Anime & Manga / Needs More Love

Name here works of Anime and Manga that don't get enough appreciation despite their greatness. List works in alphabetical order from A to Z.

+Anima: This is THE prime example of a fantasy done absolutely right. You don't need epic sword fights, world destroying, evil emperors, technology-savvy settings, or brave warriors to make a great fantasy story, and +Anima shows that you can do great things with the fantasy genre with even simple stuff. There's lots of shounen elements in this, but they're all wonderfully subverted, inverted, and deconstructed in the best ways possible. Yes, one character is kinda hyper and childish, but he's not bratty or annoying, and is actually smart. Yes, there's a female character, but she's not a Mary Sue, a stubborn whiny brat, or a love interest. Yes, there's a quiet character, but he's not angsty, nor is he a lone wolf character that all angsty guys are. He actually has emotions and can get along with others, though there are reasons why he's unusually quiet. But what this manga excels at most are the themes and messages it sends out. The main characters are outcasts because they received something they didn't want, and if depicted right, it can really resonate with people, as today there's lots of stories about discrimination and prejudice against the innocent simply because they're different (people with disabilities, anyone?).
Airmaster: While the Gecko Ending left most plot threads hanging, it's still a beautifully animated anime series, with a great cast of original characters and some of the coolest animated fights ever. Pity not many people remember it nowadays.
AKB0048 is an The iDOLM@STER-style anime about girls who want to become idols but in this case, it's a form of rebellion against authorities who ban entertainment on all worlds. Yeah yeah, we know, it looks bright and colorful, the girls look cute and moe, and it doesn't look like anything much. But if you really take the time to look at it, you'll see it's very different from other idol shows. For one thing, it balances both the cutesy and bright moments with extremely dark and cynical views on the idol industry, making us believe that being an idol isn't all fun and rainbows and how it forces some dark mindsets on such young children. No, it's not all sugar and saccharine. Definitely not.
Amatsuki is a manga that's beautiful to look at and intriguing to read, weaving together technology and fantasy in a refreshing story that keeps you guessing and often leads to surprises. At heart Amatsuki is about what it means to be human; it can make you laugh, it can make you cry... but despite all its charms, it's often overlooked because the plot is deemed "too complicated", and the short anime adaptation wasn't up to snuff.
Angel's Egg is Mamoru Oshii's first movie and perhaps also his best. It's a mostly silent film, that with its limited dialogue still manages to be as thought provoking as it gets. Accompanied by a beautiful surrealist art style, and a soundtrack that cannot be explained in words, calling it a work of art would be an understatement. Yet neither the public nor the critics picked up on it when it was released in 1985, leaving it as it is today, a forgotten gem. Since appreciating it requires some level of acquired taste, introducing new people to it isn't exactly easy either.
Animal Land is manga by Makoto Raiku of Zatch Bell!. It is about a human boy named Tarouza who aims to unite the different animals of his world via his ability to speak to different animals. Its premise can be thought of as Animal Farm meets Tarzan. It starts off as a simple Rugrats-like story but turns into pure Shōnen as the series goes on.
AR∀GO: City of London Police's Special Crimes Investigator – well-written supernatural shonen manga with the London Police Department and a main character with the powers of a horrific former Serial Killer. Contains Shout Outs to folklore, mythology, and William Blake. Not helped by the fact that it has yet to reach United States bookstores.
The Area 88 manga is an intelligent war story with complex characters, brimming with commentary about war, politics, hypocrisy, and spiritual decay. Not helped by the fact that only the first 42 issues were translated into English in the 1980s, or that the original Japanese-language manga is difficult to find.
Despite being award-winning, Basara is a quite obscure manga that definitely Needs More Love. The plot is interesting and above all, the characters are well-written and most of them have their own back story that gets explored throughout the chapters. The story has romance, action, and Tearjerkers, and it tries to deal with big issues, such as if anyone really deserves to be hated and if anyone is truly evil. The drawing style may have been what puts people off, but looking beyond that, the story is one that deserves far more fans than it has.
BECK is an excellent story that just didn't get enough love in the West. It's a coming-of-age story about a high school boy who ends up joining an indy rock band just starting up and trying to make it big. Throughout the story we see the band grow as a group and as individuals, as well as a harsh look at the seedy side of the music business. Nearly a third of the original's dialogue was in English due to the large number of American characters. Unfortunately, Tokyopop only put out about a third of the series in English before losing the license. It got a 26-episode anime that was also quite good… but it got Screwed by the Lawyers stateside due to the main character singing a Beatles song at the series' climax – despite Funimation creating a pretty decent substitute in their fantastic English dub, purists still boycotted it.
Blue Comet SPT Layzner is the Real Robot genre at its very best, with a great story, great characters (ALL of which change and develop over time), great acting, great themes, and great animation, with NO superpowers or Newtype equivalents to boot, which is a big plus for anyone who hated those setting elements from square one. It has its problems: having cockpits in the head seems like a terrible idea, the ending does not have proper closure and it's a bit dated, but it's still a quite good Real Robot Genre show.
Blue Exorcist is a great manga that sadly got overshadowed by its far inferior anime adaptation. It covers a theme of brotherhood, not-too-different from Fullmetal Alchemist, and how family isn't always blood. At first glance, it may come off as a Cliché Storm, but they deconstruct them very well.
Big Windup!. Yes, its a baseball manga/anime. And yes, it's great. The author obviously knows her stuff, and presents it in a manner that is accessible to anyone, from those who don't know a lick of baseball to those of us who enjoy the sport. And what's not to love with the great characters, great relationships, and lovable humor.
- Seconded! Big Windup is an excellently written series with great characters that didn't get nearly the love it deserves. The English dub was very well done, too, but it did not get enough of a following to warrant the translation of season two. The dub voice actors credit the low sales to the fact that baseball is simply the "boring" among the organized sports, not to mention how the first season builds up to only one drawn out game with another school, and (probably most importantly) fans of anime in North America tend to be people who are not particularly athletic… and often have an longstanding bias against sports.
Bokurano is incredibly obscure for such an amazing series. It is a manga written by Mohiro Kitoh which got adapted into a 24 episode anime, and it never fails to impress. Well-written characters and an unbelievably tragic atmosphere make this an absolutely unforgettable Humongous Mecha story. It has a very similar feel to Neon Genesis Evangelion and Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so it blows my mind that this series hasn't gained a large fanbase yet.
Brigadoon: Marin and Melan. A 26 episode original anime production from studio Sunrise. It has a very interesting and well written storyline with many endearing characters, High quality production values and a lot of tearjerker moments.
Butsu Zone. A short-run manga first by Hiroyuki Takei, featuring power-armored Bodhisattvas, an interesting plotline, as well as detailed and insightful looks into Buddhism.
Cahe Detective Club is a Sister Series to Nagasarete Airantou and publish by Square Enix's Gangan Online comics. It's a comedy where four girls with different skills and hobbies form a club together. It's not as well-known as Nagasarete Airantou, and it's worth reading if you're tired of the fanservice-laden Airantou.
Cat Soup is a short anime film that is a wonderful Mind Screw. It relies heavily on symbolism and unusual images, but is also quite touching in some scenes. Not for everyone, but it really shows the diversity of styles available for anime.
Catnapped! may look like your typical children's movie with its colorful and beautiful animation (as directed by Takashi Nakamura who was the animation director of AKIRA) and anthropomorphic cats, but it's much more than that—it's beautiful insane animation that doesn't pull punches with its story. While great to watch in either English or Japanese, what's also surprising for this kind of movie is that the English dub is really good for its time, Geneon spared no expense with this film (Sandy Fox as Meeko is debatable, although she's equally annoying in the original dub). Sadly, due to Geneon going bankrupt, copies are very much out-of-print, and there's no sign of the license being rescued in the future. But it's a definite must-see for animation fans.
