80's/Early 90's Anime Appreciation Thread (Where Is The Love For The Older Anime)

I would consider myself an anime fan ever since I officially got into anime in 1995. The movie that got me into anime genre was the Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. Ever since then shows such as sailor moon and dragon ball z eventually made its way into mainstream television and I've been hooked ever since. I was even fortunate enough, I don't know if any canadians remember this but in 1995/1996 at least after 12:00 in the night columbia house use to run a commercial about signing up for their anime deal, and I use to get an anime from those guys once a month. The first anime they ever sent me was Akira, and ever since then I enjoyed a lot of the movies they sent me even though they were very adult in nature.

Its just I've been noticing especially over the last 5-7 years when popular series such as inuyasha, naruto, gundam seed, full metal alchemist, witch hunter robin, trigun, cowboy bebop, bleach and other series have been making its way into mainstream television I find a lot of my friends and fellow anime fans aren't even giving older anime a chance anymore.

I'm not debating that these new series are any good; I've seen the entire series of full metal alchemist, cowboy bebop and a few others. I'll admit they have a lot of interesting storylines and I would consider them very good, but my true love for anime probably extends from anything before 1994. Even when I did not know what anime was I still remember enjoying series I watched such as robotech and astroboy when I was a child. I just find with anime being more widely accepted around the world that a lot of people aren't simply giving older anime a chance anymore and are only liking anime thats popular.

Even my friends give me a hard time because they find my taste in anime is a bit dark, but my main priorities to me that define a great anime is telling a great story and music that sets the mood for the anime film or series being watched. I would like to tell you some of my favourite animated films and series from the 80's and early 90's and I would like to add a discussional value to this forum, based on do you think older anime deserves to have some recognition since anime has been gaining a lot of attention in recent years and should older anime make its way to mainstream television to broaden people's horizons.

Dominion Tank Police/New Dominion Tank Police
This is my absolutely favourite series of all time, and it hasn't changed ever since I was first experienced it watching it on the Space channel in 1998. I fell in love with the series. I loved the english voice acting, the japanese voice acting, the music and the overall humour of the entire series and not one anime has yet to change that. I'm a bigger fan of the older series over the newer one but I still enjoy them regardless.

The Professional: Golgo 13
A lot of people give me a hard time for this one. I understand this movie has a lot of over the top violence and a lot of nudity. This is still one of my favourites because of its story. I was captivated by its story and I think this movie had a great surprising ending that I didn't expect one bit. I recommend this film to anyoen that has an open mind, but some of my friends say they didn't like it because of the quality of animation. To me I'll watch anything anime no matter what syle of animation it uses. i want to get a chance to see the other films dealing with Golgo 13 but I really haven't had a chance.

Project A-KO
I absolutely love this film. I love everything about it. Its just so humourous and so action packed summed up into a 4 part movie series, with a two part interstellar series afterwards. Its very fast paced and you can't go wrong with aliens, space battles, robot suits, and overpowered schoolgirls.

Macross Plus
This 4-part series/movie has my favourite anime soundtrack of all time. This movie got me interested into anime music all together and it was my first experience to yoko kanno's style of music. I still classify this as one of the most beautifully animated films I have ever seen, even though its 13 years old.

Finally,

AKIRA
It really disappoints me, that as I'm meeting more and more people that are into anime none of them have ever seen this film. From my own personal opinion I think AKIRA is one of the greatest anime's ever made because I feel that it started that anime revolutuion in the western world. I just love the music and storyline from this anime and I even liked the original dub over the new dub for this film. I still own the original vhs film of this move when it was released in north america.

There are still other series, I love from that time frame such as 3x3 eyes, the original vampire hunter D, Venus Wars, Barefoot Gen and the original patlabor animated series. I thank U.S. Manga Corps, Manga Entertainment, and Streamline Pictues for introducing these older anime into the North American market. I will find time to watch the new anime that people consider popular but when the hype has gone down. So to the people of gaming force what are some of your favourite anime's from that time frame and do you think people that are getting into anime should give the older anime a chance.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

What about the original Mobile Suit Gundam? How can you not acknowledge the original Mobile Suit Gundam? I mean I KNOW you know how big gundam is and it all started with Mobile Suit Gundam. Like how you mentioned Patlabor though; love that anime even though i've never finished it.....

How ya doing, buddy?

