Name These Old-School Anime To Prove Your Knowledge Is Up To Snuff
- by Renée Millette
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Anime has been around forever, but it's only been the last decade or so when anime really became part of the mainstream. At first, it started with Saturday morning cartoons and Toonami after school on Cartoon Network. There were a few shows that played, but compared to how much anime was out there, it wasn't a whole lot.
Back then, getting a hold of an anime that wasn't already playing on television was hard. We didn't have Netflix or Hulu, and there weren't a lot of things getting dubbed. To watch something besides Naruto or Dragonball Z, we were required to track down DVDs online, or hope that the local library had something good (though usually out of order, and never a complete set).
Today, there is so much content out there that is readily accessible at our fingertips, and that includes anime. It's so easy to get the new episode of My Hero Academia the day it comes out in Japan and to catch up on old shows to binge all at once.
Since there are so many different kinds of anime out there, it's definitely a challenge to watch all of them--especially some of the older ones. Some of these anime are considered classics, a show that everyone should watch, but others are a little more on the fringe--the kind of anime that one would only watch if they accidentally came across it on YouTube in 2007.
So, take the quiz to see how many of these older anime are recognizable.
What is the name of this beloved shojo anime?
Haruhi is a common girl who is on scholarship at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. She’s just trying to get by, but after she accidentally breaks a very expensive vase, she must pay off her debt by working at the host club. Since she had to cut her hair after a gum incident in the summer, she has short hair and a boyish look, but how long can she go before everyone around her figures out that she’s not the boy of their dreams?
Name this classic sci-fi/fantasy anime.
In this world, alchemy is real and brothers Ed and Alphonse Elric are trying to bring their mother back to life. Things go horribly wrong, and while something comes back in place of their mother, that isn’t her. Ed loses an arm while Al has to now reside inside of a suit of armor. The brothers go on a journey to find the legendary philosopher’s stone, which may be able to bring order to everything once again--and they come across many friends and many enemies while on their search.
Name this former anime giant.
Ichigo Kurosaki is a teenage boy who has an unusual skill--he can see and talk to ghosts. He hates this ability, but it ends up saving his life. With this skill he meets Rukia, a Soul Reaper. These are soldiers from the afterlife who help souls on earth pass on to the Soul Society. To defeat a Hollow, Rukia transfers her powers onto Ichigo, making him the first living Soul Reaper and Rukia stuck on Earth as a human until her spiritual powers come back. For the first time the living world and the spirit world are coming together, and everything is crazy.
What is the name of this cute anime?
At school, Amu has gotten a reputation of being cool and aloof, but in reality she’s just really shy. Before going to sleep one night, she makes a wish for some way to help her find her true self. In the morning, she wakes up to see three eggs beside her, and when they hatch, they reveal to be her Guardian Characters. They are parts of her “would-be” self, and they show parts of her personality that she wished she had. There’s a problem, though--there’s a company that’s trying to steal these eggs from her.
What is the name of this anime about talking dolls?
Seven dolls were created by an expert craftsman back in the early 1900s, each of whom have their own personalities and a soul of their own. They are destined to fight each other and collect their cores to become the most powerful doll, or Alice, and be reunited with their creator. A plain middle school boy named Jun gets caught up in all of this crazy, mystical doll drama. Who would have thought that some cute Victorian dolls packed such a punch?
What is the name of this demon-fighting anime?
Yusuke is a no-good high school delinquent, who meets an unexpected fate after he tries to save a boy from a moving car. He is told that there is no place for his spirit to reside in the afterlife, so he is offered the chance to return to the living, where he acts as the detective of the underworld. He is given the power of reiki to aid him on this task. For some of his missions, he must go undercover and fight in tournaments to try and stop the villains he is after--all with the help of his human and supernatural friends.
Name this revolution-centered mech anime.
In this universe, the world is divided into factions and the Empire of Britannia has just recently taken over Japan. Lelouch is the son of the Emperor himself, but vows to protect his Japanese friend, Suzaku, and destroy the empire to save Japan. He is given a power by a mysterious girl that allows him to bend anyone’s will to do his bidding. He uses this power to start a vigilante group to oppose the Empire. In the end, though, it seems like it is his long-time friend that he will have to fight against.
What is this dystopian mech anime?
It’s the future, and most of humankind has been subjected to live underground by the Spiral King. Simon is what his underground village calls a driller, and his job is to dig further in the ground to build new homes. On one of his digs, he finds the key to a giant mech, which also serves as the key to get out of the ground. On the surface, he discovers that humans are attacked by creatures called beastmen, and the only way to survive is by fighting them in giant mech suits.
