85+ Best 80’s Anime (Recommendations) To Watch!

Updated September 18, 2022 by Ernie

Let’s embark on a time capsule of nostalgia. For the older generation, this list is going to be a tornado of emotions and memories.

Some of us grew up watching those heroes evolve, while others, later on, realized the beauty of the legendary anime and got hooked in an instant.

The 80s, although more based on iconic movies than series, offered some of the best titles ever and if you haven’t watched them yet this is the cue to do it.

So, without any further delay, let’s fire up the roller-coaster of our childhood.

 

86+ BEST 80’S ANIME THAT REMINDS US OF THE GOOD OL’ DAYS

 

87. Unico

Information
Title	Unico
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy
Type	Movie
Studio	Madhouse
Premiered	March 14, 1981
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 30 min.

Unico is a super cute Unicorn that travels around spreading pure happiness. We don’t know if it’s the power of its horn or it’s because he is too adorable to be sad when he is around. Nonetheless, the almighty gods got mad.

It’s not up to a puny unicorn to decide who’s gonna be happy or not, it’s theirs. I bet if we leave it up to them we will all be miserable.

God’s punishment fell upon him, his fate is to be banished from their kingdom for all eternity. They tasked the West Wind to kick him out, but he just couldn’t follow such an unfair judgment.

So together they fled. They started traveling from place to place to escape the eyes of the gods while continuing to draw smiles on people’s faces.

I think you realized, that’s a kids’ story, but it is so darn cute even we adults can enjoy it.

 

86. Jumping

Information
Title	Jumping
Genre	Adventure
Type	Movie
Studio	Tezuka Productions
Premiered	June 1984
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	6 min.

A very short film with a very deep meaning. Surprisingly, it touched many of its viewers, and every single person who watched it interpreted it in a different way. They viewed it in the way that it felt mostright for them and them alone.

As it is open for interpretation, there is actually no correct way to understand this anime as it was made to stimulate your imagination.

At the beginning of the movie, you will see a boy. The boy was walking down the street and steadily started to speed up until he ended up leaping over entire towns, mountains, oceans, and forests while meeting and surprising many unique people on his way.

 

85. Shiroi Kiba: White Fang Monogatari

Information
Title	Shiroi Kiba: White Fang Monogatari
Genre	Adventure, Drama
Type	Special
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	May 5, 1982
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 13 min.

White Fang is a mixed breed ¾ wolf and ¼ dog. He lived a harsh life in Alaska with his parents when one day the pup met a human child, an Inuit, called Mit-sah.

Mit-sah always wanted a dog and ended up convincing his father to adopt the whole family. However, winter in Alaska can be compared to a natural disaster, and surviving in these conditions is as difficult for humans and animals.

With multiple mouths to feed, will the Inuit suffer to keep the mutts by their side or will they resort to more extreme methods in times of need?

 

84. Legend Of The Forest

Information
Title	Legend Of The Forest
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy, Drama
Type	Movie
Studio	Tezuka Productions
Premiered	December 18, 1987
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	29 min.

In a peaceful forest, many different cute animals live in harmony. Eating, sleeping, and playing was their daily life in their little paradise.

However, their peaceful days came to an end when they learned that mankind’s annihilation was near. I don’t know how that is a problem, and they should actually be happy about it.

It is now up to a single little squirrel to save the day and stop the destruction that is about to fall upon them.

Good luck my friends, may the force be with you!

 

83. Osomatsu-kun

Information
Title	Osomatsu-kun
Genre	Comedy
Type	TV
Studio	Pierrot
Premiered	February 13, 1988
Episode Count	24 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

What do we have here? Sextuplets?! Six boys who are copy-pasted from each other, have the audacity of dressing the same way and even talk like one another.

They live in a town where no one has common sense, the residents are weirder than they are if that’s possible.

Throw away all your logic and just enjoy this comedy series that will make you forget all your worries.

 

82. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Information
Title	Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy
Type	Movie
Studio	Topcraft
Premiered	March 11, 1984
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 57 min.

The most excruciating nuclear war devastated the Earth. On the fateful days that were called the “Seven Days of Fire”, all of mankind was nearly annihilated.

Luckily, some humans managed to survive, however, they were no longer living on their paradisiac Blue Planet, but on a hellish land overruled by the jungle.

A millennium passed and humanity was still struggling to cohabitate on a mutated Earth swarming with giant poisonous plants and monstrous carnivorous insects. I would’ve rather killed myself than face a cockroach that was actually coming for my life.

In all that chaos, exists a small kingdom called the “Valley of the Wind” ruled by the fair and just princess, Nausicaä.

Her home, which was boarding the sea, was protected from the dangers of the spreading jungle. However, one day, a plane coming from Tolmekia crashed on the peaceful land and spread calamity to the people.

The plane was transporting an old weapon that was retrieved from the ancient war days. A diabolical weapon that could kill the jungle of course, but all the remaining humans with it.

The Tolmekian army invaded the small village to take back what was theirs. It is now up to the little princess to defend her home and save humankind from another abominable catastrophe.

 

Also read: 21+ BEST Studio Ghibli Movies (RANKED)

 

81. Neo Tokyo

Information
Title	Neo Tokyo
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural
Type	Movie
Studio	Madhouse
Premiered	September 25, 1987
Episode Count	3 episodes
Duration	16 min. per ep.

Neo Tokyo is an anthology composed of three short movies that are unrelated to each other.

Labyrinth Labyrinthos:

This one gave me a bit of an Alice in Wonderland vibe. There was a girl called Sachi who was running after her runaway cat. They both accidentally entered a mysterious mirror and ended up in a paralleled dimension designed as a mind-blowing labyrinth.

Completely lost, they saw the shadow of a clown. I wouldn’t have followed it even if my life depended on it, but I guess they are more courageous than I am, or stupider. Clowns are deadly, and they follow him to the unknown.

Running Man

A reporter was writing an exclusive article on the famous racing champion Zack Hugh. The man competed in the deadliest races ever organized and now he is only a shell of his former glorious self.

However, on the wheel, the reporter saw the man transform. He saw with his own eyes what could happen when man and machine became one and the result was in one word, miraculous.

The Order to Stop Construction

Tsutomo Sugioka was your everyday salaryman. He was sent on a mission to stop a construction project in the middle of one of the most dangerous jungles on Earth. I’m pretty sure he isn’t paid enough for that.

When he arrived, he was prepared to see atrocities, but what he saw was far worse. The place was overrun by AI construction robots.

He now must negotiate with sentient machines who, let’s put this nicely, are pretty stubborn, to end the constructions which are causing huge financial losses for the company.

 

80. Robot Carnival

Information
Title	Robot Carnival
Genre	Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Type	OVA
Studio	APPP
Premiered	July 21, 1987
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 31 min.

This OVA is very special since nine different and very talented animators were requested to work on it. This OVA is composed of nine brief movies and each film is independent of the others. The only thing that connects them is that they all depict the same concept.

They illustrate us, humans dealing with artificial life that they created with their own hands, in other words, robots.

The animation is let’s say peculiar and when I say peculiar it also means unique. As it might not be to the liking of everybody, it certainly is a project that was never seen before and even after as a matter of fact.

Each movie of course has its own title, here they are:

1: Opening (Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo)

2: Franken’s Gears (Koji Morimoto)

3: Deprive (Hidetoshi Omori)

4: Presence (Yasuomi Umetsu)

5: Star Light Angel (Hiroyuki Kitazume)

6: Cloud (Mao Lamdo)

7: A Tale of Two Robots (Hiroyuki Kitakubo)

8: Nightmare (Takashi Nakamura)

9: Ending (Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo)

 

79. Swan Lake

Information
Title	Swan Lake
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Type	Movie
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	March 14, 1981
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 15 min.

Do you know the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog? Well, here it is, the Prince and the Swan. Prince Siegfried was having a casual walk by the lake when he spotted a beautiful white swan with a crown on its head.

