Watamote 7- I think people get too turned off by how cringe the show is and Tomoko's logic and forgets that she's meant to be wrong. For every situation she gets into with her flawed logic, people react to her in a very grounded and genuine way. even later in the manga when she acquires friends, everyone still sees that she's weird and constantly notes that about her. I also don't like that everyone attributes the fans of Watamote as "she's like me fr fr" kinds of guys. Its just when you're a total outcast sometimes you can find yourself in her relatable position even if the show exaggerates her way of thinking a bit. It also doesn't help that with Bocchi the Rock airing, everyone is calling it the more relatable Watamote with some K-on on the side. Akudama Drive 7.61- this show got so overlooked its insane. I think most people just tapped out after the first 3 or 4 episodes because it seemed like endless fighting and location changes for the sake of it, but just like any Maeda Jun work, the main plot takes off halfway through the show and it becomes a masterpiece and that's without the scuffed rushing near the end that Maeda Jun works tend to fall to. a bit of a **SPOILER** but it takes Akame ga Kill, no one is safe, throws it in a dystopian cyberpunk world and comes to an amazing conclusion. Plus the artist from Danganronpa is at his peak here with unique character designs and amazing backgrounds. this show easily deserves a 10/10 Gun X Sword 7.26- I have yet to meet another person who's seen this show. Its the only mecha I have ever watched and it was amazing. from the animation and action to the character design and high tech western aesthetic, it does everything perfectly. I think it deserves a 9/10 The World God Only Knows 7.66- I've seen people chalk this up to a standard harem show and it baffles me how they could. It has such a unique gimmick that stays fresh as the MC realizes how to tackle every new heroin in a different way using his knowledge of dating sims to win their hearts; preventing them from falling victim to evil spirits escaped from hell, all with the help of his useless spirit guide. I'd bring it up to an 8/10 since its animated story is incomplete due to licensing hell after its studio went under. I should finish the manga at some point. Squid Girl 7.41- This is easily one of my top 5 comedy shows I have ever watched. every episode is something fresh, hilarious, and wholesome. this show easily deserves a 10/10 Sora no Otoshimono 7.27- I'm torn on this only because, if the show actually finished what the manga had instead of releasing a movie akin to a trailer telling you to read the manga, I believe it would've been an amazing show well looked back on. but that's not to say that the show didn't already do a stellar job with the 4/5 of the show it adapted. I think it should be an 8/10 for its current animated story, and if they ever decided to finish it, it would go up to a 9/10 SAO A GGO 7- this spin off by Keiichi Sigsawa, instead of SAO's original author Reki Kawahara, was the best SAO had been on its release. It has great characters, a great story, and hilariously fun comedy all the way through. I'd love to see more LLENN. I'd give it a 9/10 To Love-ru 6.99- this show is one of the best haram shows imo. I think it takes the plot of Urasei Yatsura and does it in a not totally unique but still refreshing way. And the show only gets better as it expands into motto and darkness seasons. although too bad it never got to end due to the authors wife suing him over the main love interest being based on her. I'd raise its score to an 8/10
Gotta say, love all the ones you posted. I don't get on MAL much, but seeing Amagi Brilliant Park, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, and Ruin Explorers that lowly rated is pretty egregious. And I know I'm a broken record with my choice, but Re:Creators sits just barely above your threshold at 7.55. Personally, I would give it at least a 9. I can understand that it's themes and premise can fly over a lot of people's heads, but come on man....
The Idaten Deities Only Know Peace. While there are some parts I feel are done worse than the manga (particularly Ysley's internal monologue offhandedly spoiling an early twist), I still think both the source material and the anime can show that Amahara of Interspecies Reviewers fame is more than capable of working with darker stories. Sadly, both the Idaten and Interspecies manga have gone on indefinite hiatus, meaning the anime will also stay on a cliffhanger.
My personal favorite anime is Kiddy Grade. It's a basically a spiritual successor to Dirty Pair that focuses more on drama than the comedy. Though it does have plenty of action. It's currently a 7.19 on My AnimeList, which I feel is lower than it should be probably not by much. It does a have a few problems in its storytelling, but part of that is that it assumes a second viewing and/or you being familiar with the supplementary materials.
5:26 Man, that Outlaw Star music really hits. While not quite as underrated as the shows on this list, I feel it doesn't get enough recognition amongst the younger generation. Also, Aisha Clan-Clan remains best girl.
Toonami was an amazing thing. I've long since "cut the cord," but is there anything even remotely comparable to that or the Science Fiction Channel's (before it became Sci-Fi) Saturday Morning Anime movies on regular television/cable these days?
There's a manga of heroman and it's apparently different from the original anime a damn shame it never got an English translation of the full manga. Also sad it never got a season 2
I'd add Haibane Renmei. A redemption story with slice of life elements. With a slow paced story, great sound track and character design; it deserves a rating higher than the 7.9 it received.
Kabaneri, Vandread, Girl's Bravo, and Blue Gender are all series I haven't thought about in a while. They are all unique in their own way and I can see them not being everyone's cup of tea even though I enjoyed them. Although I haven't seen Highschool of the Dead's anime, I did follow the manga for a time before its long hiatus started. I was bummed out when I learned last year that the manga was discontinued after one of the creative team passed away.
Dirty pair flash was one of my first anime ever, a friend showed it to me on an ADV VHS tape. I later on got the whole dvd set. The ending song for season 3 is one of my favorites and still gives me a great feeling when watching the series finale and hearing the last ending song. Also some of these have one of my favorite dub actors Brett Weaver playing Damaramu in Dragon Half and Miguel in Ruin Explorers. For my recommendation, that you may enjoy, would be “Those who hunt elves” 6.99 rating but I love the comedy. Thinking about the story it’s an isekai before it became a trope, released back in 1996. It’s about three people who were summoned to a fantasy world, and in order to get back they have to hunt for 5 spell fragments that are tattooed onto 5 different elven women.
Nadia Secret of Blue Water is only known by the old school 90s anime fans as well as those who were lucky to buy the re-releases when they were avaliable. Unknown to most casuals, but up there in the legacy considering this was Gainax just before they made Neon Genesis. I love Nadia Secret of Blue Water especially the parody version called Mania Secret of Green Tentacle, made by the same people who did the Dragon Ball Z x Sailor Moon crossover episodes.
I feel like Vivy's Flourete Eye Song wasn't given enough attention and deserves recognition because this anime posses amazing animation - done by WIT, cool music, touches themes such as future, humanity and androids, as well great characters.
I watched Blue Gender for the first time last year and it's easily one of my favorites of all time. The ending is also quite interesting as I still don't entirely know what happened which is part of the fun.
