What Was The Most Popular Anime Series The Year You Were Born?
1975 — A Dog Of Flanders
Nello Tarth is an orphan who grows up to be an artist. He struggles with daily poverty, but always manages to keep his beloved dog by his side. This heartwarming anime, which is adapted from Marie Louise de la Ramée's 1872 novel, is no longer as popular as it once was.
However, some still appreciate its historical value and charming art style.
1976 — Candy Candy
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Life is pretty rough for Candy. She's orphaned at a young age, then adopted into a home filled with mean-spirited girls. Things seem hopeless, until she meets a mysterious boy who changes her life forever.
Candy Candy is a comforting anime that's sure to churn up nostalgia for those who saw it as children.
1977 — Lupin The Third Part II
Lupin the Third follows the adventures of Arsene Lupin III, the greatest thief on Earth, who pulls capers along with Daisuke Jigen, Fujiko Mine and Goemon Ishikawa XIII. As they travel the world in search of challenging heists, they are pursued by the bumbling Inspector Zenigata.
Though the first season of Lupin the Third aired in 1971, it was - like the source manga - dark, gritty, and at times uncomfortable to watch. In contrast to this, the second season of Lupin the Third features a much more playful tone, and it first introduced the world to the goofy mastermind who's beloved today.
After a high-powered magnetic device rips the Earth apart, most of humanity is intensely eviscerated. A single spaceship manages to survive the devastation, and it lands on a small island. One year later, a young boy is born.
This boy represents the first step towards rebuilding the world's population.
The Rose of Versailles is a vaguely historical anime about a fateful meeting between Marie Antoinette and Oscar, Commander of the Royal Guard. Their rendezvous takes place just as the French Revolution is ramping up.
It's an adaptation of a manga of the same name that's written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda.
1980 — Astro Boy
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While the original Astro Boy came out in the 1960s, the 1980 version of Osamu Tezuka's robotic brainchild is rendered in full color and features a darker, more disturbing storyline than that of the first anime.
The series was adapted into an animated action/adventure CGI movie in 2009.
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In the world of anime, girlfriends who physically mistreat their boyfriends out of jealousy are surprisingly common. Way back in 1981, Urusei Yatsura provided an early example of the well-known trope. Alien princess Lum is dedicated to her human fiance Ataru.
However, she opts to electrocute him whenever he so much as looks at another woman.
1982 — Macross
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Macross (or Robotech for US viewers) features an epic intergalactic clash that begins with a spaceship mysteriously targeting a group of aliens. It's full of heart-pounding action, but also includes a healthy amount of grief and drama.
The American version of the show, Robotech, released over 80 episodes.
Captain Tsubasa is one of the original sports anime, so fans of shows like Haikyuu!! or The Prince of Tennis are sure to appreciate its contributions to the genre. Yōichi Takahashi is the original creator behind the series.
In the series, 11-year-old Tsubasa Ozora embarks on the long, hard road towards representing Japan in the FIFA World Cup.
In one of the manliest, most muscular anime ever created, a warrior named Keshirou journeys to save his girlfriend Yuria from the clutches of his rival, Shin. Hokuto Shinken - his powerful fighting style - attracts more attention than he bargained for.
Furthermore, it plunges him into a bloody conflict he never could have anticipated.
Perhaps the most well-known mecha franchise, the Gundam anime have established some of the genre's defining tropes. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam focuses on 17-year-old Kamille Bidan, who takes a Gundam to avoid getting in trouble for committing assault. Once he escapes, Kamille finds himself in the middle of an intergalactic clash.
It isn't the most popular Gundam series of all time, but it nonetheless caused a splash when it premiered in 1985.
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Nothing else released in 1986 can compare to the legendary Dragon Ball. The first entry in the Dragon Ball franchise is more lighthearted than the rest. It focuses on Bulma's quest to find the titular Dragon Balls and wish for the perfect boyfriend.
Goku tags along for the fun of it, and the two manage to get into a wide variety of bizarre situations.
1987 — City Hunter
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Ryo Saeba is equal parts hard boiled detective and talented gunsmith. His job is to clean up the streets by taking out goons and other undesirables, and making intimate connections with the ladies he meets along the way.
The original series ran for 51 episodes, and it spawned multiple sequels, as well as a 32-disc box set that's now a collector's item.
Totoro, the lovably massive forest sprite who befriends a pair of adventurous children, was first introduced in 1988. Though My Neighbor Totoro was the second film Hayao Miyazaki directed for Studio Ghibli (the first being 1986's Castle in the Sky) - it has to this day remained the director's most instantly recognizable property.
Spirited Away may have won an Oscar, but only Totoro has hoodies, sleeping bags, bedding sets, and pretty much every other branded product you can imagine.
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Ask any anime fan what their favorite series is, and there's a good chance they'll tell you it's Dragon Ball Z. Featuring life-or-death conflicts with alien menaces and some of the style's best fight choreography, the show has been continuously popular for years on end.
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Like Disney's Atlantis, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is based on the canonical novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. The titular Nadia teams up with an inventor named Jean Roque Lartigue and Captain Nemo of the submarine Nautilus.
