Anime
Japanese animation from the surviving shorts of 1917 to the present: the pioneers who worked alone with cut paper and chalk, the wartime commissions, Toei's studio system, Tezuka's television economics and the per-episode price that shaped the industry for sixty years, giant robots, the direct-to-video boom and its collapse, Ghibli, the shift from cel to digital, and the streaming era. It carries the craft as well as the work: key animation, storyboards, background painting, voice recording and the scores. It also carries the industry as it is, including what animators are paid and what surveys of their working hours have found. Where a regulator, court or survey made a finding, the finding is cited and dated; where something is contested, it is attributed rather than asserted.
A chronological documentary of 2,604 moments spanning 1917–2026 on Loreline.
Curated by Olivier · last updated 2026-09-20
Eras
- Pioneers, The first Japanese animators, working nearly alone between 1917 and the early 1930s. Oten Shimokawa, Junichi Kouchi and Seitaro Kitayama made the earliest films; Namakura Gatana survives because a print turned up in an Osaka antique shop in the summer of 2007. Noburo Ofuji worked in cut paper and chiyogami, Kenzo Masaoka brought sound to the form. Most of what they made is lost.
- Wartime, Animation made under military commission, ending with Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors in 1945, the first Japanese animated feature, funded by the Imperial Navy. The films are propaganda and are recorded here as such. Allied animation about Japan from the same years is a different subject and is deliberately excluded.
- Tezuka, Mushi Production and Astro Boy from 1963. Osamu Tezuka took a price per episode that made weekly television animation possible and set the economics of the industry for decades afterwards. Limited animation as a technique and as a consequence.
- Studios, The companies themselves as businesses and as buildings: Toei, Mushi, Madhouse, Bones, Kyoto Animation, Trigger, MAPPA, Ufotable, and the museums that now hold their history. Kyoto Animation lost 36 people to arson in July 2019; the studio and its work are named here, and images of the aftermath are not used.
- Toei, Toei Doga from 1956, the first Japanese studio built on the American model, and Hakujaden in 1958. Yasuji Mori and Yoichi Kotabe trained a generation here, among them a young Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and the studio's labour disputes are part of its record.
- Comiket, Comic Market in Tokyo, the largest self-published comics fair in the world, held twice a year since 1975.
- Fandom, Readers and viewers as participants: doujinshi, cosplay, conventions, the fansub and tape-trading era, and the arguments about piracy that came with it.
- Television, The weekly series that followed, and the broadcast system that carried them.
- Ghibli, Nausicaa in 1984 as the precursor, made at Topcraft before the studio existed, then Studio Ghibli from June 1985. Totoro, Mononoke, and Spirited Away, which won the Academy Award for Animated Feature in 2003.
- Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam from 1979 and what followed, including the model kits that outlived the broadcasts.
- Mecha, Giant machines, from Mazinger Z through Macross: the super robot as a toy-driven form and the real robot as its answer.
- Music, Scores, opening and ending themes, and anisong as its own industry.
- Merchandise, Figures, model kits and character goods: the retail economy that funds much of what gets made.
- Voice, Seiyuu as a profession, the recording booth, and the crossover into music and public performance.
- Home Video, Original video animation from 1983: work sold straight to home video, free of broadcast standards and funded by the bubble economy, and what happened to it when that economy ended.
- Storyboards, Ekonte and layout, where a series is actually directed, long before anything moves.
- Labour, What the work pays and what it costs. The freelance piece rate, the in-between animator's income, and the industry surveys that have measured hours and pay, cited with the body that conducted them and the year.
- Digital, The move off celluloid from the late 1990s, and what changed in the image when the cel stopped existing.
- Streaming, Simulcast and the global platforms, and the pressure they put on the production committee system that had financed the medium.
- Documentation, Journalism, interviews and investigations about the industry and the people in it.
- Sakuga, Key animation and the pipeline around it: genga and douga, the timesheet, the cut, and the animators whose individual hands are recognisable in the work.
- Theatrical, Anime in cinemas and the box office records of the 2020s.
- Backgrounds, Background painting, colour design and compositing: the world the cels are laid over.
- - Sarukani Gassenn 1917. A surviving fragment of the folk tale of the monkey and the crab, animated by Kitayama Seitaro at the Nikkatsu Mukojima studio. It stands among the earliest Japanese animated films still held in any archive.
- - Namakura Gatana (1917) [With music and text]. A samurai buys a sword he believes is fine steel, then discovers the blade is blunt when he tries it on passers by who fight back. Four minutes of slapstick survive from the Junichi Kouchi short, found by film historian Matsumoto Natsuki at an Osaka antique market in summer 2007 and screened after restoration by the National Film Archive of Japan in April 2008.
- - Hanasaka jiji - The Blossom Man - (1917). An old man makes withered trees blossom, and his greedy neighbour fails at the same trick. The material here is Hanasaka jiji The Blossom Man.
- - 1917 The Dull Sword Junichi Kouchi 1080p. A samurai buys a sword he believes is fine steel, then discovers the blade is blunt when he tries it on passers by who fight back. Four minutes of slapstick survive from the Junichi Kouchi short, found by film historian Matsumoto Natsuki at an Osaka antique market in summer 2007 and screened after restoration by the National Film Archive of Japan in April 2008. The material here is The Dull Sword Junichi Kouchi.
