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Japanese netizens list their top 10 choices for ’90s anime remakes — What’s your pick?

Katy Kelly Jan 18, 2019
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Now that we’re two decades on from the ’90s, what shows would you like to see receive a modern day make-over?

We live in the age of the remake. Disney movies are getting all manner of live-action reimaginations, Final Fantasy VII is planned to be remade…at some point and even Japan’s biggest animation smash hit is due for a Hollywood face-lift in time (though we already have an idea how that might turn out).

Anime is a tricky thing. Some series span decades through their longevity and can boast popularity across generations, like Dragon Ball, Detective Conan and Doraemon. Others get updates via remakes to keep them relevant: see Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura and Mr. Osomatsu for examples of that.

But there’s a whole lot of ’90s anime that hasn’t been picked up for a modern update yet, and when questioned about which franchises they’d most like to see on their screens again, fans made their opinions known. In a poll by Japanese survey site Goo Ranking of 3,193 individuals, vintage anime fans said exactly which series they’re chomping at the bit to reunite with, with a final list of 60 titles. Here’s a countdown of the top ten most desired ’90s reboots!

10. Mamotte! Shugogetten (Protect Me, Heavenly Moon Guardian!) (73 votes)

▼ Enjoy this fan cover of the extremely catchy opening tune

From 1998 to 1999, Toei Animation broadcast its take on this popular shonen manga concerning a teenage boy, the ring his father had gifted him as a souvenir from China, and the moon spirit residing inside that ring. The adventures of normal boy Tasuke are aided by the cute moon spirit girl Shaorin, who is determined to keep him safe from harm at all costs.

The otherworldly romance aspect of the series would benefit from the recent supernatural romance boom, and it’d be cute to see all those spirits redrawn and redesigned for modern audiences!

9. Hell Teacher Nube (93 votes)

This fun little series is also by Toei Animation, and originally ran between 1996 and 1997. Flitting in between the genres of comedy and horror, it follows 25-year-old elementary school teacher Meisuke Nueno…Who just happens to also be a demon exorcist. Assisted with the demonic power trapped in his right hand, he saves his students and fellow teachers from a host of ghoulish demons and still has to face regular issues, like making it to payday without frittering away his wages on gambling.

Supernatural series are evergreen anyway, but the dash of comedy in this one – plus that rocking opening – would make it a great contender even in today’s anime scene!

8. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (114 votes)

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water was broadcast from 1990 to 1991 and features some familiar names: the show was drawn up from a Jules Verne-inspired concept by Hayao Miyazaki, and directed by Hideako Anno from Studio Gainax (best known for Neon Genesis Evangelion). It concerns the titular Nadia, an ex-performer from the circus, and a kind child inventor named Jean Rocque Raltigue who promises to help get her back to her home country. Along the way, they are pursued by a band of thieves who want to steal Nadia’s pendant, and must traverse the skies and oceans while unraveling Nadia’s mysterious past.

This has all the intrigue and excitement to make for a gripping retelling, but similarities to the modern Disney’s Atlantis (2001) might work against it if a remake were in the cards.

7. Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (116 votes)

This series is actually the second time Dragon Quest took the leap from video game cartridge to animation reels, and it did so in 1989 – but because it ran through until 1992, it’s still safely a “’90s” anime. Based on the manga of the same name, the anime follows the antics of young hero Dai in his quest to defeat the Great Demon King and avenge his teacher, and features battle moves, foes and locations familiar to fans of the game series.

As Dragon Quest is eternally popular in Japan, this sounds like a super safe bet – and a great excuse to open another collaborative cafe!

6. Hana yori Dango (Boys over Flowers) (119 votes)

Toei Animation’s animated adaptation of Boys over Flowers aired from 1996 to 1997, inspired by the popular shojo manga where regular working-class girl Tsukushi attends a rich and prestigious high school full of rich and prestigious boys. She snaps back at the richest and most prestigious of all of them, Tsukasa, and earns the obsession and teasing of he and the other three boys who form the elite F4 group at the academy.

Boys over Flowers is the best-selling shojo manga of all time and has been adapted multiple times since the anime (most notably as a live-action TV series). But seeing how the author started a sequel series in 2015, maybe it’s time that got an anime too?

5. Future Grand Prix Cyber Formula (New Century GPX Cyber Formula) (157 votes)

Gundam animation studio Sunrise is responsible for this 1991 racing series, which imagines a world where racing cars come with built in AI computer support, and these systems are equally integral to racing victory as the human driver. The main characters are Hayato, a race car driver, and his computer system Asurada – the show follows his development as a racer as well as his rivalry with his mentor and friend, Bleed Kaga.

