As time goes on I imagine TV anime from the 80s will continue to get mined from for official English release every now & then... so what other titles are still waiting for their chance?
At the start of Part 1 of this 80s-themed list I put a number of titles down as "Honorary Mentions", citing their sheer lengths of "between 75 to 128 episodes" as the reason... and yet we begin Part 2 with a TV anime that, in total, is 72 episodes. However, aside from technically being fewer episodes than the titles I listed as being "honorary", there is also another reason for me deciding to include this one that we'll get to. Anyway, after a stint as an assistant to (a pre-Team Astro) Norihiro Nakajima, Motoka Murakami made his debut as a mangaka over in Shonen Jump in 1972, the issue following Team Astro's debut in fact, & that was magazine he stuck with up through 1977. After four short-lived manga, though, Murakami decided to move to a magazine that better matched the kind of manga he wanted to make, which wound up being Shonen Sunday. After finally having a small hit with 1977-1979's F1-focused Akai Pegasus, Murakami truly became a major name in manga with the series Musashi no Ken/Musashi's Sword, which ran from 1981 to 1985 for 25 volumes. The story initially focused on the childhood life of Musashi Natsuki, the son of two talented kendoka who swears to defeat Kunihiko Todo, his father's rival after Kunihiko accidentally killed Musashi's father with a thrust. However, Kunihiko himself retires from kendo in shame after the accident, so Musashi instead decides to surpass Shura, Kunihiko's son. However, halfway through the manga the story time skipped a few years & followed a now 15-year old Musashi as he continues improving his skills.
As the manga was in its final months, then, Eiken would debut a TV anime adaptation of Musashi no Ken on April 18, 1985 on TV Tokyo. Similar to the manga the anime initially adapted the "Shonen-hen/Young Boy Chapter" of the manga, but after 49 episodes the show moved into what was essentially its second season, Musashi no Ken: Seishun-hen/Youth Chapter, which ran for an additional 23 episodes before ending on September 26, 1986; from what I can tell the anime seemingly adapted the entire manga. So this is why I'm willing to technically allow Musashi no Ken in this list, despite its length, as while it totals 72 episodes the anime is officially split up across two distinct seasons, and from what I can tell the part of the story told in Seishun-hen can be watched as its own thing, due to it having its own unique cast of characters that Musashi interacts with, while "Shonen-hen" likewise tells its own self-contained story. Is this me being a tad pedantic? Maybe, but Musashi no Ken is kind of unique in that regard, when compared to other super-long runners from the 80s, so I think that helps make it worth mentioning here. Another reason why I wanted to include Musashi no Ken is because of one Justin Sevakis, founder of Anime News Network (& later a contributing writer & Answerman) & the current owner of AnimEigo. Ever since he became the steward of the longest-running English anime company Sevakis has licensed an interesting variety of anime, both license rescues & first-time licenses, but what's been most notable is that a few of the anime he's licensed under AnimEigo are titles that he had previously written about before over at ANN, namely via his Buried Treasure/Garbage (2006-2011) & Pile of Shame (2013-2014) columns. This has included Alien Nine, Nobody's Boy Remi, Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope, Looking for the Full Moon, Baby and Me, & Moshidora: Drucker in the Dugout. The streaming service Darkroom also recently added the Angel Densetsu OVA, which I fully expect to be announced by AnimEigo at some point in the future. Back in the day Justin would occasionally point out the hopelessness of some of the titles he wrote about ever being licensed, even going as far as literally saying "no company would ever spend money on this" when it came to Moshidora.
Well, guess what, Justin also wrote about Musashi no Ken back in 2013, calling it "one of the best ever made" & saying that "it'll be a cold day in hell" when it gets licensed. In other words, it could honestly just be a matter of time until Justin puts his own money down & licenses Musashi no Ken; he licensed & released Sasuke, so he's already worked with Eiken previously. In fact, Justin had also written about Tokimeki Tonight, which I included last time, so you never know!
Yeah, we still got some Shonen Jump anime to go over, but for this half it's only two of them. Yoshihiro Takahashi (no relation to Yoichi or Rumiko) made his serialized debut as a mangaka in 1976 with the simultaneous launch of two manga. Over in Weekly Shonen Jump there was Akutare Giants, a little league baseball manga that ran until 1980 for 22 volumes, while over in Monthly Shonen Jump there was Shiroi Senshi Yamato, a manga about literal dog fighting that ran until 1988 for 26 volumes. However, despite both of those series running for a rather decent amount of time & length, it wouldn't be until 1983 that Takahashi truly became iconic when he debuted Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin-/Silver Fang: The Shooting Star Gin in Weekly Jump. This followed Gin, a young Akita Inu who leaves behind his home with humans to help a pack of wild dogs fight against the legendary Akakabuto/Red Helmet, an Ussuri brown bear who leads his own army of bears that threatens to safety of the Ouu Mountains... & allegedly was the bear that killed Gin's legendary father, Riki. While only running until 1987 & totaling 17 volumes, it'd be Gin that defines Yoshihiro Takahashi to this day, as in 1999 he debuted Ginga Legend Weed, which starred Gin's son, in Weekly Manga Goraku & from then on out Takahashi has turned the Ginga Series of dog-focused manga into a franchise that currently totals over 160 volumes, with the sixth (& final?) main entry, Ginga Legend Requiem, currently at 11 volumes.
