Its no surprise i think one factor is the eventual snowball effect that stated with the Wuxia Kung Fu films of the 70s in the West (The heros journey,Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest) This doesn't just apply to anime solely. Id wager back in the day the Japanese execs who began licensing their entertainment back in the day had that light bulb moment and was like "Hmm if the movies were hits lets try and give them the animated shows". The series that were able to get people in the Anime genre in the West that were big hits had a range of light to HEAVY cross-pollination of Wuxia influences from the tropes,moves, characters, story beats etc but with a twist. There's a reason if you like Big Trouble in little China you'll probably like Mortal Kombat & why the Anime boom in the late 90s early 2000s was huge. These are just small examples just off the top of my head.
Hwang Jang Lee the murderous assassin in Sheng Kuan in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow &Kyusaku Shimada as Yasunori Kato in Tokyo Last Megalopolis. Hrmmm... something very familiar
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Other Examples:
Beam struggle circa 1971?
obvious examples
Hwang Jang Lee the murderous assassin in Sheng Kuan in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow &Kyusaku Shimada as Yasunori Kato in Tokyo Last Megalopolis. Hrmmm... something very familiar
Other Examples:
Beam struggle circa 1971?
obvious examples
