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Anime from the 80's and 90's were the best. Look here for some recommendations.
- Thread starter Corpsepyre
- Start date
orthodoxy1095
Banned
Been on my list for a while. Feel like I've been missing out.
FlyingSaucer
Banned
Loved the background art in the first episode. I've been complaining about how fantasy works need more diversification and to stop copying post-Tolkienian pseudo-medieval aesthetics since at least the release of Baldur Gate 2, so a lot of things in Rokka no Yuusha rub me the right way so far.
Back to the topic ! Who remember the Harlock SSX OP ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExRay4i8QbQ
It does of lot of things right : Rintaro directing, the back-lighting illumination that helped shaping 80s anime, the space-opera, the explosions... Uchuu no umi wa ore no umi~
A Legend takes off :
https://youtu.be/KfamVhCONtc?list=PL140D8D98AD84565E&t=263
I learned something new today. I'll be looking into this artist. Which manga do you recommend I start with?
Speaking of Sonatine (love that movie and Kitano in general), I found Sonatine on LD at a thrift store for $5! The cover is a favorite:
Oh wow that brings me back. Sometimes I really like the English openings, other times I prefer the original. With Dominion, I like both.
Same thing with Bubblegum Crisis. The Japanese to the English for example.
wanderingprostheyltite
Member
Was trying to find a copy of Cagliostro with the Streamline dub yesterday and was unsuccessful. That was one of the first animes my buddy showed me and you just get attached to whatever dub or audio track you first hear especially when you're an impressionable youngster. Wish the blu ray offered it as an option cause that new Lupin just feels so wrong. Felt the same way about the Akira dvd release re-dub, voices just didn't click with me due to unfamiliarity.
wanderingprostheyltite
Member
Oh excellent! Thanks much.
Been watching Bubblegum Crisis on blu-ray (got the set from the kickstarter last year) and it's still a really fun show. And thankfully AnimEigo did a nice job with the transfer.
Definitely recommend the Discotek release JLynn mentioned. The transfer is excellent and the audio / sub options are great. I've watched it twice now and both dubs are pretty good, though I have a soft spot for David Hayter as Lupin (can't remember which one that is).
Yeah, I will add to the chorus who have said they prefer the "aesthetic" of 80's/90's anime overall to modern-day anime.
BUT, let me add this. I recognize that of course not all anime from the 80's/90's was godly and amazing looking and no doubt there were plenty of stinkers and bad looking ones. Just as I'm sure there are some very good looking anime made in current times as well.
What is the key point for me is again how the "style" looks. I so much enjoy seeing that "dirty" "sketchy" "hand-drawn" look that is what we consider as the defining look of past anime. Modern-day anime overall (not all, but most) is just too flat, clean, and monotone. It's especially noticeable in Character definition, shading, musculature and such compared to how they look in typical modern anime. The move from traditional cel animation to more computerized and digital formats is clearly a factor here.
That said, what is probably the biggest factor overall is of course, the economy. As we all know, Japan was experiencing its infamous "bubble economy" in the 80's and trickled into the 90's. With that capital at hand and with probably more pride and optimism overall they were likely compelled to go above and beyond in terms of producing and spending money on quality. Certainly it wasn't anything like outsourcing since Japan has been doing that for a while now. Animation of any kind is work-intensive and not cheap (even though sadly animators in Japan aren't compensated well) and cel-animation especially is quite time consuming. So of course with less money you're going to have to cut corners.
Well, that's what I think, it's the only way I can rationalize that something like Urotsukidoji got pretty decent production values (certainly by today's standards at least).
BUT, let me add this. I recognize that of course not all anime from the 80's/90's was godly and amazing looking and no doubt there were plenty of stinkers and bad looking ones. Just as I'm sure there are some very good looking anime made in current times as well.
What is the key point for me is again how the "style" looks. I so much enjoy seeing that "dirty" "sketchy" "hand-drawn" look that is what we consider as the defining look of past anime. Modern-day anime overall (not all, but most) is just too flat, clean, and monotone. It's especially noticeable in Character definition, shading, musculature and such compared to how they look in typical modern anime. The move from traditional cel animation to more computerized and digital formats is clearly a factor here.
That said, what is probably the biggest factor overall is of course, the economy. As we all know, Japan was experiencing its infamous "bubble economy" in the 80's and trickled into the 90's. With that capital at hand and with probably more pride and optimism overall they were likely compelled to go above and beyond in terms of producing and spending money on quality. Certainly it wasn't anything like outsourcing since Japan has been doing that for a while now. Animation of any kind is work-intensive and not cheap (even though sadly animators in Japan aren't compensated well) and cel-animation especially is quite time consuming. So of course with less money you're going to have to cut corners.
Well, that's what I think, it's the only way I can rationalize that something like Urotsukidoji got pretty decent production values (certainly by today's standards at least).
Nah. As far as I know the anime is sort of separate from the OVA and the movies.
I would recommend starting with the original OVA (which Oshii also worked on in addition to the movies) and then the two films. I've been watching the OVA blu-ray and it's great. Gonna check out the movies next and then eventually the anime.
I would love to see a Macross |OT|, mainly because it is a series I've been wanting to check out for a really long time, but don't really know what's out there and what's good. I saw some of Robotech when I was really young, but I don't really remember any of it.
AnimEigo left well enough alone when they got the JP HD assets. It's better for it. Haytor voiced Lupin in the 2000 Manga Ent dub.
wanderingprostheyltite
Member
Awesome, will check out for sure!
Angel's Egg.
Another movie done by Amano, with barely any dialog. It's still pretty amazing to watch.
Second this. Discovered this pretty late but still impressed by it. I wish there were more animated films in this style, specifically silent that tell a story just through visuals. Angel's Egg is incredibly evocative, such a particular feel to the world that makes your mind drift and fill in the gaps of what it's history may have been. Did Amano do anything else similar to this?
FlyingSaucer
Banned
Oshii already experimented with surrealism with Urusei Yatsura : Beautiful Dreamer is the most well-known example of this, but some of his episodes in the TV series were just as surreal - Mijime! Ai to sasurai no haha!? is a pretty terrifying plunge in the daily life of a Japanese mother in late XXth century, for example.
More recently, Space Dandy's 21st episode Kanashimi no Nai Sekai Jan yo was very explicitely inluenced by Tenshi no Tamago.
You may also be interested in omnibus movies like Manie Manie or Robot Carnival as some of the stories offer a very close atmosphere : Labyrinth labyrinthos and Nightmare, most notably.
Sex, if you are able to read Japanese ? Few translations of his works exist, alas.
The current Japanese edition is flawed, though, as it is presented fully in black & white while he originally experimented with small touch of colors in some pages...
I'm barely an N5, so I'll see what I can find online first before I dig in.
Really enjoying all this Patlabor talk. I strongly suggest not forgetting about the series. I waited far too long to check it out, and sorely regret it. The first opening I fell in love with and ended up importing CDs.
sechsterangriff
Member
A lot of excellent recommendations in this thread.
I'm in my 30s and watched a lot (if not most) recommendations here. Some of them like GitS and Patlabor I absolutely love.
But if there was only one series I could recommend then it's Legend of Galactic Heroes.
To me it has some of the most complete, insightful, best world building a series (let alone an anime series) can aspire to. Add to that memorable dialogue and characters but also occasional POV from completly unknown characters on the sidelines.
I love that it can have entire segments like this and this.
It's not without its flaws but it certainly is a masterpiece.
I'm in my 30s and watched a lot (if not most) recommendations here. Some of them like GitS and Patlabor I absolutely love.
But if there was only one series I could recommend then it's Legend of Galactic Heroes.
To me it has some of the most complete, insightful, best world building a series (let alone an anime series) can aspire to. Add to that memorable dialogue and characters but also occasional POV from completly unknown characters on the sidelines.
I love that it can have entire segments like this and this.
It's not without its flaws but it certainly is a masterpiece.
Ryouji Gunblade
Member
Outlaw Star's douche-y space antics never gets old to me.
Not sure if One Piece still counts.
Not sure if One Piece still counts.
I also love the openings for Secret of the blue waters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ii_eJWoG4
Maison Ikkoku:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkwOPVoLrnA
Saint Seya:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu533OKYHyc
Evagelion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MFuZsbx4u8
Berserk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocQ6PDiP014
I hope it's not inappropriate to bump this thread, but...
I just watched Patlabor: The Movie since used up a Hulu plus trial and forgot to cancel. Figured Hulu has a pretty good selection of anime and I really haven't seen much besides the Ghibli movies and Akira, so might as well dive in.
I started watching the first episode of the OVA but fuck Hulu and their ads, so I skipped to the movie.
So...
The Good:
- Man, this movie looks good. Every piece of background art is amazing. I want to flip through a picture book of all the dystopian cityscapes.
- I liked the direction. I know the guy who directed this did Ghost in the Shell, so I'm looking forward to watching more of his stuff. Lots of unconventional angles, warped perspective, and interesting framing. Some of it felt pretty radical for what I assume was a pretty mainstream production.