For some inexplicable reason, he felt the urge to follow it and saw the elegant bird turn into a mesmerizing Princess.

The Princess was named Odette and the Prince soon learned that the poor soul was suffering from the effect of a curse. An evil wizard who wanted her only for himself cast a spell on her that will make her transform into a swan when the sun is up.

The only way to lift the dreadful curse is if a righteous man, a noble man, will fall truly and unconditionally in love with her, when a man will offer her his heart as well as his soul to the Princess.

 

78. Honoo No AlpenRose: Judy & Randy

Information
Title	Honoo No AlpenRose: Judy & Randy
Genre	Drama, Romance
Type	TV
Studio	Tatsunoko Production
Premiered	April 8, 1985
Episode Count	20 episodes
Duration	22 min. per ep.

Randy is just a kind young boy who happened to see a plane crash right in front of his eyes. He rushed to the crash site and found a single survivor, a little girl with no memories of her past.

He took her with him, called her Judy, and took care of her as if she was his own sister. Years passed, and as Judy grew, her curiosity grew as well.

Now 16.she wanted to know where she came from, who her parents were, and what her life was like before the horrible incident.

She packed her bags and decided to go on an adventure to find her origins. Her only clue is a song that keeps popping up inside her head, the song’s title was Alpine Rose.

Of course, Rudy wasn’t going to let her travel to war infested areas all alone, so he tagged along. I don’t know how much help a brat can be against a bullet but it’s the intention that counts right?

 

77. Lady Lady!!

Information
Title	Lady Lady!!
Genre	Drama
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	October 21, 1987
Episode Count	21 episodes
Duration	23 min. per ep.

Lynn had endured the harshest pain any human will one day have to feel, however, poor Lynn had to go through it way too young.

She lost her mother when she was only five. Not only did she have to deal with grief but she also had to deal with the intense loneliness of her mother and her father’s absence.

Her mother was gone, and her father had such a busy work schedule that she barely ever sees his face and all that happened when she needed him the most.

However, there was one thing that let her soul stay strong, a promise that she made to her mom before she passed. Lynn promised that one day she will become an independent, elegant, and proper lady just like her.

 

76. Project A-ko

Information
Title	Project A-ko
Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	APPP
Premiered	June 21, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 23 min.

Long, long ago, Graviton City was completely destroyed by a stray meteorite. However, its people didn’t give up  and rebuilt it. They turned it into a high-tech city a hundred times better than the old one.

An inspiring story that means absolutely nothing to the high school girl gifted with superhuman powers who inhabit it, Eiko Magami.

The girl only cares about two simple things, her best friend that she adores called Shiiko Kotobuki, and attempting to arrive at school before the bell rings.

However, someone wants to get in between their unbreakable friendship. That someone is Biko Daitokuji. She wants to take Shiiko’s place at all costs and will resort to any possible method to achieve her goal.

She thought that maybe defeating her in battle would do the trick as she will find an equal in her. She built a cool Mecha to compensate for her lack of strength and challenged her to a duel.

Wait, that’s not really what matters. There is a spaceship that just entered the Earth’s orbit. It looks like they are searching for something. What can it possibly be?

 

75. Bari Bari Densetsu 

Information
Title	Bari Bari Densetsu
Genre	Action, Drama
Type	Movie
Studio	Pierrot
Premiered	August 1, 1987
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 25 min.

The same concept as Initial D, however instead of cars we have bikes. We have four friends, four talented bikers,they only have race in their head, they live for it.

During the day, they move on with their lives like everybody else. When night comes, they put their helmet on, and the intensity begins.

The four of them participate in races, illegal ones, on public roads. Anything could happen on the dangerous tracks, they could lose their lives because of one simple tiny mistake, but that’s not gonna stop them.

The adrenaline, the satisfaction, and the freedom, beats any consequence they will have to face.

 

74. Little Nemo

Information
Title	Little Nemo
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy
Type	Movie
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Premiered	July 15, 1989
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 34 min.

I’m gonna ask a stupid question, but you all watched Nemo, right? Well, that anime has nothing to do with the fish who can’t get back home.

The main character of this movie is Nemo, a little boy that acts like a brat. He wanted to welcome the traveling circus that just arrived in town; however, his parents were too busy to take him, so he ended up missing the parade.

He thought that a piece of pie would help him cheer up, so he acted as if he was sleepwalking and tried to steal some.

His mother caught him red-handed and immediately sent him to his room. After a while, he fell asleep only to be woken up by members of the traveling circus.

Before even having the time to panic, the peculiar characters told him that they were sent by their sovereign, to accomplish a task, and they needed his help.

They asked him to become the playmate, the friend of their Princess. He would’ve liked it so much better if the Princess was actually a Prince, but all well, it still sounds fun so why not. He just hoped that she is not gonna make him play with dolls all day.

 

73. Night On The Galactic Railroad

Information
Title	Unico
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Type	Movie
Studio	Group TAC
Premiered	July 13, 1985
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 45 min.

Giovanni isn’t living the dream, to say the least. His father disappeared at sea and his ill mother is unable to get out of her bed.

At school, he is treated as a pariah, but at least there is one person he can call “friend” and that person is the son of the mayor, a young boy called Campanella.

The town’s festival began, lights and laughter were everywhere, and Giovanni was alone on top of some hill dreaming about better days. That was when he saw a train soaring through the skies and landing on the firm Earth.

He ran to it and saw Campanella waiting for him. Together, they boarded the fantastic steam machine, and an extraordinary adventure was about to start, an adventure they will never, ever forget.

 

72. Barefoot Gen 2

Information
Title	Barefoot Gen 2
Genre	Drama
Type	Movie
Studio	Madhouse
Premiered	June 14, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 26 min.

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s the second movie of the series, but I think Madhouse made a record here considering it’s so much better than the first one, and so it had to be on the list.

In our timeline, we are now three years after the catastrophic bombing that devasted Hiroshima. Our MC, Gen, is currently in fourth grade. Hiroshima is still in a pitiful state and the boy is barely managing to bring food to the table.

His mother doesn’t have much more time on this Earth, and he found solace as a member of a group of orphans that came together to try to help and support each other in these harsh times.

Unique characters with depressing pasts and even more depressing futures are trying to make their day a little brighter as part of this makeshift family.

 

71. They Were Eleven

Information
Title	They Were Eleven
Genre	Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Kitty Films
Premiered	November 1, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 31 min.

The Interstellar Alliance managed to unify almost all the existing planets in the universe. They created an academy where they groom their students into becoming the Elite of the Elites.

The graduates are guaranteed to land the job of their dreams. However, to enroll you have to pass the entrance exam, an exam that can be taken just once every three years, so you imagine how fierce the competition must be.

Lane Tadatos managed to reach the final test. He and 9 other nominees have to survive for as long as 53 days on a ship that is stranded in the middle of the universe. The only contact they have with the outside is a button that they can press if they want to forfeit.

The countdown began, but wait a sec, there are 11 people on the ship, we have an imposter in our midst!

 

70. Gauche The Cellist

Information
Title	Gauche The Cellist
Genre	Drama, Fantasy
Type	Movie
Studio	Oh! Production
Premiered	January 23, 1982
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 03 min.

Gauche worked hard, very hard, and managed to become a professional cellist. However, practice and hard work alone are not enough when it comes to music.He finally understood that when his instructor harshly humiliated him by telling him that he can’t “feel” music.

And yet, he was not about to give up on his career. He went back home and started practicing some more since he didn’t do what else he could do.

It was a cat that ended up showing him the way, showing him what is the true meaning, the true feel of music, and the real training began.

A cuckoo taught him the real importance of practice, a badger taught him how to stay in rhythm, and a mouse showed him how to apply tenderness to his melodies.

In just four days, a true virtuoso was reborn!