Celestial Method had a bit of a mixed reception back when it originally ran during the anime season of fall 2014. If you watch the show what you will find is a rather bittersweet story involving friendship, misunderstandings and a mystorius alien girl that may make you shed a few tears towards the end.
Chi's Sweet Home: Do you like cats? Yes? Then this is your manga. It's a very cute series about a cat named Chi who lives with a family. Chi would cause tons of mischief with the family but it's fun to her. This is a must read for cat lovers out there.
Children of the Sea is an awesome Slice of Life manga that includes the juicy goodness of mythology and Scenery Porn that Daisuke Igarashi seems to always use in his works. It explores the origins of sea myths, as well as its own protagonists in what is shaping up to be a massive global quest. Unfortunately, it's got a teeny-tiny fanbase, despite being a fairly popular Ikki title and from an acclaimed mangaka. This is probably because of the fairly slow pace that Igarashi takes to get cozy with the story. It has phenomenal art and takes a close look at several cultures and mythologies that seem to span the gap between them. Wrap it up in a coming of age story and it turns out to be an interesting read, especially with Viz's fairly decent translation.
Claudine is a manga by Riyoko Ikeda about a young trans man who tries to find a good life while feeling conflicted over his female body. This manga is awesome, simply for its respectful portrayal of what it's like to be trans and its sympathetic lead character. It's a bit melodramatic with some love triangles and strange twists. You'll be very surprised at this gem of a manga!
Corrector Yui is among the most unique shows for its genre. Combining the ideas of Sailor Moon and The Matrix is only the beginning of what made this show truly stand out among its closest competition at the time, Cardcaptor Sakura and the aforementioned Sailor Moon. Sadly, this show never made it into the United States, has no Fansubs, and is continuously becoming more obscure as the years go by. Worse still, only 18 of the 52 episodes have ever been subbed into English. If there is one show that desperately Needs More Love and deserves every ounce/gram of it before it's completely forgotten (and thus, not having it completely subbed into English at the least), then this is certainly The One.
Damekko Doubutsu: This anime focuses on daily lives of animals who don't live up to their names. It's cute,silly, and goofy to watch.
Den-noh Coil is a science fiction anime from 2007 which gained quite some recognition during its airing, but has since failed to retain its popularity. The show is about a group of children in a small town, who all use a type of computer in the form of glasses as means to play around on the digital interface overlapping the city, often bumping into trouble of some kind. The animation and soundtrack are beautiful, although the character designs and coloring could be seen as somewhat subdued; it gives the series a sense of realism that brings out the childish fantasy and emotions bubbling underneath the surface. While there's lots of fluffy antics with the kid characters, the series also heavily delves into the philosophy of human connections and relationships, the nature of reality and digital creation, and the pain of losing loved ones. The series somehow manages to combine both serious science fiction and philosophy with Slice of Life comedy without sacrificing either in importance. Despite huge critical acclaim among those that have seen it, and even inspiring serious academic papers on the series' themes, it's sadly obscure. Even getting a license by Sentai Filmworks, complete with a strong English dub made for the release wasn't enough to gain much traction.
Desert Punk is very, very, funny, being one of the very few anime by GONZO to not have superfluous amounts of CG mixed with the dazzling scenery of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Each character's personalities, although suffering from the occasional flanderization, are unique, quirky, a little bizarre (at first), and extremely over-the top, all fitting in the anti-hero categories. That's right. All of them. There is no total overarching plot in the series, yet that does not prevent each episode from having a well-thought-out script, containing off-the-wall and EXTREMELY raunchy humor to well-paced action that will completely take you by surprise once it reaches the halfway point and having a very good dub. Desert Punk is a seinen that has a surprisingly small fanbase.
Double-J. If you liked Cromartie High School, you might like this one too!
The American Gag Dub of Duel Masters. The whole concept was farfetched and silly... yet, it didn't get that far. At least, not before the Abridged Series appears.
Elegant Yokai Apartment Life is frequently seen as incredibly and unfairly underrated. While it is somewhat of a Cliché Storm, it handles its tropes very well and as such can be taken as a good example of Tropes Are Not Bad, not to mention that it has several lovable and quirky characters among its main cast.
Erin – despite the fact it at first seems like a kid's show and the official subs for it aren't the best quality, it has a rather impressive story and seeing the main character grow and handle the problems she faces in the face of adversity can be moving. it's a series that manages to make the viewer cry sometimes, laugh others, bite their nails in anticipation, and has the occasional moment of D'AWWWW~ HOW SWEET~ and some nice Moment of Awesome scenes.
Fancy Lala: At first it doesn't look like anything but a sugary and overly saccharine kids' anime, but don't be fooled by this show's looks. It's about a girl who receives a magic sketchbook from two dinosaur-like fairies which not only makes her drawings come to life, but turns her into a grown up version of herself, and she becomes a model/singer in the process. Sure, it's nothing new, but the show is just beautiful in the way it accurately portrays the idol business, the characters are charming and actually act like real people you've seen before, it makes use of its simple premise (and great things come out of it), and best of all, it has, what I think, the single BEST, most fulfilling, and most COMPLETE ending EVER. No anime I've seen has wrapped itself up so wonderfully as Fancy Lala does. Think you're gonna complain about the ending of this anime like you do with 99% of other anime out there? PREPARE TO BE PROVEN WRONG!!! The only reason this anime isn't more well-known is that it aired around the same time Cardcaptor Sakura did, and that show trumped every over magical girl show during its run, so it's no surprise you didn't hear about this.
Fantastic Children: This early 2000s anime clearly needs more love. The anime had some great and intriguing story, great soundtrack (Especially the ending that was song by the late Origa), interesting animation full of Scenery Porn and could fill you with a great nostalgia with 80s/90s animes, great mystery and plot twists and strong characters overall. The anime also blends their multiple genres pretty well when it comes to telling a strong and intriguing story. Sadly, not many people knew about the existence of this anime considered that the show has never really developed much of a fanbase and sales of its DVD release were sluggish at best. It also had the bad luck to premiere the same week as the then-highly anticipated Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, which pretty much monopolized anime fan attention that week.
Figure 17 Tsubasa & Hikaru is terribly obscure despite having great and realistic characters, a deep and well developed story, interesting technobabble, and an amazing English dub! Part of the reason people are turned off by it is that the episodes are all 46 minutes long and are slow paced, so people who aren't patient may find it boring.
Fist of the North Star: While it's considered legendary in Japan, it isn't nearly as well-known in America. It deals with deep themes, such as poverty and nuclear war. The villains can either be really sympathetic or really cruel, either way making them memorable. There are plenty of Awesome Moments, Heartwarming Moments, and Tear Jerker moments.
- DD Fist of the North Star is a gag series based on the above, with the premise that the end of the world never happened and the three brothers have to deal with everyday life. It's hilarious, even if you only know a little about the source series
The Five Star Stories is an epic, and I mean epic, manga. It's weird and wonderful, with artificial humans and giant robots and dudes that look like ladies. So far, only the first 10 volumes have been released in English, and scanlation efforts are sparse for the last two volumes. But for those who don't want their Real Robot stories to be angsting about war while killing people left and right, it's a welcome breath of fresh air.
Flower Of The Deep Sleep is an incredible two-volume manga that everyone should have in their collection. The story is simple but beautiful, with elements of fantasy and love, and it keeps you holding on until the very end.
From Eroica with Love is a hilarious manga with a very niche fanbase. This lack of popularity probably stems from the fact that one of the two main characters is rather flamboyantly gay — which is a pity, because there is NO homosexual content whatsoever in the story (save for a few... okay, a lot of verbal jokes/gags). But the series really is comedy gold (and the majority of the humor does not stem from the gay jokes – those are just a side-dish), with a sprinkling of espionage action/adventure thrown in for good measure. The mangaka's adamant refusal to allow an anime adaptation probably doesn't help the situation.
From Far Away: This is basically Fushigi Yuugi done absolutely right. Just read this manga to see what I mean!
