Then he and his father fall into a river and Ranma ends up cursed, sure. Animation, Action, Horror. Check out more on MAL this is definitely an odd 80s title that not many know about. 86 min Animation, Fantasy, Horror, Kyuuketsuki Miyu is a disturbing four episode long anime series about a young immortal vampire princess named Miyu and her protector/servant/best friend and more Larva. Yoshie Shimamura, 100 min As the show has seen many later installments and movies, like Goku in space, Angry green dude, “How not to raise your child” and Angry green dude II: The Electric Boogaloo. But there’s one pair of “officers” that are notorious for being unorthodox and just breaking more stuff than they fix. Animation, Action, Comedy. | Well in this world they’re called Trouble Consultants, and seem to help with everything. Steve Bulen, Not Rated 25 min | It might seem like a stale formula now but trust me: Kenshirou’s “wahaa”s as he does an intense acupuncture on his enemy never gets old. And it still managed to find success. Yûsaku Yara, A powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a disturbing story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people. Director: MoreTop Airing Anime 1 Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season; 2 Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season Part 2; 3 Yuru Camp Season 2; 4 Jujutsu Kaisen (TV) 5 Holo no Graffiti Denica Fairman, TV-PG In short, it will make you fear women and vow celibacy. | If you’re a DBZ fan but never watched the original 80s version, absolutely give this a try. Toshio Furukawa, Unrated Animation, Fantasy. In fact, people are still talking about 1980s anime to this day. Stars: It wouldn’t be true to the 80s if we didn’t have at least one cop show. Michio Hazama, TV-14 9. | Toshio Furukawa, It’s your classic sitcom set up: a big house, a lot of people living in different parts of said house, and not one of them is dull or arguably sane. 9 Daichouhen Doraemon by Fujio F. Fujiko (1980-2004) Rating: 8.35 In approaching fans of manga or anime, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who does not recognize the beloved robot cat. Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? Toshiko Fujita, Stars: The concept of witchcraft somehow fits the story perfectly, and even leaves some room for speculation about the intended message. Now cooking anime on the other hand, it shows an extra dimension to food appreciation and presentation. Director: I can’t explain why, but this show feels like the prequel to Treasure Planet. | Naoko Matsui, Akiko Nakamura, Stars: Jim Clark, Director: Yûsaku Yara, A warrior named Stick and a bunch of other rebels and soldiers must fight a deadly alien race and track down their ruler. Animation, Action, Crime. A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by two teenagers and a group of psychics. | Hideyuki Tanaka, An index page listing Anime of the 1970s content. Yuriko Yamamoto, Not Rated | Hayato Ikeda, Often times, the two get mixed with each other and that’s not exactly a bad thing. A new ... See full summary », Stars: | The protagonists are all extremely likable so you feel like you have friends. The only constant theme is that of religion, with many symbols and allegories popping up. Toyoo Ashida Mine Matsuki, Animation, Action, Crime, Emu Hino, a 29-year-old virgin, witnesses a mob hit and fears that the killer will now find her and kill her. Stars: Stars: Directors: 48 min | At first, the concept of the movie might be a bit confusing but give it a few minutes and it will grow on you i.e. Saki Takaoka, Unrated Taro found out, years later that Tein-Hei is the true killer and the man he killed was his father. Kumiko Mizukura, 19. Mari Iijima, And then other times you are just left in complete silence, which is somehow even more menacing. Best 1980s Anime: Our Top 25 Picks Of Movies & TV Series 1. Creatively speaking, this era was incredibly fruitful, giving us some of the greatest anime films and series ever made. Besides sounding like something a nice guy would say to Christianity, Macross is a show all about technology, mechs, space, guns… and there’s actually more to it! Janice Chaikelson, Stars: | Stars: Stars: Space pirates mess with them and now they have to get everything back on track. Animation, Action, Drama. Director: | Jun Hazumi, TV-MA | Stars: Michiko Kawai, Naoko Watanabe, if you like such stuff. In a steam-punk, fairy tale-like rendition of the story of Icarus, we see an entire Industrial Revolution take place in mere minutes. Director: Now this is one of those shows that just proves how wild people in the 80s were, as far as concepts go. A practitioner of the deadly martial art "Hokuto Shinken" allies with two children and an expert in "Nanto Suicho-Ken" to fight against the rivals who kidnapped his lover and threaten the prosperity of mankind. | About this list: I was an anime nut in high school and college in the 80s and 90s, when you couldn't just walk into a store and buy find all of them, you had to find some of this stuff fan subtitled on shaky VHS. 5. The movie depicts Japan during the World War II era and how two children just try to live day to day. Anime television series, specials, films, OVAs, and ONAs first released from January 1, 1980 through December 31, 1989. David Jarvis, Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi. | Mîna Tominaga, Action, Animation, Sci-Fi, Amid a supposedly simple escort mission, Joe and his crew experience a failure during their warp travel. 82 min Animation, Action, Adventure. 14. The soundtrack is top notch, with an incredibly menacing atmosphere during certain tense scenes. I don’t know what else to tell you, because you’ll either think it’s weird and immediately want something else to watch, or you’ll dive in head first and immediately want a hug. Animation, Action, Adventure. Yû Mizushima, | Animation, Action, Adventure, An orphan named Taro killed who Tein-Hei told her was the killer of his family. Mori Masaki Chiharu Kataishi, Animation, Action, Sci-Fi. Masako Katsuki, 15. TV-Y7 | In an age where the strong rule over the weak, the survivors of the fallout struggle over the ... See full summary », Stars: A list of 278 films compiled on Letterboxd, including Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Demon Womb (1991), Doomed Megalopolis (1991), Urotsukidoji III: Return of the Overfiend (1993), Urotsukidoji V: The Final Chapter (1996) and Urotsukidoji IV: Inferno Road (1995). | ! Masashi Ebara, I can’t say what the show is about as it’s an art piece, left to be interpreted however you like. Mîna Tominaga, Not Rated Show Hayami, Toshio Furukawa, TV-MA It’s a very simple movie conceptually: you get these mercenary guys called the Crushers and they’re given an important job. The thing that sets Macross apart is that its world isn’t entirely just gloomy. Animation, Adventure, Comedy. Two agents, a lady-killer human and a voluptuous demon, attempt to protect a signatory to a peace treaty between the human world and the demon world from radicalized demons. 25 min The ship, Macross, even has a believable ecosystem, as a lot of screen time is given to just ordinary civilians living on the ship and how they adapted to their new life. Osamu Dezaki | Bubblegum Crisis came out in 1987 by studio ARTMIC that despite the issues that it has in terms of plot holes and the occasional Engrish showing up, Bubblegum Crisis remains one of the anime titles that has the 80’s written all over it. Directors: In case you’ve watched almost all of the shows on this list, Crusher Joe should serve as a good under-the-radar type of 80s show. 4,899 A slight warning, as this show may look innocent enough on the surface. It’s based in an alternative timeline of Earth where a person has yet to be sent into space. | But the most frightening characters are by far the female ones, especially during umm intimate moments. Kazuki Yao, Takeshi Kusao, | Stars: Minky Momo was among the first in the magical girl genre. | Kazuyoshi Katayama | Stars: Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Kei Tomiyama, R It’s simple to see why Ghibli is such a titan today just by looking at the first few minutes of this movie. | | Search over tens of thousands of anime on AniList, the most comprehensive anime database. Animation, Crime, Drama, With the blessing of the 108 Dragons, Yo and Emu marry and receive new names, Ron Tayan and Fu Ching Ran. Makio Inoue, Hiromi Tsuru, Waka Kanda, | An ex-cop turned private eye uses his bionic eye that can hack into any computer system in the world and his mechanical quarterstaff to fight organized crime. Chikao Ohtsuka, Not Rated He falls for bounty huntress Jane Flower, whom crime lord Necron wants dead, and tries to help her save her world. Michie Tomizawa, The movie belongs to the drama and romantic genre. | Director: How is that not one of the best concepts for a slice of life comedy you have ever heard? I mean just look at Totoro and Nekobasu. | Masaaki Ôkura, Stars: That’s right, today we’re looking at the best anime series, movies, and OVAs that came out during the 80s! In a vast futuristic city, built on the ashes of the third world war, a police officer and her cyborg partner fight terrorism. Why fear a demon when you can fear starvation? Of course, that all goes to hell and now everyone wants to murder everyone. Jack Cardwell, WWWA Trouble Consultants Kei and Yuri team up with a petty thief to stop a mad scientist and his legions of mutated creatures. Leo Morimoto, Ichirô Nagai, R This show is considered one of the hidden gems of the 80s, as its story is immaculate, the soundtrack an absolute bop, and the enjoyment factor extremely high. 167,216 Masako Katsuki, Indeed, he sets out to do so; he's Yo Hinomura, a talented potter and artist ... See full summary », Stars: Hiroyuki Yamaga | 100 min Terrence Labrosse, TV-PG Run Sasaki, Animation, Action, Adventure. Hiroyuki Kitazume, Keiko Toda, Who knows! Join the online community, create your anime and manga list, read reviews, explore … It’s an episodic series and I wouldn’t really recommend binging it all at once, but rather putting it on here and there just to see whether Ataru is still alive. During a time when shounen was still at its overpowered infancy, Fist of the North Star stepped up to the plate and gave us all of the head explosions a man could want. (1980) 5. | Animation, Action, Drama, The story of a young man with the strength of 50 men who finds himself inside a harsh prison run by an evil assistant warden and the head boss who secretly has the ability to transform ... See full summary », Director: Kôichi Ôhata Ataru has the wandering eyes of an anime old man sensei. But it is one thing for sure: fun to watch. Urusei Yatsura is the story of an alien girl, Lum, who comes to Earth and falls in love with a boy. | Here is our list of the best old school anime of all time, consisting of anime from 1999 and before. This show is probably the most peculiar one on here. | But yeah, Attacker You! 81 min Why? In the past couple years anime has just been booming, with new hit shows coming in left and right. Shinji Ogawa, Unrated A young girl requests the help of a vampire hunter to kill the vampire who has bitten her, and thus prevent her from becoming a vampire herself. Director: It has that all-so nostalgic plot line of a little girl going to the big city with big hopes and dreams. Mitsuki Yayoi, Shigeru Chiba, 12. After killing the son of a powerful oil tycoon, an infamous hit-man becomes the target of American soldiers and superhuman killers. Director: Michie Tomizawa, A list of 28 films compiled on Letterboxd, including Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993), Perfect Blue (1997), Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Porco Rosso (1992) and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Atsuko Fukushima, 80 min Hiroshi Watanabe Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Not Rated 3. A pair of gals, a strong Vi and Caitlyn vibe for you League players, who are also called the Dirty Pair. Steve Bulen, 200 min And if you’re into urban legends I highly recommend you look into the background of this show, it gets a bit spooky. Animation, Action, Adventure. Geist is an M.D.S. 4. Stars: Cobra, a famous space pirate with a psycho-gun hidden in his left arm, supposed dead for two years, is back in action. In the far future, a human colony planet fights a desperate war against a formidable alien invasion force with its own tensions. Noriko Ohara, 55 min Animation, Action, Fantasy. | Toshiko Sawada, Ichirô Nagai, Director: Stars: Stars: This playlist features opening themes from every mecha anime (robot anime) from the years 1980-1989. 