I wasn't really introduced to anime until I was a sophomore in high school. However, a notable series that I remember enjoying was:

Record of the Lodoss War (OVA)
The story was pretty solid fantasy and everything about it hit the run-of-the-mill RPG cliches, leaving me hooked after the first episode. The action scenes were also memorable ranging from the party taking on a dragon and watching the duel of the kings. My only gripe about it back then was that the animators took a lot of shortcuts. Instead of having a dragon flapping his wings across the screen, it was more like sliding the dragon. Goes to show just how far animation has gone since the early 90s.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Man, how did so much crap from the 80's/early 90's get brought over? They didn't bring over nearly as many shows as they do now but still managed to somehow pick out a large amount of duds (which of course then became cult hits because there was nothing better available. I didn't think Akira was anywhere near as good or "essential" as everyone said, and reading the original manga just reinforced my position, but most likely for many it was one of the early gateways so people insist on it for sentimental reasons.)

Anyway one of the greatest series from the 80's (actually more like ever) is of course:

Touch
Comedy/drama/romance about youth, love and baseball. Excellent animation, haunting songs/melodies and deep (at least by today's standards) characterization. It also has the most amazing ******* ever! In case anyone's going to see it (and I recommend that you do!) I wont even write it out but you're going to know what it is when you watch the show, trust me.

Other favourites:

Patlabor OAV
I like this original precursor to the movies best. It had better stories, designs and overall production values than the following series, which probably had something to do with Oshii. Those angular, diamond-shaped eyes in the TV series designs freaked me out a bit.

City Hunter
Good, stupid fun. Can you ever get enough of Ryou? Oh, and it's probably the best-animated TV show from its era; the detail and consistency in character animation is simply stunning, especially since it's essentially just a comedy. In addition the ladies are some of the most attractive ones ever, and a very welcome change from all the annoying green and pink-haired schoolgirls/lolis of today.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I'm a big lover of anime both old & new. But stuff like DBZ (believe it or not, DBZ is pretty old), Lupin or They Were 11 has a special place in my heart for that delicious old fashioned flavor.

Some of the older stuff I've seen so far:

Akira
Goes without saying, this is a classic. Just don't watch it straight before bed. The climax kept me out of my sleep big time.

Lupin the 3rd
This is where shows like Bebop got their cool. Stories are hit or miss, with a few gems here and there (Lupin locked up in prison for a year just to get back at Zenigata), but the interaction between the characters is superb.

They Were 11!
Little known gem of a sci-fi movie. 10 students are sent to survive on board a derelict space ship for as long as possible as an entrance exam for Cosmo Academy, only to find when they arrive that there's 1 more person than expected, whom they believe is a saboteur. Interesting characters, great story, a bit of pseudoscience (but within the limits of maintaining suspension of disbelief), and plenty of tension make this a highly entertaining movie.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Damn. I have a huge story to tell but I'll just kick back and mention some real classic besides the ones everyone else mentioned here. (M:Plus is up there).

Gundam Wing
Air Time in Japan : 95-96
Shines in US - 2000
Hands down, everyone. Many people have been pushed to watch more anime and Gundam Wing was the biggest push of all time. I had a few animes before it started to catch the eyes of millions but that's how I feel about it. Neither episodes were even boring. Each character had a role, No one was left out. 2 fillers didn't make me think less of it. Even up to this day, Gundam Wing remains the 2nd anime to make me love anime in general.

Galaxy Express Movie 1-3
Air Date(More like a Discovery..) - Sci-Fi

There isn't much to say. I caught the first movie and it had this little marathon late night and despite it's classic animation. I still love both movies. I never saw part 3 yet =/.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

What I wouldn't give for someone to license Galaxy Express 999 and the movies... Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia (TV series and movies) for that matter as well.

And I'd like to see Ashita no Joe someday, if only to be able to see the original "sitting-tired-on-a-chair-in-the-corner-of-the-boxing-ring-with-a-blue-and-white-background"-scene that's been parodied so many times. Although that's 70's material, not 80's/90's.

FELIPE NO

The problem with that is each dubbing company nowadays wants a piece of the new blood of 2k5 to now. I haven't seen anything from Bandai just yet. I see no dub on the tv series of Turn A Gundam, Gundam X, V Gundam. What is up with that? My only guess would be cause many fans won't really buy classic shows. Any normal anime newbie will just look at an anime for its up to date designs and cg look.

By the way, Wasn't Captain Harlock and Queen Millenia already dubbed in the US? or maybe I'm talking about Emeraldas. Another question : Was G.E.999 : Eternal Fantasy ever dubbed in english? or was it that Ocean Group didn't have any time >.>.

Another few animes that don't have love (Which I'm very dissapointed at AS for not showing) are Texhnolyze and S.E. Lain.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I believe Eternal Fantasy was never even licensed in the US.

