The 1960s was a decade when anime became a little more popular and introduced classics like Astro Boy, Osomatsu-Kun, Dororo, Cyborg 009, and Speed Racer. A good number of them have been rebooted several times since then, showing that their stories and characters are just timeless. There are some anime from the 1960s that are amazing but have become forgotten for a variety of reasons.
These classic anime shouldn’t be forgotten and anime fans should check these shows out. They are what provided the spark and built the foundation for many genres in the anime world. Even with their outdated animations and cliche stories, these classic sixties anime shows are the ones that inspired many other favorite shows.
1 Star Of The Giants
Hyuma Hoshi is a young man who wants to become a great baseball star like his father, Ittetsu. His father was a professional player until he received an injury during World War II and couldn’t play anymore after that. He treated Hyuma and his sister Akiko rather harshly, becoming bitter because of his career-ending injury. Despite this, Hyuma is determined to become a great pitcher and find success as a professional player.
This is one of the earliest sports anime shows to ever exist and one that sports anime fans should watch. Even with its outdated animation, Star of the Giants has everything that is wanted in a sports anime with a captivating story, strong characters, and great character growth. If anything, this show could benefit from a reboot with updated animation because just about everything else about it still holds up today.
2 Kimba The White Lion
This anime follows young lion cub Kimba as he goes from living in a big city full of humans to traveling back to Africa to find out more about himself and his family. Once he returns, he makes it his mission to become the next king of the jungle. His missions mostly revolve around making peace with the humans in the area and the animals living there. With his skills with humans, Kimba might be the only one who's capable of bringing peace between the two.
If some are thinking this might sound a little like The Lion King, this show is quite different. While there are some similarities that caused a small uproar when The Lion King was released, Kimba the White Lion has a lot of other things going for it. It might be more targeted toward kids, but this is still a nice watch for all ages.
3 Sally The Witch
This anime is about witch princess Sally, a young girl that wishes to visit the mortal world. After she enters Earth, she saves two girls, Yoshiko and Sumire, from burglars and becomes their friend. She decides to stick around with the two girls and causes some mischief all the while keeping her powers a secret.
The series is similar to the classic show Bewitched but is targeted toward a younger audience. Sally the Witch is often considered the first shoujo anime as well as the first magical girl anime. Viewers will be able to see how this show laid out the groundwork for these genres and see how it’s influenced them since its release.
4 Ougon Bat, AKA Golden Bat
This anime follows Ougon Bat, a golden warrior that was a protector of Atlantis and was revived by scientists. He has been awakened by them to fight the evil Dr. Zero, an evil genius that wants to take over the world with his technology and monsters. Ougon Bat decides to help the scientist put a stop to his evil plans and save the world.
Considered to be one of the first superhero anime, if not the first, Ougon Bat is a pretty good show to watch. It has some cheesy and cliche moments along with some mild violence, but nothing graphic. If anything, some fans might find Ougon Bat’s design pretty cool since he doesn’t look like a typical superhero.
5 Horus: Prince Of The Sun
Horus is a young boy that was being hunted by silver wolves and accidentally ends up waking a stone giant named Mogue. When Horus sees something sticking out of his shoulder, he pulls it out and it’s a rusty sword that Mogue says is the “Sword of the Sun.” He goes on a mission to reforge the sword while also fulfilling his father’s dying wish to avenge their home village. It turns out the villain who destroyed his village happens to be the same one that’s after him for the sword.
Though he didn’t direct it, Hayao Miyazaki (co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director and creator of works like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle) worked on this movie as chief animator, concept artist, and scene designer. This movie is also what started his long partnership with Isao Takahata, another co-founder of Studio Ghibli, and shows the roots of a successful partnership that lasted for 50 years. It might not be their best work, but Horus: Prince of the Sun is a great movie and viewers will see how it had a strong impact on Studio Ghibli works.
6 Judo Boy
After his father is killed, teenage martial artist Sanshiro Kurenai sets out to find the man responsible. The only clue he has is that the man has one eye, as Sanshiro found a glass eye where his father was murdered. Joining him on his journey is a young boy named Kenbo and his dog, Boke. Even though Sanshiro has a clue, finding his father’s murderer is going to be tough.
This is one of the earliest martial arts anime to come out that has a pretty good story. Sanshiro is a pretty charismatic character that has a lot of growth throughout the series. The series also takes him to other countries and the storylines in them are different which keeps viewers entertained.
7 Shonen Ninja Kaze No Fujimaru
This anime follows young Fujimaru, a boy who was kidnapped by an eagle when he was a baby. He was rescued by a ninja named Sasuke, who trains and raises him. Fujimaru becomes a master of ninjutsu and then sets off to find his mother while also looking for an old tome containing great, but deadly ninjutsu techniques.
This is one of the earliest anime works featuring ninjas as the main characters. Compared to works like Naruto, this anime is a simple watch that still has a pretty compelling story. Fans of ninja and martial arts anime will find this anime fun.
8 Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden
Taking place in the Edo period, Kamui is a ninja that leaves his clan and is on the run from them. He wanders through Japan to escape as many within the clan want him dead as they believe him to be a traitor. Leaving the clan behind is going to be a lot harder than Kamui anticipated and paranoia starts to set in as he doesn’t know who he can trust.
Another anime that is one of the earliest ninja shows. Unlike Shonen Ninja Kaze No Fujimaru, this show has action and violence that was considered graphic back then. This anime has some dark themes that hold up even today and is worth watching.
9 Rainbow Sentai Robin
A planet called Palta is facing extinction and the alien people living within it start looking for ways to survive. They find Earth and decide to cultivate the resources and begin to try and take over it. The only one who can stop them and protect Earth is a young boy named Robin. Owning many robots built by his Palta alien father, Robin and his robot team work to protect the world while also trying to save his parents, who have been kidnapped.
Another anime that was one of the first superhero anime shows. If some are thinking this gives off Super Sentai/Power Rangers vibes, this show was the main inspiration for them. It’s also written by Shotaro Ishinomori, the creator and writer of those shows along with the more successful superhero anime Cyborg 009.
10 Attack No. 1
Female high school student Kozue Ayuhara tries out for her new school’s volleyball team. She makes the team thanks to her impressive skills and natural talent while making friends with some of her teammates. However, the team captain, Midori Hayakawa, feels threatened by her as she doesn’t want to lose her captain status. The anime follows Kozue as she goes through the ups and downs of high school and volleyball.
This show is considered one of the first shoujo anime, specifically for the female sports genre. Attack No. 1 was a standout when it first came out since anime was mostly dominated by shonen and sci-fi shows. It was also one of the first shows to target an older female audience and made anime more mainstream for that demographic.