Gad Guard: It's not very well known despite being a great little anime in virtually all aspects, including animation, characterisation, and storyline.
Gaiking: Legend of Daiku Maryu is a Digimon-esque fantasy adventure about a boy who lost his father, but remembers the vision of an enormous dragon of metal from when his father went missing at sea. Over the course of the show, we get to know the colourful cast of characters, learn who they are and watch them struggle in an epic battle against an army that would have us destroyed... before we see the real, terrifying evil in the works. The animation isn't as wonderful as many other shows - mostly due to it being made on a piss-poor budget - but it's one of the most solid stories going around, with characters who feel real and alive. Definitely worth a look for any Super Robot fan, or for those on the hunt for a fantasy epic, where a group of people fly Down the Rabbit Hole to Save Both Worlds.
Gankutsuou is a 24 episode long, surprisingly faithful, and furutistic adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. Gankutsuou was never a big hit, but fans who make it through won't be disappointed. Or maybe they will, but they probably won't regret this truly bizarre gem.
Ghost Stories… but only for its English dub. The original Japanese dub is well-made though bland as hell, but the English is an insane piece of performance art. The voice actors were basically told to do whatever they wanted with the script, and they make it hilarious. The entire series is basically one big Funny Moment.
Glass no Megami looks at first glance like pretty standard hentai love triangle fare with lots of sex. However, you'll find that it has exceptionally good artwork with a striking, clean style, the story holds a lot more emotion than you might expect and the characters are engaging and fleshed-out (no pun intended) enough that the ending can be a real Tear Jerker. If you like your hentai to be more than just explicit, this is definitely worth reading.
Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl: Given that the anime only covered 3 out of 8 volumes with literally no questions answered, there really needs to be a second season in the future. The fact that the last episode that ties everything in the anime was not aired, and was left only as a BD bonus, doesn't help at all.
Haré+Guu. A funny, weird (and I mean weird) and cute little comedy anime that sadly is a bit obscure, despite it and the first of its two OVA sequels getting dubbed into English.
Hakumei & Mikochi is an incredibly relaxing anime and manga that deserves far more attention. The dynamics between the titular characters are adorable, it's super well-animated, the music is fantastic, and it's loaded with tons of beautifully-drawn Scenery Porn.
Happy, a tennis/poverty manga by Naoki Urasawa with amazingly well-rounded characters.
The Happy Happy Clover Manga series by Sayuri Tatsuyama. It's a very cute series about a female rabbit named Clover ^noteChima in Japan who spends time with her friends and dreams of travelling with Rambler The Rambling Rabbit. The entire manga mostly focuses on Clover and her relationship with her friend Mallow, Kale, and Shallot who would mostly try to solve problems and work together. However, the manga would sometimes focus on her friends and other animals she knows. The Manga later got its own anime and two Japan exclusive Nintendo DS games.◊
Hayate X Blade, A hilarious action Manga about girls having sword fights with Yuri undertones, that should really speak for itself. Sad thing is, is that it had an English translation that currently isn't able to finish to issues with rights.
Helen ESP. It's a two-volume manga about a blind, deaf and mute girl who finds out she has Psychic Powers, by the author of Franken Fran! Helen has interesting characters and can be quite heartwarming at times.
Please give some love for this 2006 parody anime, Himesama Goyoujin. It only had 12 episodes. It never got any regonization all these years since it's been fansubbed. It also never had its TV Tropes page yet. The story was interesting, the animation is great and it's directed by the same person as The World God Only Knows. So give it a try.
Holyland is similar to Worst below. Holyland features a more realistic, Darker and Edgier take on delinquents and street fights. The author knows a lot about street fights, and often uses narration and occasionally diagrams to explain fighting tactics, etc. (such as how to avoid injury when punching someone in the head, or how to take on a knife-wielder unarmed) as the characters demonstrate them. Interestingly, at the start of the series, the main character fits the timid, scared, bully-bait archetype perfectly – except for his ability to knock a man out with one punch.
Honey and Clover: A ten volume Manga series dealing with the trials and tribulations of young adulthood and love among a group of 20 something Art School students it has, simply put, one of the most touching endings anyone have read. All ten volumes were released in English (and the first few were serialized in Viz's Shojo Beat magazine, the now-defunct Distaff Counterpart to the U.S. Shonen Jump) but this series never seemed to get much of an audience, which is a shame considering the funny and nuanced writing and character development which goes from broad comedy to heart achingly beautiful thoughts on love lost, love won, and love unrequited.
Hoshi no Umi no Amuri: Many people think this three episode OVA is nothing but a hentai moe yuri ecchi fest. I've watched and rewatched this more than once, and it is definitely NOT what people claim it is. Just watch it and see for yourself! Admittedly, there are some small raunchy moments, but they're really small and forgettable.
Hotarubi no Mori e is a one-shot 45-minute OVA based off an equally short manga ... but don't let that put you off. It's a truly moving story with interesting if minimalist cast and a great style.
The 2010 shojo manga House of the Sun has a lot going for it. It has great art, an interesting plotline, and is mostly original (or original as shoujo manga can be, anyway). Nevertheless, it isn't widely known. Also, there's none of that bishonen nonsense either, and usually, we don't have exaggerated situations or reactions. One of the best shojo manga out there currently in this troper's biased opinion.
IO Is a supernatural mystery romance harem drama psychological manga featuring SCUBA Diving, fanservice, mystery, and a lot else. Quiet obscure but readily available on scanlation sites.
- Fair warning-the story starts out kind of slow, but it picks up quickly, so stick around for a bit and you just might enjoy yourself.
I"s is a gem of a 15-volume manga (adapted into a 6-part OVA) about a young man's struggle to capture the heart of his high school crush during the tumultuous and frustrating rite of adolescence. Officially it's a Rom Com, but it can and does veer off into the serious and dramatic when it needs to, and pulls it off wonderfully. That it can handle jarring tone shifts and stay believable is due to the series' excellently written, engaging characters, all of whom go through significant character development over the years – yes, this series mostly averts Comic-Book Time. The relationship between the two leads is handled well without becoming too cliched. Also, it is easily one of the most beautifully-drawn manga ever.
- If that all isn't enough to hook you, then the unceasing parade of Zettai Ryouiki, Panty Shots, and gratuitous Fanservice probably will.
Jewelpet. Immensely popular in Japan, virtually unknown in America. Despite its cutesy-poo looks and premise, the anime should not be underestimated, as it can show some surprisingly thoughtful writing and realistic characters. Among the anime seasons, Jewelpet Twinkle☆ is almost universally considered the high point in the series, with its moe-tastic artstyle perfectly balanced with a deep and dramatic story. Sadly, even Twinkle eventually sunk into Mainstream Obscurity at best or completely forgotten at worst, though it still has a small but dedicated fanbase even a decade after its debut. Meanwhile, Jewelpet: Magical Change got Vindicated by History for good reasons: The underrated Luna is a main character for once, and Luea and Larimar are now main characters and far more badass than they were in Lady Jewelpet, which introduced them but heavily shafted the Jewelpets in favor of humans.
Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger had a decent following in the Philippines, the only country it was ever exported to, but is almost entirely unknown nearly everywhere else. It's a charming take on the Fractured Fairy Tale genre with a lovable cast of Funny Animals and, though somewhat formulaic at first and containing a few baffling decisions, it has a number of Heartwarming Moments, and it gets very, very dark towards the end when the Big Bad shows up. Also, it was made by the same company as the relatively famous Samurai Pizza Cats.
Kagerou-Nostalgia is an obscure manga, which thanks to Executive Meddling, and sheer stupidity on the part of the publishing company (only licensing the second half, what's up with that?) has never been fully released here. This is too bad, as it's a genuinely interesting story, dealing with a group of reincarnated heroes trying to save an AU medieval Japan from their predecessors' mistakes. The series' is quite dark – the basic premise seems to have been "take a your classic shonen group and drop them in a Crapsack World" – and is unflinching in its portrayal of war and demonic attacks, with characters that are flawed and far from cliche. For anyone interested in reading it, here's a link to the first few volumes: http://www.mangareader.net/1477/kagerou-nostalgia.html
Kagetora. Funny? Check. Great characters? Check. Running gags? Double Check. Great art style? Triple Check.
