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Anime has become such a popular and evergreen storytelling medium because of its limitless opportunities and diverse genres. Shonen anime are some of the mediums most successful titles, many of which produce hundreds of episodes and run for the better part of the decade. Akira Toriyamas Dragon Ball remains an archetypal shonen triumph that modern anime continues to chase. Dragon Balls accomplishments are plentiful, and the original anime premiered on February 26, 1986, on Fuji TV, where it ran for 153 episodes, at which point Dragon Ball Z started to air on April 26, 1989.

Dragon Ball helped establish many shonen staples, yet itd be disingenuous to the demographic and genre to overlook the many anime that preceded it. Dragon Ball blazed trails for shonen anime during the 90s and 2000s, but there are still some incredible shonen titles from the 70s, 80s, and even earlier that still hold up and are as impressive and entertaining as Dragon Ball.

Ah, 1978. It was the year that Slashfilm writer Lee Adams entered the world, and two movies changed the course of comedy forever (those landmarks are unrelated; I'm not trying to claim any credit). Those movies were "National Lampoon's Animal House" and Cheech and Chong's "Up in Smoke" — two lowbrow hits whose influences are still felt to this day.

There was lowbrow stuff before 1978, of course. Slapstick — the age-old art of falling over, breaking things, and hitting people — was still doing the rounds in the increasingly weary adventures of Inspector Clouseau. But the class of '78 was different: wild, irreverent, raucous, bawdy, subversive, counterculture comedy that delighted the kids and antagonized the squares.

The two films had their roots in the '60s. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong developed their stand-up act in the latter part of the decade before making their break on the big screen with the granddaddy of stoner movies,...

The recent box office success of The Boss firmly establishes Melissa McCarthy as the current queen of movie comedies (Amy Schumer could be a new contender after an impressive debut last Summer with Trainwreck), but let us think back about those other funny ladies of filmdom. So while we’re enjoying the female reboot/re-imagining of Ghostbusters and those Bad Moms, here’s a top ten list that will hopefully inspire lots of laughter and cause you to search out some classic comedies. It’s tough to narrow them down to ten, but we’ll do our best, beginning with… 10. Eve Arden The droll Ms. Arden represents the comic sidekicks who will attempt to puncture the pomposity of the leading ladies with a well-placed wisecrack (see also the great Thelma Ritter in Rear Window). Her career began in the early 1930’s with great bit roles in Stage Door and Dancing Lady.