- Mech battles. Hard to make robot fights uninteresting, and these weren't.
The Bad:
- The plot. I think I got the gist of what was going on, but it was mostly a mess of technical gibberish leading to developments that came out of nowhere. I also got the feeling that the details weren't that important, in the end.
- The religious symbolism. Maybe this was breaking new ground back in '89, but at this point heavy-handed allusions to the Bible are such a typical "anime" thing. I feel like an idiot, too, because for as much as the movie made sure to point out all the references it was making (his name was "Jehovah," see!), I'm not sure what it all added up to, in the end.
- The dialogue (I watched the sub). The first third or so is basically nonstop exposition dump, delivered in big, inelegant chunks. Noa was also very annoying - strange, since from what I saw of the OVA she was the lead character. In this movie she's basically a ditzy sidekick.
That said, I still enjoyed Patlabor (what a weird word to say in English). It's satisfying on a pure visual level, and though I thought the religious aspect was a little tired, I do appreciate some of the broader philosophical questions the film brought up.
Plus, it has a mech that fucking shanks other mechs with its hand. That's awesome.
Not sure what to watch next, but it'll probably be something from this thread.
I just watched Patlabor: The Movie since used up a Hulu plus trial and forgot to cancel. Figured Hulu has a pretty good selection of anime and I really haven't seen much besides the Ghibli movies and Akira, so might as well dive in.
I started watching the first episode of the OVA but fuck Hulu and their ads, so I skipped to the movie.
So...
The Good:
- Man, this movie looks good. Every piece of background art is amazing. I want to flip through a picture book of all the dystopian cityscapes.
- I liked the direction. I know the guy who directed this did Ghost in the Shell, so I'm looking forward to watching more of his stuff. Lots of unconventional angles, warped perspective, and interesting framing. Some of it felt pretty radical for what I assume was a pretty mainstream production.
- Mech battles. Hard to make robot fights uninteresting, and these weren't.
The Bad:
- The plot. I think I got the gist of what was going on, but it was mostly a mess of technical gibberish leading to developments that came out of nowhere. I also got the feeling that the details weren't that important, in the end.
- The religious symbolism. Maybe this was breaking new ground back in '89, but at this point heavy-handed allusions to the Bible are such a typical "anime" thing. I feel like an idiot, too, because for as much as the movie made sure to point out all the references it was making (his name was "Jehovah," see!), I'm not sure what it all added up to, in the end.
- The dialogue (I watched the sub). The first third or so is basically nonstop exposition dump, delivered in big, inelegant chunks. Noa was also very annoying - strange, since from what I saw of the OVA she was the lead character. In this movie she's basically a ditzy sidekick.
That said, I still enjoyed Patlabor (what a weird word to say in English). It's satisfying on a pure visual level, and though I thought the religious aspect was a little tired, I do appreciate some of the broader philosophical questions the film brought up.
Plus, it has a mech that fucking shanks other mechs with its hand. That's awesome.
Not sure what to watch next, but it'll probably be something from this thread.
ããã¯ãã³
Banned
Enjoying this hilarity right now. It'll take me a long time to finish this, as it isn't a marathon series but I'm enjoying the journey. Watching Zeta Gundam and Shinsekai Yori as well. Nice mix up of modern and old Anime watching. I can tell that this series would definitely be more enjoyable if I was Japanese. The amount of historical and folk references are awesome but having to have the subs explain to you the pun or reference doesn't quite have the same punch.
evil solrac v3.0
Member
if no one has mentioned it, Space Adventure Cobra.
Jorok Goldblade
Member
The one that got me hooked:
Just saw this one last week. My sister's husband got a VHS copy that was maybe watched once if at all.
afternoon delight
Member
Thanks to this thread I've watched the first Patlabor OVA, Iria Zeiram, Dagger of the Kamui, and Record of Lodoss War- freaking CLASSICS! Thank you so much for the combined knowledge in this thread!
Gunbuster, Blue Gender, Crusher Joe, and Planetes to go!
Gunbuster, Blue Gender, Crusher Joe, and Planetes to go!
BetterThanNothing
Member
Anyone mentioned Gungrave? Great revenge story.
Boogeypop Phantom was really great for atmosphere, as well as serial experiments lain.
Don't know if Witch Hunter Robin should be included. Basically just remembering a bunch of late night Adult Swim and TechTV offerings.
Boogeypop Phantom was really great for atmosphere, as well as serial experiments lain.
Don't know if Witch Hunter Robin should be included. Basically just remembering a bunch of late night Adult Swim and TechTV offerings.
