Best Anime From The 90s

The anime industry has progressed quite a lot over the years. There has been a significant jump in the number of shows, which makes it easier to find an anime that suits one’s tastes. With so much new content being produced, it is easy to forget about the series that were released in the last year, let alone over a decade ago.

Thus, it’s pretty obvious that fans have a tough time remembering anime from the 1990s. Yet, there are some excellent anime from the decade that every fan should watch. Some of the best ’90s anime are also among the greatest shows of all time, and that goes beyond just this industry.

Updated November 3, 2024, by Mark Sammut: Galleries have been added for every ’90s anime. Furthermore, two new series have been introduced, one of which is a fantasy cult classic. The second show is based on a classic European novel.

Criteria for an anime to qualify:

• Only series, no movies.
• If an anime started in 1989, it will be considered if more than 50% of its episodes aired during the 1990s.
• If an anime started in 1999, it will be considered if it ended in 2000.
• Anime like
  Case Closed
  and
  One Piece
  are not going to be included since more than 80% of their content aired after the 1990s.

15 Digimon Adventure

MyAnimeList Score: 7.78

Digimon Adventure follows the story of a group of friends who get transported inside the Digital World and meet Digimon. They also receive Digivices, which help them evolve their Digimon. The friends learn that they have been chosen to save the Digital World from a malevolent force.

Along with Dragon Ball and Pokemon, Digimon Adventure was an introductory anime for a lot of ’90s and early 2000s kids. While it might not hit as hard with new viewers who carry no nostalgia, the 1999 series was and still is top-notch, delivering an addictive blend of action, adventure, drama, and character development. Unlike Pokemon, Digimon Adventure‘s story seemed more consequential and ambitious, even sprinkling in some fairly dark moments.

14 Slayers

MyAnimeList Score: 7.72 (Season 1)

Although not reaching the same highs as a few other classic ’90s anime, Slayers was arguably among the decade’s defining series, one that produced three great seasons that expertly blended fantasy, comedy, action, and even romance. The anime did eventually come back for two more sequels in the late 2000s, but Revolution and Evolution-R struggled to fully capture the magic of Slayers, Slayers Next, and Slayers Try.

Lina Inverse is just an all-time brilliant protagonist. Sharp, hilarious, greedy, but also lovable, she is a force of nature who ensures Slayers maintains a constantly high energy and quick pace. She is surrounded by fantastic supporting characters as well, particularly Gourry. In terms of pure fantasy adventure anime, this anime is difficult to beat.

13 Initial D First Stage

MyAnimeList Score: 8.35

Initial D First Stage takes a gander into the life of Takumi Fujiwara, a student who works at a gas station. His friend, Itsuki, a racing fanatic, works at the same place. Takumi takes no interest in racing, as driving reminds him of the chores that he carries out for his father. However, he eventually gets dragged into street racing, setting him down a path of forever increasing stakes.

Most genres have a few anime that can be rightfully described as “best” or “biggest,” but that is not really the case when it comes to driving and racing. Initial D is, simply put, the definitive car racing anime, and its opening season is arguably the story’s peak. Even all these years later, the driving sequences are still something to behold.

12 Trigun

MyAnimeList Score: 8.22

Trigun is based on the work of Yasuhiro Nightow. At the heart of things is Vash, also known as the Human Typhoon. He is slapped with an enormous bounty of $$60 billion, causing all the bounty hunters to chase after him. Contrary to his reputation, Vash is a pacifist who tries to avoid fighting at all costs. Trigun is different from most anime series in that it does not have a protagonist who craves to accomplish something big. The anime encapsulates the action perfectly, and it sets a nice pace that helps the audience understand Vash and the other characters better.

Boasting Madhouse’s fantastic animation and featuring an incredibly likable roster of characters, Trigun is just an all-around blast from start to end. While the story eventually grows in scale through the introduction of a villain tied to Vash’s past, the anime is arguably at its best when telling smaller-scale adventures that are likely sci-fi versions of classic Western tales.

11 Sailor Moon

MyAnimeList Score: 7.74 (Season 1)

Based on the manga written by Naoko Takeuchi, SailorMoon is arguably the most popular shoujo series in the world. The series started to air in 1992 and finished airing in 1997. The popularity of the anime resulted in the series getting several movie adaptations. Sailor Moon follows the adventures of a middle-school girl named Usagi Tsukino. Usagi befriends a feline, Luna, who surprisingly can talk. Luna gives Usagi a brooch that allows her to transform into Sailor Moon.

