The shonen demographic is the most popular in anime and manga, with some of the medium's most well-known and popular series falling under this umbrella. The 1990s was considered a golden age for shonen anime, and while the decade had plenty of memorable titles, others stood out for all the wrong reasons.
Fans will always vote on which series they think deserves credit and which they think deserves scorn. MyAnimeList is a great place to get an idea of how fans really feel about certain series. The fans were less than kind when it came to these 90s shonen anime.
9 Top Rated Anime on MAL (as of 2026)
What are the best anime according to MAL users?
1990: Violence Jack: Hell's Wind – 5.58
Go Nagai is known for pushing the saw and delivering some memorable, if shocking, streaks. However, as with many mangaka, adaptations of his work don't always get the treatment they deserve.
The third OVA adaptation of Nagai's manga, Violence Jack: Hellwind it's about as good as its predecessors, which isn't saying much. It's a sloppy, cheap-looking OVA that relies heavily on violence over any kind of narrative substance.
1991: The Abashiri Family – 29.5
Another adaptation of the Go Nagai series, The Abashiri family is much less well known than some of his more well-received works such as Devilman, Mazinger Z, and Cutie Honey. Studio Pierrot's 1991 OVA adaptation of the manga certainly did nothing for it.
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Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
While some enjoy the absurdity of the OVA, it doesn't really do a great job of adapting the source material. It might be an interesting series for die-hard Nagai fans, but as far as 90s OVAs go, it's one of those that gets forgotten.
1992: Black Lion – 5.72
Another Nagai adaptation, this time based on his Kuro no Shishi ninja manga, Black Lion is not as memorable as the OVA. Like many OVAs, being an incomplete adaptation really hurts because it only covers a small part of the manga and leaves too much on the table.
The OVA features decent action and the typical amount of gore common in Nagai's works, but the animation is nothing special compared to its contemporaries and there isn't much of a story to carry. It's basically just action and gore, which may appeal to some fans, but lacks substance to really draw you in.
1993: Magma Ambassador – 5.95
This is not a Nagai adaptation, but instead adapts one of the Fathers of Manga, the work of Osamu Tezuka. Like Nagai, Tezuka was a prolific mangaka with an extensive bibliography, and while some of his adaptations were great, others were less appealing.
Ambassador Magma isn't a particularly bad adaptation, but it isn't great either. While some enjoy it because it's nostalgic, the OVA series isn't much to write home about. It looks good for its time, but the animation quality won't wow you.
1994: Ninku: Tomb of the Knives – 5.87
Coming just before the much better received 1995 anime adaptation, Ninku: Grave of Knives it seems like a bit of an afterthought. The anime series has a great 90s aesthetic and is a fun watch, but Grave of Knives it comes out a little darker in tone.
Still, the OVA looks good and tells a decent enough story in the short 34 minute window it has. For whatever reason, MAL users haven't been too kind Grave of Knivesand while it's not the best OVA, there are certainly worse ones.
1995: Rakushou! Hyper Doll – 5.91
One of the many action comedies of the 90s, Rakushou! Hyper doll can be compared to Dirty Pair, but it's just not as strong a series. Like Dirty Pair, it features a chaotic duo of female leads, but unlike Kei and Yuri, Mew and Mica just didn't have that factor.
Fortunately, the series looks solid and captures the 90s vibe and aesthetic perfectly. The comedy works most of the time, but overall it's nothing special.
1996: Apocalypse Zero – 4.90
It's one of the lowest rated OVAs in decades on MAL. So what is it about? Apocalypse Zero that has over 5,000 users flagging it so off?
Apocalypse Zero is undoubtedly a strange series that can give anime fans a hard time. The over-the-top violence and horror-infused fan service might be enough to turn most away. Add to that the fact that its main cast isn't all that interesting and that nothing seems to pay off in the end, and you can see why some fans would be so hard on it.
1997: Wind of Victory – 5.47
Sports anime, especially classic sports anime, are some of the most popular series. So what happened to The Winds of Victory?
Well, there aren't that many reviews for it on the web, but the lone user who wrote one felt that the OVA was too short and didn't do much narratively. At 25 minutes, it's easy to see why some couldn't make it to the OVA. It's a pretty obscure series, so there's a lot to see there.
1998: Ganbare Goemon: Global Rescue Operation – 5.96
The Ganbare Goemon the games are definitely more popular in Japan than worldwide, and the series was popular enough to get some OVAs in the 90s.
It seems that not many anime fans watched it A worldwide rescue operationbut even with just 148 user ratings and no reviews, the OVA is just under a 6.0 rating. There's not much to explain why, but it's one of the lowest rated OVAs on MAL.
1999: Break-Age – 6.01
1999 was actually a pretty solid year for shonen Breakage it sits at the bottom with a respectable 6.01 rating. One of the many mecha anime that came out during the decade, Break-Age has an interesting premise, but it doesn't seem to have gained a following in the same way that other 90s mecha series such as Evangelion, Patlaboror Vision of Escaflown he did
Rather than focusing on the actual mechanics, Breakage focuses on virtual robots, with players customizing and piloting their own robo avatars. It's a unique twist on the genre, but being a one-episode OVA may have something to do with why it's not as well received as other series in the genre.