Corpsepyre
Banned
Gungrave is great. I like the animation quite a bit too.
I quick reminder to everyone that Outlaw Star (1998) is getting a Blu-Ray/DVD release on June 13th in the US. They're selling a collector's edition for about $70 that comes with a 100-page artbook and nice case. Otherwise, the regular Blu-Ray/DVD combo is about $40 right now on Amazon.
To keep things a bit older, I've been eyeing the Japanese Blu-Ray box set of Macross Plus for a year now. It comes with English, which is nice, but I'm still holding out on a US release. No clue if that title is caught in licensing hell. It's one of my favorite OVA of all time, so it's a shame we haven't seen a proper Blu-Ray release.
To keep things a bit older, I've been eyeing the Japanese Blu-Ray box set of Macross Plus for a year now. It comes with English, which is nice, but I'm still holding out on a US release. No clue if that title is caught in licensing hell. It's one of my favorite OVA of all time, so it's a shame we haven't seen a proper Blu-Ray release.
You shouldn't be holding out on a US release. Lionsgate/Anchor Bay own the US distribution rights to Macross Plus, but they have absolutely zero interest in anime. Earlier this year they've released the GITS SAC seasons set to cash in on the live action film, but the sets were unacceptably bad. After the GITS SAC fiasco it's better they don't touch Macross Plus.
So have people declared Team Ayeka or Team Ryoko in the thread yet?
Old school waifu wars. ;P
...Ayeka has a team?
Ugh, that's disappointing. Import it is!
shawnbuddy
Member
It's objectively better, because it's before moe ruined everything.
I'd do some shady shit for a full English version of YuYu Hakusho's Homework Never Ends. It's one of the go-tos for a rush of nostalgia.
I have a soft spot for the classics, but I dabble in modern series every so often. Nichijou may be my favorite series in the last couple of years, but I'm always down for JJBA when a new season rolls around.
I have a soft spot for the classics, but I dabble in modern series every so often. Nichijou may be my favorite series in the last couple of years, but I'm always down for JJBA when a new season rolls around.
OH-MyCar
Member
I'm going to bump and hijack this: Does anyone have any recommendations for modern anime in the vein of 80s & 90s? I've been going back through a lot of the junk I grew up with in this thread and I still genuinely love a lot of it. It's not nostalgia; a lot of this stuff is still legitimately brilliant to me.
I don't want to be the "I only watch OLD anime" guy. What's out there that has the weird, SMT darkness of Wicked City or Urotsukidoji? The emotion of Macross Plus*? The Takeshi Kitano-on-crack vibe of Crying Freeman? The only anime I've been exposed to in the last decade that I've loved was Space Dandy because it was just crazy, unrestrained imagination like a lot of what I initially fell in love with. Everything else I come across feels like it was made for a different generation of anime fans.
*Don't you dare say Macross Delta.
I don't want to be the "I only watch OLD anime" guy. What's out there that has the weird, SMT darkness of Wicked City or Urotsukidoji? The emotion of Macross Plus*? The Takeshi Kitano-on-crack vibe of Crying Freeman? The only anime I've been exposed to in the last decade that I've loved was Space Dandy because it was just crazy, unrestrained imagination like a lot of what I initially fell in love with. Everything else I come across feels like it was made for a different generation of anime fans.
*Don't you dare say Macross Delta.
Randomizer
Member
Can’t really call it modern but Black Lagoon is a great action series in the vain of 80’s/90’s anime.
Megalo Box is currently airing has been really good so far. It also looks amazing, captured that 90’s aesthetic perfectly.
Edit: Can’t believe I forgot Devilman Crybaby! My current anime of the year. It’s art style isn’t for everyone but the fluid animation, brutal and dark subject matter was a breath of fresh air. Seeing how popular it turned out to be, I can see more violent and adult anime making somewhat of a resurgence soon. At least I hope lol.
Megalo Box is currently airing has been really good so far. It also looks amazing, captured that 90’s aesthetic perfectly.
Edit: Can’t believe I forgot Devilman Crybaby! My current anime of the year. It’s art style isn’t for everyone but the fluid animation, brutal and dark subject matter was a breath of fresh air. Seeing how popular it turned out to be, I can see more violent and adult anime making somewhat of a resurgence soon. At least I hope lol.
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OH-MyCar
Member
All of those are exactly the kind of things I'm looking for. Thanks! I'll look further into them.
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theclaw135
Banned
You're sounding sort of like me. I've lately been harping on the lack of tsunderes, Misty (Pokemon) made a lasting impact I rarely get from modern anime.
