It kills my how underrated Leiji Matsumoto is in the west (well, the USA and anglosphere mostly, considering that Harlock is a legend in the francophone sphere, along with shit like Queen Millennia in Germany and shows in Italy).
I can't stand fags who think anime like Cowboy Bebop is ancient, when Matsumoto's space operas from the 70s are fucking great. Galaxy Express 999 was questioning the eternal life that transhumanists want now - deep, disturbing shit that really sticks with you, with tales of the ennui and horror of machine immortality. GE999 TV is amazing shit, and people FFS get over the prejudice against Leiji's "potato head" way of drawing people (his women are beautiful anyways - hello Maetel!).
If they ever carve a Mount Rushmore of anime, it will have Tezuka, Miyazaki, and Matsumoto for sure.
I've said similar before. He's one of the classics, which is the very reason they don't know him. Consider that a good amount if not a majority haven't seen ANY series from the 1970s, and these tended to have certain themes that are different from what a modern audience is used to, even if some of them are akin to blueprints for what followed. It feels anachronistic, take for example Gun Frontier, or Endless Odyssey. These while being modern anime still remain old-fashioned. Only a certain type of person is attracted to that, very much the classic otaku.
The potatohead style was mostly a product of the era, when artists were still drawing after a certain comic aesthetic.
I've got a huge backlog of his works, perhaps I'll return and post my thoughts when the time comes.
>If they ever carve a Mount Rushmore of anime, it will have Tezuka, Miyazaki, and Matsumoto for sure
Let's replace Miyazaki with Nagai.
Anyway, the only Matsumoto show I've seen so far is Space Battleship Yamato, but it's awesome. One of my all-time favorites.
>>4
Cool, Mazinger Z and Devilman are classics.
I like that he's not well-known, imagine if all those ironic weebs watched some of his works. They'd be completely unable to understand the underlying themes of his works, or have the patience for it.
>>4
Yamato is brilliant, it's one of my favourites too. I'd recommend Space Pirate Captain Harlock, another space anime by Matsumoto. Very similar feel to Yamato.
>>6
I just rented the original Harlock from the library because I've never finished it. The downside of your point about it remaining obscure is that it was actually relatively hard to find until the dvd set was released recently. I also heartily recommend it, it's one of my favorites.
Gun Frontier is a Harlock spinoff set in the Old West, also worth a look.