Great video, man. Some of these titles I've seen before(Nadia, Blue Gender) but there's plenty I'll be checking out. A lot of my media consumption has been manhwa and manga, with anime being a lot of he new stuff I've been interested in(MHA, Spy X Family, Emience of the Shadow etc.) so I want to go back and check out some retro anime which I used to watch. Thank you for giving the motivation to do so.
naga sarete airantou is a super underrated anime about a boy (iktou) who finds himself maroon on an uncharted and isolated island filled with nothing but girls. the slap stick comedy is what drew me in to this show 2007 harem comedy
I've got a couple more that I personally really liked that I haven't seen get much love: 1. Monster Girl Doctor- Think Monster Musume but with less insane female protagonists. I'm convinced it was inspired by that series too, because the line-up of main girls is damn near identical, but their personalities are tamer than those from Monster Musume. It revolves around a doctor named Glenn and his lamia assistant, Saphe, who exclusively tend to medical problems with monster people of this fantasy world. What I really liked about it were actually the characters. There's multiple cases Glenn must take on and find a solution too, which also involves delving into the difficulties the monster people of this world run into. And I'll say this, the final case was actually pretty heartbreaking and had me rooting for his success. So, if the intensity of Monster Musume wasn't too your liking, I'd highly recommend this instead. 2. Welcome to Demon School, Iruma! -This is what you get when you combine Rosario Vampire and My Hero Acedemia, and that's a ton of fun. It involves a boy named Iruma who's life has been absolute shit thanks to his greedy parents who pocket all the money he makes for them. However, one day he's taken away by a demon named Sullivan who claims his parents sold his soul for money. As such, he now belongs to him and will now be his.... darling grandson. In addition, he will be made to attend the demon academy and learn about his new home. He mustn't let his identity as a human come out though, or he may be killed and eaten. There's a lot of this show I love, from its unique art style, to the wonderfully colorful characters (both literally and metaphorically), and the development of Iruma as he learns to fit in and grow as a person. It's just a feel-good series that can flex its budget during an actual fight. But it's mostly focused on the characters and their development, along with humor.
Last time I was so early the stuff that I deem to be classic old anime that are nowadays underrated were not even considered old. Last time I was so early it was not streaming services that were to blame for good anime not getting enough reach, it was VHS distributors.
Bubble's Parekour feels like an evolution of Kaleido Stars acrobatics. Some scenes seriously had me pausing the vid just to re-watch since I'd say my top underrated are Kaleido Star, Saint Tail (They never even finished dubbing or releasing it in the US and it took some serious effort to import the last of the season subtitled!) and The Third! I have a few others not in Shojo but since shojo really isn't feeling the love right now those are at the top, lol! PS. Thank you for doing the list! Lots on it that I love! Wow! You even included Fatal Fury! (There is an anime series as well that was never properly translated or subtitled in the US, not sure if that's changed but when I went hunting it was still impossible to get)
@@OtakuDaiKun I agree the Manga IS better but the Anime stands up on its own so I've no complaints! It's kind of like King of Thorn in that regard. The Manga is better but the movie was good too!
Heroman was allmight before MHA , Mecha before Build fighter( gundam series) and idol after well I don't know, what's important is that Holly is a great sister to had and the ending is touching 😢. +Its not marvel but there's Stanley.
A couple of underrated animes I'd like to add: Ghost Hunt: It gets mistaken for the hilariously adlibbed dub of Ghost Stories, but Ghost HUNT is an entirely different anime and experience, with some genuinely creepy elements; I make it a tradition to watch this anime every Halloween season. If you like movies like The Conjuring or Insidious, then Ghost Hunt is a must watch. It also has a pretty good dub, and it was one of Cherami Leigh and Todd Haberkorns first lead roles. Suzuka: a romance and sport anime where a boy (Yamato) falls in love with a girl who is the star of his schools track & field team (title name, Suzuka); he joins the track team hoping to get closer to her, but it's not going to be a smooth ride. The dub is also pretty good starring Todd Haberkorn in the early days of his career along with Leah Clark and Brina Palencia.
Really happy that you mentioned the Rockman EXE anime, since for me it is one of the most underrated anime at its time. The games werent as popular as the other Megaman entries at the time so the fact that it had an anime, while might not do the game and manga much justice, still is a treat to watch. Im just glad the Battle Network series is getting attention again thanks to the Legacy Collection.
Ah yes, the anime with (what feels like) a hundred sequels. Rockman EXE, Rockman EXE Axess, Rockman EXE Stream, Rockman EXE Stream's movie titled "Rockman EXE: Hikari to Yami no Program", Rockman EXE Beast, Rockman EXE Beast+, Ryuusei no Rockman, and Ryuusei no Rockman Tribe.
I need to develop my MAL profile so I can get a better sense of how some anime I know are rated. Just going by online commentary, I will say two anime that come to mind that I feel need more recognition are Darker Than Black and To Your Eternity. Darker Than Black I felt was a solid detective/action-y anime though there were plot issues in the very last season of the IP so I figure it feels a bit forgotten due to that. To Your Eternity is awesome but I feel like it being a more recent anime among other good recent anime means it will get overshadowed a bit. Thanks for these recommends Dai! Added some of these on my To Watch list for anime. I have noticed younger anime fans tend to poo-poo on the 2D handdrawn older animation style we grew up on. I'm glad Toonami/Adult Swim introduced us in the West to anime and anime of this specific time because handdrawn anime will always hold a special place in my entertainment.
Blue Gender was the 1st adult anime I've ever watched. Caught it on adult swim when the folks were asleep. This was back when Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh were the only anime I knew of.
The range of anime is forever amazing to me, and continues to be something largely missed by Western Animation where is feels like the only "adult animations" sets out simply to be as edgy or shocking as possible, though there are exceptions (the classic MTV Aeon Flux was something else, and I love the current Pax Machina series on Amazon."
I've heard of most of these, but my list is going to get longer once again. Also: Afro samurai, this is my favorite anime but not many UA-camrs talk about it, which surprises me.
America is really full of prudes :( The irony of what you can get away with in violence vs nudity/sexuality and still get a PG13 rating is really just silly. Unfortunately this puts any ecchi anime behind the 8-Ball. I mean, generally, I would think that anyone that has actually done the deed knows while it can be romantic, meaningful, and deeply intimate, it can also be awkward, silly, and funny as hell. This, to me, is ecchi at its finest and I think anime is uniquely situated to capture aspects of sexuality that aren't easy to do in live action. In some ways, I view it the same way as I view movies that use nudity: is it furthering the story/comedy, or is it just gratuitous (not that I think there's anything wrong with some fan service, I just don't want to feel like I'm watching a porn trying to get to the story :P That said, I'm talking about this from a story perspective. If waifus/husbanos are you're thing, that's fine too - they certainly are less complicated than the real thing, and in a lot of ways, I don't think it's any different from having feelings for a character played by a real actor/actress. A final note on censorship though - this is BS. Just put an age restriction/recommendation on stuff, don't make me deal with pixels, or worse yet, remove story elements because you're afraid you might offend someone. At worst, go the "No Russian" route: "The following contains graphic material, would you like to skip/view the following censored. Sorry, got into a minor rant :P But yeah, there's a lot of Ecchi that's kinda trash, but there have been a few with worthwhile/funny stories. For example, I've generally been a fan of the High School DxD series. I wouldn't call it a master piece, but its had some interesting story beats and premises, and a few outright hilarious moments. The fact that its ecchi never took away from this and for humor purposes definitely added to it more than a few times.
Another ecchi with an interesting story in my opinion is Worlds End Harem. The animation kinda sucks but I think some of the characters and story are worth sticking around for. Plus it’s uncensored so that’s a bonus.
I TOTALLY agree with you on Nadia. It's one of my all time favorites to. How is it only sitting at a 7.52 currently on Myanimelist? This is easily a 9 for me.