Kaiba is a short 12-Episode Anime with a quirky cartoonish style. And if you go into it thinking that it's childish you're in for a very sharp surprise. Despite its cartoony style, it dives deep into the question of memories and connections between the soul and body. Whether love is something that resides in the memory, body, or both and if there is anything in the world that truly lasts forever. It's also one of those anime where everyone walks away with a different interpretation, due to some slight Mind Screw and Gainax Ending. Despite this, it is still an amazingly thought provoking series if you let yourself be immersed. That and it has an absolutely, hauntingly amazing soundtrack.
- Masaaki Yuasa's works in general tends to be this, with Mind Game, Kemonozume and The Tatami Galaxy coming to mind.
Kanamemo is a very funny show, with a pretty and colorful art style, fun and likable characters, an actual gay romantic relationship between two girls that is written well, probably one of the best scripts ever written with many quotable moments, is somehow able to do a good job handling the the drama involving the main character. Yet, its still very underrated and never really got much popularity in Japan (airing on TV Tokyo, nonetheless) to even warrant a second season. Even with Crunchyroll, it still hasn't garnered much attention. If you ask me, the series at least deserves 26 episodes, not half.
Kaze to Ki no Uta: Despite being an award winning manga that helped revolutionize shoujo and was made into an OVA special, the series itself has had little attention outside of Japan and (to a lesser extent) Italy. Even scanlations have only covered less than half of the manga so far.
Kidou Senshi Gundam-san, from the author of The Legend of Koizumi and Gundam Sousei. It is an absolutely hilarious take on the Universal Century. It features, for example, Char as a Cloudcuckoolander, Lalah as a Tsukkomi to Char's Boke, Amuro as a Hormone-Addled Teenager, Sayla as a sadistic Doctor Jerk and Haro as actually being operated by some guy from the inside. It also features the inspiring tale of The Hero's Journey of a lowly Zaku II (in which the original Gundam plays the role of the Big Bad) and the surprisingly emotional story of the humble origins of the Zabi family, in which we can see young Garma as a Cheerful Child and young Gihren as a NEET. And all this is just the tip of the iceberg!
Kieli is terribly obscure. It started as a light novel and was adapted into a wonderful manga. Definitely worth reading.
- Seconded. It has a very thought-provoking underlying commentary on religious (in-universe, but could just as easily apply to IRL), and the relationship between I See Dead People heroine Kieli and Undying ex-soldier Harvey is built slowly, organically, and with a superb sense of friendship and love (whatever type of love you view it to be).
King of Thorn is an action survival story set in the not-too-distant-future where a plague threatens to turn all of humanity to stone. The author, Yuji Iwahara (of Darker than Black fame) uses zero screen tones and a fair amount of heavy blacked shading, which give the series a dramatic look. The Reveal at the very end may be noticeable for long-time sci-fi or mystery novel fans, but it's still kickass.
While The Kindaichi Case Files has a huge following in Japan, it didn't fare too well in America due to poor marketing on Tokyopop's part. Nevertheless, this series is a very well written mystery series that actively challenges the readers using nothing but pure logic. Magic? Hi-Tech Gadgets? A Wizard Did It? Not in this series.
Kowarekake no Orgel (or "Half-Broken Music Box") has only one half hour OVA, but still manages to run the emotional gauntlet. Similar to Chobits, it deals with a discarded little robot girl, the emotionally crippled teen who takes her in, and their summer together. Orgel is wonderfully drawn, poignant where it counts, and very worth your time.
Considering that Kurohime has marvellous character design, an interesting concept of magic, AND epic fights, you'd think shonen fans would be all over it. Alas...
Kyo Kara Maoh! is extremely well written and detail, with huge amounts of thought going in to every tiny aspect of the plot and the world it is set in, Additionally, all of the characters are amazing, and it's got a perfect balance of humor and seriousness. This is another series that had a great English dub that will never get finished, and that just generally doesn't have nearly as large a fanbase as a show of this caliber deserves.
- An explanation for this is the difficulty in bringing in American audiences with fantasy action and heavy Yaoi influences. While there are fans of this, it's a smaller audience.
Kyoumen no Silhouette by Tamase Nagayama in the writing and Yuna Kagesaki (mostly known for Karin) in the drawing. It tells the situation of a young androphobic princess who must take the throne of her country with she just being 15 years old. To have more protection, she looks for her Body Double...who turns to be a Dude Looks Like a Lady farmer. The story has great comedy situations and heartwarming moments while the princess and her new male shadow start to adapt at their new lifes, responsibilities and each other but sadly there's only one circle translating the manga and hasn't gone beyond the first chapter.
Labyrinth of Flames is a 2-episode comedy OVA from Studio Fantasia. Some anime fans have judged it without having watched it, assuming it was just a fanservice fest based on the screenshots. It's also pretty darn funny.
The Legend of Mother Sarah is a must read for readers who are dying to read about a heroic, realistic, adult female protagonist with no super powers being badass and whose story does not revolve around men, relationships, sex, fashion or anything frivolous/girly, and with little to no gratuitous Fanservice. It's rather an Epic with a lot of grim, serious and otherwise not very female-oriented themes (war, terrorism, survival, power struggles...) along with more female-friendly ones (motherhood, widowhood, abortion, making it as a woman alone, family...). The whole thing written by the creator of AKIRA, no less.
The Legend of the Legendary Heroes was betrayed by its redundant name and Non-Indicative First Episode. Initial problems with the sub didn't help either. Despite the popularity of the original Light novels, the anime is practically unknown.
Like the Clouds, Like the Wind is an anime movie so obscure that most anime fans have never even heard of it. (Those that have often confuse it for a work by Studio Ghibli, thanks to its character design, its high quality, and the fact that the plot features a plucky young girl facing challenge and adversity. The film was actually animated by Studio Pierrot.) The plot is simple: a poor country girl is recruited (along with a bunch of other girls) to travel to the capital of Ancient China so she can be trained to become one of his concubines (and possibly, his head wife.) Reasons this film has remained in obscurity vary (it may have a lot to do with the film's bittersweet Her Heart Will Go On ending, or maybe the subject matter just doesn't appeal to anyone outside of Japan.) Regardless, this movie is definitely worth watching if you can hunt down a copy (There is at last one English fansub out there, floating around on some video sites...)
The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer is a little known work with involving well-developed characters, great action, and an interesting story. Along with talking animals, psychic powers, golem, and a gigantic hammer bigger than the planet Earth.
- "Interesting" being a severe understatement. It breaks a lot of the rules of most Shonen manga and has truly emotional moments.
Lupin III is considered an important piece of both Japanese and Italian pop culture, but it never really caught on anywhere else, despite the efforts of Streamline, Geneon, Funimation, Tokyopop, and Discotek putting out tons of stuff in North America over the past twenty years. Which is a shame, considering the timeless characters, humor, and action throughout the franchise.
Macross II was the first true sequel to the classic Super Dimension Fortress Macross series. Being done without the original creators' involvement has turned it into a black sheep of sorts within all of the Macross universe, even going so far as to declare it outside canon. While YMMV on its overall story, on its own merits, it stands as a great piece of anime, and its mecha (especially the GORGEOUS VF-2S), music and battles stand right there with some of the best in Macross. Luckily, it has gotten a nod or two within canon (though with some Take Thats as well), and even got its own campaign in the last PSP Macross game.
Magical Witch Punie-chan is not nearly as popular as Dokuro-chan, perhaps because the latter contains more explicit gorn.