Similar to Dragon Ball Z‘s importance for battle shonen, Sailor Moon played a huge part in introducing the world to magical girls, and it is still that genre’s most well-known property. Even though some aspects have aged poorly, the anime’s charm has been preserved, largely thanks to the Sailor Scouts.

10 Romeo and the Black Brothers

MyAnimeList Score: 8.33

While sadly no longer around nowadays, the World Masterpiece Theater was a staple of Japanese TV for decades, throughout which the series adapted plenty of classic literature stories with either Eastern or Western origins. Dororo, Moomin, Princess Sarah, Tales of Little Women, My Daddy Long Legs, and Remi, Nobody’s Girl all fall under this umbrella, and they are pretty great in their own right. Putting aside popularity, there is a strong argument to be made that Romeo and the Black Brothers was this movement’s crowning achievement.

The series is also known as
Romeo’s Blue Skies
and is based on a 1941 book by Lisa Tetzner.

Even though its title might sound a bit off through a modern lens, the anime follows a boy who has to become a chimney sweeper to try and gather the money to save his dying father. Considering this was ultimately designed with younger viewers in mind, the 1995 series goes to quite a few dark places, opting not to sugarcoat the original story’s content too much. The story’s heart is the endearing friendships between the main boys, along with Romeo’s relationship with Bianca. While showing its age visually, the story itself is timeless.

9 Rurouni Kenshin

MyAnimeList Score: 8.28

Rurouni Kenshin follows the story of the legendary swordsman, Himura Kenshin, whose name instills fear in his opponents. However, Kenshin leaves his troubled past behind him and wanders over Japan, until he meets a young woman who is struggling with her martial arts dojo.

Rurouni Kenshin has withstood the test of time, at least the parts that were adapted from the source material. The final stretch of filler episodes that resulted in the anime’s cancelation are still as terrible as they were in 1998, but they are ultimately easy to ignore in favor of the cannon content. Kenshin‘s core characters are an absolute delight, particularly the charming relationship between the eponymous ronin and Kaoru.

8 Berserk

MyAnimeList Score: 8.59

The manga was written by the late Kentarou Miura, who passed away at a tragically young age. Despite being a seinen series, Berserk’s popularity is comparable to any famous shonen series out there. Other manga authors have derived inspiration from Berserk, and it has even influenced other mediums like games.

The 1997 anime partially covers two arcs: the Black Swordsman arc and the Golden Age arc. Now, it should be noted that the adaptation is nowhere near complete and, ultimately, just a footnote in Berserk‘s legacy. Newcomers should just read the manga since it is far better than any adaptation; however, the 1997 series is a perfectly enjoyable dark fantasy that does a great job showcasing Guts and Griffith’s origins.

7 Dragon Ball Z

MyAnimeList Score: 8.17

Putting aside any question of quality, Dragon Ball Z is without doubt the most important anime on an international scale. Akira Toriyama’s series played a pivotal role in establishing Japanese animation as a force in areas like Europe and South America, leaving a legacy so strong that the franchise is still flourishing decades after DBZ ended.

Popularity does not necessarily equal quality, so DBZ is not the best ’90s anime. No, it is just one of them. Known for its larger-than-life personalities and epic fights that turn planets into battlegrounds, Dragon Ball Z is simply iconic. The characters are iconic, the transformation sequences are iconic, and even the hairstyles are iconic. While slow-paced by today’s standards, the anime’s fights still carry weight, with each moment being allowed to breathe so that the audience can take in everything they are watching unfold. There is a reason so many DBZ scenes are forever ingrained in the minds of ’90s kids.

6 Great Teacher Onizuka

MyAnimeList Score: 8.69

Great Teacher Onizuka, or GTO, is easily among the best shonen anime series. It follows a 22-year-old delinquent, Onizuka, who decides to become a teacher after seeing a teacher sway a female student. Onizuka soon realizes that he has a sense of morality, and cannot commit immoral acts. He becomes an outstanding teacher who looks after his students and gives them invaluable lessons throughout the series.

