Anime Every 90s Kid Watched

Anime was a more limited affair in the 90s, although it was improving compared to the 80s. Special segments began opening up around the mid-90s, including Toonami on Cartoon Network, UPN’s inclusion of anime instead of Disney cartoons, and Fox Kids’ Saturday Morning Cartoon block, among others.

Related

Best Anime To Watch With Kids, Ranked

Anime fans looking for shows to watch with kids that are still fun for adults will love these series.

Because anime was more limited at this time, most 90s kids devoured every scrap they could get their hands on. Not every anime appealed to all audiences, but these anime were talked about in classrooms and on the playground far and wide. They may not all hold up today, but they are still an important part of many childhoods.

7

Dragon Ball Z

The Biggest Anime Of All Time?

Dragon Ball Z is a 90s classic that began to pick up steam when it entered the 1998 Toonami block. The intensity of the action was unlike anything of this era, or at least not what North American fans were used to for shonen anime.

Every kid from this time can remember Goku finally arriving on Namek, only for the episode count to be reset numerous times before new episodes were finally added. It was painful, but worth it, as the Saiyan and Namek storylines became ingrained in the minds of fans forever, more so than any other story arc.

6

Digimon

Fox’s Call To Pokemon

Digimon Adventure

Release Date

1999 – 2006

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroyuki Kakudou

The Pokemon games and anime blew up in North America in 1998, two years after they did the same in Japan, which meant that plans for Digimon were in the works shortly thereafter. The anime adaptation of the first Digimon season premiered on Fox Kids in 1999, almost a year to the day following the Pokemon anime’s premiere.

Related

7 Experimental Anime From The 1990s

The ’90s produced some all-time great anime, some of which took quite a few risks and chances.

Instead of trainers going on quests to catch monsters, children from a Japanese summer camp get thrown into a digital world and paired up with their own Digimon. Together, they try to escape this monster-filled world one fight and comedic blowout at a time. Lines were drawn on many a 90s playground between this series and Pokemon.

5

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Let The Tape Wars Begin

Most anime from the 80s to the early 2000s were viewed by buying or renting tapes or DVDs. This was how more mature stuff could get passed around, like Neon Genesis Evangelion, which began releasing two-episode tapes between 1996 and 1998. This series was expensive, to say the least.

While it may not have caught the attention of younger anime fans, those who rented tapes or had cool friends in the anime scene knew that this was something special. The level of animation, storytelling, and the grim depiction of child-piloted-mechs fighting angels was not something everyone could appreciate right away, especially with Shinji as the lead. However, given rewatches, it all sank in, and the series’ influence continues to be felt today.

4

Pokemon

Pika Power

Whoever decided to air the Pokemon anime weeks before Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue launched in North America was a genius. It was a marketing blitz to get kids hooked on the anime, cards, games, and more. Sometimes these stunts fail miserably, but in the case of Pokemon, it couldn’t have gone better.

There was no single channel on which it premiered, as it was syndicated immediately. WB Kids acquired the rights to air the first season and new episodes starting in 1999. Kids of this era can remember Batman interacting with Pokemon in promo bumpers for the cartoon block, making it a weird time to be alive, but a special one to be sure.

3

Ronin Warriors

Ninja Turtles But Human

• Directors: Masashi Ikeda, Mamoru Hamatsu
• Studio: Sunrise
• Released: April 30, 1988 (Japan)
• Episodes: 39

Ronin Warriors wasn’t the biggest hit on Toonami in 1999, but many fans watched it simply because it was on. Some may have caught it before Toonami years earlier, as it was also on the Syfy Channel and USA Network.

Ronin Warriors can be best described as a blend of Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Each warrior got a special suit of colored armor, an element to channel (like fire), and a special weapon to master. The English dub was localized to make these teens sound radicalized, just like New York’s finest turtles, which made it odd considering the show’s events took place in Japan.

2

Sailor Moon

Moltar Said It Was Cool

Sailor Moon

Release Date

1992 – 1997

Network

tv asahi

Directors

Takao Yoshizawa, Harume Kosaka, Kazuhisa Takenouchi

Toonami was mostly a segment dedicated to male children and teens until they started airing Sailor Moon in 1998 to help diversify the block. Moltar, who was the original host of Toonami before Tom, made a big deal about these planetary Sailor Scouts, which may be why Sailor Moon gathered a bigger following than what Cartoon Network originally expected.

Related

The 8 Most Influential Mecha Anime From The ’90s

A lot of the most influential mecha anime debuted in the 90s. These titles remain legendary to the present day.

It was a comeback for the anime, as previous English network attempts were not well-received. No matter how fans watched it, Sailor Moon as a character became an icon for anime fans of all creeds, even if it led to controversy among friends.

1

Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie

Just Like The Game, But More Brutal

Before Pokemon, there was another video game adaptation that fans ate up called Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie. Distributed in some theaters in 1994, the VHS release in 1995 is when the anime blew up, similar to Neon Genesis Evangelion but on a bigger scale.

Every Street Fighter 2 fan had to see this anime, as it was more brutal and even showed Chun-Li in the shower, which is certainly why the teen boys were interested. Even today, the animation holds up significantly better than the American-made Street Fighter cartoon from 1995, which was produced by the USA Network, or the laughable 1994 live-action movie.

More

The 29 Best Anime From The 90s, Ranked

The 1990’s were a great time for anime, and several series from the era remain popular today. Here are the best anime from that decade.