Anime is more popular than ever nowadays, with series such as One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen highlighting just how far the medium has come. However, as each year goes by, more and more exhilarating anime come out, meaning older ones are left in the background. The 1990s, in particular, had a plethora of incredible anime that are now forgotten simply because time wasn’t kind to them.
The ’90s were a unique decade of anime, highlighting its distinct style and iconic animation, but just because these series were great doesn’t mean they are all remembered. That is why this list will feature forgotten anime series from the 1990s that deserve another look based on critical acclaim, story, animation, originality, lack of popularity, and how much they deserve to be watched again.
10
‘Record of Lodoss War’ (1990–1991)
A man and a woman with elf ears sit under the shade of a tree in the anime series Record of Lodoss War.Image via SYFY
The fantasy genre has some of the most stunning anime series and genre-defining stories, and one such example is Record of Lodoss War. A young fighter assembles a party of powerful individuals with diverse skill sets to journey across the country and stop a dormant evil from reawakening and taking over the world.
Unfortunately, Record of Lodoss War tries to fit a lot into a short span, and while it feels stuffed, this anime is still a classic, undeservingly forgotten. On the other hand, it is arguably the most popular on this list, racking up a dedicated following that fell in love with its Tolkien-style fantasy world. However, its characters and their dynamics are the stars of the show, making it a classic fantasy anime series.
9
‘Slayers’ (1995)
Character running away in SlayersImage via E&G Films
The ’90s were known for incorporating comedy into everything, as this list shows, and one of the funniest action shows is Slayers. Lina is a powerful, yet greedy sorceress who travels across the world with her friends, taking treasures from bandits and saving the world in the meantime, mostly by accident.
Slayers is another fantasy anime from the 1990s, but unlike Record of Lodoss War, it is a goofy slapstick comedy. This is a definitive 1990s comedy anime, from its art to its style to its sense of humor. This means it may not appeal to a newer audience, but it still holds up as a product of its time. Slayers balances its humor with high-stakes battles and epic action, making it a must-watch ’90s classic.
8
‘Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water’ (1990–1991)
Image via GKIDS
Anime is known for being creative, but a lot of modern series are losing their originality. However, that wasn’t an issue in the ’90s, the case and point being Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. A young inventor and a circus performer meet in a weird twist of fate, ending up with a sea captain caught in an underwater war after being chased by jewel thieves.
Fans will know Hideaki Anno for his magnum opus, Neon Genesis Evangelion, but he also directed this ’90s staple. This brilliant reimagining of Jules Verne’s work starts as a wholesome adventure and quickly shifts into a dark, psychological sci-fi adventure. Full of adventure, discovery, and action, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is an incredible anime with a dazzling aesthetic.
7
‘Legend of Basara’ (1998)
A man and a woman looking lovingly at each other in BasaraImage via Betsucomi
Legend of Basara takes place in a fantasy world where the revolutionary leader is killed. However, his sister takes his place, disguising herself as him to keep the fight alive. After falling in love with someone, she doesn’t realize that this man is her greatest enemy, creating a conflicted romance that can only last for so long.
The manga is regarded as one of the best, but the anime, on the other hand, is more forgotten. Legend of Basara is a sweeping tale that is romantic, tragic, and epic, encompassing a grand war alongside its bittersweet love story. Some elements haven’t held up the greatest, but Legend of Basara is incredible because of its characters and gripping story that isn’t just romance, but also a complex political fantasy.
6
‘Master Keaton’ (1998–1999)
Taichi and Yuriko look out a window in Master Keaton.Image via Madhouse
Naoki Urasawa is one of the greatest manga artists to ever do it, but even he has some forgotten works, including Master Keaton. The titular protagonist is a part-time university instructor and a part-time insurance investigator, a job that takes him across the world, investigating various mysteries and surviving the danger of political conflicts.
Before he could deliver fans masterpieces such as Monster, Urasawa gave viewers Master Keaton, which, while not reaching the heights of his other series, is still fantastic. This anime is a uniquely sophisticated and mature anime that gives viewers engaging mysteries and riveting adventures. Master Keaton may follow an episodic structure, but this gives it time to explore various cultures and human stories.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.
APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it.
BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don’t keep you alive.
CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who’s pulling the strings.
DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it.
EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can’t fix a broken galaxy alone.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don’t need resources — you can generate them.
BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it.
CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity.
DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on.
EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant.
BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left.
CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you’re a problem, you’re already out of time.
DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn’t even know I was playing.
EThe Empire tightening its grip until there’s nowhere left to run.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it.
BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better.
CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy.
DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can’t beat a system you refuse to understand.
EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters.
BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest.
CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions.
DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand.
EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire’s attention rarely reaches.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
AA tight crew of believers who’ve seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose.
