Silver Fang

Also knows as: Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, Shooting Star Gin

Year: 1986

Length: 21 episodes

Director: Tomoharu Katsumata

Creator: Yoshihiro Takahashi

More info: Wikipedia, ANN

Availability: Only fansubs

Anime Review
Silver Fang about a puppy who joins an army of dogs who've run away from their owners to fight giant, evil bears with glowy red eyes that are threatening to overwhelm Japan. Really. Even better: the puppy is the son of the dog army leader, who's voiced by Gihren Zabi's voice actor. So, of course, he makes lots of big speeches to inspire his troops.

Toei animated the series in 1986, so each episode (at least, of the two this reviewer has seen) contain many awkward poses and much limited animation. This isn't helped by the fact that the animators were drawing dogs. Animators usually spend their time drawing humans, so lifelike representation of animals, especially on a TV budget, is usually incredibly hard.

The odd story doesn't help, such as the American super-gun that's the only defense against the evil bears. However, the story is told with passion. Each character is distinctive. Heck, the manga received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1987 for best shonen title.