The 40 most popular 1960s japanese TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Sazae-san
1969 · JP
The adventures of Sazae Fuguta and her family and friends in their Tokyo suburb.


Astro Boy
1963 · JP
In the year 2000, Dr. Boyton creates a super-robot in his deceased son's image. He calls the robot Astro Boy. Astro Boy can swim oceans, leap over mountains, even fly into space on his own power. However, Astro Boy can't replace his son. Dr. Boyton becomes dissatisfied with the boy robot and disowns him. Astro Boy is befriended by Dr. Packadermus J. Elefun of the Institute of Science, who guides him through his adventures. Endowed with super strength, rocket-powered flight, a selfless heart and a kind demeanor, Astro Boy fights a never-ending crusade against the forces of evil!


Tabiji
1967 · JP
The 7th NHK Asadora. Starring Tadashi Yokouchi in a narrative about an employee of the national railroad living through 50 years of modern history with his wife.


Ultraseven
1967 · JP
In the not-too-distant future, the Earth finds itself constantly under attack from extraterrestrial threats. The Terrestrial Defense Force establishes the Ultra Garrison, a team of six elite members who utilize high-tech vehicles and weaponry. Joining their fight is the mysterious Dan Moroboshi, secretly an alien from the Land of Light in Nebula M-78, who transforms into his true form in times of crisis, Ultraseven.


Tamayura
1965 · JP
The 5th NHK Asadora. Starring Chishuu Ryuu as an old man who begins to travel after he retires. From a story written for television by Yasunari Kawabata.


Star of the Giants
1968 · JP
In 1969, at the press conference of Nagashima Shigeo who was joining a professional baseball team, Yomiurhi Kyojin, a ball was thrown at him by a boy. He was Hoshi Hyuma, and a thrown ball meant a letter of challenge. His father, Hoshi Ittetsu, had trained Huma since he had been very young to achieve his dream to make him a professional baseball player.


Key Hunter
1968 · JP
Key Hunter is a prime-time Japanese television detective series. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:56 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System network from April 6, 1968 to April 7, 1973. There were a total of 262 episodes, and it was one of the most popular action dramas in Japan at the time. The story involved "Key Hunter", a special clandestine unit of the International Police, which endeavored to solve various crimes. "Key Hunter" was a unique TV show, which started out as a grand scale spy thriller never before seen in Japan. The episodes were individually themed on global crimes and political strife. The initial hardboiled theme later evolved to include intellectual elements involving action, and occasionally with comical elements as well. Tetsuro Tamba starred in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice as Japanese Secret Service agent Tiger Tanaka, an ally of James Bond. This role greatly influenced his image in "Key Hunter".


Ultraman
1966 · JP
Hayata is a member of the Science Patrol, an organization tasked with investigating bizarre anomalies. He is mortally wounded when accidently encountering an alien being from Land of Light, who grants Hayata new life as the two are merged into one. Now, whenever a threat arises that is too great for the Science Patrol to handle, Hayata activates the beta capsule and becomes the hero known as Ultraman.


Tiger Mask
1969 · JP
A villainous masked wrestler becomes a hero for the sake of protecting the orphanage in which he was raised.


Kimba the White Lion
1965 · JP
The adventures of Leo, a young lion cub who becomes king of the jungle when his father, the previous king of the jungle is killed by a human hunter.


Cackling Kitarou
1968 · JP
Kitarou, a ghost, spends his afterlife helping humans in need of his skills. He thwarts the plans of evil spirits who live to torment humanity.


Ultra Q
1966 · JP
As supernatural events and monster attacks rock Japan, the military and government look to be overwhelmed. Three intrepid young investigators—two pilots and a reporter—take it upon themselves to study these unexplained phenomena in order to inform and protect the public.


