Cychwynodd anime ar ddechrau'r 20ed ganrif, pan cyfarwyddwyr o Japan yn dechrau creu [[animeiddiad]] ac roedd rhai gwledydd erill yn dilyn: [[Ffrainc]], [[yr Almaen]], [[Rwsia]] a'r Unol Daleithiau o America.<ref name="manga!">{{cite book |last=Schodt |first=Frederik L. | title=Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics |publisher=[[Kodansha]] International |date=Reprint edition (August 18, 1997) |location =Tokyo, Japan |isbn=0-87011-752-1 }}</ref> TheY oldestdarn knowncyntaf animei ingael existenceei firstgreu screenedoedd inyn 1917 – a two-minute clip of a samurai trying to testdau afunud newyn sworddangos on[[samwrai]] hisyn target,trio'i only[[cleddyf]] toar sufferei defeatdarget.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://imprinttalk.com/?p=1557 |title=Japan’s oldest animation films |journal=ImprintTALK |date=2008-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hdrjapan.com/japan/japan-news/historic-91%11year%11old-anime-discovered-in-osaka/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080402012234/http://www.hdrjapan.com/japan/japan-news/historic-91%11year%11old-anime-discovered-in-osaka/ |archivedate=2008-04-02 |title=Historic 91-year-old anime discovered in Osaka |publisher=HDR Japan |date=2008-03-30 |accessdate=2008-05-12}}</ref> Early pioneers included [[Shimokawa Oten]], Jun'ichi Kouchi, and Seitarō Kitayama.<ref>{{cite book|last=Yamaguchi|first=Katsunori|coauthors=Yasushi Watanabe|title=Nihon animēshon eigashi|publisher=Yūbunsha|year=1977|pages=8–11}}
