The 1990s are when anime becomes simultaneously more experimental and more commercially globalised. The collapse of Japan's bubble economy reshapes production financing; late-night TV broadcast slots open up to adult-targeted anime; Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) becomes the decade's defining work; and Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Pokémon establish anime as a global mass-market category through television broadcast in dozens of countries.
1995 — Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell
Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion broadcast in late 1995. Its production troubles — visible in the famously austere final two episodes — and the 1997 film The End of Evangelion made the series one of the most studied works in the medium. The same year, Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell feature released theatrically and became the international reference point for cyberpunk animation.
Late-night anime
Through the late 1990s, Japanese broadcasters increasingly opened late-night slots (after 11pm) to anime, with production financed by 'production committees' rather than single sponsors. The shift allowed niche, adult-targeted shows to find a home on free-to-air TV. The late-night model would become the dominant format for TV anime through the 2000s and 2010s.
International expansion
Dragon Ball Z dubbed broadcasts in the United States (1996) and Latin America, Sailor Moon in dozens of countries, and Pokémon's 1998 American broadcast established anime as a recognisable Saturday-morning category outside Japan. Cardcaptor Sakura, Cowboy Bebop, and Yu-Gi-Oh! followed.
Other landmark works
- Sailor Moon (1992).
- Slam Dunk (manga 1990, anime 1993).
- Berserk begins serialisation (1989, with first anime 1997).
- Cowboy Bebop (1998).
- Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, 1997).
- One Piece begins serialisation (1997).
- Princess Mononoke (1997).