80's - 90's best anime
by xuexizhongwen | created - 28 Jan 2014 | updated - 24 Jul 2022 | Publicbest animes manga from the eighties and nineties, the best manga era
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1. Baoh the Caller (1989 Video)
50 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Doress, a Japanese "black projects" organization, has been gathering psionics and making biological weapons to "make Japan superior". When one of the biological experiments, BAOH, escapes ... See full summary »
Director: Hiroyuki Yokoyama | Stars: Jim Clark, Sandy Clubb, Chuck Denson Jr., Mark Franklin
Votes: 826
2. Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990–1991)
TV-14 | 120 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In 2808 A.D., three convicts are conscripted by the Cyber Police to fight crime in the hi-tech metropolis of Oedo - while being forced to wear collars that can kill them at any time.
Stars: Hiroya Ishimaru, Kaneto Shiozawa, Tesshô Genda, Norio Wakamoto
Votes: 2,319
3. Patlabor: The Movie (1989)
Unrated | 100 min | Animation, Action, Crime
The screwball cops of Special Vehicles Section 2 Division 2 must investigate and stop a spree of rampaging construction robots.
Directors: Mamoru Oshii, Kôji Sawai | Stars: Toshio Furukawa, David Jarvis, Doug Erholtz, Mîna Tominaga
Votes: 5,621
4. Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)
TV-14 | 113 min | Animation, Action, Drama
When a terrorist attack is blamed on the Air Force, Special Vehicle Unit 2 gets caught in the middle of a growing political conflict.
Directors: Mamoru Oshii, Mizuho Nishikubo | Stars: Mîna Tominaga, Briony Glassco, Julie Ann Taylor, Toshio Furukawa
Votes: 4,598
5. Fist of the North Star (1986)
Not Rated | 110 min | Animation, Action, Drama
In a post-nuclear hellscape, a master of the deadly martial art "Hokuto Shinken" allies with two kids and an expert in "Nanto Suicho-Ken" to battle the tyrants who kidnapped his lover.
Director: Toyoo Ashida | Stars: Akira Kamiya, Yuriko Yamamoto, Kenji Utsumi, Chikao Ôtsuka
Votes: 7,295
6. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Masuyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue
Votes: 33,589
7. Venus Wars (1989)
Not Rated | 103 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Two thriving colonies, Ishtar and Aphrodia, exist on the planet Venus in the year 2089. War breaks out, and Ishtar invades Aphrodia, sweeping its residents, including motorcycle rider Hiro and his teammates, into the chaos of the conflict.
Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko | Stars: Katsuhide Uekusa, Yûko Mizutani, Eriko Hara, Yûko Sasaki
Votes: 1,992
8. Akira (1988)
R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda
Votes: 205,355 | Gross: $0.55M
9. Ninja Scroll (1993)
Not Rated | 94 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A vagabond swordsman is aided by a kunoichi and a spy in battling a demonic clan of killers - led by a ghost from his past - who are bent on overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Stars: Kôichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Osamu Saka
Votes: 40,742
10. Vampire Hunter D (1985)
Not Rated | 80 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
When Doris Lang is chosen as the next bride for the vampire Count Magnus Lee, she will hire a mysterious vampire hunter known only as D in an attempt to escape her ill-gotten fate.
Director: Toyoo Ashida | Stars: Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizô Katô, Satoko Kifuji
Votes: 17,530
11. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Not Rated | 89 min | Animation, Drama, War
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara
Votes: 310,667
12. Battle Angel (1993)
Not Rated | 54 min | Animation, Action, Drama
In a distant future, a the young cyborg Gally is found on a scrapheap by the Cyberdoctor Daisuke Ido, who rebuilds her and becomes her surrogate father.
Stars: Miki Itô, Shunsuke Kariya, Kappei Yamaguchi, Edward Glen
Votes: 5,830
13. Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
Not Rated | 45 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
Cooler has resurrected himself as a robot and is enslaving the people of New Namek. Goku and the gang must help.