There is one anime that I seriously love and hardly people talk about at least in my community. Bartender, it's basically set in a Speakeasy Bar and stories revolves on customers coming in the bar. So basically like short stories, it's really relaxing and I love the stories from the customers each episode, and it even shows the recipe and how to make the drink of that episode in real life. MAL mecha tends to be at the lower end of the rating imo, they don't like Mecha anime that much unless it's a hyped anime like Code Geass or some Mobile Suit Gundam. I have to agree on Vandread, it's an amazing anime and if you are interested on it, you might like Dual! Parallel Lun-Lun Monogatari or Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure. It's basically an EVA clone during the hype of NGE but the premise is boy gets transported into a parallel universe where he's the only male that can pilot the mecha that can only be piloted by a female. It's really cute and action packed. Other one is Brain Powered, not much I remember on that anime because I watched it on cable and no subtitle so I have little memory but the opening is a freaking banger and still on my playlist tiil this day.
The two What's Michael OVAs are CRIMINALLY underrated on Myanimelist. The first is currently at 5.62, and the second at 5.8. These are easily at least an 8 for me.
Dude omg I haven’t seen dragon half in years I was so surprised to hear you talk about it. Also blue is right up my freaking alley I’ll be watching that real soon!
I hardly ever hear anyone talk about Oban Star-Racers!! Anime collaborations with Western studios are rare enough, but this one has great characters and an engaging story. Maybe more for a younger audience, but it holds its appeal for all ages. The first Blu-Ray release is coming soon!!
I've seen most of these and agree that they deserve better ratings, though maybe not as high as Dai gives some of them. This list did give me a few 'new' ones to check out though. Thanks for the list and for reminding me of ones i had forgotten about.
My introduction to Amagi Brilliant Park was a car skin in Forza Horizon 4 of Sento with just the title in Japanese. I remember searching for hours to try to find the sauce, grabbed the show and binged it in a night. What a fun bit of media
I'll probably check out some of the anime you mentioned. As for me, Strike Witches is one of my favorite series, with 3 seasons, a movie, and a spin-off, with each one between a 6 and 7 on myanimelist. For me they're all between 7 and 8.
Better be careful Dai this might too much booba for suzan to handle lol. I agree Girls Bravo is an amazing and underappreciated show. Its one of the first anime I watched when I got back into anime in middle school. I only know about Blue Gender because it was always an ad on my dragon ball Z tapes Ruin Explorers was pretty great. I happened to stumble upon its ova on onDemand (i think) years ago.
well, my to watch list grew :) My forgotten gem is definitelly Saber Marionettes J series. It was the one who really turned me into an anime fan. I watched in the BBrazillian Portuguese dub (which is soo bad xD) but still has that special place in my heart
Yes, I remember enjoying this series - I'm pretty sure its one I have on VHS. For whatever reason the mini-marionettes on the "development tree" image still sticks with me. I remember the only real complaint I had when watching it the first time was the power drop from a certain marionette's first appearance to her "joining the party." It's like when an enemy joins your party in a video game, and your like "where's the planetary destroying meteor you used on me?" and they go "oh sorry, I can only use that when I'm evil and/or first appear." :P Still love the series. Though later in life I realized the genetics didn't make sense, which means someone decided that everyone would be the same sex somewhere along the line ;P
Thank you for the recommendations, Dai. One-half of your list I've already watched, but I'll be sure to check out the older series as I'm rather curious.
I'd say Aim for the Ace (Ace wo Nerae!) from 1973 is pretty underrated. It's currently a 7.09 on MAL, but I think it deserves at least an 8. It's a classic by the legendary Osamu Dezaki!
I know most of these anime! I enjoyed alot of them vandread, bubble, iron fortress, brilliant park, and girls bravo the alot of them. thanks dai I feel old now lol. great video dai keep up the great work
6:05 Yo! You saw girls bravo dai!? I watched that anime a few years after gurren lagann aired on Syfy in the mid 2000s. I am amazing that girls bravo is getting attention because a UA-camr/vtuber streamer I know called Leafuchii is casually watching girls bravo.
My underrated anime was perhaps the first one I watched to completion. I’ve mentioned it before and it’s Called Future GPX Cyber Formula. It’s about a boy named Hayato Kazami who accidentally becomes a racing after activating The Cyber System Asurada, (who can only be registered with one person) while trying to escape with it from people trying to steal it. In addition it has 4 OVA Sequels, and I think the series really shines in that area, especially animation wise. Currently the series has a rating ranging from 7.3 to 7.4 or so, but I think it deserves a 8 or even a 9 depending in which series it is.
The most underrated anime I'd pick are from the mecha & super robot genres since transformers and the brave saga ended up becoming my gateway into anime as a whole: 1. Captain Earth: One of the last original mecha anime of the late 2010s before the drought of original mecha anime that's still ongoing to this day Fantastic writing and characters, great mecha design and a bittersweet ending The fact that it apparently takes place in the same universe as Star Driver (another underrated and unique mecha series) and Eureka Seven (often stated as one of the best mecha series of all time) is a huge plus for me 2. My second pick would be "Genesis of Aquarion" and its sequel "Aquarion EVOL": Amazing mecha fights, great writing, INCREDIBLE music from Akino and Bless4 and a wonderful love story spanning multiple lifetimes
The most underrated anime to me is the show "Princess Principal"! It's about spies in a stream punk Victorian in an alternated UK. Amazing story with great action and fun characters! I will 100% say that the dub is better because Sentai flimworks got the VA's to speak with British accents. The show is 1 season but 6 movies(3 are out currently). I can't sell this show enough! Can't believe that shows on Amazon Prime and HiDive have been looked over!
Well… Kantai Collection, the ladder episodes may be bad, but I strangely had a good time with it. Gonna Be the Twintails, the Eng Sub may have sucked, but the Eng Dub managed to be way better. SAO Alternative GGO was so good that I feel like it surpassed the original SAO - not counting the SAO movies. Girls Und Panzer, there is always something about this anime that I liked, and I guess that it was the historical references. Speaking of references… Nyaruko-San, there was something about the blending of a female version Nyarlathotep and JoJo Reference that actually made me smile.
I still have Plastic Little somewhere on vhs. Seeing that OVA on this list reminded me of how cultured I was as a youth. Another OVA dear to my heart is Shadow Skill. Anyone looking for strong female protag nowadays should check that one out.
I was worried at first that Shikimori would fall into the trap of him getting in trouble and her saving him, but I was pleasantly surprised that they did not. Its just a fun Romance. With HSOTD, its so sad we lost its Creator before even getting close to an ending. I even got the Manga just so I could get a little more story. So many questions that will never be answered. Izetta was a great War Story with a dash of Magic. Its story shows that while one side may be in the right, War requires that even they must do wrong.
I HAVE seen and greatly enjoyed both Vandread and High School of the Dead! And though I haven't yet WATCHED Dragon Half for myself, I was still aware of it before now thanks to another channel I watch reviewing it in a segment they call "What Am I Watching?"
