Great Animes that most people havn't ever heard of
 

There's a lot of anime out there, and sometimes people forget that the most popular anime, dosent have to be the best anime.For example,

Touka Gettan is very good, but almost no one watched it.

Are there other animes that don't get the recognition they deserve? if so, what?

If you don't mind old animation, then Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a must.

Other anime that I think is excellent but doesn't get enough attention is Bokurano, Byousoku 5 Centimeter (maybe it's popular in this forum but not really anywhere else), The Place Promised in Our Early Days, Kino's Journey, SaiKano, and Seirei no Moribito (it has quite a bit of attention but not as much as it deserves).

Gakuen Alice and Otogi-Jushi Akazukin are both very recent and really good, but nobody ever mentions them. I'm just grateful that both were completed by fansub groups! (Thanks T-N, ADTRW, and Naisho). Super Gals is also quite good, and I never hear about it. I only watched it because I heard the OP and ED songs and they were so good, I was compelled to watch a genre I otherwise would have ignored. I never hear anyone mention Nadesico anymore, either, but it was really good, much more than episode 1 suggests.
Twelve Kingdoms and Zone of the Enders (TV) are also very rarely mentioned, which is odd, considering how much I liked both of them.

Right now, I think Hero Tales is a lot of fun, but I'm scared subbing will be discontinued for lack of interest! It does not really compare to exceptionally good anime like Gakuen Alice, though.

For the most part, pre-1998 anime are underappreciated, just because the Western audience was much smaller before digital fansubbing was practical. Often all that was available around then in the USA were horrible VHS English-dub-only versions.

As for pretty old series that I think more people today should watch:
Escaflowne (TV)
Slayers
Galaxy Fraulein Yuna (OVA 1 and 2 - 1 is light, 2 is dark)
D4 Princess
Hunter x Hunter
Saber Marionette J


Lastly -
Xenogears is an anime-style video game, but I will throw it in too, because Xenosaga (a related game) had an anime made of it, while Xenogears was ignored. But Xenogears is nothing like Xenosaga, in that it contains 100% less suckage and 100% more awesomeness.

From the past year, Baccano! was the best that barely anyone watched, right now few people seen to be watching Hatenko Yugi or Hakaba Kitarou which are both excellent (and my two favorites of the season). Um... but yeah, Baccano!

If you want to smething older that is rare to see these days, go watch Space Adventure COBRA.

Well theres a couple, IMO Speed Grapher is an anime that most people don't know of, Its a really great series with alot of action and suspense, and each episode just leaves you wanting for more. Theres also Yugo the Negotiator its only 12 episodes, and has only 2 arcs but it is an extremely well done anime that just doesn't get any attention or credit from how good it is. and as said before Baccano! is also a really good show, a big cast of amazing characters, and each episode is just awesome.

I'll just point to my signature as including a number of underappreciated shows. Number one on my list is Bartender.

Also there are some "underappreciated anime" threads here that you might want to read.

GACK!!! He beat me to it! BARTENDER FOR THE WIN!!!

Has everyone heard of Last Exile? I just stumbled upon that one myself, and it is such a good series, there's no way it wasn't popular...

I've wondered about that a lot. It has good ratings on places like ANN. But the concept sounds utterly stupid... and I *acquired* the OST, and every single instrumental piece was elevator-music garbage. Now, I have no problem with stupid-sounding premises; there are a lot of good anime that have them. But Bartender is supposed to be serious, I think, and the concept of fixing people's lives with a well-prepared cocktail seems abjectly insane. And the fact that the music is actively painful to listen to...

What am I missing? Or do I just have to bite the bullet and watch an episode?

Incidentally, I noticed Edo Rocket in your signature. I devoted a couple of days to downloading and then seeding to 1.1:1 all of Edo Rocket on my fairly slow connection, because it was very highly rated all around. But I tried watching episode 1, and... good lord, episode 1 blew like a hurricane. It seemed like a 1970's American cartoon aimed at 7-year-olds and dubbed in Japanese. The characters were all stupid (mentally, not pejoratively), the storyboarding catered to the attention span of someone with severe ADD, the art was surrealistic and bad, the plot was utterly unrealistic, and... I have not had such a negative impression of an anime since Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu episode 1, which made me unilaterally stop watching the anime. Only much later did I watch episode 2 due to the fact that everyone was talking about how awesome it was, and I found that episode 1 was totally unlike any other episode, and that, in fact, the person who planned the episode order is terminally stupid. So, the anime is pretty good, and I am glad I did not miss it.