Director: Daisuke Nishio | Stars: Masako Nozawa, Toshio Furukawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Ryô Horikawa
Votes: 8,482
14. Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth (1988)
Not Rated | 71 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
The Sun God Abel returns to life, bent on punishing the humans and cleansing Earth from their presence. When Athena joins him, leaving humans to their fate, the Bronze Saints must defend the world in their greatest battle yet.
Director: Shigeyasu Yamauchi | Stars: Tôru Furuya, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Hideyuki Hori, Ryô Horikawa
Votes: 1,456
15. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime
A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera
Votes: 156,983 | Gross: $0.52M
16. Robot Carnival (1987 Video)
Unrated | 90 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
A collection of short stories, made by different animators with "robot" as the working title.
Directors: Atsuko Fukushima, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Kôji Morimoto, Takashi Nakamura, Yasuomi Umetsu, Manabu Ôhashi, Hidetoshi Ômori, Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Kôji Moritsugu, Yayoi Maki, Keiko Hanagata, Kumiko Takizawa
Votes: 2,954
17. Grappler Baki: The Ultimate Fighter (1994 Video)
Not Rated | 45 min | Animation, Action, Sport
Baki Hanma is a expert martial artist who enters a martial arts tournament and can never be defeated, until he goes up against Kosho Shinogi, a man who wins his matches by ripping out his opponent's jugular veins.
Director: Yûji Asada | Stars: Kappei Yamaguchi, Kaneto Shiozawa, Kazumi Tanaka, Kôji Totani
Votes: 599
18. Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (1994)
TV-PG | 100 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
The brothers, Andy & Terry Bogard, along with Joe Higashi and Mai Shiranui, try to help Sulia Gaudeamus stop her ambitious brother Laocorn from finding the magical armor of Mars.
Director: Masami Ôbari | Stars: Mark Hildreth, Peter Wilds, Jason Gray-Stanford, Lisa Ann Beley
Votes: 1,292
19. Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma (1989)
Unrated | 77 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A terrible war has ravaged the land, and now, fueled by the blood of numerous fallen warriors, the Yoma, demons from hell, emerge once more. A skilled ninja seeks to end the bloodshed these... See full summary »
Stars: Christopher Pryce, Jon Geiger, Mark O'Brien, Jessica Robertson
Votes: 470
20. They Were Eleven (1986)
91 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Cosmo Academy has set a test for ten of its applicants to survive on a spaceship for 2 months. But there is an eleventh member aboard.
Directors: Satoshi Dezaki, Tsuneo Tominaga | Stars: Akira Kamiya, Michiko Kawai, Hideyuki Tanaka, Toshio Furukawa
Votes: 649
21. Angel's Egg (1985 Video)
Not Rated | 71 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A mysterious young girl wanders a desolate, otherworldly landscape, carrying a large egg.
Director: Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Mako Hyôdô, Jinpachi Nezu, Keiichi Noda
Votes: 12,016
22. Berserk (1997–1998)
TV-MA | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Guts, a wandering mercenary, joins the Band of the Hawk after being defeated in a duel by Griffith, the group's leader and founder. Together, they dominate every battle, but something menacing lurks in the shadows.
Stars: Marc Diraison, Nobutoshi Canna, Carrie Keranen, Kevin T. Collins
Votes: 53,258
23. Cowboy Bebop (1998–1999)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.
Stars: Kôichi Yamadera, Unshô Ishizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, Steve Blum
Votes: 139,018
24. Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files (1992–1995)
TV-PG | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
After a teenage delinquent is killed while saving a child's life from an approaching car, the rulers of the underworld send him back to become an "Underworld Detective" investigating demons apparitions in the human world.
Stars: Nozomu Sasaki, Justin Cook, Christopher Sabat, Cynthia Cranz
Votes: 16,068
25. Trigun (1998)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Vash the Stampede is the most infamous outlaw on the planet Gunsmoke and with a 60 billion double dollar price on his head the most sought after.
Stars: Masaya Onosaka, Hiromi Tsuru, Satsuki Yukino, Johnny Yong Bosch
Votes: 24,195
26. Fist of the North Star (1984–1988)
TV-14 | 25 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
After a nuclear war turns Earth into a lawless wasteland, Kenshiro, a practitioner of the deadly master art "Hokuto Shinken", fights a succession of tyrannical warriors to restore order.