Magus of the Library, an ongoing seinen manga by Mitsu Izumi. It has intricate worldbuilding, beautiful artwork, and a story about the power of books and knowledge, starring a cast of badass bookworms.
Mahoraba at first glance looks like a cliche Unwanted Harem style comedy. It avoids that almost immediately and heads towards a surprisingly heartwarming Slice of Life with some snarky, sarcastic wit and some of the most... interesting (and yet adorable) characters around. It's not afraid to pull your heartstrings, without being hokey, and the finale wraps everything up with a feeling like a great big hug in a warm sweater. Go read when you're feeling down and it's guaranteed to make you feel better.
Maison Ikkoku and Urusei Yatsura really need more love. These are the earliest major series from Rumiko Takahashi, best known for Ranma ½ and Inuyasha. All of her series are beloved in Japan, but these first two are tragically nearly unknown in the English-speaking world. Maison is often considered to be Takahashi's finest work. Both the manga and anime for Maison were fully released in English (though it took quite a long time for the anime's dub to be completed), but no one really cared until they were both long out of print. As for Urusei Yatsura, its anime was released in full in North America, but by a small company and without a dub, thus limiting its exposure; Viz only put out a couple dozen chapters of the manga before giving up and shifting their focus back to Ranma.
Maken-ki! has gone largely unnoticed in the west by fans that're more familiar with the anime adaptation instead. Unfortunately, it's left many with the impression that it's pure fanservice with little else to show for it. Which is a shame, given the manga has much better art, an intricate storyline, and awesone fight scenes. Most of which was cut from the anime version.
Maple Town is a Slice of Life anime from the mid 80's which stars a cute talking rabbit. The setting and atmosphere is pretty cute to watch.
March Comes in Like a Lion, a Slice of Life/drama detailing the life of a professional shogi player. The series is difficult to get into for some people due to the fact that shogi is a relatively unknown game outside of Japan. However, knowledge of the game itself is not a requirement to enjoy the subtle drama and heartwarming moments that come along with it.
Märchen Awakens Romance is a series created by Nobuki Anzai, the creator of Flame of Recca. There is hardly any fandom in the English due to one of the reviewers sites claiming that "It's just another one of those pointless action series". Has fully developed characters, intense action scenes, and for the anime extreme fanservice for the boys and girls.
Me and the Devil Blues and 2001 Nights are two very good manga but no one has heard of them before on either side of the Pacific. One is an absolutely beautiful Southern American gothic-horror story featuring a legendary blues musician and a legendary criminal getting into violent misadventures while the other is a collection of short stories written in the classic hard-scifi style of Arthur C. Clarke, full of tearjerkers and all that good stuff.

Metsuko ni Yoroshiku: A slice of life/ fighting manga about a fat high school girl beating the crap out of people. If this sounds dull, it's really not. This manga has some decent artwork, funny writing, and funny characters. It's currently ongoing.
Mimia Hime - It's Tanaka Yutaka's first totally G-rated work...and it's still full of everything we love about it. Scenery Porn, mood whiplashes, tear jerkers, crowning moments of hearwarming, and warm fuzzies galore! It's only in its first volume with more to come, but there's no way this should be missed. It definitely stole my heart with its awesomeness, and it'll definitely steal yours too!
Momoko, Kaeru no Uta ga Kikoeru yo.: There aren't many anime that have actual physically or mentally disabled characters, but Momoko is a sweet story about a boy whose twin sister is disabled and has to deal with the fact that she's going to his school as part of an experiment in education.
Mononoke is an absolutely excellent little 12-episode series if you're the kind of person who enjoys Surreal Horror + Psychological Horror + Mind Screw + awesome and surreal artwork.
The Monster Rancher anime had pretty much everything you could ask for in an anime—a deep storyline, plenty of Moments of Awesome, knowing the stakes were serious, compelling characters, and a pretty good English dub. But it got sidelined by Pokémon and Digimon. Their video game series are also pretty much underrated for the same reasons as mentioned earlier.
- And now it's getting the love it deserves, as Discotek Media just announced that they licensed this and are gonna release both the dub and original versions, Samurai Pizza Cats style!
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit has almost everything fans ask for in an anime series: detailed art and animation, an engaging cast of characters, a unique setting along with tons of Worldbuilding, choreographed fight scenes (much like Avatar and The Legend of Korra), and a top-notch english dub. Yet, hardly anyone knows it even exists.
The Morose Mononokean, a manga that a person who likes youkai stories is going to enjoy. It's a really calm manga, and it can seem pretty simple at first, but the plot is actually interesting and there are some mysteries to solve yet. The characters are charismatic, both main and side characters, and the lead guys have a really good development, as well as the friendship between them. In general, is a very pleasent and sweet manga which doesn't count with all the love it deserves.
Mother Keeper, a manga that I had to make the TV Tropes page for. It starts out acting like a dystopia, introducing your teenage main character who wants to destroy the city of Eden. Why? Because his dad is in charge of the rebellion and is the one who actually cares about taking down Eden. The main character grows from being a doormat to questioning everything he was ever taught, causing him to be confused about what really is right and wrong when you can see both perspectives. The art from the end of volume 5 on wards is fantastic and the strongest man in it is disabled. The story and characters are interesting and the subtlety of some things about both make it really enjoyable.
Mouryou No Hako, a one-of-a-kind, utterly mind-consuming mystery series, based on the excellent novel by Kyougoku Natsuhiko and animated by Madhouse's best (with character designs by CLAMP!). The script, atmosphere, acting, and plot are captivating and realistic but keep the eerie supernatural vibe present in Kyougoku's novel. And if you weren't already afraid of boxes, well... consider yourself warned.
Muhyo and Roji is actually a great manga, even though the art style is a bit weird. Good character development, good spacing, amazing story-telling and awesome Tear Jerker moments, this absolutely Needs More Love. And it has very awesome Tear Jerker moments.
Musashi no Ken. It's a kendo anime from the 80s and it's about 70 episodes long. No wonder many people don't know about it. But Justin Sevakis wrote a very well-informed article about it here. Heck, it's so underrated that even in Japan the show is out of print!
Murciélago is a story about Kuroko Koumori, a life-long serial killer with 715 kills to her name formerly on death row, who works as an extremely controversial godzilla threshold for the police to track down and kill other serial killers they simply cannot handle...at least when she's not trying to get into the panties of the latest curvy number that she's helping. Joined by a cast of varied characters including her partner who has an excellent mental GPS and puts drives like crazy to exceptional use, her mafia princess girlfriend who's as violently protective as she is in love with her, and multiple other recurring characters. Not for those unable to handle graphic depictions of gory and brutal violence, but somehow manages to mix all of that with instances of fanservice, murderer manhunts, villains with varyingly sympathetic origins and motives, multiple dangling sequel hooks for previous arcs, and overhanging theme of the morality of using someone who is undeniably mentally imbalanced as a "fight fire with fire" approach.
Mushishi. I love this anime, and it's pretty much a fresh breath from all the other anime out there... for when you just need a rest from crazy action and moe fanservice and what have you.
My Bride is a Mermaid: This show really deserves all the lovin' it can get. Please tell all of your friends about it. And anyone and everyone on the Internet who's willing to listen to you, for that matter. And tell them to do the same. And so forth. Just tell everybody about it, please. Maybe they'll actually make more episodes, and do so consistently, if you do.
My Lovely Ghost Kana is a three volume manga that is one of the most beautifully written and illustrated and moving love stories I've ever read in any medium. It takes some of the most potentially darkest character backgrounds ever and turns them into a glorious celebration of life and love that will move you to happy tears many times over. The two main characters have sex often, invariably getting the title classified as hentai, which would undoubtedly turn many people off from reading it. But creator Tanaka Yutaka does a masterful job of storytelling that the sex is only a natural, playful and loving part of a relationship. The sexual content is much softer than most hentai, and it stops appearing in later chapters entirely. By the end, you'll have completely forgotten, and you'll feel like running outside and hugging someone.
- It seems criminal to have Tanaka Yutaka's other magnum opus Ai-Ren not included here. Read this, too.
- Also his short story collection Virgin Night. It's got much more of the sex but just as much story and is just as heartwarming as everything else he writes. Heck, if it has Tanaka-san's name on it, you probably should read it.
Mysteria Friends has been very unfairly overlooked despite having loads of gorgeous animation, Scenery Porn, and memorable (and adorable) characters. One doesn't need to know all the details of Rage of Bahamut franchise it's a spin-off of to enjoy the show's uplifting and comforting atmosphere.
Ni No Hime No Monogatari is a one-shot historical romance manga. It depicts a sweet and compelling romance between a princess and her personal guard. The two grow up together and slowly begin to depend on each other without realizing that they have fallen in love. The climax occurs when they must both make sacrifices for their love. The work is by Izumi Kaneyoshi.
Night Head Genesis is a 24 episode anime series about two brothers with psychic powers who escape the research center they've been locked up in since they were kids. All they want is a normal life, but plenty of people want to take advantage of their powers. Not to mention the fact that they're supposed to lead some sort of 'revolution.' Although the plot seems kind of cliche at first, the way it's handled is rather original. And the music is beautiful. Just listen to the opening theme. There's also a manga adaption with absolutely gorgeous artwork, but only two volumes are released in English so far with no news on the third volume and the story is compressed to the point where it can sometimes be difficult to follow. Everyone who knows about this series adores it, but very few people actually know about it. Give it some love people!
Nightmare Inspector is an interesting and well-written horror/mystery manga about a Baku named Hiruko. He helps people with their nightmare, and in exchange he gets to eat the nightmare after it has been resolved. The manga is tragically obscure, unfortunately. The fact that the English version is now out of print certainly doesn't help matters. If you enjoyed ×××HOLiC, no doubt you'll enjoy Nightmare Inspector.
Nightschool, by Svetlana Chmakova (better known for Dramacon). This is another example of her work that manages to break the rather crummy expectations and opinions most people have of OEL Manga. Give it a look if you've got, say, just 20 minutes and an internet connection.
Ninku is a fun adventure series about ninjas, with an enjoyable cast of main characters and a lot of exciting, fast-paced action scenes. This series actually served as the inspiration for Naruto, but unfortunately it's very, very obscure. There are no reviews online and its fanbase is all but non-existant. Even in Japan, the series was only moderately popular during the time of its release, and the only part that's been dubbed, or even licensed, for American audiences is a short movie released as a double feature with the YuYu Hakusho movie.
Nyanpire: The Animation is a cute and funny anime series about a vampire cat that goes through cute and mostly hilarious antiques with his friend, Masamunya,Nyatenshi, and Chachamaru. The anime is based on an ongoing manga a series in Japan originally called "The Gothic World Of Nyanpire". The anime only has 12 episodes, and is a good anime to watch during the Fall or Halloween season. If your a fan of Goth,vampires, or cats then you would enjoy this anime. Nyanpire in general, is popular in Japan and is filled with merchandise.
Miss Hokusai is a beautiful episodic tale about the daughter of one of Japan's most famous painters. It combines elements of love, sickness, sensuality, lineage that is simple in scope but powerful in effect.
Nurse Angel Ririka SOS is a fun Magical Girl Warrior anime about a girl who answers a Call to Adventure offered by a messenger from a foreign world to help him fight off malevolent aliens. And why? Because she thinks he's dreamy. It's not as well known; probably because Sailor Moon Super S was airing at the time. The show itself is sweet, fun, genuine, and very adorable… but don't think it's bad! Oh no! It definitely has its crowning moments of awesome and when it comes to tear jerkers it does not mess around.
Oh! Edo Rocket is a comedy/drama/sci-fi anime, and one of the only anime based on a live play instead of a manga, set in Edo during the 1800's. But it is by no means a period piece- while the story is heavy most of the time, the comedy really sets the tone for the show in the forefront. The characters are quirky and simple to understand, there are more Anachronism Stews than Disney's Hercules, the art style is a bit separate from the usual anime fare, and both the Japanese recording and the English dub break the fourth wall regularly. It's fun, upbeat, and jazzy. However, no one seems to remember it after its initial airing in 2007, and the DVDs for the dub don't seem to be selling well.
Oldboy is a "revenge story" comic series that you've probably seen the movie of. Bearing parallels to The Count of Monte Cristo, Oldboy is about a Japanese man who, after being imprisoned without provocation, is finally released after ten years; setting out to find out why he was kidnapped, Mister/"Yamashita"^note soon finds himself making the ultimate gamble. Outshone by its Darker and Edgier Korean adaptation by Park Chan-wook, Oldboy is still pretty darn good in itself; however, since the movie chose tooth pulling with a claw hammer, eating a real living squid and a more extreme ending, the manga that relies more on drama, tension and reveals appears pretty light-hearted by comparison, and continues somewhat unnoticed.
Petite Princess Yucie is a 2003 anime that shares a surprising amount of elements with a certain phenomenally popular Western cartoon that came out seven years later: Cute character designs, lovable and surprisingly well-developed characters that work well with each other, a fairy-tale fantasy setting, a mixture of Slice of Life and adventure storylines, a focus on the Power of Friendship with all the heartwarming that comes with it, all hidden behind a cavity-inducing title. It also has a significant focus and mature take on father-daughter relationships. It was released in America at the tail-end of the early-mid 2000s anime boom and given a surprisingly good dub, but was given no publicity and was ignored among all the other animes released, including being rarely stocked by brick and mortar stores (at a time when B&Ms stocked most new animes).
Pokémon Chronicles is so obscure it didn't even have its own page for years! Chronicles was a side stories Spin-Off where Ash Ketchum didn't appear, instead giving the spotlight to his friends. The series has good animation that holds up well (and especially good for 2006), interesting ideas and creative episode plots, and all of the original characters have kept their personality and charisma from the original series. Unfortunately, it has been forgotten by most who saw it. It deserves much, much more than it got.

Popolocrois Monogatari is a 1998 anime which was made to be a direct sequel to the first game in the video game franchise of the same name. It is just adorable. The soundtrack is dreamy and neat, the animation is very clean and done well with soft colors, the characters are very well rounded and well developed, the so-called filler episodes expand greatly on the characters and have an impact on the story, and it averts and subverts so many anime tropes it's not even funny. You may think certain characters are going to be an Idiot Hero or a Clingy Jealous Girl or everything else of that caliber, but fear not, as its characters are VERY well developed, even though they may not look it. Most people are turned off by the cutesy character designs and the fact that it's based on an RPG, but they really need to look past those things in order to see the great story that it is. Not only that, it managed to get some really suggestive things (NOT sexual!!!) despite its innocent nature (the best example is in episode 11), and it's been blessed with one of the hammiest and funniest villains in the form of Demon King GamiGami, who is awesome. You'd think something like this would be picked up by a US licensor or broadcasted on a children's channel like Nick Toons or Cartoon Network, but nobody seems to know it exists! What a pity, as it definitely Needs More Love!
Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin sure as hell needs some more love! It tells the story of six inmates locked in a Japanese prison ten years following World War II, and about the struggle they take in order to survive. The writing is very effective, the characters are well developed (at least enough to gather a strong and realistic sense of camaraderie amongst them) and contains some excellent voice acting. If you're squeamish (and believe me, it can get pretty Squick inducing) it's understandable, but if you can power through the harshness, you'll be justly rewarded.
Ray, by Yoshitomi Akihito. You'd believe that an action-packed manga with a likeable heroine who is Cursed with Awesome (X-ray eyes), quite a bit of medical-related fanservice, a lot of shoutouts to Black Jack, AKIRA and other classics, and a rich argument delving with the life of the terminally ill, cloning ethics, sacrificing for the greater good and other strong topics would have gained some following. However, it has become largely forgotten. Pity!
