Summer 1996

KochiKame

TV / 373 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

Ryoutsu, being an underpaid policeman, is always coming up with underhanded schemes in order to make a quick buck. But in the end, his plans (which are ridiculous to begin with) always go wrong and land him in big trouble with the chief.

Baby and Me

TV / 35 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

Takuya Enoki is living a difficult life for a fifth grader. His mother passed away in a tragic car accident a few months ago, forcing him to pick up the slack and take care of his baby brother, Minoru, as his father works the endless hours typical of a Japanese salaryman. He will have to sacrifice his childhood in order to meet the needs of his little brother. Cooking, cleaning, worrying, and trying to discipline Minoru are some of the tasks Takuya will have on his plate, all while their neighbors blame him for Minoru’s constant crying. Meanwhile, he will watch as his friends live their carefree lives, enjoying their free time. It will not be easy and there will be plenty of stumbling blocks, but along the way, he may actually learn the true meaning of family.

Fly High

TV / 30 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

First-year high school student Fujimaki Shun has a dream of becoming an olympic gold medalist as a gymnast. Having no previous training, Shun trusts his passion, boldly joins the gymnastics club, and sets out to pursue his goal. Along the way, he meets his share of entertaining and supportive upper classmen, develops a romantic interest in his classmate, and learns about the happiness involved in devoting yourself to a sport.

Harimogu Harry

TV / 140 eps / Summer 1996 / Original

Story of Harry and his animal friends going to a school.

Shin Chan

TV / Spring 1992 / Manga

There is no such thing as an uneventful day in the life of kindergartener Shinnosuke "Shin-chan" Nohara. The five-year-old is a cut above the most troublesome, perverted, and shameless kid one can imagine. Shin-chan is almost always engaged in questionable activities such as forgetting about a friend during hide and seek, sumo wrestling for love, performing various gags including the notorious "elephant" in public, and flirting with college girls. The exemplary troublemaker has done it all and has no plans to stop anytime soon. Crayon Shin-chan follows the daily shenanigans of Shin-chan with his group of friends, parading around as the self-proclaimed "Kasukabe Defense Force." The adults witnessing these shenanigans unfold can't help but adore Shin-chan, as he keeps them entertained while unintentionally solving their daily troubles through his mindless antics—leaving himself as the only problem they do not know what to do with. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Case Closed

TV / Winter 1996 / Manga

Shinichi Kudou, a high school student of astounding talent in detective work, is well known for having solved several challenging cases. One day, when Shinichi spots two suspicious men and decides to follow them, he inadvertently becomes witness to a disturbing illegal activity. Unfortunately, he is caught in the act, so the men dose him with an experimental drug formulated by their criminal organization, leaving him to his death. However, to his own astonishment, Shinichi lives to see another day, but now in the body of a seven-year-old child. Perfectly preserving his original intelligence, he hides his real identity from everyone, including his childhood friend Ran Mouri and her father, private detective Kogorou Mouri. To this end, he takes on the alias of Conan Edogawa, inspired by the mystery writers Arthur Conan Doyle and Ranpo Edogawa. Shinichi, as Conan, starts secretly solving the senior Mouri's cases from behind the scenes with his still exceptional sleuthing skills, while covertly investigating the organization responsible for his current state, hoping to reverse the drug's effects someday. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Dragon Ball GT

TV / 64 eps / Winter 1996 / Manga

Emperor Pilaf finally has his hands on the Black Star Dragon Balls after years of searching, which are said to be twice as powerful as Earth's normal ones. Pilaf is about to make his wish for world domination when he is interrupted by Gokuu Son. As a result, Pilaf flubs his wish and accidentally turns Gokuu back into a child. After the wish is granted, the Black Star Dragon Balls scatter across the galaxy. However, Gokuu discovers that they will cause the Earth to explode unless they are all brought back within a year. Uniting with his granddaughter Pan and a young adult Trunks, Gokuu sets off on an adventure through the universe to find the Black Star Dragon Balls and save his planet from destruction. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Rurouni Kenshin

TV / 94 eps / Winter 1996 / Manga

In the final years of the Bakumatsu era lived a legendary assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai. Feared as a merciless killer, he was unmatched throughout the country, but mysteriously disappeared at the peak of the Japanese Revolution. It has been ten peaceful years since then, but the very mention of Battousai still strikes terror into the hearts of war veterans. Unbeknownst to them, Battousai has abandoned his bloodstained lifestyle in an effort to repent for his sins, now living as Kenshin Himura, a wandering swordsman with a cheerful attitude and a strong will. Vowing never to kill again, Kenshin dedicates himself to protecting the weak. One day, he stumbles across Kaoru Kamiya at her kendo dojo, which is being threatened by an impostor claiming to be Battousai. After receiving help from Kenshin, Kaoru allows him to stay at the dojo, and so the former assassin temporarily ceases his travels. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan tells the story of Kenshin as he strives to save those in need of saving. However, as enemies from both past and present begin to emerge, will the reformed killer be able to uphold his new ideals? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sore Ike! Anpanman

TV / Fall 1988 / Picture book

One night, a Star of Life falls down the chimney of a bakery nestled deep in the forest, causing the dough in the oven to come to life. The dough becomes Anpanman, a superhero made of anpan (a sweet roll with bean jam filling). Together with his friends, Anpanman fights his rival Baikinman and helps the malnourished. (Source: ANN)

Mysterious Thief Saint Tail

TV / 43 eps / Fall 1995 / Manga

Meimi Haneoka, 14, is a normal girl during the daytime, but during the night, she assumes the "position" of Saint Tail, a modern-day Robin Hood who steals from thieves and gives items back to their original owners. She is aided by her friend, Seira Mimori, a nun-in-training, and she is chased by her classmate (and soon-to-be love interest), Daiki Asuka (often called "Asuka Jr."). (Source: ANN)

After War Gundam X

TV / 39 eps / Spring 1996 / Original

When one space colony declared its independence from the Earth Federation, the devastating 7th Space War, an all-out war between Earth and space, resulted. The Federation responded to the Space Revolutionary Army with mobile suits, called Gundams. However, the Space Revolutionary forces played their trump card and dropped hundreds of space colonies onto the Earth, plunging the planet into a seven-year-long nuclear winter. The Federation collapsed, but the Space Revolutionary Army was unable to invade the Earth in the aftermath of the colony drop. Fifteen years have passed. The year is now After War 0015, and a New Federation has sprung up on Earth to restore order. In space, the colonial leaders have been rebuilding their own forces as well. By chance, fifteen-year-old Garrod Ran has discovered an old Federation mobile suit, the Gundam X, and now he uses it to help out the Vulture ship Freeden in its struggle to keep the powers that be from repeating the mistakes of the past.

Azuki-chan

TV / 117 eps / Spring 1995 / Manga

Azusa Noyama is a 12-year-old girl student, taking 5th grade, but everyone knows her as Azuki-Chan, nickname that she dislikes. Yuunosuke Ogasawara, a new student, asks her about her nickname, saying that he likes it. Azuki falls in love with him, and they start going out together. They share a diary, and become boyfriend and girlfriend. (Source: ANN)

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]

Alice Tantei Kyoku

TV / 56 eps / Spring 1995 / Original

B't X

TV / 25 eps / Spring 1996 / Manga

Teppei is going to visit his older brother Kotaro Takamiya during a scientific conference after training with a mysterious woman named Karen for the past 11 years. However his plans for a family reunion become stalled when a woman named Aramis kills everyone in the conference to kidnap Kotaro. Teppei on the way to save his brother encounters a broken mechanical horse called B't X who revives thanks to Teppei's blood and is now his aide to save his brother from the mysterious Machine Empire.

Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go

TV / 51 eps / Winter 1996 / Manga

Based on the manga by Tetsuhiro Koshita, Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!! has two main seasons evolving around the Go brothers and the TRF Victorys. The third season, Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!! MAX evolves more around two new main characters, but the primary idea is the same... Racing! Let's & Go!! focuses on Retsu and Go Seiba, two young brothers who receive racing cars called "Mini 4WD" by Dr. Tsuchia. From there on, the series portraits those two boys, training and customizing parts to later on participate on Japans Cup, where all of Japan's racers enter to be the best of the best!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars

TV / 34 eps / Spring 1996 / Manga

Like the R Season, Sailor Stars is divided into two parts: The first part resolves some conflicts from the SuperS season, and sees the return of the Outer Senshi, Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru (now reborn as a child). In the second part Usagi bids farewell to Mamoru, who is going to America to study. At the same time, the Three Lights apper, an idol trio consisting of three boys, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten. The new enemy is Galaxia, a woman who desires to rule the entire galaxy by collecting the Star Seeds of humans. Three new Senshi appear, the Sailor Starlights, who have their own reasons to stop Galaxia, but without Sailor Moon's help.

Little Miss Maruko

TV / Winter 1995 / Manga

Momoko Sakura is an elementary school student who likes popular idol Momoe Yamaguchi and mangas. She is often called "Chibi Maruko-chan" due to her young age and small size. She lives together with her parents, her grandparents and her elder sister in a little town. In school, she has many friends with whom she studies and plays together everyday, including her close pal, Tama-chan; the student committee members, Maruo-kun and Migiwa-san; and the B-class trio: 'little master' Hanawa-kun, Hamaji-Bu Taro and Sekiguchi-kun. This is a fun-loving and enjoyable anime that portrays the simple things in life. (Source: ANN)

The Story of Cinderella

TV / 26 eps / Spring 1996 / Other

Cinderella is the daughter of a wealthy duke who has remarried to provide her with a mother and sisters. When the Duke travels abroad, Cinderella discovers that her new family is anything but a family. With spoiled stepsisters and a harsh stepmother, Cindrella is forced to cook, clean and manage the household. Yet she remains cheerful, gentle and kind to her family, to her animal friends and to a mysterious boy, named Charles, who seems to have a connection with the prince of Emerald Castle. A whole new story on a classic fairytale. When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother. (Source: ANN)

Datou Er Zi He Xiao Tou Baba

TV / 156 eps / 1995 / Unknown

Duchiwa Ppukku

TV / 26 eps / Winter 1996 / Unknown

Fushigi na Ano Ko wa Suteki na Kono Ko

TV / 154 eps / Spring 1994 / Unknown

An NHK toddler's anime following animals and their adventures.

Spooky Kitaro

TV / 114 eps / Winter 1996 / Manga

Kitarou, a ghost, spends his afterlife helping humans in need of his skills. He thwarts the plans of evil spirits who live to torment humanity. This time, Kitarou's friend Megumi is in need of his help. Her father, a botanist, went to Baruru Island to study the plant life there, and was subsequently kidnapped by evil spirits. It's up to Kitarou to save him. (Source: Animenfo)

Neighborhood Stories

TV / 50 eps / Fall 1995 / Manga

Mikako Kouda is a 16-year-old girl whose sole ambition is to establish her own clothing brand. To this end, she attends the renowned Yazawa Art School alongside her childhood friend Tsutomu Yamaguchi. Although the people around them interpret their closeness and constant bickering as signs of budding love, both Mikako and Tsutomu deny it, as they cannot see each other as anything but friends. However, everything changes when Tsutomu starts to resemble Ken Nakagawa—the vocalist of the popular group Manbou—and gains popularity among girls. Suddenly, the childhood friends find themselves wondering about the meaning of love, friendship, and the true nature of their relationship. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Haier Brothers

TV / 212 eps / 1995 / Original

Hajime Ningen Gon

TV / 39 eps / Spring 1996 / Manga

A remake of Hajime Ningen Gyatoruz. Each episode contains three stories.

Ijiwaru Baasan (1996)

TV / 46 eps / Spring 1996 / Unknown

Grandma is a nasty and manipulative thing most of the time, causing endless trouble for her son-in-law and daughter, her grandchildren, and her neighbours. (Source: ANN)

Hell Teacher Nube

TV / 49 eps / Spring 1996 / Manga

Nube is a clumsy, easygoing, and very kind teacher, but he has a secret under his glove on the left hand. He has a monster hand, and he also has the ability to sense ghosts and evil spirits. So he protects his dear students from these evil spirits with his monster hand, proving to be very powerful. (Source: ANN)

The Magnificent Zorro

TV / 52 eps / Spring 1996 / Novel

Diego Vega returns from his study trip to discover his homeland is under the army's dictatorship. Diego, refusing to watch idly, disguises himself as Zorro to protect the weak and oppressed. Diego is not a coward but he is unable to win the affections of his sweetheart, Lolita, who is attracted to other more noble men. Diego serenades Lolita as Zorro and fights the evils of his homeland, hoping to capture her heart.

Kodocha

TV / 102 eps / Spring 1996 / Manga

Sixth grader Sana Kurata has a perfect life. Her mother is a (fairly) successful author, she has a young man employed to keep her happy and safe, and best of all, she is the star of the children's television show Kodomo no Omocha. There's just one thing bothering her, and that's Akito Hayama. Akito is a classmate of Sana's, and ever since he's started acting out in class, the rest of the boys have followed his example. Every day, the girls and the teacher wage a battle to keep the class under control and to get some actual learning done. That rotten Akito… Sana won't stand for this! The hyperactive Sana decides to dig deeper and find out what makes Akito tick, so class can go back to normal and the teacher can stop spending every day crying instead of teaching. But the more she learns about him, the more she realizes that there might be more to Akito than meets the eye.

The Little Bear

TV / 63 eps / 1987 / Original

Clever Raccoon Dog is a North Korean animated television series produced by SEK Studio which aired on North Korean state television. The series was produced for a number of years and features both old and new animation style, depending on the production year of each episode. The series focuses on three main characters: A raccoon dog, A male bear and A female cat, often involved in minor adventures or incidents. Each episode has a scholastic element or a particular message, focusing on matters as scientific information, road safety, commitment to sport and contests, among others. (Source: Wikipedia)

Mama Loves the Poyopoyo-Saurus

TV / 52 eps / Fall 1995 / Manga

This is the story of a young couple who struggle with their children. Miki is the mother of two kids, Hyoga and Jura. Hyoga is a 4-year-old boy and Jura is a 2-year-old girl. Miki writes children's books at home. Miki wants to be a gentle and kind mother, but it is difficult to be patient with the kids. Her husband Gendai tries to be as cooperative as he can and helps her to attend to the kids. But sometimes he only makes her even angrier. (Source: animenfo)

Famous Dog Lassie

TV / 25 eps / Winter 1996 / Novel

John is a cheerful and energetic young boy, who lives in a small coal-mining town in England. One day he finds a small dog lost in a flock of sheep. John takes her back home and names the puppy Lassie. Soon they become good friends, just like real siblings. Lassie is a very lovely and smart dog, so everyone in the town loves her very much. But their happy life doesn't last long. Suddenly a coal-mine owner closes his company because there is no more coal left in the coal mine. John goes to meet the coal-mine owner to request a further investigation. The owner accepts John's request, but in exchange for that, he takes Lassie to Scotland. Priscilla, the owner's granddaughter and also John's friend, cannot just stand by and let Lassie suffer in a cage. She opens the cage and sets Lassie free. Lassie sets out on a very long and hard journey from Scotland to her hometown. (Source: AnimeNfo)

Green Makibao

TV / 61 eps / Spring 1996 / Manga

Midori Makibao is a small white racehorse. Compared to other thoroughbred horses, he looks more like a donkey with wide nostrils; however, with his guts and speed as his weapon, Makibao wins in every big race. In the beginning of his career, Makibao had a trouble making his debut as a racehorse, because of his appearance and various disadvantages he had. But Makibao had reasons to overcome his difficulties; there was a lifelong rival horse called Superhorse Cascade, that Makibao needed to defeat. Plus, he was determined to win back his mother, a horse that had been taken away for pay back the debt on the farm. There are many hardships that Makibao has to overcome, but he thrives in the series of races to become a great racehorse. (Source: pierrot.jp)

Mizuiro Jidai

TV / 47 eps / Spring 1996 / Manga

Yuuko is a shy middle school girl who has feelings for her childhood friend, the boy next door. When she finds out that her best friend also likes him, she is unsure what to do. The story explores the relationships between these three characters as they confront everyday junior high problems. (Source: ANN)

Mojakou

TV / 74 eps / Fall 1995 / Manga

Sorao is an ordinary student who lives an ordinary everyday life of a typical kid, accidentally makes friends with two aliens stranded here on Earth. His life changes as he decides to help them find a way to get home. When they do reach the aliens' homeworld, Sorao along with Miki, discovered a blood feud between two different tribes. Things gone awry as the tribes' representatives try to out do one another in search of the missing treasure of the past with the help of an uncovered clue. (Source: ANN)

The Flying Superboard

TV / 54 eps / Summer 1990 / Manga

As a punishment for causing havoc in Heaven, Sonogong is locked in a huge iron mass for 500 years until Samjang Bupsa, an old priest embarking on a mission to rid the world of evil and spread peace throughout the land, rescues him. Sonogong becomes Samjang's disciple. He meets Saojung who enviously eyes Sonogong's amazing Superboard, and a brute swine oil seller Jopalgye. After several twists and turns, they join on Samjang's journey. Wherever they go, they meet overwhelming enemies and get into trouble. But they don't get frustrated and find ingenious way to defeat monsters. (Source: AniDB)

Ninjaboy Rantaro

TV / Spring 1993 / Manga

Taking place in the Sengoku Period, Rantarou, Kirimaru and Shinbei are young students at Ninjutsu Academy, a school that teaches all kinds of youth how to become ninjas. Known as "Nintamas" (a contraction of ninja + tama [egg]), the main trio, and many other students at the school, must learn all sorts of unique skills to achieve their goal. Unfortunately, things aren't that simple, since our protagonists constantly find themselves failing their classes. With strict ninja teachers such as Doi-sensei and Yamada-sensei, the mischievous girls from the Kunoichi class, an entire crew of pirates and dozens more interesting characters, anything can happen in the crazy world of Nintama. The episodes are 7 minutes and thirty seconds long each, and each season (which there's currently 29 of) usually has a range of 60-90 episodes.

Oyako Club

TV / 1818 eps / Fall 1994 / Original

This anime was running almost 20 years and has over 1800 episodes.

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)

Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirou

TV / 726 eps / Winter 1994 / Original

Shimajiro, a preschool-aged tiger boy, has adventures with his friends Mimirin, Ramurin, Nyakki, and Toriipi on Challenge Island.

Shounen Santa no Daibouken!

TV / 24 eps / Spring 1996 / Novel

Based on L. Frank Baum' novel: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.

Slayers Next

TV / 26 eps / Spring 1996 / Light novel

In the kingdom of Xoana, Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev unexpectedly come across their old companions, Zelgadis Graywords and Princess Ameilia Wil Tesla Saillune. Upon their reunion, the friends end up easily foiling the King of Xoana and his daughter's dastardly plans of world conquest. Soon after, it is revealed that Zelgadis is in search of the world's most valuable magical tome, the Claire Bible, hoping to discover a method to recover his human body among the many secrets sheltered within it. Despite his protests, the rest of the group decides to join in the quest after hearing of his mission. However, just when they were wondering where to start looking for the legendary book, they stumble upon a mysterious priest by the name of Xellos, who claims that he may be of some help in their pursuit. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Boy General

TV / 50 eps / 1982 / Other

The brave young warrior Seo-Me defeats the SeoGuk invaders. After defeating Hobi, Seo-Me and his comrades return home. Meanwhile Hobi survived after falling and some people rescued him out.

The Adventure of Stray Sheep

TV / 13 eps / Winter 1995 / Original

The Vision of Escaflowne

TV / 26 eps / Spring 1996 / Original

Hitomi Kanzaki is just an ordinary 15-year-old schoolgirl with an interest in tarot cards and fortune telling, but one night, a boy named Van Fanel suddenly appears from the sky along with a vicious dragon. Thanks to a premonition from Hitomi, Van successfully kills the dragon, but a pillar of light appears and envelopes them both. As a result, Hitomi finds herself transported to the world of Gaea, a mysterious land where the Earth hangs in the sky. In this new land, Hitomi soon discovers that Van is a prince of the Kingdom of Fanelia, which soon falls under attack by the evil empire of Zaibach. In an attempt to fight them off, Van boards his family's ancient guymelef Escaflowne—a mechanized battle suit—but fails to defeat them, and Fanelia ends up destroyed. Now on the run, Hitomi and Van encounter a handsome Asturian knight named Allen Schezar, whom Hitomi is shocked to find looks exactly like her crush from Earth. With some new allies on their side, Van and Hitomi fight back against the forces of Zaibach as the empire strives to revive an ancient power. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

VS Knight Lamune & 40 Fire

TV / 26 eps / Spring 1996 / Original

Baba Lamunade is followed home by two strange peddler girls who give him a CD-rom game. After he beats "The Legend of Lamuness", the girls come out of his computer and bring him to DokiDoki Space. He is the third descendant of the hero Lamuness who must stop Don Genosai from resurrecting the great evil Abraham. Accompanied by PQ, his advisor robot, and Parfait and Cacao, he must pilot the Kaizer Fire mecha. However, he needs another pilot, and Da Cider is chosen as the second pilot. (Source: ANN)

Brave Command Dagwon

TV / 48 eps / Winter 1996 / Original

A huge space monster appeared in a city and began to destroy the city. People were escaping with screaming. Among them, there were five high school students, En, Kai, Shin, Yoku, and Ryu. However, they failed to escape, and they rushed into a patrol car parked nearby. The monster was approaching to them. When they began to accept their death, the patrol car glowed blue white and disappeared into a mysterious space carrying them. When they were astonished, it was an alien that appeared in front of them. He was a Bravian who is an officer of the Space Police Organization that was responsible for the peace and order of the universe. He explained them that he was aimed at by ferocious aliens in the Space Prison Sargasso. He added that he had given them a battle machine "Dag Beagle" made by copying machines on the Earth in order to fight against Sargasso. They turned into Dagwon by the power of Bravian, and fought against space monsters. At that moment, the patrol car came in front of En. En grew into the car and turned into the Brave Robot Dag Fire, then beaten the enemy. However, the fight between the Brave Dagwon and the felonious aliens of Sargasso had just begun.

野坂昭如 戦争童話集 忘れてはイケナイ物語り

TV / 12 eps / 1995 / Unknown

Slayers: The Book of Spells

OVA / 3 eps / Summer 1996 / Light novel

In these three self-contained half-hour stories, Lina Inverse and her partner, Naga The Serpent, take on a variety of jobs for quick cash, food, and/or their own skins. The first episode, "The Scary Chimera Plan," pits them against a lunatic magician who intends to use Lina to create a fearsome, spell-slinging monster. Then, in "Jeffry's Knighthood," they're hired by an overprotective mother to see that her son - a young man barely capable of holding a sword - becomes a respected knight, by "helping" him fight off the marauding soldiers terrorizing the area. Finally, "Mirror, Mirror" puts the two in a race to hunt down and capture (for bounty, of course) a rogue sorceror who's found an ancient artifact that can create loyal duplicates of anything or anyone, including his enemies. (Source: ANN)

Hamuko Mairu!

OVA / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

A shinobi sets out to rescue kidnapped rare animals.

Jigokudou Reikai Tsuushin

OVA / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Novel

Tetsushi, Ryouchin and Shiina are a youthful trio not to be trifled with; they have a fearsome reputation. One day they decide to enter Jingkudou, a store which is rumored to be the gateway to Hell, the storekeeper sure is creepy enough. He tells them a story and after that they decide, with a magical token provided by the storekeeper, to try and find the restless spirit of a murder victim in order to give her release. This is only the start of their supernatural career... (Source: BakaBT)

Chrono Trigger

OVA / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Game

It's the night before the fair celebrating the Kingdom of Guardia's one thousand year anniversary. When the humans have gone to sleep for the night, excited about the next day's celebration, the monsters come out to play. Nuu and Mamo are two little monsters itching to have their own adventure in time and space, and their adventure group Nuumamonjaa is recruiting new members. Since neither is particularly strong in the brains department, their adventure turns into a disaster as they get into one mishap after another. A fast drinking competition, a close encounter with a robotic cat, and a high-speed car chase—this might be more adventure than the tiny duo bargained for!

Landlock

OVA / 2 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

The land of Zer’lue is in turmoil, ravaged by the technological might of Chairman Sana'ku and his evil, militaristic Zul’earth forces. In a rapidly unfolding story of treachery, deceit and betrayal, only one boy holds the power to defeat such overwhelming odds... a boy named Lue'der, who possesses a mysterious red eye and the ability to control the power of the wind itself. With the fate of the world at stake, Lue'der must learn to unlock his legendary power and battle against the evil which threatens to engulf his planet. (Source: ANN)

Shamanic Princess

OVA / 6 eps / Summer 1996 / Original

Tiara, a skilled sorceress, and her familiar, Japolo, have been sent to Earth from the Guardian World, a realm of powerful beings responsible for maintaining the balance of magical energy. Their mission is to retrieve the Throne of Yord, a magical artifact that is the source of Guardian World's power and has to be returned before it falls into the wrong hands. While tracking the artifact, Tiara encounters her old friend Lena, another sorceress seeking the Throne of Yord. Tiara's situation is further complicated by the appearance of Kagetsu, a man she once held strong feelings for. Kagetsu is a negater—a person with the ability to neutralize magic—and holds a close link to the Throne of Yord. Torn between the loyalty to her mission and the bonds with her friends, Tiara embarks on a difficult journey filled with unforeseen challenges. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Birdy the Mighty

OVA / 4 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

Tsutomu, an average middle school kid busy studying for the final exams to enter high school runs into a man running from someone and gets caught up in the chase. In all the confusion he gets accidentally killed. Luckily Birdy (an interplanetary agent) knows a way to save him, unfortunately that means joining bodies to become one. So now he is stuck with this officer and along for the ride capturing criminals and saving lives. (Source: ANN)

Slayers Return

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Light novel

The inhabitants of the village of Biaz, forced to labor in the serivce of the world-domination-happy Zein organization, hires Lina Inverse and Naga The Serpent to drive off the invaders. Lina and Naga agree, lured by stories of Elfin treasure sleeping below Biaz, only to get considerably more trouble -from the Zein and from the treasure - than they ever expected. (Source: ANN)

Alps no Shoujo Heidi: Alm no Yama-hen

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

Condensed version of the first half of the TV series.

Alps no Shoujo Heidi: Heidi to Clara-hen

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

Condensed version of the second half of the TV series.

Spooky Kitaro: Giant Sea Monster

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

Movie based on the 1996 TV anime with an original plot.

Hell Teacher Nube

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

Kumiko Ijima who is one of Nube's students recognizes that a man in a local park is really a criminal wanted for murder when she remembers drawing his face from the wanted photos posted by the police. Kumiko warns her classmate Kyoko while at the same time the man discovers the drawing with the name initials "K.I." written on Kumiko's drawing portfolio and briefly sees that Kumiko wears a red ribbon in her hair. The cops chase the criminal who crashes his car into a seal where a demon takes control over his soul. The demon is now on a killing rampage to find any girl that wears a red ribbon whose name initials are "K.I.". (Source: ANN)

Kenji no Trunk

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

An omnibus movie consisting of three stories by Miyazawa Kenji.

Maya no Isshou

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

Nintama Rantarou Movie

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

In the movie, the Dokutake ninja steal a shipment of saltpeter from Shinbei's papa. They plan to use it to create medicine that will make them fly and become super-ninjas! Danzou, who's father was transporting the goods, stows away and is taken to the Dokutake's secret headquarters. When Shinbei informs the school, Yamada-sensei and Doi-sensei rush to help. But Hagumi decide to take matters into their own hands and try to rescue Danzou themselves. Things don't go according to plan, though, and soon they all need to be rescued too. Fortunately Rikichi, Yamada-sensei's cool son, is around to help out! In fact, before long everyone gets into the act! But can Rantarou and his friends stop Happousai before it's too late? (Source: AniDB)

Sore Ike! Anpanman: Baikinman to 3-bai Punch

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

Double Feature with <a href=https://anilist.co/anime/10060/>Sore Ike! Anpanman: Soratobu Ehon to Glass no Kutsu</a>.

Sore Ike! Anpanman: Soratobu Ehon to Glass no Kutsu

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Unknown

Eight Anpanman short movie.

Toilet no Hanako-san

Movie / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Other

A short movie based on Japanese urban legend.

Fushigi Yuugi Special: Watase Yuu Selection

Special / 2 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

While only a novice performer, Nakago is given the unique opportunity to play in the popular series Fushigi Yuugi. However, being constantly bullied by favored actors Miaka Yuuki and Tamahome makes his life miserable and even causes him to have nightmares. Amid such dreadful circumstances, Nakago strives to avoid discouragement and find the motivation to continue onward. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Jam the Housnail

TV Special / 15 eps / Summer 1996 / Original

Claymation series about a family of "housnails" (portmanteau of house and snail) focusing on Jam, the elementary school aged housnail.

魔法陣グルグル パイロットフィルム

SPECIAL / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / MANGA

Pilot film that was included in the Mahoujin Guru Guru LD-BOX.

Yawara!: Zutto Kimi no Koto ga...

TV Special / 1 eps / Summer 1996 / Manga

Yawara Inokuma competes for Japan in the Atlanta Olympic Games as she meets with several familiar faces throughout the tournament. (Source: ANN)