Sally the Witch
1966 · JP
Sally is the witch princess of the Magic Kingdom who longs to visit the mortal realm, presumably to make friends her own age. One day, by mistake, Sally teleports to the "mid world" (Earth), where she uses her magic to fend off a couple of burglars menacing two schoolgirls. Immediately befriended by her new acquaintances — tomboyish Yoshiko Hanamura (known affectionately as "Yotchan") and girly Sumire Kasugano — Sally decides to stay on Earth indefinitely, leading to mischief. As with Samantha Stevens in Bewitched, Sally tries to keep her supernatural abilities secret, assuming the role of a human child. In the final episode, Sally's grandma informs her she must return to the Magic Kingdom. Before leaving, Sally tries to tell her friends about her origins, but no one will believe her. Then her elementary school catches on fire, and Sally uses her magic to put it out. Her powers thus exposed, Sally's time to leave has finally come. She waves farewell to her friends, and returns to the Magic Kingdom. Being so popular in Japan, mostly the same way as classic Hanna-Barbera characters are in America, a second series was produced 20 years later. The second series continues a few years after the original ending, and finishes with the Original video animation Sally the Witch: Mother's Love is Eternal, in which, at the end, Sally finally becomes the ruler Queen of the Magic Kingdom, but worries about leaving her friends behind.


もーれつア太郎
1969 · JP
No overview available


Moomin
1969 · JP
Moomin is a Japanese anime series broadcast on the Fuji Television Network between 1969 and 1970. It is loosely based on the Moomin books by the Finnish author Tove Jansson.


Attack Number One
1969 · JP
The story is about Kozue Ayuhara, a girl who transferred to Fujimi College and tried out for the school volleyball team. She develops a friendship with her teammate Midori Hayakawa, and her talents impress coach Hongō more and more each day. Though she showcases extraordinary volleyball skills, she makes enemies with Yoshimura, the star of the current team. Kozue discovers that being at the top would bring stress, incompatibilities and other dilemmas into her life. Her high expectations of becoming the best volleyball player in the school, Japan and eventually the world, set the tone for the drama to follow.


Akō Rōshi
1964 · JP
"Ako Roshi" is a group of 47 former retainers of Lord Asano. Lord Asano was forced to commit suicide after attempting to kill Lord Kira. Once the retainers hear about their Lord's death, they sacrifice their lives to regain the honor of their former master.


Golden Bat
1967 · JP
Professor Yamatone and his family visit present day Egypt, and discover an ancient tomb belonging to a god of justice and protector of the weak known as Ogon Bat. When the Professor is taken captive by Gorgo, agent of the evil Dr. Erich Nazō (ナゾー), his daughter Mari pleads for Ogon Bat to save her father. As she starts to cry, her tears fall in Ogon Bat's tomb and revive him. From then on, Mari calls on Ogon Bat to fight against evil.


Big X
1964 · JP
No overview available


Wolf Boy Ken
1963 · JP
No overview available


Space Ace
1965 · JP
Space Ace is a Japanese science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuo Yoshida and serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen Book magazine from June 1964 to May 1966. It was adapted into an anime television series by Tatsunoko Production and aired on Fuji TV from May 8, 1965 to April 28, 1966.


The Genie Family
1969 · JP
An old bottle has found its way into the household of a modern family, which consists of a boy named Kan and his parents. A genie, Hakushon, and his daughter, Akubi, reside inside it. When Kan finds the bottle, he discovers that a sneeze summons Hakushon and he must grant the wish of whoever sneezed, while a yawn summons Akubi and she must do the same for whoever yawned. Getting wishes granted by either genie may not be a good thing, for Hakushon messes them up due to his own extreme clumsiness, while the more capable Akubi likes to cause mischief by twisting their words and meanings so that something bad happens.


Osomatsu-kun
1966 · JP
The first animated adaptation of the 1960s gag manga series, focusing on the adventures of the identical 10-year-old Matsuno sextuplets, led by the titular brother himself. Aside from the Matsunos, the series also showcases the tales of their rival Chibita, and the constantly job-switching conman Iyami.


宇宙少年ソラン
1965 · JP
No overview available


Oyaji Daiko
1968 · JP
The Tsuru family is a family of nine, headed by Kamejiro. Kamejiro is the president of a construction company that has made a fortune in its first generation, but he is a one-man family. His wife, Aiko, is a typical good wife and wise mother type. Kamejiro gets angry and thunders down every week, and the children are afraid of him, calling him "Oyaji Daiko", but he also takes advantage of this.


Three Sisters
1967 · JP
The Story is about three daughters of a "Hatamoto" during the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration.


Hoppity Hooper
1962 · JP
Hoppity Hooper is a American animated television series produced by Jay Ward, and sponsored by General Mills, originally broadcast on ABC on September 12, 1962 and premiered in full on January 1. The series was produced in Hollywood by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, with animation done in Mexico City by Gamma Productions.


