Top 10 Anime That Changed The World

When it comes to landmark anime films, “Akira” stands at the very top. The cyberpunk movie follows teenage bikers, one of whom has developed psychic powers that pose a threat to Neo-Tokyo and the world. “Akira” quickly achieved a following worldwide, and it’s often regarded as one of the best animated films ever made. Its impact on the cyberpunk genre, as well as on more mature animation as a whole can’t be understated. In particular, “Akira” acted as one of several major gateways for anime coming into the West, especially in illustrating that anime, unlike a lot of Western animation at the time, was definitely not just for kids!

Another major Western gateway into anime, “Cowboy Bebop” follows the bounty hunters of the ship Bebop as they get into various scrapes all over the solar system. Episodic, yet also featuring an ongoing plot that explores the protagonists’ pasts, “Cowboy Bebop” is very accessible to casual viewers, particularly if you discovered it while flipping through TV channels back in the day. The god-tier soundtrack, beautiful art direction, and unforgettable characters helped ensure its popularity on both sides of the Pacific. A perfect mix of space western, noir, and a few other genres besides, there’s really nothing else quite like “Cowboy Bebop.”

An ancient Egyptian pharaoh sharing the body of a Japanese teenager and helping him play a trading card game that’s essentially “Uno with extra steps” is a wild concept on paper, but in practice, it makes for a hugely popular anime! The “Yu-Gi-Oh!” anime spawned not only a media franchise that continues to this day, with spinoffs and sequels galore, but also plenty of imitators that sought to replicate its game-based anime success. Also, while it certainly didn’t invent the trading card game phenomenon, the tie-in card game became a huge success as well. With all that going for it, “Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters” has become a hugely popular, and profitable, anime worldwide!

While the magical girl genre predates “Sailor Moon,” this ‘90s anime certainly helped popularize it. The Sailor Guardians (or Scouts) each have wonderfully distinct personalities and their battles against evil have proven popular enough to spawn a long running media franchise. Action anime can often be focused on male leads and aimed at young boys, but “Sailor Moon” was an early breakout hit with female leads that proved the Shojo (or young girls) demographic could be just as successful. Plus, without “Sailor Moon” we doubt that elaborate transformation sequences would be as frequent (or complex) in anime.

Streaming changed everything for most forms of media, including anime. And the anime that debuted at just the right time was “Attack on Titan.” Eren Yeager and his allies’ fight against the gigantic creatures surrounding his walled homeland is full of shocking developments, incredible action, and great character growth. The dark tone and frequent plot twists give it a similar appeal to other major streaming hits, like “Game of Thrones.” It’s this kind of appeal that helped “Attack on Titan,” as well as anime in general finally break through from a niche hobby to the mainstream!

Mecha anime are everywhere, but few have had quite as big an impact as “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” The battles of the Eva pilots against the apocalyptic Angels are filled with fantastic animation. Plus, the religious symbolism, psychological analysis, and critique of the mecha genre as a whole proved popular with critics and fans (Gainex ending aside). In addition to influencing plenty of anime that followed with everything from its tone to character archetypes, “Evangelion” helped increase the popularity of anime both within Japan and around the world. It also led to more anime with original plots, instead of focusing solely on adaptations of existing material, broadening the kinds of stories being told in anime.

For much of the 21st century thus far, 3 anime have stood head and shoulders above their peers in the popular battle Shounen genre - “One Piece,” “Naruto,” and “Bleach.” This trio of anime has helped introduce an entire generation to action-packed fights involving pirates, ninjas, and shinigami. And while only “One Piece” has source material and an original anime that’s still running, the other two have spinoffs and sequels continuing to this day as well. All three have proven enormously influential on the anime that came after them, and some of them have outsold certain Western titles to set incredible records! They don’t call them “The Big 3” for nothing!

Although the “Pokémon” games were plenty successful already, the debut of the anime catapulted the franchise into a pop culture phenomenon! Generations have watched Ash Ketchum (and his shockingly few successors) go on journeys to become the very best Pokémon trainers. The timeless friendships and hundreds of cute and/or cool Pocket Monsters has made the series incredibly popular with kids and adults worldwide. “Pokémon”’s crossover appeal from cards to video games to the anime ensured that the anime became the first exposure many outside of Japan had to the medium. In fact, the “Pokémon” anime has been a major factor in turning the media franchise into the single highest grossing one ever!

It’s difficult to overstate the effects “Dragon Ball Z” had in bringing anime to the West. Despite its predecessor’s popularity, “Dragon Ball Z” brought a level of intensity to its action that just blew away anything that Western viewers were used to, and immediately made ‘90s kids obsessed with it and anime in general! “DBZ” also had plenty of influence on anime as a whole, as it codified many tropes found in the battle Shounen genre, like power-ups, energy beams, and transformations. Oh, and it inspired plenty of memes, too. It’s safe to say that anime wouldn’t be the same today, if not for “Dragon Ball Z,” nor would those who watch it.

While it’s far from being the first piece of Japanese animation, if there’s a single series that can be considered to have begun the modern conception of what is considered anime, it’s “Astro Boy.” It was one of the first weekly animated series on television. Its art style became iconic. It’s an adaptation of an existing manga. It was also one of the first anime to make it onto U.S. television. It even began the practice of including anime-original material, or “filler.” Yeah, it wasn’t all good stuff. Some have also accused “Astro Boy” of normalizing underpaying animators in the anime industry, though there’s some debate on that. Regardless, anime, animation, and indeed the world owe a lot to “Astro Boy!”


Is there an earthshaking anime you’re shook didn’t make our list? Change our worlds by sharing your picks in the comments!