114 min A collection of short stories, made by different animators with "robot" as the working title. Animation, Action, Horror, High school student Sho happens to come across a mysterious metal object that causes his body to become enveloped in a weapon-encrusted suit of armor, changing him into a being called The ... See full summary », Director: When one of the biological experiments, BAOH, escapes ... See full summary », Director: Satoshi Dezaki, Shûichi Ikeda, 132 min Mami Koyama, Animation, Action, Crime. Yû Mizushima, Stars: A young swordsman ventures into a disaster stricken Shinjuku, Tokyo, to try and stop a powerful man, who has made a deal with the demon realm, from opening a portal that will allow demons to cross over to the human world. Especially the good old 1980s, you know with traditional animation and all those weird dance moves? This post may contain affiliate links. Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Galaxy (1980) 6. Will they just mess up your house, hit on some dudes, or repeatedly hit some dudes in the mouth? Osamu Saka, Animation, Action, Fantasy. A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into ... 2. Nozomu Sasaki, Ichirô Nagai, 46 min 17. Stars: Director: Annemarie Lawless, 1 Akira (1988) (Rating 8.16) As stated in the opening, the 80's produced one of the greatest anime films of all time in Akira. Yoshiko Sakakibara, Not Rated A superhuman outlaw courier and his female partner/manager are framed for the kidnapping of a millionaire's daughter. 20. Kazuhiko Inoue, Animation, Drama, Fantasy. Bubblegum Crisis – If I had to make a solid list of my favorite anime that will last to the end of time, this 8 part OVA series will be right at the time. | The movie is so graphic, bizarre, and oddly horny that all plot is kind of thrown through the window and you just watch a grotesque spectacle of blood and nudity. Mîna Tominaga, | Yoshiaki Kawajiri Teiyû Ichiryûsai, Steve Bulen, Mami Koyama, Mari Iijima, And if you aren’t very well versed in history, the exploration of the new world will sound like a grand adventure that will take your mind off our current affairs. 110 min Nobuaki Fukuda, Toshiko Fujita, Animation, Horror, Sci-Fi. | Once again, IGN’s readers voted in a poll to pick what the next Top 25 list we would tackle is, and this time around the best anime series won! This then sets up the world in which we find our protagonists, as well as hinting at the overall tone and end-point of the story. If that sequence of events doesn’t pique your interest at least a little, I will be surprised. | 124 min | | Heidi Lenhart, Votes: Lilly Browne, | Mixing various genres while introducing a bulk of audiences to the Japanese cyber Punk Aesthetic, this entry is the only one that all anime fans should at least be aware of. The boy’s name is Ataru and he’s honestly treading such a thin line with life. A trio of kids must search throughout 16th Century South America for personal answers linked to the legendary El Dorado. 13.10.1980 31.08.1981 6 Mushishi Zoku Shou: Suzu no Shizuku: AniDB Top 10: Movie 1 9.49 (1306) 8.57 (1315) N/A (0) 2826 16.05.2015 16.05.2015 7 Steins;Gate: AniDB Top 10 ARC Awards 2011: TV Series 24 9.43 (10228) 8.84 (10444) 8.27 (10) 18919 06.04.2011 14.09.2011 8 Owarimonogatari (2017) The background scenes are really superb and soothe your eyes. As far as coming of age stories go, Kiki’s Delivery Service is definitely top tier. | Shin'ya Ôhira Yasuo Hasegawa, | Stars: Video games, movies, TV shows, cartoons, anime, toys, comics, and so much more. Director: Kyôko Tongû, 18A Manabu Ôhashi, Stars: | Kôji Moritsugu, Yuriko Yamamoto, Tomiko Suzuki, Not Rated | | 99 min Tomoharu Katsumata The sense of adventure and childlike curiosity typical of Ghibli is at full force here as well, as we see two children, Pazu and Sheeta, look for the legendary flying city Laputa while the government is hot on their heels. It’s quite an interesting story, but while it was airing football/soccer wasn’t that big in Japan yet. Some of the qualifying factors taken into consideration for a series being deemed great are, entertainment value, popularity, lasting appeal, quality of writing, originality and significance to the medium of anime. Mika Doi, Not Rated List of Mecha anime/1990s < List of Mecha anime. Along with the peace came a distinction in classes, and soon a new era of violence began. Vic Mignogna, Check the list here. | Toshio Furukawa, It’s the 5th best rated anime of all time on MAL. | Those born in the eighties might say anime such as "Cowboy Bebop" or "Cardcaptor Sakura" should be counted as classics, but while these series are fundamentally important to the art form of anime as a whole, would these series ever be considered the foundations