Just as there are numerous books, movies, songs, and other cultural works considered “classics” by many, I’ve often wondered if certain anime should be labeled in a similar way…
I like the Wiki definition of a classic as it’s straightforward and concise:
“The word ‘classic’ means something that is a perfect example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality.”
I’m sure we can all think of anime that we feel match that description. But the problem with making any concrete list of “anime classics” is, naturally, that such a list would vary because of personal opinion. Anyone who’s spent a decent amount of time in the fandom knows that the tastes of anime fans is as various as anime series themselves, and one fan’s masterpiece is another fan’s pile of crap. So to make a list of anime classics more definable, I’d like to propose that in addition to the title being an irreplaceable example of its style and having long-lasting worth, more than these, an anime classic must also have had a significant impact on the medium of anime in some way (which often influences the former two attributes anyway).
To illustrate with examples, despite the diverse tastes of anime fans, I’m sure the majority will agree that if there’s any series to be called a classic (I’m only discussing series here as movies are different in these respects), it would be Evangelion. Eva matches my proposed criteria for an anime classic perfectly. Its psychological odysseys amidst surprisingly horrifying rather than glorified mecha action, and its unexpected emphasis on character studies above all else, was certainly something that had never before been seen in anime at the time. Not only did it redefine the mecha style, but it went beyond what anime had been until now and set the trend for tons of “psychological” anime to follow. And even as a decade went by with no new anime material, it continued to sell products and be discussed within the fandom, attesting strongly to its timeless worth, before it was “retold” in the new movies. With this way of looking at what defines an anime classic, it’s easy to see that Evangelion fits the criteria regardless of whether you personally think it’s good or not. To summarize, it created a style of anime never seen before, which left a long-lasting influence on anime and its fandom to follow, and it continues to be a fan favorite over fifteen years after its beginning.
Evangelion being called an anime classic then begs the question of whether a series has to be a certain number of years old in order to make the cut. After all, it’s hard to see how strong an anime’s timeless worth and impact on the medium is if it’s only been around a few years. But there are some “younger” anime I think already have the makings of a classic. Regardless of the fact that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is my favorite anime, in the five years since the anime first aired, there’s no denying its influence on the fandom. The non-chronological order of its episodes, the blending of complex sci-fi and moe/slice-of-life comedy, a sarcastic first-person narrative style via Kyon, a string of clever marketing tactics only Kadokawa/KyoAni could employ, a dance ending theme that blasted the Internet with memes and emulations all over the world – these were things that had never been seen in anime before Haruhi, and like Evangelion, they influenced many anime to follow. Openings and endings performed by seiyuu, girls bands via “Live A Live,” and “Hare Hare Yukai” inspired dances are just a few lasting things Haruhi brought to anime. Also like Evangelion, despite going years without new anime material (though in Haruhi’s case it was only three years until the rebroadcast) the series continued to sell products and be frequently discussed in the fandom. And who will ever forget Endless Eight? (and the fact that its DVDs still sold well!)
Both Eva and Haruhi are considered worthwhile anime among the general fandom and have left lasting impacts on the anime world. There are a number of other anime I consider to be classics as well, though not as firmly as these two. Cowboy Bebop certainly influenced American anime fandom, with its twenty-six episodes rerunning on Adult Swim for years. It was one of the original heavily Western-style anime that became more popular in the US than Japan and is still used as a comparison for similar anime by fans to this day. Cardcaptor Sakura was one of the first and most solid (non-Salior Moon-style) magical girl anime, with Sakura being one of the original moe characters. Death Note introduced a whole new breed of darkness to Shonen Jump, with a surprisingly unlikable protagonist and a wave of controversies to follow. Madoka Magica has the perfect beginning for an anime classic, but being less than a year old, it needs more time to see how long its influence will last. And I’m still not sure whether Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, or K-ON! is the most classic example of a moe/slice-of-life 4-koma comedy anime. Some may say AzuDai because it’s the oldest but Lucky Star and K-ON! have arguably had much more impact on the anime world.
