8 90s Anime You Shouldn't Skip

[Hayden_Russell]

8 90s Anime You Shouldn't Skip

Without these 8 anime from the 90s, the industry would not be what it is today.

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[Xerosch]

Yeah, the list includes some of the most basic series you can watch but that's for a good reason. Without the success of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball in Germany we wouldn't have localized Anime on DVD/Blu-ray and Mangas at all. There was even a time when the station that licensed DragonBall Z would show multiple episodes in the prime time.

It's just sad that series I enjoyed very much in the 90s and 2000s become more and more irrelevant. Just to list a few great ones that don't use the usual tropes too much (some exceptions may apply):
Trigun, Escaflowne, Lain, Texhnolyze, Paranoia Agent, Shigurui, Mushishi, Arjuna, Kino's Journey, Tatami Galaxy and Penguindrum.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I haven't heard of that anime on the 3rd page and also isn't G Gundam was a US release as that incarnation of Gundam never reach UK shore (Gundam Wing was the first Gundam shows we got).

Also no Tenchi Muyo??? It was the first harem show that I ended up loving (taught me that anime isn't all about mech, fights and etc and the girls genuine liked Tenchi).

 

[EyeReaper]

This list is definitely missing Slayers. The subjectively best 90's anime of all time.

 

[Seracen]

With respect...

Yes, yes you should skip Evangelion. True, it was genre defining, and a pivotal work that stands as a pillar of anime. But damned if it isn't hard to watch now (much like 2001: A Space Odyssey for sci-fi...blasphemy, I know).

The thing is, those works have been so influential, chances are that audiences have probably already seen the premise, and likely done in a more easily palatable manner. So unless you are in the mood for that particular brand of mind-screwing, you are really doing a disservice to the anime and yourself by just blindly watching it.

Having said that, I wouldn't retract my having watch Eva at all (well, maybe the hospital scene...you know the one...also sitting in that damn chair for damn near an entire episode).

As for me, Outlaw Star, Tenchi, and Cowboy Bebop (on Toonami's Midnight Run) will forever be enshrined as the best anime experience I'd ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Just thinking about that block of programming is enough to take me to my happy place.

 

[Redd the Sock]

No Slayers. No Utena. No Fushigi Yugi. No Tenchi. And those don't cover personal favorites: Nadesco, Captain Tylor, You're Under Arrest, Excel Saga, and Nadia.

Man I miss 90s anime.

 

[ccggenius12]

I'd like to throw out an honorable mention to Big O. The entire second season was created because the first played so well in the states. Plus, it was nice to have giant robots that moved around like they had some serious mass to them.

 

[Zontar]

I'd like to throw out an honorable mention to Big O. The entire second season was created because the first played so well in the states. Plus, it was nice to have giant robots that moved around like they had some serious mass to them.

Hard to have Big O in a 90s anime series when it aired in 2000.

In any event, a decent list, and G Gundam was one of the best things ever. The Dub is required viewing. Neo Canada is best Canada.

 

[Fox12]

A good list of the basics. Everyone has to start somewhere, and those are definitely some of the best. Man, anime used to be cool...

 

[Jorpho]

Yes, yes you should skip Evangelion. True, it was genre defining, and a pivotal work that stands as a pillar of anime. But damned if it isn't hard to watch now (much like 2001: A Space Odyssey for sci-fi...blasphemy, I know).

Well, you can watch the movies now instead, right?

On that note, I think I'll watch DBZ Kai if I ever get around to it, having never endured the original 300-episode run of endless powering-up.

I used to watch so much more anime than I do now, and there's so much I left unfinished. Sigh.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Cowboy Bebop makes everything interesting.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I'd rather gouge my eyes out than watch Sailor Moon.

 

[Trunkage]

I'd rather gouge my eyes out than watch Sailor Moon.

I say the same but about Cowboy Bebop. I eventually watched all of it and I think there were only two that I would class as decent - the pilot and I think number 17. I had no fun with that show.

 

[RJ 17]

Decent list, though you could probably be safe by skipping Evangelion.

Also I'm disappointed that Rurouni Kenshin isn't on the list...