But what I'm asking is... is Edo Rocket like Haruhi, where episode 1 is utterly unlike any other episode? Or is episode 1 similar to the other episodes, and somehow, Edo Rocket falls in to the category of "everyone likes it except me"? Because honestly, based on episode 1, I would rate it about a 1 on ANN's scale.


You can answer too :)

@Last Exile: I rated it "Very Good". But that is largely for the wonderful music and animation. It had good character development, dialogue and drama, too, but years later, I find myself wondering exactly what the point was. Not that all anime have to carry a strong black-and-white message; but bear in mind that Last Exile is kind of ambiguous throughout, and ends feeling somewhat unresolved. Still, it has amazing visuals and an absolutely wonderful opening. On the other hand... I never thought of it as "unpopular".

hard to say these days. There was another topic like this awhile back with some great suggestions but here are a few that people don't recommend usually that are quite good.

Dennou Coil
Noein
Kamichu!
Fantastic Children
Simoun
Toward the Terra
xxxholic
zegapain
Honey and Clover

All these are pretty good titles you should check out. My personal favorites out of this that I think you should check out first are Noein, Toward the Terra, Dennou Coil and Kamichu!

EDIT: OOOOOOOOO I forgot one title. Oh! edo rocket. It's a comedy with an actual plot and a HUGE variety of different characters that are very charming and funny. Not sure how it's going to turn out but so far it's great!

"KNYACKI!" the series of very short clay animation, if it is classified as an anime.
I'm at least sure that most people here haven't ever heard of it.

I think you and I just have very different tastes. First, the music. I like Ootake's work and, though I can see its flaws, I'd hardly call it "elevator music." Is she the most inventive jazz pianist I've ever heard? No. Do I think she wrote some lovely tunes to complement a show about people in bars? Yes. While I watched each episode I found it easy to imagine her sitting in a corner of Eden Hall playing her piano for the few patrons who bothered to listen. It just fit the entire mood of the show.

I recommend you watch episode two, the most "Japanese" of the episodes in my mind. I found Miwa's personal story touching and saw the conflict between her father and grandfather as symbolic of the conflicts traditional Japanese institutions faced after the war. I'm an American, and what I know about Japen is from reading, some movies and TV, anime obviously, and my imagination. Even as a foreigner I could see how this episode might be poignant for a whole generation of Japanese viewers.

I like the didactic component of Bartender as well; how we learn something new about liquor, how and why different spirits were invented, and how many different ways humans have learned to mix them together. Of course the premise is hokey -- no one's life can be transformed by a cocktail -- yet this hokey premise motivates some lovely story-telling about dreams unfulfilled and loves lost yet hope for tomorrow. I guess I'm a sucker for that stuff but, at my age, hope despite loss sums up a lot of my life.

I also liked especially the episode concerning the movie makers and that spirit of rebellion, Scotch.

I'll let Goofus nominate his favorite episodes.

Your comparison of Rocket with episode one of Haruhi made me realize why I liked both of them, and Bartender as well. They're all "theatrical" rather than realistic. Haruhi starts with an obvious home movie that you come to realize is being made by the characters themselves. In Bartender the characters often talk directly to the audience or play the role of a "Greek chorus" explicating the events around them. At times the director also makes use of staging and lighting effects which enhance the theatrical quality of the show. Oh! Edo Rocket is littered with ridiculously anachronistic jokes like the existence of trains, TVs, and blogs in Edo Japan. The characters often make "self-aware" jokes that indicate they know they're in an anime. One of my favorites is

Another example is the episode where the main characters complain they're not in the script for that week. Since the show is derived from a stage play, you can see where theatrical aspects come into play.

Just so you won't think I like the show only for this kind of heady stuff, I also became quite attached to the characters and concerned about their fates. That's usually the number one motivation that keeps me watching a series. I'll give the author room on the story if he or she can make me care about the characters.

How do you feel about shows like Twelve Kingdoms? Dennou Coil? Mononoke? Monster? Noein? Are these among my favorite shows? Yes. Do I think they all have flaws? Of course. Do I expect everyone will like them because I do? No, but I do think they're worth investigating, especially by the seemingly large array of people here who rarely venture outside one or two genres.

Oh, and I thought the score for Oh! Edo Rocket was one of the best I heard all last year.

