The Golden Age — the 1980s || TV Anime

#AnimeHunters

Welcome back, anime classic lovers, to another post about anime in the 1980s. Last time, I covered popular movies and OVAs from the '80s, and in this post, it's all about TV anime series from that decade. I'm sure some of you will recognize a few of them.

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Kimagure Orange Road

First up is Kimagure Orange Road. Following a 1985 film pilot, Toho and Studio Pierrot made the anime series, which aired from 1987 to 1988.. In the years that followed, more films and an OVA series were released.

The story follows teenage esper Kyousuke Kasuga as he gets involved in a love triangle with Madoka Ayukawa, a young heroine with a reputation for being an unpopular loner and delinquent, and her best friend Hikaru Hiyama.

Kimagure Orange Road had a pretty big impact back then. A lot of people in Europe got into anime because of it. And yeah, Madoka’s kind of the original tsundere, or at least one of the first big ones.

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Super Dimension Fortress Macross

Next up, we have another anime featuring a love triangle. But in Super Dimension Fortress Macross, it’s set against the backdrop of an interstellar war against aliens. The series was released in 1982 and was produced by the studios Artland and Tatsunoko Production. It was the start of two different franchises, Macross in Japan and Robotech in North America. A lot of the animation got reworked in the U.S. to turn it into the first part of Robotech.

The story follows a war between humans and giant alien beings called the Zentradi, sparked when an alien ship crashes on Earth. At the heart of it is a love triangle between pilot Hikaru Ichijyo, idol singer Lynn Minmay, and officer Misa Hayase.

Macross really shook things up in the mecha genre by throwing in romance and music with all the space battles. Unlike earlier mecha anime that focused mainly on soldiers or pilots, Macross explored the civilian side of war, such as the fictional singer Lynn Minmay. She was one of the first anime idols and instantly turned her voice actress, Mari Iijima, into a star and launched her music career. It also helped make transforming mecha — like jets turning into robots — a big deal in anime.

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Maison Ikkoku

Since we're already talking about romance in anime, let's continue with it. Maison Ikkoku is based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi. The anime aired in 1986, produced by Studio Deen, and spans 96 episodes. The story is a slow-burning romantic comedy in the seinen category.

The story revolves around the everyday lives of the residents of the apartment house Maison Ikkoku. The main character is the young Yūsaku Godai, who is trying to prepare for his college entrance exams but is constantly interrupted by his neighbors. He falls in love with the young widowed manager.

Maison Ikkoku stood out because the romance actually felt kinda real, which wasn’t super common in anime back then. The slow build-up and emotional moments really stuck with fans, and it’s still seen as one of the best romance anime out there.

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City Hunter

City Hunter is an action-comedy anime series based on the manga by Tsukasa Hojo. It was produced by Sunrise and first aired in 1987, running for 51 episodes.

The story follows Ryo Saeba, a skilled but lecherous private detective known as the "City Hunter." Alongside his partner Kaori Makimura, Ryo takes on various cases in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, ranging from protecting clients to solving crimes.

City Hunter turned into a whole franchise, with spin-offs and remakes popping up in a bunch of countries. The anime was popular in numerous Asian and European countries. Soon, characters Ryo and Kaori became fan-favorites.

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Captain Tsubasa

Captain Tsubasa is a anime based on the manga by Yoichi Takahashi. It was produced by Tsuchida Production and premiered in 1983, consisting of 128 episodes.

The story follows Tsubasa Ozora, a young soccer player with dreams of becoming the best in the world. The series accompanies him through his early days playing soccer on the streets to his rise through the ranks of competitive youth leagues. Along the way, Tsubasa has to face numerous challenges and rivals.

Captain Tsubasa wasn’t the first soccer anime, but it's definitely the one everyone re. Back then, soccer wasn’t even that big in Japan, yet the manga — and later the anime — became one of the most successful series of its time. Furthermore, the anime was exported worldwide an broadcast in regions including South Asia, Spain, Italy, Latin America, , , and several Arab countries.

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Fist of the North Star

Omae wa mou shindeiru.

If you know, you know.

Hokuto no Ken, also known as Fist of the North Star, is based on the manga by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. It was produced by Toei Animation and first aired in 1984, consisting of 109 episodes. In 1987, the series continued with its second season. It has since expanded into a media franchise, with a new anime adaptation being in production these days.

Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth after a nuclear war, the story centers on Kenshiro — a martialartist. He is the successor of a deadly martialart known as Hokuto Shinken. Kenshiro basically wanders the wasteland beating up bad guys and protecting the weak, all while running into rival martial artists.