To conclude, what I feel defines an anime classic goes beyond just thinking it’s a good series with good characters, plot, etc,. It must also have long-lasting worth and respect in anime fandom in general (regardless of personal taste) AND it must leave a significant impact by “pioneering” something in the medium that continues to influence years later. These traits combined make it a “must-see” for anyone interested in anime as a whole. Of course, there will always be room for debate over what constitutes having impact on anime, but hopefully less so than just going by the quality of the series alone.
My ideas on what defines a classic anime are far from complete, so I’d appreciate any suggestions and feedback you want to offer in the comments section. And feel free to mention anime you would call classics. Again, rather than calling them classic because you personally think they’re good, try to think in terms of how much of an impact they’ve had in the medium of anime and the general regard the fandom has for them.
I agree that a “classic” should have lasting worth and a timeless quality, but I would argue that a period of under twenty years isn’t really enough to determine whether a work has these qualities.
I’m also not sure that respect in anime fandom in general should be a quality that determines a classic (and decoupling personal taste is likely an impossible task). Take a look at some of the classics of literature- let’s consider Moby Dick. I think we can agree that it is a classic. Yet the majority of readers don’t actually like it. As a case in point, I got bored and didn’t even finish reading it. I would say that 90% of people are stupid (I’m in the 10%, of course- Moby Dick is just boring. :) ). If classic status were determined by popular vote, Bleach and Naruto would be classics.
That said, I agree that Evangelion and Haruhi (less sure about Haruhi) will become classics. I’d also call out the Miyazaki movies and the original Gundam + Zeta.
Since anime has only been around for about fifty years (modern style anime even less), making the minimum age for a classic to be twenty years severally limits such a list – even more so because the majority of anime fans are around twenty years old and have seen very few series, if any at all, from before the 90s. For me, I’d say an anime has to be at least five years old before it starts feeling “classic-y.” Of course, I could just be a victim of the fast-paced times we live in and everything older than a year is already considered passé =P
You’re right that popularity doesn’t make something a classic. But what I mean is more along the lines of respect from the overall fandom. Going by popularity alone, Naruto and Bleach would win. But in terms of timeless quality and respect, Cowboy Bebop would. But I agree, it’s impossible to take personal taste completely out of the picture and there’s no anime that everyone will agree should be called a classic.
Most Miyazaki movies are obvious classics, yes. But as I mentioned in the post, dealing with anime movies this way is different than TV series.
I’d definitely say that Utena is a classic. It established so many tropes that are now common in mahou shoujo series. I.E. the black rose concept. But then if Utena is considered a classic, should Rose of Versailles be considered one too, since it practically birthed Utena?
Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion are also obvious and very deserving choices.
I agree that Madoka is a potential classic, but we’ll have to see how its immense popularity influences anime in the future.
Going by the definition of ‘classic’, I’d say the following anime would apply.
Yuyu Hakusho is a classic fighting shounen anime. Cardcaptor Sakura is an exemplary mahou shoujo. Mushishi is supernatural episodic at its finest. Fullmetal Alchemist:Bros is shounen done right.
For me, I usually associate ‘anime classics’ with the 90s, because all of the best (and influential) stuff came from the 90s. Trigun, Utena, Bebop, Slayers, Rurouni Kenshin….EVERYTHING.
I was thinking Utena should be a classic as well. It’s certainly unique, but I wasn’t sure how much influence it had as I don’t recall it setting that many new trends (besides the black rose thing that you mentioned).
Rose of Versailles could certainly be a classic due to its influence alone, but it would be a classic almost nobody knows. Most anime fans weren’t even born when it came out and are mostly interested in the currently popular anime. Which is why, as I mentioned to draggle above, it’s hard to limit anime classics to just older series since most people who are into anime weren’t around before the 80s-90s.
Utena definitely had influence on Ouran. Especially aesthetic wise. The roses, puffy sleeves, architecture, etc.