But we're here for TV anime, & on April 7, 1986 TV Asahi & its affiliates debuted Toei Animation's 21-episode adaptation of Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin-. As the manga was still ongoing the anime naturally doesn't adapt the entire story, though it does at least adapt everything involving the battle with Red Helmet. Interestingly enough, the Gin anime would actually find some international success, namely in Scandinavia, where the series is considered a nostalgic favorite for an entire generation, likely in part due to it taking place in a very snowy & mountainous region of Japan. In 2006 there was then a 26-episode TV anime adaptation of Ginga Legend Weed by Studio DEEN, but I didn't include it in the 00s list mainly because I already had both Play Ball & Captain across two different decades' lists. What's most surprising, though, is that there have been official English releases of the Ginga Series, though limited in nature. First, in the early 00s, ComicsOne put out the first three volumes of Weed, though considering that series alone is 60 volumes long we only get a mere drop in the bucket in English. However, in 2020 Manga Planet started offering the Gin manga in English digitally, and following the closure of that service Crunchyroll Manga has since rescued it & offers it digitally.
So, in a weird sense, there would be some logic in someone finally licensing & releasing the Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin- TV anime in English, since the manga already has some availability over here. However, there's no doubt that the idea of an anime focused primarily around dogs fighting bears in the wild definitely sounds pretty limiting, a true "niche within a niche" situation.
Last time I included Honou no Alpen Rose: Jeudi & Randy, which was Tatsunoko's first ever adaptation of a shojo manga. Therefore, I think it's only fitting that I include the other shojo adaptation from Tatsunoko, though I think it's worth mentioning for other reasons, too. Debuting in 1980, Izumi Aso would become most well known for the manga Hikari no Densetsu/The Legend of Light, a manga all about rhythmic gymnastics that ran in (then Weekly) Margaret from 1985 to 1988 for 16 volumes. Specifically, it told the story of Hikari Kamijo, a diminutive but talented gymnast who dreams of competing in the Seoul Olympics, as the sport made its debut at the Los Angeles Olympics, & while dealing with a rivalry with Hazuki Shiina Hikari also finds herself in the middle of a love triangle between Takaaki Oishi (a male gymnast who she admires) & Mao Natsukawa (Hikari's neighbor & childhood friend, who's also Takaaki's best friend). While Izumi Aso has continued to make manga since ending Hikari no Densetsu, none have managed to reach anywhere near the length & popularity as her rhythmic gymnastics title, and it remains the only manga of hers to have ever been adapted into anime.
Said TV anime adaptation of Hikari no Densetsu would debut on TV Asahi & its affiliates on May 3, 1986 & was produced by Tatsunoko, in what would be the studio's second & final adaptation of a shojo manga. It's notable for only lasting 19 episodes, and while it's often stated that it was cancelled early due to low ratings I can't find any proof of that, instead simply finding word that the decision was made shortly after the series started airing. Rather, it looks like the anime was simply a victim of a change in production priorities, as the time slot would switch from being produced by affiliate ABC to main network TV Asahi itself, and the show that replaced Hikari no Densetsu would be Saint Seiya. Regardless, once the Seoul Olympics started happening in 1988 the anime would get re-run in Japan, while Tatsunoko would start licensing it out internationally, specifically in Europe (where the sport was popular) where it'd receive air time in French, German, Italian, & Spanish, becoming somewhat successful. Hikari no Densetsu would also mark the directorial debut for Tomomi Mochizuki, who'd later become known for directing anime like Here is Greenwood, House of Five Leaves, Princess Nine, Ocean Waves, & Seraphim Call, among others.
Really, despite its cut short nature, the Hikari no Densetsu anime has seemingly managed to find itself a more than decent legacy, so it'd be neat if eventually was given a chance in English, after being given chances elsewhere in the past. At the very least, it continues to remain unique due to its sport of choice.
