Many modern anime are deeply indebted to the past, but some series go one step further and actively operate as nostalgic time capsules – looking to the past to mine it for narrative ideas. As a result, audiences have a surprising number of options when it comes to a new anime that is either directly set back in the 1990s or just indulges in ideas and iconography from the decade.
While there are an endless array of anime series that were actually produced in the 90s, it's just as important to recognize the current series that are plumbing the depths of the past. It's also worth noting that many of the new wave are great, and not just plucking on audiences' nostalgic longings.
10 Hi Score Girl Is A Love Letter To 90s Gaming Culture And Young Romance
Hi Score Girl is an anime that was praised for its accurate depiction of gamer culture and the competitive arcade ecosystem that thrived during the 1990s. Hi Score Girl is clearly meant to appeal to gamers, or at least someone who's at least been inside an arcade.
However, there's a tender, innocent romance between awkward introverts at the core of Hi Score Girl. It's extremely sweet to watch Haruo and Akira come out of their shells with iconic 90s gaming touchstones like Street Fighter II and Splatterhouse acting as the matchmakers.
9 Lupin The 3rd: Part 6 Echoes Classical Storytelling And Nostalgic Ideas
Monkey Punch's iconic gentleman thief series, Lupin the 3rd, has established an impressive legacy over the course of more than 50 years. The franchise’s latest chapter, Lupin the 3rd: Part 6, doesn't literally turn its clock back to the 1990s. However, the style of stories told across this season are very representative of the bygone era.
Lupin the 3rd puts a priority on hard-boiled detective work and thrilling heists, but there's a classical element that carries through the atmosphere of Part 6. Some of the creative staff assembled for Lupin the 3rd: Part 6, like Mamoru Oshii, are 90s icons and retain those sensibilities.
8 Erased Travels Back In Time To Stop A Serial Killer In His Tracks
Erased is a compelling combination of a suspense murder mystery and a supernatural tale of time travel. Satoru Fujinuma is gifted with a unique "Revival" ability that allows him to go back in time to prevent accidents.
This power takes unprecedented strides to fix the past when the death of Satoru's mother sends him back 18 years to 1988 to help stop the work of a budding serial killer who's connected to his mother. The stakes of Satoru's mission are so tense that he frequently doesn't have opportunities to appreciate the nostalgic bliss of the late '80s and early 90s. Erased effectively immerses the audience in the time period.
7 Fruits Basket Is 1990s Bliss Wrapped Up In A Modern Package
Fruits Basket fans finally got to experience this celebrated story the right way with 2019's anime reboot that properly adapts the entire manga. There's a playful quality to Fruits Basket that feels like it belongs more in the simpler time period of the 1990s.
There's nothing wrong with anime where characters transform into oddities under unusual circumstances, but it feels as if the medium now has more to say. Tohru's plight and her growing relationship with the Sohma family feel like a classic 1990s shojo narrative, but Fruits Basket is also literally set at the tail end of the 1990s when it begins.
6 Uncle From Another World Subverts Isekai Anime With A Sega Fan Who’s Lost In The 90s
Uncle From Another World is a post-modern spin on the isekai genre that relays its fantastical adventures through recap-style YouTube videos. Takafumi picks up his uncle after he's awakened from a 17-year-long coma, but he learns that this time was actually spent in a magical world.
Takafumi's uncle moves in with him as he attempts to acclimate to modern times and regale his nephew with tales from his other life. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the series is that the uncle was a diehard Sega fan who’s now crestfallen to see their failure as a first-party developer. He pines for a Sega Saturn renaissance.
5 Tatami Time Machine Blues Applies A Retro Slice Of Life Aesthetic To Decade-Jumping Sci-Fi
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Set within the same universe as The Tatami Galaxy and The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, Tatami Time Machine Blues is a six-episode OVA that applies a comedic take on the complicated nature of time travel. When the air conditioner's remote breaks during a sweltering heat wave, a confused time traveler arrives from the future.
These sweaty college students plan to use the time machine to fix their remote control, but the team ends up traveling all across time. Tatami Time Machine Blues doesn't exclusively travel back to the 90s, but its traditional sense of humor and slice-of-life antics feel in line with the decade.
4 The 1990s Are Alive And Well In Urusei Yatsura’s Slapstick Comedy And Sexuality
Rumiko Takahashi's alien harem slapstick comedy, Urusei Yatsura, had a prolific run during the 1980s, but it's since made a modern return in 2022 courtesy of David Production. It's exciting for a whole new generation of audiences to fall in love with extra-terrestrial Lum's electrifying antics as her "darling," Ataru, clumsily hits on every female in sight.
However, genuine chemistry forms between Lum and Ataru. While not specifically a product of the 1990s, Urusei Yatsura feels steeped in the past – like many of Rumiko Takahashi's series – and there's a lot of the decade's DNA in the comedy and fan service of Urusei Yatsura.
3 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean Embraces 90s Iconography And Aesthetics
Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of the most ambitious series of all time, and there's still no end in sight, even after more than three decades of consistent storytelling. Stone Ocean heads to Florida with the series' first female lead character, Jolyne Cujoh. It's somewhat appropriate that the very first issue of Stone Ocean's manga would release on January 1, 2000, and be Araki's first post-90s series.
That being said, the 90s are still very much alive in Stone Ocean's color palette, character designs, and even its preoccupation with outer space. Stone Ocean’s anime adaptation, while made in 2022, keeps these 90s touchstones alive.
2 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Reinvents Gundam For A New Era By Looking To The Past
There are dozens of eclectic mecha series that explore unique pockets of the Gundam universe. There's been an increased focus on Universal Century stories, but Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the first mainline Gundam series in nearly a decade. The Witch from Mercury intentionally sheds the prolific franchise's baggage with a fresh story that's meant to appeal to a younger crowd.
The Witch from Mercury is a rare Gundam series to have a female protagonist, and its school-based setting also harkens back to the 1990s. It almost feels like the Gundam version of Revolutionary Girl Utena, which is as 90s as one can get.
1 Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Is A Modern Shonen Series That’s Lost In The Past
Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon is the modern sequel series to Rumiko Takahashi's celebrated shonen series, InuYasha. Yashahime follows Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha, the offspring of InuYasha's central characters, while they follow in their parents' footsteps to fight off demons and prevent humanity's destruction.
InuYasha was from the 2000s, but its classical structure and emphasis on romance made it feel like a 1990s anime. This energy is carried over in Yashahime, which also feels atypical in comparison to other modern shonen series, but bears much more in common with the episodic storytelling of the 90s.