While its often assumed that anime in past and modern was the "same" it cant be further from reality - anime was always influenced by the trends it itself created. Some tropes and stuff were present at all times in different forms - but usually, success of specific shows brought up era of the followers.
So lets try to see the anime shows that set trends, how those trends developed and what remained of them after time.
>1991 (mostly kids/teen anime)
Maison Ikkoku - set a trope for the whole "MC suddenly has to live in dormitory with many girls" harem trope (mostly prevalent in VNs than anime though) and defined standard romance formula for the generations of future harem shows.
Urusei Yatsura - defined dozens of ecchi/harem trops used still now, and still present in current day in glorious form of ToLove-Ru
Ranma 1/2 - 1991 seems like a year of Rumiko Takahashi inventing "harem genre".
>1992 (mostly kids/teen anime)
All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku - popularizing and defining "artificial girlfriend" trope.
La Blue Girl - among most influencial hentai anime of all times. Tentacles were never so mainstream.
Tenchi Muyo! - final and official birth of Harem (cemented with Love Hina later)
Video Girl Ai - following footsteps of NukuNuku, the most iconic "artificial girlfriend" anime
YuYu Hakusho - birth of "modern" shounen anime. Since than shounen tropes changed surprisingly little (to tamer side mostly)
Legend of Galatic Heroes - not the begining of Space Opera genre, but near its end. The genre reached its epitome with this and died.
Sailor Moon - do i have to comment?
>1993 (mostly male kids/teens anime, start of shounen prevalation)
Slam Dunk - rise of sport anime (among other titles this year), popular in same format until now
>1994 (Ecchi and Yaoi year)
Marmalade Boy - welcome incest trope
Tekkaman Blade - if not for it, NGE would not exist. A first step for the revolution in the industry.
>>140615159
>1995
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - from now on, Gundam is fujoshi genre. Also "cool" robots, rather than realistic.
Wedding Peach - thanks to it we have PreCure
Evangelion - revolution in the industry, making it reorient from kids to older audience/otaku
Ghost In The Shell - anime breakthrough to west and exposure as "respectable media"
Fushigi Yuugi - iconic "girl gets in magic world" trope set
Hana Yori Dango - most popular and influencual (until now even) meainstream shoujo NTR
>1996
Rurouni Kenshin - more development of Shounen after YuYu Hashiko
>1997 (ecchi year)
Agent Aika - ecchi was never so mainstream as that
Utena - the definition of pretentious symbolism
>1998
Cowboy Bebop - a genre of pretentious episodic musical normalfag show was founded
Record of Lodoss War - THE fantasy DnD anime of all times, still defining todays tropes
Yu-Gi-Oh! - welcome to card game anime (Sakura last year does not count)
Kite! - birth and death of Anime as Hollywood like action media
Ah My Goddess - did not invent "magical girlfriend" trope, but sure as hell the most influencial in it ever
Blue Submarine N6 - pretty much a standard to semi-serious sci-fi series. While not sharing the same themes, the style and direction are emulated still, everywhere.
Serial Experiment Lain - birth of hipster "experimental" anime. Not many titles similar, but still.
>>140615168
>1999 (Eroge year)
Cosplay Complex - important historical moment!! Birth of SHITTY Harem. You`ll remember and curse this day forever.
Digimon Adventure - most influencial kids show. Before Pokemon, there was Digimon
Kuro no Danshou, ToHeart, Tokimeki Memorial - among the first ever Eroge anime adaptations
Legend of Himiko - birth of oversexualized busty sparsely clad battle maidens genre (Queens Blade etc.)
>2000
Blood: The Last Vampire - as you can assume, its not the "birth" of Vampires in anime, but gave impulse ot many others
Boogipop Phantom - first proper TV anime Horro
FLCL - birth of Toonami
Inuyasha - birth of "battle shounen" (not shoujo), oriented on girls
Azumanga - welcome the birth of comedy sol/4coma (also it isnt) adaptations
>2001 (Year of shitty harems)
Bible Black - most influencial anime of all times
Comic Party, Galaxy Angel, Happy Lesson, Sister Princess, Mahoromantic, I My Me! Strawberry Eggs!
SoulTake - birth of Shinbo
Fruit Basket - proper birth of Reverse Harem
Noir - birth of Ali Project OP/EDs
Hellsing - making violence and blood mainstream and greatly influencing action genre
>2002
.hack - trapped in MMO
Gundam SEED - savior of Gundam franchize, revitalizing it for next 20 years
I"s - birth of PROPER romantic ecchi harem (not the Tenchy type)
Kanon - First Key Shit
Kiddy Grade - perfection and epitome of the "sparcely clad girls doing action and fun things" genre
Onegai Teacher - first Mari Okada show without Mari Okada
>>140615198
>2003 (year of lolicon)
Battle Programmer Shirase, Bottle Fairy, Di Gi Charat,Popotan, Gunslinger Girl - birth of Lolicon
Blame! - birth of visual oriented conceptual action
Maburaho - birth of shitty "magic academy battle harem"
Munto - first and last attempt of KyoAni to making original anime
Scrapped Princess, FMP - perfection of "adventure anime" standard, later even more polished with FMA
The World of Narue - birth of Haruhi Sazumiya genre
FMP: Fumuffu - KyoAni defining new standards in how comedy shows should be made
>2004 (more anime made than in some past years combined)
Samurai 7 - death of Gonzo
Beck - birth of K-Onegai
Genshiken - birth of meme self insert meta anime for otaku
Hikaru no Go, Yukitate Japan - birth and defining "battle shounen" that does not involve battles (but cooking, board games, riddles whatever)
Kannazuki no Miko - first proper mainstream Yuri anime
Kyo Kara Maoh! - first proper mainstream Yaoi anime
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha - birth of Seven Arks
Mai-Hime - birth of Love LIve
Midori Days - birth of Toradora
Phantom of Inferno - birth of Urobutcher
Rozen Maiden - most influencial anime of all times, desuwa
School Rumble - MISUNDERSTANDING becoming the 90% of all comedy in japanese anime
The Adventures of Tweeny Witches - birth of Little Witch Academia
Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase - birth of Monogatari style
Bleach - trend and tutorial to manga authors how to turn stylish clothes magazins into popular manga
Elfen Lied - birth of edgy trainwreck
>2005 (even MORE shows than 2004)
Aria,Kamichu!,Mushishi - birth of boring sols
Strawberry Marshmallow - high point in history of making Sol anime
Eureka 7 - somewhat redefining Mecha anime making it more non-mecha friendly and less edgy
Honey and Clover - standard to how seinen romance anime should be made
Shakugan no Shana - birth of rie kugimiya and the era of global dominance of loli tsunderes
Suzuka - defining NTR and rage until todays
>2006 - the meme year
Boku no Pico,Buso Renkin, Code Geass, Welcome to NHK, Death Note - birth of /a/
D.Gray-man, Hitman Reborn!, Shounen Onmyouji - birth of fujoshit shounen anime
F/SN - birth of /v/ cancer
Sky Girls - birth of /k/ anime
>no Haruhi
Shit list OP
>>140615369
nerd
>>140615413
Haruhi wasnt the first, so it doesnt belong. 2003 is The World of Narue, which is Haruhi prototype
I'd say most of what you wrote is wrong, a trendsetter isn't necessarily the first of its niche/genre but the one that leads to a massive increase of similar material.
who cares about this old shit
I'd argue with you about a lot of what you said, but I'd still maybe be your friend.
What about today?
>>140617514
Today`s biggest trends affecting the future are:
Netflix saving anime with Kuromukuro and more shows later
Cygames saving anime by giving it budget
/v/ideo game adaptations becoming a thing and not necessarily complete flops, so see more in future
WIT going bankrupt for good
Advance of the "normal japanese person got in another world/body" LNs
The only relevant for future show this season though is Macross.