The mahou shoujo series, Shugo Chara! also rips off Utena pretty badly. Special student council, they have meetings in a greenhouse that’s strikingly similar to Anthy’s, the main character Amu is idolized and has pink hair….
I consider classics to your personal “first loves” for a given concept/trope/genre/etc. They may not necessarily be original, or the best of their breed, but they’re classics to you. Every time you see another show do the same things, you’ll probably nostalgically think of them first. You might experience a better show later, but it will always be your “classic”.
That is, if you grew up on Astro Boy or Transformers, they’re your classic shounen/robot show . If you fell for Cowboy Bebop or Trigun, they’re your classic anime sci-fantasies. Ditto Angel Beats or Madoka or Pokemon for whatever genre/cliches they represent to you, assuming they’re your first positive impressions.
This is a probably a pretty off-the-beaten-path definition of “classic”, I know, but that’s what it’s come to mean to me. Every generation has it’s classics, after all, and they’re all lumped into one big poll of classics that are argued-over like it truly matters.
Ah, that’s a very interesting idea of what a classic should be. Revolving it around personal taste and experience definitely decreases arguments for one =) Perhaps there should be two separate kinds of anime classics – personal (like your definition) and general (like mine). Going by your definition, I would have to rethink what all my classics would be. Most would probably be from the late 90s and early 2000s since that’s when I was getting into anime.
Industry and fandom impact is a tricky metric to measure a title’s “classic” status by. Something can become popular for inane reasons, or because it’s backed by a giant corporate merchandising machine. Because of how omnipresent commercialism works in the modern age, it’s really difficult to see if a title either has actually caught hold of a wide community, was the benefactor of manufactured hype, or stupendously popular with only a small but wealthy fanbase willing to shell out enough money to get more stuff like it produced. Also, there are the opposite cases of auspicious circumstances, where deserving titles might have the situation unfairly stacked against them so they might not receive the attention they merit (Think Citizen Kane getting snubbed for Best Picture). So I think while the influence of a particular title often does enhance its classic status, there’s a big asterisk that goes with it, especially for the more recent examples.
Instead of “significant impact” criteria, I like to invoke one that likely overlaps it and is equally nebulous called “broad audience appeal”. While the vast majority of narrative works can fit neatly into genre classifications – mecha, shounen action, magical girl, etc. – there are the rare few that transcend their typical genre following and speak to a broader audience. Eva, Haruhi, Bebop, and CCS all fit this description. The jury’s still out on Death Note and Madoka; I feel they still need to stand the test of time.
As far as slice-of-life comedy goes, I’d go with Azumanga Daioh because 1) it has passed the test of time, 2) plays better to wider, non-anime specific tastes, and 3) it was the first definitive big hit of its kind, setting the standard for all imitators to follow, not unlike Mobile Suit Gundam, a title that also merits the C word.
Also in my list of classics would be Dragonball, the first in a long line of Shounen Jump mega hits, Nausicaa, poster child for team Ghibli, that bizarre concoction of reckless bombast and adolescent insight known as FLCL, and probably a host of other pre-1990s anime that I’m not so familiar with. Maybe Utena too? Who knows.
You’ve brought up a lot of good points. A reason I feel influence in the fandom is important in determining an anime classic is because, unlike books and Hollywood movies, anime is a very fan-focused world yet also a very niche medium – fan art, doujinshi, AMVs, and doujin games attest to how strong fan base dedication is rather than mainstream appeal. But you’re right that having a broad audience appeal as an attribute for a classic can work too – Eva has qualities that let it reach an audience beyond mecha shows, as does AzuDai for non-slice-of-life fans. And the more audience you reach, the better your chances are for being forever remembered ;)
Lain is one thing that I’d say is a definite classic. It may look dated, but it has undoubtedly had quite the impact. There are very few anime that can be defined as a classic, but they are out there.
