It’s easy, just like any medium, to get distracted by new anime releases and to forget about many of the amazing anime that have been released throughout history. Therefore, I thought I might do something a little different than usual and recommend some of my favourite classic anime series and films. While I’m not going to try to make these classic anime recommendations obscure, I will be trying to recommend amazing titles that aren’t particularly obvious.
Starting this off, I’d like to bring particular attention to a series called “Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water”. Directed by Hideaki Anno of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame, the series is loosely based on “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and begins with Jean, a 14 year old French inventor, coming across an acrobat called Nadia who is being pursued by several villains for her mysterious blue necklace. The series has an incredible sense of wonder and has crisp animation, wonderful characters and numerous twists and turns. It would honestly probably be one of my favourite anime series of all time if it wasn’t for a dreadful filler arc that has become known as the “Island Arc“. Nonetheless, I’d enthusiastically recommend this series to anyone eager to find a new anime to watch.
I’ve spoken before about my passion for the Lupin the Third franchise and could easily recommend several films and TV series from it. However, if I had to pick anything from the franchise to recommend, that I’ve seen so far at least, it would personally be Lupin the Third: Part 1. It’s true that the animation is a little rougher than later entries and, due to this being the first anime series in the franchise, there are some character inconsistencies. However, I truly think that some of the best anime episodes to have ever been produced lie within Part 1. We get a great sense for the characters of the franchise and witness some truly spectacular stories. If you’re at all interested in Lupin the Third, I honestly think that you can’t go wrong with Part 1.
Another fantastic series that I would love to recommend has to be Giant Gorg. Directed and created by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the character designer for the original Gundam series, Giant Gorg is a mecha series that doesn’t actually introduce its titular mech until several episodes in. Instead, we follow Yuu Tagami who travels to New York to meet Dr. Wave, a former student of Yuu’s deceased father, and learns about a conspiracy surrounding New Austral Island, an island that his own father was very interested in. The sense of adventure and wonder in Giant Gorg is incredible and, to me at least, is a fresh take on the mecha genre.
An amazing classic anime film that I would love to add to these recommendations is Belladonna of Sadness. Released in 1973, the movie is the last in the Animerama trilogy. We meet Jeanne and Jean, a newly married couple who are unable to pay a marriage tax to their lord. The lord decides to enact droit du seigneur, a medieval right which allows him and his men to rape Jeanne. Eventually, Jeanne begins to talk to the devil who promises her power in return for her body. The film can be quite a tough watch but the story itself is highly engaging and the watercolour artwork is incredibly gorgeous. If you can handle the subject matter, I think you will be amazed at how incredible Belladonna of Sadness can be.
Finally, I’d like to recommend one of my favourite anime series of all time, Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Set in the year 2977, the series follows Captain Harlock, a space pirate who rejects Earth’s government but is still determined to defend the planet when an alien species known as the Mazone begin infiltrating Earth. The art style and animation of the series is truly spectacular with some incredible character designs and editing transitions. Additionally, the story is brilliant with some excellent character development, revelations and fascinating villains in the form of the Mazone. I have no hesitation in saying that Space Pirate Captain Harlock is amongst the greatest anime series to have ever been produced.
Hopefully you found these recommendations interesting and are eager to check some of them out. Let me know your thoughts on these amazing classic anime recommendations, if you have seen any of these before, what you thought of them and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!
To be honest, I’ve never heard of any of these suggestions. But I am interested in checking out Giant Gorg, it sounds like an interesting take on something a Tomb Raider game would be made about. Do you have any other suggestions for an anime newbie like myself?
The premise does sound quite a bit like Tomb Raider now that I think about it! With no knowledge of what type of anime you like, some general recommendations would be Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Code Geass, Gankutsuou, Noein, Death Note, Baccano! and if you’re into something quite weird but intense then I would also recommend Mnemosyne.