i’m going to include some ovas as well because i want to and they’re close enough to movies in that they’re limited release, so you won’t have to worry about them being too long

MOVIES

• mobile suit gundam: the original mobile suit gundam show from 1979 was adapted into 3 films. the show is better, and if you have the time you should watch that, but the movies are shorter and are still very good. classic scifi philosophy, psychedelia, and traumatized child soldiers piloting robots years before evangelion came out and everyone decided eva was the first to ever do it
• aim for the ace: another adaptation from a show, this is the story of a high school girl becoming a tennis player. her coach is pretty abusive and idk if the movie knows that or not, but it’s incredibly pretty and it’s a classic sports anime that’s super influential and is worth watching if you have any academic interest in anime
• castle of cagliostro: this is miyazaki doing a straight up action adventure movie about rescuing princesses and stealing treasure. pretty good!
• do you remember love: kind of a mess, but god damn is it gorgeous. coming together and defeating alien invaders with the powers of 80s pop idols and transforming mechs. basically the entire basis of the “80s anime aesthetic”
• urusei yatsura: beautiful dreamer: this is the second urusei yatsura movie, but all you need to know going in is that it’s a mildly horny romcom by the women who invented the harem genre and did it better than anyone else. this movie is a must watch even if the base premise doesn’t sound interesting, it’s a kickass lynchian nightmare of a movie
• patlabor: a cop movie about cops with mechs. surprisingly leftist (or so i hear, i haven’t actually seen this one. my partner likes it though), despite the whole cop thing
• belladonna of sadness: this one’s very surreal, very sexual, and very confusing. if you hear those things and think that sounds good you’ll probably like it. if you think you won’t, you won’t. cw for sexual assault

oh, akira is also worth checking out but i assume you’ve at least heard of that one, and it was already mentioned

OVAs

• project a-ko: the first one is actually a movie, but then there are 3 ovas so i put it here. goofy dumb bullshit about teenage girls with superpowers who are in love with each other. a-ko is super strong and fast, b-ko is a genius who builds robots, and c-ko is the heiress to an alien race
• mobile suit gundam 0080: war in the pocket: 6 episodes long, it takes place during the above mentioned gundam, but requires no real knowledge of it. a side story about some grunts and what civilian life looks like during the war
• gunbuster: what if a mecha story was a sports anime and also top gun? 6 episodes
• angel’s egg: haven’t seen it but it’s highly recommended. another surreal art film, i really wanna watch it soon
• armor hunter mellowlink: after his unit is sent into a mech filled warzone with only anti-tank rifles and dies, mellowlink is out for revenge. he goes after everyone involved in his units death, killing them with only the anti-tank rifle provided to him while they pilot mechs. cool guy shit
• dallos: the first ever ova. about a colonial revolt in space, another one by mamoru oshii i haven’t seen but am planning on

literally like every single movie made by Ghibli Studios. My Neighbour Totoro is probably one of the most well known but really all of them are great. I’d recommend Arriety as well.

The only one from that era I could even name is Akira

I don’t know if it qualifies as “good,” but Vampire Hunter D exists, is an anime, and was released in '85.

I remember all of these from Saturday Anime back on the Sci-Fi Channel back in the day.

Fist of the North Star is the original “You are already dead,” the one where the dude goes “atatatatatata” and punches a dude really fast and then the dude explodes. Classic.

Galaxy Express 999 is about a space train. If you’re not sold then I don’t know what to tell you. We probably can’t be friends.

Neo-Human Casshan. Has a robot dude with a robot dog. Watch it already.

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Watch “My Conquest is the Sea of Stars” and then the rest of LotGH

Roujin Z is 1991, so it’s not technically 80s, however, it’s before the dissolution of the USSR and also before the economic crash, so spiritually I think it’s still the 80s. It’s about a robot bed meant to care for the elderly, but quickly blossoms into a great action-adventure with an 87 year old protagonist at the center. The character designs were done by Hisashi Eguchi of Stop!! Hibari-kun! fame and Satoshi Kon was the art director and set designer. Give it a watch!

Cromalin has mentioned many good ones already, so I’ll just add some I have watched. Beware of CWs though, especially in the OVAs.

Movies

Lupin III: Goodbye Lady Liberty (1989) - I’m a sucker for Lupin III yearly specials, and this is the first one they made. There’s also a couple of others in the decade, most notably The Fuma Conspiracy (1987). 1978’s Mystery of Mamo is also good.

Dagger of Kamui (1985) - Is an epic adventure movie with a very solid soundtrack. Not everything aged that well in it, but it’s a fun watch.

Galaxy Express 999 (1979) - Is a very solid movie adaptation of a sci-fi adventure anime series from 1978 by Leiji Matsumoto. If you don’t want to watch 113 episodes of anime, it’s a good alternative.

Crusher Joe (1983) - Is a fun sci-fi movie by the creator of Dirty Pair (good show btw - the movie has a fun villain but is mostly mid). It also has an OVA sequel.

Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid (1975) - Why yes, a western classic adaptation. It’s a well-made one.

Jarinko Chie (1981) - Is a charming and weird movie by the co-founder of Studio Ghibli Isao Takahata. All of the voice actors are also random people from the Kansai region.

OVA

Vampire Princess Miyu (1988, Horror) - Genmu Senki Leda (1985, Fantasy) - Prefectural Earth Defense Force (1986, Tokusatsu Parody) - Ultimate Teacher (1988, Wacky Action Comedy) - Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (1987, Edgy Horror & r/megaten meme classic) - Amefuri Kozou (1983, Drama with a younger audience in mind) - Elf 17 (1987, Sci-fi comedy)

Space Runaway Ideon: A Contact and Be Invoked (1982) - Space Opera double feature from Yoshiyuki Tomino (creator of Gundam) and loved by Hidieki Anno. A Contact is a compilation movie for the TV series; like with Gundam, watch the series if you can since it’s better. Be Invoked is the real treat - it’s effectively a redone/extended ending for the TV show.

guilty pleasure: M.D Giest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npxMq1y-fMs

Its a shitty anime but i love it and the music is great

“Crystal Triangle.” Japanese Indiana Jones has to fight off the world’s governments and the cabal-of-Jews-that-control-everything to capture the 11th Commandment from God in his spaceship. So terrible it has to be seen to be believed, just stick around for God.

For a great lesser know Columbo-style mystery, “They Were Eleven.” The ten most intelligent and talented students from ten solar systems in a hyper-meritocratic galactic civilization have to solve who the mole is in their class (which contains an unheard of eleventh person) before graduating from the academy and assuming their role in space government.

I enjoyed “Giant Gorg” recently, like Scooby Doo meets Johnny Quest with a robot. Also, “Black Jack” is a classic.

My wife loves the “Five Star Stories” OVA and “Legend of the Galactic Heroes,” and “Record of Lodoss War,” thought the last two are probably pretty well known.

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Movies:

• Angel’s Egg – an art film, very symbolism heavy but has enough plot to not be insufferably boring.

OVA:

• The Rose of Versaille – haven’t watched it but its about a female military commander in the French Revolution and the manga was written by a woman who was a member of the youth league of the Japanese Communist Party.

Also I definitely second The Legend of the Galactic Heroes though it can be kind of difficult to find ‘legitimately’ due to the music rights issues.

gundam, akira, and patlabor