Operation: Mystery
1968 · JP
Advancements in science and the unchanging human psyche have given rise to new forms of terrifying crimes as the Science Research Institute (SRI) investigates various strange phenomena in Japan.


Life of a Flower
1963 · JP
The story chronicles the life of Ii Naosuke.


Cyborg 009
1968 · JP
No overview available


Dororo and Hyakkimaru
1969 · JP
Hyakkimaru is a young man who lacks 48 body parts because they were taken from him by demons before birth, as payment by his father, Kagemitsu Daigo, to obtain his wish to take over the country. When the baby boy was born he was missing 48 parts of his body, and thus was abandoned—thrown into a river. Hyakkimaru has grown up and now has obtained fake body parts so he can eliminate the 48 demons that were made from his body, and to retrieve his missing parts. Along for the adventure is the boy thief, Dororo, with whom he becomes friends.


Princess Knight
1967 · JP
Princess Sapphire is a girl raised as a Prince. Through the mischief of an angel, the princess is born with both a girl's and a boy's heart. Since there is no boy successor in her kingdom, Sapphire is raised as a boy, but evil ministers try to reveal her secret. Unable to put up with the kind of vicious conduct prevailing in the kingdom, Sapphire disguises herself as "Princess Knight" and wields her sword of justice.


The Samurai
1962 · JP
The Samurai is a Japanese historical fiction television series made by Senkosha Productions during the early 1960s. Its original Japanese title was Onmitsu Kenshi. The series premiered in 1962 on TBS and ran continuously until 1965 for ten self-contained story arcs, usually of 13 episodes each. Also created were two black-and-white feature films by Toei Company, made in 1964 by the same crew which has created the TV series, and a stage show. The Samurai proved to be highly successful despite its initially very limited budget. It was the first Japanese TV program ever screened in Australia, where it premiered in 1964 and built up a remarkably large fan-base among the local young audience at the time, rapidly becoming a cult favourite. Despite its massive popularity in Australia as well as success in Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines, the series was not widely screened elsewhere and its fame remains largely restricted to those countries.


Heaven and Earth
1969 · JP
The story chronicles the life of Nagao Kagetora.


Giant Robo
1967 · JP
Join Daisaku Kusama and Giant Robo as they battle the interstellar terrorist group Big Fire.


Prince Planet
1965 · JP
Prince Planet is the English-language title given to one of the earliest Japanese anime TV series, Planet Boy Papi, when it was transmitted on American television in the United States in the mid-1960s. A 52-episode monochrome anime series, it tells the story of a member of the Universal Peace Corps, originally from the planet Radion, coming to Earth on a mission to determine if this world meets standards for membership in the Galactic Union of Worlds and assist its inhabitants during his stay. While on his mission, Prince Planet adopts the identity of an Earth boy named Bobby and gains comrades who work together alongside him fighting forces of evil, both alien and terrestrial.


Sabu and Ichi's Detective Stories
1968 · JP
The series follows the adventures of Sabu, a young Edo bakufu investigator traveling with the blind master swordsman Ichi. In their travels, they assist the common people in solving mysteries and righting wrongs (usually committed by bandits or corrupt officials). Sabu is engaged to Midori, the daughter of his boss, who works as a police officer for the Tokugawa shogunate.


Goku's Adventure
1967 · JP
No overview available


Marine Boy
1966 · US
Marine Boy was one of the first color anime cartoons to be shown in a dubbed form in the U.S., and later in Australia and the United Kingdom. It was originally produced in Japan as Undersea Boy Marine by Minoru Adachi and animation company Japan Tele-Cartoons. It was sold outside of Japan via K. Fujita Associates Inc., with Warner Bros / Seven Arts Television handling worldwide distribution of the English-language version.


The Legend of Ninja Kamui
1969 · JP
Kamui is a ninja from the Edo period who has decided to leave his clan. After doing so he is pursued relentlessly by the members of his former clan; who consider him to be a traitor and therefore wish to kill him. Kamui then wanders around Japan to escape from them by using his intelligence and great abilities to survive. In the course of the series Kamui begins to suffer from paranoia because of his status as a persecuted man. Kamui then started to believe that everybody wished to murder him and became distrusting of everyone he came across.
1960s television was the medium's first confident decade, when the Western and the variety show gave way to a broader range of genre programming in colour.
Japanese television is dominated by anime and the dorama — short, tightly-run seasons that rarely outstay their premise. Anime in particular has become one of the most globally exported forms of television there is.