Nostalgia has a bad reputation online. It is looked down upon because it isn’t objective. I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea of nostalgia goggles: the idea that nostalgia keeps you from seeing how bad something is. Nostalgia’s warm fondness doesn’t have to keep you from knowing if something is objectively bad. What matters is how the content speaks to you. Even something that is objectively bad can be good if it matters for you. Most of the time, nostalgic feelings are formed during our teen and childhood years, and such shows are usually pretty bad.
Stories shape who we are, whether or not they are objectively well-done or not. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying something others deem bad. I grew up watching Mystery Science Theater 3000, so bad movies were a part of my childhood. There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia. So with that in mind, here’s a list of my top 5 nostalgic anime. Keep in mind, that I didn’t grow up watching anime. I began watching in my early twenties with only one exemption.
5. Pokemon Johto Journeys
Let’s begin with the exception: Pokemon Johto Journeys. I was around thirteen when the original Pokemon released. But back then, Pokemon was huge. Not that it isn’t still popular. I enjoyed watching the original show up until the usual high school pressures made cartoons shameful. I’ve revisited the series as an adult…and it isn’t very good. It’s fine for younger children, but the animation quality is poor, especially compared to the later Pokemon XY and XYZ series. However, the original series wasn’t any worse than other fast-produced children’s animations of the time.
4. Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex
Ghost in the Shell remains one of the most sophisticated anime stories with its political subterfuge and crime drama. It explores our relationship with technology that becomes ever more relevant as Artificial Intelligence and cybernetics improve. Unlike many stories, Ghost in the Shell keeps a neutral perspective on technology. It is capable of good and bad. It is used for crime and used to solve crime. Often technology is seen as positive, as in Star Trek, or as negative as in so many recent sci-fi films. The more balanced view of Ghost provides more nuance.
3. Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop was a stable of Toonami when I watched it. Bebop what I call an anime for those who don’t like anime because it lacks many of the anime behaviorisms that turn people off to anime. The mashup of Jazz, gangster drama, comedy, and sci-fi remains fresh even now. Bebop is considered a classic for good reason. I’ve already written several articles about it. I can’t really add much more other than: watch it!
2. Samurai Champloo
Samurai Champloo remains one of my favorite anime. As the spiritual sequel to Cowboy Bebop, Champloo shares the episodic structure and mashup of hip-hop and samurai drama. As good as Bebop is, I consider Champloo to be better. I remember when the series debuted on Toonami. I would have to wait for the next week for the next episode. I learned the value of anticipation for enjoying anime. Even now with the advent of streaming, well, everything, I prefer to create my own anticipation to remind me of the days of Champloo.
1. Inuyasha
Inuyasha is my first true exposure to anime. As such, it triggers my nostalgia. I remember staying up late on Saturday nights to watch Inuyasha, no matter how far into the night Toonami moved it. The “power hour” as I called the hour-long schedule of Inuyasha allowed me to escape my hectic work and college schedule of the time. I still associate anime with relaxation because of this.
My Childhood Nostalgia
Because I came to anime late, I don’t have strong childhood-linked nostalgia to it. I do, however, have one cartoon that pulls up those warm feelings. The show is, admittedly, terrible. In fact, when I revisited it as an adult, I found it painful, and that painfulness made the show even more amusing, even as I groaned and rolled my eyes. The animation quality was also terrible. Sometimes the character colors would even change from frame to frame! However, my nostalgia remains strong for it. It’s fine to like something even if it is objectively bad. And this cartoon is objectively bad.
So what is it?
Super Mario Bros Super Show
The Super Show sandwiched a low-quality Mario or Zelda cartoon with live-action skits. The ending theme, “Do the Mario,” makes me smile and wince.
There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia. Like what you like despite what others think, even if it is as bad as Super Mario Super Show. What anime is on your top 5 list?
I’ve kind of been out of the anime game for about 20 years. The go-tos for my friends and I that I can remember from the 80s and 90s were the typical North American-released animes: Star Blazers, Robotech, Akira, and Vampire Hunter D. For some weird reason, the video store I worked at in the late 90s brought in the Dominion Tank Police series, which I remember liking, though I don’t recall much about the series anymore.
My wife is a huge fan of Galaxy Express 999. I remember trying to find a copy for her online back in the early 2000s and could only locate a copy on EBay. When it arrived, it turned out to not be a legitimate copy, but it was good enough to watch at the time.
At your recommendation, I picked up Samurai Champloo after I finished the first two seasons of Sword Art Online. Six episodes in and I’m liking it. Though I just hit the eating contest episode where you find out Fu is 15, so now I’m a little skeeved out about the previous episode where the painter does a nude caricature of her.
Classics still hold up story-wise, even if the animation doesn’t.
Oh yes, I didn’t give that nude drawing much thought since Fuu is of age in the time period of the story. Plus, as anime goes, that scene is mild compared to most under-age-for-the-story fan-service.
Totally get you. Recently I’ve watched the first episode of a few animes, trying to find something new that sparks my interest.
One was RPG Real Estate. I read a short blurb on it and thought it sounded like it might be amusing.
They introduced the main character as 16 and within 10 mins she was having a no-nudes but very fan-servicey bath with another girl, washing each other.
I shut it off at that point. I’m far past the age where that’s appealing to me. I’m definitely not the target demographic for that show.
After that, I picked up Samurai Champloo. I’m now a dozen episodes in and it’s a vast improvement over the other shows I browsed (RPG Real Estate, Aggretsuko, Food Wars, and Hi Score Girl).
I consider anime as akin to American TV. There’s something for everyone, but finding it is a problem.
A little older, so I have vague memories of マッハGoGoGo reruns in the US as “Speed Racer”. With that admission out of the way, I have all of the DVDs for S.A.C., and Cowboy Bebop appeals to the vain hopes that arise from something so deeply “Japanese” that it’s difficult to explain in a comment… perhaps just “alone in a crowd”.
Don’t worry, I also remember watching Speed Racer :D.