I have to agree with you that Serial Experiments Lain would be on my list of “classics.” I have re watched it many times and every time I see a new detail, or find something new to appreciate. And having been done in 1998, I think it still looks pretty good. I think that mostly has to do with the team and style in which Lain and other works that have Abe on them are done. Lain is very gritty, and does tackle some big questions. It even mentions some things that are now starting to take the spotlight ( like cyber bullying, though there was some cases of that around the time lain was airing)
I knew a couple of people in high school that liked Lain but I’ve never seen it myself. Will definitely have to check it out one of these days =)
Do, but I will go ahead and warn you that the pacing can be slow and the show very clunky. I also wouldn’t suggest watching more than an episode or two at a time, with a day break between sessions.
Heh, I tend to do 3-6 episode marathons. I’ve watched plenty of slow shows so it shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll see ;)
On that same note, I know you were thinking of checking out Noir. While we’re on the topic of recommendations, I would give you that one (it’s my own personal classic as a lot of fans don’t like it).
I don’t really know if anime has been around long enough as a medium to warrant “classics.” Other mediums have been around significantly longer and have a longer shelf life of data to determine how it withstands time.
I think it really comes down to personal preference, and that no person’s list would be the same.
I think there is little consensus among anime fans ( we all sort of get lumped together, though we are in reality at least 5 separate and blending fandoms). It is this fact along that makes “classics” hard to determine. I would say that you and all the commenters here have some interesting series.
I think the one I would add for Shounen, though probably not as known now as it was in the day is Fist of the North Star. It is amazing how many titles in this day and age have elements or even direct parody of this series. Kenshiro (the main character) still ranks in the top heroes of all time.
As I replied to draggle in the first comment, I agree that anime as a medium hasn’t been around long enough to have many “old” classics, unlike books that have been around for hundreds of years. And most movies considered classics are at least fifty years old, which is when anime was just getting started. Another problem is that the majority of anime fans today haven’t even seen anime from over twenty years ago. This brings up the question of whether an anime should be considered a classic just by age and influence even though most people who are interested in that medium haven’t even seen or heard of it (like with Rose of Versailles, as I replied to Myna above).
It’s hard to say which anime could be called “classics,” mainly because of how new the medium is. Even those who follow really old media like music or poetry disagree on what should or shouldn’t be considered a classic.
For now, perhaps we could simplify things by taking the consideration of quality out of the equation, and try constructing some kind of canon of anime, which would include works that may or may not have succeeded, but do serve as a reference point for those who discuss this stuff seriously. For example, Sailor Moon would be canonical because most serious fans have seen it, and it’s referred to fairly often when discussing newer magical girl shows.
Either way, I’m nowhere near qualified to write a list of my own. Maybe in a few years. ^_^
Good points…I like the canon idea. Going with that, it would be very different between fans in the US and fans in Japan. For the US it would be stuff like Pokemon, Dragon Ball, Kenshin, Tenchi, Bebop, and other anime that used to air on TV. For Japanese fans, kid/family shows that don’t even have US releases, like Doraemon, Sazae-san, and old Macross and Gundam titles are more likely. But some titles, like Sailor Moon and Evangelion, have had the same impact no matter what country you’re an anime fan in. Maybe they’re the real classics?
“Evangelion being called an anime classic then begs the question of whether a series has to be a certain number of years old in order to make the cut.”
Watch out for “beg the question”, the phrase doesn’t work like most people think it does…
I just meant that Evangelion, being one of the oldest anime I would consider a classic, brought up the question of whether there should be a minimum age limit for an anime to be called a classic. Did I use the phrase incorrectly?
Because I’m a nerd who loves explaining this kind of thing, I’ll go ahead and answer, “beg the question” refers to a type of logical fallacy in which a claim is assumed to be true without evidence beyond the claim itself. There’s a whole website devoted (mostly tongue-in-cheek) to explaing this: begthequestion.info
What you meant was “raise” or “bring up the question.”
I may be using the term classic wrong when I use it in the following but if one of the major criteria’s of being a under the added circumstance is to have an impact on future works then one could further include manga’s such as Hellsing and Trigun into that list as well both for making big guns and red coats on of many things you could give a character; Then for both series individually: Hellsing brought to us a slew of manga’s that revolved around heavy amounts of guns and violence, and then Trigun with the ever so memorable character back story of, “I liked someone in the past but then my friend/brother killed her.”
The two examples are but simple things but then again I could point to anime’s that are influenced by it and I could simply make comparisons.
Black Lagoon is an all out action anime filled with guns and explosions. One thing that it also has in common with Hellsing is characters that seem more three dimensional than just “I have a big gun and I will shoot”. Hellsing did this to an extent and if you think deeply about it you could conclude some things about the characters themselves. I concluded with the character Father Anderson that one of the major reasons he fights is for the children at the orphanage. Sure he might enjoy his job as well, but you can’t deny that he may have the heroic want to keep the kids at the orphanage from dying a gruesome death by a vampire. Rock from Black Lagoon slowly goes from an innocent bystander to twisted gambler of life in the recent chapters (that I can remember). Revy is shown to have an understanding of certain philosophical idea’s such and mentions one to Rock while they are aboard the sunken Nazi submarine.
Trigun I can name two anime’s that are influenced by it and both seem to have also seem to have their own influences from it as well. If you know of these two series, you could easily point out the portion where both characters had a loved one in the past that was killed by someone close to them. Train’s past was that of a cold hearted assassin who is taught to care more for the lives of the living. Abel just basically lived on a space station and… actually his backstory at this point is kinda similar to Vash’s to a certain extent.
But looking at Abel though, going back to Hellsing, both are vampires who vocalize the lifting of restrictions to give them more power for a fight. I believe that similarity ends there and so we move back to Trigun.
Vash and Train are both expert gunsman who have a partner with them who carries an item that has an assortment of weapons in it. Vash, Train, and Abel all have a positive outlook on life and have a basic oath to cherish it. All of these men have been through a tragedy of some form (Vash has been through many). All of these characters ultimate enemy is the one who happened kill the one closest to them.
I’d love to continue comparing (not really), but under the simple circumstance that an anime (or manga) has left an impact on future works, in certain cases it is simple to look at an anime and think trace back all the major origins.
I don’t think though that an anime really has to have a significant impact on future works. I think I would basically put classic as “Something that is popular for years to come and never really seems to be forgotten by fans of anime old and new.”
If you asked me what in anime (just anime) I consider classic, I would point at things such as Trigun, Ghost In The Shell (EVERYTHING), Evangelion, Fist of the north star, Rurouni Kenshin, Love Hina, Azumanga Daioh, Astro Boy, Dragon Ball, Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Inuyasha… this list could continue for a really long time. Some of the anime’s I may have listed may not have had an impact on many shows afterwards but it did have an impact on the fans. The ability of some these shows to continue springing up in conversations among fans and in many cases pop culture (both in the Western world and within other animes) is a testament to how memorable these shows were.
These are shows that fans remember fondly and for years have surfaced ideas and scenes from these animes in the big sea of entertainment. In the way this is thought, you could say that long lasting popularity for years to come is a sign that an anime may be a classic, whether you like the anime in question or not.
Nice comparisons with Trigun, Black Lagoon, and Hellsing! You’re right that comparing similar titles and seeing which one came first is helpful for determining which may be the most “classic.”
I think that an anime having long-lasting popularity years after it’s released is part of being a classic. But as kaidian pointed out above, not all deserving anime get a fair chance at popularity regardless of quality. And as other commenters have mentioned, how long does it have to be to see something as “timeless”? Heh, there’s still so much to ponder ;)
It’s kinda weird when thinking about the idea of how old a show has to be in order to be considered timeless. A show could be underrated and still be considered classic if future viewers went on to dig up the old and realize “This was genius! I must tell the world about this!” An example would be Serial Experiment Lain, while popular to this day, it isn’t exactly something that I hear referenced to all the time. After doing research into the anime and understanding as much as I could (I sadly have never watch it) I concluded that Lain in its own right is a classic and many people would agree.
