Most Influential Japanese Anime Cartoons

Last Exile: Led by renowned director Koichi Chigira, Last Exile took place in the fictional world of Prester, where aerial vehicles dubbed as van ships were popular.

Cowboy Bebop: First shown in 1998, Cowboy Bebop is considered to be a Japanese animation masterpiece. It premiered in Japan in 1998 with a total of 26 episodes and was among the most influential anime shown in America because it tackled the philosophical concepts of existentialism, loneliness, and nihilism. It was also adapted into two manga series.

One Piece is a manga series that was skillfully written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The first episode of this series was released on December 24, 1997, and was about a young man named Monkey D. Luffy, whose body turned into rubber after accidentally gobbling up a Devil’s Fruit. The story also revolved around the crew of pirates of Mr. Monkey Luffy called Straw Hat Pirates, who accompanied him as he explored the ocean in search of a treasure called One Piece.

Death Note: One of the most mind-bending anime around, Death Note featured a high school student named Light Yagami who discovered a supernatural notebook dropped on earth by the god of death, Ryuk. This notebook granted its user the ability to kill anyone they could identify.

Planetes is a Japanese hard science fiction manga created by Makoto Yukimura, Planetes was adapted from a television series broadcasted between 2003 and 2004. The story was about a team of space debris collectors that boarded the Toy Box debris ship in the year 2075 to prevent the destruction of Earth’s satellites.