A lot of the old shows were shown dubbed on TV during the 80's but most of them were butchered and messed-up versions a la Robotech, and they've never had any proper releases outside of that. Emeraldas was released on DVD but only half of it. It's a bit sad because with every year, the amount of crap from Gonzo that sells like mad increases, and the classics are further buried under that pile. Though some gems pop up from time to time: last year ADV released the original Area 88 OAV, remastered, and it was quite awesome.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I love 80s and early-mid 90s anime. Back when everything didn't have to be all artistic or deep. I have a few favorites:

The original Macross came out in the early 80s, and it's still quality stuff. Whereas Gundam was pretty much a Sci-Fi Drama, Macross is defintely a Sci-Fi Romance.

Another good one that many people have unfortunately ignored is The Legend of the Galactic Heroes. A Space Opera to end all Space Operas, it mainly focuses on two genius strategists on opposite sides of a centuries long interplanetary war. It's known for the amount and the depth of it's characters.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Pyocola

Patlabor OAV
I like this original precursor to the movies best. It had better stories, designs and overall production values than the following series, which probably had something to do with Oshii. Those angular, diamond-shaped eyes in the TV series designs freaked me out a bit.

I'm in a different camp of liking the TV series more than the OVAs, actually. Something just didn't mesh with the OVAs, while still highly enjoyable and a must see for Oshii fans, didn't capture the same charisma as the TV cast. Of course one could attribute this to 7 episodes versus 47 for the TV series, therefore allowing much greater depth. Although after watching them back to back, the OVA easily has much smoother animation (well it is an OVA after all, with higher production values) than the following series.

I do enjoy the original Gunbuster / Top Wo Nerae 6 episode series as well. It's being released this March by Honneamise, for the first time since the US Renditions on VHS.

Akira, despite being heavily truncated from the 2000 page / 6 tome manga, is still an exceptional film, boldly showing such fluid animation, that really makes me enjoy traditional hand drawn animation more than CGed animation that seems to be the current rage today.

I’m a pretty big Macross TV Series, as well as Macross: Do You Remember Love fan. Actually, to be more honest, I’m more into the mecha designs by Shoji Kawamori (which did the mecha designs for the recent Eureka 7), than the story itself. It’s difficult to say, but there are parts in Macross which I am a fan of, while there are some that I couldn’t care less, which surprisingly one of the points would be the variable fighters of a Valkyrie turning into a GERWALK and also into Battroid mode. This isn’t a huge issue, but it’s something I don’t actually care much for. The relationships between the characters is fun to watch, and isn’t too overly done. However Macross Plus easily remains as my top favorite of that particular universe.

Old anime I should check out because of their LEGENDARY status are:

Maison Ikkoku
Kimagure Orange Road
Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato
Pretty much anything 90’s/Pre-90’s Gundam, I’m very ignorant in this field ;__;
(for shame, I failed Keroro Gunsou)

Also, Angel of Light, so you did check out the SPACE CHANNEL - IMAGINATION STATION back in the days huh? Ever remember seeing Venus Wars? Yeah that's what got me hooked on. I was like, shit, this is from JAPAN?.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Spatula

Also, Angel of Light, so you did check out the SPACE CHANNEL - IMAGINATION STATION back in the days huh? Ever remember seeing Venus Wars? Yeah that's what got me hooked on. I was like, shit, this is from JAPAN?.

Yeah I did, I remember the Space Channel - Imagination Station is where I got my first taste of some of the anime from U.S. Manga Corps. They use to show an anime film every friday night at 1:30 in the morning, Newfoundland Standard Time. Its kind of a crying shame they don't do that any more. I also use to watch the anime that use to come on teletoon during the christmas holidays during 1999-2000. I remember watching anime such as venus wars, dominion tank police, and big wars on the space channel.

Its kind of funny, I didn't even know the space channel at that time showed any anime, and thats how I actually spent my high school graduation. While everyone use to go up to the bonfire and get absolutely wasted, I actually spent my graduation night getting fried chicken take-out and crashing at my older sisters house watching cool shows on her satellite dish, and I was fortunate enough to see dominion tank police on the space channel that night, and ever since then its been my favourite series of all time.

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Robotech. First anime I've ever seen. Did not see it in the 80s. I just really liked this show and for a young person I was actually involved in the story line. I remember wanting the main character (the male) to like one girl over the other. I haven't seen it since then so I don't know any of the names. I guess the show just left a lasting impression.