of the medium? So watching the original series where Goku is just a kid with his friendly little flying cloud, and Krilin still fears death, it’s refreshing you know? Director: Cosmo Academy has set a test for ten of its applicants to survive on a spaceship for 2 months. And although I have experienced it and wasn’t happy about it, they kind of have a point. Why? | Kumiko Takizawa, TV-14 Anime (46) Violence (25) Blood (23) Ova (21) Based On Manga (20) Female Nudity (18) Gore (16) Death (14) Nudity (14) Fight (13) Explosion (12) Murder (12) Robot (12) Blood Splatter (11) Multiple English Dubs (10) Police (10) Bare Breasts (9) Based On Comic Book (9) Brutality (9) Future (9) Gun (9) Kiss (9) Tv Mini Series (9) Battle (8) Cult Film (8) Friend (8) Good Versus Evil (8) Motorcycle (8) Dave Couch, Animation, Comedy, Drama. Beau Billingslea, Stars: Stars: By and way, if you’ve watched Mushishi, have you watched Kino no Tabi (Kino’s Journey) yet? Tsubasa would later on even inspire people to give the sport a try, not just from Japan either. How did it get so big? There’s not a person on earth who would mind being pals with these fury giants. Kinuko Ômori, Anime of the 1980s Astro Boy /Tetsuwan Atom (remake) The Blue Bird Cyborg 009 The Movie: Legend of the Super Galaxy Doraemon continued to air on TV and received movies throughout the 1980s Gigantor /Tetsujin Nijuhachi-go (remake) God Sigma The … Tôru Furuya, And you slowly realize that plot armor hasn’t been invented yet. Stacey Gregg, Edie Mirman, Not Rated | Director: And then you see a snippet of the show and see a bunny girl flying by using her sword as like a broom/skateboard. | Issei Futamata, The gods are from Greek mythology so fully expect Medusa and cooler Aquaman to show up at some point. Not quite as iconic as your Bad Batz Maru s' or your Hello Kittys , the cute blue robot is perhaps the next closest to reaching international design recognition. 57 min | Stars: With the abundance of new anime that is available to us these days, sometimes it's nice to kick your feet back and check out some classics. Don’t let the word “saint” in the title deceive you. In a dystopic pollution ridden future, the tank police fight for law and order and cause massive collateral destruction along the way. In an alternative Earth, a young astronaut participates in a controversial fledgling space program. (Most ... See full summary », Directors: But if you can get past that and feel like getting a gym membership you will rarely use, I would give the show a chance. Iona Morris, TV-PG 132 min Akira (1988) R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Sci-Fi. Mika Doi, | Mark Franklin, Not Rated | Gross: Catherine Battistone, 11. Its story takes place seven years after its prequel and is very quick to throw us into the action. | $0.55M, TV-MA However, before his first day on the job, he becomes embroiled in a network war, a legendary figure named EVE, and a plot to re-inhabit the Earth. Fu is kidnaped... See full summary », Director: And it is everything you expect it to be. 16. Animation, Action, Adventure, In the year 199X, human civilization has been all but destroyed by a nuclear holocaust. Stars: Keiko Hanagata, Tesshô Genda, | Pamela Weidner, | Stars: Animation, Action, Fantasy. The Best Anime Movies of the 1980s 1. But the curse is that whenever Ranma is in contact with cold water, he turns into a girl and can only revert after touching hot water. Why? As far as the show itself is concerned, it’s like a more toned down version of modern sports anime. Akira Kamiya, Find the exact anime you are looking for. Akiko Hiramatsu, Unrated Jim Terry An elite anti-terrorist agent battles terrorists threatening Japan, but a mysterious third player is involved in their own way. To make things worse,... See full summary », Directors: There’s a lot of death and blood in this show. Maria Kawamura, The action is really good, even though the art style might seem janky. Lists of animated feature films released in the 1980s organized by year of release: Stars: Wendee Lee, So it’s the task of Athena and her zodiac knights to make sure that doesn’t happen. 180 min So if you want some of that shounen-esque blood boiling action, give it a watch. Yûjirô Ishihara, A young biker stumbles onto a prototype motorcycle with a hidden function that has a link to the true nature of his world.