The Retro Anime Thread

[neptune2venus]

This is the place to discuss, recommend or review anime that is considered a bit retro.

For clarification: Anime made after 2000 should not be discussed here.

The reason for this is that the year 2000 is a nice cut-off point; the anime boom was at it's peak and animation was becoming digitised (for better or for worse)

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I'll start some discussion.

What classic anime would you recommend for those just starting out in sampling older anime? Please give reasons why.


Vampire Princess Miyu TV (1997)

Based on the manga series by Narumi Kakinouchi and older OVA (1988), Miyu is not your average sparkly vampire. She is a schoolgirl by day and by night she is solving supernatural mysteries and killing Shinma with her servant, Larva. I recommend this as there is little fanservice, a good story, can be utterly depressing and gruesome sometimes and I love the music composed by Kenji Kawai. While the monster of the day episodes may wear a bit thin at times, there are some twisted tales which make great viewing.

Opening:

Vampire Princess Miyu OVA (1988)
This incarnation follows the psychic-medium, Himiko as she tracks down Miyu. It is refreshing that the arguably the main protagonist, Himiko, is an adult woman in her mid-late twenties. How novel! The animation is a bit lax at times but is extremely well drawn. It is a very atmospheric horror with little fanservice. I remember the Manga dub on VHS and it was great with the usual Manga-isms from back in the day.



Both are available on DVD. However, the OVA as far as I'm aware is Region 1 only (US).

 

[Lutga]

Violence Jack (1986)

This feels particularly timely, what with the Mad Max reboot hitting cinemas soon. If you fancy seeing what anime can do with a similar rough n' ready post-apocalyptic set-up, then this is it. It's hyper violent, as the title would suggest, and if you want an idea of just how icky it can get, the villain - on finding his love interest dead - proceeds to eat her body to combine their powers.

When people talk about the good old days of the sweary manga dubs, this is without a doubt, one of the 'best'

Macross Plus - 1994

If you like hot mecha action served up with what is essentially the anime version of Top Gun, then you'll love this. Over the course of four OAVs (or the film, if you're watching the compiled version) you essentially get some fantastic world-building, and some really top-notch sci-fi themes that absolutely pre-empt the emergence of things like Hatsune Miku in the real world. What really makes this special for me though is the music (courtesy of Yoko Kanno) - the concert scene in particular, that comes mid-way through, is frankly one of the most incredible combinations of audio and visuals you'll ever see in anime.

Twilight of the Dark Master - 1997

I'll preface this by saying I don't think this OAV is actually particularly good, but I feel like it doesn't get discussed much these days, which always surprises me considering it's one of the earliest things Akiyuki Shinbo directed before going on to do Madoka Magica, Monogatari and all the other Shaft stuff.

It's pretty throwaway fun, and the animation style practically screams '90s' at you, but if you want in a dark urban fantasy that combines elements of Legend of the Overfiend and Clamp's X, you'll probably enjoy this.

 

[Professor Irony]

Nice idea for a thread.

The Dirty Pair (1985)

Easily written off by the casual observer as fan-service sci-fi fluff, the pastel-hued exterior actually conceals one of the finest action-comedy series of the 1980s. It's not as much an icon of the time as Bubblegum Crisis, but I think the Dirty Pair, with its consistently smooth animation, detailed post-Star Wars backdrops and freeze-frameable sight gags (just in time for home video!), has actually aged better. While the quality of their stream isn't the best, the whole thing can be watched on youtube via Manga Entertainment's official channel, so no excuses for not checking it out.

Space Adventure Cobra (1982 film)

A pulp science-fantasy yarn about a cigar-chomping pirate with a gun for an arm, the tv serial was closer to being 'Lupin in space', but I think it's the film version of Cobra that sticks most in my mind. It plays things far looser with the source material, but it's loaded with sumptuous psychedelic visuals and I feel it's absolutely the high-water mark for Osamu Dezaki's quirky, experimental directing style.

Dominion Tank Police (1988-89)

The tongue-in-cheek response to accusations that Shirow only ever turned out 'fascist future cop porn', Dominion paints a nightmarish vision of an ecologically ravaged future, where the police are every bit as dangerous as the criminals, then fills it full of knob-jokes. It's not the prettiest or the most sophisticated production of its time, but something about the weird contrast of smutty schoolboy humour with what is, ultimately, a very bleak setting, really stuck with me in a way that very few other shows ever have.

