Topic: Retro Animation (Japanese) Discussion

I keep starting and never finishing Dragon's Heaven, which culminates everything about the animation of that Era into one beautiful package. For a movie featuring a whole lot of sand it really is just beautiful to look at. Any one-off or obscure Anime OVAs I should be watching?

Forgot to upload these last week.

InuYasha Set 4 - Finished this up over the weekend, and am over half way through the series now. Although it's one of my favorites from when I was younger, I will say it's starting to drag at this point (while most fans will say the series peaks during the Band of 7 arc, which started in this set, I think it peaks before that).

Urusei Yatsura: Only You - Took a bit of a gamble on this (the only other UY media I've ever seen was Beautiful Dreamer a few years ago on Prime), but I liked it well enough. I wasn't too familiar with the cast, but it was easy enough to get to grips with the core players. Will definitely check out other stuff in the franchise.

@MetaCrystal, most of the OVAs I could recommend are stuff I've already posted in my pickups, though before I started collecting stuff physically I watched Iria: Zeiram the Animation & Photon in relatively recent memory & enjoyed them (both sci-fi, the first more action, the latter comedy).

If it's available in your country you should check out Retro Crush, a streaming platform that has tones of old anime (mostly from the 80's-00's) legally for free. There are a handful of titles they have locked behind a paywall, but it might be a good place for you to browse around.

@RR529 Thanks for the info!

I just watched the AREA-88 OVA, seeing hand drawn dogfights is on another level of cool.

Update, I just copied the area 88 ova to a vhs tape, this is awesome to watch on my crt.

Got these in over the weekend.

Samurai Champloo - I haven't seen this since it last aired back on Adult Swim back in the day, and even then I don't think I ever finished it (or forgot how it ended). I had a similar experience with Code Geass which I ended up loving when I recently rewatched it on BD, so hopefully this plays out similarly for me. Not sure if it quite counts as retro, but it turns 20 next year.

Memories - I absolutely loved Robot Carnival when I watched it a few weeks ago, so when I heard the forces behind it did this later on I knew I had to get it. Can't wait to watch!

Small haul over the weekend.

InuYasha Set 5 - Started this up over the weekend, and am getting close to the end of the Bo7 arc.

Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer - Watched this a number of years ago on Prime and remembered liking it, so I decided to nab it (thinking about collecting the series in general too, as I grabbed the first film already a few weeks ago). Probably overpaid a bit for it, but it's okay to splurge every great once in awhile I guess.

Newest pickups.

Akira - Just watched it on Friday. All these years later & it still looks stunning (especially cleaned up in HD). The ending is still a bit confusing, but each time I watch it I think I understand it just a bit more... maybe.

Ninja Scroll - It's been years since I last watched this, but I remember it having copious amounts of gore & nudity, so it'll probably still be a good time, lol. Also, the slip cover has a cool shiny holographic effect on the sword which is cool.

The other two aren't retro.

Bonus: Ninja Scroll & Expelled From Paradise outside of the slip cases.

@RR529 Nice. I picked up the Akira DVD/Blu Ray combo back in 2016. Both have really good picture for the formats. I'm not into the 4K stuff, but it's cool to hear that it looks good. Sometimes, they mess up the picture when they "upgrade" the format so it's not always a sure thing. I remember Akira being really confusing when I first watched it in the 90s. When I watched it last shortly after I bought it I understood it quite a bit more than I had before(I think). Either way, such a stunning work of animation. It's definitely something I look forward to re-watching sooner or later. The backlog is real.

My most recent collection additions.

Gunbuster - Really excited to get to this. I've only ever watched the abridged movie version a few years ago on HiDive. Thought about buying that version physically but held off in the hopes that the entire thing would get a remastered release some day, and luckily my patience paid off.

InuYasha Set 6 - Last set of the original series. Just getting ready to start the last disc. Been pretty nice rewatching one of the favorite anime of my teens, though I will say it starts to lose steam after the first couple seasons.

Urusei Yatsura: Remember my Love - Just watched it over the weekend. Not as good as Beautiful Dreamer, but still a good time.

I know Mario isn't anime (or retro), but I plan on posting the pic in some other spaces (non-anime exclusive) as well, so figured I'd throw it in.

Think I forgot to post these here.

Project A-Ko 4: Final - Watched it a couple weekends ago. A decent watch if you liked the earlier ones, though I don't think it's as strong as the first two.

