Anime songs that were hits in the 1990s. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks.
Back in the 1990s, it still wasn’t the age of the internet.
These days, late-night anime and VOD subscriptions are the norm, but when you think of 90s anime, it was all about those early evening broadcasts.
Many of you probably spent your grade-school days rushing home after classes and turning on the TV right away.
This time, we’re featuring anime songs from that nostalgic 90s era!
Be sure to look for tracks from the shows you were obsessed with.
They’re great picks to keep in mind for karaoke, too!
- [Nostalgic] Classic and Popular Anime Songs Recommended for People in Their 30s
- Anime songs recommended for people in their 40s, from nostalgic classics to the latest hits.
- [Nostalgic] A roundup of anime songs and theme songs that were hits in the 1980s
- Anisongs that were hits in the 2000s: a nostalgic collection of legendary tracks
- Recommended anime songs for people in their 50s. Classic and popular anime theme songs.
- A coming-of-age song that was a hit in the ’90s. A classic and popular track in Japanese music.
- [Nostalgic] A special feature on legendary anime theme songs: revisiting those classic tracks
- [Top 20] Anime Song Sales Ranking of the Heisei 30 Years!
- [Nostalgic Songs] A compilation of classic anime themes that hit home for those born in the Showa and Heisei eras
- Including global smash hits! Anime songs recommended for Gen Z
- [Nostalgic & Latest] A Special Feature on Anime Songs Recommended for People in Their 20s
- 1990s J-Pop to listen to in summer: classic and hit summer songs
- [Hot & Cool] Up-tempo, hype-inducing anime song
Anime songs that were hits in the 1990s. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks (41–50)
Blue waterMorikawa Miho
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is an anime series directed by Hideaki Anno as chief director, who would later go on to create Evangelion.
Its theme song is Blue Water, sung by Miho Morikawa, which reached a peak position of 17 on the Oricon chart.
Anime songs that were hits in the 1990s. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks (51–60)
RomancePENICILLIN
The power of the chorus is irresistible! This song was used as the theme for Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san.
It was released as a single in 1998 by the visual kei rock band PENICILLIN.
Despite being the theme for a gag anime, its energetic and cool sound is captivating.
Once you hear it, it won’t leave your head.
Wapiko’s Genki Forecast!Uchida Junko
The theme song from when Neko Nekobe’s signature work Goldfish Warning!, serialized in Nakayoshi, was adapted into a TV anime.
“Wapiko” is the name of the main character.
It was sung by Junko Uchida, who is also well known as a choreographer.
Incidentally, the tone of the original manga and the anime differs somewhat.
Until the world ends…WANDS
This is WANDS’ eighth single, which was used as the second ending theme for the 1994 TV anime Slam Dunk.
It played alongside Mitsui Hisashi’s comeback arc, topped the Oricon weekly chart for two consecutive weeks, and became a million seller.
Show Uesugi’s impassioned vocals and Tetsurō Oda’s masterful composition lyrically portray the sense of loss after heartbreak and the turbulence of shifting emotions, building gradually from the first verse and bursting open in the chorus—thrilling whether you sing it or listen to it.
Also included on the album PIECE OF MY SOUL, it remains an immortal classic loved across generations, continually covered by the reactivated fifth-generation WANDS since 2019 and by Show Uesugi himself.
FLYING IN THE SKYUjima Yoshifumi
Mobile Fighter G Gundam was the first entry in the Gundam series set in a world outside the Universal Century timeline, and its distinctly different style from previous series became a major talking point.
The first opening theme is Flying in the Sky, which was Jin Hashimoto’s debut song.
Katsushika RhapsodyDōjima Kōhei
It’s the opening theme of “Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo.” The somewhat nostalgic melody is nice, isn’t it? Maybe the content of the series influences it too, but when I listen, I get the feeling I’m in Tokyo’s shitamachi downtown.
It’s sung by Kohei Dojima, a singer-songwriter from Osaka Prefecture.
STEP BY STEPZIGGY
This is the first ending theme of the hugely popular anime Detective Conan.
It’s a brave, bright, and refreshing song that perfectly suits Detective Conan.
The title “STEP BY STEP,” meaning to move forward one step at a time, matches the image of Detective Conan very well.
It was ZIGGY’s 11th single, released in March 1996.