What is the name of this love story involving sign animals?
Tohru Honda has been living in a tent all by herself after her mom passed away. She doesn’t realize that she’s camping out on the Sohma property until one day, when her mysterious classmate, Yuki, saves her from a mudslide and offers up his family’s home to her. After staying at the Sohma house for a short time, she discovers their family’s secret--whenever one of them hugs a member of the opposite gender, they turn into one of the animals of the signs!
Name this romantic vampire anime.
At Cross Academy, there are two different groups of people: the day class and the night class. The day class are for normal humans, like Yuki, and the night class is specifically for vampires. Yuki is one of the few people that knows the truth about the night class, and has been in love with the vampire that saved her as a child. For a while, there was an alliance between the humans and vampires, where they try to coexist but that might all come to an end with a few rogue vampires.
Name this robot love story.
Hideki is a pretty average guy, not that great looking and not too good of a student--he’s trying for the second time to get into university. One day after walking back from cram school, he notices a very pretty persocom (a kind of android). He brings her home, but notices that she’s unlike a regular persocom, since she can’t speak at all. As he tries to teach her language and other skills, it seems apparent that this android is starting to develop feelings for Hideki, something a persocom isn’t supposed to be able to do.
What is the name of this heart-wrenching anime?
Tomoya is a high school delinquent that has no interest in school, and likes to ditch often. One day he meets a girl in his class named Nagisa, who seems a little strange but tries to stay as positive as she can. They become friends after he decides to help her revive the drama club, a wish that she's had for a long time, but couldn't do before because of an illness. They eventually fall in love, of course. This seems like a cute slice of life anime but it is actually, like, the saddest thing ever.
Name this cool space anime.
The year is 2071 and Earth has become uninhabitable, so surviving humans moved to the other planets in the solar system. This story focuses on Spike, a galactic bounty hunter, and his space crew--a former space officer, a con artist, a hacker, and a corgi. This unlikely group of friends get into a bunch of crazy situations, that usually leave them more bent up than before. They also have to deal with their pasts, which is something they all want to avoid.
What is the name of this magical girl anime?
A middle school girl named Usagi once came across a cat named Luna, who gave her a magical brooch that gave her magical girl powers. As one of the girls gifted with this magical power, she must defend the Earth from the bad guys. On the way, she discovers other girls who have the same power as she does and they join together on the fight against the Dark Kingdom. This may have turned out to be a lot for this young girl to handle all on her own, even if she is magical now.
Name this girly transformation story.
Sunako once had the unfortunate experience of being called ugly by her crush, and decided after that to remove herself from society by hiding her face under her hair and getting into creepy things like skeletons and horror movies. Her rich aunt, who is housing four boys at her place for free, makes a deal with them that in order to continue living there, they must turn this reclusive woman into what she calls a “perfect lady.” These boys have charm, but this girl is stubborn.
What is the name of this mermaid anime?
For the seven seas, there is a mermaid who rules over it. Lucia is one of those mermaids, but she’s currently spending time on land to try and find the boy she saved years ago. Once she finds him, he doesn’t recognize her in human form, but she’s not allowed to tell him about her secret or she will turn into bubbles and disappear. As if a complicated relationship isn’t enough, she also has to use her beautiful voice alongside her mermaid friends to defeat their underwater foes.
Name this otherworldly anime.
This story takes place at a high school that’s in a sort of spiritual limbo, where the kids who have passed had experienced some sort of trauma in their life and are given a second chance at life if they accept their past. Thing is, Yuzuru doesn’t have any memories of his past, so he can’t really go anywhere. He joins a group that is dedicated to battle God for all of the bad things he put them all through in the land of the living. They will fight together to try and get all of them to pass on to experience a better life.
What is the name of this post apocalyptic anime?
The year is 2015 and the world is in shambles after the apocalyptic Second Impact happened fifteen years ago. Shinji is called to the Nerv headquarters by his estranged father, who tells him he will be fighting against the Angels in a giant mech suit. The Angels are giant monsters who have come to destroy Earth, and these fighter mechs are the only thing that can stop them. Shinji is reluctant to do this at first, considering that his father is crazy, but complies, which ends up tormenting him physically and psychologically.
What is the name of this samurai anime?
This anime takes place back in the Meiji era in Tokyo, and follows the story of a wanderer. He carries a reverse blade sword to use as protection and a tool to help other people in need--but of course the blade cannot cut anything. He carries this kind of sword instead of a regular one to repent for his sins during the war. After saving a young woman, she gives him a place to stay at her dojo, since she realizes that he is a kind-hearted person even with his infamous reputation.