One last Shonen Jump title from the 80s, and like with Gin this actually now does have an official English release for the original manga, at least digitally. The early days of Akira Miyashita's time in manga is honestly a rather interesting tale, from his initial time as an assistant to Yoshihiro Takahashi (which included Takahashi forbidding Miyashita from ever drawing a crowd again, since he once made them all look like yakuza) to his debut serialization, 1979's Shiritsu Kiwame-michi Koukou, literally coming with an personal written endorsement from Hiroshi Motomiya... only for it to get cancelled early, due to one of Miyashita's assistants using actual school emblems & graduates without their permission, resulting in complaints; whoops! Anyway, Miyashita would find success with his next work, 1980's Geki! Gokutora Ikka, but he'd find true superstardom in 1985 with the debut of Sakigake!! Otoko Juku/Charge!! Men's School, a series about the students of the titular Otoko Juku, where the worst & most rowdy delinquents are sent to learn to be "Real Japanese Men" by teachers who don't take any crap & push their students beyond their physical limits. In reality, though, the manga was a parody of ultra-macho, "manly" manga of the era, initially starting off as more of a gag manga before transitioning into a straight action series featuring the toughest students led by Momotaro Tsurugi taking on all manner of foes, though it was still a series where literally everything was treated as some form of ancient martial art... even if it's something as silly as fighting while riding a unicycle.
After ending in 1991 after 34 volumes, Miyashita would eventually return to the world of Otoko Juku via various sequels, prequels, side stories, crossovers with other series (like Kiwame-michi) & even numerous spin-offs drawn by other artists, creating a massive franchise that's still going on to this day, similar to that of the Ginga Series. On February 25, 1998 Toei Animation debuted a TV anime adaptation of Sakigake!! Otoko Juku that would (fittingly) replace Fist of the North Star 2 & run for 34 episodes & a (barely) feature-length theatrical movie. The anime toned down the more militaristic depictions & would cover up through about halfway into the second proper story arc, while the movie told an original story featuring new foes designed by Miyashita himself. As mentioned, though, the Otoko Juku manga actually has an official English release, initially via Manga Planet & now offered through Crunchyroll Manga, so it wouldn't necessarily be as though releasing the anime in English would come from totally out of nowhere today. Really, Sakigake!! Otoko Juku is a series that walks the fine line between being a completely unserious parody & an earnest "manly" action series, and that's likely what has kept it able to continue on to this day in one way or another, and while there's no way the manga will ever receive a physical release in English... you never know with the anime.
OK, this next one is honestly a little bit of a cheat because some part of this actually did see official English release back in the day. However, it's an honestly bizarre scenario to go over & what we got in English wasn't a "TV" anime, so I'll still count it for this list. Unlike all of the prior titles in this entire 80s-themed list, 1988's Chou-On Senshi/Sonic Soldier Borgman wasn't an adaptation of a manga, but rather was an original work co-produced by Toho & Ashi Pro as one of the various "armored warrior" anime that were produced in the wake of Saint Seiya's massive success. The twist with Borgman, then, was that it had a sci-fi bend to it where in 1999 (you know, "the future") Tokyo is destroyed after four meteorites (later called "Demon Stones") fell on the city, & by 2030 in its place was Megalo City. However, creatures calling themselves "Demons" (Youma, in Japanese) start attacking Megalo City in search of the fifth Demon Stone, which would allow them to revive the Demon King & conquer the land. To fight the Demons are Borgman, a group of young warriors who wear cybernetic armor called Baltectors & wield high-powered weaponry to fight back against the Demons. While the anime was popular with older audiences & otaku who read anime mags of the time, it unfortunately didn't result in high viewership ratings, which resulted in the anime ending early after 35 episodes, though it at least did manage to still finish its story.
However, similar to fellow Ashi Pro series Dancouga (which didn't even get to finish its story via TV), it's that popularity with otaku that led to Borgman seeing future OVA productions, namely 1988's Borgman: Last Battle, 1989's Borgman: Lover's Rain, & 1993's Sonic Soldier Borgman II: New Century 2058, as well as two drama CDs (well, a CD & a casette) in 1989 & 1992; also like Dancouga, the music of Borgman was especially super popular, resulting in concerts. This is where that "cheat" I mentioned comes in, because in 1998 ADV Films decided to release Borgman: Last Battle & Lover's Rain in North America via subbed VHS tapes before eventually re-releasing the two together via dual-audio DVD in 2004 (yeah, they later went back & dubbed them)... all without ever releasing the original TV series, either before OR after! Yeah, for whatever reason we only ever received the literal epilogue OVA to the TV series & the midquel OVA that brought a conclusion to the love story between lead characters Ryo & Anise, i.e. stories that arguably work best if you saw the TV series first; ADV got them from Toho, so I guess maybe Toho didn't have licensing rights to the TV series at the time? However, that still means that, to this day, Sonic Solder Borgman TV (plus Borgman II) has yet to receive an official English release, and at this point the only way anyone would ever bother re-releasing Final Battle & Lover's Rain would be alongside the original series... which is how it should have happened in the first place, but what's done is done.
At the very least all of Borgman (TV & every OVA) has since been released on Blu-Ray over in Japan, so maybe one day English-speaking anime fans who remember watching Borgman: Final Battle & Lover's Rain back in the late 90s & mid-00s can one day finally get everything that happened before those two productions... plus even after.
