The Mike Toole Show

The Spirit of '81

So, what were you up to thirty years ago today? If the statistical breakdown of anime viewers is to be believed, a small majority of you weren't actually around yet. That's okay, you'll still find this little exercise interesting. The rest of you guys, the over-30 gang, were probably in a situation similar to mine: curled up in front of the television, mouth gaping, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and feeling vaguely insulted.

Yeah, even at the tender age of five, the stuff on TV was leaving me cold; I had the choice of following the tales of Dirty Dawg, a canine homeless person, as he eluded the authorities, or I could watch Wolfman Jack narrate the adventures of a time-traveling Fonzie as he whisked the Happy Days gang through time and space, kind of like some kind of crazy 1957 Milwaukee version of Doctor Who. Because apparently, everyone was on cocaine in 1981. Everyone. This scenario is exactly the sort of thing that led me down the path towards Japanese animation. But what were kids in Japan watching in 1981, I wonder? Let's look at some of the best stuff.

Well, there were a few goodies on Japanese TV, starting right in January of '81. Most notably, there was Yoshio Kuroda.

February wouldn't bear much fruit - Yoshiyuki Tomino addressing thousands of fans in Tokyo. I wonder if he knew then just how big the franchise would get?

April was pretty important, too. dub, but we never saw more, so English-speaking fans are gonna have to settle for the manga.

In May, we got all of two things: a telefilm about the life of Helen Keller, and LUPIN VERSUS HOLMES?! What the hell? What in the world is this thing? Look, I found a picture!

What the hell is it? Has anyone seen it? I WANT TO SEE THIS DAMN THING. Make it happen, Japan! Seriously, this is probably just an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle estate. The story, popular in its day, gave both Leblanc's celebrated thief and Doyle's famous detective their due. I love all things Lupin, so I'm intensely curious about this one.

Back in the early 80s, things slowed down in the summer just like they do here, except on the big screen. June would bring a really wonderfully animated Discotek Media. Finally, August of '81 would bring us Snow Fairy, aka Yuki.

Try to find some good, hard information about Snow Fairy. It ain't that easy! The movie, directed by sometime dissident filmmaker Toei Animation to get the job done. It's an interesting little fairy tale, told with the bombastic weight of a historical record rather than the fanciful air of a fable.

What did we get in September of 1981? We got two things. Firstly, we got Mamoru Oshii on the map.

Things got really quiet in November, but December would see two very interesting projects. First, we got Shunmao, the first animated co-production between Japan and China, a very unusual-looking tale of a panda. Second, we got a Baldios feature film. Yeah, how Baldios ended really badly and abruptly in January? Apparently, enraged fans of Baldios flooded the streets and demanded a proper ending, and they would receive one just in time for the new year.  After that point, Baldios would sink without a trace, only getting new attention with the Heika meme emerged. It's interesting to contrast that with Gundam, which faced a similarly ignominious end on TV but would be resurrected in a much more dramatic way for the big screen.

Why look back to thirty years ago, though? Well, for one thing, it's fun! They've been making really good anime for as long as there's been anime, and '81 wasn't an exception to this at all. More importantly, I think that looking back can give us some valuable perspective. Think about 2011: We're only about halfway through the year, and we've already seen more than 30 TV shows and another dozen or so TV specials and movies. Contrast that with '81 and its tally of around 22 TV shows and another dozen or so movies. I'm not saying that things were better in '81, because I don't think one can really objectively say that. Also, I don't believe it. But I do think it's really interesting that the amount of anime was pretty small in '81, less than half of what we're getting nowadays, but a good nine or ten of the shows released during that year would be incredibly important for the medium.

Think about it: Urusei Yatsura, Dr. Slump, Golion, the Gundam movies, Sea Prince, GoShogun, Adieu GE999, Ulysses 31... these all went on to become classics. Can you imagine eight or ten shows coming out now being that big of a deal thirty years down the road? I think Fractale be ed as fondly as, say, God Mars? Or will something in the fall emerge as a more obvious modern classic? I'll just have to wait thirty years and ask my 5-year-old nephew for his opinion.