Associated video games came out until 2012, but now is the perfect time to reboot this series and throw it even further into the future – how about with motorcycles as the focus this time?

4. Rurouni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (180 votes)

Though the creator has come under fire recently for unsavory reasons, Rurouni Kenshin is one of Japan’s most dearly beloved manga and the Studio Gallop/Deen anime, which aired from 1996 to 1998, is especially cherished. Himura Kenshin, an expert assassin before the start of the series, uses his blade to protect and defend rather than to take lives, and the series depicts both his atonement for his violence and how he returns to take up his katana for the greater good.

With the creators modern-day dealings currently casting a shadow over the Meiji-era world of Kenshin, this one is tricky. But the story of overcoming one’s old demons and learning to live and love after a life of cruelty is deftly-told, and viewers are just as sure to react to it in 2018 as they were twenty years before.

3. Yu Yu Hakusho (215 votes)

Studio Pierrot’s 1990 adaptation of Yoshihiro Togashi’s award-winning shonen manga ran until 1994. It tells the tale of delinquent 14-year-old Yusuke Urameshi, who famously dies in the very first episode and, after proving his worth in the underworld, spends the rest of the series as a ghost detective who solves monster troubles in the human world. Packed to the brim with ghouls, ghosts and demons, it’s beloved not only in Japan but across the world.

This series is especially poised for a reboot, because a tie-in smart phone RPG was released last year to celebrate the series’ 25th anniversary along with a bunch of new merchandise and Blu-ray releases. Arigato gozai-MASU!

2. H2 (285 votes)

This baseball series was animated by Ashi Productions and aired from 1995 to 1996. It includes multiple characters with names starting with H, not just the protagonist Hiro – his childhood friend Hikari, baseball ace Hideo and his manager Haruka – and shows him grappling with his love for a sport that might end up injuring him, his turbulent love life and his rivalry with Hideo.

Baseball is far and away Japan’s favorite sport and there has been a gap in the market since the popular show Daiya no Ace stopped broadcasting in 2016. Add in the cute romantic dynamics, high-paced baseball animation and some stylish re-designs, and this could be a winner!

So here we are at the number one slot!

The ’90s anime that the Internet most desperately wants to make a comeback is…

1. Slam Dunk (298 votes)

Based on one of the most popular manga of all time, and one credited with helping boost the popularity of basketball as a sport in Japan, Slam Dunk aired from 1993 to 1996 and was produced by Toei Animation. Starting with the simple ambition of wanting to impress a girl who was kind to him, rough n’ tumble teen Hanamichi Sakuragi joins his school’s basketball club. After some time spent with the team, he discovers his passion for the sport itself; and decides to put his all into bringing home the high school championship on his captain’s behalf.

With super enthusiastic fans who still seize opportunities to express their love for Sakuragi and his teammates, we figure it’s high time we brought basketball back to animated screens. Where else are we going to get our fix?

So who didn’t quite make the top ten?

11. Magic Knight Rayearth
12. Fushigi Yugi
13. Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne
14. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
15. Martian Successor Nadesico
16. Marmalade Boy
17. Cowboy Bebop
18. Ghost Sweeper Mikami
19 (tie). Baby and Me
19 (tie). After War Gundam X
21. Midori no Makibao
22. Ping-Pong Club
23. Akazukin Cha Cha
24. Kodomo no Omocha
25. Magical Taluluto
26. Goldfish Warning!
27. Master Keaton
28. Flame of Recca
29. Hime-chan’s Ribbon
30. Revolutionary Girl Utena
31. Nangoku Shonen Papuwa-kun
32. Neighborhood Story
33. Mobile Suit victory Gundam
34. Karekano: His and Her Circumstances
35. Clamp School Detectives
36. Mobile Fighter G Gundam
37. Tottemo! Luckyman
38. Saint Tail
39. Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight
40. Ninku
41. NG Knight Ramune & 40
42. Aoki Densetsu Shoot!
43. Super Bikkuriman, The Vision of Escaflowne
45. Mama Loves the Poyopoyo-Saurus
46. Sorcerer Hunters
47. Sorcerous Stabber Orphen
48. Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko
49. Turn A Gundam
50. Ore wa Chokkaku
51. Getter Robo Go
52. Nurse Angel Ririka SOS
53. Chiisana Obake Acchi Kocchi Socchi
54. Dokkiri Doctor
55. Maze the Megaburst Space
56. Musashi, the Samurai Lord
57. Marude Dameo
58. Fancy Lala
59. Excel Saga

For those of you who are hungry for a little more nostalgia, make sure to stop by the Shonen Jump 50th Anniversary exhibition – and stay tuned for some upcoming remakes of classic shows!