Real Drive is an anime created by Masamune Shirow and Production I.G (the same people who produced Ghost in the Shell). It is highly enjoyable, having a heartwarming story and some of the best music I've heard in a while. It's beautifully animated – Production I.G did a superb job and paid even the smallest details attention. The end result is an anime that is filled to the brim with Scenery Porn: one can almost feel the warm tropical sun on them as they watch. There's no defined storyline: in a sense, it's like a slice of life show that proceeds at a casual, relaxed pace that shows how technology has come to affect humanity in ways we cannot imagine. Despite having all the elements of a good slice-of-life/speculative fiction type anime, it remains virtually unrecognized by the anime community.
Red River (1995) is a 28 volume manga filled with beautiful art, Bishōnen and romance, while still keeping the reader interested with historical information, action, war, gory deaths and the reader notices the character development the main character goes through. And yet this manga has not yet seen any sign of being made into an anime series or an OVA.
Rokudenashi Blues is one of the best high school delinquent stories ever. Not only are the action scenes intense, but most of the characters, including the non-delinquents, are really well developed. And main character Maeda is one of the most Crazy Is Cool, Hot-Blooded, and idiotic heroes ever to grace a shounen manga. However, even the scanlations have pretty much stopped...
As it says on the page Scrapped Princess is an absolutely fantastic show... and yet no one ever talks about it. Perhaps the title has something to do with it. It's pretty much Studio Bones' forgotten masterpiece, airing between Wolf's Rain and Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) in 2003. With an absolutely epic storyline combining fantasy and science fiction, interesting characters, strong production values, and an excellent dub including the likes of Kari Wahlgren, Michelle Ruff, Yuri Lowenthal, and Crispin Freeman, this truly is one of the better shows you're probably not watching.
SD Gundam Force: A CG anime based off a long-running series of Affectionate Parodies. One of the most interesting, and underrated entries of the Gundam franchise. When it first aired, SDGF was flamed to a crisp by many as nothing more than a Lighter and Softer perversion of the Gundam franchise. However, there's a surprising amount of depth hidden beneath the cutesy exterior, ranging from extended Mythology Gags to deeper characterization than one would expect from something that looks so adorable.
Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars. It's like Azumanga Daioh before Azumanga Daioh ever existed. It also has aliens and a Humongous Mecha. But everyone was expecting loads of Humongous Mecha/alien fights instead of Slice of Life which is why you've never heard of the show. Though the DVDs are fairly cheap now and it has an English dub.
Shōnen Onmyōji: The first episode may be a bit cliche, and the premise itself is rather off-putting, but don't you dare pass this off as another monster fighting show. It delves into some pretty deep stuff, especially in that ungodly awesome second half, where everything, even the smallest of details nobody would even notice, come together in the most awesome way possible. It also has one of the best, most bittersweet endings I've ever seen.
Simoun. At first glance, it's a fetishistic yuri series where you get to see girls kiss each other. In reality, it's a moving war-drama, with political intrigue, well-handled religious elements, and a great soundtrack to boot.
Space Brothers is an incredibly heartwarming and inspiring manga and anime series that, despite being very popular in Japan, has a very small following in the US. The series focuses on the newly unemployed Mutta as he rekindles his dream of becoming astronaut. However Mutta struggles to follow in the footsteps in his younger brother Hibito, who's slated to become the first Japanese man on the moon. What makes this show truly special is that it doesn't follow most anime troupes, making it very accessible to even those not familiar or a fan of anime. It's also a very pro-NASA/JAXA/Space Travel show with a very positive take on American (and global) culture.
Spider Riders: A highly underrated anime, due to its Genre-Busting nature. Drawing its premise from (however losely) the Journey to the Center of the Earth. An interesting combination of Slice of Life comedy and War Is Hell drama, with humans fighting Insectoid lifeforms while riding atop… believe it or not, Giant Spiders. All while pointing out that prejudice and revenge are pointless and only cause suffering.
Spring And Chaos: an autobiographical OVA base on the life of Kenji Miyazawa, one of Japan's most famous poets. It's directed by Shoji Kawamori (the Macross guy), no less. It's one of the most moving films you'll ever see.
Star Driver is an excellent new anime from Soul Eater director Takuya Igarashi and Revolutionary Girl Utena and FLCL writer Yoji Enokido (who also created Ouran High School Host Club together), animated by Studio Bones. The show shares a bevy similarities to the formula of Revolutionary Girl Utena, so much so that it's been called that show's spiritual successor, and contains several Shout Outs to a lot of other well-known anime. The story so far takes an approach that's sadly become rare these days: the overall plot remains a mystery, while the show delicately teases the viewers with new information on what's really going on. It does this by focusing on specific characters each episode and digging deeper into their backstory, revealing their perspective on this series of bizarre events and people on this peculiar island. This is all topped off with beautiful animation, interesting and likeable characters, incredible music, and an overall sense of fun. That's the beauty of the series; it doesn't take itself too seriously at all. Sure, it is a bit formulaic, but it's to be expected from a show that takes so many cues from Utena. Sadly, and partly due to the fact that it's a completely original work not adapted from anything, the show hasn't gotten nearly the TV ratings it deserves in Japan nor the attention it deserves in North America. Maybe its popularity will come once it's finished, but only time will tell.
Stealth Symphony is an epic/urban Fantasy written by Durarara!!'s writer Narita Ryougo, which has an awesome cast, artwork and a storyline that is much more complex than it initially offers. Unfortunately, it had a low ranking, and the magazine it was published in decided to stop it in favour of more popular mangas, forcing it to end in a rather abrupt and hurried manner.
Sugar Sugar Rune is a great manga series that manages to have good character development while growing into a big fantasy adventure, not to mention Moyocco Anno's Awesome Art and yet... not many people know about it. The fact that the anime turned it into a more typical magical girl series, removing its more unique elements, and not adapting most of the story (not even its amazing ending) may have contributed to its lack of appreciation. Had it been Truer to the Text it would probably be more beloved.
I'm quite suprised that there is no one mentions Sweet Blue Flowers. Being created by the same author of Wandering Son, this series being one of few Yuri Genre works who willing portray gay romance without fetishtic undertones. It's a shame this series rarely gets recognition.
Many fans of the Pretty Cure franchise absolutely hated Suite Pretty Cure ♪ when it first came out, namely because it came right after the critically acclaimed HeartCatch Pretty Cure!, and it was seen as completely inferior to it, making it the Sailor Moon SuperS of the franchise. This hate is completely undeserved, as I'm through a huge majority of the series, and if you ask me, I think it's a great show in its own right. The transformation sequences are a visual orgasm with surprisingly good CG, the characters, while a bit bland, do develop and are actually quite realistically handled (I especially adore Ako. Seriously, why do people hate her?! I hear it's because she's a Bratty Half-Pint but she's actually not like that. People should be happy she's not whiny or annoying like Chibiusa!), the premise might be a bit flimsy but there's actually quite a bit of Fridge Brilliance to it if you really think about it, and the villains are actually quite good in the later half of the series. I love Heartcatch just as much as the next person, but Suite really doesn't deserve the crap it gets from the fandom. I will admit, the fights between Hibiki and Kanade do get annoying, but they fade quickly, plus I find it realistic that even friends get into fights, emphasizing that friendships aren't always rock solid. I really liked that. The best part? You know how in Pokémon where the villains make an obvious plan to do bad things to them and the heroes are so stupid they don't figure it out and fall for it anyway? You won't find that in Suite! Thank GOD, they actually make the characters extremely smart and crafty in this series! Somebody finally gets it! It may not be the best Pretty Cure series in the franchise, but it's definitely one of my favorites.
