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What are the oldest anime franchises that are still popular?

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Jul 3, 2023 12:10 AM
#1
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Gundam from 1979 is definitely one of the top examples of an anime franchise that has been releasing many episodes for years and still gets fanfare to this day, but what are some others?
Jul 3, 2023 12:19 AM
#2

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"What are the oldest anime franchises that are still popular?"

Lupin III, Dragon Ball, Pokemon...maybe Sailor Moon.

Popular is a tricky word. Like there are tons of older franchises like Ultraman which are still popular in Japan, but are they in the west too? For example Macross anyone? Or we will call it Robotech Part One?
alshuJul 3, 2023 12:50 AM
Jul 3, 2023 12:22 AM
#3
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Pokemon is definitely still quite popular.
Jul 3, 2023 12:27 AM
#4

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I know is not big in the west but Uchuu Senkan Yamato gets releases every now and then, and even more so if you expand that to the connected Leijiverse (though I think Yamato isn't part of it? I'm not sure).

Detective Conan, I nean have you seen those movies and ovas lists?

Then Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Beyblade gets new series constantly so I'd assume there are kids in Japan that watch them.

Oh also Precure

I guess other kids/family anime still airing in Japan like Anpanman and Sazae-san count.

One Piece has been running for 24 years (and the manga for longer) and is still popular.

Saint Seiya is not as popular but gets something new every now and then as well.

Those are all I can think of.
Jul 3, 2023 12:34 AM
#5

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Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo), from the 1960s. It's well known and popular in the west, even if it's not popular among anime fans specifically.

Perhaps Astro Boy (manga from the 1950s, anime from the 1960s) could also still be considered popular.
Shimeji-OneeJul 3, 2023 12:43 AM
Jul 3, 2023 1:43 AM
#6

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Depends on how popular?

However indeed Speed Racer anime from 1965 recently got a movie adaptation.
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Jul 3, 2023 2:01 AM
#7

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Yu-Gi-Oh! is old anime franchises and still popular today, even some anime have yugioh reference in their show.
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Jul 3, 2023 3:01 AM
#8

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Gundam was the first that came to mind
Jul 3, 2023 5:10 AM
#9
BIKINI⚔️ARMOR

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Astro Boy' is still popular, right ?
Jul 3, 2023 5:14 AM

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The most popular old series tend to be Yu yu hakusho, Dragonball, and One Piece.
Jul 3, 2023 7:32 AM
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Gundam and Doraemon, because even non-anime watchers, at least over here, know what those two are even today and they are very old series.



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Jul 3, 2023 9:48 AM
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Shimeji-Onee said:
Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo), from the 1960s. It's well known and popular in the west, even if it's not popular among anime fans specifically.

Perhaps Astro Boy (manga from the 1950s, anime from the 1960s) could also still be considered popular.

Wasn’t so sure about Speed Racer since it hasn’t gotten as much anime as one might think and even the movie was awhile ago already.

The last full-length TV series Astro Boy got was in 2003, 2017 if you count Atom: The Beginning, and is even getting an alternate universe release in the form of Pluto this year, so I think Astro Boy has had more presence and popularity in recent years at least.
Jul 3, 2023 10:09 AM

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Detective Conan for me. I like it so much!
Jul 3, 2023 10:16 AM

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Sakkoa said:
Memore said:
Detective Conan for me. I like it so much!

Detective Conan isn't that old compared to the anime mentioned here.

I know, still it is pretty old too also.
Jul 3, 2023 11:28 AM
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Is Dr. Slump still popular? It has had multiple TV series amounting to hundreds of episodes, though I’m not sure if it’s just as popular nowadays.

Jul 4, 2023 11:48 AM

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Lupin might be my favorite out of those oldies that are still around.
Jul 4, 2023 5:33 PM

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Gundan for sure. 

I also guess that Dragon Ball is still around and it's older than Pokemon and Detective Connan 
Jul 4, 2023 6:07 PM

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Gundam and Dragon Ball are the first 2 to come to mind, others I think are Saint Seiya and Macross I guess, can't think of anything else right now except for Lupin the 3rd.

EDIT: Would Fist of the North Star count? Idk how popular it is these days, tho.
EDIT 2: If Dororo counts as a franchise then I guess it counts too simply because of the newest adaptation which I assume is still popular.
TheBerserkerJul 4, 2023 6:24 PM
Jul 4, 2023 6:08 PM
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Yugioh and Beyblade come to mind, they're still actively airing and producing both shows like with the Beyblade Burst series.



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Jul 4, 2023 6:12 PM

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electricmastro said:
Is Dr. Slump still popular? It has had multiple TV series amounting to hundreds of episodes, though I’m not sure if it’s just as popular nowadays.


Not popular enough to get all episodes english subbed sadly though I do love it.
Jul 4, 2023 6:20 PM

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Memore said:
Sakkoa said:

Detective Conan isn't that old compared to the anime mentioned here.

I know, still it is pretty old too also.

I don't think anything that started in the 90s and up counts or should count here since we're talking oldest rather than just old and I don't think any anime that is still airing all year long nonstop since day one counts as old anyways like Detective Conan and One Piece.
TheBerserkerJul 4, 2023 6:26 PM
Jul 4, 2023 6:25 PM

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Dragon Ball, Fist of the North Star, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and this depends on the region but Saint Seiya. It's HUGE in Europe and Latin America.
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Jul 4, 2023 6:30 PM

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one piece, dragon ball, lupin III. although dragon ball and lupin's latest entries were both letdowns for me, dragon ball still did insane numbers.
Jul 4, 2023 8:20 PM

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rohan121 said:
Not popular enough to get all episodes english subbed sadly though I do love it.
The reboot had all its episodes subbed.
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Jul 4, 2023 10:30 PM

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TheBerserker said:
Memore said:

I know, still it is pretty old too also.