 

[IncendiaryLemon]

What classic anime would you recommend for those just starting out in sampling older anime? Please give reasons why.

Hope you don't mind, but I'll field some obvious ones

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

(That clip is from the movie but I think it's a pretty good representation of the series too)

Personally, I think that Cowboy Bebop is a great anime not just for starting to try older shows but for people looking to start watching Anime in general. The show revolves around a crew of Bounty Hunters going around space trying to earn a living. The show is episodic with the underlying story not really coming to the forefront until the last 2 episodes. This lets the show dabble and experiment in a multitude of different genres and styles. The show can go from action (Asteroid Blues) to Horror (Toys in the Attic) to Comedy (Cowboy Funk) to down right weird (Brain Scratch) and it always manages to make each episode stand out. Sure, not every episode is amazing, but a lot of them are and it easily cements it among the Anime greats.

Berserk (1997)

Berserk is not only a great anime, with plenty of great battles and fights throughout the show, but it is also a great character driven show, following a crew of men known as the Band of the Hawk, and more specifically the relationship between Guts, Griffith and Casca. The show has a basic story but has some very well developed characters and relationships throughout. The show also does a good job of world building, and you really get to know the lore and politics of Midland. This aside, the animation hasn't aged very well in places and it ends on a cliffhanger that never saw a continuation (at least in in Anime form) but that aside, it's a great watch. Be warned though, as you can probably tell from the video, it can be quite a gory show, so stay away if that's not your cup of tea.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1997)

Evangelion is quite a controversial anime as far as anime goes. A lot of people love it, a lot of people hate it. Personally, I think it's one of the best anime show's ever made and is one of my personal favourite shows. Much like Berserk, this show is heavy on both Action and Character having some of the most well developed characters I've seen in any show (Though not always the most likable) and that alone would make it must see, but the plot is also fantastic, managing to always keep you invested in what's going on and having a multitude of twits and turns to go with it. The show also has an amazing and iconic soundtrack throughout and is very memorable. Like Berserk, however, the animation in this show also hasn't aged too well, so that might be a little off putting for some, especially in the last 2 episodes but I thoroughly recommend this show to everybody. If you do watch, be sure to also watch The End of Evangelion afterwards for the full conclusion to the show. One issue, not related to the show is that Evangelion has been out of print for a long time and is not currently available on any legal streaming services, and as such it can be hard to get hold of, and even when you can find the sets, they don't come massively cheap.

 

[neptune2venus]

By all means list away!

Dominion Tank Police is a classic. I remember they gave it away the first two parts free in a games magazine, which I still have around somewhere. Sci-Fi channel was so great in the late 90's showcasing the best of Manga dubs.

Not seen Twilight of the Dark master but it looks like it's pretty gritty.

I forgot to add another 90's anime:

Key the Metal Idol (1996)

This is a 15 part OVA which tells the tale of a robot named Key. She is brought up as a girl and needs 30,000 people to change her into a real girl. That's where the similarities to Pinocchio ends. It is like the darker, philosophical mix of Bubblegum Crisis with Serial Experiments Lain. It's many themes were so advanced for it's time; the concept of being human, conspiracies, religion, realistic drama etc. so it's a shame it's gone a bit under the radar. Be warned that episode 15 is a massive two and a half hours long with lots of dialogue. On another note; I really like the Op/End themes in English, it was one of the few I think is better than the original Japanese. Your mileage may vary on that though.

It was never released in the UK, which is a shame. However, for those who import, the complete collection is available from the US region 1 DVD. It may be cheaper collecting them as three separate volumes as it is now OOP and prices for the collection is very expensive now.

