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The 17 Best Sci-Fi OVA Anime of the 1980s

By YPB Team

From mecha-fueled space epics to grimy cyberpunk noir, this golden age of straight-to-video sci-fi spans landmark classics and half-forgotten cult gems. Which one rules?

Gunbuster — ranked #11
Gunbuster
Gainax's 1988 mecha OVA and Hideaki Anno's directorial debut, blending sports-anime spirit with hard sci-fi relativity.
1000pts
Appleseed — ranked #22
Appleseed
A 1988 cyberpunk OVA adaptation of Masamune Shirow's manga set in the utopian city of Olympus.
551pts
Riding Bean — ranked #33
Riding Bean
A 1989 action OVA following a getaway driver and courier tearing through Chicago.
550pts
Patlabor: Early Days — ranked #44
Patlabor: Early Days
Mamoru Oshii's 1988 OVA about a police unit piloting giant labor mechs in near-future Tokyo.
494pts
Angel Cop — ranked #55
Angel Cop
A violent 1989 cyberpunk OVA following a special police unit hunting terrorists in future Tokyo.
494pts
Bubblegum Crisis — ranked #66
Bubblegum Crisis
A 1987 cyberpunk OVA following the Knight Sabers battling a rogue megacorporation in a neon Neo-Tokyo.
428pts
Black Magic M-66 — ranked #77
Black Magic M-66
Masamune Shirow's 1987 OVA about a journalist hunted by a rogue military android.
350pts
Dominion Tank Police — ranked #88
Dominion Tank Police
A 1988 comedic cyberpunk OVA following a tank-driving police squad in a polluted future metropolis.
350pts
MADOX-01 — ranked #99
MADOX-01
A 1987 OVA about a college student trapped inside a runaway military exoskeleton on city streets.
350pts
Lily-C.A.T. — ranked #1010
Lily-C.A.T.
A 1987 sci-fi horror OVA that transplants Alien-style dread onto a deep-space crew.
350pts
The Guyver — ranked #1111
The Guyver
A 1989 sci-fi body-horror OVA about a teen fused with alien bio-armor battling monstrous Zoanoids.
350pts
Gall Force — ranked #1212
Gall Force
A 1986 space-opera OVA pitting an all-female crew against a relentless alien war machine.
257pts
Fight! Iczer-One — ranked #1313
Fight! Iczer-One
A 1985 sci-fi horror OVA about an android heroine defending Earth from an alien invasion.
257pts
Robot Carnival — ranked #1414
Robot Carnival
A 1987 anthology OVA of nine short sci-fi films from Japan's top animators.
257pts
Megazone 23 — ranked #1515
Megazone 23
A 1985 OVA mixing transforming motorcycles, virtual reality, and 80s pop culture in a landmark sci-fi thriller.
257pts
Goku: Midnight Eye — ranked #1616
Goku: Midnight Eye
Yoshiaki Kawajiri's 1989 cyberpunk OVA about a detective with a cybernetic all-seeing eye.
257pts
California Crisis: Gun Salvo — ranked #1717
California Crisis: Gun Salvo
A 1986 road-trip OVA blending sci-fi mystery with sun-soaked 80s Americana.
143pts
#80s#animation#sci-fi#japan

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