 

69. Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam

Information
Title	Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam
Genre	Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	October 21, 1983
Episode Count	46 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

A planet called Clayad was attacked by alien forces. In a panic, the inhabitants started to evacuate their home.

In the chaos, some of the children were separated from their parents and ended up as trainee soldiers on Janous, a military spaceship.

After surmounting many hurdles, they managed to land on planet Belwick but they arrived too late, the planet was already lost to the enemy forces.

With no other choice, the 13 children that were left alive had to travel to Earth on their own if they ever want to see their loved ones again.

 

68. Bocchan

Information
Title	Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam
Genre	Comedy
Type	Special
Studio	TMS Entertainment
Premiered	June 13, 1980
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 12 min.

Bocchan just graduated and already landed his first job. Full of excitement and expectation, the new teacher was ready to build a bright future for his beloved students IF he managed to support them that is.

He knew that kids could be machiavellians, but not to that extent. The brats would go as far as to spy on him and pull super evil pranks on the fresh graduate.

Completely lost on how to deal with them, his colleagues put in his head the idea that it was his friend, Hotta, who was behind his students’ awful behavior.

After enduring a lot, the Dean finally decided to organize a meeting to punish the little miscreants. However, the sentence was extremely light considering the horrible things that they did to Bocchan.

What was even more surprising was the fact that the man he thought was his enemy was the only one to voice his disapproval of the unfair judgment of the Dean.

Who is really behind all this? Can he trust Hotta to have his back? What is the Dean hiding?

 

67. Armor Hunter Mellowlink

Information
Title	Armor Hunter Mellowlink
Genre	Action, Sci-Fi
Type	OVA
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	November 21, 1988
Episode Count	12 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

During the 100 years war, the military was in pure chaos. Corruption was running wild and embezzlement of any kind of military resource was a tremendous problem for the force.

Guess who were the culprits? The high-ups who wanted to fill their pockets, of course. They set up a scapegoat to save their skin and that scapegoat was a single military squad that was accused of all their crimes.

The entire squad was executed, however, one of the members survived, that man was called Mellowlink Arity.

The corrupted dogs robbed him of his brothers, his family, and he wasn’t going to let it slide. Revenge was all he could think about. They managed to save their skins thanks to their sacrifice, well he will claim their heads and make sure he takes his time while doing it.

 

66. Giant Gorg

Information
Title	Giant Gorg
Genre	Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	April 5, 1984
Episode Count	26 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Austral Island is a mysterious land that was erased from every single official record. You can even say that his existence can be doubted.

Finding the little mystery quite interesting, Tagami Yuu decided to uncover the reason behind all the secrecy kept towards the island. 

Using scraps of vague information, he set sail with his crew, towards Austral Island. But on the way, they were attacked by an evil organization known as “GAIL”.

They managed to escape and landed on the island they were searching for. They didn’t have the time to catch their breath when a monster ambushed them this time.

That was it, end of the adventure. Or so they thought,  as they were about to be annihilated, a giant blue robot jumped in and saved their butts.

The technology used on the robot was far too advanced for the humans of this era and Yuu had never seen something like this before but for some reason, its warm aura felt familiar, nostalgic even.

The Robot guided them to the depth of the Island where they witnessed the awakening of a 30 000-year-old alien.

Yuu knew it was going to be an interesting journey, but not that mind-blowing.

 

65. Shouwa Ahozoushi Akanuke Ichiban

Information
Title	Shouwa Ahozoushi Akanuke Ichiban
Genre	Comedy
Type	TV
Studio	Tatsunoko Production
Premiered	October 7, 1985
Episode Count	22 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Koujirou was living in the countryside when he decided to move to Tokyo. The stubborn boy insisted on bringing his beloved horse with him and he did, although I don’t know why it remotely matters in the story.

Anyway, upon arriving, an alien King descends on Earth and picks him to become the Hero that will protect the planet. He bestowed upon him a belt that gave him sorts of superpowers and a cool costume.

However, the so-called protector of Earth is more concerned about making Yuuka fall for him than anything else.

 

64. Bemubemu Hunter Kotengu Tenmaru

Information
Title	Armor Hunter Mellowlink
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	May 26, 1983
Episode Count	19 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

A young Demon Slayer who was known as Tenmaru got bored of his routine life of defeating puny monsters that were lurking near his tiny village.

He wanted a change, to duel strong creatures that will make him feel the fear of death and thus make him feel alive as well.

Accompanied by his cute trusty sidekick they embarked on a fantastic adventure discovering the land as well as themselves.

 

63. Adieu Galaxy Express 999

Information
Title	Adieu Galazy Express 999
Genre	Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Toei Animation, Studio World
Premiered	January 8, 1981
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	2 hr. 10 min

The entire galaxy is at war. The Machine Empire is trying to rob us of our very essence, our humanity. Every planet is a war zone. The planet that has it the worst is Earth.

Tetsurou Hoshino who was traveling aboard the Galaxy Express 999 finally returned from his journey and arrived on Earth to lend a hand to the resistance.

That was the plan at least, but the second he set foot on the once Blue Planet, he received a pre-recorded message from his trusted companion Maetel advising him to get back on the train as soon as possible.

He made it to Megalopolis station just in time, but Maetel was not there. The Galaxy Express 999 suddenly turned into a “Ghost Train” and God only knows where it’s taking him.

On top of all that, he has to deal with the black knight Faust of the Machine Empire and ends up accidentally uncovering their most well-hidden secret. Will he make it back alive to share the information that could change the tide of the battle?

 

62. Kimagure Orange☆Road

Information
Title	Kimagure Orange☆Road
Genre	Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life
Type	Series
Studio	Pierrot
Premiered	April 6, 1987
Episode Count	48 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Kyousuke Kasuga spent his entire life moving from place to place, from school to school, in order to keep his supernatural powers hidden from the outside world.

However, he had enough. He had no friends, no place to call home and it was starting to become very depressing for him.

After the seventh move, on his first day in his new school, he happens to catch a girl’s hat and takes it as a good omen. This is it; this is where he belongs.

He met the student with the lost hat, returned it, got a small crush on her while he was at it, and was super disappointed when he learned that the girl had a reputation and not a very nice one.

At school, she was called “Madoka the Pick“, a brutal delinquent who loves to fight, drink and smoke.

Now Madoka’s best friend fell in love with him while he developed some real feelings for the unusual, elegant brute and is now stuck in a very peculiar love triangle. Ah, and don’t forget he still has paranormal powers to hide from both of them.

 

61. The New Adventures of Gigantor

Information
Title	The New Adventures of Gigantor
Genre	Action
Type	Series
Studio	Unknown
Premiered	October 3, 1980
Episode Count	51 episodes
Duration	23 min. per ep.

Shotaro got promoted and is now working as an Interpol agent in the Branch Robo division. They deal with every single robot-related crime.

Even after becoming an official worker in the anti robot crime unit, the middle-aged detective still employs a little brat called Tetsujin who actually gets more job done than him.

 

60. Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy

Information
Title	Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy
Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery
Type	Movie
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Premiered	December 26, 1987
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 13 min.

Goemon was getting married to his beloved, the young lady of a very dangerous and honorable samurai clan Master, Murasaki Inabe.

However, their beautiful wedding was disturbed by the uncourteous attack of the Fuma ninjas who end up abducting Murasaki and are now asking for a very handsome ransom to return her alive.

Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko decide to join hands and put their minds together in order to retrieve the bride without having to pay a cent.

And even maybe manage to steal the Fuma treasure while they are at it. Two birds in one stone.

 

59. Armored Trooper Votoms

Information
Title	Armored Trooper Votoms
Genre	Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	April 1, 1983
Episode Count	52 episodes
Duration	52 min. per ep.

War, blood, destruction, and tragedy has been going on for way too long across all the Astragius Galaxy. After years of battle and death a delicate truce finally brought a fake peace to the universe.

