Best Action Anime of 1986

Goku Son is a young boy living alone in the wilderness when he meets Bulma, a girl searching for the legendary Dragon Balls. These rare artifacts are said to grant one wish to whoever gathers them all. Bulma wants to collect them to wish for her ideal partner. Goku possesses one of these orbs but refuses to hand it over. Bulma proposes a deal: he can accompany her on her journey if she is allowed to use his Dragon Ball. Thus, their incredible adventure begins. Their path is not lonely; they soon encounter Master Muten-Roshi and his student Kuririn, both of whom Goku trains with to improve his abilities for an upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. However, the power to grant any wish makes the Dragon Balls a target for those with evil intentions. To stop anyone who might misuse this ancient power, they continue to grow stronger, using their developing skills to protect the people they meet along their travels.

In ancient times, a group of young warriors devoted themselves to safeguarding Athena, the deity of wisdom and warfare. Capable of fighting without weapons, their strength was immense; a single blow could split the heavens and crumble the earth beneath. These fighters were known as Saints and could harness the power of the Cosmos within them. In the modern era, a fresh batch of Saints emerges. Seiya, full of vigor, fights passionately to claim the Pegasus Cloth, determined to overcome any obstacle. After six years of rigorous training, his efforts bear fruit as he triumphs and joins Athena’s ranks as a Saint. However, Seiya’s trials are just beginning. Numerous threats and powerful adversaries still confront him and the other Saints. What future hurdles will the protagonists of the legendary Saint Seiya series face?

This tale depicts a different version of the Dragon Ball start, highlighting an unusual encounter between Goku, Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha. The four come together while each seeks the dragon balls for their own motives, only to run into Gourmet, a wicked king after the same treasures.

In the frigid Ouu Mountains, a tiger-striped puppy named Gin is born as the son of Riki, the most formidable bear-hunting dog. To take down the murderous Akakabuto—who, after defeating Gin's grandfather and father, intends to establish a stronghold deep in the mountains of Ou—Gin enlists in the Ouu Army, his youthful spirit ablaze with resolve. With only three months left before the decisive battle with Akakabuto, his focus is on finding genuine "men" willing to fight alongside his comrades to the very end against Akakabuto, as he speeds across the entire expanse of Japan!

After a devastating nuclear war, the world is on the verge of total collapse. Civilization has fractured into a corrupted society where rival gangs of predatory looters hunt down helpless, wandering refugees. For those fortunate enough to endure the relentless violence and peril, existence is grim and hopeless. The line between living and dying becomes meaningless. The sole remaining chance for humanity is to find a champion worthy of becoming the next "Fist of the North Star"—a warrior of enlightenment—who can guide the determined survivors out of this wasteland toward a fresh beginning. However, in this brutal frontier where allegiances shift and power-hungry demigods reign, such heroes are scarce.

The Kanto Hell Earthquake completely destroys the metropolitan area. In the aftermath, a figure known as Slum King abducts girls and sells them as sex slaves. Mari wanders the devastated landscape searching for her lover, Ken, but she too is kidnapped. While she is tortured and trained as a sex slave, Ken arrives to rescue her. Ken has become a member of Slum King. The king offers him a condition: in exchange for releasing her, Ken must kill Violence Jack.

In the era of peace established by the Interstellar Alliance, the renowned Cosmo Academy was founded. Known for producing highly successful graduates, its entrance exams, held every three years, attract fierce competition. Lane Tadatos, a Terran, has advanced to the final phase of these exams. Along with ten other candidates, he is sent to the Esperanza, a ship adrift in orbit. Their final challenge is to survive on the vessel for 53 days with no means of contacting the outside world, except for an emergency surrender button. However, after a headcount, the candidates discover a discrepancy: there are eleven people aboard the Esperanza, meaning one of them is an impostor.

Two pairs of young lovers are drawn into a conflict between two opposing kingdoms: the primitive yet splendid Isa and the militaristic yet unruly Paro. Izu and his wife Marin work as simple farmers in the humble village of Saki, situated directly between Isa and Paro. Though Saki lacks the elegance of Isa or the war engines of Paro, the village is home to a magnificent tree called "Windaria," to which the villagers offer their prayers in exchange for "good memories." When war breaks out, Izu decides to enlist in Paro's army, lured by the promise of a fantastic motorbike given to him as a bribe. Before he leaves, the couple makes a mutual promise: he will definitely return to her, and she will wait for him until he does. The other pair consists of Jill, the prince of Paro, and Ahanas, the princess of Isa. Initially they want no part in the rapidly escalating war, but after Jill's father—the king of Paro—dies by his son's hand during an argument over the conflict, Jill has little choice but to carry out his father's final wish: the conquest of Isa. The only complication is that Jill had sworn to his beloved Ahanas that he would not get involved. Windaria is a war parable set in a fantasy land filled with unicorns and ghost ships.

