Elite Anime OVA Watch List ('85-2000)

Standalone series only - no prior viewing required. Anime list down below \/ \/ \/
Help me make more! - / otaking77077
1985 - Angel’s Egg, Iczer-1, Megazone 23, Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko, Bobby’s in Deep
1986 - MD Geist, Violence Jack, Maris the Wonder Girl
1987 - Bubblegum Crisis, Devilman, Dangaioh, Madox- 01, Black Magic M-66, Robot Carnival, To-y
1988 - Dominion Tank Police, Appleseed, Gunbuster, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Patlabor, Demon City Shinjuku, Hades Project Zeorymer, Ultimate Teacher, Vampire Princess Miyu
1989 - The Guyver, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Riding Bean, The Enemy's the Pirates!, Goku Midnight Eye, Gosenzo-sama Banbanzai
1990 - AD Police, Cyber City OEDO 808, Record of Lodoss War, Devil Hunter Yohko, Sol Bianca
1991 - 3x3 Eyes, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Otaku no Video, Doomed Megalopolis, RG Veda
1992 - Urotsukidoji, Bastard!!, Giant Robo, Video Girl Ai, All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, Green Legend Ran, K.O. Beast, Spirit of Wonder
1993 - Battle Angel Alita, Heroic Legend of Arslan, the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure OVA, Oh My Goddess, The Cockpit, Kyou Kara Ore Wa!
1994 - Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Key the Metal Idol, Macross Plus, Plastic Little, You’re Under Arrest, Tenchi Muyo, 801 T.T.S. Airbats, Combustible Campus Guardress, Genocyber, Iria: Zeiram the Animation,
1995 - Armitage III, Golden Boy, Gunsmith Cats, Please Save my Earth, Shadow Skill, Miyuki-chan in Wonderland
1996 - Birdy The Mighty, Gundam: 08th MS Team, Magic User's Club, Shamanic Princess, Photon: The Idiot Adventure
1997 - Darkstalkers
1998 - Kite, Getter Robo Armageddon, Quiet Country Cafe
2000 - FLCL, Mezzo Forte, Read or Die
Music:
MORO SMYLODON - THE KING OF FIGHTERS '96 (Esaka)
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS '...
arahman56 - THUNDER FORCE IV『Lightning Strikes Again - Metal Squad』 • Track 01 - THUNDER FOR...
Michael Sobin - Thunder Force IV - Metal Squad • Thunder Force IV - Met...
Special thanks to Producer Maki for the idea, and my Patrons for keeping me going.

[@GabrielAKAFinn]

List is extremely dangerous; If you watch them all, *almost* nothing will look good to you again!

[@TheCasualFanatic]

LotGH alone does that, unfortunately! Epic list! Could use Angel Densetsu (1996) as well... (:P)

[@BigEpinstriping]

There is still decent anime being made, I'm enjoying Chainsaw Man so far. But you're right, it was a great time to be an anime fan (and it could get expensive).

[@Balevolt]

Sadly I watched alot of them when I was in highschool 02-06

[@Icelink256]

It doesn't help that all of this was produced on a lower budget than today's stuff, and has an overwhelmingly higher animation quality! Man... I miss the 80s!

[@MFDOOOOM]

@@BigEpinstriping chainsaw man, while being a decent story, looks garbage with easy mode CGI compared to these hand drawn perfection OVAs

[@ArkyonVeil]

Not going to lie, this is possibly one of the most awesome Watchlist recommendations I've seen. Respect to the Art. Respect to the Artists.

[@matty4z]

missing 'tekkaman blade' 1992 but this is an awesome list tho ^-^

[@allencrown]

@@matty4z moawr complaints please, I feed of off negative energy

[@matty4z]

@@allencrown ...mmmk?

[@DVDVAMPIRE01]

Love The Guyver. Still have my old VHS tapes.

[@AJDojutrek]

Good to see another Guyver fan in the wild. I saved my old recorded video of that series when it was shown on TV all those years ago. Great OVA/Series.

[@LashingMrX01]

Hey man, just wanted to say thank you for the 100% top quality animation. the style you have is what most of my friends miss from the good old days and wish their was more of it in todays scene. Tie fighter was amazing. it was perfect and my god do i wish there was a full show for that. anyway thank you so much. John

[@OtaKing77077]

You're very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed TIE Fighter (seems so long ago now!) and I hope you like the next film I'm doing (should be out early next year).

[@timelessstone6835]

@@OtaKing77077 What’s the next film gonna be about? 🫣

[@OtaKing77077]

@@timelessstone6835 It's a s e c r e t

[@KnightsDisillusion]

I love the texture of older animation so much.

[@mr.d6486]

this is no simple feat. Legend of the galactic heros alone reaches over 100 episodes. and i cant imagine how many eps this whole list is. it truly is hardcore

[@Kevin_Anderson]

A good amount of them are also 3 episodes or less though

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@Kevin_Anderson yeah it feels unfair comparing Legend of Galactic Heroes to other OVAs.

[@SwaggerLikeUz]

Your art direction reminds me of this amazing anime era I vividly remember as a youth.

[@Aikurisu]

Solid choice with the Thunder Force IV themes playing in the background! Ah, looking at this list makes me realise how truly spoiled we 80s kids were... ... I was practically cheering seeing half of these rekindling fond memories. Just what I needed after a month long creative rut! Thank you!

[@lavaavalon]

ahh, the golden era going be honest: I only watched about 10% of what was showed, still, the most pleasing type of animation in my opinion

[@Krysnha]

So true i watch a fracction of these and mi, so good anime, i love each and everyone of them and then try to watch one new and i couldnt

[@Takeshi_Fujiwara]

Thanks for this list. I've been going through some 80s and 90s anime recently. I know this is just OVAs, but I just watched Macross: Do You Remember Love? and Macross Plus (both versions). Absolutely stunning. I still think about 8th MS Team and Blue Sub No 6 frequently. Really something special about anime from these eras, and OVAs really allowed the medium to show those qualities.

[@kirgan1000]

8th MS Team and Macross + must be the zenit of "hand drawn" meca animation, there the majority of the work was done widout computers.

[@iandonnelly6684]

Nobody talks about 3x3 eyes its my absolute fav so glad to see it here

[@TalkernateHistory]

An OVA that isn't strictly "Good" but is extremely unique and interesting, is the alternate history OVA "Deep Blue Fleet". Some pretty wild stuff happens in that one.

[@Rosielx]

Record of Lodoss War... yeah, now I understand my weakness for elf girls 😔

[@battleoid2411]

Don't worry, get yourself a good axe and elves wont trouble you no more

[@yezzzsir]

I'm plowing through the Bubblegum crisis & crash series right now. I love the detail that was done on these older OVAs & that it was hand drawn helps for my own research. PS I watched a lot of these series on VHS as well lol! 🤣

[@Krysnha]

Mi, i love it, old bublegum crisis, was so good and i love that in he ovas you feel you are watching something, that even when there were moments, i feel the distopyan in the sense of something is not happening and could, the only moments i hate was that i didint watch the last ones i am starting to hate save the world promise but bublegum crisis was amaizig

[@Iskelderon]

Great selection! I only recently finished rewatches of Bubblecum Crisis/Crash, 08th MS Team and Silent Möbius. Stopped counting the times I rewatched classics ages ago. There's some amazing anime that just always draw you back again and again.

[@scotthallgv]

I was honestly surprised to see a few things I had never heard of before. Excellent list covering every aspect of anime from that time period and not just the "named" stuff, but the down and dirty stuff also. Excellent!

[@bowlofsoup7721]

The fact that I have seen half of these only proves that I have a crippling addiction to hidden gems. 😔

[@EsaKarjalainen]

Oh, what a nostalgia flashback. I've only seen 30 out of those, but still.

[@vali6717]

I caught Macross Plus and Gunsmith Cats on late night TV in the early 2000s. Really changed my entire perspective on what animation could do.

[@Krysnha]

Gunsmith cats really good, acction pack can have an intrest premise but know first and further more what was, from mi part, i would add desert rose, bublegum crisis, cleopatra DC, acction and nice intresting plot, is amaizing to think that anime in the past in one OVA could put so much in a small pack

[@kenmasterssonofsparda4105]

Thank you for giving me what I'm going to spend my time with throughout this year. Also it great to hear from you again after so long.

[@Saur]

6:11 Ryuu Seiki in the background. That's my all-time favourite! I've got it on VHS and Laserdisc.

[@mariocasallas]

I've seen this video like 7 time already, the music alone just makes my day, but the selection of OVAs is amazing I go back to my childhood, Congratulations!!

[@Heavymetalrille]

I am happy to say that i have most of these in my Anime collection , very few are missing. It is time to revisit some of these gems and pearls that i love and adore. Great list of OVAs !

[@jal1656]

Let's hear it for Domminion Tank Police!

[@hariman7727]

...Probably gonna watch Black Magic M-66 just because of the panning elevator shot. That's some GOOOD animation there.

[@bakayarouotaku3298]

Bravo! Amazing compilation. So many wonderful memories

[@talkingcup]

Love the music selection for the video!

[@centurywarlord]

Awesome list. Brings memory of my childhood watching most of the ones listed.

[@Aladato]

What a beautiful list. Glad I've seen a few and have many more to watch in the future.

