We are all old: Anime of the 90s

[blkmage]

Let us journey back into a time oft spoken of among the anime community, a time in which many of us began this journey of watching cartoons from another land. Serving as 'the good ol' days' of anime, the final decade of the last millenium contains many of the foundational works in our libraries, whether we were already old and were attracted by the likes of space cowboys or were still but children, drawn to those devil pocket monsters.

But the world now is a vastly different place from the world of twenty years ago. Today, we sit at our low-power LCD monitors, talking about deconstructions and eccentric Japanese directors. That was impossible back then. I think it'd be interesting to revisit those shows for a number of reasons. Obviously, most of them are good, but I'd also like to examine that myth.

Was the state of anime back then inherently better than it is now?

It's inevitable that as a discussion on the woes of the industry today, someone will bring up those halcyon days and lament that the works of today are but soulless husks compared to those of the past. We've often taken this line of thinking for granted, but we should probably make sure that our lens into this time isn't distorted.

But other than that, it's because I've been listening to some 90s anison recently and thought back to some of the awesome 90s shows I've watched in the past year or so and it'll be a nice break while I wait for the next episode of the awesome 201Xs anime that I'm watching.

[Sheenar]

In the 90s, I watched a lot of Sailor Moon and some DBZ. Other than that, I don't think I watched any other animes during that time

[TopazRaven]

Oh man, I watched Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon whenever I could as a kid. I would freak out if I ever missed an episode so my mom started tapping them for me. The anime Ginga Nagaraboshi Gin, which was made in 1986 was also really awesome, but I didn't start watching that one until around 2006 after I watched the 2005 sequel series Ginga Densetsu Weed.

[Atria35]

In the 90's I watched Sailor Moon. I was a kid with no internet access and no idea what anime was. I have no memories or knowledge to compare then and now.

But listening to my older friends on other anime sites who are old enough to know and remember then, they'll tell you that there was an anime glut then, and most of it was terrible. The rate of bad-to-good shows was about the same as it is now.

[blkmage]

Clarification: I would like for this to be about anime produced and aired in the 90s and not necessarily our personal experiences with anime or the anime we watched during the 90s. Hence, "Anime of the 90s".

[Agloval]

That's good, because the 90s had finished by the time I noticed anime . . . for me, the 90s are more of a lacuna of pointy noses and odd decisions: Gundam Wing got made and Gundam X got cancelled partway! what, as they say, is up with that?*

I've watched a few famous names (Utena, Escaflowne, Bebop) from the period, some robot-y things like Giant Robo and the last Brave, GaoGaiGar, which, if you hang around the wrong/right people long enough, you begin to feel are obligatory viewing. But I'm pretty ignorant about 90s anime in general: what kinds of comedy were being made, for example?

I have heard that,
- especially in the early 90s, TV broadcast anime was more dominated by material for children than it is today
- OVAs proliferated, carrying whatever wasn't for kids (primarily robots, fanservice)
- the mid/late 90s (Eva onwards) saw a move towards the distribution of TV anime that we have today
- less anime was being made than today
(Dunno how correct the post I linked is, but it does match up with what I do know.)

* I'm sure there were solid commercial reasons for these decisions. But still. . .

[rocklobster]

First off, I refuse to call anything from the 90's classic. It's not old enough yet.
Anyway, during the 90's I think I watched DBZ, Tenchi Muyo, and whatever else was on CN at the time. It wasn't until about a few years back that I discovered there was such a thing as anime on the net. Nowadays, that's mostly all I watch because I don't like the sub versions of Bleach and FMA. (As for Kekkaishi, the only reason I watch it on Adult Swim is it's the only legal way that'll work for me. I could watch it on Hulu, but the problem there is only the most recently aired episode on Adult Swim--and all those after it--are available.) In fact, the only unfinished anime I watch online is Naruto Shippuden, and that's because the only way I can watch it is online. (I don't get Disney XD)

[ShiroiHikari]

Some anime from the 90s I am interested in seeing:

Gundam X
V Gundam
Slayers
Dual! Parallel Trouble
Brave series (GaoGaiGar, J-Decker, etc.)
Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru
Lord of Lords Ryu Knight
Macross 7
Macross Plus
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Slam Dunk

[Roy Mustang]

Macross 7

Are you sure that you really really want to see that?


As a Macross fan and most other Macross fans like to think that series was never made at all.

[Atria35]

First off, I refuse to call anything from the 90's classic. It's not old enough yet.

