A Look Back At TV Anime From 1995

 The year 1995 was a consequential year for TV anime, a year that will change it's story from that time onward.  I was just getting deep into watching anime, renting as much as possible from local video stores, as the medium was beginning to grow.  But...two key shows completely shifted the landscape.

Chibi Maruko-chan (2nd series)

    This reboot of the long running slice of life manga still airs to this day.  It is one of the most watched anime on a weekly basis and is ingrained in pop culture to a deep extent.  It has aired consistently Sunday evenings, only seeing a pause during the height of the pandemic.  As of the beginning of 2025, there have been over 1400 episodes aired.  It is somewhat available on Crunchyroll and should be worth checking out, if for nothing more than academic curiosity if the show isn't your style.

 

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

    Wing is responsible for the vart majority of Western Gundam fans and has a lot of love in Japan as well.  Between the original pirated copy and the mass exposure through Toonami, the series has made mecha fans of a lot of people.  Side note, I never liked this series or story.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

    You know it, everyone knows it.  A series that still spawns controversy and discussion.  A media franchise that has dominated for the past 30 years.  Its opening theme song, Cruel Angel Thesis, is the most requested karaoke song in Japan.  What is more important with Eva is what it did for the industry.  Due to pressures about the story being inappropriate for its time slot, it was forced to finish its run airing in the middle of the night.  This did nothing to tarnish its popularity and anime production companies took a series look at releasing more shows in the middle of the night, where broadcast restrictions are far more relaxed.  I wrote a whole thing about that here!

Slayers

    A classic fantasy comedy for Western and Japanese fans alike.  A hugely successful series adapted from a light novel series.  As with Gundam Wing...I remain an outlier in my deep seeded hatred for this series.

Tenchi Universe

    A different narrative direction on the original OAV Tenchi Series, this is one of the original harem romance anime and has spawned a lot of other productions since.  A big series for my generation of anime fans, but has fallen into obscurity into the 21st century.