[@leonardowatch6997]

Awesome list! Love so many of these and need to watch them all!

[@nademagnet]

I've seen a bunch of the shows in this list. But boy howdy there is still a LOT of material left to watch.😆😆 Good stuff.

[@marcusaugustus5437]

A respectful list, congratulations and thanks!

[@SylvesterInk]

Great list! I just recently watched Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which has become one of my all-time favorite anime series. There are several other great ones on this list I recognize too. But there are even more I've never seen, so this video is now bookmarked for future reference.

[@jam6000]

Nice list. Just found your channel. I used to watch a lot of good anime back in the 90s on the sci-fi channel as well as toonami and the ritualistic late night channel 4 blew me away.

[@Rohirin]

You hit me right in the nostalgia, bro!

[@Krysnha]

Yes other times, times when annime was really good, and wanted to enttertein or give a story, now is all bs, or the same thing

[@technomancer5449]

Closing the list with Read or Die? My heart just pounded with adoration for you, you beautiful man of culture. :D :D

[@BigEpinstriping]

Great list! I've seen the majority of them (and probably have many on VHS still). Just the same, there are a few that I've neglected, so I'll have to check 'em out!

[@praporschikkekov298]

Glad to see you're alive

[@MrGoatFish10]

Awesome list, 80's & 90's Ova is a hidden Gem!.

[@neillindgren8992]

Good stuff! So many good anime from back in the day!

[@OtaKing77077]

Thankyou, thankyou. Though, as some have mentioned, I've forgotten a few!

[@Holdsworthands]

dang recently ive been watching tons and tons of ovas catching up with the ones i couldnt watch at that time, but i still have a loot to wetch on this list, im kind of glad that there is still lots to watch o.o saving this list to favorites im going to watch them all >.

[@343-43]

Omg the legend is back

[@AlxBrb]

Thanks for this video. I am actually linking as reference material everytime a young asks for tips to starting digging into japanese animation and OVA's microcosm.

[@ballandpaddle]

I've seen about half the OVAs on this list, and I can confirm they're almost as badass as this video. Reminds me of a way cooler version of the ADV preview AMVs on a their tapes back then.

[@CognizantPsyche]

Amazing list! I was hoping Iria would make it. Fond memories of that one. Now I have a shit ton to check out lol.

[@aaronmanzer880]

This is awesome man! I actually have the OVA of both Lodoss and Arslan on DVD myself, and Blu-ray for Lodoss.

[@Kuzutetsu666]

Dude! that video got me so fucking hyped! it's crazy iv'e seen like 99% of these! 🤩and ThunderForce IV on the megadrive/genesis is probably the best video game soundtrack ever! \m/ the neo geo inspired intro kicked ass as well! thank you so much for making this! 😍😍😍

[@Chaplin001]

So many great OVAs. Some I've never heard of but most I watched. Man I wish I had my old tapes now.. :(

[@Drewer]

You are a legend! I'm ashamed i have not seen roughly ~ 30% of this list.

[@TK-vm2rj]

バブルガムクライシスめっちゃ好き

[@AnakinSkyobiliviator]

Man, I know the surprisingly little amount of these, an error that must be rectified immediately. Thanks for the list!

[@HYDRAdude]

I've seen about half of that list; will eventually tackle the other half someday. Some additional recommendations I would add are Ruin Explorers, Ozanari Dungeon, Macross II, Votoms: Roots of Ambition, Birth (Planet Busters), and Five Star Story.

[@keegander]

Glad to see Guardress on this list, but you missed two of my favorites Fairy Princess Ren and DragonHalf.

[@DoodOverThere]

Hyped for this

[@LinkageAX]

The absolute golden age of anime

[@kpeguyebbers850]

The fact that Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust isn't on your list is criminal. Anyway, keep up the good work, hope to see more shorts from you!

[@suspiciouscheese4518]

Happy to see some of my favs on the list, unhappy to see the that my to-watch list just expanded again.

[@CynicalOldDwarf]

Very nice list, I think the only one of my fave OVAs you didn't mention was Orgus 02 - which has probably one of the best anti-heroes characters imo (a proper one, not the usual brooding dark knight types).

[@brig.badger2896]

Great list, also you should make a tour of your collection in the background.

[@HorRusHeretic]

Отличная работа. Нашёл пару тайтлов для посмотра на выходных. Спасибо.

[@HappyConsoleGamer]

This is 100% my lists too! PERFECT!

[@Katvanished]

I’ve watched some of these and some are on my list. Well, guess I’m going to have a lot more on my plate now

[@TheLoner00]

This was awesome

[@samuraibobafett1118]

Awesome!!!

[@3310aozora]

In the history of ova in Japan, DALLOS in 1983 and BIRTH in 1984 cannot be excluded.

