Best Fantasy Anime of 1988

In "Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure," the disappearance of Emperor Chiaotzu's wife leads Master Shen to disclose that gathering the seven Dragon Balls can call forth the eternal dragon, who can grant wishes to bring her back. While the Emperor arranges the World Martial Arts Tournament, where Goku and Krillin take part, Bora and his son Upa conceal a Dragon Ball they discovered from the emperor's forces, commanded by the villainous Shen and General Tao. At the same time, Bulma sets off on her own quest for the Dragon Balls, joined by Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong.

In "Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth," Apollo, the Sun God and sibling to Athena, appears with intentions to reclaim Athena for the heavens and assume control of the Sanctuary. He reawakens the fallen Gold Saints and enlists them alongside several God Saints to serve as his personal guards. Upon Athena's defiance, Apollo resorts to banishing her to the underworld. Concurrently, the Bronze Saints embark on a mission to rescue Athena.

In "Doraemon the Movie: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West," Nobita tries to prove the Monkey King is real by traveling back to the era when Sanzo began his journey. Doraemon provides a virtual video game console that allows Nobita to play through "Journey to the West" and get a costume similar to the Monkey King's. However, Nobita still cannot confirm the Monkey King's existence. After they finish playing "Journey to the West" without defeating any demons, their world becomes overrun by demonic creatures. The problem arises because Doraemon forgot to turn off the game console in the past, allowing demons to escape and take over their world. To set things right, Doraemon and the group must go back to the past to fight and eliminate these demons.

One night, a Star of Life descends through the chimney of a bakery hidden deep in the forest, bringing the bread dough inside the oven to life. This creates the hero Anpanman, a superhero made from an anpan—a sweet bun filled with red bean paste. Along with his friends, Anpanman battles his archenemy Baikinman and aids those who are hungry.

Sonic Soldier Borgman is a science fiction series blending super sentai elements with non-combining mecha technology. The narrative follows a trio that resembles a sentai team in their fight against the Youma organization. The group consists of three members associated with the primary ranger colors of pink, blue, and green. The main characters are Chuck, Ryo, and Anise, with Ryo serving as the leader. Chuck and Anise also work as teachers at a public school. Their students frequently assist the Borgman or cause problems, and some even learn their secret identities. Ryo rides a modern blue motorcycle capable of self-upgrading and speech. The transformation phrase is "Borg. Get On." Each team member wields a personalized cannon matching their armor color, used exclusively to defeat the monsters encountered.

After a dramatic accident, a traveling performance group discovers a damaged spaceship with only one survivor—a baby named Corona. Knowing almost nothing about where she came from or her cultural background, the troupe decides to take on their most challenging performance yet: acting as a human family. As Corona grows up, the performers reflect on the consequences of their decision and consider how they would respond if representatives from her home planet ever come to reclaim her.

Each episode functions as an independent adaptation of a distinct fairy tale or folk story. The series does not exclusively draw from the tales compiled by the Brothers Grimm.

This is the story of a young girl and a young dragon. Unsurprisingly, they are the closest of friends, and just as predictably, the rest of the world is against them both. However, when demons decide to destroy their world, they take the side of those who have always opposed them.

Jack moves to Hokkaido for medical treatment due to his illness, feeling lonely and hopeless. One night, a rider suddenly crashes through his window to assist him. Despite never having been introduced, Jack instinctively knows the rider's name and senses they have met before. The rider, Cu Chulainn, guides Jack to open a portal beneath the moonlight, sending him to Nymphidia—a world inspired by "A Midsummer Night's Dream." There, the inhabitants are expecting the arrival of a new Fairy King.

Based on the role-playing game Legend of Xanadu, the story begins when the evil wizard Reichswar slays the King and takes a magical crystal, aiming to conquer Xanadu with its power. Soon after, the newly widowed Queen Rieru is captured. In response, a brave young hero, carrying the enchanted sword Dragonslayer, sets out on a journey to rescue her.

In a quiet Japanese village, a transfer student from the city catches the attention of his classmates with his mysterious aura. Drawing from a local legend, they nickname him "Matasaburou the Wind Imp." Over time, they grow close and spend many afternoons wandering the countryside together. One especially windy day, Matasaburou goes back to the city, leaving his friends to wonder if he truly was the mythical Wind Imp, whisked away by the breeze.

After the events of Revenge of Cronos, Rom and Leina cross a dimensional barrier, causing their robot bodies to become human and leaving them separated with hazy recollections. Now going by Leina Haruka, she leads the life of a Japanese schoolgirl. As the story moves forward, Leina encounters Rod Drill, Blue Jet, Triple Jim, and Rom, all of whom have likewise assumed human forms.

Based on a fantasy manga by Kaori Kimeki, which was serialized in "Princess" magazine. The first episode premiered in theaters on July 9, 1988, shown together with the digest edition of the Aim for the Ace 2 OVA series. The complete series was later released on VHS on September 1, 1988.

In this story, Mami Sakura is a schoolgirl who realizes she possesses special powers: she can detect when someone is in distress and instantly teleport to help them. She keeps this secret from her parents, confiding only in her classmate Kazuo Takahata. The narrative centers on Mami using her abilities to put on a puppet show for children who are less fortunate.

Toei's month long run of fairy tale stories.

Dagon's tiny rocket ship crash-lands on a lush blue planet, touching down in a patch of green grass. He soon befriends the local inhabitants: Zipzap Mantis, General Ant Garibaldi, Andy Ant, Doctor Marilyn Wasp, and many others. And yes—they're all insects. That's because Dagon himself stands only a single centimeter tall! The small residents of the weed-covered land grow curious about this visitor from outer space. But when Dagon rescues them from the dangerous attacks of their fierce enemies, Gulpo Toad and Godzi Lizard, the insects are convinced he's a SUPER-BUG! This world is also home to far more terrifying creatures known as the Sapiens—human beings. To recover his rocket, Dagon will have to face these gigantic beings head-on! And so begins Dagon's hilarious and heart-pounding adventure on planet Earth...

This anime series adapted classic fairy tales and literary works from both Western and Eastern traditions. It first aired as a segment of the morning children's show Hirake! Ponkikki. Later, the episodes were gathered and released on VHS.

Produced for government agencies and public institutions like schools and after-school programs, this anime was distributed across three 16mm reels by Chuubu Nihon Kyouei. Little information exists regarding its initial release.