Ace wo Nerae! (1979)

If you've ever seen an anime and thought, "Wow, this anime has really good background art", and "Wow, this episode preview at the end looks amazing!" chances are it was made by Shichiro Kobayashi. An icon of Japanese animation, Kobayashi has had a fruitful career spanning over thirty years as the art director for several iconic shows. While known generally for his vibrant and highly detailed palettes, Kobayashi brought the animation technique known as "postcard memories" or "harmonies" to life alongside director and innovator Osamu Dezaki and character designer Akio Sugino, which are cels of animation superimposed with gouache to give off a lasting image.

Kobayashi's influence defined anime background art, and his output has been replicated by other art directors since—his own studio, Kobayashi Production, consists of students and proteges alike that have equally contributed to formative works in anime.

The following list is a selection of shows that contains Kobayashi's most notable and prettiest backgrounds, and I highly encourage you to check them out.

Documentary on Kobayashi: https://youtu.be/V1tiKOsCz2M
Kobayashi Production's credits: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/company.php?id=1460

Films with dramatic/abstract visual portrayal of emotional struggle.

Akio Sugino is hailed as one of the most prominent animation directors and character designers in the industry, known in Japan as one half of anime's "golden combo" alongside Osamu Dezaki. Their frequent collaborations led to many of the early defining works in the medium, and are iconic masterpieces that have significantly held up over time. Sugino's output was integral to legitimizing anime as an art form and turning itself more distinct from Western animation, evolving and reimagining his Mushi Pro, Tezuka-inspired roots.

Sugino's character art replicates Greek sculptures of the old, appropriating its design philosophy to Japanese animation by paying heed to anatomical correctness. Sugino's characters have imposing presences that are accentuated by their long limbs, broad shoulders, and chiseled facial features. Upon seeing a Sugino-designed character you are immediately given the impression of a walking legend, an almost mythical feeling to their appearance on the screen.

This interest stack tracks down his iconic career and features a selection of his most valuable contributions as a character designer. Works are in chronological order.

Additional Sugino sources:
A 6-part interview that focuses on his career: https://karageko.com/2019/07/14/the-other-half-of-the-golden-combo-akio-sugino-interview-mushi-production-era-part-1/
A shorter interview that also talks about Dezaki: https://karageko.com/2022/02/16/akio-suginos-brief-reflections-on-a-long-career/

Anime where theres a strong lead female character
no fanservice, no moe or no lesbian stuff

Anime that are heavily overlooked on MAL (at the time of writing, under 20k members). Most, if not all of them are also underrated. Will likely add stuff in the future as I watch them.

This is a stack of the best Anime from the 1970s. In short order, this decade was known for Mecha, Literary, and a bit of Sports Anime. This decade is frequently seen seen as laying the framework for the coming decade. Very notably, the beginnings were planted of a genre that will go on to become very popular in the 1980s: Mecha.

Along with Mecha, there was a huge focus sci-fi, especially in space. Much of this type of anime would come from a studio known as, Sunrise. This studio came into being after Osamu Tezuka, the father of manga, left his own studio, Mushi Production to work on personal projects. Without him, Mushi Pro ran into financial problems, leading to its bankruptcy in 1973. Former employees formed two new companies out of the ashes of the old company: Madhouse and Sunrise, two of the most influential Anime Studios to date.

And while Mecha seemed to be appealing to boys (Shonen), some Shojo (girl anime) also became quiet popular during this time. Both leaning very heavily on merchandising with in some cases the help from Bandai. For television outside of Japan, many animation for kids was censored of anything seen as political or sexual.

Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata made a series of literary anime with Nippon Animation. Taking influence, literary and story-telling anime were made by many other studios. After leaving Nippon Animation, Miyazaki continued making popular anime, including Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. This anime was a movie installment of the anime series Lupin III which started a few years earlier, and now is a long running series that has spanned decades with varying success.

There were additionally, some sports anime sprinkled throughout the decade also, following the popularity of sports on TV in Japan.

And then there's The Belladonna of Sadness. It was a first look into the world of Avant Garde for many. No words can accurately describe the experience of the Anime.

And that is a quick walk through of the 1970s. I will be releasing a stack for the best anime of the 1980s next week, so stay tuned. :)

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About List:
Anime is listed by a balance of popularity and score around time of release to give a more retro vibe, as opinions on anime seems to change notably over time, be it nostalgia or something else. Seems to be especially the case with Mecha Anime. But, regardless, the rating around the time is included for your own viewing.

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For those looking for good anime from the 60s, I don't plan on making a stack for the 1960s as of yet, but here is what would likely be included:

Tiger Mask
Sasuke
Dororo
Star of the Giants
Muumin
Astro Boy
Puss-in-Boots (Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko)
Kamui the Ninja: Stories Other Than the Legend (Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden)
Attack No.1

(v. 0.6.88 - 4646)

Anime series that appeared as manga in shoujo magazines between 1970 - 1979


1960s - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/1630
1970s - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/23865

list of anime related to director OSamu Dezaki's career

Rayo Confuso is a channel in Spanish that focuses mostly on Shoujo and retro anime.

Every cinema or direct to video anime film that came out between 1970 and 1979.

1960s: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/34959
1980: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/34002

Part 1: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/35053

Osamu Dezaki was a Japanese anime director.

Dezaki started out as a manga artist while still in high school. In 1963 he joined Mushi Production, which was founded by manga and anime pioneer Osamu Tezuka. He made his debut as a director in 1970 with Ashita no Joe.

Dezaki was known for his distinct visual style, which makes use of split screen, stark lighting, extensive use of dutch angle, and pastel freeze frames that he called "postcard memories", which may be his most famous trademark. They feature a process whereby the screen fades into a detailed "painting" of the simpler original animation. Many of his techniques became popular and came to be seen as special techniques of Japanese animation. He particularly influenced Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Ryūtarō Nakamura, Kunihiko Ikuhara, Akiyuki Shinbo, and Yutaka Yamamoto.

pre 2000s shoujo ^_^ trying to highlight some more obscure stuff

A collection of Vibrant, High-Energy, and Dynamic anime. Anime that exude energy, excitement, and maintain a captivating sense of movement and enthusiasm.

it includes titles such as the rose of versailles, oniisama and similarly vibes

maximum singular list for super enjoyable movies recommended by a crazy trans lady

Because we're at the point these shows are turning 50, I decided to make a list of 70s anime made by the greatest minds of the time, with each of these classic shows marked next to its legendary creator, because they simply don't get enough love from anime fans nowadays.