BOne or two people I’d trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks.
CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice.
DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last.
EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
AI won’t harm the innocent — even the ones who’d report me without hesitation.
BI do what I have to to protect the people I’ve chosen. Everything else is negotiable.
CThe line shifts depending on who’s asking and what’s at stake.
DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people’s future, even if it’d help now.
ESome lines, once crossed, can’t be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it.
BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving.
CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out.
DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations.
EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else’s boot.
REVEAL MY WORLD →
Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
5
‘The Ping Pong Club!’ (1995)
The cast of The Ping-Pong Club being chaoticImage via Grouper Productions
Anime is weird, there is no denying that, but some series prove weirder than others, such as The Ping Pong Club! Following a group of high schoolers in the table tennis club, they seem to do anything but practice. From the goofballs to the tryhards to the ladies’ guy, this eccentric group of characters causes chaos wherever they go, and maybe plays the occasional game of table tennis.
Comedy is subjective, and the 1990s had a very different style of humor that some newer fans don’t appreciate. The Ping Pong Club can go too far at times (making it a polarizing anime today), but this risky and unapologetic comedy series is a roller coaster of childish humor and slapstick jokes. However, it remains an endearing and overly goofy masterclass of comedy that, when reaching the right audience, is an absolute must-watch.
4
‘Gunsmith Cats’ (1995–1996)
Image via OLM, Inc.
Most anime, for obvious reasons, are set in Japan, but that makes switching up the setting even more intriguing, and Gunsmith Cats brings fans to Chicago. Irene is a gun store owner and a bounty hunter, and with her partner, they accidentally get involved in a grand conspiracy involving high-level criminals and the government.
It may only have three episodes, but that still technically makes it a series, and an excellent one at that. The short episode count is perhaps why Gunsmith Cats has been forgotten, but its quality, engaging plot, endearing characters, and silly action are worth a revisit. Plus, this anime features some of the most realistic car chases and shootouts in anime, making it an even more riveting experience.
3
‘Ghost Sweeper Mikami’ (1993–1994)
ghost-sweeper-mikami fighting off a spiritImage via Toei Animation
The supernatural is a genre of anime that is thoroughly explored, and one pioneer of the 1990s is Ghost Sweeper Mikami. Reiko is a high-priced, money-loving exorcist, but she makes up for this with her extreme talent. Alongside her underpaid assistant, the two of them expelled spirits and demons in a rapidly modernizing Japan.
The 1990s were full of supernatural agency-type shows, including Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the best anime series of all time. That is why Ghost Sweeper Mikami didn’t take off, but it still has the makings of a cult classic. This anime manages its witty humor with high-octane action and supernatural mayhem, creating a distinctly ’90s anime that captures that vibe and aesthetic perfectly.
2
‘The Irresponsible Captain Tylor’ (1993–1996)
the-irresponsible-captain-tylorImage via Tatsunoko Production
Some of the best anime on this list are sci-fi series, and The Irresponsible Captain Tylor is the peak of goofy space adventures that the 1990s delivered. The titular character joins the United Planets Space Force looking for an easy life, but after stumbling into an important position, he now leads a spaceship full of misfits, goofballs, and screwups, begging the question: Is he a genius or an idiot?
It is all about the journey with The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, with many “filler” episodes that don’t do much besides provide a fun adventure. However, this is the charm the anime presents, and with its eccentric cast of lovable goofballs, watching them do anything is a great time. By subverting every space opera trope, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor is a must-watch comedy that deserves a new shot at life in the 2020s.
1
‘Kyou Kara Ore Wa!’ (1993–1997)
Main characters from Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! in matching dark blue jackets standing in a street with onlookers. Image via Pierrot
While genres like sci-fi and the supernatural were popular in the 1990s, they are still relevant today, but the delinquent genre, on the other hand, is all but extinct. This means that some of the best delinquent anime from the ’90s are forgotten, including Kyou Kara Ore Wa! Two high school students suddenly decide they want to be bad boys, and to establish their punk reputation, they take on the toughest fighters at every nearby school.
The simple style of fun anime with no plot is fading in today’s industry, but that vibe captures the nostalgic sense of the ’90s, where fans could just have fun doing whatever. Kyou Kara Ore Wa features two entertaining protagonists who have a great dynamic, making every battle goofy and action-packed. It may be silly and unserious, but this anime also packs a heavy punch with engaging battle sequences. Kyou Kara Ore Wa is an iconic delinquent anime that aged like fine wine, which makes it a shame that it is forgotten despite being one of the most beautiful and gripping series of the 1990s.
Release Date
1993 – 1996-00-00
Yasunori Matsumoto
Takashi Mitsuhashi
Ai Orikasa
Kyoko Hayakawa
Fumie Kusachi
Riko Akasaka