Not long after what should’ve been a happy day, Chirico Cuvie, a special force military agent, was tasked with the secret and illegal mission to steal the hidden intel of the very organization that he serves.

Caught in the act, he is now a wanted criminal pursued by his own people. He manages to escape both the army and the traitors who trapped him.

To clear his name and regain his honor and grade, he has to bring the truth into the light and sniff out the rats hiding behind their distinguished titles.

 

58. Hi No Ame Ga Furu

Information
Title	Hi No Ame Ga Furu
Genre	Drama
Type	Movie
Studio	Mushi Production
Premiered	September 15, 1988
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 20 min.

It was June 19, 1945, and on that fateful day, a bomb detonated right in the middle of Fukuoka city. It robbed many of their homes, their friends, their family, and their livelihood.

While some fell into despair, others tried to pick themselves up and move on to a brighter future. But does the brighter future that they are searching for really exist in this now war-devastated city?

 

57. Chikyuu Monogatari Telepath 2500

Information
Title	Chikyuu Monogatari Telepath 2500
Genre	Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Tatsunoko Production
Premiered	August 4, 1984
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 45 min.

You know how annoying it is to try and find the right partner for you. When you maybe find a good guy, there is the flirting phase where you get to know each other, and you then realize that you just wasted your time for nothing.

Well, in the distant future, on another planet even, you have a supercomputer that does that for you. Isn’t it convenient?!

 

56. Sakigake!! Otokojuku

Information
Title	Sakigake!! Otokojuku
Genre	Action, Comedy
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	February 25, 1988
Episode Count	34 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Otokojuku is not your everyday private school, it’s a school reserved for the worst of the worst, the delinquents expelled from every single establishment they set foot in.

This juvenile foundation was created to make real men out of scum. Using the honor and pride of samurais, the strictness and discipline of the military, the knowledge and ethics of the feudal times they expect to make a miracle happen.

That all sounds nice but, in the end, all they do is use more violence on violent people, you know fight fire with fire in a way. Those who will finish their year in one piece will have the right to be called a man, the truth is, after all they will be going through you can say they are veterans.

 

55. Space Runaway Ideon

Information
Title	Space Runaway Ideon
Genre	Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	May 8, 1980
Episode Count	39 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

We humans are greedy people, we wanted to conquer land and we did. We wanted to conquer the sky and we did that as well. The vast oceans, a piece of cake. The only thing left to conquer was the never-ending space.

After years of research, humankind was finally able to soar freely across the universe. They traveled, they explored, and found the remains of multiple alien species, but all of them were long extinct.

That was true until they arrived on Planet Solo. There they encountered their first living alien clan, the Buff Clan, but let’s just say they got off on the wrong foot cuz they ended up attacking them thinking they wanted to steal their princess.

Some of the space travelers managed to escape the massacre. They put their hands on a robot called Ideon and an alien ship, boarded it, and fled into space with an army of aliens on their butts.

 

54. Arcadia of my Youth

Information
Title	Arcadia of my Youth
Genre	Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	Jul 28, 1982
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	2 hr. 10 min.

The Illumidus Empire had its sights set on Earth and they got it. Now they rule our planet with a tyrannical iron fist, and no one is brave enough to rebel against them.

No one except for the heroic and fearless Captain Harlock. He gathered a crew, made of people just like him, fair, just, and who have problems following unreasonable orders.

They ate, slept, and fought together, now they are like family and that family is the only hope that we have left.

 

53. Glass Mask (Glass no Kamen)

Information
Title	Glass Mask (Glass no Kamen)
Genre	Drama, Romance
Type	TV
Studio	Eiken
Premiered	April 9, 1984
Episode Count	23 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Kitajima Maya was born with an innate talent for acting. She was only 13 when she caught the eyes of a famous actress who took her under her wing and trained her to become the best.

Seven years later, the only person that can stand up to her is her eternal rival, the mesmerizing daughter of a popular couple.

While her brain battles on the scene, behind the curtains an intense love story is undergoing. A stunning man became her fan, and fell in love with her and she was not unaffected by his charms as well.

However, pin it on bad luck or just bad timing, but obstacles kept on pilling up between them.

 

52. Gunbuster

Information
Title	Gunbuster
Genre	Action, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	OVA
Studio	Gainax
Premiered	October 7, 1988
Episode Count	6 episodes
Duration	30 min. per ep.

It is the first-time mankind managed to go into space and what they found out there isn’t exactly pretty.

They discovered a race of humanoid insects that they called Space Monsters who instinctively just invade and destroy any planet they come across. A parasitic species of the worst kind.

They aren’t far from uncovering the existence of Earth. If we do nothing, our end is near, but they decided that it was at least better to die fighting, and who knows, maybe we can go further than that.

The best scientists were gathered and together they created specialized combat robots and searched across the globe for the best possible pilots, pilots that were going to become the heroes of humanity.

However, not only the prodigies want to fight for their homes. Do normal people just like us, through hard work and dedication meet the necessary standards?

 

51. Urusei Yatsura Movie 1: Only You

Information
Title	Urusei Yatsura Movie 1: Only You
Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Pierrot
Premiered	Feb 13, 1983
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 42 min.

A young boy was playing shadow tag with a bunch of friends. He stepped on one of the girls’ shadows and won the game.

Harmless fun it was supposed to be, who would have thought that years later it would come back to bite him in the butt.

The girl he was playing with was actually an alien princess and as per their traditions, when a man steps on a woman’s shadow that means that they have to get married.

She came back to the blue planet to make the necessary arrangements and prepare for the best day of her life while her future husband is trying to figure out a way to get out of this colossal mess.

Any ideas on how to help the man? Oh, and by the way, there is a second movie called Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer that I also recommend, this one is really harmless fun, I promise.

 

50. Igano Kabamaru

Information
Title	Igano Kabamaru
Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance
Type	TV
Studio	Group TAC
Premiered	October 20, 1983
Episode Count	24 episodes
Duration	23 min. per ep.

Kabamaru is a young modern-day shinobi who was training in the countryside with his now dead grandfather.

With zero knowledge about how normal kids act, he moved into the great city of Tokyo and started enjoying the pleasures of a comfortable life, when I say pleasures that means food.

Ramen, takoyaki, yakisoba, dangos, you name it, there is not one dish he isn’t addicted to. He also started going to a normal school where they teach you math, science, literature, stuff like that, not how to brew poisonous gas.

Well, it was supposed to be a mundane school, but it does have its peculiar side. Are all the schools like that in the city or did he just hit the jackpot?

 

49. Princess Sarah

Information
Title	Princess Sara
Genre	Drama, Slice of Life
Type	TV
Studio	Nippon Animation
Premiered	January 6, 1985
Episode Count	46 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Sarah Crewe was a rich little maiden living alongside her father. She was sent to a boarding school in London where she was striving in her studies and managed to make friends with the entire school.

However, the noble girl fell from grace when her father suddenly passed away and she lost everything she owned.

Now a poor orphan, she was made to work as a lowly maid in the very school she studied in, in order to survive.

Not only did she have to deal with the pain of grief, but the people who called themselves her friends all turned their backs on her since she was no longer worthy of walking beside them. As if ignoring her wasn’t hard enough, they went as far as cruelly bullying her.

A completely new life was unfolding before her and what looked like a fragile spoiled brat turned out to be way tougher than expected, inspiring even.

 

48. Oshin

Information
Title	Oshin
Genre	Drama
Type	Movie
Studio	Unknown
Premiered	March 17, 1984
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	2 hr. 3 min.

Oshin had the misfortune of being born as the daughter of an extremely poor family. Her mother who is with child barely has enough to eat and her father works all day in the rice fields stupidly hoping that that will be enough to feed an entire family.

Oshin who is just seven was mature enough to know that this won’t cut it, so she decided to give up on school in order to get a job as a servant in some rich noble house.

