What was that show…?

-Written by: Lisa Marie Cooper

What Was That Show…?: Anime on American TV

Did you know that since 1963 there hasn’t been a single year when anime didn’t air on American television? True, for a stretch in the ‘70s it was mostly just MushiPro titles running in syndication, but they were there all the same, reaching kids who had no idea this show they loved came from across the Pacific. By the ‘80s, of course, the number of anime series started going up, up, up. How many anime series and movies would you say have aired on American TV? 10? 50? 100? Over 9,000? I honestly didn’t count, but over the course of putting this list together that last number has started to sound pretty accurate.

There’s been so many anime on American TV that you can easily be forgiven for forgetting which shows you watched way back when. Not to worry – I’ve got your back. Organized by year, this is as complete a list as possible of every anime that has aired on American TV (barring a few exceptions I’ll get to in a minute). As long as you can remember the year you saw the show, the channel it was on, and/or have the patience to click through an awful lot of entries, you’ll find the show you’re looking for and a lot more besides.

About syndication: Syndication means a show was offered as a package to any channel willing to pay for it. If a series is listed under “syndication,” it may have aired on a network you got, but not necessarily. Even if you did get the channel it was on, the series wouldn’t necessarily have aired at a reasonable time. (Five a.m. Sailor Moon airings, anyone?)

Exceptions: In the interest of saving sanity and server load times, this list does not (currently) cover video on demand (VOD) channels, The Anime Channel, or Funimation Network. Colours TV, ImaginAsian TV, Starz Edge, Starz Encore Action, KTEH, and the International Channel are similarly excluded. Network One is excluded because I couldn’t find any kind of schedule, but they aired Streamline titles from 1994-98.

Caveats: I have attempted to be as thorough as possible, but I am still only human. If you notice something missing, see an entry with incorrect data, or have any other comments, please reach out to us on social media via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or anywhere else you can find us. Some of the syndication data from the ‘60s and ‘70s is spotty. While the first year a program entered syndication is (hopefully) always listed, subsequent years the series was available are sometimes unknown.

Sources: I have relied on many of the usual suspects in putting this list together, including Wikipedia (cross-checked against citations, of course!), the ever-valuable Anime News Network Encyclopedia, and the internet archivist’s best friend, The Wayback Machine. Particular thanks are also due to the editors at the Toonami Wiki (especially the wonderful souls who added the broadcast sections!), user mbanu at Old School Otaku for scraping the Sci-Fi movie schedule, Fred Patten’s Watching Anime, Reading Manga, Fred Ladd’s Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas,Jonathan Clements’ and Helen McCarthy’s Anime Encyclopedia, and others I am sure I have accidentally forgotten but were no less valuable.

Happy remembrances!

-Lisa Marie Cooper

1963

NBC

• Astro Boy

Syndication

• Astro Boy
• Eighth Man

1964

NBC

• Astro Boy

Syndication

• Astro Boy
• Eighth Man
• Gigantor

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

Syndication

• Force Five: Gaiking
• Force Five: Danguard Ace
• Force Five: Grandizer
• Kimba: The White Lion
• Princess Knight/Choppy and the Princess
• Tales of Magic/Merlin’s Cave/World Famous Fairy Tales

1978

1979

1980

1981

Christian Broadcasting Network

• Superbook – reader submission

1982

Syndication

• Battle of the Planets
• Star Blazers
• Tales of Magic/Merlin’s Cave/World Famous Fairy Tales
• Ulysses 31

Christian Broadcasting Network

• Superbook – reader submission
• The Flying House

1983

Syndication

• Battle of the Planets
• Star Blazers
• Tales of Magic/Merlin’s Cave/World Famous Fairy Tales

Christian Broadcasting Network

• The Flying House

1984

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Belle and Sebastian

1985

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• The Adventures of the Little Prince
• Belle and Sebastian

Syndication

• Battle of the Planets
• Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years
• Macron 1
• Robotech
• Tales of Magic/Merlin’s Cave/World Famous Fairy Tales
• Voltron

1986

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• The Adventures of the Little Prince
• Belle and Sebastian
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold

Syndication

• Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years
• G-Force: Guardians of Space
• Macron 1
• Maple Town
• Robotech
• Tales of Magic/Merlin’s Cave/World Famous Fairy Tales

1987

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• The Adventures of the Little Prince
• Belle and Sebastian
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold

Syndication

• Bionic Six
• Maple Town
• Sylvanian Families
• Tales of Magic/Merlin’s Cave/World Famous Fairy Tales

1988

HBO

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Tales of Little Women

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Adventures of the Little Koala
• The Adventures of the Little Prince
• Belle and Sebastian
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold
• Noozles

Syndication

• Bionic Six
• Sylvanian Families
• Tales of Magic/Merlin’s Cave/World Famous Fairy Tales

1989

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Adventures of the Little Koala
• The Adventures of the Little Prince
• Belle and Sebastian
• Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold
• Noozles

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

Syndication

• Dragon Warrior

1990

The Family Channel

• Wowser

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Adventures of the Little Koala
• The Adventures of Peter Pan
• Belle and Sebastian
• The Littl’ Bits
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold
• Noozles

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

Syndication

• Dragon Warrior
• Maya the Honey Bee

1991

CBS

• Hello Kitty and Friends

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Adventures of the Little Koala
• Jungle Tales
• The Littl’ Bits
• Noozles

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

Syndication

• Adventures of the Little Mermaid
• Dragon Warrior
• Honeybee Hutch
• Maya the Honey Bee

1992

HBO

• Pinocchio: The Series

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Adventures of the Little Koala
• Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics
• The Littl’ Bits
• Noozles

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

Syndication

• Honeybee Hutch
• Huckleberry Finn
• Maya the Honey Bee
• Tic Tac Toons

1993

MTV

• Speed Racer

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Noozles
• Adventures of the Little Koala
• The Littl’ Bits
• Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

1994

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics
• The Littl’ Bits

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

1995

Cartoon Network

• G-Force: Guardians of Space

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics
• The Littl’ Bits

UPN

• Teknoman

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

1996

Cartoon Network

• G-Force: Guardians of Space

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.

• The Littl’ Bits

USA Cartoon Express

• Voltron

1997

Cartoon Network

• G-Force: Guardians of Space

Cartoon Network/Toonami

• Voltron

USA Network

• Sailor Moon

1998

Toon Disney

• Hello Kitty and Friends

1999

Kid’s WB

• Pokémon

Syndication

• Monkey Magic

2000

Fox Kids

• Cybersix
• Digimon
• Dinozaurs
• Escaflowne
• Flint the Time Detective
• Monster Rancher

Kid’s WB

• Cardcaptors
• Pokémon

PBS

• Neon Genesis Evangelion

2001

Cartoon Network/Adult Swim

• Cowboy Bebop

Syndication

• Tama and Friends

2002

G4/Tech TV

• Crest of the Stars

Nickelodeon

• Speed Racer X

Syndication

• Tama and Friends

2003

ABC Family/Jetix

• Beyblade
• Medabots

Cartoon Network/Toonami: Midnight Run

• G Gundam

2004

ABC Family/Jetix

• Beyblade
• Digimon
• Medabots

MTV2

• Heat Guy J

2005

Jetix/Toon Disney

• Battle B-Daman
• Beyblade
• Digimon
• Shinzo

2006

G4/Tech TV

• Cromartie High School

Jetix/Toon Disney

• Beyblade
• Daigunder
• Digimon
• Mon Colle Knights
• Oban Star-Racers
• Shinzo

2007

Kid’s WB

• Spider Riders

Spike TV

• Afro Samurai

2008

Nickelodeon/NickToons

• Domo TV

Spike TV

• Afro Samurai Resurrection

2009

Cartoon Network

• Naruto

Disney XD

• Naruto: Shippuden

Jetix/Toon Disney

• Beyblade
• Digimon
• Shinzo

Nickelodeon/NickToons

• Domo TV

2010

Cartoon Network

• Beyblade: Metal Fusion

Disney XD

• Naruto: Shippuden

2011

2012

G4

• Marvel Anime

2013

2014

Disney XD

• Doraemon: Gadget Cat from the Future

2015

2016

2017

2018