October 2022 saw the beginning of a new adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi’s breakout hit manga Urusei Yatsura. While younger fans may be more familiar with her later work like Inuyasha, the original Urusei Yatsura was quite the hit in Japan, and alien babe Lum became an anime icon during the 1980s. So now, fans can see what older otakus are raving on with the new series on HIDIVE.
But are there any other retro gems that could do with a modern-day adaptation? Like other 1980sanime that scratch Urusei Yatsura’s mix of sci-fi, gags, and romance? It might take some searching to find these hidden gems, but they’re worth the hunt once found.
7 Maison Ikkoku
If people are looking for another show like Urusei Yatsura, then why not another show based on a Rumiko Takahashi manga? Maison Ikkoku is about the weird and wacky everyday goings-on in a Japanese apartment complex, or 'maison'. Most of which focuses on a struggling student called Yusaku and the complex’s new manager Kyoko as they may have more in common than they think.
The anime series was made by the infamous Studio DEEN across 1986-1988, alongside an animated movie, a live-action film, and three OVAs. Tracking all of that media down sounds difficult, but thankfully all 96 episodes can be found on the Internet Archive! It’s dub-only and in 360p, but it’s readily available and won’t flood a PC with malware like sketchy pirate sites.
6 Ranma ½
Sticking with Takahashi’s work, Ranma ½ is a quirkier romance tale. It’s also borderline 1980s, as the anime’s first season began in October 1989, and continued up to 1992. It’s about Ranma Saotome, a young martial artist cursed to turn into a woman when hit with cold water. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s arranged to marry Akane, the daughter of his father’s friend.
She detests Ranma and men like him yet is warmer to his female side ‘Ranko’. There are other suitors, but maybe he could melt Akane’s façade while he finds a way to fix his curse. It can be found on many streaming services. Peacock, Tubi, and Hoopla have the most complete Ranma ½ collections, but it’s also on Hulu and Funimation if push comes to shove.
5 Outlanders
Moving out of the Takahashi-verse, Outlanders was a sci-fi manga by Joji Manabe that’s surprisingly similar to Urusei Yatsura on the surface. Namely, in that it’s about an alien girl invading Earth and falling for a human man. But it also puts the planet in the middle of a conflict between the girl’s aliens, the Santovasku Empire, and their rivals the Yoma Clan.
Tatsunoko made a 50-minute OVA based on the manga in 1986, and no other studio has touched the series since. They certainly saw the similarities, as the horned alien princess Kahm is voiced by Lum’s original VA Fumi Hirano. While the Central Park Media dub has future Dragonball VA Sean Schemmel voice male lead Tetsuya. Both language versions can be found on YouTube and the Internet Archive in HD. It may be short, but it’s also quite sweet.
4 Kimagure Orange Road
Urusei Yatsura was originally made by Studio Pierrot before switching to Studio DEEN. While they lost that license, Kimagure Orange Road by Izumi Matsumoto gave them a new source for romance for 1987-1988. It also switches roles as it’s a special man coming into the lives of two women. Kyōsuke is an esper with a range of special powers from teleportation to ‘time-slipping’.
He gets involved with tsundere loner Madoka and her tough-talking friend Hikaru. While they’re called delinquents, they have a softer side that Kyōsuke can get in touch with. Unfortunately, this leads to a love triangle where Kyōsuke has to decide which of the two to be with. Who does he love more? Find out on Tubi, Crunchyroll, Pluto TV, Retro Crush, or VRV.
3 Stop!! Hibari-kun!
Hisashi Eguchi originally made Stop!! Hibari-kun! to spoof on the romance manga genre and ended up producing a series that may have inspired the J-Pop aesthetic across the decade. Or at least a little part in it. It got a 35-episode anime run in 1983 by Toei Animation and is unique as the love interest isn’t a psychic or an alien. After the death of his mother, Kōsaku is sent to Tokyo to live with her friend Ibari Ōzora, the patriarch of a yakuza family.
He gets enamored with his daughter Hibari. Except she has a secret: she’s a transwoman. Kōsaku helps her keep her secret, while wrestling with his feelings for her. So, it's kind of what Wandering Son would've been if it were a 1980s romcom. As such, the humor can be dated, while other parts of it feel sadly all too modern (A girl beating a man at sports? She must be male too!). The only reliably safe way to watch this show is the subbed version on the Internet Archive.
2 City Hunter
Tsukasa Hojo’s detective comedy isn’t exactly in the same ballpark as Urusei Yatsura. It follows Ryo Saeba as he seeks to clean Tokyo’s streets free of crime. However, when Saeba’s partner Hideyuki Makimura is killed, his younger sister Kaori gets involved in his ‘City Hunter’ business instead. They have a will-they-won’t-they chemistry going on behind each case.
While they’re not outwardly into each other, Saeba is fond of Kaori, and Kaori will bring the literal hammer down on Saeba when he leers after other girls. It’s rather akin to Yatsura’s Ataru and Shinobu, only without the prospective Lum equivalents getting in the way. The 1993 Jackie Chan film adaptation is infamous for its Street Fighter scene online. But the original 1987 Sunrise anime is available on Crunchyroll, VRV and Retro Crush in full. Roku and Pluto TV users will have to settle for the first season alone.
1 Dr Slump And Arale-chan
Urusei Yatsura began Takahashi’s storied career. So, why not look into Akira Toriyama’s big break too? Before he created Dragon Ball, Toriyama was already famous for making Dr Slump. It’s a sci-fi comedy about Arale Norimaki, a robot girl who roams Penguin Village with her father, inventor Dr Senbei ‘Slump’ Norimaki, while avoiding the machinations of Dr Mashirito. Fans might’ve seen her turn up in Toriyama’s Saiyan punch-fest. Notably when she beat up Vegeta with ease in Dragon Ball Super.
It’s more for those who prefer Yatsura’s comedy over the drama, as it’s packed with puns, toilet humor, and other yuks. Toei turned it into an anime that lasted from 1981 to 1986 for a grand total of 243 episodes! Unfortunately, the only version easily accessible in the West is the shorter 1997 version on Tubi. The only way to watch the 1980s series is to get a VPN to access Japanese Amazon Prime, or find the few, scanty subtitled episodes on the Internet Archive.
The new Urusei Yatsura series is streaming on HIDIVE.