I hate most of the eighties. Boring decade. Being born late in the 80s, my impressionable years were directly influenced by the passing wave that was the 80s. However, I grew up on 80s, and later the 90s, cartoons. For this, I love the period. These cartoons are masters at their trade, towering as Olympians behind the stable of boring, bland cartoons like Recess or Ed, Edd & Eddy. I loved this to death and I'm saddened that I can no longer activate the portal of stupidity and view them in their splendor. I'm currently tracking them down, VHS by coveted VHS, so I may still enjoy their fruits.
Most of them were wild ideas and incredibly corny if now viewed. But they hold a bit of nostalgia, pieces of something when creativity was actually valued. Now I have only a few gems like Aquateen Hungerforce and Samurai Jack to cling to. These shows are an extinct breed. Here's a list of some of the best animated shows ever from my childhood. The Top Five are:
1. Batman: The Animated Series - Intro - Ok, so this isn't exactly the eighties but it's still a cartoon series I watched a ton of as a kid. This is, without a doubt, the best cartoon series of all time. The Dark Knight is portrayed here as a serious badass; my favorite portrayal out of all the Batman media. The action was exciting and Batman kicked some serious butt. I'm really hoping I can collect all the DVD seasons that are out. I have lots of fond memories of watching Gotham's famed vigilante catch the latest criminal.
2. Transformers - Intro - To me, this is the icon of the 80s. I watched Transformers (the First Generation) a thousand times over. Who can beat the idea of machines, disguised from their true purpose, transforming into massive robots that beat the crap out of each other and blow a bunch of stuff up? Optimus Prime is still my hero and I know that Dino Bots kick serious butt. It is needless to say that I am stupidly excited about the new Transformers movie that is coming out. I adore this cartoon and I still watch The Transformers: The Movie in it's giant metal robot glory. I wish they'd get DVDs of the seasons out soon. Transformers, how I miss you. I miss you so much.
3. Exosquad - Season 1 Intro - Season 2 Intro - If one looked at these in a manner to judge just their craft and not the sentimental attached, then Exosquad would surely hold the second, if not first, placement. This was a masterful series, and has often been said to be the only Western rival to anime's hold on the older audience. It presented an awesome plot, action sequences and characters that older ages could enjoy. It managed to pull off great space opera drama. I only saw a dozen or so episodes but they were all captivating and enjoyable. I'm anxiously searching for any amount of media on Exosquad. If anyone ever finds a VHS of Exosquad, or even a torrent, let me know ASAP. I really would like to see the rest of the episodes, they made around 40. I have somewhere around three billion Exosquad toys.
4. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero - Intro - Another defining symbol of the 80s, GI Joe is extremely cheesy and wonderfully awesome. Troops had wildly colorful ornate uniforms, people could run as fast as vehicles and incredibly not a single person died in the series. Indeed, they even went so far as to show every helicopter producing a parachuting pilot when shot down. They were great fun. GI Joe gave us the awesome GI Joe PSAs that came on the end of each cartoons. The infamous, hilarious parody PSAs that featured badass voice-overs are now all over the internet. Here's a few of my favs. I own the second season of G.I. Joe, I hope to expand that sometime.
5. Inspector Gadget - Intro - Man, talk about nostalgia. I hear the theme song to this thing and I'm twelve years younger. I watched a lot of Inspector Gadget. Gadget was always one of my childhood heroes, standing tall with Optimus Prime and Batman. I always thought the idea of having a typewriter that could unfold from a head was totally badass. Yet another show that I greatly desire on DVD.
Check below the fold for more cartoon series, listed in no particular order.
