8 Anime That Used To Air On Nickelodeon

Cartoon Network brought plenty of anime to American kids, but long before that, Nickelodeon had an anime treasure trove of its own.

Cartoon Network may be the kids channel that gets the majority of the credit for bringing anime to the American masses back in the late 90s/early 2000s. However, they weren’t the only ones who saw the potential in Japan’s unique approach to animation. In fact, Nickelodeon was importing anime for their programming blocks more than a decade before Cartoon Network even existed.

These shows may not have been packed with action, violence, and gigantic energy blasts like Dragon Ball Z, or heavy themes and giant robots like Gundam Wing, but they were anime all the same. Many of them still inspire warm and fuzzy memories in those who remember them, and some of them hold up surprisingly well.

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The Adventures Of The Little Prince

The Adventures of the Little Prince was a 39-episode adaptation of the world-famous French children’s book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was created by Knack Productions, an anime production company that employed a number of notable artists during its heyday, including Masayuki Kojima (Made in Abyss) and Go Nagai (Devilman, Violence Jack).

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The show was a significant departure from the source material and didn’t contain the greatest animation, but it still delivered enough charm to pull in an international audience. It’s currently available on Crunchyroll in its entirety.

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Belle And Sebastian

Another adaptation of a famed French children’s book, this show follows a little boy named Sebastian and his Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Belle, on their journey to find Sebastian’s lost mother. It was co-produced by Japanese film giant Toho Co., and has found its way to several different countries where it has been both dubbed and subbed in various languages.

While Belle and Sebastian was widely enjoyed by those who watched it on Nickelodeon between 1984 and 1990, a high quality version of the English dub remains rather elusive. For fans who are willing to deal with some pixilated video and tin can audio, it can be found on YouTube.

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Speed Racer X

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Once Nickelodeon started airing their own original Nicktoons in the early 90s, the anime offerings on the network evaporated rather quickly. It wouldn’t be until Cartoon Network ignited a Japanese animation revolution in America that the First Kids Network would consider getting back in the game. Their efforts would be short-lived though, as Speed Racer X only aired 11 episodes in 2002 before disappearing into the television ether.

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The show was a retelling of one of the first anime to ever make it stateside: Speed Racer. However, this modern remake didn’t quite have the excitement or the staying power of the original.

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Maple Town

While many 80s Nickelodeon anime series were fairly exciting adventure stories, Toei Animation’s Maple Town was much closer to the episodic children’s programming that would later take up much of the network’s time slots. It followed the slice-of-life adventures of a group of adorable anthropomorphic creatures who lived in the eponymous Maple Town.

For viewers who remember the earlier days of Nick Jr., this show might remind them a bit of Little Bear. It’s more of a show for the younger demographic, but it’s still a lovable little 80s anime.

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Noozles

Not to be confused with the other koala-based anime, Adventures of the Little Koala, Noozles was a heartwarming little adventure show that followed a little girl named Sandy and her adventures with her stuffed-animal-brought-to-life, Blinky.

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Though it had a brief 26-episode run, this Nippon Animation creation told a number of fun tales that found an international audience back in the 80s, making its way to Germany, England, France, Spain, Korea, and more.

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Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics

This late 80s take on the timeless tales collected by the Brothers Grimm may have been created for Japanese television by Nippon Animation, but it quickly connected with kids everywhere. It could be found airing on local channels in various countries across six continents at one point or another. Such is the power of a classic fairytale adaptation.

Some of the episodes are adapted from extremely well-known tales, like “Snow White,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Hansel and Gretel,” while others are from a bit more obscure material, like “The Spirit in the Bottle” and “Godfather Death.” It may be aimed at young kids, but it’s got plenty of charm, and some nice character designs that are more comparable to the anime most fans know and love than many of the designs on other early Nickelodeon anime shows.

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Maya The Bee

Maya the Bee may not be all that well-known in America, but she is quite popular in various other parts of the world. Originally a German coming-of-age book about a little honey bee, the story has been adapted into multiple films, two television shows, a musical, a jazz musical with puppets, a children’s opera, and several video games. It even has its own section in multiple Plopsaland theme parks.

Interestingly, Nippon Animation’s Maya the Bee, which aired on Nickelodeon from 1990 to 1992, may be the most widely recognized adaptation of them all. U.S. viewers may not have gotten all of this beloved character. They apparently did get the best that the adorable little bee has to offer.

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The Mysterious Cities Of Gold

The Mysterious Cities of Gold is perhaps the most well-known anime to air on Nickelodeon. It was produced in tandem by Japanese animation studio Studio Pierrot and French production company DIC Audiovisuel, so it’s more of an international creation, but it originally premiered in Japan making it (technically) officially an anime.

The show followed a group of three orphans from Barcelona who journey to the New World in search of the lost cities of gold. The original 39-episode run was so beloved (and the intro went so hard) that a 26-episode sequel series was created in 2012, about three decades after the show’s original Japanese run. If there’s one single Nickelodeon anime to check out, this is it.

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