Ask John: What Are some Current 80’s Style Anime?

Question:
I was a big anime fan a few years ago and I’m getting back into it now. I was wondering if there were any newer anime you could recommend that hearken back to the styles and themes of the late 80s/early 90s. For example, I have seen and enjoyed Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne, which I would consider reminiscent of that era.

Answer:
I’ve been watching Japanese language anime regularly and frequently since 1987, so I believe I have a strong awareness of the atmosphere, tone, and feel of anime from the 1980s and early 90s. Anime from that era had a slightly lesser, and different, sophistication than anime from the late 1990s and current decade. Anime from that era had plenty of cute characters, but cuteness wasn’t made prominent the way it frequently is in contemporary anime. Anime of that bygone age frequently prioritized tone and atmosphere while sometimes subverting narrative logic. There was also a sense of masculinity present in anime of that era, noteably in shows like Hokuto no Ken, Otoko Juku, Gundam, City Hunter, Violence Jack, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures, Maryu Senki, Ninku, Orphen, Garrou Densetsu, Riding Bean, Zeorymer, and Shinken Densetsu Tight Road, to name a few. Today’s anime hasn’t entirely abandoned that theme, but it’s been very suppressed in contemporary anime.

When I think of throwback anime from the current decade that feels especially reminiscent of anime from the 1980s and early 90s, four series immediately spring to mind. One of them is Mnemosyne. The combination of sensuality and violence prevalent in Mnemosyne, and its cast of adult characters all feel more stylistically related to 80’s anime than 2000’s anime. The three episode Usagi-chan de Cue! OVA series from 2001 looks and feels not like a holdover from the 90s, but an unreleased production from 1987 or ’88. However, since the influences of a decade typically spill over into the first few years of each new decade, Usagi-chan de Cue! will be the (nearly) only anime from the early 2000s that I’ll cite. My third immediate pick is 2006’s Yumetsukai television series. I honestly believe that a viewer that didn’t know that this show aired in 2006 would guess that it dated from 1996, if not earlier. It looks like a show that recalls the best, most creative aesthetic of early 90s anime influenced by the 80s. And its content and execution both feel reminiscent of 80s anime including Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Dream Hunter Rem, Ryokunohara Meikyu, and Igano Kabamaru. Finally, the 2006 Sumomomo Momomo ~Chijou Saikyou no Yome~ television series feels especially similar to the Ranma 1/2 anime. While that may be pleasing for fans of early 90’s anime, it also means that the Sumomomo Momomo anime is very episodic and superficial.

While those titles may be this decade’s most faithful throwbacks, they’re not alone. Unfortunately, I must warn that many of the late 2000’s anime that seem reminiscent of 80’s and 90’s anime, honestly, aren’t very good. Contemporary anime including Cobra the Animation, Golgo 13, and Slayers Revolution feel like older anime because they literally are revivals of older anime. Last year’s Cross Game feels like an older relationship/sports anime like Touch, H2, Slow Step, or Nozomi Witches because it’s an adaptation of Touch, H2, and Slow Step creator Mitsuru Adachi’s manga. Similarly, the 2008 Ultraviolet Code 044 and 2009 Genji Monogatari Sennenki television series both look and feel like older series like Oniisama E and Kasei Yakyoku because they were all directed by Osamu Dezaki.

2006’s Naikaku Kenryoku Hanzai Kyosei Torishimarikan Zaizen Jotaro shares a distinction with Musashi Gun-do for being one of the very worst major commercial television anime series ever released. However, viewers able to stomach its idiocy and awful animation will find that it harkens back to the ultra-masculine, chauvinistic attitudes of anime like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures, Koryuu no Mimi, and Kizoibito. Last year’s very good Guin Saga television series also resurrects the nearly forgotten masculinity of 80’s. Guin Saga may feel like an older production despite unquestionably looking like a contemporary show because it’s based on novels published in the early 80s. Guin Saga certainly resurrects the tone of older anime including Wizardry, Dragon Slayer Eiyu Densetsu, Grandeek, and Weathering Continent,

The two episode Taiyo no Mokushiroku TV special from 2006 both looks and feels like a product of the late 1980s or early 90s. It’s particularly similar in tone to anime like Hard & Loose, Chikyuu ga Ugoita Hi, and Me Gumi No Daigo. It’s a dramatic story about a young man facing discrimination and physical obstacles following a devastating earthquake that rocks Japan. It’s neither exciting nor sexy, but that’s precisely what makes it feel so unlike early 2000’s anime.

Recent series including Crystal Blaze, Needless, Zombie-Loan, and Rideback are not especially outstanding. However, their emphasis on not-entirely logical action and some of their genre-merging give them a feel that may interest fans used to 80’s and 90’s anime. 2008’s Nijuu-Mensou no Musume and Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo likewise don’t obviously pay homage to 80’s or 90’s anime, but the storytelling approach that both of these series use feels more similar to the style of early 90’s anime than today’s typical anime. The 2008 Zettai Karen Children anime is based on a manga from Ghost Sweeper Mikami creator Takashi Shiina, which may explain why the show looks and feels more like a show from the early 90’s than from 2008. It puts “cute” on the back burner, prioritizing action and slapstick character relationships. And despite focusing heavily on character dynamics, it still feels a bit superficial.

The Stranger -Mukoh Hadan- (2007) motion picture and Kurozuka (2008) television series are bloody, thrilling, exhilarating swordplay anime reminiscent of 90’s productions like Yoma, Jubei Ninpucho, and Ninja Ryukenden. Especially Kurozuka’s Highlander inspired alternation through time and its fantastical, highly stylized superhuman action are a throwback to Madhouse’s late 80s and early 90s work including Cyber City Odeo 808 and Yoju Toshi. (On a side note, anyone interested in seeing what a Highlander anime would have been like had Madhouse produced it without American influence should watch Kurozuka.)

I’ll tentatively suggest the 2006 Renkin San Kyu Magical? Pokaan television series because it is and isn’t a throwback. Its production values are clearly contemporary, and the influence of the modern moé obsession is discernible. However, at the same time, the show’s light and breezy narrative style and its sheer sense of fun seem more similar to early 90’s titles like Vampiyan Kids and Tenshi ni Narumon than contemporary anime.

Finally, I’d recommend several of the Animax Taisho award winning TV specials, particularly Azusa, Otetsudai Shimasu! (2004), Lily to Kaeru to (Ototo) (2006), Yumedamaya Kidan (2007), Takane no Jitensha (2008), and Shouka (2010). Azusa, Otetsudai Shimasu! could be easily mistaken as a Steel Angel Kurumi side story. Lily to Kaeru to (Ototo) has a magical, whimsical look and feel that’s part Ojamajo Doremi and part Studio Ghibli. Yumedamaya Kidan and Takane no Jitensha both have a dream reality reminiscent of Ryokunohara Meikyu and Beautiful Dreamer. And Shouka exhibits the sort of marvelous, inventive action that typifies a lot of 80s and 90s anime.

I’m sure that there are other contemporary anime that have a look or feel similar to 80’s and 90’s anime, or which may appeal to a fan of 80’s and 90’s anime, but I hope these suggestions at least provide some initial direction. Not all of these titles are very good. In fact, some of them, like Crystal Blaze, Ultraviolet, and Zaizen Jotaro are pretty bad. However, in many respects, quality regardless, these shows do have as much, if not more, in common with older anime as they do with contemporary anime.