Akira, 1988. A theatrical sensation in Japan and the first major release of the new American anime market in 1990. Courtesy of Fred Patten. © Akira Committee.

American-Style Studios
Attempts to create American-style studios began right after the war, but the first real success did not come until Toei Animation Co. was organized in 1956. Its earliest leading animator, Yasuji Mori, directed Toei's first notable short cartoon, Doodling Kitty, in May 1957. But to the general public, Japan's entry into professional animation came with the company's first theatrical feature, Panda and the Magic Serpent, released in October 1958.

Toei's first few features followed the Disney formula very closely. They were produced a year apart; they were based upon popular folk tales--Oriental rather than European--and the heroes had many cute, funny-animal companions. The first six were distributed in America, usually a couple of years after they were first shown in Japan. The second through sixth (with their American titles but Japanese release years) were Magic Boy (1959), Alakazam the Great (1960), The Littlest Warrior (1961), The Adventures of Sinbad (1962, all five directed by Taiji Yabushita), and The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon (1963, directed by Yugo Serikawa with an avant-garde stylized design by Yasuji Mori). Unfortunately, these were not successful in the US and Japanese theatrical animation disappeared from America for the next two decades--unless it could be sold to TV as an afternoon children's movie.

Something Unexpected
But Alakazam the Great led to something unexpected. Although directed by Yabushita, it was based upon a popular 1950s comic-book adaptation by Osamu Tezuka of the ancient Chinese Monkey King legend. The young Tezuka was Japan's most popular comic-strip and comic-book artist during the 1950s, who virtually invented Japan's modern manga industry. Since the movie used his plot and visual style, he was consulted on its adaptation and became involved with its promotion. This caused him to switch his attention from comic books to animation.

Tezuka was also impressed by the appearance in Japan of the first Hanna-Barbera television cartoons of the late 1950s, which led him to conclude that he could produce limited animation for the new TV market. More importantly, he realized from the popularity of his comic books--especially such futuristic titles as Astro Boy--that there was a strong demand for modern, fast-paced fantasy which the animation establishment, with its narrow focus on fairy tales in antique storybook settings, was completely ignoring.

As a result, Tezuka organized Japan's first TV animation studio, Mushi Productions. Not counting an experimental art film, Stories on a Street Corner (1962), its first release was a weekly series based upon Astro Boy, which debuted on New Year's Day 1963. It was such an instant success that, by the end of 1963, there were three more television animation studios in production and Toei Animation had opened a TV division. By the end of the 1960s, the popularity of TV science-fiction action-adventure anime was so overwhelming that Toei began to alternate it with fairy-tale fare for its theatrical features.