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

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?

1. 1
   Gunbuster

   Gainax's 1988 mecha OVA and Hideaki Anno's directorial debut, blending sports-anime spirit with hard sci-fi relativity.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Appleseed

   A 1988 cyberpunk OVA adaptation of Masamune Shirow's manga set in the utopian city of Olympus.
   551pts
3. 3
   Riding Bean

   A 1989 action OVA following a getaway driver and courier tearing through Chicago.
   550pts
4. 4
   Patlabor: Early Days

   Mamoru Oshii's 1988 OVA about a police unit piloting giant labor mechs in near-future Tokyo.
   494pts
5. 5
   Angel Cop

   A violent 1989 cyberpunk OVA following a special police unit hunting terrorists in future Tokyo.
   494pts
6. 6
   Bubblegum Crisis

   A 1987 cyberpunk OVA following the Knight Sabers battling a rogue megacorporation in a neon Neo-Tokyo.
   428pts
7. 7
   Black Magic M-66

   Masamune Shirow's 1987 OVA about a journalist hunted by a rogue military android.
   350pts
8. 8
   Dominion Tank Police

   A 1988 comedic cyberpunk OVA following a tank-driving police squad in a polluted future metropolis.
   350pts
9. 9
   MADOX-01

   A 1987 OVA about a college student trapped inside a runaway military exoskeleton on city streets.
   350pts
10. 10
    Lily-C.A.T.

    A 1987 sci-fi horror OVA that transplants Alien-style dread onto a deep-space crew.
    350pts
11. 11
    The Guyver

    A 1989 sci-fi body-horror OVA about a teen fused with alien bio-armor battling monstrous Zoanoids.
    350pts
12. 12
    Gall Force

    A 1986 space-opera OVA pitting an all-female crew against a relentless alien war machine.
    257pts
13. 13
    Fight! Iczer-One

    A 1985 sci-fi horror OVA about an android heroine defending Earth from an alien invasion.
    257pts
14. 14
    Robot Carnival

    A 1987 anthology OVA of nine short sci-fi films from Japan's top animators.
    257pts
15. 15
    Megazone 23

    A 1985 OVA mixing transforming motorcycles, virtual reality, and 80s pop culture in a landmark sci-fi thriller.
    257pts
16. 16
    Goku: Midnight Eye

    Yoshiaki Kawajiri's 1989 cyberpunk OVA about a detective with a cybernetic all-seeing eye.
    257pts
17. 17
    California Crisis: Gun Salvo

    A 1986 road-trip OVA blending sci-fi mystery with sun-soaked 80s Americana.
    143pts