Anime Family Tree

[Ben]

This is ambitious, but I think it'll be fun. The idea is to create a family tree of influences in anime. Here's what to do. Take a show and list what you think its key influences are of what it influenced and why. Here's the format:

Show 1
-> Show 2 (Element Show 1 has that appears in Show 2)
-> Show 3 (Element Show 1 has that appears in Show 3)

Here's a combination example and first two entries:

Tetsuwan Atomu (Astroboy)
-> Doraemon (Friendly robot protector)

Gigantor (Tetsujin 82)
-> Getta Robo (Getter Robo) (Giant robots fight evil)
-> Mobile Suit Gundam (Giant robot controlled by young person)

This is just a start. Feel free to debate my choices and everyone else's as well as add your own. Enjoy!

 

[StrangerAtaru]

Actually, I believe the second one should go a little like this:

Tetsujin 28 (Gigantor)
->Maginzer Z (I think that is it) (Giant Robot piloted by a young person)
-->Mobile Suit Gundam (Giant Robots mass produced and used for realistic warfare)
--->Superdimensional Fortress Macross (Giant Robots not just used for war, but also as a backdrop for a love story)
--->Neon Genesis Evangelion (Giant Robots not just used for war, but also to explore aspects of the human psyche)

I highly doubt this is a perfect path, but it does show some of the evolution of the Giant Robot genre. In the early 1970's, Go Nagai took the Giant Robot genre and created the Superhero Robot shows. Then in the late 1970's, Yoshiyuki Tomino takes the Superhero robot and puts it into a realistic war, changing the genre (somewhat). As for the last two, it is sort of an extension of Gundam through looking at it through other ways: with Macross using the war as a basis for the love triangle, and Evangelion using a similar kind of war (which is probably more influenced by the earlier Superhero Robots) as part of a psychological experiment.

BTW: Maybe I should also included G Gundam in there somewhere, partially because it is a fusion of the War/Superhero Robots ideas, as well as being one of the first shows to explore religious ideas that would somewhat be expanded on in Evangelion. (or so I hear)

 

[Steve Jester]

addition to the listing for Neon Genises Evangielion.

----> Megami Kouhosei
----> Number of Gundam series (except MSG)
----> Nadesico

 

[okendri]

What religious references were in g gundam, except for the use of god and devil. Those were just used to show that those were the most powerful gundams.


Urusei Yatsura
-->tenchi Muyo
-->love hina

 

[Ben]

Urusei Yatsura
-> Ah! My Goddess

-> Steel Angel Kurumi
--> Hand Maid May (robot girls)

-> Ranma 1/2
--> Fruits Basket (people who turn into animals)

 

[StrangerAtaru]

To this one person I read somewhere, G Gundam was pretty much an animated version of the "Book of Revalations", complete with Four Horsemen

Spoiler

(The Four Heavenly Kings)

, the Antichrist

Spoiler

(Wong, or perhaps Ulube)

, a force fighting against it

Spoiler

The Shuffle Alliance

, and of course the Devil (er, Devil Gundam) itself. Plus, that person also says that the fighting combat system used in G Gundam influenced mecha anime as well, allowing for free movement of a mecha as opposed to the previous "push a few buttons and the mecha will move".

 

[Charred Knight]

Thats looking into the series way to much. This is the problem caused by Evangelion because companies wanting to equal the success of Evangelion used the formula that Evangelion used to make itself look smarter. Putting in christian religious symbols people think that the series is smarter than it actually is.

The problem was that Evangelion was smart because of its plot twist, not because theirs something called Adam and the EVA's fight things called Angels.

Imagawa used the named Devil Gundam because he ment for it to be the most powerful and evil gundam ever.

In the original draft of G Gundam their was no God Gundam, God Gundam was added later because the sales of the series were so good that Bandai had Imagawa add two more gundams just like it(God Gundam and Rising Gundam) thats why God Gundam is not even mentioned until its first apperance in episode 23.

Wong and Urube is in no way shape or form the anti-christ.

Wong is meant to be the stereotypical villan of Hong Kong Kung Fu movies of the evil HK business man that controls HK with an evil fist.

Urube is meant to show that

Spoiler

evil is where you least expect it and he was the perfect character to be the man behind the whole story because Imagawa always institutes plot twists.

G Gunbdam is not that revolutionary because basically all Imagawa did was take the plot of Giant Robo and put it into G Gundam.

Giant Robo was revolutionary because it was the first Super Robot series to use a realistic storyline complete with mind numbing plot twists. You should see Episode 7 just to see how many plot twist Imagawa reveals in the span of 50 minutes.