Name this time traveling anime.
The story follows a dog half-demon who is on the hunt for a magical jewel that would make him into a full demon. It is protected by a priestess named Kiyoko, and the two end up falling in love. She meets her demise, the demon is cursed, and the jewel is gone. Hundreds of years later, a girl named Kagome falls into a well and is transported back in time, where she frees the half-demon from his curse and learns that she is Kiyoko reincarnated.
What is the name of this adventure anime?
Hunters are elite members of humanity, who have the power to track people, find treasures, and secret abilities. This story focuses on a boy named Gon, who finds out that his late father is still very much alive. He plans to set out on a search to find his long lost father, but he has to become a hunter himself. The exam is extremely difficult and very few people are able to pass it. Can Gon overcome these challenges to find his father?
What is the name of this tournament thriller?
Yukiteru is a high school boy with no friends who spends all of his time documenting his day into his phone. By the God of Space and Time, his phone was given the ability to tell the future. He then finds out that he and eleven other people are in a sort of battle royale fight to bring each other down and stop the apocalypse. Yukiteru has to survive, and when he gets the help of a clingy, crazy girlfriend it looks like he might have a chance.
Name this anime about a dark future.
Something called the Hells Gate appeared in Tokyo, and ever since a lot of terrible things have been happening. The sky had been replaced by a new sky and people have been given certain special abilities. These people are called Contractors, and to obtain this power they must revoke their sense of humanity. These people are hired by organizations to take people out in cold blood and for espionage, which is pretty easy for people with special abilities and no emotions.
What is the name of this slice of life high school anime?
This anime follows the students of class 2-C at Yagami High School. Tenma is in love with a boy in her class named Oji, but he doesn't seem to be too into her and instead uses all of his energy to focus on his passion of curry. A boy named Kenji likes Tenma, but he is also bad at showing his feelings. As the show progresses, the love triangle between these three classmates gets more and more complicated, and everything is just a funny, embarrassing mess.
Name this high school coming of age story.
In her past, a high school girl had met a boy who helped her get through the loss of her parents. Now all she has of him is a ring with a rose crest on it. She enrolls in Ootori Academy as a boy, and is pulled into a game where people with rings similar to the one she received must duel each other with swords for a prize: the Rose Bride. One she wins the bride, they work together to try and unlock the secrets behind the school.
What is the name of this psychological thriller?
All seems normal in this small town, following the stories of some high school friends. Without much of a warning, things go south and the audience is left asking, “What even happened?” There must be something with the water because all of them start going crazy and become super paranoid to the point of ending each other’s lives. And once everyone is gone, they all come back to life like the previous day’s events never happened--and the cycle continues over and over again.
Name this crazy fun anime.
This anime is a crazy ride from start to finish. Naota is just a regular twelve year-old boy who lives with his dad and grandfather. His life gets turned upside down when a crazy girl on a Vespa named Haruko barges in and hits him on the head with a baseball bat. He then finds out that the bump on his head is a portal into another dimension, and giant robots come out of it sometimes. At some point, there are also aliens involved--yeah, it’s that kind of anime.
What is the name of this supernatural show?
There is an organization that specializes in taking out supernatural criminals, is ordered to take out a vampire that is turning the citizens of a small British town into ghouls. This is a formidable foe, so they dispatch their best person for the job: a vampire named Alucard. He goes into town and destroys as many enemies that he can find. In the crossfire, a young woman gets hurt and Alucard gives her a choice: to pass away, or to be given a second chance at life as a vampire.
Name this sports anime.
Ryoma is a tennis prodigy, and he has one goal--to win the National Middle School Tennis championship. To get there, he defeats countless of upperclassmen to secure him a spot in the nationals. By practicing with teammates and friends, he starts to develop his own tennis style even more. Like a lot of sports anime, the tennis skills coming from Ryoma and his friends are out of this world--there's no way that half of these techniques are physically possible, but then again it's anime so it doesn't need to make sense.
Name the anime about this unique high school.
This high school isn't like a normal high school--it's run by a Shinigami and the purpose of the school is to find the ultimate weapon. These weapons aren't just normal pieces of metal--they're human hybrids who can turn into a scythe and can consume the souls of creatures they defeat. Once a scythe eats 99 souls and one witch's soul, they become Demon Weapons. This show follows the stories of a few scythes and their wielders, where they survive bad guys and high school.