Not to be useless in this thread, but I thought Last Exile was very popular :confused:


and I second on Saber Cherry Twelve Kingdoms. Very good show I must say, and ironically has not been heard of by much.

Kekkaishi (Elsewhere outside of Japan)
Simoun

I agree very much with your statements, from the few people I had heard from who had seen Baccano!, it was a great series, but very few had heard of it (me included.)

Your statement of Hatenko Yugi is also true, from the few episodes that have aired, it's been a very interesting series, and reminds me a lot of Kino's Journey, which is also very understated. Not many have seen either of these, but they deserve much more recognition.

I also noticed ef - A Tale of Memories as your favourite.
I think we can be friends. :D

Sounds like it. Of course, there is room in the world for different tastes, too :)

Great; have not seen but expect it to be good; have not seen but expect it to be bad; awesome at first, but less good as time went on; excellent.

I like anime from every genre (except hentai and shounen ai, I suppose). But I have a pretty narrow tolerance for music - aside from OPs/EDs, music I don't like (including rap, jazz, and abuse of engrish) is one strike against an anime, extremely surrealistic art is another, and I have a sort of "two major flaws and you're out" policy, unless it as an absolute masterpiece otherwise. Hmm, maybe I'm intolerant:heh:


Kekkaishi is hardly unknown, but it should probably be more popular than it is. Unfortunately, it is hard to define in a genre. In the suggestions forum, people can ask for "romance", "comedy", "action", "high-school", "dark", "happy", "mystery", "fantasy", "epic", "masterpiece", "depressing", "uplifting", "sports", "crime", "war", sci-fi", "mecha", "martial arts", and so forth... and really, it does not fit any of these categories, so it is hard to recommend. It is probably my #1 most anticipated weekly(ish) release now, but it somehow never seems like the correct suggestion!

Unfortunately, like Kekkaishi, it is hard to categorize. Simoun is usually recommended to people looking for yuri (which it really isn't), so again, I'll have to say it is an unfortunate case of a very good (but again, not masterpiece-level) anime relegated to obscurity because it has no clear genre.

One of my favourite series that almost nobody has ever heard of, is Hyper Police. Ten years old now, pre-digisubbing scene, so naturally very unknown among the modern anime crowd.

For more recent, underrated stuff, I'd have to say both Mushishi and Dennou Coil (both are in the same league in my books) though gaining some popularity due to regular recommendations from folk here ^^;

Though at the top of my underrated/unappreciated list is Yomigaeru Sora (Rescue Wings) which is a truly excellent drama, that is highly unknown, sadly. Froth-Bite did an excellent job subbing it, too. Also still unlicensed and listed here on Suki. I know drama series don't often get much love in general, especially among the younger anime crowd who are all in to action, fanservice and mecha, but it really is an unmissable show I think anybody should be able to appreciate in some aspect or another.

I'm going to say Kite even though some of you will hate me for it. I think it's a wonderful story with invigorating action. I understand that most people won't watch this because of its age rating, but I think it's worth it.

Then there's _summer, which is just overall two good short episodes that leads nowhere. It is a mix of slice of life and romance that's just perfect in my opinion. It's one of the rare anime where I don't mind childhood friends.

About what some people have suggested....

Dennou Coil: I've seen a couple episodes, and I'm not really impressed. I can't tell if this is supposed to be a Matrix rip-off or some other kind of futuristic sci-fi, but the elements I did like have been in other anime and done better. It didn't help that most of the events gonig on were completely unexplained for too long. While it wasn't bad, neither did it make me think "oh my god I have to see the next episode". Unless an anime tempts me to stay up too late every night watching it, it's average at best.

Same goes for Kekkaishi. I've watched 28 episodes, and while it is an okay anime, it is average. In every way possible. Storyline, characters, all immediately made me think, "meh, I've seen better". Again, while it's not bad, I wouldn't rate it as "must see", because as I said, it just average, and frankly has too many boring anime character archetypes. It has good animation and effects in its favor, but I kind of dropped it after a while because I just got bored with it because it didn't bring anything new to the table for anime. Five years ago it would have been great, but since then I've seen other shows that do what Kekkaishi does but better.

One anime I will support is Baccano!. It has immortal characters, evil bad guys, and a plot so twisted and convoluted spanning so many years that you can't help but be enthralled by way the whole thing ties together. While I typically don't like confusing storylines (complicated and confusing are different), I had some friends explaining things to me as we watched it, which helped a lot. Very good anime with excellent quality animation and a huge cast of characters.

