The Rise of Anime: How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture

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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Ashley Bowman
You might have grown up thinking anime was your niche little hobby. But if you look around today, it's suddenly absolutely everywhere! How the heck did this happen?! Join us for the fourth episode in our series "How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture", where we look at the rise of anime - from the days of "Mighty Atom" AKA "Astro Boy", to Studio Ghibli's first films, and on to "Dragon Ball Z", "Sailor Moon", "Pokemon", and more!
How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture: Anime
You probably grew up thinking anime was your niche little hobby. But if you look around today, you’ll notice it’s absolutely everywhere - heck, there are Kizuna Ai posters in Walmart now! So, the question is: how did anime make the jump from those weird cartoons with the big eyes to mainstream popularity?
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture, and today we’re looking at how Japanese animation broke into the mainstream in North America and beyond.
The history of anime in North America in earnest starts back in 1963. That’s when one animated Japanese series was able to do the impossible and appear on mainstream American television, all thanks to a little boy named Atom. Created by the God of Manga himself, Osamu Tezuka, this Pinnochio-like robot with a heart of gold was a huge hit in Japan. Eventually, the manga series “Mighty Atom” was adapted by Tezuka’s own animation company for Japanese TV, where it pioneered that distinctive anime aesthetic.
Meanwhile, Atom had ALSO caught the attention of NBC reps. Within months of its release in Japan, “Mighty Atom” began airing in the U.S., under the name… “Astro Boy” - which is the name by which you probably know it.
The series proved so popular that other countries took notice and began airing it too. Things were looking up for the anime industry’s global domination! However, this rise was cut fatally short with the arrival of color television; Astro Boy suddenly seemed immediately dated compared to his full-color peers. In the U.S., he was promptly taken to the scrapyard, and the series was cut short.
Fortunately, that didn’t stop other shows from following in Astro Boy’s footsteps. MachGoGoGo skidded onto the scene in 1967 under the name Speed Racer! This would, however, be the beginning of a rather unfortunate trend: the American release saw far more edits and changes made to fit western standards; many criticized the voices and dialogue in particular. Still, Speed Racer enjoyed moderate success, though the term anime remained virtually unknown.
A few other shows came and went in the ‘80s, such as “Voltron” and a color remake of “Astro Boy.” But anime really started making waves thanks to Studio Ghibli. Seen as entertainment the whole family can enjoy, the films of Hayao Miyazaki remain some of the biggest milestones in animated cinema - not just anime.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing, though: when Miyazaki’s masterpiece “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” was released to the English-speaking world, it was heavily edited by the company Manson International. These edits affected the film's reception and deeply upset Miyazaki, who felt his creation had been mutilated.
Thankfully, in the mid-‘90s, Disney acquired the distribution rights for Ghibli films, and Ghibli made their position on cuts clear from the outset! The story goes that the head of Disney subsidiary Miramax wanted to chop up another Ghibli classic, “Princess Mononoke,” before it reached North American audiences. In response, Studio Ghibli executives allegedly sent a katana to the office with the note reading “no cuts” - a firm message that ensured the movies would be left untouched. Since then, the films have been given to western audiences in their purest form, and the fact that everyone now loves Studio Ghibli creations is proof of Miyazaki movies’ universal themes. In fact, his 2001 masterpiece “Spirited Away” not only set box office records in Japan, but also took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Of course, those weren’t the only films that gripped western viewers: “Ghost in the Shell” and “Akira” both garnered cult and eventually mainstream audiences.
The history of anime would be incomplete without discussing the anime: “Dragon Ball Z.” The biggest anime in history burst into North America in 1996 with its Super Saiyans and Kamehamehas ready to make an impact. But it was promptly taken off the air after two seasons, with Saban shifting focus to original content. Fortunately Toonami picked up the series and brought it to a whole new audience.
Toonami is easily the most important programming block in this story; it’s a platform that launched anime series like “Gundam Wing,” “Outlaw Star,” “Yu Yu Hakusho,” “The Big O” and “Tenchi Muyo.” But “Dragon Ball Z” was truly the biggest success story: it continues to dominate sales today and is highlighted by many as the true gateway into the anime genre. It wasn’t long before Toonami viewers were so eager to watch the next episode that they began tape trading and buying overpriced VHSs of fan-translated episodes. Seriously, look up the infamous “Miami Mike” fansub story.
Around the same time “DBZ” was taking North America by storm, “Sailor Moon” and the Sailor Scouts started fighting evil by moonlight. One company had originally planned to do an American live-action cartoon hybrid adaptation, but that plan was - by the grace of the anime gods - scrapped. And that turned out to be the right move, because “Sailor Moon” killed it in the States. In fact, it infiltrated the mainstream to the point that it was included among a string of pop culture references in the Barenaked Ladies song “One Week”!
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, a lot of the credit when it comes to spreading anime in the West has to go to 4Kids. “Pokémon” absolutely dominated the world in the late-’90s, and the anime was brought to life with the talented voices from 4Kids Entertainment. While others may dig their nostalgia from the Red and Blue video games, the Pokémon anime was the real driving force behind Pokémania. And its popularity led to one of the first anime movies to ever see a widespread release in American theaters: “Pokémon The First Movie.” Pokémon even made it to the front cover of Time Magazine.
By this point, anime was an undeniable sales driver, as Pokémon paved the way for other toy sellers like “Digimon,” “Yu-Gi-Oh!,” “Beyblade” and more.
But what about the diehards? How were they introduced to the Big Three “Shōnen Jump” powerhouses “Naruto,” “Bleach” and “One Piece”? Well, even before these anime found their way to North American TV came the English version of Shōnen Jump magazine in 2002. This monthly anthology compiled manga that included the Big Three, and could be bought in almost any magazine store.
As the internet grew in the 2000s, fansubs of airing shows became more readily available, meaning western otaku could finally be in sync with their Japanese counterparts. But this model was not sustainable, and thus a new savior swooped in to save the day: streaming services.
With the help of subscription-based streaming services, anime became more accessible than ever before; providers like Funimation, HIDIVE and Crunchyroll began simulcasting shows with high-quality subtitles almost immediately after they aired in Japan. Even entertainment titans like Netflix and Amazon began funding and distributing incredible original series.
Compared to its popularity even a few decades ago, it’s safe to say that anime has become part of mainstream western popular culture. In 2019 alone, Anime Expo - the biggest North American anime convention - had a whopping 115,000 unique visitors.
So, you may hold nostalgia for the good old days at anime club. But today, there truly is an anime out there for everyone, meaning this hobby has become as universally beloved as any form of animation.
Make sure to tune in for our next episode of How Geek Culture Became Pop Culture, where we’ll be talking geeks on screen!
