2 questions - Pioneers of modern manga or anime/Best manga or anime for each genre

[Fantastische Hure]

Who are the pioneers of modern manga and the ones that made manga what it is today, for the better or the worse depending on what you think?

I'd say:

Battle - Akira Toriyama (DragonBall)
Romance - Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2, InuYasha, Maison Ikkoku)
Sports - Yōichi Takahashi (Captain Tsubasa)
Comedy/Absurd - Hideaki Sorachi (Gintama)/Hirohiko Araki (JoJo)
Shōjo (in general) - Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor-Moon)
Sci-Fi - Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira)/Hideaki Anno (Neon-Genesis-Evangelion)
Western - Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Beebop)
Thriller - Naoki Urasawa (Monster)

I maybe got a bit too much into what's considered the most popular/best from the genre in the western countries instead of looking mainIy at Japan (because Manga/Anime is obviously Japan).

Extra question:

What do you think are the best series in every genre?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Pioneers:

Osamu Tezuka - "The God of Manga" pioneered not only all genres of manga by making it its own thing, but also anime by founding his own studio for his work to be adapted in.
Ikki Kajiwara and Tetsuya Chiba - Kajiwara helped popularise the sports genre in the 60s and 70s and with the art of Chiba, his magnum opus Ashita no Joe was created and helped show that sports are more than just tensionless games.
Leiji Matsumoto - Helped popularise sci-fi and space opera in the 70s with works such as Captain Harlock or Space Battleship Yamato. Whilst he would become irrelevant once the genre's potential was polished further by Gundam and Legend of the Galactic Heroes, he deserves mention as a major source of inspiration.
Go Nagai - Tezuka, as well as Mitsuteru Yokoyama, laid the foundations of many genres. It was Go Nagai, however, who expanded many genres closer to their modern image such as having pilots go inside the robot when pioneering the mecha genre with Mazinger Z, his anti-hero horror story Devilman serving as inspiration to several dark, psychological works (Parasyte, Berserk and Evangelion) or making the ecchi genre a thing with Cutie Honey.
Yoshiyuki Tomino - Created Gundam, the series that truly showed companies how much anime merchandise can make.
Yudetamago, Masami Kurumada and Akira Toriyama - Yudetamago and Masami Kurumada created the first major battle Shonen with Kinnikuman and RIng ni Kakero in the late 70s. What was good about them would then be refined and popularised further by Toriyama during Dragon Ball's original run. Toriyama also helped popularise absurdist comedy with Dr. Slump.
Hayao Miyazaki - Helped popularise family entertainment whilst maintaining strong themes and allowed for an anime studio to become Japan's answer to Disney.

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As for best of each genre:

Sci-Fi/Space Opera, Military, Drama - Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Action, Martial Arts - Battle Angel Alita
Adventure, Fantasy, Magic - Fullmetal Alchemist
Sports - Ashita no Joe
Psychological, Mecha, Dementia - Neon Genesis Evangelion
Historical - Lone Wolf and Cub
Comedy - The Tatami Galaxy
Romance - Rose of Versailles
Horror - Berserk
Slice of Life - Haibane Renmei
Western - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run
Thriller, Mystery - Monster
Mahou Shoujo - Princess Tutu

As for demographics:

Shonen - Ashita no Joe
Seinen - Battle Angel Alita (if counting Legend of the Galactic Heroes as a Seinen, however, it would easily take the spot)
Shoujo - Rose of Versailles
Josei - Haven't seen any, but Nana would seem to take the spot from what I know of it.

 

[Warmmedown]

Horror: Junji Ito. Only one I can think of not mentioned already.
Battle/martial arts: Toriyama
Comedy: Maybe Sazae-san or Kochikame's authors
Mystery: Detective Conan's dad

Astro Boy was very influential and Miyazaki seems to be influential.

Maybe Nodame Cantabile for music? I'm definitely interested in this genre.


I think Death Note has probably been influential more recently. There's a lot of parody comedy anime nowadays and I don't know what started that trend within manga/anime. Cromartie High School is the oldest one I can think of, but I'm pretty sure there's older stuff. Gintama is obviously very mainsteam, I don't know if that's been influential much yet.