Gundam Wing. The most memorable anime I know. I didn't see this show in mid 90s, more like the late90s/early00s. But I do remember becoming obsessed over it and having a huge embarassing crush on Heero. Yes I know! lol Anyways to me the storyline has been the most interesting of all the animes I've come across with so far. Good character development. And omg *drool* the action scenes are awesome.

Hmmm I don't watch anime that often but I see a mecha trend with me... XD

I was speaking idiomatically.

Queen Millennia is currently being subbed by Live-eviL, though they haven't made a hell of a lot of progress so far Love the show so far though, especially the music.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

They're doing Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999 as well and I love them for it, but as you say it's going slow. So far they've released 16 episodes of GE999 in almost three years, and at that rate the show won't be finished for close to 20 years.

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Originally Posted by Angel Of Light

I remember watching anime such as venus wars, dominion tank police, and big wars on the space channel.

Big Wars? Ugh, don't remind me. That movie was just about as bad, if not worse, than MD GEIST I/II DEATH FORCE. How fucking corny can you get with animu titles. Also, I'm not too happy I have to be reminded of his craptastic american football type armor whenever I pop in one of my US MANGA CORPS Patlabor DVDs ;__;.

I have the Dominion Tank Police DVD, which I believe it's the first one of a two part OVA (I think), but haven't watched it yet.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Last time I ever caught the movie MD Geist was in the IFC channel. It wasn't that bad. Another classic anime that has no love was The Judge movie that aired after MDG.

btw, L-evil released a new Harlock episode.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

When I discovered anime in the early 80's, I remember my favorite was Gatchaman (called Battle of the Planets in the US). I, also, remember Star Blazers and Macross (Robotech). They were really awesome in a time when cartoons were considered goofy and for children-only. I still watch them on DVD. And who could forget Fist of the Northstar? That movie was great.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ah, lately I've been a big retro kick, so I'll post some of the things I've been gorging myself on.

Teknoman (Tekkaman Blade - JAP)

Haha holy crap, one-liner central. But I was a sucker for this show as a kid. Come on, a guy just shouts "Tekno Power!" and transforms into an awesome armored fighter! It's not a bad series though -- voice acting's not even all that horrible. Fairly long too; some 40+ episodes.

Tekkaman Blade II

If I'm gonna watch the original series, might as well watch the OVA as well.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe

I found the first season at MovieStop used for $10.99, so hell yea I bought it. It's really cool though. The dubbing is the funniest thing about it -- everyone not only looks generic and stereotypical, but the sound that way too. But still, it was a fun way to go through a little nostalgia. According to Wiki, there's supposedly a movie coming out in 2008.

Robotech

I only ever liked the very first season, not New Generation or Masters or any of the other ones. Still, Robotech was awesome. Who doesn't want a fighter jet that can transform into a humanoid robot and a cross between the two? Above-average voice acting (save for Minmei -- I practically cover my ears when her songs are played) and some really good plot twists keep this one on my favorites list.

Transformers

How is it that a group of essentially weak, limited capactiy for battle robots end up defeating heavily-armored, battle-trained warrior robots in combat on a regular basis? Easy! They're the Autobots vs. the Decepticons, and good always triumphs over evil, even if evil is by and far more prepared. In any case, Transfomers was still cool as hell. Only thing I never really could grasp -- how is it that a roughly 15 ft. tall robot can transform into a much, much smaller and more compact gun, eh Megatron?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

90's was the best era for anime for me (when I got into it)...

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Tekkaman Blade

This goes without saying one of the best anime classics I've seen next to Record of Loddess War.

I was speaking idiomatically.

GunBuster is probably one of the best six episode series from the 80's. I mean you've got the GunBuster, probably one of the baddest mechs in history and Noriko who is whiney at first but becomes beyond awesome when she gets in the Gunbuster.

The Guyver OVA was also a good one. I'm really enjoying the new TV Guyver anime.

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I don't really remember a lot of the anime that I watched when I was younger, however, I do remember two of them.

Doraemon: mostly kid-friendly and good fun for the whole family. It's probably the one anime that I watched the most. Good fun. Although the movies mostly end up following much the same pattern, the TV show/manga shorts are pretty fun.

Patlabor: I dunno what I can say about this that hasn't already been said by others in the specific thread. Really awsome stuff, and doesn't take itself too seriously.

FELIPE NO

I quite liked "Cyber City Oedo 808". I also liked "Fist of the North Star", although i've only seen the first 30 episodes or so. I [i]wish[/] I knew the rest of the story V_V.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I was a huge fan of Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru, Granzort, as well as some of the Yuusha Series... it was a nice time for mecha anime

Saint Seiya was a good series too

Jam it back in, in the dark.