GTO balances humor and drama in a way that allows both tones to complement each other, creating a satisfying whole that can be silly or mature. Onizuka’s antics and facial expressions are the stuff of comedy legend, and they are still as hilarious now as they were in 1999. More importantly, the serious arcs continue to hit the mark, particularly the show’s handling of bullying.

5 Serial Experiments Lain

MyAnimeList Score: 8.09

Serial Experiments Lain is not going to be for everyone, and that is great. In an industry that has a habit of revisiting popular concepts until any associated excitement is completely exhausted, truly one of a kind shows are rare, and there is no other series quite like Serial Experiments Lain.

​​​​​​The story revolves around a girl named Lain Iwakura, who is an introvert with a troubled family. Lain’s life drastically changes when she finds out that the people from her school have been receiving emails from a dead classmate. This moment leads the girl into an online space, a technological world that challenges her sense of identity. Tackling psychological and philosophical ideas, Serial Experiments Lain can be frustrating and confusing, but it is also incredibly rewarding (especially on a second watch).

4 Slam Dunk

MyAnimeList Score: 8.54

Kuroko no Basket is nowadays the definitive basketball anime, but an argument could be made that Slam Dunk is superior. If somebody is craving a more grounded take on the sport, they will find the 1993 series more to their liking, particularly its heavy emphasis on Hanamichi’s training and gradual improvement rather than immediate success. Also, the anime is hilarious, to the point of being among the funniest series of the 1990s. If it had not ended prematurely, Slam Dunk would be the full package; unfortunately, it is only almost perfect.

In pursuit of a girlfriend, Hanamichi joins his high school club’s basketball team to impress the captain’s sister. While he is initially driven purely by lust, the goofy protagonist shows a natural but unrefined talent for the sport, and he steadily falls in love with basketball. Along the way, he gets to meet a colorful roster of both teammates and rivals.

3 Neon Genesis Evangelion

MyAnimeList Score: 8.35

Neon Genesis Evangelion takes place in the futuristic city of Tokyo. The protagonist is a young boy named Shinji, who is given the monumental task of destroying an Angel. He must accomplish this with the help of an Evangelion. Shinji barely manages to survive and ends up being hospitalized. This fight changes his life as he settles in Tokyo-3.

NGE arguably transcends anime, becoming a cultural juggernaut in its own right. Considering mecha is quite niche outside of Japan, the fact that one of the genre’s most twisted and dark tales found such success serves as a testament to Hideaki Anno’s singular vision. Initially, NGE can seem like a fairly typical robot vs alien story, but things gradually take a turn as the focus shifts from action to psychological trauma, abuse, and desperation.

2 Yu Yu Hakusho

MyAnimeList Score: 8.46

Along with Hunter x Hunter, which also received a good ’90s adaptation, Yu Yu Hakusho is a bona fide masterpiece by the great Yoshihiro Togashi. This shonen classic focuses on the adventures of Yusuke Urameshi, who is killed in a car accident; fortunately, he receives another shot at life from Koenma, who is the son of the ruler of the afterlife. Yusuke passes Koenma’s challenges and is revived, starting a new life as a detective.

That “simple” premise quickly explodes in scope, leading to the all-time great Dark Tournament arc and the more experimental but equally fantastic Chapter Black saga. Yu Yu Hakusho is almost the perfect battle shonen, arguably even more so than Dragon Ball Z. The anime has consistently fantastic fights that never overstay their welcome, along with an expansive roster of characters who are immediately memorable and frequently surprising. The villain gallery is as good as any other ’90s anime.

1 Cowboy Bebop

MyAnimeList Score: 8.75

Directed by the legendary Shinichiro Watanabe, Cowboy Bebop is considered by many to be the finest piece of anime that exists. Set in the future, the show follows a crew of eccentrics that hunt criminals for bounties, and they all come with captivating backstories that are beautifully revealed throughout the 26 episodes. The crew members aren’t always the most cooperative, but they still care about each other in their own way throughout their adventures.

Cowboy Bebop is divided into two types of episodes: standalone and continuous. The latter consists of a few multipart chapters that shine a light on the crew’s tragic past, all of which are masterfully done. Conversely, the standalone episodes are mostly fun diversions that often cover sci-fi subgenres, including a great send-off to Alien. While personal preference plays a part, Cowboy Bebop nails both of these storytelling styles, delivering a gripping overarching narrative alongside highly entertaining self-contained adventures. Also, this probably does not need to be said, but the soundtrack is flawless.