I wonder what influenced manga/anime from outside those mediums. Are there similarities between Kurosawa's movies and any manga? Some novels must have had a strong influence on manga, at least in the past. No Longer Human is the second-highest selling novel in Japan and I could see that influencing some psychological manga.

Wasn't GTO quite pioneering when it came to highlighting teenage issues that were largely ignored in the media at the time?

----

Best in every genre, that I know of (tried not to just choose favourites):

Battle/fantastical martial arts: HunterxHunter
Sports: Slam Dunk or Real or All Rounder Meguru, depending on what you want in a sports series. Definitely not that unrealistic shit-show Hajime no Ippo. Brb throwing four hooks in row, brb indestructible chin.
Driving: Initial D
Comedy: Gintama
Horror: I am a Hero
Magic: Full Metal Alchemist
Mind Games: Liar Game
Adult: Gtfo, that's private
Mystery: 20th Century Boys
Slice of Life Adults: Honey and Clover
Coming of Age: Space Brothers
Romance: Aku no Hana lel
Ice-Skating: Yuri on Ice
Police Brutality: Inferno Cop
Philosophical/what if: Omoide Emanon
Kids: Digimon


Also I find it strange that CC categorised Haibane Renmei as Slice of Life.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Also I find it strange that CC categorised Haibane Renmei as Slice of Life.

Not only is it what it's primarily categorised as on most anime sites, but the first few episodes are primarily slice of life in a fantasy setting as the audience slowly learns about the world.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Gintama definitely must have been what inspired modern parodies.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

 

[Fantastische Hure]

But he's not really a mangaka.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Gintama definitely must have been what inspired modern parodies.

Dr. Slump and Kinnikuman were probably the main inspiration of many parody series. Excel Saga further refined it by parodying genres and not just saying "Oh, we're referencing that series." Also, GTO and Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo were doing parodies before Gintama and were highly popular.

Gintama is just modern Dr. Slump in that regard.

 

[Warmmedown]

SoL to me is about everyday life in our own world, rather than events in any sort of fantastical setting.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

I don't remember much straight parodying in Dr. Slump, but maybe I forgot. Also if we talk anime for really young children/families, Pokémon.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

SoL to me is about everyday life in our own world, rather than events in any sort of fantastical setting.

The standard description of Slice of Life in most circles is "Depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment." This broad definition can easily be interpreted as applying for the mundane in fantasy settings as well.

I don't remember much straight parodying in Dr. Slump, but maybe I forgot.

It was primarily in the more anime exclusive content such as one of the movies having a Hokuto no Ken parody.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

But I'll give it up to all you gais. I got carried-away and did more of a weird mixture of things instead of straight sticking to the topic at hand, which I wanted to talk about. You gais got it back on track to what that was supposed to be.

 

[Let's Go Fearless!]

SoL to me is about everyday life in our own world, rather than events in any sort of fantastical setting.

The standard description of Slice of Life in most circles is "Depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment." This broad definition can easily be interpreted as applying for the mundane in fantasy settings as well.

I don't remember much straight parodying in Dr. Slump, but maybe I forgot.

It was primarily in the more anime exclusive content such as one of the movies having a Hokuto no Ken parody.

Isn't the term for a story from SoL to fantasy called 'Isekai'?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Isn't the term for a story from SoL to fantasy called 'Isekai'?

Isekai is a character from a mundane setting going to a fantasy world (for a non-anime/manga example, think of Narnia). That's different from having mundane situations in a fantasy setting and whilst the nature of the Haibane technically makes the series an Isekai as well, it isn't quite so when the Haibane lose their memories of their previous life, thus removing the main part of Isekai.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

also i think maybe can say kazuki takahashi for creating a manga that started a franchise based-on cards (or merchandise specific in-general maybe) & tie-in stuff i think. u could maybe say pokemon, but pokemon started as a game i think, kazuki takahashi wrote a series first i think.

 

[SSJ2]

Toyotaro. Revolutionizing battle Shonen.