a short called The Dull Sword.

The year saw several events marking the occasion, including the opening of a free online archive of classic anime.

http://animation.filmarchives.jp/en/index.html

Now a new video on YouTube compresses the entire 100 years of Japanese animation into 15 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t-GV4XcJak

The supercut, which begins with The Dull Sword and ends with Mr. Osomatsu, with 120 other fan favorites in between, features a song called “Tsubasa o Motsu Mono ~Not an Angel Just a Dreamer~.” It’s composed by Tanaka Kohei and features 23 vocalists, including Sasaki Isao, Mizuki Ichiro, May’n and Wake Up, Girls!.

... And when it comes to anime (and manga, gaming, etc.) you can learn about all the Tokyo otaku hot spots in my brand-new guide.
Here's the latest review of my book:
https://otakutokyojp.blogspot.jp/2018/01/tokyo-geeks-guide-update.html