These are the best anime for a 4:3 aspect ratio screen

I was watching an old show last night with my girlfriend. The nanny, it surprised me how good it was but i realized that it had those two black boxes at the side of the display window. That’s because this show is old ; 1993 to be specific. So it was released for displays that look like this. Despite the Nanny Having some elements of animation. This video isn’t about the nanny. It just made me realize that There are many anime released in the past that many new fans wouldn’t partake in because of the 4:3 aspect ratio and low resolution. But they’re missing out on some gems. So today lets cover the best 4:3 aspect ratio anime and I promise there are some surprises on this list.

So lets say that somehow your amazing 4k monitor broke and you  searched around in the garage and found this old busted CRT display. You plug it in and set it up and it works; now you need some anime that you can watch on this thing. Lucky for you it’s aniprop to the rescue  

Ninja Slayer 2015

Let’s start with the newest anime on this list. Ninja Slayer is a satire anime made in 2015 and literally uses the 4:3 aspect ratio as part of its visual gag. The animation quality is pretty poor but some regard this anime as a masterpiece. It is written from the perspective of young Americans trying to capture the style of the 90s anime era. For those that enjoy insane Geneon/trigger type anime. This is the newest somewhat authentic viewing experience you can have on your busted display. 

Gintama 2006

Another of the more modern shows you will be able to take part in is gintama. It had an aspect ratio of 4:3 from 2006 to 2010. That covers the first 201 episodes. That can buy you loads of time to repair your new display; you can continue with the new episodes on your repaired display. I hope your old monitor can hang on for that long. Gintama is a comedy shounen with some samurai elements. It is, however, more comedy and satire. Maybe you want something a bit more serious for your old screen.�

As a side note I can also mention that the big 3 of yester year, bleach, naruto and Onepiece all switched over to 16:9 aspect ratio in April 2008 giving you access to many seasons of these shows with your old display before they switched over. So enjoy some of that. But the best solutions to enjoy shonen in 4:3 aspect ratio is without a doubt Yu yu hakosho and rurouni kenshin.Yu Yu hakoshi predates bleach having been released in 1992. In many ways however it is better, taking the same emphasis on spirits and spirit powers but with a more nuanced and less repetitive narrative. Ruroni Kenshin on the other hand is slightly newer being released in   1996, it is the only traditional shonen with a somewhat realistic power system that still achieved mass popularity. The characters are based on historical figures and the plot points are based on real world events.  Also by watching the original kenshin anime it will give you context to further enjoy the Kenshin 2023 reboot once you get your good screen fixed up. �

With your current situation you can gain access to the  first episode aired of Haruhi Suzumiya. This is one of my favorite anime but its release in the west was somewhat confusing because episode 1 is actually episode 25. It being of of my favorites ; I already have a video that explains this mixup in detail. Check that out in the description. This episode was filmed in pov on an old camcorder and as such the output is in 4:3 aspect ratio. This will bring a high quality slice of life experience to your square display. You will enjoy the art as intended  

Golden Boy 1995

I’ve covered mainly modern options so far so Lets jump into the classics. Almost all anime made before the year 2000 were published with the 4:3 aspect ratio. So that includes one of the funniest anime ever made. Golden Boy in my opinion is only second to konosuba in terms of comedy leaving Japan. You now have an excuse to get the best possible viewing experience with this beloved classic. It has aged extremely well. I can even recommend the English Dub despite dubs from this period being absolutely  terrible. This one is also terrible but it ads to the humour with how bad it is.  

I can also recommend both gunbuster and neon genesis evangelion if you are looking  for some deeper story and the birthplace of modern fanservice. Watch them in that exact order because between watching gunbuster and evangelion we can see the development of mecha anime and fanservice in anime; both anime being large milestones for key genre elements. I personally have enjoyed the evangelion remakes but the remakes are not actually reboots in the traditional sense and you will only have the full context of the evangelion  IP if you; the viewer watches the originals. 

FLCL – These are the best anime for a 4:3 aspect ratio screen

 My overall favorite anime of this era is FLCL. This is Geneon at  its best. Equal parts thought provoking and hilarious, this anime hit me at a time when i needed it most. It perfectly encapsulates the era onto your crappy screen. Infact one of the main characters in this anime has a 4:3 aspect ratio television as his head. There you go, solidarity. So if the repair shop works fast and you can only pick one show to watch on your bad display. This one, this is the one.�

Other interesting mentions are the original fullmetal alchemist anime only for the reason that you will never have another excuse to check this one out. It’s actually a good anime with alot of value  but its high resolution remake; full metal Alchemist brotherhood  is regarded universally as the best anime ever made. Talk about living in a shadow; So now with your old school monitor, this forgotten anime has a chance to shine. So give it the opportunity.   

Those are all the recommendations I have for your ancient screen. Honestly, after making this video, I think I need to invest in a 4:3 display too so that I can gain maximum enjoyment from the classics. Now that you have this list, find your VGA cable, plug in your speakers, set your computer resolution to 800 X 600 and watch some anime.