Autumn 1980

Tomorrow's Joe 2

TV / 47 eps / Fall 1980 / Manga

Yabuki Joe is left downhearted and hopeless after a certain tragic event. In attempt to put the past behind him, Joe leaves the gym behind and begins wandering. On his travels he comes across the likes of Wolf Kanagushi and Goromaki Gondo, men who unintentionally fan the dying embers inside him, leading him to putting his wanderings to an end. His return home puts Joe back on the path to boxing, but unknown to himself and his trainer, he now suffers deep-set issues holding him back from fighting. In attempt to quell those issues, Carlos Rivera, a world renowned boxer is invited from Venezuela to help Joe recover.

Astro Boy (1980)

TV / 52 eps / Fall 1980 / Manga

Set in a future where machines have advanced to the point of autonomy and become a point of major contention in the political and social realms, Astro Boy (1980) chronicles the struggles of a crime-fighting young robot named Atom. Created in the image of his enigmatic inventor's deceased son, Atom survives rough beginnings, getting saved and adopted by the benevolent Dr. Ochanomizu. In his pursuit of justice, Atom finds himself in the midst of numerous clashes with various factions, and is often faced with the harsh realities of the world. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hoero Bunbun

TV / 39 eps / Fall 1980 / Manga

Bunbun, an abandoned puppy meets the old Big, also a stray dog. Bunbun will learn to survive in an hostile and strange world. (Source: manga-distribution.fr)

Kaibutsu-kun (1980)

TV / 94 eps / Fall 1980 / Unknown

Kaibutsu-kun and his companions, Dracula, Wolfman, and Franken, travel from Kaibutsu Land to the Human Realm, where they encounter and battle several monsters, mainly assassins from the demon group Demonish. (Source: Wikipedia)

Manga Kotowaja Jiten

TV / 88 eps / Fall 1980 / Unknown

An educational anime, each episode contains three short stories. (Source: AniDB)

Ojamanga Yamada-kun

TV / 103 eps / Fall 1980 / Unknown

TV anime adaptation of Hisaichi Ishii's comedy manga "Ojamanga Yamada-kun".

Star Fleet

TV / 25 eps / Fall 1980 / OTHER

In the last years of the third millennium, the solar system is recovering from a devastating interplanetary war. Suddenly, a new enemy arrives in the solar system, intent on destruction and conquest. Against them stands the Earth Defense Force and its top secret X Project. <br><br> (Source: Anime News Network)

The New Adventures of Gigantor

TV / 51 eps / Fall 1980 / Manga

Shotaro Kaneda is a young boy whose dead scientist father created the giant robot Tetsujin 28 after realizing the chances of attacks from outer galaxies. Shotaro has possession of the only controller, kept in an attaché case, which enables him to have direct command of the all mighty Tetsujin 28. If the controller goes into the hands of the enemy, this could lead Tetsujin 28 to fight for villains who want to destroy The Earth. Whenever peace in this world is threatened, Shotaro together with his friends, Dr. Shikishima, Detective Otsuka, must unleash the power of our metallic super hero. (Source: ANN)

Tondemo Senshi Muteking

TV / 56 eps / Fall 1980 / Original

Twelve-year-old Linn Youki loyally supported his father when the world laughed at the scientist for saying that Earth was about to be invaded from outer space. But Linn did not expect to become personally involved--until he met Takoro, the strange young "deputy sheriff" from another world who was on the trail of notorious space criminals. There were only four Kurodako Brothers, but they plotted to use their alien science and natural shape-changing powers to become the secret masters of Earth. With Takoro's help, Linn became the mighty super-hero, Muteking, to foil their schemes. There is plenty of action and laughs in this light-hearted comedy-drama about a roller-skating costumed hero, his friendly but bumbling alien partner, a gang of klutzy would-be world conquerors, a beautiful police chief, an obsessed scientist, a sarcastic dog, an officious flying saucer, and others. This unusual but appealing cast of characters will charm viewers' hearts while it amuses them. (Source: Official Website)

Star Blazers: The Bolar Wars

TV / 25 eps / Fall 1980 / Original

A stray missile from a confrontation between the Galman empire and the Bolar Federation crashes into the sun, turning it into a time bomb of radiation. The Star Force once again sets off into space, this time on a quest to look for a new world for the human race. (Source: ANN)

Space Runaway Ideon

TV / 39 eps / Spring 1980 / Original

Mankind has traveled to the stars and come across various alien civilizations, now long dead. Upon discovering the archaeological remains of such a civilization on the planet Solo, humanity finally has its first encounter with a living alien species: the Buff Clan. When Karala Ajiba, the daughter of the Buff Clan's military leader, sets foot on the surface of Solo, the Buff Clan launches a brutal assault on the colony to retrieve her. In order to escape, Cosmo Yuki, Kasha Imhof, and Bes Jordan climb aboard three trucks, which soon transform into the giant humanoid robot Ideon. When the settlement on Solo is destroyed, the survivors board a recently discovered spaceship—the Solo Ship—and flee, endeavoring to get away from the aliens and finally find peace. The relentless Buff Clan, however, is still in hot pursuit and will not give up so easily. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Doraemon

TV / 1787 eps / Spring 1979 / Manga

Nobita Nobi is a normal fourth grade student. This all changes, however, when a blue robotic cat appears from his desk drawer. Calling himself Doraemon, this robot tells Nobita that his future descendants from the 22nd century live in poverty because of all the mistakes he made. Therefore, they have sent Doraemon to serve as a guide and mentor to Nobita, so that their future may change for the better. What Doraemon comes to learn, though, is that Nobita is the weakest and laziest student in the whole school. To assist in his quest, Doraemon has a four-dimensional pocket with him, in which he keeps various machines and gadgets from the future. Unfortunately, these often result in even more trouble for Nobita. Will Doraemon really be able to achieve his mission of changing Nobita, or will he remain as he is? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Lupin the 3rd Part 2

TV / 155 eps / Fall 1977 / Manga

Lupin III chronicles the adventures of Arsene Lupin III, the world's greatest thief, and his partners in crime: master marksman Daisuke Jigen, beautiful and scheming Fujiko Mine and stoic samurai Goemon Ishikawa XIII. Lupin and his gang travel around the globe in search of the world's greatest treasures and riches and always keeping one step ahead of the tireless Inspector Zenigata, who has vowed to bring Lupin to justice. (Source: ANN)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

TV / 49 eps / Winter 1980 / Book

Tom Sawyer is a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River in the mid 1800s. Along with his best friend Huckleberry Finn, he spends his days ditching school, fishing, climbing trees and having adventures. (Source: ANN)

Ganbare Genki

TV / 35 eps / Summer 1980 / Manga

Horiguchi Genki was 5 years old boy. His mother died when he was born, and he was raised only by his father. His father, Shark Horiguchi, was a professional boxer, but he was ruined and become an itinerant boxer. However, Genki believed his father was strong and he would become a champion, and he had a dream to become a strong boxer as his father. After his father’s death, he was adopted by his grandparents. Although they opposed Genki boxing, Genki made up his mind to become a boxer, and he continued training secretly. Meeting with various people, for example, Teacher Ashikiwa who resembles his mother, Mishima who is a high school boxing champion, he made his way to be a boxer. (Source: AnimeNfo)

Galaxy Express 999

TV / 113 eps / Fall 1978 / Manga

In the distant future, humanity has found a way to live forever by purchasing mechanical bodies, but this way to immortality is extraordinarily expensive. An impoverished boy, Tetsurou Hoshino, desires to purchase a pass on the Galaxy Express 999—a train that travels throughout the universe—because it is said that at the end of the line, those aboard can obtain a mechanical body for free. When Tetsurou's mother is gunned down by the villainous machine-man hybrid Count Mecha, however, all seems lost. Tetsurou is then saved from certain death by the mysterious Maetel, a tall woman with blonde hair and a striking resemblance to his mother. She gives him a pass to the Galaxy Express under one condition: that they travel together. Thus, Tetsurou begins his journey across the universe to many unique planets and thrilling adventures, in hopes of being able to attain that which he most desires. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

The Affectuous Family

TV / 1428 eps / Fall 1976 / Unknown

Short comedic stories about events and the daily lives of the members of a large multi-generational family. (Source: AniDB)

Ikkyu the Little Monk

TV / 296 eps / Fall 1975 / Unknown

Ikkyu is a little boy training to be a monk at Ankokuji Temple. Known for being mischievous and a bit of a troublemaker, but also extremely smart, Ikkyu constantly thinks of new ways to outwit his frustrated teachers, helping others at the same time.

Kagee Grimm Douwa

TV / 52 eps / 1980 / Unknown

The 3rd arc of the Chiyotarou Kodomo Gekijou program that aired on TBS. Every episode is a different Brothers Grimm fairy tale told with shadow puppet animation.

