Ask John: What Makes an Anime a Classic?

Question:
We know that some anime are classic or legendary, like Akira, Astro Boy, and Dragon Ball Z. We also know that some anime are going to be future classics, like Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist. What I want to know is, what makes an anime a classic or legendary?

Answer:
This may sound simplistic, but it’s the most accurate answer. Highly respected, tremendously popular, and timeless anime are “classics” because they are excellent cinematic entertainment. No other qualifications consistently apply. A classic anime has to exhibit a combination of admirable story, visual design, and animation quality. If any one part of the equation is missing, the anime won’t live up to the standards of excellence by which we define “classics.”

Anime are cinematic stories. They impress a lasting impact upon viewers by affecting the viewer’s emotions. With a classic anime, the viewer becomes interested in the story, characters and setting. We are fascinated by the story unfolding before us, and want to see how it develops. The basic tenets of human life have always remained constant: birth, growth, love, struggle, death. The age of a story or anime has no relation to its ability to depict fascinating themes and events that viewers can relate to, or wish to become part of. From vintage anime like Astro Boy to present day productions such as Fullmetal Alchemist, the stories underneath are always just scripts.

While it is fair to compare the original writing between any given anime productions, it’s not fair to compare the cinematic technology of 50 years ago to the technology of today. Writing is timeless. A very old story may just as affective as one written yesterday. However, the sophistication of animation technology has definitely evolved since the beginning of contemporary anime. So the visual design of anime must be considered especially subjectively, in the context of its creation period. No one would try to compare the technical prowess of 1963 animation with 2005 animation; it’s an unfair comparison because of advances in technical sophistication and technology. So the visual component of anime has to be judged in context. Astro Boy succeeds because its simple, iconic character design are universally recognizable. They have intangible qualities that make them appeal to viewers. Cowboy Bebop may look crisper, more developed, and more modern than Astro Boy, but the reaction viewers have to its appearance is equivalent to the feeling Astro Boy’s visual design creates within viewers. The ability of visual art to address viewers is timeless.

Finally, an anime has to be animated to be memorable. The Violinist of Hameln anime, for example, does have a fascinating story, and does feature interesting and memorable visual design for its age. But it’s not thought of as a classic anime, I would argue, because of its reliance on still frames instead of animation. In fact, in every case the basic qualifications for greatness may be applied to any anime. Despite reticence from its detractors, Dragonball is an interesting story that’s entertaining to look at and watch. Steamboy and Metropolis have outstanding visuals and fluid animation, but neither is an acknowledged classic because both have weak story and character development. Achieving excellence in the areas of writing, design, and animation are partially contextual for their time, but achieving excellence in all three areas makes a production timeless. This simple standard for excellence regardless of age allows vintage productions like Astro Boy to stand equally with contemporary instant classics like Mushishi. We think of brilliant, timeless classics of anime as titles that capture our imagination, stir our emotions, and fully fulfill our desire for entertainment. The productions that do those things are the ones that are the best quality visual stories.