However, she didn’t expect to see the horrors that she witnessed, nor did she ever think that she will have to go through trials that will make her face her worst fears, what am I saying, her worst fears can’t even be compared to what they are about to make her do.

 

47. Magical Princess Minky Momo

Information
Title	Magical Princess Minky Momo
Genre	Fantasy
Type	TV
Studio	Production Reed
Premiered	March 18, 1982
Episode Count	63 episodes
Duration	23 min. per ep.

In a magical realm exists the fantastic land of Fenarinarsa. Fernarinarsa is the kingdom of dreams and in order to exist the people of Earth need to have faith not in the kingdom itself but in their own dreams.

As time passed and mankind grew more pessimistic by the second, dreams became illusions only kids still believe in.

Upon seeing the awful mindset the poor humans were in nowadays, the princess of Fenarinarsa, Momo, decided to descend into the blue planet to spread the beauty of dreams by actually making them come true.

Armed with a wand that can turn her into an adult when needed and accompanied by her trusted companions, they set on an adventure to bring back smiles for anyone that still believes even a tiny little bit in them.

 

46. Baoh, The Visitor

Information
Title	Baoh, The Visitor
Genre	Action, Sci-Fi
Type	OVA
Studio	Pierrot
Premiered	September 16, 1989
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	46 min. per ep.

Dr. Kasuminome is a deranged scientist working for an evil organization called Doress who is aiming to dominate the Earth’s financial world, thus snatching complete control over its people, and maybe even destroying it if they get bored.

The crazy doctor abducts a man and implants a parasite in his brain that turns him into an overpowered monster when in trouble.

They intended to use him for their plan, however, as they were moving him to another location, another one of their test subjects, a psychic little girl, escaped from her cell and freed him.

Now on the run, they must work together to make sure that Doress never lay their dirty hands on them ever again. But as powerful as they may be, fighting a supernatural army of artificially enhanced soldiers isn’t going to be a walk in the park.

 

45. Blood Reign: Curse Of The Yoma

Information
Title	Blood Reign: Curse Of The Yoma
Genre	Action, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural
Type	OVA
Studio	J.C.Staff
Premiered	May 1, 1989
Episode Count	2 episodes
Duration	38 min. per ep.

War caused way more damage than we could have ever imagined. The blood that was spilled brought forth from the depth of hell demons called Yomas who feed on the lives, the flesh, and the very essence of humans.

Only a few people are strong enough to fight against them, and one of those people was a righteous ninja who was ready to sacrifice his life to give Earth, and humanity, one more chance.

However, he will have to face the most difficult of all challenges. His best friend, his brother, who was killed in combat, came back to life as an undead soldier serving the enemy.

It was already excruciating enough to see them fall the first time and now he has to go through it all over again and deal the final blow with his own hands.

 

44. Arion

Information
Title	Arion
Genre	Action, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural
Type	Movie
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	March 15, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 59 min.

Let’s dive into ancient Greek Mythology. We are now in Trace where Demetres just gave birth only to have her newborn son, Arion, who was taken away by the God of Death, Hades.

Sent to the underworld, he trains in the depth of hell not to take revenge upon Hades but upon Zeus, the supreme God of Lightning who supposedly cursed his mother with blindness.

When he was finally ready, he left Tartarus and climbed to the surface where he had to face the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. 

He was defeated and captured but released not long later by the Goddess’s mute servant who joins the side of the young hero.

Returning to his hunt for Zeus, he will soon learn that the God of Gods is currently fighting with his brother Poseidon.

Let’s get real, Hades is scheming something, and Apollo is weirdly staying out of the chaos that he loves, a bigger picture is yet to unfold.

 

43. Amon Saga

Information
Title	Amon Saga
Genre	Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Type	OVA
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	Jul 19, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 14 min.

Amon cherished one single thing or person to be exact, and that was his mother. However, his mother died because of the actions of the tyrannical king that rules the land. Blinded by rage and grief he traveled to the capital to exact his revenge.

Upon arriving, he enrolls in the King’s army in order to get a chance to get close to the monster. During his mission, he comes across a princess being held hostage by the same king.

To save their princess, her kingdom has to hand over all their treasures and knowledge to the enemy and thus ultimately fall before them.

Now Amon has a choice, move on with his revenge and abandon the innocent or help the weak country. I think that making the king lose to a weaker country and humiliating him in front of the entire world would piss him off more, what do you think?

 

42. Wrath Of The Ninja

Information
Title	Wrath Of The Ninja
Genre	Action
Type	Movie
Studio	J.C.Staff
Premiered	May 27, 1989
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 26 min.

“The Prophecy of the Enchanted Swords” says the following: “The year a comet races across the sky, splitting the heavens, from the depths of the Earth the dark god shall arise once again. Then, the dark evil lurking in the shadows shall come out of the depths of Hell and show itself in the present world. The emotions of the blade of the wind shall collect at the source of the blue light. And the three blades shall become one, vanquishing evil.”

The fateful days are upon us and the three warriors wielding the legendary weapons already gathered. The three of them must become one mind, one body, one soul, to have a chance against the darkness.

 

41. M.D. Geist

Information
Title	M.D. Geist
Genre	Action, Sci-fi
Type	OVA
Studio	Zero-G Room
Premiered	May 21, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	44 min.

Years from now, Earth will become advanced enough to conquer the universe. Humanity has colonized multiple planets and all of them are living in peace under their rule except one, Planet Jerra, which is ravaged by the flames of war.

On the planet lives Geist. He is a warrior labeled as one of the Most Dangerous Soldiers, M.D.S for short, an artificially enhanced warrior who possesses superhuman combat abilities. But the experiment didn’t just refine his body, it also broke his mind since he is now infatuated with war.

Too dangerous to be left alone rampaging on the battlefield, he was cryogenically frozen and thrown into a satellite to sleep forever.

At some point, the satellite ended up crashing and Geist woke up from his slumber to participate in yet another bloody war and he was absolutely delighted.

 

40. Violence Jack: Slumking

 

Information
Title	Violence Jack: Slum King
Genre	Action, Drama, Horror
Type	OVA
Studio	Production Reed, Ashi Production, D.A.S.T., Studio 88
Premiered	Jun 5, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	37 min.

An earthquake destroyed the entire metropolitan city, and the Slum King took the opportunity to take control of it using the chaos as his ally.

He is now freely kidnapping girls and selling them to dirty perverts to become their personal toys. Mari was one of the unfortunate souls who fell into his grasp.

Having to endure special training to satisfy her customer and being tortured almost every day to increase her pain tolerance, her life became a living hell until her lover, Ken, finally showed up to save her.

The Slump King gave him a chance to free his beloved, kill Violent Jack and he can have her back, fail and she will be sold to the worst man he can find.

 

39. God Mars

Information
Title	God Mars
Genre	Action, Sci-fi
Type	TV
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Premiered	Oct 2, 1981
Episode Count	64 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

We are not alone in the universe and unfortunately, most of the aliens out there can’t stand us and just wish to eradicate us and our home.

That’s the case of Emperor Zule of planet Gishin, but at least he was a bit more imaginative than the others in his attempt to conquer Earth.

He sent a newborn baby that he called Mars to live among humans. He is accompanied by a giant humanoid robot called Gaia, I’m sure his cover won’t last very long.

Inside Gaia, the emperor implanted a bomb and when Mars will be old enough, he will detonate it thus destroying the blue planet.

Sucks for him, the baby was adopted by a loving family and grew to love this planet and its inhabitant, so of course, when he received the order to activate the weapon he refused.

However, Zule has a plan b. All he was to do is kill the boy and the bomb will automatically ignite.

 

38. Vampire Hunter D

Information
Title	Vampire Hunter D
Genre	Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural
Type	Movie
Studio	Production Reed
Premiered	December 21, 1985
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 20 min.