I don't think anything that started in the 90s and up counts or should count here since we're talking oldest rather than just old and I don't think any anime that is still airing all year long nonstop since day one counts as old anyways like Detective Conan and One Piece.

It is your opinion, thanks, I think otherwise.
Jul 4, 2023 10:49 PM

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Lucifrost said:
rohan121 said:
Not popular enough to get all episodes english subbed sadly though I do love it.
The reboot had all its episodes subbed.

The og had way more episodes, but never got a full translation yet. We are talking around 150 untranslated episodes.
Og had 243 episodes
Remake had around 70 episodes.
Jul 4, 2023 11:02 PM
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istfg one another old anime that's before 2000s gets remade im gonna frickin quit...........................
Jul 5, 2023 6:25 AM

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Jul 5, 2023 10:39 AM
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Is Osomatsu still popular as of now?

Jul 5, 2023 10:42 AM
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upon reading the title all i could do was shout: jooooooooooojo (the manga is from the 80s)
Jul 5, 2023 10:51 AM
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kushakashi said:
upon reading the title all i could do was shout: jooooooooooojo (the manga is from the 80s)

That said, it strangely didn't receive that much anime until 2012.
Jul 5, 2023 10:58 AM
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dumbandinsane said:
istfg one another old anime that's before 2000s gets remade im gonna frickin quit...........................

maybe dont put the f in there next time . . . i was scared for my life when i looked it up 😨
Jul 5, 2023 11:07 AM

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Kaoola said:
APolygons2 said:
I would say it's Akira......probably

It's a movie, not a franchise, my boy.
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Jul 5, 2023 5:42 PM
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rohan121 said:
electricmastro said:
Is Dr. Slump still popular? It has had multiple TV series amounting to hundreds of episodes, though I’m not sure if it’s just as popular nowadays.


Not popular enough to get all episodes english subbed sadly though I do love it.


I understand it was popular enough to warrant over 200 episodes back in the day not just to promote the manga, but also because of considerable sales with merchandise. I guess it doesn’t really sell merchandise anymore though.
Jul 5, 2023 5:57 PM

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That depends. Do you mean popular in Japan, popular outside Japan, or popular in general? If the latter, I'd probably go with Gundam, though BBC reporters apparently think it's Transformers (I chuckled when I first heard that).
Jul 5, 2023 6:13 PM

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CaptainKenshiro said:

Saint Seiya is not as popular but gets something new every now and then as well.


Saint Seiya is really just not popular in the United States, in Latinoamerica is as big as Dragon Ball, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, I've heard it's also still popular in Europe
Jul 5, 2023 6:15 PM

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I don't know if it counts as anime franchise because while the anime is the most famous version of the story, the current products that are airing are made on the West but Heidi is really big, even my Grandmother used to watch it
Jul 5, 2023 6:35 PM
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dragon ball , jojo , baki , berserk são otimos exemplos são umas das franquias mais populares e relevantes mesmo sendo antigas 
Jul 5, 2023 6:53 PM

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Definitively, Tetsuwan Atom. Last anime was in 2019 and a new one will come out this year in the form of Pluto. There is also The Ultraman, which had its live-action debut in 1966, GeGeGe no Kitaro (1968), Cybrog 009 and Dororo (considering how recent the last anime is). Not to mention Osumatsu-San having a new series.
Jul 5, 2023 6:58 PM

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ReverseSL said:
I don't know if it counts as anime franchise because while the anime is the most famous version of the story, the current products that are airing are made on the West but Heidi is really big, even my Grandmother used to watch it
I think Moomins may be the more popular foreign property, but Heidi hasn't been forgotten either. When I was in Japan, I saw cardboard cutouts of Heidi characters stuck in the window of a random store. I didn't know anyone was still making new stuff, however.
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Jul 5, 2023 11:26 PM
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Lucifrost said:
ReverseSL said:
I don't know if it counts as anime franchise because while the anime is the most famous version of the story, the current products that are airing are made on the West but Heidi is really big, even my Grandmother used to watch it
I think Moomins may be the more popular foreign property, but Heidi hasn't been forgotten either. When I was in Japan, I saw cardboard cutouts of Heidi characters stuck in the window of a random store. I didn't know anyone was still making new stuff, however.

Moomin is even getting a cinema 4K remake of the 1990 movie
Jul 6, 2023 12:54 AM
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I understand it was popular enough to warrant over 200 episodes back in the day not just to promote the manga, but also because of considerable sales with merchandise. 
Tescoviews
Jul 6, 2023 1:16 AM
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Lucifrost said:
ReverseSL said:
I don't know if it counts as anime franchise because while the anime is the most famous version of the story, the current products that are airing are made on the West but Heidi is really big, even my Grandmother used to watch it
I think Moomins may be the more popular foreign property, but Heidi hasn't been forgotten either. When I was in Japan, I saw cardboard cutouts of Heidi characters stuck in the window of a random store. I didn't know anyone was still making new stuff, however.

Moomins got enough anime to get hundreds of anime episodes and a movie between the 60s and 90s. Hasn't gotten anime since then though.

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