Bloody heck, youtube appears to have lost my original comment, now I have to try to remember it :( To start, the reminds me both of my horrible backlog on anime, and the number that I need to rewatch. Anyway, here are my comments on a few that I have seen: - I'm a bit suprised that Kanebanara was so low. It had a good story, and amazing anime with awesome visuals, but I seem to recall it didn't really having an ending? - Nadia is definitely one of my favorite long-ish anime, and I feel like Nadia's character is a timeless design. - I remember loving Mai's character, and not just for her assets! - I don't think I saw liminality, but I seem to recall .sign having a great soundtrack. Unfortunately the game itself is tragic for me as I bought the 4th installment used, but didn't get to it for a while, and it turned out somewhat had switched in AOL discs :( Put me off from the rest of the game series. - I did like High School of the Dead, though I recall thinking some of the relationships were a bit forced. I also recall being disappointed by the cliffhanger ending with no resolution. This definitely deserved a second season, especially when you realize Walking Dead got 11! - I think Dragon Half may have been one of the first anime I saw, back when you could only get anime by ordering VHS tapes from questionable sources because you just couldn't get it domestically. To this day, I think this is an absolutely hilarious series. I'm of a mixed bag on whether I wish it had more, only because I've heard the comic uses running jokes extensivesly, and I could see that getting old after a few episodes. Still, as a 2 episode OVA, I will never not laugh at it! - I haven't see it, but for Steel Angel Kurumi. . . I'm not convinced Daikun (love him though I may, despite him wanting the English Dub :P) has ever discovered Romance ;D - Sorry, but the original Dirty Pair will always trump the competition (though I may be somewhat biased by having some of the original Dirty Pair Mange as well). Still, more Dirty Pair is always better! - I remember liking Ruin Slayers, but for the most part I don't remember why, so this has shot to the top of my list for rewatches! Also, kudos for the shout out to the Lunar video game series. Eternal Blue is still probably my favorite classic JRPG to this day as I liked the characters better than those from FF7 despite the latter having a higher production value and arguably a better combat system. The original was on Sega CD, the there was a rerelease on Playstation, but I ironically actually found it to be a downgrade in many ways despite having some added story and cut scenes. I don't recall it having a timer, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first game I spent 60+ hours on, especially when I figured out it had an epilogue (which was a wonderful surprise several months after I finished the main game [no easy internet guides back then]). Thought part of that was spent searching for the Dark Scimitar (If you know, you know). For under rated anime, maybe Mahō Tsukai Tai! OVA. It's from 96, so while not having a bad score 7.05, I think it has largely been over shadowed by more recent and serious offerings. I remember it as both a cute and hilarious anime However, apparently a number of jokes are apparently rooted in the Japanese language, like one of the character's names translating to "Greased Pole." There was also apparently a follow-on TV series that I never saw, so can't comment on. The main OVA series is only 6 episodes though, so its an easy binge that I think is worth your time.
Mushi Shi is an ABSOLUTE 10, at least season 1. Extremely disappointed that season 2 didn't get an English dub. Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi get's no love, but it's a REALLY good anime and short too. Birdy the Mighty Decode caught me off gaurd with how amazing that anime was. Desert Punk in absolutely a 10/10. It's so clever in so many ways. Spriggan is a great OVA. The animation and story keeps your eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Madoka Magica deserves a 10/10. With all the plot twists after plot twists, it continually surprises you as you learn new things along the journey and that ending... PHOTON is really good. It's an anime from the 1990's and it has ALL the japanese tropes you'd expect. The characters are lively, the humor is fun and you can tell the show doesn't take itself seriously at all. Cyborg 009 is one of the best shows I've experienced. It did a really good job on making a more mature feeling saturday morning cartoon. Unfortunately I didn't ever finish it, but the start is strong and the ending is great...and unfortunately the ending in the anime isn't the real ending. You have to stop the anime around 2-3 episodes early if you want the true ending. I'm also a BIG fan of Nuku Nuku OVA. The tv series was bad and dash wasn't my thing, but the OVA was so much fun.
Both the Train to Busan live action movie and the anime spin off were really good, with the latter having some really good twists. Honestly I'm surprised zombies as a horror genre doesn't show up in anime more often.
I personally couldn't get into HSOTD, mainly cause outside of the over the top ecchi elements, it's basically the same zombie apocalypse story we've seen so many times already. Plus the characters to me were very unlikeable, especially the main protagonist.
i knew ONE of these, loved the Iron Fortress, it was still in the early days of me watching anime so i only worked out half of what was going on, maybe i should go read it as i better understand whats going on when im not distracted by amazing action scenes
Here are other underrated anime I want to add that deserve more attention than they deserve. Inferno Cop - (7.22 on MAL) Many people may be surprised but Kill la Kill isn’t actually TRIGGER’s first anime, that would go to Inferno Cop. This mini series follows Inferno Cop (if Ghost Rider was a cop all about justice) and his misadventures fighting against evil organizations, gangs, ancient beings, and even dinosaurs (yes, you heard me. Dinosaurs) as he delivers justice wherever he goes. That’s all I can say about its ‘plot’ as it goes off the rails. This series is as insane as TRIGGER can get, the visuals consist of still character images moving around and that’s basically the whole thing with added affects that looks like were used in movie maker, and the series is only voiced by one single person. Despite its crude animation and how far it is from what people are used to there is a sense of sincerity in the production, with how it seems like the team looked like they were having fun. Go give it a watch as it’s interesting to see how TRIGGER started with their first series. (9/10) Love is like a cocktail- (6.96 on MAL) this is a short romance anime that also follows a married couple, Chisato Mizusawa, who’s an office lady she is cool and collected who apparently does not like alcohol but at home she enjoys it and has an extremely cute side when drunk after her beloved husband Sora (who happens to be a bartender) gives Chisato a nice meal with a fresh homemade drink. This anime also presents different drinks such as Plum Splet, Orange Breeze and other types with a presented menu by the end of each episode that you can actually make, its short, sweet, wholesome and will surely keep you smiling all the way to the end of it. Brace yourself cause this will be a long one. The entire SSSS series- (SSSS. Gridman with 7.12 and SSSS. Dynazenon with a 7.41 score on MAL) it’s probably cheating including two anime but their part of the same franchise so just let me do what I want. If you’re an anime fan you must you know the name of the studio named TRIGGER: after being formed by the staff who made Gurren Lagann after they left Gainax, they have garnered massive success such as Kill la Kill, Little witch academia, Promare, and more recently Cyberpunk: edgerunners, all these anime have become well-known with their recognizable art style, crazy stories, and bombastic animation, SSSS. Gridman/Dynazenon are the complete opposite of what TRIGGER is known for. Instead of loud and over the top it’s quite and relaxing, crazy animation is replaced with subtle movement yet very telling of what the characters are feeling, something to note is that most TRIGGER anime are sort of remixes of different genres/tropes Kill la Kill with the ecchi action genre, Little witch academia and the magical(girl?) genre, Cyberpunk: edgerunners with the.. well the title does give it away, Kizniaver (another underrated TRIGGER anime) along side with the “power of friendship” trope, and even Gurren Lagann (it’s essentially TRIGGER) with the Mecha genre. The SSSS series is a giant love letter to all things both Mecha and Tokusatsu as well as being a sort of continuation to a old 90’s Tokusatu series called Gridman: the hyper agent. SSSS. Gridman follows Yuta Hibiki, a kid who has amnesia, as he battles Kaiju with the help of Rikka and Utsumi as well as other allies who join the battle, this is a great departure to what TRIGGER usually makes but it’s all the better for it the main trio feel like actual teenagers (I can say that as I’m a teen too) so it makes each character interaction feel authentic the anime are made by TRIGGER’s B team (who made Kiznaiver) but still have that sense of TRIGGER flair, the action is mostly made up of CGI but it was made intentionally to give the feel of real actors in suits duking it out,and the CG is actually really good. The transformation sequences are so satisfying with great 2d animation especially in Dynazenon as the King Kaiser Gridnkight scene is one of the best transformation sequences I’ve (personally) seen, the few music it has is made by Shirou Sagisu the man who gave us the Berserk ost for the controversial Berserk CGI anime and trilogy films, all of bleach’s music, and the entire soundtrack for Evangelion throughout the original anime and the films so you know your in for a treat. Gridman is a great mixture of mystery, action, a bit of slice of life, with a great antagonist and an ending where by the end of it your head will be upside down, the only complaint I can give is that the main character Yuta is kinda boring (at least that’s what people who’v seen it say) otherwise it is a very solid 8/10. (A side note you do not need to watch the original 90’s to enjoy the anime) SSSS. Dynazenon is my favorite anime of all time and quite possibly TRIGGER’s best work, it does everything a sequel should do- improvement on the action visuals, a brand new cast of complex characters who also feel grounded , an op that is even more of a banger than the first, more focus on the slice of life aspect, somehow more funnier with its organic deadpan humor, and themes of escaping loneliness and sadness with 5 individuals working together to fight Kaiju and solving each other’s issues and past traumas, as well with a sprinkle of romance. It follows 5 people Yomogi: a high schooler who is empathetic and will not hesitate to try help others when absolutely needed, Minami: a girl who hides her troubles and a bit reserve, Gauma: a self proclaimed “Kaiju user” who values kindness and empathy, Koyomi: a shut in who is seemingly lost in life after an incident during his middle school days, Chise: an energetic girl who skips middle school, she’s also Koyomi’s younger cousin. When a Kaiju suddenly attacks the city Gauma bring together Koyomi, Minami and Yomogi to fight the Kaiju with the giant robot Dynazenon, after defeating the Kaiju they engage a battle against the Kaiju eugenicists. TRIGGER did a fantastic job with improving the action while giving more focus on the main cast and their personal struggles and it’s really cool that even the clothing contribute narratively. Honestly it really is a shame that it is isn’t as popular as other TRIGGER anime as there is no better time to get into this franchise since (as of writing this comment) the newest entry, the crossover film “Gridman universe”comes into theaters (at least in Japan) literally tomorrow so please give this series a chance. Edit: I’m looking at what I typed for Gridman/Dynazenon and it is a mess, I guess I just don’t know how to properly express my love for this franchise.
I was lucky to have a CD with Japanese Openings and Ending songs to some amazing Anime released towards the end of the 90s called Anime 2000 on the CD cover. On the CD, there was both Opening and Ending songs of Blue Gender with a Rocking Opening followed by a Beautiful Love Ballad in the Ending. The DVD of Blue Gender I have from early Funimation only has the English dub version of the opening and ending songs if you watch it dubbed, but if you watch it subbed the Japanese vocals are far better the pop actress was really are putting their heart into her singing. Worth searching for both songs in their full online if you are interested in listening to Blue Gender's opening and ending songs as they are almost as 90s Anime as you can get.
I haven't really checked out these anime except for Amagi Brilliant Park which I'm sad it never got a sequel. I loved it so much, I was pumped when i watched it and binged it whenever I had time. Got a few older anime I might want to retry watching but I tried a few episodes of Dirty Pair and it didn't really draw me in, would the sequel be a better choice for me to watch?
I too have watched and enjoyed Girls Bravo, High School of the Dead, and Shikimori San. I am surprised HSotD and Shikimori are so low rated. I recall people loving them when they came out. Of course, now I have new anime to add to my list.
Hmm... the series I've really enjoyed but lacks recognition would probably be "Kaitō Joker". I have a feeling it might be underestimated because of being a children show (even despite touching on some really serious themes). On a side-note, I've started composing my list on MAL just yesterday. I wonder how many entries will it have...
Good video, here are some recommendations for anime under 7.5 that I enjoyed, Monster musume Isekai quartet Arifureta Skullface bookseller honda san Lots of anime can have one 'flaw' that people latch that results in lower averages.
One of the most underrated anime In my opinion would be World trigger. It's a shonen battle series that has interesting characters, an interesting powersystem and has more strategic fight scene then fight scenes were 2 powerful beings shouting at each other while having a p***s measuring contest on whos more powerful. World trigger is an underdog series that deserves a little bit more love.
12:09 "Alot of anime may have created this idea that anime needs sophistication to be objectively good, but the kind of anime I fell in love with growing up was special for being unhinged with fantastic visuals" I personally hate when people say what objectively makes a good anime, since what makes a good anime is going to VARY from person to person. For example, some people prioritize shows with a lot of action, and will only gravitate to Shonen anime ( see DBZ, Nauuto, and Bleach) while they are others who prefer more anime with scifi elements ( with shows like Pyhcho Pass). While other prefer shows that have a focus on politics ( see Babylon). And that's not even getting in to how someone can objectively say what makes an anime good. For instance, a lot of anime fans prefer hand drawn animation, and particularly don't care for CGI ( so shows like Ghost in the Shell won't click for them). Then there's popular shows like Konosuba, which has a mostly one dimensional cast ( like with Darkness entire character being a masochist) that will no doubt turn off people who put character development above all else in their stories. All of this is silly since it's all subjective. Personally, when I watch anime I generally do prefer shows with tight writing involving world building, and character development. It's why I love shows like "Eureka Seven", since it shows a immersive world with multi dimensional characters, and showed many sides of them, like how the romance of the main couple evolved through out the course of the narrative. In comparison, I hated anime like Familiar of Zero, since the couple featured a romance that doesn't really go past a will they won't they for much of the series, and involves a one dimensional girl who is a tsundere and nothing else. Visually the show was okay, but visuals will only get you so far with me. With all that said, this list shows me that the creator of this video and I consider anime to be good based on different metrics, since I also thought that both Kabaneri of Iron Fortress and Bubble were mediocre overall. Yes, visually both were exceptionally good, as expected of Wit Studio, but the characters and writing were so jarring in both ( and in especially in Bubble) that I couldn't give the show the same score as shows like "Fate/Zero" and "Madoka Magika", or the film "Maquia When The Promised Flower Blooms". But as I always say that art IS subjective, and what art ( like anime) that people find to be good is going to vary from person to person. Overall, this video featured an interesting list of titles. I particularly didn't expect Vandread to be there, since you don't see many people talk about it, and it brought a smile to my face seeing it since I too enjoyed it . Yeah I have issues with it, but I still enjoyed it none the less.
Bubble is really fantastic, will always recommend it to everyone who hasn't seen it. Oh I'm watching Shikimori right now. Nadia is such a classic, great choice. Izetta is awesome.
I'm the kind of weeb who hunts down random "cultured" anime and rolls with it even if it's like a 6/10 on MAL. But hey, to each their own. I love watching Triage X although it cuts out a lot of stuff from the manga, and Killing BItes even if the manga continues the story.
I think I have some new anime to check out, thanks! ^^ The hidden gem I have to reccomend is the adventure-comedy Kaitou Joker. It's rates 6.93 on MAL. It's about the phantom thief Joker (Ayumu Murase) and his assistance the failed ninja Hachi (Yumiko Kabayashi), who go on silly and fun adventures all around the world to steal treasure while competing with Joker's childhood friends/rivals Spade (Hiro Shimono) and Diamond Queen (Miyuki Sawashiro). It's a very wacky and charming anime that can also get quite serious and touching more often than first expected. It's also one of the very rare cases, where the anime is actually way better than the manga (in my opinion). The anime artstyle (done by Miho Shimogasa, an animation director on 90s Sailor Moon) surpasses the manga art by far. The characters are handled better and are more likeable most of the time and it has a more enjoyable narrative.
Time is funny. The animes that I loved or I though were underrated, bored me when I watched them again, so I had to purge some of my list. That said, I would say that the hidden gems that come to mind are four: Sword of the Stranger (which to be fair, has a decent score but is not that well known) Yozakura Quartet, that although the plot is kinda bland, the fight scenes are one of the best I've watched. Odd Taxi, which was well buried despite being a Pulp fiction kinda show. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, whose episodes, slowly but steady built up to the resolution. Definetly will check yours, Dai.
Gee, this list was kind of making me want to go back and check out some of my old stuff, but now I'm somewhat afraid to. Doesn't help that a lot of my original stuff was VHS :( I know I recently went back and tried to reread a book to my kid I remember loving as a kid, and I could barely get through it (young adult book, and not because it was cheesy romance, just really simple prose and story telling, even if the overall concept was still kind of cool).
IMO 3 animes which deserve more recognition are: - Grimgar, one if not the best isekai anime. Graphically it's gorgeous with a great pastel art style, it has some cool fights and good fan service (although a bit too much at the start). And more importantly some fantastic characters. Unfortunately, it probably was a bit to slow for isekai fan and many who would have like that kind of slower show probably were turned off by the isekai label. - Rokka no yuusha, it's a really original take on the classic RPG-like story where hereos go on a journey to defeat the demon kind but here it becomes a closed room murder mystery in a meso American settings. Sadly the first few episodes aren't that good with some horrendous CG so many people dropped it before it got good. - Shin sekai yori, it does have a hight score but it really isn't talk enough for how great a series it is. The antagonist is especially good one of the best ever (don't look them up tho, it's a big spoiler).
@@OtakuDaiKun Yeah, sadly I don't think It's gonna happen now that the LN is only a few volumes away from ending. Also there's no good ending point beyond what s1 covered.
I'm surprised to here some else watched about Agent Aika. Hell two of my favorite show Ben-to and Murder princess are both poorly rated but they're just so much fun to watch they're highly rated on my list. Plus Mnemosyne is another sure it can be called torture porn but it is a really interesting show if you can look past that part. I use Anilist more than MAL(same name on both) and it's nice see another person who's watched a shitton of anime like myself(almost 2.4K) and has a varied watch pool.
Do you people mark a wall or something? I've watched a decent amount of anime, but honestly I have no real idea of how much :D (just to be clear, this is not a criticism, it's just Dai's original comment got me wondering how many animes I had watched, and I realized I had no clue, so it kind of amused me/made me curious that some people apparently have relatively accurate counts).
@@reclaimatorerebus6531 It's not that we remember all of the anime we've watched. It's just that there are sites that are used to catalog & rate everything we've watched, like Myanimelist and Anilist.
Do To Love Ru, Onegai My Melody, and Nyaruko: Crawling With Love count as underrated? Because I never saw them on TV and only learned of them online, and it is hard for me to find episodes. By the way, I recommend you check out the fanfiction writers Parcasious and davido747. They mostly specialize in Fate crossovers.
We search our hentai with a tag score, why not our anime? I hate that MAL uses a flat 0-10 rating system because I would rather an anime be rated on how good it is in a category. If you want to watch an echii anime, you could find the best echii, if you want to find the best mecha, you get those. Using a standard score means that if it has fan service, people that don't like that will cause the score to drop and it will get lost in the 6s & 7s and without recommendations (which is getting rarer with the season chasing that happens today) you'll miss a lot of things for you. Highschool of the Dead is a prime example of that. It is a fantastic anime IF you are cool with fanservice, because if you do then you see how great the story and action is, if you don't you can never see past the fanservice and rate it poorly so it makes it harder for newer people to find it.
Space dandy for comedy as it should get more talk being actually funny and can play so many genre without breaking the cast. Especially post live action of the brother series. Godannar was a fun show. Sure it has that funny fan service old shows have that fake fans pretend didn't exist in the "gold era" when fan service was always there. It's a great show and fun for Gundam fans to see. Historys greatest disciple kenichi. It's not underrated but the manga really dropped the ball at the end like most if not all anime that run too long like bleach Naruto etc but the ride is very good. Danchigai. It's a fun story about a family of 5 siblings 1 male and 4 females in ova set up but the manga is super fun as well to read as a nice break of action. Gundam isn't underated but I'd say 00 needs more attention especially now If you want a bad comedy show. If her flag breaks is garbage but good to turn iff your brain to watch. The concept is great just not the anime. Fate kalied as most people just listen to UA-camrs saying it's a fan service show and while the anime ups that to a max that's basically every Fate anime aside zero. The story gets much better as time goes on and especially the manga if people want to cut the fan service down. Also manga is especially top tier
A few underrated anime I've seen are Robotics;Notes and Occultic;Nine. I know they weren't as grand and suspenseful as Steins;Gate, but as follow ups within the same universe they aren't all that bad, and yes the big titty girl in the latter is important to the plot trust me on that one. One other anime I see little discussion about is Parasyte the Maxim. The themes of humanity and the encounters Shinichi has with otherworldly creatures being aided by one of their own kept me watching even the English dub till the very end.
12:08 Not gonna lie, "Dick Saucer" is by far the worst and best name for an anime character I've heard in a while :P That name alone gave me a good laugh!
What is an anime you feel is totally underrated? What's it's score online, and what do you give it instead?
Watamote 7- I think people get too turned off by how cringe the show is and Tomoko's logic and forgets that she's meant to be wrong. For every situation she gets into with her flawed logic, people react to her in a very grounded and genuine way. even later in the manga when she acquires friends, everyone still sees that she's weird and constantly notes that about her. I also don't like that everyone attributes the fans of Watamote as "she's like me fr fr" kinds of guys. Its just when you're a total outcast sometimes you can find yourself in her relatable position even if the show exaggerates her way of thinking a bit. It also doesn't help that with Bocchi the Rock airing, everyone is calling it the more relatable Watamote with some K-on on the side.
Akudama Drive 7.61- this show got so overlooked its insane. I think most people just tapped out after the first 3 or 4 episodes because it seemed like endless fighting and location changes for the sake of it, but just like any Maeda Jun work, the main plot takes off halfway through the show and it becomes a masterpiece and that's without the scuffed rushing near the end that Maeda Jun works tend to fall to. a bit of a **SPOILER** but it takes Akame ga Kill, no one is safe, throws it in a dystopian cyberpunk world and comes to an amazing conclusion. Plus the artist from Danganronpa is at his peak here with unique character designs and amazing backgrounds. this show easily deserves a 10/10
Gun X Sword 7.26- I have yet to meet another person who's seen this show. Its the only mecha I have ever watched and it was amazing. from the animation and action to the character design and high tech western aesthetic, it does everything perfectly. I think it deserves a 9/10
The World God Only Knows 7.66- I've seen people chalk this up to a standard harem show and it baffles me how they could. It has such a unique gimmick that stays fresh as the MC realizes how to tackle every new heroin in a different way using his knowledge of dating sims to win their hearts; preventing them from falling victim to evil spirits escaped from hell, all with the help of his useless spirit guide. I'd bring it up to an 8/10 since its animated story is incomplete due to licensing hell after its studio went under. I should finish the manga at some point.
Squid Girl 7.41- This is easily one of my top 5 comedy shows I have ever watched. every episode is something fresh, hilarious, and wholesome. this show easily deserves a 10/10
Sora no Otoshimono 7.27- I'm torn on this only because, if the show actually finished what the manga had instead of releasing a movie akin to a trailer telling you to read the manga, I believe it would've been an amazing show well looked back on. but that's not to say that the show didn't already do a stellar job with the 4/5 of the show it adapted. I think it should be an 8/10 for its current animated story, and if they ever decided to finish it, it would go up to a 9/10
SAO A GGO 7- this spin off by Keiichi Sigsawa, instead of SAO's original author Reki Kawahara, was the best SAO had been on its release. It has great characters, a great story, and hilariously fun comedy all the way through. I'd love to see more LLENN. I'd give it a 9/10
To Love-ru 6.99- this show is one of the best haram shows imo. I think it takes the plot of Urasei Yatsura and does it in a not totally unique but still refreshing way. And the show only gets better as it expands into motto and darkness seasons. although too bad it never got to end due to the authors wife suing him over the main love interest being based on her. I'd raise its score to an 8/10
Genesis of aquarion
Gotta say, love all the ones you posted. I don't get on MAL much, but seeing Amagi Brilliant Park, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, and Ruin Explorers that lowly rated is pretty egregious.
And I know I'm a broken record with my choice, but Re:Creators sits just barely above your threshold at 7.55. Personally, I would give it at least a 9. I can understand that it's themes and premise can fly over a lot of people's heads, but come on man....
The Idaten Deities Only Know Peace. While there are some parts I feel are done worse than the manga (particularly Ysley's internal monologue offhandedly spoiling an early twist), I still think both the source material and the anime can show that Amahara of Interspecies Reviewers fame is more than capable of working with darker stories.
Sadly, both the Idaten and Interspecies manga have gone on indefinite hiatus, meaning the anime will also stay on a cliffhanger.
My personal favorite anime is Kiddy Grade. It's a basically a spiritual successor to Dirty Pair that focuses more on drama than the comedy. Though it does have plenty of action. It's currently a 7.19 on My AnimeList, which I feel is lower than it should be probably not by much. It does a have a few problems in its storytelling, but part of that is that it assumes a second viewing and/or you being familiar with the supplementary materials.
5:26 Man, that Outlaw Star music really hits. While not quite as underrated as the shows on this list, I feel it doesn't get enough recognition amongst the younger generation.
Also, Aisha Clan-Clan remains best girl.
Toonami was an amazing thing. I've long since "cut the cord," but is there anything even remotely comparable to that or the Science Fiction Channel's (before it became Sci-Fi) Saturday Morning Anime movies on regular television/cable these days?
Heroman is so underrated and it holds up so well. The animation is gorgeous.
There's a manga of heroman and it's apparently different from the original anime a damn shame it never got an English translation of the full manga. Also sad it never got a season 2
@@elimDBZ I don't think it needs a Season 2 since Heroman got a satisfying conclusion.
I'd add Haibane Renmei. A redemption story with slice of life elements. With a slow paced story, great sound track and character design; it deserves a rating higher than the 7.9 it received.
Kabaneri, Vandread, Girl's Bravo, and Blue Gender are all series I haven't thought about in a while. They are all unique in their own way and I can see them not being everyone's cup of tea even though I enjoyed them. Although I haven't seen Highschool of the Dead's anime, I did follow the manga for a time before its long hiatus started. I was bummed out when I learned last year that the manga was discontinued after one of the creative team passed away.
Dirty pair flash was one of my first anime ever, a friend showed it to me on an ADV VHS tape. I later on got the whole dvd set. The ending song for season 3 is one of my favorites and still gives me a great feeling when watching the series finale and hearing the last ending song.
Also some of these have one of my favorite dub actors Brett Weaver playing Damaramu in Dragon Half and Miguel in Ruin Explorers.
For my recommendation, that you may enjoy, would be “Those who hunt elves” 6.99 rating but I love the comedy. Thinking about the story it’s an isekai before it became a trope, released back in 1996. It’s about three people who were summoned to a fantasy world, and in order to get back they have to hunt for 5 spell fragments that are tattooed onto 5 different elven women.
I own Those Who Hunt Elves. It's clear we have similar taste.
Nadia Secret of Blue Water is only known by the old school 90s anime fans as well as those who were lucky to buy the re-releases when they were avaliable.
Unknown to most casuals, but up there in the legacy considering this was Gainax just before they made Neon Genesis.
I love Nadia Secret of Blue Water especially the parody version called Mania Secret of Green Tentacle, made by the same people who did the Dragon Ball Z x Sailor Moon crossover episodes.
I feel like Vivy's Flourete Eye Song wasn't given enough attention and deserves recognition because this anime posses amazing animation - done by WIT, cool music, touches themes such as future, humanity and androids, as well great characters.
There was a lot to love in Vivy. I don't think the plot came together as well as I wanted but it was very fun.
I watched Blue Gender for the first time last year and it's easily one of my favorites of all time.
The ending is also quite interesting as I still don't entirely know what happened which is part of the fun.
That riot at the end was very sudden.
I still remember with fondness the time I've watched highschool of the dead during my middle school days.
I find a lot of newer fans just cannot appreciate the pacing of older shows and OVAs.
That makes me so sad. People need to develop their attention span and learn to appreciate subtle details.
@@OtakuDaiKun I have ADHD so it's a bit hard
But if I'm very interested I try my best to pay lot's of attention
@@justafloofbean2342 The other thing is that OVAs are relatively short. They're good to watch multiple times.
Never thought I would hear anyone else talk about Liminality, but it was a welcome surprise!
Great video, man. Some of these titles I've seen before(Nadia, Blue Gender) but there's plenty I'll be checking out. A lot of my media consumption has been manhwa and manga, with anime being a lot of he new stuff I've been interested in(MHA, Spy X Family, Emience of the Shadow etc.) so I want to go back and check out some retro anime which I used to watch. Thank you for giving the motivation to do so.
Samurai 7 and Outlaw Star. Both rarely mentioned in any fan favorite top 10.
I love outlaw star. I guess it didn't seem underrated by its score.
naga sarete airantou is a super underrated anime about a boy (iktou) who finds himself maroon on an uncharted and isolated island filled with nothing but girls. the slap stick comedy is what drew me in to this show 2007 harem comedy
Man I remember when Heroman first came out, it was one of the first anime Crunchyroll got when they became a legal site.