Cyber City Oedo 808 - This was pretty dope. I just love the sci-fi anime of the 80's & 90's, and don't think I'll ever tire of it no matter how much of it I watch. The style is just so cool, and I enjoyed the over the top edgy English dub.

Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid - Not retro (it wasn't very good though, lol).

Venus Wars - Haven't watched this yet, but am excited to get to it. It's another 80's sci-fi anime film, so I'll probably love it.

@RR529 Nice stuff as usual. I agree about 80s and 90s sci-fi anime. When I watched Bubblegum Crisis a couple of months ago, which we talked about — in fact, it was your post that got me excited to watch it again — I was just so happy throughout the whole thing because of the setting and aesthetic. And it was better than I remembered, so much so that I really want to watch it again soon. I haven't seen Cyber City yet, but it's on my list. I think it was sold out the last time I looked. Good to hear you liked it so much. I thought A-Ko 4 was about equal with the second one. I thought it was a step up from the third one, though some seem to like that one a lot. I picked up the Discotek DVD of Venus Wars a while back, but still haven't watched that version. I didn't realize how rough the old CPM DVD was. The Discotek DVD had really good picture for DVD. The blu ray probably looks fantastic.

I ordered Gunbuster shortly after your post. I'm really looking forward to that. I also got A Wind Named Amnesia and Gaogaigar Final on blu ray, and a few other things on DVD.

Forgot to upload these here.

InuYasha: the Final Act - Definitely feels rushed (especially the first 6 or so episodes), but it's probably the best animated bit of the series & it always feels good to see the long running narrative threads get tied up (certain parts make me tear up no matter how many times I watch it).

Urusei Yatsura: Lum the Forever - Maybe I just need to give it a rewatch, but this has been the most confusing of these movies yet. Feels like they were trying really hard to emulate Beautiful Dreamer but it just doesn't work as well on any level.

Alternate box arts (under the slip covers):

Been awhile since my last post so this will be larger than usual.

Demon City Shinjuku - Demons have taken over Shinjuku and now a young man who knows some sort of spiritual swordsmanship must keep them from spreading worldwide. Kinda feels like a moodier take on something like Yu Yu Hakusho. Pretty fun stuff.

Iria: Zeiram the Animation - Animated OVA prequel to the live action Zeiram horror/action films. Pretty good 90's sci-fi action stuff.

Prison School - Not Retro.

Urusei Yatsura TV Collection 1 - Currently going through this. It's one of the oldest TV anime I've ever watched (though the first Lupin series probably has that honor of being the oldest), and it definitely shows in the animation quality, however it'll occasionally have an episode where the quality really jumps up. Episodic comedy, it can be pretty humorous.

Urusei Yatsura: Always My Darling - a 10th anniversary film. Pretty much felt like a long episode, but it was fun seeing this world animated with a more distinctly 90's style rather than 80's.

Urusei Yatsura: the Final Chapter - The conclusion of the manga in film form. Pretty decent, but I didn't think it was very strong/definitive for a finale.

Wicked City - A pair of secret agents (one human & one demon) must team up to protect an ancient dignitary who holds the key to prolonging a peace treaty between the human and demon worlds from a group of demon extremists who want war. This is good stuff with a lot of creative body horror on display, but it's not for the easily offended (this is one of those 80's OVAs that really likes to push the boundaries of gore & nudity).

BONUS: Alternate box arts.

I've always seen lum floating around the internet, what is Urusei Yatsura about? Judging by the character designs I assume it's a sort of suggestive thing?

@MetaCrystal I don't really find Urusei Yatsura to be suggestive, but I guess that opinion can differ from person to person.

The series is by Rumiko Takahashi, who also did Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha. It's a comedy that is about Ataru's crazy everyday life and the trouble that follows once space alien Lum meets him. If you've ever watched Ranma 1/2, the humor is pretty similar.

Things I picked up since my last post.

• Appleseed - Based on an earlier work by the creator of Ghost in the Shell. Pretty good sci-fi movie.
• A Wind Named Amnesia - Another interesting sci-fi film. A young man & woman take a road trip across the US (being chased by a killer mech!) after a mysterious "wind" blew across the planet taking away humanity's knowledge returning us to stone age mentality.
• My First Girlfriend is a Gal - Not retro.
• Re: Cutie Honey - A take on the classic fan-servicy "magical girl" series helmed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion). Very crazy, but very fun.
• Very Private Lesson - Not pictured. Pretty average ecchi comedy from the late 90's. I get the feeling it was a 2 episode pilot for a TV series that never came out, so they released it as an OVA, as it doesn't really go anywhere.

