Lucky Star and K-on for CGDCT
Evangelion for meta-commentary and deconstruction, to the point that future works that qualify often get called the “Evangelion of <genre>”
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Attack on Titan for battle shounen
Bocchi the Rock for girls band anime, specifically
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro for pretty much all of Ghibli
Akira for 90s anime
No idea then, sorry.
Google suggests Magic Knight Rayearth or Phantom Thief Jeanne, neither of which I’m familiar with, but they don’t look like they fit.
Saint Seiya could fit the dates, Athena could pass as a chosen one, and Cygnus had a buckler of sorts, but that’s probably not it either…
It’s okay. It’s been my white whale for a long time and what led me to meticulously detail what I watch and read if I remember to do it.
I’ll check out your suggestions to see if it can get me closer or like magically spark some core memory.