- - Anime cell 1917. A frame from the oldest surviving Japanese animated film, recovered from a toy-format print and restored in 2008.
- - 1918 Urashima Taro Seitaro Kitayama 1080p. The fisherman rides a turtle to the dragon palace beneath the sea and returns to find lifetimes have passed on shore. An early treatment of the folk tale in line drawing.
- - 浦島太郎 Urashima Taro (1918 Japanese Classic). The fisherman rides a turtle to the dragon palace beneath the sea and returns to find lifetimes have passed on shore. An early treatment of the folk tale in line drawing. The material here is 浦島太郎 Urashima Taro.
- - NonkinaTosan. A frame from the comic strip character Nonki na Tousan brought to the screen, running ten minutes on 35mm under the direction of Kimura Hakuzan.
- - Tako No Hone - The Octopus Bone - (1927). An octopus pursues a bone it cannot possibly have, in a Yasuji Murata cutout comedy. The material here is Tako No Hone The Octopus Bone.
- - [1929] Kogane no Hana. Cut paper figures move through a tale staged in Ofuji's layered patterned paper. The material here is Kogane no Hana.
- - 煙突屋ペロー（1）. Shadow puppetry cut from paper and lit from behind, the technique that carried Japanese animation through the years before cel work became standard.
- - 煙突屋ペロー（2）. Silhouetted figures arranged against a pale ground, the chimney sweep story unfolding in cut paper rather than drawn line.
- - 煙突屋ペロー（3）. Layered paper cutouts create depth in a medium with no camera move to rely on, the foreground reading darker than the wash behind it.
- - 煙突屋ペロー（4）. A crowd scene assembled from individually cut figures, each one repositioned by hand between exposures.
- - 煙突屋ペロー（5）. The closing passages of the shadow film, its characters reduced to outline against an open field of light.
- - Ugokie Kori No Tatehiki (1933) - B&W / 11:25 mins. A fox and a badger try to out transform each other around an old farmhouse, each shapeshift topping the last.
- - 【日本のアニメ】 村田安司 Murata Yasuji 1933 のらくろ二等兵・教練の巻 Japanese Old Anime. A stray black dog enlists and works his way up through an animal army in an adaptation of Suiho Tagawa's comic strip. The material here is 【日本のアニメ】 村田安司 Murata Yasuji のらくろ二等兵・教練の巻 Old.
- - Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka screenshot. Screenshot from Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka a 1933 anime short film by Kenzō Masaoka , released in Japan by Shochiku .
- - Osaru no Sankichi Totsugeki tai OST (1934). A monkey soldier serves through a campaign rendered for wartime audiences. The material here is Osaru no Sankichi Totsugeki tai OST.
- - Benkei tai Ushiwaka upscaled (1939) 弁慶対牛若. The warrior monk Benkei meets the young Ushiwakamaru on Gojo bridge and loses their duel to a far smaller opponent.
- - Osaru no Sankichi: Boukuusen [ 1942]. A monkey soldier serves through a campaign rendered for wartime audiences. The material here is Osaru no Sankichi Boukuusen.
- - くもとちゅうりっぷ (1943). A spider courts a ladybird who shelters inside a tulip as a storm breaks over the garden. Kenzo Masaoka's 1943 short is built on full animation and synchronised song at a moment when most studios were producing military commissions. The material here is くもとちゅうりっぷ.
- - The spider and the tulip (くもとちゅうりっぷ by Kenzo Masaoka 1943). A spider courts a ladybird who shelters inside a tulip as a storm breaks over the garden. Kenzo Masaoka's 1943 short is built on full animation and synchronised song at a moment when most studios were producing military commissions. The material here is The spider and the tulip.
- - Kumo To Tulip - The Spider And The Tulip - Japanese Animation 1943. A spider courts a ladybird who shelters inside a tulip as a storm breaks over the garden. Kenzo Masaoka's 1943 short is built on full animation and synchronised song at a moment when most studios were producing military commissions. The material here is Kumo To Tulip The Spider And The Tulip.
- - Fuku-chan no Sensuikan [1944]. Wartime era Japanese animated material, presented as the historical document it is. The work here is Fuku chan no Sensuikan.
- - [First Anime Movie] 1945 Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors English Subtitles. Rabbits, monkeys and bears parachute into a jungle island and build an airbase, framed as the peach boy's expedition. Ordered from director Mitsuyo Seo by the Japanese Naval Ministry and screened on 12 April 1945, the 74 minute film is described as Japan's first feature length animated film.
- - MomotaroUminoShinpei01. Screenshot from “ Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei ”.
- - Osamu Tezuka 1951 Scan10008-2. A portrait from 1951, taken early in the career that would carry him into television animation.
- - Kujira (Whale) c.1952 : First Asian animation at the Cannes Film Festival. Silhouette figures cut from paper move against colour washes as a whale surfaces. Noburo Ofuji worked in chiyogami, layering patterned Japanese paper instead of drawing cels.
- - Noburou Oofuji - Kujira (1952) - DVD. Silhouette figures cut from paper move against colour washes as a whale surfaces. Noburo Ofuji worked in chiyogami, layering patterned Japanese paper instead of drawing cels. The material here is Noburou Oofuji Kujira DVD.
- - Kujira 1952 Animê antigo produzido por Noburo Ofuji. Silhouette figures cut from paper move against colour washes as a whale surfaces. Noburo Ofuji worked in chiyogami, layering patterned Japanese paper instead of drawing cels. The material here is Kujira Animê antigo produzido por Noburo Ofuji.
- - Tezuka Osamu. The artist photographed in his early thirties, some years after the serial that would become the first weekly animated television series in Japan.
- - 1955 eva balla-falus. La cinéaste Éva Balla-Falus au studio de marionnettes.
- - Shonen Sarutobi Sasuke (1959) Pelicula completa en CASTELLANO-ESPAÑOL. A boy trained in mountain sorcery takes on a witch and her bandits.
- - Saiyuki 1960 (Original Japanese Dub - English Subs by Orphan Subs). The monkey king trains, rebels and is disciplined on a journey west, in Toei's adaptation drawing on Tezuka's comic.
- - Saiyuki (Alakazam the Great) [1960]. The monkey king trains, rebels and is disciplined on a journey west, in Toei's adaptation drawing on Tezuka's comic. The material here is Saiyuki.
- - The Littlest Warrior / 安寿と厨子王丸 (1961) [English Subtitles]. A brother and sister sold into servitude are separated, and the boy grows up to look for his mother. The material here is The Littlest Warrior / 安寿と厨子王丸.
- - Film Osamu Tezuka 1962 Story Of A Street Corner 3. Posters on a street corner come alive and a small romance plays out between them before war arrives. Tezuka's studio made it without dialogue. The material here is Film Osamu Tezuka Story Of A Street Corner 3.
- - Tales of a Street Corner (Aru Machikado no Monogatari) - Clip - Osamu Tezuka. Posters on a street corner come alive and a small romance plays out between them before war arrives. Tezuka's studio made it without dialogue. The material here is Tales of a Street Corner Clip Osamu Tezuka.
- - Tales of a Street Corner (1962) - Osamu Tezuka. Posters on a street corner come alive and a small romance plays out between them before war arrives. Tezuka's studio made it without dialogue.
- - 1962年11月5日 『ある街角の物語 (実験アニメーションシリーズ1)』. Posters on a street corner come alive and a small romance plays out between them before war arrives. Tezuka's studio made it without dialogue. The material here is 年11月5日 『ある街角の物語 』.
- - 昔のアニメ - Tales of a Streat Corner 1962 - Aru Machikado no Monogatari. Posters on a street corner come alive and a small romance plays out between them before war arrives. Tezuka's studio made it without dialogue. The material here is 昔のアニメ Tales of a Streat Corner Aru Machikado no Monogatari.
- - WANPAKU OJI NO OROCHI TAIJI (Akira Ifukube - 1963) : "L'Epouvante aux Huit Têtes". A biker gang member develops powers the military has been trying to contain since the city was destroyed. The material here is WANPAKU OJI NO OROCHI TAIJI "L'Epouvante aux Huit Têtes".
- - 철완 아톰 (Astro Boy.鉄腕アトム)1963 - 001 EP. DVD 640x360 H264. A scientist builds a robot boy in the image of his dead son, then rejects him. Mushi Production's weekly series began on Fuji TV on 1 January 1963. This copy runs 27 minutes.
- - Astro Boy (1963) - Intro (Multilanguage). A scientist builds a robot boy in the image of his dead son, then rejects him. Mushi Production's weekly series began on Fuji TV on 1 January 1963. The material here is Astro Boy.
- - 1963年3月24日 『わんぱく王子の大蛇退治 (劇場版)』 予告篇. Work from the studio that ran Japan's first sustained feature animation programme. The work here is 年3月24日 『わんぱく王子の大蛇退治 』 予告篇.
- - 6 [Anonymoose] 鉄腕アトム - 006 - 電光人間 Tetsuwan Atom [1963 ] episodes 6. A scientist builds a robot boy in the image of his dead son, then rejects him. Mushi Production's weekly series began on Fuji TV on 1 January 1963. The material here is 6 鉄腕アトム 006 電光人間 Tetsuwan Atom episodes 6.
- - Astroboy Opening 1 - 1963 HD. Mushi Production material from the studio Osamu Tezuka built around weekly television animation. The work here is Astroboy 1.
- - [Anonymoose] 鉄腕アトム - 001v2 - アトム誕生 Tetsuwan Atom [ 1963 ] episode 1. A scientist builds a robot boy in the image of his dead son, then rejects him. Mushi Production's weekly series began on Fuji TV on 1 January 1963.
- - Astro Boy Opening 1963. A scientist builds a robot boy in the image of his dead son, then rejects him. Mushi Production's weekly series began on Fuji TV on 1 January 1963. The material here is Astro Boy.
…and 2,554 more moments.
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