Stars: Akira Kamiya, Shigeru Chiba, Teiyû Ichiryûsai, Tomiko Suzuki
Votes: 3,576
27. Osu!! Karate-bu (1990)
96 min | Action, Crime
Director: Tôru Murakawa | Stars: Masaru Matsuda, Kaori Sakagami, Naoko Amihama, Hikomaro
Votes: 21
28. Arion (1986)
R | 118 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Arion begins with his journey to discover a world of poverty and horror where ordinary people are barely surviving through the war. He falls in love with a blind slave girl who is then ... See full summary »
Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko | Stars: Shigeru Nakahara, Miki Takahashi, Mayumi Tanaka, Hirotaka Suzuoki
Votes: 460
29. Amon Saga (1986)
Unrated | 80 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Set in a world of fantasy and adventure, Amon is a young warrior embarking on a quest to avenge the death of his mother. When the hunt leads him ultimately to the kingdom of Valhiss, Amon ... See full summary »
Director: Shunji Ôga | Stars: Joe Blake, J. David Brimmer, Judy Dodd, Banjô Ginga
Votes: 274
30. Yu Yu Hakusho: Eizou Hakusho (1994)
TV-PG | 27 min | Animation, Short, Action
Includes various scenes from the Yu Yu Hakusho Dark Tournament.
Stars: Nozomu Sasaki, Shigeru Chiba, Megumi Ogata, Nobuyuki Hiyama
Votes: 151
31. Wrath of the Ninja: The Yotoden Movie (1989)
Not Rated | 97 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In the year 1580, a man named Lord Nobunaga Oda sends hoards of unholy armies across Japan, slaying all who stand in their way. A young ninja escapes her villages' destruction with a short ... See full summary »
Directors: Toshiyuki Sakurai, Osamu Yamasaki | Stars: Keiko Toda, Kazuhiko Inoue, Takeshi Watabe, Gregory Abbey
Votes: 480
32. Riki-Oh 2: Child of Destruction (1990 Video)
46 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Riki must enter into a fighting tournament to save his brother, Nachi from a madman general called Washizaki who has the magical sword power. The two fighters are reunited after many years. The story starts soon after the original movie.
Director: Satoshi Dezaki | Stars: Bin Shimada, Nobuyuki Furuta, Shûichi Ikeda, Kazue Ikura
Votes: 201
33. Goku Midnight Eye (1989)
TV-MA | 60 min | Animation, Action, Drama
In 2014 Tokyo, a private detective fights crime with two weapons bequeathed by a mysterious benefactor: a mechanical quarterstaff, and a bionic eye that can hack any computer system.
Stars: Juji Matsuda, Norio Wakamoto, Wendee Lee, Daisuke Gôri
Votes: 1,291
34. M.D. Geist (1986 Video)
Not Rated | 47 min | Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
In the distant future, mankind has colonized other planets in the universe. While many planets lived in peace, the planet Jerra has been ravaged by decades of war. Geist is an M.D.S. (Most ... See full summary »
Directors: Hideki Hiroshima, Hiroshi Negishi, Hayato Ikeda, Kôichi Ôhata | Stars: Jason Beck, Joan Baker, Dave Couch, Kip Kaplan
Votes: 852
35. Spriggan (1998)
R | 90 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
An elite superhuman agent must stop a foreign military unit from seizing control of an ancient artifact that holds the key to ultimate power.
Directors: Hirotsugu Kawasaki, Norihiko Sutô, Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Shôtarô Morikubo, Ryuji Aigase, Takehito Koyasu, Katsumi Suzuki
Votes: 4,221 | Gross: $0.01M
36.
Violence Jack (1986–1990)
Episode:
Violence Jack, Part 2: Hell City - Evil Town
(1988)
Unrated | 58 min | Animation, Action, Drama
The World as we know it has been torn apart shattered by a series of natural disasters that have turned civilization into a brutish nightmare of survival and has left whole cities buried ... See full summary »
Director: Ichirô Itano | Stars: Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Bob Sessions, Arisa Andô, Chieko Honda
Votes: 343
37. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime
A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera
Votes: 156,983 | Gross: $0.52M
38. Berserk (1997–1998)
TV-MA | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Guts, a wandering mercenary, joins the Band of the Hawk after being defeated in a duel by Griffith, the group's leader and founder. Together, they dominate every battle, but something menacing lurks in the shadows.
Stars: Marc Diraison, Nobutoshi Canna, Carrie Keranen, Kevin T. Collins
Votes: 53,258
39. Wicked City (1987)
Not Rated | 82 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
While protecting a signatory to a peace treaty between their peoples, a male human and a female demon discover that their mutual attraction may be the key to unifying their worlds.
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Stars: Yûsaku Yara, Toshiko Fujita, Ichirô Nagai, Takeshi Aono
Votes: 9,598
40. Devilman (1987–1990)
TV-MA | 57 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
Devilman faces the tortoise demon Jinmen and birdwoman Shiranu.
Stars: Show Hayami, Alan Marriott, Yû Mizushima, Adam Matalon
Votes: 1,865
41. Angel Cop (1989–1994)
Not Rated | 180 min | Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
An elite anti-terrorist agent battles terrorists threatening Japan, but a mysterious third player is involved in their own way.
Stars: Mika Doi, Sharon Holm, Masashi Ebara, Jeff Harding
Votes: 1,400
42. Bio Hunter (1995 Video)
Unrated | 58 min | Animation, Fantasy, Horror
Two biologists attempt to distribute the cure for a demonic virus spreading throughout Japan, but when one of them is infected, he must learn to harness his demon side.
Directors: Yûzô Satô, Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Stars: Matt McKenzie, Matt K. Miller, Sherry Lynn, Mike Reynolds
Votes: 1,275
43. Wizardry (1991 Video)
50 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Based on the first Wizardry game "The Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord", a group of characters enter a dungeon to confront the ultimate wizard to prevent him from reaching an unstoppable... See full summary »
Director: Toshiya Shinohara | Stars: Keiichi Nanba, Toshio Furukawa, Tesshô Genda, Unshô Ishizuka
Votes: 104
44. Space Adventure Cobra (1982)
Not Rated | 99 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
After two years in hiding, a famed space pirate with a "psychogun" for a left arm joins a bounty huntress on a quest to save her world, only to find himself battling an old enemy.
Director: Osamu Dezaki | Stars: Shigeru Matsuzaki, Akiko Nakamura, Toshiko Fujita, Yoshiko Sakakibara
Votes: 2,311
45. The Vision of Escaflowne (1996)
TV-14 | 30 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Hitomi is a girl with psychic abilities who gets transported to the magical world of Gaea. She and her friends find themselves under attack from the evil Zaibach empire, and the Guymelf ... See full summary »
Stars: Kirby Morrow, Kelly Sheridan, Brian Drummond, Jocelyne Loewen
Votes: 4,494
46. Perfect Blue (1997)
R | 81 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
A pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura
Votes: 95,652 | Gross: $0.78M
47. The Heroic Legend of Arislan (1993–1995)
PG | 59 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Young Prince Arislan believes he is the rightful heir to the throne, but is he? The mysterious masked usurper claims that Arislan's father stole the crown from his father. Arislan must ... See full summary »
Stars: Kappei Yamaguchi, Ben Fairman, Kazuhiko Inoue, Kaneto Shiozawa
Votes: 320
48. Key: The Metal Idol (1994–1997)
TV-14 | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Tokiko "Key" Mima's is a completely human looking robot that lives in a farming valley in present day Japan. Her grandfather has just died in an "accident". He makes a tape recording ... See full summary »
Stars: Junko Iwao, Miki Nagasawa, Hiroshi Yanaka, Toshiyuki Morikawa
Votes: 335
49. Green Legend Ran (1992– )
TV-MA | 134 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic wasteland caused by an alien invasion, a young orphan must overcome warfare, revenge and basic survival following his mother's murder.
Stars: Jason Gray-Stanford, Janyse Jaud, David Kaye, Kathleen Barr
Votes: 339
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