If you’re active in the anime community, you’ll hear a lot of popular names that seem to almost be household anime shows. Some of those shows might even be older than you, but you’ve watched them (even in passing) on Toonami growing up. This panel took me through the timeline of influential anime over the decades following a strict set of rules.
Those rules are:
It must have cultural relevancy in and outside of Japan
Not ongoing
Must be popular and have content made for it
No (or not including) live-action
Must be the first in its own franchise
Not the first of its kind, but the first of its kind to make a cultural impact outside of Japan
Picked apart to death by critics
Some of these names may be commonplace, but I will say some of the ones mentioned by attendees were completely over my head. The panel, like the con, allowed attendees to share what anime they thought fit the criteria after meeting each decade’s top picks. While some names would be obvious to mention, if they did not meet the criteria, they did not pass the “test”.
The 60s
Astro Boy – America’s first introduction to anime
Cyborg 009
Speed Racer – Who’s anime was a bigger success than the manga
Ribon no Kishi (Princess Knight)
The 70s
Lupin the 3rd
Doraemon
Space Battleship Yamato – The first great anime space opera movie that became a cult classic and was more influential than Star Wars in Japan
Mobile Suit Gundam – Initially canceled due to poor ratings, but re-released with more popularity after gunplay was a success
Rose of Versailles
The 80s
Macross
Nausicaa
Dragonball
Castle in the Sky
Akira
Grave of the Fireflies
The 90s
Sailor Moon – first to be a worldwide phenomenon of magical girl anime, but not the first of its kind
Slam Dunk – started the wave of sports anime
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Rurouni Kenshin
Cowboy Bebop
The 00s
Inuyasha
Death Note
Religiously Nerdy 
I watched a couple of these and most recently finished binging Inuyasha! I plan to finish sailor moon next!
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