Old-School Anime Discussion
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Anonymous.
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May 26, 2021 at 6:01 pm #225897
Anonymous
Let’s talk about the old stuff. Just because something is new doesn’t mean it’s better, and this is true with Anime too.
Here are a few of my favorite absolute classics and why, in order of when I watched them (to the best of my recollection):
Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade
This one is always going to be my favorite. It is not the best story. It is not the best animation. It just happens to be what got me into Anime. It is the story of Earth on the brink of collapse under the weight of an alien invasion when a sole warrior, known as Tekkaman Blade, suddenly arrives on Earth. What follows is a tale of drama and survival as D-Boy, as he is come to be known, has to almost single handed fight the Rahdam. Handicap after handicap, revelation after revelation and so on just makes the story very enticing. I highly recommend the original Japanese version of Teknoman, the US version. The US version has a catchy soundtrack, but the Japanese soundtrack really puts an emphasis on the drama instead of the action and really fits the mood.
Super Dimensional Fortress Macross
I watched this as a little kid when it was Robotech, but I didn’t understand it, and didn’t really get into it until the Toonami re-broadcast. Years later I was able to see the original Macross, which per tradition is superior to the US version. In the future (well, now the past lol) an alien ship called ASS-1 (yep) crashed on Macross Island. After years of war and reconstruction, the ship is repaired and turned into a human operated battleship. Just as it begins it’s maiden voyage, an alien race called the Zentradi arrive and attack. It quickly becomes evident they are after the battle fortress. So, the crew take off and lead them away from Earth. After an accidental warp that landed them in the edge of the solar system, along with the entire populace of Macross Island, they begin the long trip home amidst endless attacks of the Zentradi. Macross is known for three things: Giant Robots, Songstress and Love Triangles. The drama in this show is more interesting than the giant robot fights, which are pretty interesting themselves.
The license to Macross has been resolved and fans in the west can finally begin to enjoy more of the spin-offs we have been denied for far too long. So now is the time to see it, if you missed it.
Biobooster Armor Guyver
When I started watching anime, I kept seeing this on the shelf. I had seen the Mark Hamil movie on cable TV, so I was intrigued. So Guyver ended up being the first anime I purchased. Sho Fukamachi ends up getting mixed up in the plots of a secret organization called Cronos when he finds a mysterious device called the Guyver. When he accidentally activates it he becomes the Guyver, and his life is forever changed as he constantly must run from Cronos and protect those he cares about.
May 26, 2021 at 6:16 pm #225899Anonymous
Akai Koudan Zillion
I first saw the first few episodes on late night TV, but that was all that was ever released in the west, until a year ago when the entire series finally got a BluRay release. I really liked this one. It follows 3 young soldiers who are members of the White Nuts (yup), J.J., Champ and Apple. Each one has a special gun called a Zillion, which is little more than an ad for laser tag. What follows is a series of mission based episodes with decent story and drama for the time. Considering it’s age, I really enjoyed watching this one.
Record of Lodoss War
When I was looking for new anime to buy, I saw this one. I had seen the first two episodes on late night TV, so I bought the rest on VHS. It was such a good buy. Fans of Lord of the Rings will eat this up. Lodoss, the accursed island, is at war. A small group of adventurers, Parn, Etoh. Ghim, Deedlit, Slayn and Woodchuck get wrapped up in massive power struggles and the increasing darkness falling on the land. This one is short, has absolutely BEAUTIFUL SOUNDTRACK and a very good story.
Tenchi Muyo (original OVA, 1-3)
Tenchi Muyo is one of, if not the original, harem anime. The original three OVA seasons had a pleasant mix of story, adventure and characters that were easy to follow. Unlike OVA’s 4 and 5 which had no action and a cast that would give the Silmarillion a run for it’s money (I STILL don’t know who 2/3 of the characters ARE). Tenchi’s simple life is changed forever when he accidentally awakens Ryoko, the sleeping demon. What follows is a regular introduction of new ladies who end up living with Tenchi . I recommend it, if not for that. War on Geminar, GXP and Photon the Idiot are decent enough sibling series as well as the movies too.
I may or may not have a good opening for the OVA, but I THINK that’s season 2. I couldn’t find season 1 quickly enough. Screw it.
May 26, 2021 at 6:26 pm #225902Anonymous
Now I am going out of order. Fuck it.
Samurai Troopers (AKA Ronin Warriors)
I never saw this when it originally aired. But I wanted to for years. When it got re-released on DVD I jumped on it a few years back. I really enjoyed it. I can’t recall the specifics of it but I know it held my attention. It had a good mix of Drama and action. What I found absolutely hilarious is the main heroine’s name was Nasti. Pronounced Nasty. She was nice enough. Just a funny thing.
Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory
Out of all the Universal Century Gundam’s, there are only a few of them I enjoy. The first one I saw was Gundam 0083. It’s 13 episodes, has great animation, an interesting group of characters, a Gundam Protagonist I DONT want to smack and awesome mobile suits. Definitely a recommend.
May 26, 2021 at 6:31 pm #225905I used to watch tons of old school anime as a kid as there was a channel which aired a lot of stuff from the 70s/80s/90s, unfortunately I don’t remember most of the names of those anime, but I’m slowly searching for them all on MyAnimeList
The ones I do remember the names of which I really like:
Ranma 1/2
Cat’s Eye
Aishite Knight
Creamy Mami
Hello Spank
Let’s & Go
And more recently City Hunter
I’m sure there’s a lot more to add to this list 😁
May 26, 2021 at 6:34 pm #225906Anonymous
@DigiCat City Hunter is on my todo list. So is El-Hazard, which is on order. I never got around to Ranma 1/2, so I should check that out some time too.
Bubblegum Crisis
I can’t remember the details, because I have not watched it in going on 15 years or so. But I remember I enjoyed it. One of the original cyber-punk anime.
Armitage III Polymatrix
I saw this one on late night TV too ( a lot of this stuff aired Saturday nights on one of those public access channels, I think, in the 90’s). This one was a lot of fun. Good story. Real cyber punk atmosphere. And as always a good soundtrack. You know, put a good soundtrack in an anime and it will hold my attention even if it’s shit lol. But I do recommend it.
That’s all for now.
May 26, 2021 at 7:01 pm #225911Anonymous
This one’s for Ryan K. lol, since he said in his livestream someone gave it to him.
Yu Yu Hakusho
This one is older than when it aired on Toonami. I didn’t know that since I watched Poltergeist Report (the movie) long before the Toonami release. What starts off as a supernatural ghost story evolves more into supernatural fighting ala Dragon Ball. Though, honestly, the characters here are more realistic than anything Toriyama did. Ryan, you should totally watch it.
I am going to add this one, and then stop for now:
The King of Braves: GaoGaiGar
This anime made me smile. It got more dramatic as it went along, but it was worth it. I still haven’t seen the OVA (which from what I heard, could maybe be either a good or bad thing) but I rather enjoyed this show. Remember, courage can achieve the impossible. FINAL FUSION APPROVED!
May 27, 2021 at 4:35 pm #226028Anonymous
The King of Hundred Beasts GoLion
The inspiration for Voltron. If you ever get the chance, watch the original Japanese version. As is tradition, it’s superior to the US version. It has legit character deaths as well as actual insert JPOP. Each Lion has their own theme song lol.
May 28, 2021 at 2:17 pm #226171Anonymous
Note:
I didn’t set any limits to what is referred to as “old school”. Everything above is pre-2000. One might consider old school to be anything from the 70’s or 80’s. I’d like to flesh out the descriptions on each of those, but I can’t edit them, so whatever.
Some obvious titles I did not list are Dragon Ball, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Sailor Moon. The reason why?
Dragon Ball was fun. Now, with Super, I feel like it’s just beating a dead horse with a cactus laced in arsenic. It’s just overstaying its welcome, IMO. I like the movies. But I am having a lovers quarrel with Viz, so I won’t buy the manga release anymore, and Funimation is making me mad, specifically the cast of DBZ so I can’t watch the anime. So I’m fucked right into a corner.
Evangelion, to me, is overrated. That’s all I can say on it. I know people who were obsessed with it. I just didn’t get the hype. It was alright. But not obsession worthy. And I HATE Shinji. I have the new movies. I still have not got the desire to even watch 3.33.
Sailor Mon I never watched. So there 😛
Other classics I have not seen but I want to include Ranma 1/2, the original El-Hazard (which I have pre-orderd and will report on when the time comes), Slayers, Lum, the original Star Blazers and many more. I have the original Gatchaman on BluRay but have never watched it.
Anyone else have any classic anime they want to talk about?
May 29, 2021 at 11:48 am #226285Anonymous
8-Man After
Another in the list of shows I first saw on late night TV. I did not know it at the time, but this anime was a spin off of a previous story. Hazama Itsuru is a detective who gets swept up in an attack by cyborgs. The result: His consciousness is downloaded into the body of 8-Man (who’s original inhabitant has long since been erased), a complete autonomous body with a cyborg brain. What follows is a simple detective, drug war and revenge flick. It’s pretty good, the music is catchy, and it’s violent. Definitely a product of it’s time, but it’s good for just some amusement.
May 29, 2021 at 2:24 pm #226306Anonymous
Vampire Hunter D
One of my favorites. This one is based on the novels of the same name, more specifically, I BELIEVE this one is an adaption of the first novel (whereas it’s sequel Bloodlust was an adaption of the 3rd, I believe). This is a standalone story in the larger world of Vampire Hunter D. There is classic violence and pointless fan service which is what made Anime famous. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful and the character designs are by Yoshitaka Amano of Final Fantasy fame.
Black Magic M-66
I think someone left me borrow this on VHS years back, I don’t quite remember. I found it again on Youtube and refreshed my memory. After the intro the story becomes eerily similar to the first Terminator, in which Sybil finds her self trying to protect a teen girl from being murdered by a rampaging robot. It’s pretty good and not overly long.
May 29, 2021 at 4:58 pm #226319Alright, now I can talk about my favorite anime without being called a boomer (not that anyone called me that or that I was afraid to talk about them).
I love Space Adventure Cobra, Project A-Ko, Macross, the original Gundam, Gunbuster, and Bubblegum Crisis (which led me to Streets of Fire, one of favorite movies of all-time). They sure don’t make animation of that kind of quality anymore. Sure there’s impressive stuff like Ghost in the Shell and Redline but I miss the hand-drawn stuff.
Oh and I forgot about 1987 Devilman. It has my favorite bad dub of all-time and looks better than that Netflix trash known as Devilman Crybaby. Too bad it was never finished.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by
Captain_Cronos. Reason: Forgot Devilman
May 29, 2021 at 5:07 pm #226322Anonymous
Project A-Ko was interesting. The problem I face at the moment is my memory sucks, so I can recall very little of it. I like the soundtrack, though. Same thing with Bubblegum Crisis. I watched it once about 15 years ago, I can’t remember it. It’s in the other room, though, so maybe I will watch it again. Macross is my jam. I enjoy Gundam, but I do not enjoy the Universal Century. It’s just too depressing and the characters are too unlikable. I guess that’s why I prefer Seed and 00. I saw the trilogy of movies and was bored. Zeta gundam depressed me. So I never bothered to watch ZZ. I wasn’t too fond of Char’s Counterattack either. 0080 is dumb. 0083 and 8th MS team are good, though. And I sorta enjoyed Unicorn, I think. Still not sure lol.
I have Madox-01 pre-ordered on BluRay, but it’s also on Retro Crush. I still think I am going to wait until it’s here on disc. I also want to eventually watch City Hunter. That one looks real good. I just gotta find the motivation lol.
Another good one, from what I remember, is Dirty Pair. But I have not seen very much of it and I barely remember what I DID see.
May 29, 2021 at 5:15 pm #226324The problem I face at the moment is my memory sucks, so I can recall very little of it. I like the soundtrack, though. Same thing with Bubblegum Crisis. I watched it once about 15 years ago, I can’t remember it.
Nah, I think your memory is fine. 15 years ago is 2006. I consider myself to have good memory and even I forgot entire episodes of Bubblegum Crisis three years later. But yeah, it’s worth rewatching especially if don’t remember how great the soundtrack is.
May 29, 2021 at 5:19 pm #226326Anonymous
There are a lot of anime on Youtube that shouldn’t be… I stumbled on one of my favorite stupid comedies that never made it to DVD or BluRay as far as I know,
The Ultimate Teacher. The thing I love about Japan is their off the wall out of nowhere comedy.
May 29, 2021 at 9:54 pm #226385Yeah, Youtube is known for that. Almost every 80s OVA and movie is up there. Even live-action Zeiram is up there. Youtube is crap but it’s a good source of old school anime / Tokusatsu movies unless you prefer to go sail the seven seas.
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