 

[NoSurprises]

Figured I'd have a go at some of my favorites, I'll add to the list at some point if someone else doesn't cover them. (I'd love to do Gunbuster, but I'm not sure I could do it justice, it's that good). So instead:

Serial Experiments Lain (1998)

Lain is a 13 episode series that explores the implications of the internet. Obviously we know now that the internet is all about cats and memes, but back in 1998 we weren't sure where the internet would take society, Lain is based on this idea (think Blade Runner, but near future and the internet rather than AI and you're probably a little bit closer to understanding). It's a VERY interpretive series, which might put some people off. It might not make a lot of sense to the viewer, or it might just click, or it might just be all nonsense, there's a lot of different explanations for what occurs during Lain's runtime, and I'd say none of them would be entirely wrong...

It deals with some dark themes, and isn't a particularly happy, or entertaining series. But it'll really make you think about what you just watched, and for that reason it's stuck with me. I really enjoyed the art direction too, especially the totally over saturated daytime scenes.

It's a bit of a pain to find on UK DVD, no blu-ray release in the UK either. Funimation USA does a region A blu-ray/DVD pack, and Madman AUS does a region B blu-ray/DVD pack.

 

[Lutga]

Some more from me - will pull some obvious/big names out this time:

Excel Saga - 1999

Not sure if this one 100% counts as it finished airing in 2000. It started in 1999 though so I'm going to include, especially as I think it's probably my favourite flat out comedy show in anime too. It's funny, too, because I can imagine some people watching the first episode and just thinking 'WTF' and getting really annoyed at the main character. But for me, that's exactly why it works - every episode basically unpicks a particular genre - so you have the jungle war movie episode, the civil servant episode, the bowling episode, the talking animals episode - and each is just done with such flair and wit. The character designs are great, and it plays repetitive gags so well too, like Excell getting dumped down the trapdoor, or Hyatt dying like a million times. Oh, and what an OP theme.

Gundam Wing - 1995

For many people, this was their introduction into the world of Gundam, and while there's a lot of elements I don't like about it (I think it's poorly animated in places, the characters aren't as engaging to me as in other Gundam shows, and the politics can get very dense at times) I think it also gets a lot very right. I always like to describe it as a very 'pure' take on Gundam, and I suppose what I mean by that is that it downplays a lot of the romance in favour of just telling a powerful, frank war story with incredible odds at stake. This is humanity pushed to its limits, and the horrors that entails.

Escaflowne - 1996

Very excited for the Anime Ltd release of this later in the year! As a Sunrise show, you can obviously expect top mecha action - but tbh, the mecha elements are really just a backdrop here to what is essentially an epic fantasy. There's romance, there's gorgeous character designs, great villains, and just such a wonderful sense of tone and mood created here, helped along by a stunning soundtrack from Yoko Kanno. Also the OP theme is possibly one of the greatest of all time - turn the vid up to 1080p and just soak up the eye-candy.

Outlaw Star - 1998

Another Anime Ltd one - look past the frequent Cowboy Bebop comparisons here, and you get a fantastic, rollicking space fantasy that tells some great self-contained stories. What I love about this show though is how dark it gets in places, especially as it builds toward the conclusion - you just get this wonderful sense of people, so fragile in the vastness of space, doing battle and eking out their survival through whatever means they can. Yes, it's a western in space, I suppose - but I think it manages to go places that Cowboy Bebop doesn't, and with a very different sense of tone.

Cardcaptor Sakura - 1998

This was one of my first tastes of anime when it aired on ITV back in the day. I've since grown to adore pretty much everything Clamp do - and I was glad when I finally revisited the show last year that it still held up remarkably well, even in the bastardised Western version. It probably won't be for everyone, but I think it bears re-watching in a post-Madoka climate to see a lot of that same potential for darkness was very much present in shows like this.

 

[Animefreak17]

Great teacher onizuka

 

[Orgun]

My joint favourite anime, Masami Obari's mecha classic Detonator Orgun!

 

[cudwieser]

Stand Back Everyone. Most of my collection coming through

Slayers (Films)

Shadow Skill (Movie, OVA, Series)

Martian Successor Nadesico

Castle of Cagliostro

Secret of the twilit Gemini

Wings of Honneamise

Akira

Ninja Scroll (Movie)

Porco Roso

Dirty Pair Flash

X (The movie)

Appleseed

Angel Cop

Armitage III

Bubblegum Crisis (inc Tokyo 2040)

Blue Sub No 6

Blue Sonnet

This'll do me for now. I'll drop some reviews later

 

[Yami]

What classic anime would you recommend for those just starting out in sampling older anime? Please give reasons why.

