The 7 Most Unwatched Shonen Anime of the 90s, Ranked

The 90s was a golden age for anime. For years, especially at the beginning and middle of the decade, series aired that proved to be timeless classics. Dragon Ball, Ranma ½, Captain Tsubasaand even Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai were enlightened classics. For those new to watching anime, these were years they will never forget. And their popularity was so huge that they went beyond Japan and onto television screens all over the West.

However, in the shadow of these great successes were shonen anime that came and went without much fanfare. Some of them became complete flops, others were simply forgotten. They failed because of uninteresting stories, poor concepts, or because while they were fun in manga format, they couldn't transfer their charm to television. The anime shows we picked are the worst and most unwatchable that the shonen genre produced in the 1990s.

Ninku

• Year: 1995-1996

• Episodes: 55

One of the biggest disappointments of the 90s, Ninku proved that not all Shonen Jump manga can become instant TV hits. Ninku ran for 55 episodes and was produced in collaboration with two big names in the industry: Studio Pierrot and Fuji Television. But despite the talent of its creators, the problem with Ninku was that it wasn't a shonen anime that made an impact. In a decade dominated by some of the best shonen series, Ninku soon.

Ninku featured a young hero with great powers and wind powers traveling with his friends to stop a dangerous organization. He was accompanied by other allies with great abilities, guaranteeing intense battles. But the character was poorly developed, lacked charisma and did not reach the necessary level of popularity. His proposal, which looked good on paper as a shonen manga, was not well received on television. In her defense, she had a sequel and still has fans today. But if you try to watch it now, you'll see how outdated compared to the great shonen anime of the decade.

Eat-Man

In 1997, the world of anime changed. The decade was ending and television networks like TV Tokyo were looking for more mature shonen anime. Studio DEEN was commissioned to adapt Akihito Yoshitomi's manga Eat-Manwho celebrated success in Dengeki Comic Gao! magazine, to anime. And while the idea seemed very promising, the anime became one of the biggest flops of the decade.

While the manga reached a total of 27 episodes, the anime, at least initially, lasted only 12 episodes. The reason was the poor reception from the fans. The anime adaptation aimed to be so mature that it lost all elements of interest. It was no longer a series with as much imagination as the manga, and its hero was flat and boring. Fans could not understand how such a disaster could happen.

IN Eat-Manthe main character is Bolt Crank, an explorer who travels the world and holds various jobs. His power, the thing that makes him special, is the ability to swallow anything and then regenerate it from his body. The concept was appealing, but the anime is particularly boring.

Sakon, a ventriloquist

• Year: 1999-2000

• Episodes: 26

Almost at the end of 1999 Sakon, a ventriloquist premiered. Produced by TMS Entertainment, it aimed to try something new: a hero who solves crimes with his puppet. The manga, published in Shonen Jump magazine, also failed to engage readers, mainly due to lack of interest in the main characters and the way the crimes were solved.

The hero Sakon Tachibana is always accompanied by Ukon, his puppet that was created 100 years ago. When Sakon uses the puppet, it seems to come to life and have a personality of its own. Together, they solve crimes that span multiple chapters, making it hard to get invested in the story. The methods used to solve crimes are also unimaginative and uninteresting, hardly competing with soap operas detective conan (case closed). It only had 26 episodes and you could say it was a victory considering the manga only had 4 volumes.

King of the Jungle Tar-chan

• Year: 1993-1994

• Episodes: 50

It premiered in 1993 and ran until 1994, reaching a total of 50 episodes. Produced by Group TAC and directed by Hitoshi Nanba, it was an adaptation of Masaya Tokuhiro's manga. It was published in Weekly Shonen Jump and ran for 27 volumes. However, his humor did not find the same success on television.

King of the Jungle Tar-chan features a parody version of Tarzan with superhuman strength, superhuman reflexes, and other special abilities. In his daily life, he tries to keep the peace in Savannah, even if it means fighting. He shares his life with Jane and all kinds of animals because, like a true Tarzan, he was raised by them. Aside from fighting, Tarzan likes women and his attitude towards them is controversial to say the least. Today it is an anime that has aged very badly. Unlike Bobo-boo Bobo-boboit doesn't have a good rhythm, its humor doesn't connect, and the animation lacks charm. It is far from being one of the best shonen comedy anime.

Wild Cardz

• Year: 1997

• Episodes: 2 (OVA)

Wild Cardzin Japan known as Jaja-uma Quartetwas one of the strangest projects of the 90s. Produced by BMG Victor, the anime, released as two OVAs, combined characters typical of magical girl anime with a shonen plot and intense action style. Fans of the original manga and viewers unfamiliar with it failed to engage with it.

With only two episodes, it was an anime that failed to connect with its target audience. His story features crown knights who must defend the kingdom of cards. It does so through action packed battles where the story and dialogue fade away. The writers seemed rushed as plot development is practically non-existent. There is nothing to cause this Wild Cardz unique anime; on the contrary, it seems too general and lacks individuality. It went unnoticed in the 1990s and has since been forgotten.

Super Yo-Yo

• Year: 1998-1999

• Episodes: 22

Also known as Chosoku Spinner in Japan, this anime is dedicated to the world of the yo-yo, one of the oldest toys in history. The original idea came from Takashi Hashiguchi, who published his manga in CoroCoro Comic magazine from 1997 to 2000. The anime premiered in 1998 and had only 22 episodes, produced by Studio Xebec. It was not a success in Japan or the few countries where it aired, such as Singapore.

The idea paved the way for other similar anime inspired by old toys. in 2001 Beyblade achieved tremendous success which Super Yo-Yo was never achieved. This was partly because the story did not generate enough interest and even its main character lacked charisma. The hero, known as Shun'ichi Domoto, is a sporty boy who joins yo-yo games to help a friend. After suffering an unexpected defeat, he becomes interested in the yo-yo and enters a big tournament in search of victory. But his story had no impact and yo-ya sales didn't skyrocket.

Apocalypse Zero

• Year: 1996

• Episodes: 2 (OVA)

Apocalypse Zero it is considered a shonen anime but is questionable and not recommended for children or even young adults. It's a series that opts for extreme violence to attract viewers and features a grotesque visual style. Today, this style is somewhere between ridiculous and annoying. Released as a two-episode OVA, the results were apparently so poor that the remaining eight episodes were canceled. To this day, the reason for the cancellation has never been explained, although those who watched the anime probably have an inkling.

The manga was published in the magazine Weekly Shonen Champion and even today people are trying to understand why such a grotesque anime was created. The story features a young man trained to use his special powers and armor to fight all kinds of monsters. The world is in a post-apocalyptic state and his fight is the last hope. The plot was interesting and this helped the manga to run for 11 volumes. But the anime, produced by Ashi Productions, is remembered as one of the biggest disasters of 1996.