It is hard to really think about the idea of “long lasting popularity” though. As Kadian above stated, discerning between anime that seems popular because the industries advertisement machine makes it seem popular and actual fan support are two different things. I believe, though, that it is easy to ignore the advertising and listen to the fans.
In some cases, an anime can just be of a certain quality and not need major popularity. It is possible for anime to just be good but not be the talk of the decade and still be considered classic as I see it.
When I thought of a slice-of-life classic, I admit the first title that popped into my head was Azumanga Daioh. I agree that Lucky Star and K-ON! are a lot more popular and influential (though I haven’t seen much Lucky Star stuff around in the past year or so, so I think its time has passed), but it would be a bit of a stretch to consider either a ‘true’ slice-of-life. Both are more like ‘moe girls doing moe things’… although, the slice-of-life genre seems to have expanded considerably in the past few years so putting anime in one genre is now increasingly difficult.
I agree with the other things you said, though, as well as the nice and succinct Wiki description. I don’t think that everyone has to agree that an anime is a classic before it can be labelled as such, because not everyone has watched them – just as how not everyone has read all ‘classic’ literature. Also, as you mentioned, there’s a lot of personal opinion involved and a person doesn’t necessarily have to like the anime in order to agree that it’s a classic.
Lucky Star and K-ON were more influential than Azumanga Daioh as far as helping moe fandom really take off. AzuDai however, was the original high school girl slice-of-life anime. So which is more of a classic – the older series or the more impacting one? It’s hard to say.
But yeah, personal taste will always have the final say, and the fact that not everyone has seen the classics (whatever they are) is a factor too.
I definitely agree that Evangelion and Haruhi should be classics. I would also add Cowboy Bebop to that list. But to me…these series actually fit the category of “future classics” or “modern classics” better than simply “classics,” because of age. We want to label things as classics (I’ve probably used that term in regards to Madoka, which is only months old), but I agree with draggle (and you brought this up as well) – we need time. And I think we need more than 20 years.
In U.S. historic preservation, a rough guideline for something to be considered “historic” is at least 50 years (at least in the southwest, where buildings and non-native history is younger). That’s probably a little old for this medium, but it gives you an idea of perspective.
I look at films and wonder what the age is for them to be considered classics. Sense and Sensibility and Braveheart, two of my favorite films of all time, are not yet considered classics, I don’t think. They both came out in 1995, the same year as Evangelion. But perhaps if you go back a few more years, we start getting into classic territory – The Last Emperor (’87?) would fit, and maybe Glory (’89) and Dances With Wolves (’90).
That’s about 30 years, and that just “feels” right to me for relatively early consideration as a classic. So, throw in Astro Boy, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Maison Ikkoku, but hold the horse on Cowboy Bebop, Tenchi Muyo, and Princess Mononoke. For me at least, I’m willing to consider lots of anime as classics (after all, aren’t there hundreds of classic live action films?), but they need to wait their due.
As I replied to draggle, Skorpigeist, and others, the question of how old an anime needs to be in order to be considered a classic is tricky. You’re right that in other mediums, fifty years is more or less the minimum. Disregarding books, which have been around for hundreds of years, anime has been around almost as long as movies. But what’s different about anime is it’s a niche hobby rather than some mainstreamed part of cultures all over the world. It attracts a certain type of fan which, from my experience, are mostly too young to have even known, or have interest in knowing, anime that’s more than twenty or even ten years old, much less fifty. So is it too early for anime fans to think about classics? Or should we go ahead and call stuff like Astro Boy and Maison Ikkoku classic even though the average anime fan today has probably never seen these before? Heh, just so many things to consider =P
With “time” popping up in most comments, it makes me think that why a certain age is required for a classic is that the work is expected to survive through at least one major paradigm shift.
But while that change took a hundred years to pass a few centuries ago, the modern world accelerates like crazy. I think the ‘required age’ criterion, if used, should be adjusted accordingly.