Definitely going to say Kiba, I am surprised at how few people have heard of this, especially considering it is among the best shounen action/fantasy anime out there, some sweet characters, great progression, and the story itself can actually get rather deep and meaningful at times.

Another great one very few people have heard of is this anime Naruto, it is about the struggles of one little boy to become a great ninja. You will probably have a hard time finding episodes to watch this one, however, but it will be worth your time to do so.

Uh, actually, I'd say that is probably one of the most well known anime out there, with One Piece and Bleach. If someone hasn't heard of Naruto..... :uhoh:

I forgot to add Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, and great short series that's just...great.

zegapain
fafner
hatenkou yuugi
hantsuki
5cm per second
seirei no moribito
baccano
lamune

so many underaprecciated animes, i'll add and explain later

is this sarcasm?

naruto is very popular and WAAY

Current ones: True Tears, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle
Older ones: Soukou no Strain, Mushishi

You won't like Oh! Edo Rocket's sound track, then: lots of 40's-styled big-band swing music, 60's progressive jazz, and Latin mariachi stuff.

I can understand better why you think Ootake's work sounds like elevator music. Just not your musical cup of tea.

Princess Mononoke is a breathtaking movie that not enough people notice. You have to watch it to realize its merit. Its old so it lost some of its popularity

Overdrive comes to mind. Its based on my tastes, but its really good. Overdrive is about sports, bicycle racing in particular and its widely underrated and unknown. Although the race seems to drag on, the ending to the race makes up for it. It has some pretty funny moments and some pretty dramatic moments. Bike racing for the premise of the show sounds lame, but its surprisingly very interesting.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto isn't well known, but it should be. Although it goes on and off with some shows being boring and others being amazing, it still kept my interest. Its like a samurai historical anime with some elements of fantasy.

Ranma 1/2 is widely known as it is, but since its so old, nobody really pays attention to it anymore.

Major is another sports anime that not many pay attention to. The first season is its best season. NOTE - its the only thing involved with sports that made me cry like a baby.

An underrated, but GREAT comedy anime is Yakitate Japan!! A typical shonen animem but with a twist, the superpower isn't super saiyan or a zanpakutou, its bread. Yeah you heard me, and thats what makes it awesome and funny. Its solely based on comedy so if your looking to laugh, look into this one.

Ongoing ones that I find underrated
D.Grayman - I find not many people pay attention to this, but its actually very good, its a shonen anime, but don't shoot it down because of that. It employs action, adventure, horror, drama, and comedy all into one breadbasket. If you start watching it and like it, I'll tell you once it hits episode 53 it gets way better.

Yeah and about Naruto, its probably the most popular anime out there right now, although I have yet to see it.

EDIT - To the person who posted below me - Really? I never knew, because I haven't heard of it that much before I started watching it and I rarely see it suggested, so I thought it wasn't that popular. And like I did, some people may overlook this one because of the odd concept.

Other shows that do what Kekkaishi does but better? Give me those examples, I am curious what those other anime are. Kekkaishi is "average"? Oh my goodness... my goodness.

Hmm.. I suppose I was editting my post when you're replying back.. I am pretty sure it's popular in Japan but, how about other parts of world..? Taking AnimeSuki for example, the Manga thread has a mere 3 post ( one from me ), and the Anime thread is mildly-active.

Agreed.

You're kidding!! Tell me you're kidding! It's too popular!!

I saw someone mention Simoun, which unlike all the other liscenced shows that people have mentioned, still manages to fly largely under-the-radar and is indeed one of the best shows of the past few years, and a member of my top 10-15. Feel sorry for anyone who missed it, but if you did, go buy the DVDs. They're sub only but have a ton of episodes and are cheap.

Argh! From 70 degrees one day to 7 inches of snow the next, and now, two days later, 50 degrees and thunderstorms. I've not had enough up-time on my cable modem to come back here and catch up.

ANYHOW! I can't help my taste in soft jazz piano, but the music just went hand and glove with the ambience of the show. Sometimes music doesn't survive being separated from it's show, while other times, such as in Claymore, the show kind of swamps the music, which I found to be surprisingly good, when listened to by itself.

My favorite Bartender episode is the "Old Man and the Sea" episode, otherwise known as the Frozen Daiquiri show. Next favorite would be the show with the Old Politician and lawyer who visited Eden Hall. Third on the list, is the "Black Witch" episode, with it's cold remedies.