[@petehobson1054]

Wicked list! I was looking for something like this! Guyver was a series wasn’t it? I remember my mate lending me all the videos.

[@Bangcat]

As a kid born in the early 80s, I have to say, that's a pretty damn good list. 🏴‍☠

[@sainmagnus1058]

Proud to say I've seen a good chunk of these.

[@NicolasAlexanderOtto]

This may just be the most nostalgic video on youtube.

[@bignoob1790]

Welcome back main channel

[@theonlycatonice]

I love how old school that intro was

[@felixman9691]

Wow thanks I think I have enough anime recommendations for a while now lol

[@karmelodion]

Any list that begins with Angel's Egg is a list worthy of Respect!!!

[@TowerSavant]

Phenomenal.

[@Hawthorne-Games]

Some legends in that mix, brings back a few memories of the good times.

[@battleoid2411]

Even a couple of galactic heroes in there too

[@One_Bar]

Stellar editing and the music is like a combination of MMPR and early Metallica. Love it.

[@TikiShootah]

A man after my own heart. Take me back to the *U.S Manga Corp* promotional videos

[@Gorgonzeye]

I can't believe you put Overfiend on here! lol. Seriously great list though.

[@lordplague420]

Dude, seriously weird timing! Just showed MAH WIFE Golden Boy yesterday and been craving more 80s and 90s anime all day! She loved it btw 👍🏻🔥

[@Bophadees_Knutz]

A man of taste

[@MatiasBlackmont83]

inmmejorable watch listo every anime in the list have a lot flashbacks of my chilidhood!! thanx i remember a lots anime !!!

[@MerlinCross13]

Ah god I have to save this. Some of these look really good

[@jeremygregorio7472]

Glad to see Combustible Campus Guardress make the list! The fact that I can't buy that on Blu-ray is practically criminal Also what the hell is going on that I can't buy tenchi muyo on Blu-ray without paying a scalper on eBay? You can't even stream it anywhere anymore now that it's not on Funimation.

[@mryoshaa9810]

Otaking from /m/? Good stuff in your channel, subbed

[@kernsanders3973]

Quite a few movies and series totes deserves a watch from this era as well. Recently re watched the entire Blue Gender series and still amazed at the quality that era produced. I thought the digital drawing era would inject new life in to anime world at the time. But was honestly disappointing to witness animation quality keep regressing since then. Such a shame, you could see the goals of studios went from making a quality product to taking tons of shortcuts for pumping out quantity over quality. Still today deep down I hope that one day we will see a new golden era quality animation boom we had back then. One can only dream. It's animators like Otaking that shown me doing the golden era animation in the digital world should have been a reality in the industry.

[@gearsprimed141]

Wow, I've watched most of these!

[@locsin1955]

Such a good list, just missing Space Adventure Cobra (release before 85) and its complete!

[@HenrikLindhe]

Some I watched on old Sci-Fi channel (Europe) to dvds! Have to create a trakt list with them so i can try to watch them all!

[@RahmatRiad]

Thank youuuu im going to wacth it now Xd

[@Hengebobs]

Wow, great list. I'm apparently old, as not only have I seen most of these, I have A lot of them on VHS... In a box cuz I haven't had a vcr in over a decade...

[@aphyonmortath8377]

EPIC! as an old school anime fan who started in the 80s when it was nearly impossible to get in the USA i own or have watched 98% of these shows, glad to see some more fantastic but more obscure ones in there like "the enemy is the pirate", "combustable campus guardress" "magic users club", "shamanic princess" etc.... you missed the 90s original dirty pair OVA series though >_

[@LandersWorkshop]

Weren't the Dirty Pair 1980s?

[@aphyonmortath8377]

@@LandersWorkshop well they kind of bled into the 90s, the OVAs got released in 87/88 but didn't make it to the USA until the 90s. the flight 005 conspiracy OVA was in 1990. then there was dirty pair flash in the actual 90s. but i do not really consider it dirty pair as it was completely different from the original.

[@R.Instro]

At last, the list is compiled, as the prophecy foretold. (Can't wait for 2000 - Present 😉)

[@jameswaddington9764]

Loving the snk start lol

[@emanresu4793]

SO COOOOOL.

[@NordkapSounddesign]

Thunder Force IV music fits perfectly❤

[@Glitchtonic]

good stuff

[@Zentron]

I have about half of these, mostly on VHS, but increasingly on DVD and Blu-Ray as well, will take a smeg long time to track down decent condition tapes!

[@kotemura9090]

Cool!

[@DicePunk]

I'm saving this video to remind myself of everything I need to watch.

[@BekoPharm]

Woah, now that was a trip down memory lane. Or up? 🙃