Kirin Tomorrow's Calendar

TV / 1306 eps / Winter 1980 / Unknown

Mahou Shoujo Lalabel

TV / 49 eps / Winter 1980 / Original

Lalabel is a magical girl who arrives in the Human world to stop an evil wizard from stealing various magical objects or items. As a magical girl, she has a kitty for a companion and a magic wand. Coincidentally, she lands on the doorstep of the Tachibana couple and lives in with them during her stay in the human world. She attends the local school and begins to learn about the different things in the human world. (Source: ANN)

Manga Hajimete Monogatari

TV / 305 eps / Spring 1978 / Unknown

An educational program for children featuring various historical events, showing both animation and live action footage. A reoccurring "older sister" and the pink mole Mogutan, will take you on a journey through time.

Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi (1976)

TV / 1471 eps / Winter 1976 / Unknown

An omnibus-format TV series consisting of anime adaptations of Japanese folk tales, this is one of Japan's longest-running TV series, and Group Tac's second TV series (the first was The Road to Munich, a documentary anime about the 1972 Olympics). The governing rule of the series was that the creative staff change from episode to episode. While later other anime series like Nippon Animation's Famous Works of Japanese Literature would attempt the same, none would be as long-lived or successful. The rotation idea was that of director Sugii Gisaburo, a visual visionary unequaled in Japanese film history who has revolutionized anime several times in his career, be it in the 1967 TV series Goku's Big Adventure, in which he sought to shake anime free from the dominance of story development by yanking it back to a more cartoonish form, or The Belladonna of Sadness, where he broke the Disney full-animation mold, creating a full-length animated film in a completely new style that was a hybrid of still drawings and animation. The reason for rotating the staff each episode was so that each episode would have a completely different look and feel from its predecessor, and in this it was eminently successful. This is a series that is genuinely rewarding to watch, and is visually one of the richest in anime history. While this system also meant that quality varied, there were also occasionally superb episodes, as on the staff were many veterans like Group Tac founder SUGII Gisaburo himself, SHIBAYAMA Tsutomu, FURUZAWA Hideo, RIN Taro, and HIKONE Norio. Old episodes started being repeated more and more frequently as the years went on, and production of new episodes finally ceased completely in late 1995, but the series is still widely broadcast. (Source: Pelleas)

Invincible Robo Trider G7

TV / 50 eps / Winter 1980 / Original

Takeo Watta inherits a company upon his father's death. The company focuses on space travel, and the transformable robot Trider-G7 is their greatest creation. When an evil space organization lead by Lord Zakuron starts attacking Earth, Watta has to use Trider in a more combat-oriented way. (Source: ANN)

Wonderful Adventures of Nils

TV / 52 eps / Winter 1980 / Novel

Nils Holgersson is a young boy on a farm who is cruel to the animals. But when he catches the farm's little goblin it becomes one prank too many. He is magically shrunk and suddenly the farm animals are out for revenge. He flees on the back of the goose Morten and they join up with a flock of wild geese. Together they travel all over Sweden, with Nils hoping to find a way to become big again. (Source: ANN)

にんぎょうげき

TV_SHORT / 510 eps / Spring 1956 / OTHER

Puppet-animated show made for elementary school students in the lower grades with the aim of teaching children life lessons and morals while also nurturing healthy imagination. It adapts a wide array of stories; originating from foreign folktales, comtemporary fairytales and classic books.<br> The name originally was Puppet Show (人形劇) but in 1966 it was changed to "Ningyougeki" in hiragana.

Mrs. Sazae

TV / Fall 1969 / 4-koma manga

The main character is a mother named Sazae-san. She lives in a house with her husband, her kids and her parents. The show is the ultimate family program and tends to follow traditional themes. Think of this show as the Japanese equivalent to "The Partridge Family" and you'll get a good feel for this show's atmosphere. Don't expect to see things like violence, swearing, kung-fu action or magical girls. The plots are more like "Today, Sazae-san goes to the new mall and gets lost". Such "boring" plotlines and the simplistic art are often a turn-off to non-Japanese audiences, but most Japanese find the show incredibly good. As a result, it continues to be one of the top ratings grabbers on TV and is one of the few anime that is considered "acceptable" by adults. (Source: AniDB)

