Otogi Manga Calendar (Japanese: おとぎマンガカレンダー) was a black and white Japanese anime series aired from 1961 to 1964. It was the first anime series, and the first series ever televised.
The show was about historical events through a character who was not aware of "what happened on this day in history". Sometimes photographs and film footages were mixed in with the animations to explain what historical event had taken place. The research archives came from the Mainichi Shinbun newspaper where the director's Fuki-chan manga was printing at the time.
The show was divided into 2 seasons. In 1961, it was aired in the first season as "Instant History" with 312 episodes, each being just 3 minutes long. The second season "Otogi Manga Calendar" aired 54 episodes, with each being 25 minutes long[2]. The format of the second season paved the way for all the anime series to follow. While it was the first series ever broadcasted on TV, it should not be mistaken as the first anime ever broadcasted.