As it hasn't already been mentioned, I'd suggest Future Boy Conan. I'm sure about every anime fan, or fan of world cinema in general, is familiar with Miyazaki's work which really makes it an ideal starting point as so many of the themes and tropes that he would use later in his career are present and correct in Conan. It's relatively short at 26 episodes and maintains an engaging pace throughout.

There's that bothersome issue of it not being available legally though.

 

[Ian Wolf]

Here's a list of anime I've got or seen that are pre-2000, not mentioned so far, most of which I've written about for one website or another:

* Astro Boy
* Princess Knight
* Kimba the White Lion
* Mobile Suit Gundam (the original 1979 series)
* One Piece (technically counts because the anime started in October 1999)
* The Rose of Versailles
* Gunbuster
* Pokemon (began 1997)
* The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
* Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
* My Neighbour Totoro
* Grave of the Fireflies
* Pom Poko
* Whisper of the Heart
* Princess Mononoke
* Laputa: Castle in the Sky
* Kiki's Delivery Service
* Only Yesterday
* My Neighbours the Yamadas (1999)
* The Little Norse Prince
* Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend
* Mazinger Z
* Robotech
* RG Veda
* Tokyo Babylon
* Hyper Police
* Ghost in the Shell (the original film)
* Lupin III (original TV series)
* Ranma 1/2
* Wicked City
* The Sensualist
* Dragon Ball
* Dragon Ball Z
* Space Pirate Captain Harlock
* Patlabor
* Appleseed

 

[Lavigne]

A few that I'd mention have already been covered - Evangelion, Escaflowne.

I know that Macross Plus and Robotech have both been mentioned, but I'd make a case for the original Macross.

Much tighter than its 'Robotech' equivalent as it's a self-contained story rather than having to fit into a wider broad narrative. For those that have seen Robotech it's a touch darker, although some of that was mitigated in Robotech Remastered. Minmei in particular is a much better character than Minmay.

A lot of people, myself included were introduced to anime through Robotech, so I have a soft spot for it, but Macross us undoubtedly the better version of the story.

The best version of Macross, for English speakers is ADV's R1 DVDs - it features a different voice cast to Robotech, the major coup being that they got Mari Ijima to voice Minmei (she voiced the original Japanese character, including the song vocals). Probably pricey to get a hold of now as I'm sure it's OOP, but well worth it if you can pick the series up.

For me, Macross remains at the top of my anime tree, even now, 30 years later, I love it.

Beyond Macross I'd also recommend El Hazard - The Magnificent World - batsh1t crazy a lot of the time, but so much fun. Followed by a second OVA, 'Alternative World', and a series 'The Wanderers', but for me, the original OVA is still the best.

 

[Kaede]

A few that I'd mention have already been covered - Evangelion, Escaflowne.

I know that Macross Plus and Robotech have both been mentioned, but I'd make a case for the original Macross.

Much tighter than its 'Robotech' equivalent as it's a self-contained story rather than having to fit into a wider broad narrative. For those that have seen Robotech it's a touch darker, although some of that was mitigated in Robotech Remastered. Minmei in particular is a much better character than Minmay.

A lot of people, myself included were introduced to anime through Robotech, so I have a soft spot for it, but Macross us undoubtedly the better version of the story.

The best version of Macross, for English speakers is ADV's R1 DVDs - it features a different voice cast to Robotech, the major coup being that they got Mari Ijima to voice Minmei (she voiced the original Japanese character, including the song vocals). Probably pricey to get a hold of now as I'm sure it's OOP, but well worth it if you can pick the series up.

For me, Macross remains at the top of my anime tree, even now, 30 years later, I love it.

Beyond Macross I'd also recommend El Hazard - The Magnificent World - batsh1t crazy a lot of the time, but so much fun. Followed by a second OVA, 'Alternative World', and a series 'The Wanderers', but for me, the original OVA is still the best.

That's great, but how did you get to watch it? I thought only the bastardised Robotech version was available in the UK? I'm dying to watch this, given I love the 1979 Gundam and the music in this sounds amazing.

 

[Winkuru]

I want to throw "Video Girl Ai" to the pile. Bennett The Sage made a episode about recently and it made me watch and i didn't regret it. It has it's flaws but it's still definitely a unappreciated 90's classic. Just beware that it does have nudity and fan service. I'm definitely not fan service but that stuff didn't for the most part bother me in this show.

I also highly recommend this not so well known romance anime by the creator of Evangelion. Most of it's very syrapy romance stuff and crazy comedy but it does go darker places and feel's like Anno's work despite it being adaptation of manga. Very entertaining and i was honestly pretty darn surprised how much i enjoyed.

Sadly though the series ended before it should have had and it ends abruptly. If anyone of you happens to watch it i recommend considering the halfway point of episode 24 to be end of the series. There would have been lot less complaint's if they could have ended there and not moved to the next arc (it's 26 episode series)

 

[Lavigne]

That's great, but how did you get to watch it? I thought only the bastardised Robotech version was available in the UK? I'm dying to watch this, given I love the 1979 Gundam and the music in this sounds amazing.

Import is the only way unfortunately. I had the Animeigo set initially which was Japanese with English subs. I picked up the ADV box set when the new volumes were released with a new English dub.

The music in this IS great.

Robotech isn't bad, but it's a pale imitation of Macross, and the songs in particular are nowhere near as good. Still, if you've never seen Robotech I'd heartily recommend it. Watching Macross after seeing Robotech is an interesting study. Robotech was remastered a while ago, with superior PQ/AQ and previously deleted scenes reinstated. I think all the current UK DVD sets use this remastered version.

 

[Kaede]

That's great, but how did you get to watch it? I thought only the bastardised Robotech version was available in the UK? I'm dying to watch this, given I love the 1979 Gundam and the music in this sounds amazing.

Import is the only way unfortunately. I had the Animeigo set initially which was Japanese with English subs. I picked up the ADV box set when the new volumes were released with a new English dub.

The music in this IS great.

Robotech isn't bad, but it's a pale imitation of Macross, and the songs in particular are nowhere near as good. Still, if you've never seen Robotech I'd heartily recommend it. Watching Macross after seeing Robotech is an interesting study. Robotech was remastered a while ago, with superior PQ/AQ and previously deleted scenes reinstated. I think all the current UK DVD sets use this remastered version.

I see, so the only way to really see Macross is to pick up a US import second hand. Unfortunately, Robotech doesn't interest me as I'm watching anime in addition to my regular studies, as Japanese practice. Also I need the correct music.

No chance of this getting re-released in the US or anywhere else is there either.... oh well

Cheers for the reply. :thumb:

 

[Lavigne]

Of course what you could do is grab a copy of Macross Plus - should be easily obtainable in the UK on DVD. The music there is just as good, and some might even say better. Great story and animation too.

It's a 4 episode OVA - I think the UK DVD includes both the 4 episode mini series version and the movie version.

You don't need to have seen the original Macross to enjoy it either.

 

[Professor Irony]

Mike Toole of ANN put up a nice article on the history of the Dirty Pair, if anyone's interested. Good to know I'm not the only one hypnotised by Kei's crazy hair.

I want to throw "Video Girl Ai" to the pile.

Missed this when it was posted, but just seconding the suggestion. It's a far better show than the 'magical girlfriend wish-fulfillment' setup might lead you to believe and I feel the decision to end the anime where they did was the right one.

 

[Winkuru]

I love getting retro anime recommendations so i'm upping this thread to make suggestions of my own.

First is Tenchi Myou Universe

This is a fantastic action comedy from the 90's. Some people prefer the OVA version which "Tenchi Universe" is an alternative universe version (that's a mouthful) . The OVA version is three parter and i watched the first one and at this point i prefer the TV series myself. Both of these version go under the harem label but on the TV version that crap is more toned down which is why i prefer it. Tenchi does have more personality on the OVA for sure but i honestly didn't mind him being wooden on TV series because all the other characters are so much fun.

The show had really good localization and i give my full approval for the dub version. They went all out and and even made English versions of some of the songs for the dub track.

I especially love the English version of "Dimension of Love" but even though i'm going to link it i don't really recommend listening it unless you know that you aren't going to watch the show (more effective when it turns up if you don't listen to it before)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdZ_QveGaTU