We are now 10,000 years into the future and yet it looks like humanity regressed instead of advancing. Sure, they have robotic horses now and high-tech weapons but the Earth is not theirs anymore, it now belongs to the vampires.

However, everything changes when Count Magnus Lee had the bad idea to bite a random girl to turn her into his slave.

In despair, the girl ran to a stranger who calls himself D and he just happened to be one of the deadliest vampire hunters around who now has his eyes set on one of the oldest, most dangerous beasts of the land.

Who will turn out victorious?

 

37. Urusei Yatsura

Information
Title	Urusei Yatsura
Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Pierrot, Studio Deen
Premiered	Oct 14, 1981
Episode Count	195 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Ataru Moroboshi is a man that is just cursed with bad luck. Just imagine, in between the billions of people living on Earth, he had to be the one representing his planet in a duel against a superpower race of aliens called the Oni.

At least, the Oni had the decency of looking down on him and chose a game of tag instead of a fight to the death.

His opponent is Lum, the daughter of the enemy’s leader and a beautiful and prideful maiden that is sure of a swift victory. However, he played it extremely dirty, snatched her top by “accident” and won the game as a result.

With now the label of the savior of the Earth, he decides to propose to his girlfriend. I don’t know how that happened, but Lum mistakenly understood that he wanted to wed her and thus moved in with him forcefully.

Now Ataru must try and save his crumbling relationship, find a way to reject the princess without making her too angry or she could kill him. That sounds like a lot of work, might as well flirt with every woman in sight, maybe that will help.

 

36. Dirty Pair

Information
Title	Dirty Pair
Genre	Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	July 15, 1985
Episode Count	24 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

If you find yourself in a pinch and can’t get out of it on your own, don’t hesitate and call the World Welfare Work Association or WWWA for short.

They will immediately send highly trained agents to come to your aid. However, just hope you don’t end up with the Dirty Pair as backup or might just end up as one of their many collateral damages.

 

35. Angel’s Egg

Information
Title	Angel’s Egg
Genre	Avant Garde, Drama, Fantasy
Type	OVA
Studio	Studio Deen
Premiered	December 22, 1985
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 11 min.

In a broken world deprived of logic and realism, only the weird and the bizarre exist. In this desolate land lives a mysterious girl, the girl spends her day taking care of a very large egg while trying to get her hands on some food and water.

One day she meets a man who is traveling while transporting a huge cross over his shoulder. The man was curious, who is that girl? What can possibly be growing inside that peculiar egg?

In order to satisfy his curiosity, he stuck with her only to realize that the little thing might be even more interesting than the egg.

 

34. Wicked City

Information
Title	Wicked City
Genre	Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror
Type	Movie
Studio	Madhouse
Premiered	April 25, 1987
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 22 min.

A parallel world to ours exists, it is called the Black World. For years now, peace was maintained between the two entities thanks to a pact. However, every now and then the terms of the pact have to be renegotiated, and that time is now.

The procedures should be as smooth as signing some documents in a bank, but this time, there are some people who are determined to never let a drop of ink reach the treaty papers.

It is now up to the Black Guards to make sure everything goes as planned and that the troublemakers end up in prison or dead.

 

33. Little Women

Information
Title	Little Women
Genre	Slice of Life
Type	Special
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	May 3, 1980
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 8 min.

Wartime was traumatizing especially for the old generation who had to endure it all without even knowing if there will be a future worth fighting for. Our parents would tell us stories of that time and we would all think that it was pretty cool, because we are ignorant.

This anime is here to give you a glimpse of the pain, misery, despair, and terror, our elders went through, through the lives of four sisters currently trying to survive in the depths of hell.

 

32. The Mysterious Cities of Gold

Information
Title	The Mysterious Cities of Gold
Genre	Adventure, Sci-fi
Type	TV
Studio	Pierrot
Premiered	May 1, 1982
Episode Count	39 episodes
Duration	27 min. per ep.

Esteban was a very special baby. He was found, alone, on a sinking ship with a very unique gold medallion on his neck. But that’s not all, the child also possesses a fantastic power, when he calls the sun, the sun answers and appears.

After the death of his adoptive father, he learns that he might be an inhabitant of the City of Gold. In an attempt to find out where he came from, his origins, and his real parents, he sets on a memorable adventure to uncover the truth.

 

31. Attacker You!

Information
Title	Attacker You!
Genre	Action, Romance, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Knack Productions
Premiered	April 13, 1984
Episode Count	58 episodes
Duration	23 min. per ep.

This anime is the pretty realistic life of a young volleyball player who plans on one day playing in the Olympics as a professional her country can be proud of.

She has family problems like her mother abandoning her when she was little. Her father can’t handle hearing her name anymore. Her little brother follows her everywhere she goes and it’s starting to become annoying.

Her arch-rival is now her friend, and they are training together towards the same goal. On the sidelines she has a crush on the captain of the boy volleyball teams, quite a handsome man, I approve of him.

And on top of that, she has to deal with her studies, her horrible coach who slaps her when she makes a mistake and stuff like that.

 

30. The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor

Information
Title	The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor
Genre	Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Type	OVA
Studio	Visual 80
Premiered	September 25, 1989
Episode Count	6 episodes
Duration	29 min. per ep.

Shou randomly gets his hands on something that resembles an orb and seems to be called the Guyver Unit.

The “thing” activated and bonded with the boy transforming him into an outer space warrior with super cool abilities.

However, that power isn’t meant to enjoy himself since he now must protect it from the Japanese government that is after it and not for very nice purposes.

Now that they know who he is, no one in Shou’s life Is safe anymore.

 

29. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

Information
Title	Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Genre	Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	March 2, 1985
Episode Count	50 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

The Earth was at war with the Zeons. After years of fighting, victory was theirs and now all they have to do is clean up the remaining pests with the help of a special squad they put together, which they call Titan.

However, they gave them too much power, and now the Titans turned into rebels far more dangerous than their initial enemies.

Kamille Bidan happened to live in a district now controlled by the Titans and got into trouble with one of their officers.

Due to a certain turn of events, he ended up stealing one of their Gundam and found himself in the middle of a deadly conflict that will determine not only his future but the future of the entire Earth.

 

Also read: COMPLETE Gundam Watch Order (Easy to Follow) 

 

28. Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise

Information
Title	Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise
Genre	Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Gainax
Premiered	March 14, 1987
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	2 hr. 1 min.

Shirotsugh “Shiro” Lhadatt is a member of the Royal Space Force, RSF for short, a space force that has actually never been to space.

Regarded as a failure who prefers playing with toys than participating in the war, Shiro started believing that all his work was in vain until he met a woman who completely changed his point of view. 

Her name was Riquinni Nonderaiko and she was so genuinely interested in his work that she cheered him up in seconds.

Shiro, with her encouragement, manages to become the first test pilot of the first rocket they managed to complete. If all goes as planned, he will become the first human to set foot in space.

 

27. Ulysse 31

Information
Title	Ulysse 31
Genre	Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	TMS Entertainment
Premiered	October 3, 1981
Episode Count	26 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

I’m sure your school forced you to read the Odyssey at least once. As I am sure none of you actually read it, I can say with confidence that you know what it’s about.

Well, this series follows the exact same story in an animated version, and the guy is lost in space and not somewhere on Earth. To add some spice to the mix.

 

26. Kaibutsu-kun

Information
Title	Kaibutsu-kun
Genre	Comedy, Horror
Type	TV
Studio	Shin-Ei Animation
Premiered	September 2, 1980
Episode Count	94 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Kaibutsu-kun is a young boy who comes from a fantastic dimension of the same name, Kaibutsu Land.  He’s got some very unique friends, all of them can be considered monsters, and are monsters actually, Dracula, Wolfman, and Franken.

The four of them decided that they wanted to change scenery and settled for a little trip to the Human Realm.