This past summer Sentai Filmworks added a bunch of Tatsunoko anime for streaming over on Hidive, and while most of it were titles that had been available previously before getting delisted years back (Gatchaman II & Fighter, Casshan, Gold Lightan, Urashiman, Mecha-Doc, Judo Boy, & Time Bokan: Royal Revival) there were some "new" vintage titles that got their first ever official English releases this year, namely Ippatsuman, Paul's Miraculous Adventures, & The Genie Family. This made each month's announcement of new additions to Hidive kind of exciting, because there are a number of classic Tatsunoko titles that have still never received an official English release before... and the eventual lack of a specific title really irked me. Granted, I'm not making these unlicensed anime lists solely about my personal picks, but this one definitely is. Just as with Borgman previously, 1989's Tenku Senki/Record of Heavenly War Shurato, better known abroad as Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato, was another series that was made in the wake of Saint Seiya's success, though this time it was co-produced by Sotsu & Tatsunoko; Ashi Pro did help with recording, though, & some staff from Borgman worked on this, too. This anime starred Shurato Hidaka & Gai Kuroki, two friends who while in the midst of a martial arts tournament fight find themselves transported to "The Heavenly Sphere", an alternate universe under attack by a group calling themselves the Asura Gods. Shurato discovers that he's actually the reincarnation of the Asura King, who lost his life 10,000 years ago in a great war, & takes up the role of one the "Eight Bushu" to figure out what exactly is going on. However, Gai winds up being another one of the Eight Bushu... but now wants to kill Shurato, despite originally being a pacifist by nature.
Out of all of the various "armored warrior" anime that came out in the wake of Saint Seiya's success, Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato is the one that's always interested me the most. Part of it has to do with its utterly unique aesthetic & influence, in which Satoru Akahori (who created the entire setting of Shurato on behalf of his teacher Takao Koyama, who was head writer) utilized Hindu & esoteric Bhuddist mythology in place of the usual fare (i.e. Greek myth, Japanese culture, sci-fi, etc.), resulting in an extremely one-of-a-kind visual feel for any & all of the imagery you can find for the series, even if the Shakti that everyone wear in battle are very blatantly imitations of Seiya's Cloths. There's also the multifaceted conflict, as instead of a simple battle between the Eight Bushu & the Asura Gods the series instead saw the Heavenly Sphere being caught up in a war between multiple forces, as Shurato only has a couple of other Bushu on his side as they fight against fellow Bushu (like Gai), the Asura Gods, & even the denizens of the Heavenly Sphere themselves, who have been tricked into thinking that Shurato's side are evil; plus, hey, it's an isekai story, so that'll appeal to more modern-day fans, too. Apparently the show does suffer a bit visually in the last third of its 38-episode run due to a reliance outside animation companies, enough so that in Japan it was later counted as an example of "sakuga houkai/animation collapse", but I still would love to see Shurato, as well as its six-episode OVA sequel Dark Genesis; yes, just as with Borgman, Shurato also saw a post-TV OVA series.
In fact, it was only last year that Shurato finally received a Blu-Ray release, containing the TV series, the compilation OVAs & Dark Genesis, and my only guess as to why Sentai/Hidive didn't license Shurato alongside those other Tatsunoko anime that came out this summer is due to rights. While the series is technically a Tatsunoko-owned property, there is the other half of the production duo, which would be Sotsu. In March 2020 Bandai Namco purchased all of Sotsu, pretty much so that it could wholly own Gundam, and in fact it was Bandai Namco that released Shurato on BD last year, not Tatsunoko. I don't think any of this makes Shurato impossible to license, per se, but I imagine it does mean that it can't easily be included alongside other Tatsunoko shows as a licensing bundle; this would also apply to license rescuing Tekkaman Blade, too, as Sotsu also co-produced that. Still...
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And with that we reach the end of this 80s-focused list of TV anime that have yet to be licensed for official English release! While I wouldn't mind potentially covering titles from the 2010s to today that have been skipped over in the age of simulcasting, it's admittedly a rather small amount of titles (& I'd have to really dig to see which ones are truly notable), so for now this series of "The Rest if Yet to Come" will come to an end next month when we cover the 90s.
I hope you join me for those two parts in November, as I managed to find some notable & cool titles from that decade, for sure!
Musashi no Ken © Motoka Murakami/Shogakukan・Eiken
Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin- © Yoshihiro Takahashi/Shueisha・Toei Animation
Hikari no Densetsu © Izumi Aso/Shueisha・Tatsunoko Production
Sakigake!! Otoko Juku © Akira Miyashita/Shueisha・Toei Animation
Sonic Soldier Borgman © 1988 Toho/Ashi Productions
Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato © Sotsu・Tatsunoko Production
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