Seen Last Exile recently also and I think it's great.
Second Yakitate Japan!- really great comedy, and really probably one of the most interesting idea for anime.
Gundam 0080 War in Pocket- yes it's Gundam title but the show I think it's pretty much underrated by many. And it's lot difference from other Gundam as it focus much on the civilian side.

I'd suggest Zettia Shonen. Very few people seem to have seen it at all, fewer can bear to sit through it. It moves at a very relaxed pace, similar to real life. There's lots of just everyday conversations, but it slowly clues you in on a deeper plot. It's the story about a boy, a cat, and a kappa...and by the time the first season finishes, it comes to a pretty interesting conclusion. It's not for everyone, but it's good in its own way and doesn't get the credit it deserves.

I'd also suggest Twin Spica. For a 2003 anime, character designs are horribly simple which can turn some people off. The backgrounds and such can be amazingly well done so I can't say it has bad animation. The pacing on individual episodes is very good...uplifting story against the backdrop of horrible events, however the pacing of the series as a whole can be poor, with flashback episodes thrown in jarring the overall rhythm. It does a masterful job at plucking your heartstrings, much akin to Shinigami's Ballad.

--db/z/gt--naruto--bleach--deathnote--code geass--gundam series--...


Seriously i also think Last Exile isnt mention much in these threads atleast not recently

Kemonozume probably didnt exist till i mentioned it just now

so much sarcasm but this thread ask for it ^^

I second Denno Coil. It has a refreshing approach focusing on dark mystery, but the gem of the story is hidden behind the deceptively innocent childplay of children that manages to turn many viewers off (as already mentioned by a previous poster who dislikes it). Intertwined with the comical and realistic childplay are hints dotted throughout episodes. The mystery is slowly revealed, but the characters do a great job of maintaining interest. A prominent theme of the anime is the distance between people. The meandering way of storytelling that gradually unravels the mystery in actuality symbolises the message. More patient viewers who watched the entire anime should agree that the depth of Denno Coil is surprisingly deep.

Last Exile is actually pretty popular. It probably doesn't get mentioned as much because it's an older anime - aired in 2003.

and I also second Zegapain. What started out as a typical boy suddenly thrown into battle and knowing how to pilot giant machine plot turns out to be one convoluted story exploring the boundary of reality. Like many viewers, I dislike the flashy mecha, but the story itself is worth ten times more. It's more than enough to cover for my discomfort of watching the eye-dazzling mecha battles. Similar to Denno Coil, Zegapain unfolds slowly. When I hit the right episode, I was amazed by the revelation, and yet more amazed by the impact on previous revelation by future revelations. The anime has a matrix feel to it. However, it puts on its own twist and quickly deviates from Matrix. The entire melancholy and sometimes despairing atmosphere is part of the main strength of Zegapain. I think this anime is one of those that makes you think. It has the right atmosphere for it, but it's not too confusing and confounding like Evangelion and Noein. Just love this anime!

Baccano!

And, here's a REAL challenge - The Skull Man. Come on, how many heard of that one?

the third aoi hitomi no shoujo

kaze no yojimbo (old)
the skull man (recent)

more to come when coffee will start awakening my braincells.

Damien won the thread. Never knew there were other Skull Man fans.

One more here for both Skull Man and Kaze no Yojimbo.

But I've also heard, or seen, or attempted to see and dropped, most of the series mentioned here.

Btw, Princess Tutu, has anyone seen it ?

A fast search on AniDB ordered by rating and with a minimum rating of 8 shows anime that have thousands of votes, and others that have less than 100. Most of them are post 2000 series, so that explains why they're so popular. Tadaa...

I've seen Princess Tutu and just wrote a bit about it for another thread in the suggestion forum this morning. Rather than rewrite it again, I'll quote myself. Perhaps I should have included it here, since it's good and unappreciated, just didn't want to include too much text.

Gundam in a way is kinda ignored, but oh yes Gundam is probably most famous anime. However people only know the name Gundam and some of the great Gundam like 0080, Gundam X, and Turn A Gundam gets ignored by many, could be wrong about Turn A.

Having written earlier today about Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu made me realize it deserves mention in this thread as well. It's an exquisitely beautiful show by Studio 4°C. Though it's clearly intended for children with its cast of young witches and its short episodes, the story is dark and complex enough to hold an adult's attention. Sadly it just got licensed in the past six months or so and isn't available on AS any longer.