Oh how I miss the golden days of television. Days when mornings and afternoons are spent going on adventures with an orphaned girl who joined a circus, and/or a mystical talking blue pony. We’ve ran down the best TV shows from the 90s and early 2000s, as well as the best cartoons in those times. And since we could all use a blast from the past once in a while, here are some animes we’d all be willing to do a marathon of:
12. Cedie: Ang Munting Prinsipe (Japan; Shōkōshi Ceddie; 1991)
With an English title of Little Lord Fauntleroy, Cedie is a story of young New Yorker who turns out to be the sole heir to a British earldom. He relocates to their ancestral castle and is joined by his mother. Throughout his journey to become an aristocrat, Cedie inadvertently infects his grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, with compassion. Now can you hear a flute version of Annie Laurie in the background?
11. Sara: Ang Munting Prinsesa (Japan; Purinsesu Sēra; 1993)
With the onslaught of Sara-and-patatas memes, it’s hard to forget the story of the daughter of a wealthy English family who ended up being orphaned and serving as a maid in her former school for rich girls. She is terrorized by her classmate Lavinia and Miss Michin but remains hopeful and compassionate.
10. Julio at Julia: Ang Kambal ng Tadhana (France; Les Jumeaux du Bout du Monde; 1994)
The story begins in Peking, China in 1895. Two children, Julio (a Chinese boy), and Julia (an English girl) are born, fulfilling the first part of a prophecy foretold by the soothsayer Laozi. Julio and Julia go on a journey to end the tyrannical rule of the Empress of China.
9. Magic Knight Rayearth (Japan; Majikku Naito Reiāsu; 1996)
While on a field trip, three teenage girls find themselves drawn to the world Cephiro. The girls, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, are prevented from returning to Tokyo unless they rescue Princess Emerald, from her abductor, the high priest and antagonist Zagato.
More animes from the 90s on the next page…