Unusual occurrences start happening in Tomobiki Town... While Lum and her companions are working on filming a movie, a large cherry tree named Tarozakura gets suddenly cut down. Soon after, Lum loses both her horns and her supernatural powers. This marks the start of the most unconventional and whimsical film in the Urusei Yatsura series.

In a distant era when gods and men walk the earth together, a young boy named Arion plays in the rolling hills of Thrace. His mother Demeter bears a double burden: a curse of blindness and the hidden truth of Arion's birth. A mysterious stranger spirits Arion away, intent on shaping the growing boy into an assassin—a covert weapon to tip the balance in the war between Zeus and Poseidon. But Arion will not be easily manipulated, nor will he submit quietly to adversaries such as the tenacious Ares, the intelligent and fierce Athena, or the elegant and scheming Apollo. Only his tremendous strength, a forgotten weapon forged by Prometheus, and the love and loyalty of his allies can carry Arion forward. To uncover the secret of his destiny, he must storm Mount Olympus—and face down Zeus himself!

Near Los Angeles, a fearless biker named Marcia and her recently met companion Noera are thrown from their motorcycles when a nearby semi-truck explodes. In the chaos that follows, Marcia snatches a briefcase that holds an unusual black sphere. The moment she touches the orb, both Marcia and Noera share a vision of Death Valley. Convinced this vision is a sign that they must bring the sphere there, the pair set off toward Death Valley, each pursuing their own idea of the American Dream while staying ahead of those desperate to reclaim the mysterious object.

This OVA loosely adapts the opening four chapters of the Guyver manga, covering the same core storyline: the origin of the Guyver, the clash with Vamore, the battle against Guyver 2, and the debut of Guyver 3. The key changes involve swapping Tetsuro out for Mizuki, and replacing Lisker with a female operative named Valcuria, which consequently makes Guyver 2 female as well. The story also explores Sho's inner turmoil as he struggles to cope with his transformation, including a harrowing scene where his friends are executed in cold blood. One night, high school student Sho Fukamachi comes across a strange metallic object. In a sudden blinding flash, he discovers he has inadvertently bonded with the Guyver, a mecha of mysterious alien design. Now, to protect his girlfriend Mizuki Segawa and the entire world, Sho must take on the role of the Guyver and battle the Chronos Corporation and their bio-engineered creatures, the Zoanoids, who are determined to conquer the globe.

In Japan, where the phrase "Born to be Mild" supposedly originated, the burning passion of youth still thrives. Long ago, young people would head to the countryside to settle disputes with swords, but nowadays, with school and other responsibilities, that's no longer feasible. Instead, some choose a far less conventional path. They climb onto powerful motorcycles, cruise the streets making noise, and beat up anyone they consider lacking in honor. Enter Eguchi Yousuke, who leads both a high school biker gang and the school's handicraft club. This means his day is split between brawling and delicate sewing. If you think he's strange, just wait until you meet the rest of his crew...

In a future world, the story opens with Kei and Ai fleeing for their lives. Ai is a young girl carrying a devastating secret with the power to bring down the world as it exists. This world is inhabited by Headmeters—psychic individuals whose power levels appear on their foreheads during combat. Kei, however, was once an experimental subject, and his strength has never risen above level 5, while others surpass him effortlessly. Yet in desperate moments, whenever Ai finds herself in danger, Kei can push his abilities to infinity. The mysterious pursuer hunting Ai harbors a hidden agenda, aided by a small, dwarflike figure who lives inside a robotic suit. Eventually, Ai is captured, forcing Kei—a detective in the mold of Sherlock Holmes—along with another Headmeter who was turned to the side of good after Kei unleashed his terrifying powers through Ai, to set out on a rescue mission. Together, they must save Ai and uncover the secret she carries. What is Ai's secret? Who is she, really?

In a realm of fantasy and adventure, Amon is a young warrior seeking to avenge his mother's death. His pursuit eventually carries him to the kingdom of Valhiss, where he joins the Emperor's army in hopes of finding a chance to carry out his revenge. But when he happens upon Princess Lichia, held prisoner by the Emperor as a pawn to extort a map from his greatest rival, King Darai-Sem, Amon is forced to choose between following his own path of vengeance and aiding the Princess in order to save a kingdom on the verge of collapse.

