Best Adventure Anime of 1996

After a lengthy quest, Emperor Pilaf finally locates the Black Star Dragon Balls, rumored to be twice as powerful as Earth's regular Dragon Balls. As he is about to wish for world domination, Gokuu Son intervenes, causing Pilaf to fumble his incantation and accidentally transform Gokuu back into a child. Once the wish is granted, the Black Star Dragon Balls scatter across the galaxy. Gokuu discovers that unless they are recollected within a year, Earth will be destroyed. To avert this disaster, he joins forces with his granddaughter Pan and the young adult Trunks, setting off on an interstellar journey to retrieve the scattered balls and save their planet.

Shinichi Kudou is a high school detective renowned for cracking numerous difficult cases. While tailing two shady men he spots one day, he accidentally stumbles upon a disturbing crime. Caught in the act, the men force him to ingest an experimental drug from their criminal syndicate, leaving him for dead. To his shock, Shinichi survives, but his body has shrunk to that of a seven-year-old child. Retaining his sharp mind, he conceals his true identity from everyone, including his childhood friend Ran Mouri and her father, private eye Kogorou Mouri. He adopts the alias Conan Edogawa, a name derived from mystery writers Arthur Conan Doyle and Ranpo Edogawa. As Conan, Shinichi secretly solves Kogorou's cases from the shadows using his exceptional detective abilities, all while covertly investigating the organization that caused his transformation, hoping to one day reverse the drug's effects.

Hitomi Kanzaki is a typical 15-year-old schoolgirl who enjoys tarot cards and fortune-telling, but one evening, a boy named Van Fanel appears from the sky alongside a vicious dragon. Thanks to Hitomi's premonition, Van manages to slay the dragon, yet a pillar of light engulfs them both, transporting Hitomi to the world of Gaea—a mysterious land where the Earth hangs in the sky. In this strange realm, Hitomi learns that Van is a prince of the Kingdom of Fanelia, which is soon attacked by the evil Zaibach Empire. To fight back, Van pilots his family's ancient guymelef, Escaflowne—a mechanized battle suit—but fails to repel the attack, and Fanelia is destroyed. Forced to flee, Hitomi and Van meet a handsome Asturian knight named Allen Schezar, whom Hitomi is astonished to discover looks exactly like her crush from Earth. With new allies at their side, Van and Hitomi resist the forces of Zaibach as the empire seeks to revive an ancient power.

Similar to the R Season, Sailor Stars is split into two segments. The first part addresses lingering conflicts from SuperS and features the return of the Outer Senshi: Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru, who has been reborn as a child. In the second part, Usagi says goodbye to Mamoru, who is departing for America to study. Concurrently, the Three Lights, an idol trio comprising boys Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten, appear. The new antagonist is Galaxia, a woman seeking to rule the galaxy by collecting human Star Seeds. Three new Senshi, the Sailor Starlights, emerge with their own motivations to defeat Galaxia, though they initially act without Sailor Moon’s assistance.

In the kingdom of Xoana, Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev run into their former allies, Zelgadis Graywords and Princess Ameilia Wil Tesla Saillune. The reunited group quickly thwarts the King of Xoana and his daughter’s evil scheme for global domination. Later, it emerges that Zelgadis is hunting the Claire Bible, a priceless magical grimoire, believing it holds the secret to restoring his human form. Despite his reservations, his companions agree to accompany him on this quest. As they ponder how to begin their search for the legendary tome, they encounter a mysterious priest named Xellos, who offers his assistance in their pursuit.

The declaration of independence by a single space colony ignited the 7th Space War, a total conflict between Earth and the orbital settlements. In response, the Earth Federation deployed mobile suits known as Gundams against the Space Revolutionary Army. However, the revolutionaries unleashed a devastating trump card by dropping hundreds of colonies onto the planet, triggering a nuclear winter that lasted seven years. While the Federation regime fell, the Space Revolutionary Army found itself incapable of mounting an invasion during the subsequent devastation. Fifteen years later, in the year After War 0015, a New Federation has risen on Earth to reestablish order, while colonial leaders in space are simultaneously rebuilding their military strength. Fifteen-year-old Garrod Ran stumbles upon an old Federation mobile suit, the Gundam X, and begins piloting it to aid the Freeden, a ship operated by the Vultures, in their fight to prevent those in power from repeating the catastrophic errors of the past.

In a distant future, Earth's population has grown too large, prompting humanity to seek new worlds for colonization. One colony ship, the Mesopotamia, suffers a critical failure, killing nearly everyone aboard—only six people survive. They manage to reach a nearby planet called Terra II, which closely resembles Earth. However, all six survivors are male. To ensure their efforts are not wasted, they establish six nations and continue their species through cloning and genetic engineering. But without any women, they create highly realistic female androids known as Marionettes to handle daily chores and labor—emotionless machines that lack true feelings. One day, an ordinary boy named Otaru discovers and activates three special battle-type Marionettes that possess emotions thanks to a Maiden Circuit installed inside them. He must guide them and help their emotions develop. When a neighboring country threatens to conquer the world, Otaru and his "human" Marionettes must rise to defend their nation.

Loudmouthed martial artist Junpei Ryuzouji, elegant actress Airi Komiyama, and cheerful but artillery-obsessed student Ritsuko Inoue are transported from their homeland of Japan to a strange, magical world. When the elven priestess Celcia Marieclaire attempts to cast the spell to send them home, she is interrupted, and the spell shatters into fragments that scatter across the world. Those fragments imprint themselves onto the skin of various elves. The trio travels in Ritsuko's tank, searching for elves who may carry the spell fragments so Celcia can transfer them into her own body and reassemble the spell. As they journey, people begin to call them "Those Who Hunt Elves," earning a reputation as warriors who stop evildoers with their miraculous cannon, terrifying elves by stripping any they find. Though they are not the smartest group, they compensate with enthusiasm and a strong determination to return to Japan.

Remy, a cheerful and kind-hearted girl, lives with her mother in a small French country town. One day, her father returns home after a long period of working in the city. He tells Remy that she is not their biological daughter, and she is nearly sold to a cruel slave trader. It is Vitalis, a wandering entertainer, who comes to Remy's rescue. Vitalis recognizes her talent for singing and decides to take her in as part of his troupe.

After finishing his studies abroad, Diego Vega returns home only to find his country under military dictatorship. Unwilling to stand by, he takes on the secret identity of Zorro to defend the powerless and oppressed. Though not a coward, Diego cannot seem to win the love of Lolita, who is drawn to more gallant men. As Zorro, he serenades Lolita while battling the injustices of his land, all in the hope of winning her heart.

Teppei heads to a scientific conference to reunite with his older brother Kotaro Takamiya, having trained for eleven years under a mysterious woman named Karen. However, his plans for a family reunion are thwarted when a woman named Aramis kills everyone at the conference and kidnaps Kotaro. While on his way to rescue his brother, Teppei encounters a broken mechanical horse called B't X, which revives thanks to Teppei's blood and becomes his ally in saving Kotaro from the enigmatic Machine Empire.

Adapted from Tetsuhiro Koshita's manga, Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!! spans two main seasons focused on the Go brothers and the TRF Victorys. Its third season, Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!! MAX, shifts toward two new main characters, though the central premise remains racing. Let's & Go!! follows Retsu and Go Seiba, young brothers who receive Mini 4WD racing cars from Dr. Tsuchia. The series then portrays the two boys training and modifying parts to ultimately compete in the Japan Cup, where racers from across the country battle to claim the title of the best.

Cinderella is the daughter of a wealthy duke who remarries to give her a mother and sisters. When the duke goes abroad, Cinderella realizes her new family is far from loving. With spoiled stepsisters and a harsh stepmother, she is forced to do all the cooking, cleaning, and housework. Yet she stays cheerful, gentle, and kind to her family, her animal friends, and a mysterious boy named Charles who appears to have a link to the prince of Emerald Castle. This is a new take on a classic fairy tale. When Cinderella's cruel stepmother stops her from attending the Royal Ball, she receives unexpected help from the adorable mice Gus and Jaq, as well as from her Fairy Godmother.

Trouble erupts one day in Staccato. Demons appear and begin terrorizing the townspeople, and the entire country appears to be under threat. The problem stems from the weakening "barrier" that has until now prevented demons from crossing into the human world. The barrier's keeper, Queen Horn of Sforzando, is losing strength after maintaining it for so many years. Hell King Bass is attempting to break through the barrier and free their "supreme leader," Kestra (Orchestra)—a being of unmatched power who remains trapped somewhere in the human realm.

Kitarou is a ghost who uses his afterlife to aid humans in need. He constantly opposes malevolent spirits that seek to torment people. Now, his friend Megumi requests his assistance: her botanist father traveled to Baruru Island to research its flora and was abducted by evil spirits. Kitarou must rescue him.

A huge space monster appears in a city and begins destroying everything. People flee in panic, including five high school students: En, Kai, Shin, Yoku, and Ryu. Unable to escape, they rush into a nearby parked patrol car. As the monster approaches and they resign themselves to death, the patrol car glows blue-white and vanishes with them into a mysterious space. Astonished, they find themselves facing an alien—a Bravian, an officer of the Space Police Organization responsible for universal peace and order. He explains that ferocious aliens from the Space Prison Sargasso are targeting him, and he has given them a battle machine called the "Dag Beagle," built using Earth's copying machines, to fight Sargasso. The five transform into Dagwon through the Bravian's power and battle space monsters. The patrol car appears before En; he merges with it, becoming the Brave Robot Dag Fire, and defeats the enemy. However, the struggle between the Brave Dagwon and the criminal aliens of Sargasso has only just begun.

Hishou, Ginga, Ace, Hayate, and Ikazuchi are five teenagers who work at a studio handling various idol-related tasks as their manager Reiko requests. However, they are secretly the Reideens, a team of superheroes who battle the Super Devils dispatched by the mysterious entity Lushu. Unknown to the Reideens, these Super Devils are being sent with a more significant goal in mind.

The discovery of the dimensional tunnel ushers in a new age of space travel, allowing journeys to planets beyond the solar system. Hoshiwatari Goro, a space traveler, sets out to find his father, whose whereabouts remain unknown. The only clue he has is an old photograph. To achieve his goal, Goro joins a young space tour company called "YAT" that arranges trips to various planets. During one of his voyages, an accident occurs, destroying the spaceship. As compensation for the damage, Goro is forced to work for YAT, setting off a series of space adventures for him.

The anime and manga series Kiko-chan's Smile centers on a kindergarten child who exhibits traits of a gifted prodigy, yet also possesses many strange routines and a peculiar character.

John is a cheerful and energetic young boy living in a small coal-mining town in England. One day, he discovers a small dog lost among a flock of sheep. John takes the puppy home and names her Lassie. They quickly become close friends, like real siblings. Lassie is a very lovely and smart dog, and everyone in the town adores her. However, their happy life is short-lived. Suddenly, the coal-mine owner shuts down his company because no more coal remains in the mine. John goes to the owner to ask for further investigation. The owner agrees to John's request, but in return, he takes Lassie to Scotland. Priscilla, the owner's granddaughter and also John's friend, cannot bear to see Lassie suffer in a cage. She opens the cage and sets Lassie free. Lassie embarks on a long and arduous journey from Scotland back to her hometown.

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