Future Boy Conan

In July 2008 a war fought with magnetic weapons destroys the world. A group trying to escape into space fails and settles on Remnant Island. Conan is born there in 2016. Meeting Lana, a girl from another island, brings him up against the regime of Industria. It is Hayao Miyazaki's first work as a series director. Twenty-six episodes, broadcast on NHK General TV from April to October 1978. The source is the American writer Alexander Key's 1970 novel The Incredible Tide. Miyazaki changed it substantially, turning the book's pessimism into a hopeful story suitable for children. He explained why himself: even if someone's lost all hope for the future, I think it is incredibly stupid to go around stressing this to children. The ratings were modest, with episode 25 reaching 14 percent. It is nonetheless counted among the founding works of anime. In 2013 the director Kenji Kamiyama named it among the fifteen best anime of all time. Most of the themes Miyazaki would work on across his career were set here. Who it is for: viewers curious about where Miyazaki came from, and watchers of classic anime. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a film. This is a 26-episode series and not something to take in one sitting.