Based on the novel trilogy of the same name by Taku Mayumura. In the new Calendar Year of 392, in Neo-Tokyo, a young man named Agino Jiro steals a time synchronization system and attempts to escape to the past. The authorities give chase and damage his ship during the pursuit, forcing him to land in modern-day Tokyo. Determined, he breaks into a van and attaches the device, recklessly kidnapping Nobucho, Shinichi, Teko, and their teacher, Hokubei. Their initial resistance lands them in Tokyo on March 9th, 1945, during the US bombing campaign. Escaping again to the past, the group eventually arrives at the Warring States period. There, the future and the past collide as factions from Jiro's era seek to alter their past at a pivotal moment at Honnoji.

The nefarious Phone Pole Team is dedicated to a singular objective: world conquest. Finding global domination too difficult, the group has pivoted to a new strategy of capturing the world one prefecture at a time. Upon learning of these plans, the mayor's office of their current target recruits the entire high school baseball team—consisting of all three members—to face this threat. Throughout this one-shot OVA, our heroes must battle Faceless Minions(tm) and rampaging cyborgs, attempt desperate undercover operations, and navigate a touch of romance, all while striving to protect their neighborhood and justify the stipend provided by the city council.

Grey serves as a quiet soldier in a harsh futuristic military system where victory in combat brings generous pay and advancement, yet only three percent of troopers survive long enough to achieve the ultimate prize—citizenship and a chance to escape the squalor endured by most. Grey has repeatedly returned alive, earning the moniker Grey Death. But is the society he has defended really worth the sacrifice?

After a young woman is kidnapped, her two rather scatterbrained friends decide to launch a rescue operation using a war machine they find in her home. However, because they have no clue how to operate it, their attempts lead only to chaos and random destruction.

Ryou Matsumoto, an aspiring screenwriter, is advised to draw from his own life for his work, yet he feels his mundane existence has nothing thrilling to offer others. One night, he sees a man get killed in a dim alley. After barely escaping the murderer and finding no support from the police, Ryou must summon his hidden courage to survive the perilous gang he has stumbled into.

The main character, Gun, rides a customized Honda CB750F cafe racer and eventually evolves into a pro road racer.

This science fiction manga, released under Shougakukan's Flower Comics imprint, follows a young girl who awakens to psychic ESP abilities. Spanning three volumes, Sasaki Junko's series depicts her journey as she confronts the trials and adventures that come with her powers.

Getting caught in the middle of a gang brawl would ruin anyone's day. For high school student Sami Yoshino, however, things spiral from bad to worse when she is hurled across time and space into unknown worlds. Now she is embroiled in a gang war of epic proportions between the divine rulers of the cosmos and the demons bent on its destruction. As it turns out, Samy conceals immense cosmic power within herself, and the demons will go to any lengths to snuff it out. Can Samy ever break free from the conflict and go back to being an ordinary girl, or is the entire universe doomed?

Two brothers are cruising on their Hover bikes when a massive Metal Fortress blocks their path. Following a short fight, they succeed in critically damaging the fortress. It flees, leaving the heroes stranded in what appears to be a barren wasteland. However, this wasteland is home to nomads, who reveal that the fortress has taken refuge inside a mountain. The nomads beg the brothers to complete their mission. Two of the locals accompany them as guides, and during their journey, they obtain assistance from a faery capable of transforming into a mech-warrior woman.

In the year 2119, the spaceship Green Sleeves discovered that three planets were being assaulted by X23, a sentient planet heading straight for Earth. When Earth's government ordered Captain Dr. Sugita to fight X23, he declined, arguing that peaceful coexistence was possible. Shortly thereafter, all contact with Green Sleeves ceased. Two years later, in 2121, Dr. Sugita's son Susumu is approached by mysterious individuals who guide him to Dr. Miya—one of the few remaining supporters of his father's beliefs, as society had largely branded Dr. Sugita a traitor. Dr. Miya urges Susumu to join White Pegasus, a specialized medical rescue team equipped with a Micronizer System that shrinks humans to treat illnesses from within the body. As X23 draws nearer, the alien beings called Hues target Susumu's friend first. Susumu and his White Pegasus teammates successfully defeat the Hues inside his friend's body, but Susumu then discovers that the signals transmitted by the chips inside the Hues are actually musical pieces he and his mother composed as a gift for Dr. Sugita.

The sequel to Sangokushi (1985).