By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

It has never been easier than now to pick up older anime. Older works are widely available on legal streaming sites like the YouTube channels of official license holders, Crunchyroll, Netflix, Funimation, Peacock, HIDIVE, and more. Moreover, many older works can be watched for free online without the need for a membership.

Although some older anime may contain what would now be considered questionable content, such as nudity in Ranma 1/2, many still hold a valuable place in the anime community and history of animation.

As an “older” fan of anime, I’ve been reflecting on the merit of older works and how I might recommend them to new fans of the medium. While newer fans may be drawn to recent anime, I believe that older, slightly more obscure works are worth exploring, especially since they are readily available.

Many series that I once considered recent are now five to six-plus years old. The works that introduced me to anime are even older, and their graphics may not be appealing to new fans. Additionally, remakes of these series may lack the same charm that the original works had within the community.

Still, I’d like to argue in favor of giving older works a try. Many older series have seen revivals, such as Sailor Moon and Fruits Basket. Longer ongoing series like One Piece, Naruto/Boruto, and Dragon Ball also have continued fan appreciation.

While I understand that some new fans may be overwhelmed by the length of these longer series, there are other options available. Some big ones for me include CLAMP’s other significant works like xxxHolic or Tsubasa Chronicles, and shounen like Case Closed (formerly known as Detective Conan), which is still airing to this day with a largely episodic format for easy pickup. These works, along with many others, are available but overlooked by many newer fans in favor of more popular series like Cowboy Bebop or Cardcaptor Sakura.

Finding a title of interest can be as simple as Googling older series that are similar to something you are into now or picking up works that are ongoing but lack the same complicated history regarding serialization as some of the bigger works do. In my personal experience, looking up older works led me to Saiyuki, which has since become one of my favorite series of all time. It has multiple seasons and sparks my interest not just because of the action parts but also because of the introspective moments that likely stem from its source material.

Who knows? You might discover a new favorite series that has been overlooked for far too long. I certainly have!

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Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee