My Neighbor Totoro is one of Studio Ghibli's most acclaimed films of all time. Not only is it still adored today, but there are countless pieces of merch and even a play about it. It follows two siblings as they move into a house and befriend spirits who reside within it.

Akira has to be the crowning jewel of anime movies of the '80s. It released the first day of the new year and received raving reviews from everyone who watched it. This movie is about a lot, really, but it can be summed up quickly. A boy with psychic powers starts WWIII in 1988 and he is locked away. Flash forward to 2019, a different boy who is caught up in a biker gang begins to develop his own powers.

https://myanimelist.net/anime/47/Akira

Okay, I know this isn't an anime, but I can't ignore the reason I chose this decade in the first place. I decided to go a few years out of the 80's, but that's because Stardust Crusaders was being released from the 80's into the 90's. JJBA cannot be explained in this short amount of time, but I can do a TL;DR. Rich boy meets jealous god-child who becomes a vampire. A sexy vampire.

Even though this isn't an anime development per se, this was the beginning of a new era of appreciation for anime. There were even multiple anime cosplayers! Anime was starting to hit the apex of its influence in America, and this was just the beginning of the decade.

https://sarahfitzgerald374.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/1980s-how-manga-and-anime-was-consumed-in-the-united-states/

OVA's, or original video animation, was a huge and integral part of anime and its popularity. Typically, anime studios could only get money from airing the episodes on TV or making movies - especially for international audiences. Now, with the introduction of OVA's, anyone can take an anime home and watch it, which means more money for the studios in the long run.

https://startinglifefromzero.home.blog/2021/01/06/the-history-of-anime-part-3-the-golden-eighties/

https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/3811/what-is-the-ova-boom

Like today, many people did not understand the appeal of anime, manga, or anything that came from that side of the pond, you could say. The book/study was titled 'Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics' and it was written with the intent of showing English speakers the joy of manga. It even received glowing recognition and praise from Stan Lee!!

https://sarahfitzgerald374.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/1980s-how-manga-and-anime-was-consumed-in-the-united-states/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga!_Manga!_The_World_of_Japanese_Comics