In what is no doubt a big discovery for the world of anime, a new report revealed that a 100-year-old anime has been discovered in Japan.
As reported by NHK World-Japan recently, this anime dates back to 1923 – over 100 years ago.
While it’s not an anime series or movie in a typical sense, it proves that the history of animation in Japan dates back to much older times than many think.
When you ask anime fans about the first anime, chances are that they’ll mention titles from the 50s or 60s.
That’s accurate when it comes to modern anime, but this discovery may have big effects on how anime’s history is viewed.
Century-Old Anime Discovered in Japan
Recently, NHK World-Japan (the NHK’s English-language arm) aired a segment about the discovery of an anime that was made in 1923.
This anime is titled Dental Health, and it was discovered in the belongings of an avid cinema fan who passed away recently.
As its title implies, this anime is said to have been produced by a Japanese company that sold toothbrushes and other hygienic products.
It doesn’t seem to have a story as a typical anime film or TV series would. Instead, it features animated scenes of people eating. There’s also an interesting scene featuring multiple scenes happening concurrently.
Thus, it’s theorized that this is an educational film commissioned by the toothbrush company to promote proper dental health. It also makes it a work of advertising.
In the report, the anime is attributed to Seitaro Kitayama, an early Japanese animation director who worked on animated projects in the 1910 and 1920s.
Kitayama passed away in February 1945, meaning he was not involved in the post-war development of anime, which featured notable studios such as Toei Animation (which began as Japan Animated Films).
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How Does This Discovery Affect the History of Anime?
The discovery of this new anime won’t exactly shake the modern anime industry up all that much, but it can potentially affect how the history of Japanese animation is viewed.
Typically, the original Astro Boy TV series from Osamu Tezuka is thought of as the first modern anime, as it helped define the look and style of future anime productions.
There is a misconception that Astro Boy is the first anime ever. This is disproved by the fact that there are existing anime shorts dating back to the 1920s.
If this new 100-year-old anime gets more interest, it might help make older works more visible when it comes to retrospectives on anime history.
What older anime works do you think holds up the most for modern viewers? Share your picks with us in the comments.
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