 

[Nuuu]

I grew up on Sailor Moon, even used to play pretend as them with my Sister and her friend (though i'm a guy, luckily no one questioned it).

I NEED to watch Princess Mononoke now. I never knew what show it was until now, but when I was really young I remember seeing this oddly violent show with giant wolves early in the morning on Cartoon Network (I was a REALLY early riser back in my elementary school days, weekends included). I only saw about a minute or two of it, but it stuck around in my head since.

Cowboy Bebop was great though.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Thanks to this list and many comments above, I now want to binge many anime I either finished ages ago, or never got fully into. If only I had access to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

For non-anime fans, Cowboy Bebop is honestly the most accessible shows. Its stories mostly make sense in one veiwing. It is mostly serious, so there is less (if any) of the goody-looking visual anime tropes. Although, it does have humor spread throughout to lighten the mood. (Ed in general will take care of that a lot.) Bebop isn't for everyone, but it's worth watching the first few episode to see if you will like it.

At this point, I'd say the best way to watch DBZ (or quickly catch up to a little past midway) and get the gist of the story is to watch Team Four Star's Dragonball Z Abridged. (Their videos on Youtube are now monetized by Toe, so you're supporting the series creators that way as much as watching Kai on TV.) The first season is a little rough around the edges, but Seasons 2 and 3 increase the quality of the editing and all voice work to near professional levels. The abridged version also adds plenty of extra humor (including meta jokes, like how "power levels are bullshit") and moves much faster (until you've caught up to their latest episode).

I can't honestly recommend the Kai dub. The original Funimation dub had the Faulconer soundtrack that just seemed to my western ears to fit the mood of the show better than the Japanese sound track. Sitting through filler is worth it in this case. But to each his own on that subject.

 

[WindKnight]

I'd rather gouge my eyes out than watch Sailor Moon.

I remember having to intercede on the behalf of an online couple who liked dragonball (BF) and sailormoon (GF), where the BF constantly s***talked sailor moon and tried to make the GF watch dragonball though she clearly did not like it.

Trying to make him understand differing points of view, and that many of his criticism of sailor moon could be applied to dragonball, and many of his praises of dragonball could be applied to sailor moon, and him stubbornly refusing to get it was a good primer for future discussions on the internet.

 

[McElroy]

At this point, I'd say the best way to watch DBZ (or quickly catch up to a little past midway) and get the gist of the story is to watch Team Four Star's Dragonball Z Abridged. (Their videos on Youtube are now monetized by Toe, so you're supporting the series creators that way as much as watching Kai on TV.)

I'd go a half-step further and watch it on TeamFourStar's own site.

Anyway, [insert obligatory "anime is for weebs" -comment], though I really like most of Miyazaki's films that I've seen. The biggest issue with them is to choose/find which dub to watch. Mononoke I watched in English (didn't like the dub, honestly); Porco Rosso in Japanese; Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kiki's Delivery Service in glorious Finnish.

 

[Synigma]

Thanks to this list and many comments above, I now want to binge many anime I either finished ages ago, or never got fully into. If only I had access to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

For non-anime fans, Cowboy Bebop is honestly the most accessible shows. Its stories mostly make sense in one veiwing. It is mostly serious, so there is less (if any) of the goody-looking visual anime tropes. Although, it does have humor spread throughout to lighten the mood. (Ed in general will take care of that a lot.) Bebop isn't for everyone, but it's worth watching the first few episode to see if you will like it.

At this point, I'd say the best way to watch DBZ (or quickly catch up to a little past midway) and get the gist of the story is to watch Team Four Star's Dragonball Z Abridged. (Their videos on Youtube are now monetized by Toe, so you're supporting the series creators that way as much as watching Kai on TV.)

Everything on the list and everything right here. And Trigun. I understand some of the criticism for things like Evangelion... I put it right up there with Akira and Ghost in the Shell (both from late 80's or I would have expect to see them on this list) for starting the Anime craze... but taken on their own, especially compared to what came after, they are very out there and definitely not as easy to watch.

 

[Tanis]

DBZ raised an eyebrow.
G Gundam got a laugh.

NO mention of Vision of Escaflowne?

Shame.