They're landmarks in the medium. Join Ashley as we look over the anime that blew everyone away and will never be forgotten
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the anime that have had
00:14a major impact on either the medium, pop culture and or the world.
00:31Number 10.
00:32Akira
00:33When it comes to landmark anime films, Akira stands at the very top.
00:38The cyberpunk movie follows teenage bikers, one of whom has developed psychic powers that
00:43pose a threat to Neo-Tokyo and the world.
00:59Akira quickly achieved a following worldwide, and it's often regarded as one of the best
01:05animated films ever made.
01:07Its impact on the cyberpunk genre, as well as on more mature animation as a whole, can't
01:13be understated.
01:14In particular, Akira acted as one of several major gateways for anime coming into the West,
01:20especially in illustrating that anime, unlike a lot of Western animation at the time, was
01:25definitely not for kids.
01:33Number 9.
01:34Cowboy Bebop
01:35Another major Western gateway into anime, Cowboy Bebop follows the bounty hunters of
01:41the ship, Bebop, as they get into various scrapes all over the solar system.
01:55Episodic yet also featuring an ongoing plot that explores the protagonists' pasts, Cowboy
02:01Bebop is very accessible to casual viewers, particularly if you discovered it while flipping
02:07through TV channels back in the day.
02:16The god-tier soundtrack, beautiful art direction, and unforgettable characters help to ensure
02:22its popularity on both sides of the Pacific.
02:25A perfect mix of space-Western, noir, and a few other genres besides, there's really
02:31nothing else quite like Cowboy Bebop.
02:37Number 8.
02:38Yu-Gi-Oh!
02:39Duel Monsters
02:40An ancient Egyptian pharaoh sharing the body of a Japanese teenager, and helping him play
02:45a trading card game that's essentially Uno with extra steps is a wild concept on paper.
02:51But, in practice, it makes for a hugely popular anime.
03:02The Yu-Gi-Oh! anime spawned not only a media franchise that continues to this day, with
03:07spin-offs and sequels galore, but also plenty of imitators that sought to replicate its
03:13game-based anime success.
03:17Also, while it certainly didn't invent the trading card game phenomenon, the tie-in card
03:24game became a huge success as well.
03:27With all that going for it, Yu-Gi-Oh!
03:29Duel Monsters has become a hugely popular and profitable anime worldwide.
03:43Number 7.
03:44Sailor Moon
03:45While the magical girl genre predates Sailor Moon, this 90s anime certainly helped popularize
03:51it.
03:52The Sailor Guardians, or Scouts, each have wonderfully distinct personalities, and their
03:57battles against evil have proven popular enough to spawn a long-running media franchise.
04:10Sailor Moon anime can often be focused on male leads and aimed at young boys, but Sailor
04:15Moon was an early breakout hit with female leads that proved that Shoujo, or young girls'
04:21demographic, could be just as successful.
04:29Plus, without Sailor Moon, we doubt that elaborate transformation sequences would be as frequent
04:37or complex in anime.
04:45Number 6.
04:46Attack on Titan
04:47Streaming changed everything for most forms of media, including anime.
04:52And the anime that debuted at just the right time was Attack on Titan.
05:05Eren Yeager and his allies' fight against the gigantic creatures surrounding his walled
05:10homeland is full of shocking developments, incredible action, and great character growth.
05:24The dark tone and frequent plot twists give it a similar appeal to other major streaming
05:29hits like Game of Thrones.
05:31It's this kind of appeal that helped Attack on Titan, as well as anime in general, finally
05:36break through from being a niche hobby to becoming the mainstream.
05:49Number 5.
05:50Neon Genesis Evangelion
05:53Mecha-anime are everywhere, but few have had quite as big an impact as Neon Genesis Evangelion.
06:10The battles of the EVA pilots against the apocalyptic angels are filled with fantastic
06:15animation.
06:16Plus, the religious symbolism, psychological analysis, and more proved very popular with
06:22critics and fans.
06:32In addition to influencing plenty of anime that followed with everything from its tone
06:37to character archetypes, Evangelion helped increase the popularity of anime both within
06:42Japan and around the world.
06:44It really says something when, even to this day, people are still discussing its complex
06:50narrative.
06:58Number 4.
06:59The Big Three
07:00For much of the 21st century thus far, three anime have stood head and shoulders above
07:05their peers in the popular battle shounen genre, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach.
07:17This trio of anime has helped introduce an entire generation to action-packed fights
07:22involving pirates, ninjas, and shinigami.
07:25And while only One Piece has source material and an original anime that's still running,
07:30the other two have spin-offs and sequels continuing to this day as well.
07:43All three have proven enormously influential on the anime that came after them, and some
07:49of them have outsold certain western titles to set incredible records.
07:54They don't call them the Big Three for nothing.
08:06Number 3.
08:07Pokemon
08:08Although the Pokemon games were plenty successful already, the debut of the anime catapulted
08:13the franchise into a pop culture phenomenon.
08:23Generations have watched Ash catch him, and his shockingly few successors go on journeys
08:27to become the very best Pokemon trainers.
08:30The timeless friendships and hundreds of cute or cool pocket monsters have made the series
08:36incredibly popular with kids and adults worldwide.
08:55Pokemon's cross-media appeal meant that the anime became the first exposure many outside
09:00of Japan had to the medium.
09:02In fact, the Pokemon anime has been a major factor in turning the media franchise into
09:08the single highest-grossing one ever.
09:18Number 2.
09:19Dragon Ball Z
09:21It's difficult to overstate the effect Dragon Ball Z had in bringing anime to the West.
09:37Despite its predecessor's popularity, Dragon Ball Z brought a level of intensity to its
09:42action that just blew away anything that western viewers were used to, and immediately made
09:4790s kids obsessed with it, and anime in general.
09:59DBZ also had plenty of influence on anime as a whole, as it codified many tropes found
10:05in the battle shounen genre like power-ups, energy beams and transformations.
10:14Oh, and it inspired plenty of memes too.
10:25It's safe to say that anime wouldn't be the same today if not for Dragon Ball Z, nor
10:30with those who watch it.
10:56Number 1.
10:57Astro Boy
10:59While it's far from being the first piece of Japanese animation, if there's a single
11:03series that can be considered to have begun the modern conception of what is considered
11:07anime, it's Astro Boy.
11:17It was one of the first weekly animated series on television.
11:20Its art style became iconic.
11:23It's an adaptation of an existing manga.
11:25It was also one of the first anime to make it onto U.S. television.
11:29It even began the practice of including anime original material or filler.
11:34Yeah, it wasn't all good stuff.
11:42Some have also accused Astro Boy of normalising underpaying animators in the anime industry,
11:48though there's some debate on that.
11:50Regardless, anime, animation and indeed the world owe a lot to Astro Boy.
12:11Is there an earth-shaking anime your surprise didn't make our list?
12:15Let us know in those comments below.