And now I have to ask: At what point is something considered a classic? Star Wars was considered a classic by 2000, and it was only 30 years old at that point.

In any case, series from the 90's I've seen and loved:
Escaflowne- I own it. I love it. Definitely a top anime, with amazing action sequences, music, and romance.
Cowboy Bebop- Okay, I can't say I loved it. But I did like it.
Sailor Moon- loved it. Don't love it as much now, but it's fun.
Case Closed- YAY! So fun. I own the first 5 seasons. I love murder mysteries. This indulges me with them.
Princess Mononoke- Ghibli. And I think it was my first introduction to them, too.
Perfect Blue- Satshi Kon! What a rush to watch! Dark and not for the kiddies, though.
Card Captor Sakura- I made my friend get her hands on this for me. It was fabulous. It was the first anime that I really wanted to and asked to see specifically.
Now and Then, Here and There- so very dark and depressing. But so very good.

[ShiroiHikari]

I do want to see Macross 7, partly because I want to know why everyone hates it so much.

As for the state of anime then vs. now...I really don't know, because I actually haven't seen enough 90s stuff.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

While, as Atria points out, the 90s weren't the best time for quality anime, the decade did birth some shows that are essential to any anime fans canon.

However, I will bypass talking about the Evas and Cowboy Bebops of this world and mention a couple of often overlooked shows that I think deserve more attention: Macross Plus and King of Braves Gaogaigar.

No knowledge of Macross is required to enjoy the four episode OVA Macross Plus. It's Macross b/c it has planes, a love triangle and Itano circus (which is gorgeously animated). Two items of note: the soundtrack was composed by a then largely untested (in the world of anime at least) Yoko Kanno. She absolutely hit it out of the park with a score that is both varied and imminently listenable. I think she has had the Macross gig ever since. The other thing is the characters, specifically the fact that they aren't kids. The three mains are adults with adult problems and adult flaws. The tangled relationships are handled quite well and are a bit more complex than the triangle found in the original SDF Macross.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Gaogaigar. I'm not sure if "spiritual father/grandfather" is the right term, but GGG is a prominant ancestor on Gurren Lagann's family tree. In particular, the first and third acts of TTGL owe a great deal to GGG. If you are fond of the sort of plot structure that involves tangibly ratcheting up the stakes, the intensity and the sheer size/scope of the enemies that confront "out heroes," then GGG will hit the spot. Epic stuff.

[Nate]

Macross Plus is absolutely amazing and one of my favorite anime. It's hard to say if the four episode OAV version is better or the "movie version" which is the episodes edited together into one full-length feature.

[Roy Mustang]

I think she has had the Macross gig ever since.

Close, but she didn't do any work on Macross Zero and only was the composer for "Angel Voice" in Macross Dynamite 7 OVA.

[MightiMidget]

And now I have to ask: At what point is something considered a classic? Star Wars was considered a classic by 2000, and it was only 30 years old at that point.

I think 30 years is the accepted amount of time? But I could definitely be wrong. The word "classic" is thrown around so much, however. People call Harry Potter classic -- which it's definitely not old enough to be. But I do think 30 years is the general amount...

[blkmage]

I know of a bunch of people who love Macross 7 and went nuts when they saw a screen of a red Valkyrie in the preview for the next Macross F movie. Also, these are the same people who love G Gundam.

[MasterDias]

I'll be a bit kinder to Macross 7. I didn't really find it bad, just kind of average and repetitive (and the fight choreography was quite poor). It should have been about half as long as it was.

[ShiroiHikari]

I know of a bunch of people who love Macross 7 and went nuts when they saw a screen of a red Valkyrie in the preview for the next Macross F movie. Also, these are the same people who love G Gundam.

I thought G Gundam was pretty freaking awesome, so...

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I know of a bunch of people who love Macross 7...these are the same people who love G Gundam.

Eh?

Isn't Macross 7 about a band?

[MasterDias]

Eh?

Isn't Macross 7 about a band?

Yes.

A band that fights alien energy vampires with The Power of Rock...

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Yes.

A band that fights alien energy vampires with The Power of Rock...

People don't like this show?

[MasterDias]

Well, as I said before, the show is kind of repetitive and starts to wear out its welcome after awhile. The fight choreography is fairly poor (lots of stock footage). It sounds more interesting on paper than it was actually executed.