However, for some reason, it pissed off an evil organization composed of assassins called Demonish who are now using their full force to try and stop them.

 

25. Shiroi Zou

Information
Title	Shiroi Zou
Genre	Action
Type	Movie
Studio	Unknown
Premiered	1981
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	22 min.

I don’t know if you ever heard of the ancient White Elephant story, I sure didn’t until I heard of this movie.

This film was directed by Tadanari Okamoto and is based on the version that came from Southeast Asia. Yeah, a different version of the same story exists in different parts of the world. Every country turned it the way they liked it better.

 

24. Sherlock Hound

Information
Title	Sherlock Hound
Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery
Type	TV
Studio	Gallop, TMS Entertainment
Premiered	November 6, 1984
Episode Count	26 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

So how many Sherlock Holmes fans do we have here? Cuz you are going to love this anime. Based on the famous detective stories, the minor difference is that the characters are animals and not humans.

However, you still get all the best qualities from the famous series and even more. The intense mysteries, devious plans, and mind-blowing deductions, this anime will make your brain run at a hundred miles per minute and it’s gonna be awesome.

 

23. Silver Fang (Ginga Nagareboshi Gin)

Information
Title	Silver Fang (Ginga Nagareboshi Gin)
Genre	Action, Adventure, Drama
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	April 7, 1986
Episode Count	21 episodes
Duration	23 min. per ep.

Gin is a Tora-ge with silver fur. He was just born into what was supposed to be a beautiful world, but it was far from it.

Just before his eyes, his father was killed and eaten by a giant bear that was terrorizing the area. The world was cruel, but Gin thought that if he could make it a little bit brighter, wouldn’t it be worth it?

So, he gathered others who felt the same way as he did and harbored a tremendous grudge against the beast, and together, they concocted a plan to end him.

 

22. Touch

Information
Title	Touch
Genre	Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Group TAC
Premiered	March 24, 1985
Episode Count	101 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

This anime is based around three main characters.
Uesugi Kazuya, an ace pitcher loved by his town as they pride and joy, Uesugi Tatsuya, his loser twin brother who is actually hiding the fact that he is even better than Kazuya with a bat, and Asakura Minami, their childhood friend.

Everyone thought that the prodigy and the beautiful lady would end up together, even the hopeless case thought so and believed he could handle it, but he was wrong. He can give up fame or his brother but not the girl.

 

21. Ganbare Genki

Information
Title	Ganbare Genki
Genre	Action, Comedy, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	July 16, 1980
Episode Count	35 episodes
Duration	23 min. per ep.

Horiguchi Genki never met his mother. The 5-year-old boy grew up looking up to his father who was at the time a professional boxer.

However, his father’s career came to an end and so did his life. Adopted by his grandparents, they tried to stop Genki from following in his father’s footsteps but in vain.

Determined to make it big, he was going to show the world what the Horiguchis are made of.

 

20. Patlabor: The Mobile Police – The TV Series

Information
Title	Patlabor: The Mobile Police – The TV Series
Genre	Comedy, Sci-fi
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	October 11, 1989
Episode Count	47 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Humans are no longer needed, now we have giant robots called “Labor” to do the work for us, we only need to pilot them, easy right?

Even if life is much better now, humans still love to cause trouble and end up using those machines for crime of course,

To fight the idiots who would use the robots for evil, a police division called “Patlabor” was created. Armed with military-grade Labors, it’s their job to stop the evil doers and protect us from danger. 

 

Check out: 25+ Mecha Anime That You’ll Love Watching!

 

19. Macross (Choujikuu Yousai Macross)

Information
Title	Macross (Choujikuu Yousai Macross)
Genre	Action, Romance, Sci-fi
Type	TV
Studio	Tatsunoko Production
Premiered	October 3, 1982
Episode Count	36 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Do you think we are alone in the universe? Well, now that a spaceship crashed into our planet, we can be sure that we are not.

As The pessimistic souls that we are, we immediately decided that what’s out there is probably out to get us.

However, this thought did some good since for the first time, the entire Earth put aside their differences and united under the rule of the United Nations.

Using the technology that they got from their alien neighbors, they made their first spacecraft and called it SDF-1 Macross.

The day it was supposed to launch, aliens entered the Earth’s atmosphere. The humans attacked first, and just like that a galactic war began.

 

18. Ranma ½ (Ranma ½ Nettou Hen)

Information
Title	Ranma ½ (Ranma ½ Nettou Hen)
Genre	Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life
Type	TV
Studio	Studio Deen
Premiered	April 15, 1989
Episode Count	161 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Ranma is a prodigious martial artist that is aiming to become the best in the world. To polish his already refined skills, he traveled to China and decided to train in so-called cursed springs.

Thinking the rumors were just baseless superstitions, he ends up falling into one of them and then realizes he should listen to people more often.

Long, long ago, a girl drowned in that spring and now every time Ranma is slashed with cold water, he turns into a girl himself. When he touches hot water he turns back to normal. And now let’s see if he can find a way to remove the curse once and for all.

 

17. Ikkoku House

Information
Title	Ikkoku House
Genre	Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life
Type	TV
Studio	Studio Deen
Premiered	March 26, 1986
Episode Count	96 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Yuusaku Godai is currently living in Mansion Ikkoku. While he can be considered a normal student who only cares about his studies, the other tenants are far from mundane.

They are completely crazy people who only want to party and drive others to madness. Godai had had enough, as they had no sense of respect, privacy or decency. 

That’s it he is moving out!

As he was about to say his final goodbyes, he seemed to be hesitating. Does the new beautiful house manager have anything to do with his sudden change of heart?

 

16. Tomorrow’s Joe 2 (Ashita No Joe 2)

Information
Title	Ikkoku House
Genre	Action, Drama, Slice of Life, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Premiered	October 13, 1980
Episode Count	47 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Yabuki Joe ended the first season not on a very high note. On the brink of despair, he leaves the gym where he was training, to travel everywhere and anywhere to reorganize his thoughts.

When he thought he was ready, he came back into the world of boxing, however, there was still something deep inside that was holding him back.

To help him overcome his issues, his trainers called upon a professional boxer who will, let’s say, knock some sense into him, literally and figuratively.

 

15. City Hunter

Information
Title	City Hunter
Genre	Action, Comedy, Mystery
Type	TV
Studio	Sunrise
Premiered	April 6, 1987
Episode Count	51 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Ryou Saeba is the ace of the “City Hunter” organization. He can solve any problem thanks to his prodigious capabilities with a gun.

However, nothing can be absolutely perfect since the man is a huge pervert who would actually decide to throw away a mission just to try and squirm underneath the skirt of some random girl.

Thank god his assistant is always there to beat some sense into him with the help of her collection of giant hammers that appear out of nowhere in her hands.

 

14. Akira

Information
Title	Akira
Genre	Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural
Type	Movie
Studio	Tokyo movie Shinsha
Premiered	July 16, 1988
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	2 hr. 4 min.

In 1988 a boy who possessed psychic powers lost control of his ability and ended up destroying Tokyo. That event caused the beginning of World War III. As a result, the boy was captured and he disappeared into thin air.

Tokyo was rebuilt and is now called Neon-Tokyo, a city governed by gangs and violence. Shoutarou Kaneda is the boss of a motorcycle gang that is currently skirmishing with “The Clowns”, their rivals.

During those troubled times, one of his subordinates had an encounter with an Esper and is now showing signs of superpowers. The government, fearing that another disastrous event might occur, is now after him.

 

13. Castle in the Sky

Information
Title	Castle in the Sky
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Studio Ghibli
Premiered	August 2, 1986
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	2 hr. 4 min.

Sheeta is in possession of a very valuable amulet. Well, something that important shouldn’t be in the hands of a little girl so the government decided to confiscate it.