Randomizer
Member
All anime studios moved to digital animation exclusively at the turn of the century. Modern anime looks very homogenous, with that clean often sterile look.
No posts for a year, signed up to the forums to post, but I've been recollecting some of my old theatrical faves on Blu-ray and thought to chime in.
One early anime I didn't see mentioned here was Captain Future from back in 1979. It was the first anime I ever saw and had it on VHS as a kid. I love the US music, very disco funk. People are pretty nostalgic about that though, the show was released in different markets with different theme music so depending on who you talk to you'll get a different opinion. Still, if you can track down some episodes it still holds up. I guess it's kind've from that He-Man sort of era in terms of how it feels. Some very contemplative moments, lots of still and slow exposition, their main space ship 'The Comet' had this crazy transformative sequence when it would time travel. I had the Lost World of Time episode as a kid but haven't seen it online since. You can actually find a couple of full episodes on archive.org in pretty neat quality.
Also I stumbled upon a more recent anime series which actually still kinda harkens back to some old school vibes. It's called Planetes and it's about these space debris garbage collectors that live in orbit and have to clean up space junk. It does have some kinda annoying dubbed voices though. Most of it is on Youtube currently.
en.wikipedia.org
On the topic of points made earlier in the thread about Japan's economic situation in the 80's as to the anime boom etc, I thought it's worth mentioning animations role in cinema at that point. Computer graphics were in their infancy, and hand drawn animation was actually the ultimate way to achieve whatever you wanted on screen. Hand drawn animation could simply go where live action couldn't.
Today, computer graphics have replaced hand-drawn animation, but computer graphics has also merged with live-action. Thus complaints about the state of anime are warranted, anime probably has dropped in quality, technical mastery and has left behind its grandiose peak simply because it doesn't have to reach those heights anymore - live-action now does the job that it couldn't perform in the 1980's.
It's amazing to look back and see it as a golden era. Having grown up with it, one would think it would just continue on improving and improving on into the future, but really if one needs a big hit of technical wizardry one can easily look to modern day sci-fi live-action films for a dose. The one thing that does leave me a little wanting however is the deeper philosophical underpinnings of some anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Musings on the nature of consciousness, cyborgs, and the cosmos are hard to come by in cinema these days, even though those figurative elements still feature pretty heavily.
One early anime I didn't see mentioned here was Captain Future from back in 1979. It was the first anime I ever saw and had it on VHS as a kid. I love the US music, very disco funk. People are pretty nostalgic about that though, the show was released in different markets with different theme music so depending on who you talk to you'll get a different opinion. Still, if you can track down some episodes it still holds up. I guess it's kind've from that He-Man sort of era in terms of how it feels. Some very contemplative moments, lots of still and slow exposition, their main space ship 'The Comet' had this crazy transformative sequence when it would time travel. I had the Lost World of Time episode as a kid but haven't seen it online since. You can actually find a couple of full episodes on archive.org in pretty neat quality.
Captain Future Wrecker Saga ( 720x 480, Eng Dub) : lior : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Captain Future Wrecker Saga ,enjoy,downlaod and keep,its rare and full!!!
archive.org
Also I stumbled upon a more recent anime series which actually still kinda harkens back to some old school vibes. It's called Planetes and it's about these space debris garbage collectors that live in orbit and have to clean up space junk. It does have some kinda annoying dubbed voices though. Most of it is on Youtube currently.
Planetes - Wikipedia
On the topic of points made earlier in the thread about Japan's economic situation in the 80's as to the anime boom etc, I thought it's worth mentioning animations role in cinema at that point. Computer graphics were in their infancy, and hand drawn animation was actually the ultimate way to achieve whatever you wanted on screen. Hand drawn animation could simply go where live action couldn't.
Today, computer graphics have replaced hand-drawn animation, but computer graphics has also merged with live-action. Thus complaints about the state of anime are warranted, anime probably has dropped in quality, technical mastery and has left behind its grandiose peak simply because it doesn't have to reach those heights anymore - live-action now does the job that it couldn't perform in the 1980's.
It's amazing to look back and see it as a golden era. Having grown up with it, one would think it would just continue on improving and improving on into the future, but really if one needs a big hit of technical wizardry one can easily look to modern day sci-fi live-action films for a dose. The one thing that does leave me a little wanting however is the deeper philosophical underpinnings of some anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Musings on the nature of consciousness, cyborgs, and the cosmos are hard to come by in cinema these days, even though those figurative elements still feature pretty heavily.
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Halo is Back
Member
Ghost in the Shell came out in the 90s so I can’t argue with you there
Halo is Back
Member
This looks cool what is it???The one that got me hooked: