Hrm, that's tough. Splitting them up is complicated. Especially since some (the first movie and 2000) probably qualify for Level 0 given their wide releases, but some probably are as low as a 2. That said, most of them have been aired on broadcast TV and get actual commercials on cable, which makes them pretty widely known.
... also, how is Assassination Classroom on level 1? That's absurd. And this is speaking as a big fan of it.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.Well, the first three movies and Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns are solidly Level 0. If it were up to me, I'd classify movies 4-8 as Level 1 and 9-19 as Level 2, but the first three are the only ones that can be ranked definitively.
I agree that Assassination Classroom should be lower. Though should Rebuild of Evangelion be lower as well? It didn't have as much of an impact as the original series, and most people would refer to Asuka as "Soryu" rather than "Shikinami".
I say it's confusing. Movies 4 and on are just direct-to-video, which should place them at level 1, but at the same time they're not any more obscure than the Show, which should place them at level 0.
Maybe just cut them entirely?
Edited by WhatArtThee Just another day in the life of Jimmy Nutrin
While I won't edit anything, I have a question. What would the Gundam Level 0-1 series, which one(s) would definitive be 0? Wing, G and 00.
I can't believe nobody has added Captain Tsubasa to the list. It's page is a Manga page, but Captain Tsubasa's anime (both the original and the 2001 one) are easily level 0 or at least 1 in Latin America (known as Supercampeones/Supercampeões), most of Mediterranean Europe (known there as Oliver y Benji/Holly e Benji/Olive e Tom) and the Middle East (Captain Majid).
Ben-to as level 5? Come on, /a/ alone is a big enough place to warrant at least level 4!
True that it's basically unknown outside /a/, but still. There are even AM Vs using it!
Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi (Sunday with out God) I would rate it 5 simply because every one I have ever talked to (in the fandom) has never heard of it, which is a crying shame, considering that it is relay a good, but came out in the shadow of Shingeki. O well, what cha going to do?
The Topic Slayer
I added these a while ago, but I thought I'd mention them here, too.
- Angel Sanctuary (OAV)
- Chocotto Sister
- Descendants of Darkness
- Monster Rancher
- Sorcerer Stabber Orphen
- Venus Versus Virus
If I was supposed to put these here first, I apologize, and hope that you don't mind my doing it now.
Edited by 24.61.109.120 Oh no! The DREADED AQUAE MORTIS! No, wait, it's just your imagination.
I'm quite surprised Sword Art Online isn't a level 1 anime. It's discussed about everywhere in the otaku community and High School of the Dead is definitely not a level 4 and more along the lines of level 2
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I would agree that Highschool of the Dead is a level 3 series, but no higher.
As for Sword Art Online, I've never met anyone OUTSIDE of the anime fandom who has heard of it. That's a key requirement for level 1 placement. Either way, it's too early to move it seeing as its 2nd season is scheduled to air in July, and its awareness level is still up in the air.
On the subject, should we move JoJo's Bizarre Adventure up to say a 2? I've been repeatedly coming across references to the series outside of websites specifically devoted to anime.
pearlina brainrot affects millions of people worldwide. if you or a loved one are suffering from pearlina brainrot, call 1-800-GAY-NERDS
I would think Speed Racer would be a level-zero series. After all, it's been used in both NASCAR and GEICO commercials, a Hollywood Live-Action Adaptation has been made, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an American Baby Boomer who doesn't have some memory of it. And, one of the best indicators of level 0: some people don't know it's anime.
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I am planning on moving Speed Racer and Voltron up to level 0 for precisely that reason.
Though they're curious cases, since the anime fandom doesn't konw them but people outside the fandom do.
Also, VW commercials from about a decade or more ago.
Edited by GlennMagusHarvey
I'm quite surprised Casshern Sins is a level 2. I've hardly ever heard anyone mention it and only found it through a MAL recommendation.
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On the otherhand, it is (or at least was) available on Netflix.
This is one of those strange shows where I would say there's a big gap between awareness and popularity. Many otaku have heard of the series, but I've not really seen a big fandom surrounding it. Since this list is about "awareness", I'd say keep it where it is for the time being.
Golem Slayer
I've added four more series to the placement request list that I'm interested in opinions on: Princess Resurrection (series), Chrono Crusade, Kamisama no Memochou, and Bastard!! (OVA). I've never scouted their fandoms so I really don't have a great sense of how generally popular they are, although I at least remember that Chrono Crusade was airing on Sy Fy channel for while in America, so that might push it a notch up the scale. Otherwise I'm generally thinking the level 3/level 4 range for most of them, maybe level 5 for Bastard since it's 20+ years old now. Any thoughts on any of those?
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Chrono Crusade is likely a level 3. Most otaku have at least heard of it... though they might not have any idea what it is about.
Was surprised that "Video Girl Ai" was not present on the list. Added the series to the "requesting placement folder".
If I had to guess, I would place it in either the Level 4 or Level 5 folders. The OVA series was licensed and dubbed through Pioneer in the early 2000s, and the show seems to have a small but definite fanbase guessing by the number of AM Vs I've seen devoted to it.
It's also worth noting that (according to Know Your Meme) the earliest known usage of the phrase "fapping" derives from a web-comic parody of Video Girl Ai entitled "Video Girl Etchi".
Feel free to correct me on details if you know better, but the show clearly deserves placement.
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Video Girl Ai is kind of tough to judge IMO, because it seems to fall into the anime fandom's equivalent of the Mainstream Obscurity trap - I've known a fair few anime fans who've heard of it, and are aware of its ecchi reputation, so by that metric it might be a level 3. However, I've never met a single person (including myself) who's actually watched it, so by a fandom size/activity metric it might not warrant anything higher than level 5. FWIW, it looks like it ranks #1853 in popularity on myanimelist.net, and on fanfiction.net it has a grand total of 24 fics to its name, half of which are written in Spanish or Portuguese.
Edited by 68.49.145.121
Everytime I turn around, I'm finding more and more series that aren't yet on the list. Here are the ones I have added: Bunny Drop, Dai-Guard, Fushigi Yuugi, Genshiken, Grenadier, Hare + Guu, Jyu Oh Sei, Kiss X Sis, Koi Kaze, Mysterious Girlfriend X, Please Teacher!, Please Twins!, Queen's Blade, Scrapped Princess, Shigurui, Twelve Kingdoms, Video Girl Ai, & Witchblade.
Could someone help me with placing these? Some of them I will eventually place myself, but I would still like second opinions if I can get them.
Edited by 184.6.86.224 Hide / Show Replies
I would say Bunny Drop and Scrapped Princess are at least level 4. When you think of a show that Needs More Love, that's the place to start. If you absolutely needed TV Tropes as a Gateway Drug for the series in question, that's a good indicator for Level 5.
For Fushigi Yugi, I'm guessing Level 3. It seems to be a Cult Classic judging from the Youtube comments, but the years have thinned the Cult quite a bit. I have no idea about the others though.
I moved the afforementioned shows to the Levels that I specified.
Edited by 99.69.30.218 These two may literally be more bark than bite, but they are no less tenacious than everyone else.
Double post. Ignore
Edited by 99.69.30.218 These two may literally be more bark than bite, but they are no less tenacious than everyone else.
At first I was thinking level 2 for Fushigi Yuugi, but I fear you may be right about the years having thinned awareness of the show.
For everyone else, help in placing these would still be welcome.
Edited by 173.218.3.214
Mario's not the only Wonder here.
I have a problem with two shows that are currently at Level 4 on this list: Ore No Imouto Ga Konna Ni Kawaii Wake Ga Nai and Zatch Bell!. The former because its title is subject to heavy Memetic Mutation among the Western fandom, especially at image boards and picture sharing sites; and the latter because it aired on Toonami and became a popular title, but has since become a Cult Classic among older anime fans.
By this logic, would you agree that Ore No Imouto Ga Konna Ni Kawaii Wake Ga Nai be at Level 2 (general media still hasn't caught wind of this show yet) and Zatch Bell! at Level 3?
These two may literally be more bark than bite, but they are no less tenacious than everyone else.
An older version lists .hack//Roots which does not have its own article under Level 3, while SIGN and Legend of Twilight are listed under Level 4. If Roots was more popular than those to be on Level 3, rather than Level 4, how come that does not have its own article? I'm placing it under Level 4 at my own discretion. If anyone feels that Roots is indeed more well known and popular than SIGN and Legend of the Twilight, feel free to put it back with Level 3, but that would mean we have to reach a consensus in which levels the other .hack anime belong to.
lady_nei
I don't want to make any moves unless there are others who agree but I think Excel Saga should be at level 2. I think it's well known in the anime world that if there was a discussion about it, people would know what everyone was talking about.
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I know of at least one none anime fan who knows about it, so yeah, I'd say it's at least a 2.
No way in hell is Beyblade level 0. I'm not moving it because I don't know where it does belong, but I'm not sure I've even heard of it, whereas I've heard of everything else in level 0, pretty much everything in level 1, and a fair bit of what's in level 2.
Or is this like when Vince Mc Mahon hadn't heard of Pirates Of The Caribbean?
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Does Pani Poni Dash belong to 4 or 3? Judging from its content, it could be at least noteworthy for its tons of references, including few Chuck Norris ones. Also, it was quite popular in japan, back in 2005, from what I have heard.
Edited by noiniru Hide / Show Replies
I personally weighed it at level 4. It is a difficult show to find on a random search and its weird title certainly doesn't help in this regard. Plus, its bizarre nature on an already niche genre really cuts down on the amount of people talking about it because so few can even tolerate it. On another note, this is about obscurity as the English-speaking fanbases know them, not the Japanese. Please re-read the article.
Edited by aNinjaWithAIDS These two may literally be more bark than bite, but they are no less tenacious than everyone else.
Apparition in the Woods
So, where shuld we put Kemonozume and The Tatami Galaxy? Yuasa isn't exactly a household name in anime, but his work has a definite cult following.
I would probably put The Tatami Galaxy at about a 4 and Kemonozume at a 5, though I cannot be sure without feedback.
Edited by JHM I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception. Hide / Show Replies
I'm not sure about Kemononozume but Tatami Galaxy is about 5. With 20 people you may not find even one who has watched the series though that anime got some posts at some blogs.
And yes, Yuasa has a cult following, but it's a really small group.
Edited by kingwel
Kemonozume is even more obscure than The Tatami Galaxy, but it's not quite Level 6 material; I've found a pretty good number of reviews of it, and it's reasonably easy to find online if you know where to look.
I guess there's a certain distance between a hard 5 and a soft 5...
I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
Powafu Meguca
Should Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle really be at Level 1? Up with Spirited Away, Death Note and Astro Boy? The series is far from obscure, but I think it's more of a Level 2 series.
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Yeah, it's more of a Level 2 series. It well-know but not AS much as these other.
Anime Disco Inferno
Where should we place Bible Black? I only ask because we already have two hentai titles listed on here because of sheer infamy and memetic mutation (La Blue Girl and Boku No Pico), and Bible Black is on the same level as these two hentai animes.
I'd place it as either Level 3 or Level 4. Given it's nature, it's not going to be Level 1, and probably not Level 2 either, but it's too infamous to be Level 5 or lower.
In fact, Bible Black is one of the few hentai titles to be even known by name in many circles of the anime fandom.
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In the anime fandom Bible Black might be at Level 3, it's one of the most famous hentais and while it doesn't have the memetic status that Boku no Pico has, it's pretty well-know.
I thought Go Lion was huge in the English-speaking fandom. Why level 5?
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Should Digimon be a Level 1 instead of a Level 0? I mean, it's quite popular in America because of the nostalgia, but it's largely overshadowed by Pokemon in Japan and some of the more recent installments of the franchise aren't as known as its predecessors.
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Digimon adventure 1 and 2 are certainly level 0. While popularity in Japan is certainly to be considered, the defining factor would be english speaking countries. IIRC, it even says that in the article. I'd actually argue that its far more culturally relevant than Yu Gi Oh for example.
Edited by azraelfinalstar
According to Fan Fiction Dot Net, it's the 16th biggest fandom in terms of fanfic submissions, above fandoms like Dragon Ball, Star Wars and Sailor Moon. So, yeah, I'd say that it is very popular.
Plus, Speed Racer is a level 0 show despite not being shown anymore just because of nostalgia.
Why are there two Kyou Kara Maous listed on the page? One is in Level 2, while the other is in Level 4. I'd edit it myself, but I don't know which to delete.
Fear me
Does Memetic Mutation factor in any way? For example, someone who's never watched Gurren Lagann and only knows it involves shades and drills.
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Yes, it does, as far as I understand it. After all, if many people know of a series, then at a minimum (if most only know of it due to memes) then it's a Level 3. If the plot of a series is well-known among anime fans, then it's a Level 1 or 2.
The Egg-Man
I'm thinking Durarara is more of a level 3 series than a level 4 series, at least judging by all the references to it I encounter on the Internet.
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With Durarara airing on adult swim, and apparently doing decently with ratings, i think it's safe to say at least a 3 is warranted
It's super effective.
I know that dozens of Pokémon manga never get an English release and are (at least in the English-speaking world) almost unheard of, but would they really be obscure enough to be level 6?
Shouldn't Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star be a 2? It got a pair of movie releases (both the animated version, and a terrible live-action one) in the US, and has been widely popular in various markets. Most anime fans will at least know some combination of 'big supermuscled martial artists', 'martial art that makes head explode', 'you are already dead' and 'ATATATATATA'. It's also a 0 in Japan, which leads to bleedthrough.
Perfect Blue is currently listed under both 3 and 4. Which should it actually be?
Edited by RiseiJaku Hide / Show Replies
Kind of my fault. I split an entry called "Satoshi Kon, movies by" and didn't double-check to see if any of his films were already in other levels. The one in Level 4 was listed first, and seems to have been there since the launch of the page.
Edited by OldManHoOh
Professional Nerd
Should Durarara really be listed as more obscure than Baccano? It's my understanding that Durarara, even though it won't be officially released stateside until January, has much more fandom/internet presence (more livejournal community activity, more fanfics, more fanart, more memes, more cosplays, more doujins, more talk of it on 4chan, etc.)
"If there's a hole, it's a man's job to thrust into it!" — Ryoma Nagare, New Getter Robo Hide / Show Replies
That seems to be a temporary thing, what with a pending stateside release and the hype that goes along with it.
It's super effective.
If Boku No Pico counts as Level 3 due to infamy, I would think Kodomo No Jikan would too. It may have few actual fans, but the controversy over it was pretty huge amongst American anime fans. I mean, I tend to stay well away from loli/shouta stuff myself since it's one of my biggest squicks, and I've still heard about the series in some detail. The flamewars about it were practically unavoidable for a while.
On the subject of things I actually do like, Revolutionary Girl Utena seems like it should be higher up too. It's a little old now, certainly, and difficult to find since the company that licensed it in the US went under, but it seems to me like something that most anime fans have heard of even if they haven't seen it. But oh well, subjectivity.
Perpetually Confused
I'd question Transformers. The Transformers was an animated series and franchised (Based off two Japanese series of toys). The original cartoon, which most people remember, is american (Produced by Marvel and Sunbow). The animation WAS done overseas by Toei of Japan and AKOM of Korea (as it was for many other series, like Gi Joe), There was a Japanese sequel to this series also animated by Toei, but it was never officially aired here. There were many follow up Japanese series (Transformers Car Robots, Beast Wars The Second, Beast Wars Neo). Only Car Robot was ported to the states (As Robots in Disguise). Other Japanese produced series (Armada, Energon (Superlink in Japan) and Cybertron (Galaxy Force)) were co-productions between the USA and Japan.
Eitherway, the level 0 entry should be clarified as to what it refers to. Those series that qualify as Anime probably are not level 0.
Edited by Ghilz Hide / Show Replies
How are Sailor Moon and Pokémon not animé series? Let's not get into No True Scotsman-ing here.
I haven't said they aren't, and both of them ARE listed. So whats your point? Just that by those standards, Batman The Animated Series is Anime because it was animated by Koreans.
Edited by Ghilz
Just a note to everyone who sees this list:
I did not compile this list myself. A few months ago, I started the list, and then crowdsourced it to a large number of people, mostly tropers, but a few being animé fans I knew personally from an animé club or elsewhere. This list was hosted on Google Docs.
Only later did I realize that this would be nice as a trope page (even if Just for Fun). Unfortunately, there is no edit history for the Google Doc.
But just keep in mind, if you find something you think is wrong, feel free to move it; that's what a wiki is for. Just don't blame me; chances are that I've probably never even heard of the series.
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I'm not sure why Texhnolyze and Crest/Banner of the Stars are on level 5. Both series are not for everyone, but most anime fans have at least heard of these shows and it's not that hard to find information about them throughout the Internet. And while the DV Ds are out of print, both series are very easy to find fansubbed.
I need opinions here, which Pokémon movies qualify for Level 1? Surely the Genesect movie isn't more famous/popular than One Piece or Evangelion; I'd easily revert the edits made by WhatArtThee, but don't want to start an edit war.
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