Symphogear. Read a review. It'll have you thinking its a terrible series. In reality, its amazingly well done, with gorgeous animation, in-depth characters and appears to be inspired by Nanoha, and later on Madoka, the two magical girl series that turned the genre on its head and kicked it sideways. Symphogear gets lumped in with things like Precure because of its plot based on the power of music. It's got a great plot, at times very dark and mature moments (child slavery and abuse is dealt with), kick-ass action, a soundtrack that belongs on the Awesome Music page, and lovable characters. It was well known enough to get a second season, but much of the criticism is still hanging around.
The Tamagotchi series of virtual pet toys got an anime TV show that aired in Japan from late 2009 to early 2015. It was successful enough in Japan to sustain 271 episodes and has had decent success in some other parts of Asia, such as Hong Kong. The rest of the world, on the other hand, seems to be out of luck. The first 26 episodes have been dubbed and aired in English... but only in Australia. Later, the Yume Kira Dream saga was adapted into an English-dubbed webtoon called Tamagotchi Friends... but only the first seven episodes were adapted, and the episodes were shortened to be 3-4 minutes long. The only time the series in its entirety has been dubbed was in Cantonese for the aforementioned Hong Kong, and the anime's lack of presence elsewhere has made it noticeably more obscure than the virtual pets it's based on. Which is quite a shame, as the series is actually pretty great, with charming episodes, enjoyable characters, animation and art direction that lives up to other animes, a strong balance of humor and heart, and several fantastic original songs, all with the source material being digital pet toys that don't offer much material to work with.
Got to make a shout out to Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, a charming, gorgeously textured manga about a weepy letter courier and his many adventures. It has a deceptively cutesy, storybook style that may throw older viewers off; but it's well juxtaposed against a world two hairs shy of crapsack territory. In addition to a highly original, intensely complicated plot that evolves with the characters. It's a modest, yet immense series; chock full of Woobies, Tearjerkers, epic, Lovecraftian storylines, and just the right helping of Fanservice. And it's also just really, really pretty. Needless to say, it is woefully underrated.
Texhnolyze has not only an indepth story line expressing such deep concepts as fate, existence and humanity but has the guts to be challenging from haveing an intro episode with less than five words to one of the bleakest endings I have ever seen it deserves more love for being so daring if not only for the drop dead gorgeous ending theme and having such great epicness that must be experienced.
There, Beyond the Beyond (or just Beyond the Beyond in North America) is a six-volume shonen manga with beautiful art and a fun, engaging adventure story, but has had terrible luck reaching English audiences in any official capacity. Tokyopop invested almost nothing into translating it and cancelled the translation due to lack of sales, and Chuang-Yi in Singapore only made it to the fifth book before encountering legal problems that prevented them from finishing translating the series.
Toriko, while beloved in its homeland of Japan, definitely needs more love in the rest of the world. Aside from the unique concept of hunting food in away similar to Monster Hunter, there's several chapters devoted to eating the captured ingredients and not only is it delicious, it's insane. It will make you want to eat while reading the series or watching the anime. Not to mention the action in the series is fantastic. It starts off a bit slow, but if you grind through it, it ends up being an awesome read.
The Twelve Kingdoms. Doesn't matter whether you're talking about the original novels or the anime; both are amazing. Do you like world-building? If so then this is the series for you. In addition to the unique setting (about which a lot of care is taken to explain), the major characters are complex and engaging and go through significant, meaningful development. The only downside is that the series is unfinished even in Japan despite the author still being alive – she caught a bad case of Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny! and abandoned the series to rewrite some earlier works.
- The anime deserves props for successfully adapting what is on the surface an incredibly difficult work. Instead of just one realistic character who's struggling with being taken to another world, we get three to start off with, and they all deal with their problems differently – one is The Chosen One who must adapt but is having a hard time of it; one is a fantasy geek who wants to stay; and the third just wants to go home. Naturally, the focus is on the first, and her character growth has to be seen to be believed. The anime stopped 20 episodes earlier than intended due to wanting to avoid making stuff up that might be contradicted by later novels, but what we got is wonderful. Watch it. You won't regret it.
Umi no Misaki: Can anyone say Ai Yori Aoshi quality harem romance done on a tropic island with a touch of supernatural thrown in? If you liked Ai Yori Aoshi, you seriously need to look at Umi no Misaki.
Ushio and Tora is a 312 chapter Shonen manga with fun characters and a great art style. It has a feel of Nurahiyon No Mago, Inuyasha, and YuYu Hakusho in its mythos, art, and fighting style. The two main characters are Ordinary High-School Student Ushio Aotsuki and his Bakemono partner Tora, an extremely powerful demon that was pierced by the demon spear.
- Seconded; the manga has a lot of heart for a shounen, and the title leads have amazing chemistry together to prove they are truly inseparable, and they, too, have awesome interactions with other characters. The 2015 anime deserves mention as it went under a lot of people's radars when it aired, which is a shame as it was well-adapted by MAPPA despite a lot of stories being cut out for time. If anything, at least watch it for the villain, as brilliantly voiced by Megumi Hayashibara.
Variante is a sad 19-issue manga involving a dead girl coming back to life, a secret government agency that wishes to use her, and monsters that they are tasked with both fighting and hiding from the public.
Wandering Son: It garnered some attention when the anime premiered, but was quickly overshadowed by Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Watashi No Messiah Sama, a compelling and well-woven tale of despair, betrayal, strife, and ultimately, hope from the creator of Heaven's Lost Property Sure, the art starts off bad and the story gets confusing at times, but the sheer human aspect of being a messiah is visited in this manga. Not to mention its heartwarming and awesome moments...
W Juliet is a romantic, very funny, well drawn, artistic, and dramatic manga with a High School gender bender plot, but few have even heard of it. Due to it being made 1997-2002, book stores don't usually carry it and it's nearly impossible to find outside of conventions or the internet so it's very unlikely to develop a following from people new to manga.
Virtually ANYTHING in the World Masterpiece Theater, especially Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette. A lot of people think it's a moe-fied and kiddiefied version of the books they're based on. I have seen the entire series, and while it has been made kid friendly, it is ANYTHING BUT a moefied production. The anime still retains the dark atmosphere, the characters are amazing, and while some important parts were cut out, others were left intact. Of course, this also applies to every other anime in the World Masterpiece Theater too, even though they're becoming more well known. Also, NO anime in the WMT has any of the things modern anime do (except maybe LWAAS) like over-exaggerated expressions (creepy or chibi), none of the characters have rainbow colored hair or disproportionate body parts (especially boobs), and the stories of all the shows are actually simple, but are executed so wonderfully.
- It's a shame that these shows don't have enough interest in the anglosphere for them to get licensed. The Anne of Green Gables adaptation has never been aired for English Canadians! Despite being directed by Grave of the Fireflies director Isao Takahata.^note But one thing you have to appreciate about WMT series (and anything made by Nippon, for that matter, see the original Hunter × Hunter adaptation) is how they can stretch the premise and plot of a single novel/manga for 52 episodes while actually enhancing the source material's characters and world and even giving some secondary characters more screentime as opposed to dropping in a quickly-written filler arc. The best example would be 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, which took a single chapter of the Italian novel Cuore (Heart) and turned it into an entire show.
Worst, a manga by Takahashi Hiroshi that doesn't even have its own TV Tropes page. It's about high school delinquents (pretty much all are the major character type) at Suzuran, a high school known for being filled with strong delinquents. They form factions, get into street fights, and generally try to prove that they're the best around. Additionally, Crows by the same author, which actually came before Worst (Worst is the sequel series to Crows).
Yellow Dragon Ga Arawareta!: A Mad Scientist tries to summon the dreaded Yellow Dragon. He was expecting a huge, fearsome beast, but gets a Little Miss Snarker instead. She's still the real thing, though! Hilarity Ensues.
Zero (Matsumoto Taiyou): A brutal boxing manga about an undefeated champion with the nickname Zero. The artstyle is idiosyncratic, but the artist definitely knows what he's doing, and some pages are downright beautiful. At only two volumes, it's a fairly quick read and a must for any fan of boxing or fighting manga.

Needs More Love / Anime & Manga

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