Sue Cat

TV / 40 eps / Summer 1980 / Other

After an accident, the amnesiac Sue was taken in to live with Torao's family. She always had the urge to become a singer, but didn't know why. As it turns out, Sue is actually part of a band formed with her two twin sisters. But Sue's climb to the top of the charts is a long and hard way. (Source: AniDB)

Time Bokan Series: Time Patroltai Otasukeman

TV / 53 eps / Winter 1980 / Unknown

Burning with ambitions to become the most beautiful woman, the most renowned scientist, and the greatest hero the world has ever known, three villains, Atasha, Sekobitchi and Duwarusuki, unite. The trio are Time Patrollers, the keepers and protectors of the annals of history. But, this is only a cover for the trio, as the villains are league with a nefarious leader, who is trying to alter the course of history to suit his desires, and, under his instructions, the trio travel in time with the aim of tampering with recorded history. Only Hikaru and Nana, disguised as the Otasukemen, stand between the villains and their goals. (Source: Wikipedia)

Gordian Warrior

TV / 73 eps / Fall 1979 / Original

The Earth had become a wasteland of deserts as the survivors work to rebuild communities. Daigo Otaki is a young orphan raised by his uncle. Becoming an adult, Daigo discovers that Victor City was in fact planned by his father who was a genius scientist. Daigo's sister Saori had been managing it. She plead Daigo to take on the inheritance that Daigo's father left him, a super robot system known as Gordian. Daigo would join the Mechacon mechanic combat 18th regiment unit, an organization of law enforcers that defend Victor City against attacks from the Madokuta organization. (Source: Gordian Warrior, Wikipedia)

Sanpei the Fisherman

TV / 109 eps / Spring 1980 / Manga

Mihira Sanpei talks with a Tohou accent and is a down-to-earth boy with a cheerful and optimistic personality. However, when it comes to fishing, he becomes very serious and is a youth who enjoys fishing more than anything else. The village where he lives in is a natural environment which provides different kinds of fishing challenges. Despite his lack of experience, Sanpei has a first-rate sense with regards to fishing and decides to maxmise his potential by entering into different fishing contests. As he faces various challenges, he learns to solve difficult problems and learn from his mistakes to the extent that he is able to fish anything out of the waters. Along the way, he encounters all kinds of rivals and companions who increase his experience points and help him in his growth. (Source: ANN)

Space Warrior Baldios

TV / 34 eps / Summer 1980 / Original

After polluting their own planet beyond repair, a race of evil aliens target earth as their next home. Now it is up to a lone outcast and his robotic spacecraft, Baldios, to defend earth. But, first he must convince the distrusting human population of the impending danger. (Source: ANN)

Space Emperor God Sigma

TV / 50 eps / Spring 1980 / Unknown

The story is set in the year 2050 AD, and mankind has been steadily advancing its space technology. However, the planet is suddenly set upon by a mysterious enemy: the forces of Eldar, who came from 250 years in the future. In their time, 2300 AD, their planet Eldar was invaded by Earth, and soundly defeated by Earth's Trinity Energy, a mysterious energy used in their weaponry that possesses power many times that of a hydrogen bomb. The Eldar people's objective is to steal this Trinity Energy before it can be used against them. The Eldar forces begin by taking over Jupiter's moon Io, one of the places humanity has immigrated to by then. After that, they begin to attack Trinity City with their legions of Cosmosauruses in order to steal the Trinity Energy. Toshiya and his friends use God Sigma to protect the planet and the Trinity Energy, and the battle evolves into a long war to retake Io. (Source: Wikipedia)

Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!! Aa Tsuppari Jinsei

Movie / 1 eps / Fall 1980 / 4-koma manga

Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Galaxy

Movie / 1 eps / Fall 1980 / Unknown

The cyborgs are no longer on duty, they live normal lives until a mysterious space ship lands on earth. The only survivor on the ship warns about an evil conqueror called Zoa that wants to conquer the universe, which means the cyborgs are back in action... (Source: ANN)

Galaxy Express 999: Can You Love Like a Mother?!!

TV Special / 1 eps / Fall 1980 / Manga

A remake of episodes 51-52 of the TV version.

Nijuushi no Hitomi

TV Special / 1 eps / Fall 1980 / Novel

Based on the book by Tsuboi Sakae, which drew on her involvement in Japan's anarchist counterculture and opposition to Korean War rearmament. Combined live action (handled by Akio Jissoji) and animation (handled by Shigetsugu Yoshida). Released as a TV special. (Source: AniDB)