Anyways, I really hope we can have more new anime made with cels in 35mm film.
The closest we have are Studio Ghibli and Studio Ponoc's films, as their visual signature is to apply visual effects to make all their digital films look like 35mm anime with some softness, film grain and gate weave. Even the CGI one Earwig and the Witch had this 35mm filter.

The Illumination Mario movie is semi-anime as Japanese companies coproduced it. And not just Nintendo, but also Toho (Godzilla, Your Name., Weathering With You, Suzume, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, Beastars), Dentsu (Gundam Wing, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail) and Fuji TV (Dragon Ball, One Piece).

Forgot to post here last time, so here are my last two hauls (mostly retro stuff).

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Ghost in the Shell: the New Movie

Giant Robo the Animation

GinRei

Goku: Midnight Eye

Kiki's Delivery Service

Lupin the 3rd: A Woman Called Fujiko Mine

Princess Mononoke

Spirited Away

Urusei Yatsura: TV Collections 2 & 3

Got into anime in the early 90's. I remember buying Anime FX, Manga Mania and Manga Max magazines regularly, and having to specially order VHS copies at ridiculous prices from HMV.

Anything by either Masamune Shirow (Dominion Tank Police, GitS) or Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Cyber City Oedo 808, Ninja Scroll) rocks my boat. They just don't make sci-fi anime like they used to.

Wish I had the money to buy Blue Rays, but they are sold at extortionate prices in Japan.

These days I'm more of a manga reader though. I''S being a favourite retro one in recent times.

@RR529 Wow, Iria: Zeiram looks AWESOME! Never heard of this one before, but the front cover intrigued me. Watched the opening animation, and it looks like a long-lost Masamune Shirow anime adaption (art style very similar to Dominion or Appleseed). Thanks for that one! EDIT: actually, looking closer at the clothing and still art, it seems more like something Masakazu Katsura would have done (DNA2, Zetman, etc).

Favourites of mine? So many, but at the top of my head

Dominion Tank Police and New DTP series (Dominion: No More Noise is also my fav manga)
El Hazard - maybe my first Isekai, back when it wasn't done to death.
Cyber City Oedo 808 - I could make love to the visuals. Has to be with the Japanese soundtrack though.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd GIG - peak anime IMO.
Berserk 90's anime, despite the manga being superior.
Porco Rosso - I don't like all of Miyazaki's films, but this is my fav of his.

EDIT: on a side note, I also loved owning any anime title on the PSX that I could get hold of (Puchi Carat, Evil Zone, Ghost in the Shell, One Piece Mansion). Anime in any shape or form was REALLY rare in the UK back in the 90's, so getting hold of these games was like Holy Grail for me.

My recent pickups include Riding Bean (DVD), Those Who Hunt Elves (BD), Megazone 23 (BD), Patlabor Collection (BD) (been wanting to see more than just the Patlabor movies for a long time), along with the Gatchaman Collection (BD).

@DirtyCasual I'm surprised you were unaware of Iria(no judgement here) as it was a big deal within anime over here in the US, at least, back in the day. Iria was used in lots of promotional art and was well regarded. I imagine it was somewhat popular in Japan at the time since it tied into a live-action thing. You should check it out if you can. I was a big fan of it in the '90s and beyond and just rewatched it earlier in 2023 for the first time in a while and had a wonderful time with it all over again. I was happy to find, for me, that it holds up well. And you are correct in determining that Katsura was character designer. Speaking of him, I ran across some of the I''S manga back in the day. I couldn't read it, but found the art mesmerizing.

And on the topic of rewatching stuff, I also watched Dominion Tank Police earlier this year as well, and that was for the first time since 1998 or 1999, and that was the English dub. I remembered liking it then, but wasn't sure how I'd feel now. I ended up really enjoying it and it exceeded my expectations. I could also see how Dominion influenced the design of Metal Slug. I had never seen the sequel series, but I enjoyed that a lot too. Some of your other favorites are definitely things I should look into or have already thought about.

I've also watched some Ghibli stuff this year, not counting stuff I had seen previously. As far as offiically- released discs, some of the Disney releases have the dreaded "dubtitles" which is awful. I just finished Castle in the Sky and it was good, but I also felt like it was missing something. Kind of like Totoro. Miyazaki films tend to be stronger on characterization than plot. With that said, my expectations for Porco Rosso were lower, but that one ended up being really strong for me as well. I guess what I'm saying is you seem to have good taste!!!!