Best 80s 90s Anime

1387 duels later, Dragon Ball Z is still #1 in the 80s/90s Anime ranking, with City Hunter close behind at 1407 ELO points.

The podium reflects a clear hierarchy among nostalgic favorites. Dragon Ball Z dominates with 1474 ELO points and a 78% win rate over 122 duels, while City Hunter secures second place with 1407 points. Captain Tsubasa holds third at 1402 points, but a sharp 113-point drop separates it from fourth-ranked Grendizer at 1289 points. This gap marks the most dramatic shift in the ranking, dividing the undisputed classics from the well-loved titles that followed. Saint Seiya rounds out the top 5 at 1277 points. The bottom of the ranking tells another story: Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea sits last at 1001 points with a 30% win rate, while The Catillac Cats and Bioman struggle just above it. These positions suggest the community draws a firm line between the era's true icons and the series that failed to leave the same mark.

This ranking draws from 1387 duels cast by 28 players across 20 contenders, updated on 12 October 2026. The results capture the tastes of a generation that grew up with these shows, weighing action-packed sagas against lighter fare. Head to VAINKEURZ to cast your own vote and shift the standings, or see if your childhood favorite holds its ground against the competition.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →