The day was first coined in 1975, with a convention in Tokyo attended by 700 participants. During this day, Anime fans share pictures of their favourite shows and characters to celebrate.
The term Anime is used to mean animated works regardless of style and origin. However, for people outside Japan, the term is used mainly to describe Japanese animation or those produced in Japan.
In addition to original works, Anime are also adaptations of Manga and video games.
The earliest that I was able to watched on local television are all mecha or robot based Anime:
Voltes 5
Mazinger Z
Daimos
Voltron
Macross
Gundam
While I enjoy watching almost all kinds of Anime, especially those that were dubbed in English or Filipino, I can only count on one hand the ones that I'll be willing to watch over and over again.
Here are my Top 5 Anime of all time:
NARUTO
This series is based on the Manga written by Masashi Kishimoto, serialized in 1999 and adapted into television in 2002. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young orphan ninja who dream of becoming a Hokage. The Anime series has a total of three parts already: Naruto (220 episodes), Naruto Shipuuden (500 episodes) and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (194 episodes and counting)
SAMURAI X
This series is based on the Manga created by Nobuhiro Watsuki called Rurouni Kenshin that first appeared in 1994. It follows the story of a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878). The Manga was adapted inyo a TV series in 1996 with a total of 95 episodes. it also spawned a three-part live action film with actor Takeu Satoh playing the title role.
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
Forget about the 2010 live action film, the three season and 61-episode series produced by Nickelodeon is the real deal. Fantastic animation that combines traditional anime and western styles, the series, which tells the story of a 12 year-old mystical Avatar called Aang, is well-written and well-received. First episode aired in February of 2005. The adventure continued in 2012 with the launch of a sequel series called Avatar: The Legend of Korra with a total of 4 seasons and 52 episodes.
ONE PUNCH MAN
Written by ONE, One Punch Man is a silly Manga that talks about the adventures of a Superhero named Saitama who can defeat any villains with just a single punch. The Anime series first aired in 2015 and ran for a total of 24 episodes and 12 OVAs.
MY HERO ACADEMIA
Boku No Hiro Akademia is a superhero Manga series released in 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers (called Quirks) but still dreams of becoming a superhero himself. He is scouted by All Might, Japan's greatest hero, who chooses Midoriya as his successor and shares his Quirk with him after recognizing his potential, and later helps to enroll him in a prestigious high school for heroes in training. The anime series which first aired in 2016 is now on its 5th Season with a total of 91 episodes and running. The series also spawned two films, a third is already in the pipeline.
