After the overwhelming success of the Netflix original series, Voltron: Legendary Defender, the importance of a show having a good revival has become apparent. There are a plethora of animes which came to America but didn’t get enough attention and could garnish a new fanbase with the help of a revival series. This list only covers anime from the 1980s which would benefit from Netflix taking the time to give them a new show with updated animation and dynamic storytelling. These are in no particular order of importance. Instead any of these should would benefit from a little more love and attention.
10. Hello Kitty
Sure there have been a lot of Hello Kitty shows over the years but few of them became best sellers in America. A new series in the vein of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with more defined characters teaching important lessons to children along with incredible animation would be a hit. Considering how it will help the sales of Hello Kitty merchandise in American, someone needs to get Sanrio on the phone right now.
9. Galaxy Express 999/Captain Harlock
Though these series didn’t leave much of impact, there is a great history behind both of them. These two titles both came from creator Leiji Matsumoto and are part of a shared universe of the creator’s own design. With so much mythology to pull from, a new series exploring a large universe deep characters all with their individual motivations would make for incredible binge watching. As Netflix helped to premiere the CGI remake of this series a few years ago, they are already aware of the franchise and its existence so it shouldn’t be so hard to get a new series produced.
8. Ulysses 31
The space adventure series featuring a intergalactic version of the Odyssey is prominently featured in many “Best of 1980s Cartoon Openings” lists on YouTube. A new series retelling the journey of Ulysses works to find the Kingdom Of Hades would be a great watch with updated animation. Maybe if it does come to pass a full box set release of the original series will finally be released in America. As a bonus, check out the opening below.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev1aBt-_Zs4[/embedyt]
7. Starblazers
The American Adaptation of the Space Battleship Yamato series along with Robotech helped to lead fans to anime in the early 80s. There has been talk for a lot of years of a live action adaptation of the series being produced but unfortunately it seems the film is in a developmental limbo. A new series would help to gain new fans and could hopefully get the film moving as well.
6. Ronin Warriors
This series about a team of armored teens fighting against an evil entity was a forgotten hit. It debuted as a summer replacement show and was used on Sci-Fi channel’s animation block in the infant days of the channel’s creation. Sadly, the follow up sequels weren’t very good at all. Still, there is plenty of mythology between the original show and the OVAs to create a show with fresh animation.
5. Kimba The White Lion
There has been talks for years about if The Lion King is a rip off of this series by “The Godfather of Manga” Osamu Tezuka. A new series which featured a story based on other stories from franchise could help to make it to be more distinctive in nature. There was a time this series was an essential series for fans of animation who didn’t even know it was anime and with the help of Netflix it could be once more.
4. Patlabor
Patlabor may have a soft spot for mecha fans thanks to its amusing buddy cop with giant robots TV series and the surprisingly dramatic movies but most people only know it for being featured in a KMFDM music video (featured below). A new series allowing for a smoother transition between the comedy and drama elements would easily garnish a new audience. If it’s successful a full release of the manga in America may be a possibility.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy6Y3jTWY90[/embedyt]
3. Battle Of The Planets
The series with a multitude of names. Originally Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, this series also was distributed as G-Force, Eagle Riders, and of course Battle of the Planets. Focusing on a team of five who have the power to fly and possessing specialty weapons, the team fought against aliens trying to take over the Earth. A new series would help the series to regain its popularity and might even get an American produced live action series back on track.
2. Lensman
Many don’t remember this anime film from the old Sci-Fi channel saturday anime movie block. It was a film based on a series of novels by Edward Elmer Smith, an author nicknamed the father of space opera. Obviously not all of the material from six novels made it into the film so if it did get a new Netflix series, the story would get the adaptation it rightfully deserved. Also, the original movie might finally get a Blu-Ray release here in America.
1. Robotech
Sure, there have been attempts over the years (even a new comic series by Titan Comics) to revive Robotech, but none of these have garnished a new audience. Instead it might just be easier to start over again with a new series. Maybe through a complete retelling of the original story and by helping to tie in the different elements which came from harsley editing three into one continuous story, the plot holes would be fixed and this series would once again get the attention it deserves.
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Which lost anime do you think deserves a revival? Leave a comment below and let us know.