 

[okendri]

I agree with Charred Knight, that person is looking too deeply into G gundam. The plot twist are reveled in episode 6 because 7 is where they are in neo mexico. Pilot candidate is the only other anime that i remember seeing where the pilot is standing up instead of sitting in a cockpit. Oh yeah G gundam came before Eva.

 

[StrangerAtaru]

Sorry for all the confusion. I guess I wanted to see more in the silly series than what was seen, making me believe this idea. But to make up for it, I will try to open up another path of influence. (which probably needs a lot of gaps filled)

-Lupin the Third
->Cowboy Bebop (adventures of a bunch of rascals in space with a tad more depth of characters)

 

[KarlOlson]

The Robot Girl Family Tree
->Tetsuwan Atom (because it introduces robot people)
--> Steel Angel Kurumi
---> Hand Maid May
---->Chobits
---->Automatic Maiden Mahoromatic
----->Automatic Maiden Mahoromatic Second Series

The Harem Family Tree
->Urusei Yatsura
-->Tenchi Muyo
--->Love Hina
--->Onegai Teacher
--->Hand Maid May

Now for a weird one:

Gainax Family Tree
->FLCL
-->Abenobashi (Grade School Male involved with an older woman)
->Evangelion
-->Mahoromatic (similar patterning down to the preseries events episode)
--->Abenobashi (references mahoromatic characters in one episode and has a preseries events episode)

 

[Charred Knight]

After doing some research i did find info on the ACTUAL 4 heavenly kings.

Like most of the religious names in G Gundam their from Buddha.

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/****enno.shtml

Now, theirs no problem wih looking deep into G Gundam because unlike Gundam Wing you will find some things.

 

[Infinity Blade]

----> Number of Gundam series (except MSG)

The series that came during/after Eva (1996) were Gundam X, the rest of 08th MS Team, Turn A Gundam, and Gundam SEED. 08th MS Team definitely doesn't have anything Eva-like... X was produced at around the same time, I believe, so that one can't really be compared. I can't judge Turn A Gundam since I haven't seen it, but I've never seen it compared to Eva.

And having seen most of SEED so far... well, the only thing that strikes me as Eva-like is just one visual thing in the opening theme. (Though I guess it's possible to make Misato->Mariyu comparison, which I've seen done, but that doesn't fully hold up from what I've seen)

 

[Charred Knight]

Originally posted by jesteranimefreak
addition to the listing for Neon Genises Evangielion.

----> Megami Kouhosei
----> Number of Gundam series (except MSG)
----> Nadesico

Huh?

How does Gundam have anything to do with EVA?

The only Gundam series made after EVA are Turn A Gundam and Gundam Seed.

Gundam Seed is a re-telling of MSG, the only thing that Gundam Seed has to do with EVA is the fact that the Phase Shift system is like the AT system.

One look at Turn A Gundam will show that this series is as original as G Gundam.

 

[Sketch]

Here's one for you...

->Pokemon
--> A whole bunch of shows about collecting and/or monster training (too painful to list)

 

[DarkMaster]

Anotherwards,
All the mecha get produced in a similiar area. And the pilot is completely inexperienced.
All the hangers are pretty close to the same outline. From gundam all the way to eva and Candidate for Goddess.

THey could at least change the plot or the outlook of the pilot deck.

 

[Conan-san]

This one's a doosy so bear with

Digimon (and respective seasions)- Kids fighting with monsters in a digital plane (with storyline)
-->Rockman.exe- Same thing but only the monsters (read PETs) are in the digital plane
--->.hack//sign- Person gets traped in a digital world and jouneys to go home.

 

[Epyon999]

Mobile Suit Gundam
===> Robotech
===> Vandread
===> Evangelion

Evangelion
===> Gasaraki (primarily episode 26)
===> Justice League (Lex Luthor attacks the JL with a giant robot that looks so much like an Eva in one episode.)

Lupin the 3rd
===> Cowboy Bebop

Vampire Hunter D
===> Hellsing
===> Blade (maybe?)

 

[Conan-san]

Pokemon- First anime based on a videogame
-->Ganbare Goemon!- realesed just a while after
--->Rockman.exe-based on the game of the same name
----->Sonic X-lattest in the video game adapdation type of anime

 

[StrangerAtaru]

Eh, video-games becoming anime series is probably as old as the video game industry itself....well, maybe they didn't have a "Saturday Supercade" like in this country, but I do suspect anime based off video games even before "Pokemon".

 

[KarlOlson]

now I'm just looking for weird connections.

odd anime and/or manga set in modern rural japan

Tenchi Muyo OVA
-Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
--FLCL
---NieA Under 7
----Onegai Teacher