Like it or not, it’s been two decades since the 1990s and many of the most popular series of that era have seen new releases in order to capitalize on nostalgia or special anniversary celebrations. But there are still quite a few favorites that have yet to return.
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Fans in Japan voted for which 1990s anime series they would like to see get a reboot on survey site Goo Ranking (via SoraNews24), and the top ten choices are below.
- Slam Dunk
- H2
- Yu Yu Hakusho
- Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story
- Future GPX Cyber Formula
- Boys over Flowers
- Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai
- Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
- Hell Teacher Nube
- Mamotte Shugogetten!
Many of the choices here are most likely different from what fans in outside territories would select, but some of the choices are universal. Considering how popular Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk was in its heyday, it is strange how it has not come back in some form. Mitsuru Adachi’s H2 is the same way, considering there are few baseball anime now. Yoshihiro Togashi’s Yu Yu Hakusho is probably the one that resonates the most with fans in the West, and even had a small return recently.
Not all choices are fit for a return, however, as Rurouni Kenshin probably won’t be coming back in any major capacity considering series creator Nobuhiro Watsuki was convicted for posession of child pornography. Other series such as Hell Teacher Nube and Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai have seen returns in videogames like J Victory Stars Vs and the recent Jump Force. But nevertheless, fans would be happy to see any one of these series make a return.
Yu Yu Hakusho actually came back with mini-reboot recently for its 25th Anniversary with a OVA special featuring the returning staff of director Noriyuki Abe, and the voice cast of Nozomu Sasaki as Yusuke Urameshi, Shigeru Chiba as Kazuma Kuwabara, Megumi Ogata as Kurama, and Nobuyuki Hiyama as Hiei. Covering two different stories, the OVA adapts “Two Shots,” which is a side-manga story revealing how Kurama and Hiei first met, and “All or Nothing,” the second-to-last chapter of Yoshihiro Togashi’s original manga which sees Yusuke and the gang try and solve a major terrorist crisis.
Yu Yu Hakusho was originally created by Yoshihiro Togashi for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1990. The story follows Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who loses his life when he is hit by a car trying to save a child’s life. After passing a series of tests, Yusuke is allowed to return to the living world but with a few caveats. With the gained ability to see spirits and demons, Yusuke is given the title of “Underworld Detective” and must solve various cases of spirits running amok in the living world.
