Kara Dennison
September 16, 2023 
As much as we love keeping up with the newest anime via our favorite streaming services, we’re also very happy to have RetroCrush. The platform carries classic anime of every vintage, from definitive 60s and 70s titles to turn-of-the-millennium series that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle. It’s easier than ever to explore both legendary and obscure titles… and a new trio of must-see series has just joined the catalogue!
Whether you’re a fan raring for another watch or a newer viewer curious about anime history, we can’t recommend these three titles enough. But don’t take our word for it: here’s why the new additions belong on your watchlist:
The Rose of Versailles
Even if you’re not versed in classic anime, you’re probably aware of The Rose of Versailles. And even if you haven’t, you’ve probably heard of Revolutionary Girl Utena. If you enjoyed that, you will absolutely enjoy this. Riyoko Ikeda’s classic historical fiction series, adapted into an anime by Osamu Dezaki (get ready to hear that name a lot in this article), is a formative work of animation.
The series follows Oscar François de Jarjayes, whose father raised her as a man after a long string of daughters. After years of military training, Lady Oscar ends up in service to the recently married Marie Antoinette. Initially meant to serve as our eyes and ears leading up to the French Revolution, Oscar quickly becomes the central character of the series—interrogating gender, class, love, and loyalty.
Aim for the Ace!
Do you love sports anime? Do you love shoujo anime? How about Gunbuster? All of these are valid reasons to dive into Aim for the Ace! This classic anime takes place on the tennis court, where tennis amateur Hiromi Oka finds herself climbing the ranks to greatness. Osamu Dezaki directed the film version (which you can watch on RetroCrush), as well as the original TV series and follow-up OVA.
Hiromi is a very okay tennis player infatuated with Reika Ryuuzaki (a.k.a. “Ochoufujin”), her tennis star senpai. When the hard-nosed Coach Munakata arrives, however, Hiromi finds herself paired with Reika and trained within an inch of her life to achieve greatness. While this initially leads to bullying from more accomplished team members, the training pays off. And if all this sounds familiar, that may be because Gunbuster is a love letter to this series. Except, you know, with robots instead of tennis.
Space Adventure Cobra
Surprise! Osamu Dezaki directed all the classic anime in this batch of RetroCrush additions. Space Adventure Cobra is a must-watch for the sci-fi enjoyers out there. If you love Cowboy Bebop, City Hunter, and Captain Harlock, this old-school space adventure will hit just right. It also shares DNA with the 1990 film Total Recall, in that both were inspired by the Philip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.”
Office worker Johnson escapes to dream movies where he’s Cobra, a space adventurer with a laser gun in his arm. These escapist fantasies turn out to be true—and with his memories of years before recovered, Cobra returns to his adventures, accompanied by his android partner Lady Armaroid. All 31 episodes of the original series are now up for watching!
Speaking of sci-fi, here’s how one new anime dives into very human technological issues.
