“Without it, none of your favorite anime would exist today”: Goku, Luffy or Astro Boy, Who Rightfully Is the Face of Anime?

The vast world of anime has gained quite a lot of recognition in the past few decades. The industry has become mainstream and is now considered one of the greatest art forms in the field of entertainment. It has taken center stage and will only continue to grow till the end of time.

Astro Boy Anime Series | Credit: Tezuka Productions
Astro Boy Anime Series | Credit: Tezuka Productions

And while this growth feels exponentially incredible, the main reason behind this is the brilliantly created anime series and their protagonists, who have contributed the most by portraying a narrative that connected with fans. Among these protagonists, the ones that rank at the top are Luffy, Goku, Naruto, Ichigo Kurosaki, etc. They have helped the anime community earn global recognition and become an important part of the entertainment universe.

However, there is one protagonist who became globally famous before these Shonen protagonists. This main character was one of the first individuals to make a name for himself in the West and open the gates for others. He is none other than Astro Boy, a humanoid with emotions. His story was one of the most popular narratives in the world, and to this day, it inspires many prominent series and movies.

The unprecedented growth of the Japanese anime industry

Although the Japanese anime industry has been around for quite a long time, it only got recognition a few decades ago. This was because the art form was compared to the likes of other cartoons and thus considered childish. However, this assumption has changed, and there are many prominent anime series and movies that became the reason behind it.

From Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning anime films to the Big Three anime series, almost every movie and series contributed to the worldwide recognition of the anime community. The unique stories filled with thrill and drama managed to make a connection with the audience, and thus it got recognized as a legitimate art form and a source of entertainment.

Monkey D. Luffy From One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation
Monkey D. Luffy From One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation

In the current era, the anime community is one of the largest communities in almost every aspect. From making grand-scale series and movies to breaking unimaginable box office records, anime has done it all. And it is only going to grow even more and expand into something even more beautiful.

The real face of anime

While there are a lot of characters and stories that deserve credit for becoming the face of the anime industry and helping with its universal growth, the only one who stands above them all is Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy. Astro Boy was originally a manga series that came out in 1952. It later got its first anime adaptation in 1963 as a TV series for Japanese television, and from there on, its legacy continued.

Astro Boy 2003 | Credit: Tezuka Productions
Astro Boy 2003 | Credit: Tezuka Productions

The series was the first to be deemed as an anime, and although only the first 104 episodes were released worldwide, it still managed to make a name for itself.

From there on, Astro Boy earned so much appreciation from all over the world that it received multiple anime series, movies, and video game adaptations.

To this day, Astro Boy is considered the face of the anime industry, as it still gets adaptations that are inspired by the original 1952 story. The most recent one was Pluto, which came out on Netflix in 2023, thus proving that no matter how much the anime industry grows, it will continue to honor the characters and stories that helped it reach the top.

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire



from FandomWire https://ift.tt/DzilFo4

No comments:

Powered by Blogger.