Together, they try to stop the villain Gargoyle from taking over the world.
1991 — Oniisama e...
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- Oniisama e...
- Tezuka Productions
Though not particularly well-remembered, Oniisama e... - which takes place at a boarding school for girls - is a genuinely good series that addresses controversial topics like illicit substance use, homosexuality, bullying, and ending one's life with nuance and grace.
These are heavy topics that were tackled in a surprisingly poignant series.
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After teenage delinquent Yusuke Urameshi is struck and loses his life while trying to save a small child, he's given a second chance at living. He becomes a Spirit Detective for the underworld. This new job pits him against all sorts of nasty demons and evil masterminds.
However, it also leads to one of the best tournament sagas of all time.
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Before there was Rurouni Kenshin or Samurai Champloo, Ninja Scroll set the standard for action-oriented historical anime. The film follows Jubei Kibagami, a wandering swordsman who accidentally crosses paths with a team of ninja known as the Eight Devils of Kimon.
When it released in 1993, Ninja Scroll featured cutting-edge animation and marvelously progressive fight sequences that still hold up today. While it's not as well-known as other anime films from the period (like Akira or Ghost in the Shell) it's easily just as influential.
In feudal Japan, a mercenary ninja must guard the Dragon Stone and protect the Priestess of Light.- Photo:
These days, it's rare to find someone who's actively into Blue Seed, but in the mid-'90s, the series made a huge splash. Based on ancient Japanese myths about Susanoo, the storm god who's famous for slaying an eight-headed beast known as Yamata no Orochi, the story presents a liberal take on its source material by combining well-known legends with a modern, recognizable setting.
Few series can match Blue Seed's careful attention to mythical detail, and the story of humanity's fight against a group of malignant gods is unforgettable.
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- Gainax
In 1995, Neon Genesis Evangelion - one of the greatest anime of all time - stealthily crept into the public consciousness. The show is sort of a sci-fi mecha anime, but it's also a philosophical treatise, which makes it stand apart from the genre's more conventional offerings like Gundam Wing or Full Metal Panic!.
Evangelion is a master class on how to add nuance to a seemingly straightforward concept, and it deserves to be in every anime fan's knowledge bank.
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- Toei Animation
Dragon Ball GT is perhaps the most unpopular entry in the Dragon Ball franchise, but it's still the most noteworthy series from 1996. The show picks up where Dragon Ball Z left off, but is not based on a manga.
Instead, the people at Toei Animation came up with several original storylines, including one that adds a fascinating consequence for overusing the Dragon Balls.
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If you were alive in 1997, you probably know about Pokémon. The wildly influential anime was many fans' gateway into the style, as it managed to penetrate mainstream American culture in a previously unprecedented manner.
While enthusiasm for the franchise has waned slightly, it's still a popular show for viewers of all ages. Whether you're an old-school fan who's been trying to catch 'em all for decades or a child who learned about Pokémon through the Sun and Moon series, you probably have a soft spot for Ash and his beloved electric mouse.
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Cowboy Bebop relies on bebop and jazz music to set the tone for an action-packed story about bounty hunters in space. It boasts a cast full of unique, well-developed characters, and a plot that ranges from funny to devastating.
Not to mention, it features art that still manages to look current decades later.
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It's hard to believe, but Luffy and his pirate crew have been sailing the high seas since 1999. Not only is One Piece the most popular anime from '99, it's one of the biggest series ever. As of 2018, the show is still going, and new viewers have 1,000+ episodes to catch up on.
If you're looking for a show that will keep you busy for an eternity, you've come to the right place.
Kagome Higurashi's life is thrown into a perpetual state of chaos after a demon drags her down a cursed well. The hero finds herself 500 years in the past, and soon learns that an ultra-rare wish-granting jewel has been reborn inside her body.
The jewel soon breaks into tiny pieces, so Kagome enlists a half-demon named Inuyasha to help her collect the shards before they fall into the wrong hands.
In 2001, one of the bloodiest anime ever made hit the scene. Hellsing follows Alucard, a vampire who teams up with a group of vampire hunters because they offer him a solid paycheck and the opportunity to slay without consequence.
While on a mission, Alucard takes pity on a mortally wounded police officer named Seras and turns her into a vampire to save her life. Now, if she wants to survive, she must follow in his vicious footsteps.
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These days, Naruto is so well-known that it feels like the franchise has existed since the dawn of time, but it actually debuted in 2002. Naruto Uzumaki begins the series as an untalented orphan who harbors big dreams of becoming a great ninja.
Over the course of the show, he defeats nefarious government agencies and villains who want to take over the world, learns about his own mysterious origins, and makes his dreams come true.
The 2003 version of Fullmetal Alchemist is often overlooked in favor of the 2009 remake, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Even so, there's plenty to love about the first animated version of the story. Like in Brotherhood, Edward and Alphonse are on a quest to restore their original bodies.
The 2003 series is loaded with dramatic moments, rich character development, and a highly memorable score.