Some people do love it though, and it was really popular in Japan to the point it spawned sequel OVAs. Since the overall narrative is not as strong as the original or Frontier, it helps if you like the characters. I found Basara boring, but Mylene and Gamlin were interesting/likable enough for me to continue watching.

EDIT: And I should add, some of the unwarranted flak it gets is because it's so different from the rest of the franchise, much like how G-Gundam sometimes gets abuse from other Gundam fans.

[Nate]

I've seen Gundam fans give more crap to ZZ than to G. Most of them just say "lol AU" to G Gundam or acknowledge it as way different but okay in its own right, but ZZ is always met with "TOTAL GARBAGE RUINED GUNDAM FOREVER NOT CANON NOT CANON."

[ShiroiHikari]

Pfft. I liked ZZ. Haters gonna hate.

Anyway enough about Gundam. I've noticed that a lot of the 90s shows I want to see are "kiddie shows". What does that say about me...?

[blkmage]

I think one of the best shows of the 90s is Card Captor Sakura. I liked Nanoha and I went in expecting to not like this at all because it actual magical girl and not pseudo-mecha like Nanoha was, but man was I wrong. It's right up there with Utena for me, so it'll take something pretty impressive to knock it down.

And Digimon Adventure 01 was pretty excellent too.

So, idk, my track record with 90s kids shows has been pretty good so far. Or maybe it's because the 90s were my childhood years. Or not, because I certainly thought Card Captor Sakura was dumb and girly back then.

[rainbowchick_02]

Sailor Moon

[Rocketshipper]

I love just about EVERYTHING Macross related. Its currently my #1 favorite anime franchise. I actually really enjoyed Macross 7 a lot; its true that the battle scenes were often terrible, and it dragged at points; but I LOVE the soundtrack. Firebomber rocks!!! Totsugeki Love Heart is maybe my fave Macross song ever, and there are many others from that show behind it. I also think it picked up a lot around the time City 7 got seperated from Battle 7, and the second half of the show is a lot better than the first. There were some interesting characters too; Gamlin was pretty awesome, and Max and Milia from the original series are authority figures on the ship. And there are frequent refrences to the original Macross.

[TWWK]

There's been a lot of talk about Cowboy Bebop, but man, still today, I don't think any show has left such a powerful first impression on me. I remember where I was, what I was doing and what time of day it was when I saw the first two episodes. I remember the feelings that coursed through me when I first heard "Tank," and then again with "Real Folk Blues." And I certainly remember being in awe after first watching "Ballad of Falling Angels." Awesome 90s stuff.

I think 30 years is the accepted amount of time? But I could definitely be wrong. The word "classic" is thrown around so much, however. People call Harry Potter classic -- which it's definitely not old enough to be. But I do think 30 years is the general amount...

There's not set time for calling something a classic. But it usually takes years for something to be seen in perspective. Look at "The Matrix" - a cultural phenomenon and a terrific film, but is it a classic? 12 years later...I'm not sure that's nearly enough time to call it such. This is why people invent terms like "modern classic" so that they can emphasize how great something is.

To put it in perspective, "classic" can in some ways be related to the term, "historic." Nationally, an event, structure, etc. needs to be at least 50 years old to be possibly considered historic.

I think one of the best shows of the 90s is Card Captor Sakura. I liked Nanoha and I went in expecting to not like this at all because it actual magical girl and not pseudo-mecha like Nanoha was, but man was I wrong. It's right up there with Utena for me, so it'll take something pretty impressive to knock it down.

And Digimon Adventure 01 was pretty excellent too.

So, idk, my track record with 90s kids shows has been pretty good so far. Or maybe it's because the 90s were my childhood years. Or not, because I certainly thought Card Captor Sakura was dumb and girly back then.

I think you just hit two great shows. For me, I thought the kid shows from my youth, which was before yours, were best. I didn't watch Digimon and CCS until I was older - but I still found them both excellent shows. Good is good.

[rocklobster]

I think 30 years is the accepted amount of time? But I could definitely be wrong. The word "classic" is thrown around so much, however. People call Harry Potter classic -- which it's definitely not old enough to be. But I do think 30 years is the general amount...

While I dislike this definition, I accept it. I hate the fact that I am now old enough to be considered "classic." (This is why I try to keep as hip as possible. I made up my mind long ago that I will not be some old fogey telling kids "turn that noise down!")

[ShiroiHikari]

I thought being a "classic" was supposed to be an awesome thing.