The manga is one of the best-selling manga series in history. People say it’s one of the most important martial arts manga ever — and also one of the goriest. It became a wild, over-the-top classic that influence a whole generation of manga creators.

The anime features a great deal of violence and injury, but also delivers a surprisingly deep storyline for its genre. The first season was broadcast on television in English, Italian, and French, and was also translated into Arabic, among other languages. In Italy and , the anime aired during daytime programming. However, the series — and anime in general — faced strong criticism, which influenced broadcast policies for anime in those countries.

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Urusei Yatsura

With Urusei Yatsura, we have the second anime adaptation of a manga by Rumiko Takahashi in this post. From 1981 to 1986, 195 episodes of the anime were produced, along with several OVAs, specials, and movies. In October 2022, a new adaptation of the anime series was released.

The series tells loosely connected short stories revolving around the fate of Ataru, who becomes the object of affection for the alien princess Lum. More and more aliens and humans are introduced—many of whom are also in love with one of the two or otherwise connected to them—constantly creating new conflicts.

It’s known as the first anime to have a “Magical Girlfriend” — like, a weird supernatural girlfriend who causes most of the story’s chaos. It’s mainly a romantic comedy, full of slapstick, wordplay, and tons of goofy parodies. Many characters and elements of the series are based on Japanese folklore and Shinto.

The anime was very popular and successful in Japan. It was also one of the significant series in the early U.S. anime and manga fan scene, paving the way for later films and series.

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Touch

Touch is a sports romance anime series based on the manga by Mitsuru Adachi. It was produced by Group TAC and first aired in 1985, consisting of 101 episodes. The anime is one of the highest-rated anime tv series ever, and the manga is one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

The story follows twin brothers Tatsuya and Kazuya Uesugi, along with their childhood friend and nextdoor neighbor Minami Asakura. Tatsuya, a naturally gifted athlete whose raw skills exceeds Kazuya's, has always allowed his hard-working younger brother to take the spotlight, but as the two of them near high school with Minami, Tatsuya realize that perhaps he does not want to lose Minami to his brother after all.

The show mixed sports, romance, and everyday life in a way that just clicked with a lot of people. The mix of sibling rivalry, sports, and romance really drew people in — it felt real and kept you watching.

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Saint Seiya

Saint Seiya, known as Knights of the Zodiac, debuted in 1986. Both anime and manga were created by Masami Kurumada. The anime was produced by Toei Animation and consists of 114 episodes. The anime's enduring impact can be seen in numerous sequels, spin-offs.

The anime follows a group of young warriors called Saints, who wear mystical armor known as Cloths and possess incredible strength. These protagonists are reincarnations of Greek gods and mythical figures. The story centers the Saints as they defend the goddess Athena against formidable adversaries.

The tv series was one of the first anime shows for a young audience to be broadcast in and Spain in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it became a major success. The same goes for the manga in Italy, where it was released in 1991. It was big in Japan too, and a bunch of later shows kinda copied the whole “young heroes with powers” thing.

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Dragon Ball

Now we come to a series that many associate with their childhood. Did Dragon Ball also open the doors to the world of anime and manga for you?

The Dragon Ball anime is based on the manga by Akira Toriyama. For its original broadcast on Japanese television from 1986 to 1989, a total of 153 episodes were produced by Toei. The sequel Dragon Ball Z started airing in 1989. Due to it's huge success, the franchise now consists of four TV series, many theatrical films, TV specials, OVAs, and a large number of video games.

The series follows the adventures of Son Goku from childhood to adulthood as he trains in martial arts. He grows up far from civilization until he meets a teenage girl named Bulma, who convinces him to her quest to explore the world in search of the seven Dragon Balls.

What's the popularity of Dragon Ball? It's over 9000!

With around 156 million manga volumes sold in Japan and 230 million worldwide, Dragon Ball is the second best-selling manga of all time, behind One Piece. The work played a major role in popularizing manga across Europe.

When the anime series ended, its sequel Dragon Ball Z took over the time slot on Japanese TV. But even before the original ended, it had already arrived in Europe, first airing in in 1988. Over the years, the series has been broadcast in 81 countries worldwide.

Dragon Ball Z especially helped anime blow up in the West. It got tons of people into it for the first time. It’s no surprise, that Dragon Ball had a massive influence on pop culture everywhere — you see it referenced by athletes, musicians, and even Hollywood folks.

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The '80s were a golden era for anime, setting up a lot of the genres and tropes we still see today. The series of this decade helped anime take root not only in Japan but around the world!

I’ll be taking a short break before diving into the next chapter — anime in the 1990s — where a whole new wave of creativity and innovation awaits.