Has there ever been an anime not based on anything prior

I honestly have been pondering this question for a while. Has there ever been a straight up anime not based on a manga, visual novel, video game or movie etc?

Gurren Lagann? I think all of the Gundam series counts too.
I'm sure there are a lot of them.

Hmm... Maybe Ergo Proxy? Or Texhnolyze?

Madoka, 5cm per second, Gundam, Evangelion, Summer Wars, Hyperspeed-fucking-Grandoll, Shakugan no Shana...

Really, there's too many to mention.

Nononononononono, Shakugan no Shana is based on light novel, fella.

"Has there ever been an anime not based on anything prior?"

FUCKIN A LOT

I'm just going to copy paste the top 15 and top 10 list from sankaku.

Anime First.

Umm, anything that didn't originated from a manga, or virtual novel series are pretty boring and lame...

Well that's my opinion.

Honestly, you don't sound that you watch any.

And majorly adaptations sucks more due to limitations of episodes and the change of media from paper to video.

There are no adaptation that we can call "Better than the source material", Even steins;gate and Clannad is not better than the original. The closest adaptations would get is "it has the same quality as the source material"

But I'm not saying Originals are better. But saying that their Boring and lame is pretty much an exaggeration and complete bias.

Yup there are alot I cant really type all of them but when I get home I can named some of them

From the list that Kaimax posted, I will assume you have not seen the following:

Mawaru Penguindrum
Cowboy Bebop
Code Geass
Darker than BLACK
AnoHana
Hanasaku Iroha

And I would personally like to add Wolf's Rain, Gurren Lagann, Paranoia Agent and a lot of original anime films, especially by the likes of Satoshi Kon and Hayao Miyazaki.

That, I didn't know.

Yeah i was going to say most of hayao miyazakis stuff is.

Also in 2010, there was a project called Anime no Chikara which created 3 original anime series. Admittedly, the only one I really enjoyed was Sora no Woto, but this shows anime can easily be original.

Its a shame they stopped. All the plots were really unique and it would've been interesting how it would go if they kept going.

Eureka 7 is a good example.

as far as i know, the anime came first before the manga.

just correct me if i am wrong.

Lol you just called everything I just bolded boring.


1. Tiger & Bunny
2. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
3. Mawaru Penguin Drum
4. Cowboy Bebop
5. Code Geass
6. [C]: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
7. Jewel Pet Tinkle
8. Animal Detective Kuruminzoo
9. Darker Than Black
10. The Big O
11. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha
12. Ano Hi Mita Hana
13. Angel Beats!
14. Dog Days
15. Hanasaku Iroha

I can guarantee you those are as far from boring as possible.

Mobile Suit Unicorn Gundam was based on a novel by Japanese author Harutoshi Fukui.

Here's a few TV originals:

Chōdenji Machine Voltes V.
Chōdenji Robo Combattler V.
Tōshō Daimos.
Martian Successor Nadesico/Kidō Senkan Nadeshiko.

-DarkdaemonPK2

Waiut, wasn't Angel Beats was based off a light novel?

Angel Beats Track Zero is a prequel. The anime is technically not an adaptation of a Light Novel.

Waitwaitwaitwait, I'm confused here. Care to tell me the chronology?