Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac (1986-1989)
Saint Seiya was one of THE seinen anime series of the 80s (other was, probably, Dragon Ball) which crossed the division line between East and West and become as popular in USA and West Europe as it was in Japan.
...gatherers, but couldn't gather enough popularity. Maybe, because of that it remained a single season, but, IMO, it is one of that hidden gems which are worth watching. It is pretty well written and a bit humorous themed anime like ZZ Gundam, so decide yourself if it your cup of tea!
Metal Armor Dragonar (1988). Pretty good mecha anime which was released in a bad time. If you look closer at the plot, it was surprisingly like... The first Gundam series! And that is not a coincidence.
This anime series was supposed to be a 'new' Gundam to hook up new viewers and memorabilia...
...his famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. But don't worry, it's inspired, not copied!
Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, or Nadia of the Mysterious Seas, or Nadia: Secret of Blue Water. This anime series of 1990 became a second widely-known work of Hideaki Anno. What is it? It is an anime, which follows on the steps of previous adventure works like Lupin III and... Jules Verne! To be precise..
Gunbuster. This OVA from the 1988 was directed by Hideaki Anno. Yes. THAT Hideaki Anno.
Part mecha anime, part bildungsroman, this OVA become one of the first real successes of the Gainax of later Evangelion fame, and even spawned a sequel... Almost 20 years later!
New Dominion Tank Police (1993).If you want show that both serious and seriously cheesy, that's one for you. Besides, it's one of the Shirow Masamune works!
Deep, interesting characters, epic space battles, galactic-spanning civilisations - Legend of Galactic Heroes has it all.
There are new adaptation, titled as Die Neue These (New Thesis) which is seriously good too, but this classic series is worth your attention too.
Legend of Galactic Heroes. Series of a Space Opera novels written by Yoshiki Tanaka in 10 volumes from 1982 to 1987. It was SO popular that in 1988 was adapted as a 110-episodes OVA series, so far longest OVA series in the history. And, frankly, it's one of a best Space Opera anime series.
Also pastel colours were so good.
It's a shame some of anime series of that time survived only in a low-res state, but Japanese companies adopted Laserdisc early, so a lot of them digitalized from laserdisc media.
I know :) That was the last time it was hand-drawn. Yes, in the late 90s they had computers helping with animation, but key frames were drawn by hand.
I know it was painstaking, slow and expensive process, but I miss that style...
Dirty Pair. This series of light novels about pair of deeply troubled "troubled consultants" leaving a trail of destruction in their wake was written from the 1980 till 2018 and was firstly adapted as anime in 1985. Also it's hilarious.
Bubblegum Crisis (1987-1991). Cutie girls in cyberpunk Tokyo of the future battling evil, evil megacorporation. What’s not to like?
Tenchi Muyo! Beginning from the humble OVA origin as Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-oh-ki it spawned a manga adaptation TV series and a lot of spin-offs. IMO this is one of a 90s classics you really should to watch.
Silent Mobius (1999) - This series was one of my entries into world of an Anime. Frankly, even if not the best series in the world, it was not a half bad and OST was good, OP even now playing on my phone.
Vampire Hunter D.
For me, 1985 movie has THE ultimate old-school vampire style.
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor - This gem of a comedy from the 1993 will make you laugh and cry. And... Maybe we all should be not so serious?
Poster of the Project A-ko 4
This series, in my humble opinion, is one of the most underappreciated gems of the classic anime, and I'd very much like to see it revived.
Mobile Suit Gundam - The show which started it all.
I kinda miss the Super Robots era before, but...
Ranma Saotome in all his (her) glory!