You’re very right. In our modern age, the world is changing faster than ever. What’s changed in the world in just the past thirty years, with technology especially, is the kind of change that would have taken a hundred years long ago. Anime is a medium that’s always producing something new. So perhaps an anime classic doesn’t have to be that old after all.
I like that definition for classic, “the perfect example of the particular style”. Evangelion is a great example of this, even if I would not recommend it to someone who wants to dwell into anime though (I do understand its “classic-ness”, but it it not my favorite). Haruhi will probably become a classic with time. It did shake things up quite a bit :)
Original Macross (with the help of Robotech, including legal contentions and all) is probably a mecha classic. As much as I do not like Dragonball, it is probably the classic fighting anime. Sailor moon for magical girl (bleh), Sakura for magical girl with more slice-of-life (I like it)…
Hum… I guess that will vary from person to person, and is very subjective. You put it very nicely actually: “one fan’s masterpiece is another fan’s pile of crap”, and it would probably read just as well “one fan’s classic is another fan’s pile of crap” :)
You’re right, it is very subjective in the end. I’m just trying to find ways to make it less so ;)
Maybe it would also help if we divided the “pioneer” anime from the “timeless” ones. For example, Dragon Ball may have started the long-running shonen genre, but Naruto and One Piece may have (arguably) perfected it and will be better remembered with today’s fans. Same with Sailor Moon starting the magical girl trend and CCS taking it a great step further. And AzuDai starting the high school girl slice-of-life comedy with Lucky Star and K-ON running with it to set the moe path blazing. The anime that pioneered something and the anime that will be the most famous among fans could both be considered classics depending on who you ask =)
I think we have to classify a “classic” as being in one of two cases.
1. A work that defines the period it was in. These would be ones that historians look and say “This is what this time period was about in (blank).” These works don’t have to be popular in that time, but they represent that period’s qualities.
2. A personal favorite that defines a person. Be it brand loyalty or whatever it may be, most people in the US have a favorite Disney movie that they feel is “classic” Disney. This is wholly subjective and depends on the person.
Due to the time that anime as an artform been around, there are few works that can be considered in the first category but plenty in the second for most people. That’s why I hesitate calling things “classic” because outside of a couple of shows like Gundum, Shin-chan, and Doraemon, there’s not many true “classics” of anime yet. We just need time to see if things hold up. Eva and Haruhi look to become classics and oddly enough I think that possibly K-On! may turn out to be one in that first category. All it takes is time and patience (which it seems like a lot of fans lack).
Heh, ‘timeless quality’. I remember my language teachers trying to sell literature works like that. For them, it’s the key quality that distinguishes literature works from regular novels. It’s not certain criteria that has to be met that makes a work a literature, but rather what’s considered literature is chosen by critics and to a lesser extent the general public. Not all literature works are called classics though. The particular work has to have drawn a significant amount of attention, have some history to it and being influential to culture and later works. How well a certain work fulfills those criteria is just a matter of opinion; there really aren’t any conditions set in stone.
Anime classics is roughly about the same. Though I’m not sure how much the anime-fandom cares about how one show influences the other. From what I’ve seen, there are merely just comparisons to other shows and not a cause-and-effect statement. This may because of a lack of a classic in general. An anime classic seems to be a show that has drawn a lot of attention that lasted significant amount of time (not only while the series is on-going) and praised for its one or another unique aspect by the public. There’s nothing wrong with calling some anime a classic. It’s just one way of saying: “A lot of people have seen it. It has some very unique aspects. Chances are good that you’ll like it as well.”
A classic is something that can be watched over and over again. A classic is something that stands the test of time. Now, I have my own personal set of classics in my library, then there are those the community as a whole think are the epitome of animation. Classic is a very subjective word and relative to each person. But I think the concrete definition of a classic is something that has wide appeal and great staying power. In other words, an anime that people will continue to talk about 5 – 10 years from now.
I wrote a post similar to this awhile back.
Still trying figure out what some people consider classic series….