On the run, she finally hit a dead end trapped in an airship. I can’t believe I’m saying this but thank god pirates decided to attack since it gave her some room to breathe.

She managed to escape her captors and came across a young boy called Pazu. See, Pazu has a dream, he wants to find Laputa, a mystic flying castle. Since a lost castle is probably the best place she could ever hide in, Sheeta decides to help him.

 

12. Kiki’s Delivery Service

Information
Title	Kiki’s Delivery Service
Genre	Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Type	Movie
Studio	Studio Ghibli
Premiered	July 29, 1989
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 43 min.

Kiki is an apprentice witch. To graduate she has to pass a trial in a faraway town. She left all the people that she loves, grabbed her broomstick, and off she flew into the unknown, with her cat, of course, she is the only thing she won’t leave behind.

I forgot to tell you this, but Kiki is only 13 and has no money. Where is she gonna stay? How is she going to buy food and stuff?

Guess she got lucky since she managed to find a job the second she arrives in the town of Koriko as a delivery girl for a small bakery run by Osono.

Turns out she’s very good at it and ended up opening a delivery shop of her own where she delivers goods through her broomstick.

 

11. Grave of the Fireflies

Information
Title	Grave of the Fireflies
Genre	Drama
Type	Movie
Studio	Studio Ghibli
Premiered	April 16, 1988
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 28 min.

If you don’t wanna get too depressed, don’t watch this one. It’s the painful story of two young siblings who lost their parents to the war.

They have to survive alone in a bloody land where famine and poverty are claiming the lives of the few remaining survivors.

Fear, pain, sorrow, anger, despair, hopelessness, and all the good disappeared from the human hearts, in those dark times only the lights of the fireflies can ease your dying soul.

 

10. My Neighbor Totoro

Information
Title	My Neighbor Totoro
Genre	Adventure, Supernatural
Type	Movie
Studio	Studio Ghibli
Premiered	April 16, 1988
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	1 hr. 26 min.

Tatsuo Kusakabe is a teacher and he and his two little girls, Satsuki and Mei, just moved to the countryside.

As she was playing in the garden, Mei saw something that resembled a rabbit and followed it into the nearby forest.

The creature led her right to “Totoro” , an enormous spirit of the forest who, nope, it didn’t try to eat her, but became her friend instead.

Super hyped about her new acquaintance, she had to introduce him to her sister. And just like that, their lives are now filled with magic and fantastic adventures.

 

9. Space Adventure Cobra

Information
Title	Space Adventure Cobra
Genre	Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Premiered	October 7, 1982
Episode Count	31 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Cobra was the number one assassin of the Space Pirates. His name is feared throughout the galaxy, and he is wanted on every single planet in the universe.

However, the Space Pirates made the huge mistake of greatly angering him by taking away the only person he held dear.

Blinded by grief, he removed all his limiters and just rampaged to his heart’s content. When he was done, he decided that he now wanted a peaceful life.

However, a peaceful life with his face is impossible so he decided to get plastic surgery and he was now unrecognizable. But the surgery had a nasty side effect, he lost all his memories and is now living as a normal boring perverted salaryman.

Years later, the ghost of his loved one came haunting him, and dreams of his former self awakened in him. Cobra is back with a new reason to live and fight.

 

8. Astro Boy

Information
Title	Astro Boy
Genre	Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Tezuka Productions
Premiered	October 1, 1980
Episode Count	52 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

In the far far future, robots, or AI, are now part of society. They can be found in the political system, they have rights and feel emotions, they are humans in a way but with a mechanical body.

This anime revolves around a robot called Atom whose sole purpose is to fight crime. Justice is everything to him, but he will soon have to open his eyes and see the world as the corrupted place that it is. Can his efforts make a difference?

 

7. Fist Of The North Star (Hokuto No Ken)

Information
Title	Fist Of The North Star (Hokuto No Ken)
Genre	Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	October 11, 1984
Episode Count	109 episodes
Duration	25 min. per ep.

Kenshirou is the official successor of the martial school Hokuto Shinken. Using a very refined technique and taking advantage of the human body pressure points, he can literally make you explode from the inside out with one finger.

Betrayed by his best friend over a girl, Ken was left half dead in an apocalyptic land with no food or water. However, his anger and thirst for revenge helped him survive and now he is after the throat of the despicable man who took his beloved away from him.

 

6. Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac

Information
Title	Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac
Genre	Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	October 11, 1986
Episode Count	104 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Athena, the Greek Goddess of War and Wisdom just resurrected, and her faithful knights already gathered around her to protect her, although she is far stronger than they are.

Wielding the power of Cosmos, they have the strength to destroy mountains with their bare hands and that strength is only to be used for the greater good of the world.

Bronze, Silver and Gold knights are now the only line of defense that stands between Earth and the God of Death, Hades, that descended from the heavens to destroy them.

 

5. Crusher Joe

Information
Title	Crusher Joe
Genre	Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Type	Movie
Studio	Studio Nue
Premiered	March 12, 1983
Episode Count	1 episode
Duration	2 hr. 11 min.

Crushers can be compared to futuristic mercenaries. Pay well enough and they will accept any possible request.

Crusher Joe just got a new assignment, sounds pretty easy, all he has to do is transport a cryogenically frozen inheritress to the hospital.

He had just one job and had to screw it up. The guest is missing and of course, his employers will accuse him of the deed.

However, Joe knows who the real culprits are, and he isn’t going to let them have their way. To clear his name and complete his mission, a pirate hunt throughout the universe just started.

 

4. Captain Tsubasa

Information
Title	Captain Tsubasa
Genre	Action, Sport
Type	TV
Studio	Tsuchida Productions
Premiered	October 13, 1983
Episode Count	128 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Tsubasa Oozora is a prodigious football player who also has a passion for the beautiful sport. He enrolls in an elementary school with a pitiful team and transforms it with his talent.

He didn’t care about making it big, all he wants is to play the strongest of all players just for fun. On his inspiring journey, he made friends and rivals that will play a tremendous part in his development.

Just how far will he go? It seems that he is a player without limits. But being on top alone is all but boring. Who will climb the steps of transcendence along with him?

 

3. Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Information
Title	Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Genre	Drama, Sci-Fi
Type	OVA
Studio	Kitty Film Mitaka Studio
Premiered	January 8, 1988
Episode Count	110 episodes
Duration	26 min. per ep.

The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance are currently in a stalemate. We all know that stalemates can linger but isn’t 150 years stretching it a bit?

The situation began to dissolve when new leaders took the reins, the military prodigy known as Reinhard von Lohengramm on the Empire’s team and the talented historian Yang Wenli for the Free Planets.

Of course, each one of them has their goal which gives them the will and power to fight on. The two sides just got lucky since they happen to be able to give them what they want.

 

2. Dragon Ball

Information
Title	Dragon Ball
Genre	Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	February 26, 1986
Episode Count	153 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

Anime fans of all ages, of all generations, Otakus from all around the world, and even the mundane humans who like to watch series with real people in it, know what Dragon Ball is and even what it is about.

Our little Saiyan is blessing us with his presence even today with sequels each better than the others.

One of the Big Three of the anime, the universe deserves his title well and does not need further praises, its reputation precedes it.

My only question is: why is it in second place?

 

1. Dragon Ball Z

Information
Title	Dragon Ball Z
Genre	Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Type	TV
Studio	Toei Animation
Premiered	April 26, 1989
Episode Count	291 episodes
Duration	24 min. per ep.

It’s in second place because it just happened that Dragon Ball Z came out during the 80’s as well and no one here is gonna argue with me right? Dragon Ball Z is just lit, so much more exciting than the first one even after considering how awesome the initial series was.

So here you have your 80’s champion, Goku all grown up!

 

Conclusion

That was weirdly refreshing. There are so many anime that I have completely forgotten and I can’t wait to watch them all again.

I’ll be starting with Captain Tsubasa. Which anime are you gonna dive into?