I've got a couple more that I personally really liked that I haven't seen get much love:
1. Monster Girl Doctor- Think Monster Musume but with less insane female protagonists. I'm convinced it was inspired by that series too, because the line-up of main girls is damn near identical, but their personalities are tamer than those from Monster Musume. It revolves around a doctor named Glenn and his lamia assistant, Saphe, who exclusively tend to medical problems with monster people of this fantasy world. What I really liked about it were actually the characters. There's multiple cases Glenn must take on and find a solution too, which also involves delving into the difficulties the monster people of this world run into. And I'll say this, the final case was actually pretty heartbreaking and had me rooting for his success. So, if the intensity of Monster Musume wasn't too your liking, I'd highly recommend this instead.
2. Welcome to Demon School, Iruma! -This is what you get when you combine Rosario Vampire and My Hero Acedemia, and that's a ton of fun. It involves a boy named Iruma who's life has been absolute shit thanks to his greedy parents who pocket all the money he makes for them. However, one day he's taken away by a demon named Sullivan who claims his parents sold his soul for money. As such, he now belongs to him and will now be his.... darling grandson. In addition, he will be made to attend the demon academy and learn about his new home. He mustn't let his identity as a human come out though, or he may be killed and eaten. There's a lot of this show I love, from its unique art style, to the wonderfully colorful characters (both literally and metaphorically), and the development of Iruma as he learns to fit in and grow as a person. It's just a feel-good series that can flex its budget during an actual fight. But it's mostly focused on the characters and their development, along with humor.
Gotta agree with you on Kabaneri, that was an excellent show. Izetta was fun too, and Plastic Little has a special place in my black little heart.
Last time I was so early the stuff that I deem to be classic old anime that are nowadays underrated were not even considered old.
Last time I was so early it was not streaming services that were to blame for good anime not getting enough reach, it was VHS distributors.
Yeah, meanwhile I bet there are plenty of people now who have never used VHS.
I loved Heroman!!! It warms the cockles of my heart to know people remember that anime.❤
Minus four to five anime on this list here, you just summed up my childhood sir, and I agree with you about the .Hack rating. BOOST THAT RATING!! ✊
Bubble's Parekour feels like an evolution of Kaleido Stars acrobatics. Some scenes seriously had me pausing the vid just to re-watch since I'd say my top underrated are Kaleido Star, Saint Tail (They never even finished dubbing or releasing it in the US and it took some serious effort to import the last of the season subtitled!) and The Third! I have a few others not in Shojo but since shojo really isn't feeling the love right now those are at the top, lol!
PS. Thank you for doing the list! Lots on it that I love! Wow! You even included Fatal Fury! (There is an anime series as well that was never properly translated or subtitled in the US, not sure if that's changed but when I went hunting it was still impossible to get)
Ooh, kaleido stars an interesting one. The Third seems like its manga was way better.
@@OtakuDaiKun I agree the Manga IS better but the Anime stands up on its own so I've no complaints! It's kind of like King of Thorn in that regard. The Manga is better but the movie was good too!
Heroman was allmight before MHA , Mecha before Build fighter( gundam series) and idol after well I don't know, what's important is that Holly is a great sister to had and the ending is touching 😢.
+Its not marvel but there's Stanley.
A couple of underrated animes I'd like to add:
Ghost Hunt: It gets mistaken for the hilariously adlibbed dub of Ghost Stories, but Ghost HUNT is an entirely different anime and experience, with some genuinely creepy elements; I make it a tradition to watch this anime every Halloween season. If you like movies like The Conjuring or Insidious, then Ghost Hunt is a must watch. It also has a pretty good dub, and it was one of Cherami Leigh and Todd Haberkorns first lead roles.
Suzuka: a romance and sport anime where a boy (Yamato) falls in love with a girl who is the star of his schools track & field team (title name, Suzuka); he joins the track team hoping to get closer to her, but it's not going to be a smooth ride. The dub is also pretty good starring Todd Haberkorn in the early days of his career along with Leah Clark and Brina Palencia.
Really happy that you mentioned the Rockman EXE anime, since for me it is one of the most underrated anime at its time. The games werent as popular as the other Megaman entries at the time so the fact that it had an anime, while might not do the game and manga much justice, still is a treat to watch.
Im just glad the Battle Network series is getting attention again thanks to the Legacy Collection.
Ah yes, the anime with (what feels like) a hundred sequels. Rockman EXE, Rockman EXE Axess, Rockman EXE Stream, Rockman EXE Stream's movie titled "Rockman EXE: Hikari to Yami no Program", Rockman EXE Beast, Rockman EXE Beast+, Ryuusei no Rockman, and Ryuusei no Rockman Tribe.
I'm happy to see several anime to get talked in this list with only some few ones that I didn't watched yet but will check them out.
I need to develop my MAL profile so I can get a better sense of how some anime I know are rated. Just going by online commentary, I will say two anime that come to mind that I feel need more recognition are Darker Than Black and To Your Eternity. Darker Than Black I felt was a solid detective/action-y anime though there were plot issues in the very last season of the IP so I figure it feels a bit forgotten due to that. To Your Eternity is awesome but I feel like it being a more recent anime among other good recent anime means it will get overshadowed a bit.
Thanks for these recommends Dai! Added some of these on my To Watch list for anime. I have noticed younger anime fans tend to poo-poo on the 2D handdrawn older animation style we grew up on. I'm glad Toonami/Adult Swim introduced us in the West to anime and anime of this specific time because handdrawn anime will always hold a special place in my entertainment.
Blue Gender was the 1st adult anime I've ever watched. Caught it on adult swim when the folks were asleep. This was back when Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh were the only anime I knew of.
The range of anime is forever amazing to me, and continues to be something largely missed by Western Animation where is feels like the only "adult animations" sets out simply to be as edgy or shocking as possible, though there are exceptions (the classic MTV Aeon Flux was something else, and I love the current Pax Machina series on Amazon."
@@reclaimatorerebus6531 You should check out Primal
I've heard of most of these, but my list is going to get longer once again. Also: Afro samurai, this is my favorite anime but not many UA-camrs talk about it, which surprises me.
I would say most ecchi (especially uncensored ones) are underrated, though recently there has been a little more appreciation for them
America is really full of prudes :( The irony of what you can get away with in violence vs nudity/sexuality and still get a PG13 rating is really just silly. Unfortunately this puts any ecchi anime behind the 8-Ball. I mean, generally, I would think that anyone that has actually done the deed knows while it can be romantic, meaningful, and deeply intimate, it can also be awkward, silly, and funny as hell. This, to me, is ecchi at its finest and I think anime is uniquely situated to capture aspects of sexuality that aren't easy to do in live action. In some ways,
I view it the same way as I view movies that use nudity: is it furthering the story/comedy, or is it just gratuitous (not that I think there's anything wrong with some fan service, I just don't want to feel like I'm watching a porn trying to get to the story :P
That said, I'm talking about this from a story perspective. If waifus/husbanos are you're thing, that's fine too - they certainly are less complicated than the real thing, and in a lot of ways, I don't think it's any different from having feelings for a character played by a real actor/actress.
A final note on censorship though - this is BS. Just put an age restriction/recommendation on stuff, don't make me deal with pixels, or worse yet, remove story elements because you're afraid you might offend someone. At worst, go the "No Russian" route: "The following contains graphic material, would you like to skip/view the following censored.
Sorry, got into a minor rant :P But yeah, there's a lot of Ecchi that's kinda trash, but there have been a few with worthwhile/funny stories. For example, I've generally been a fan of the High School DxD series. I wouldn't call it a master piece, but its had some interesting story beats and premises, and a few outright hilarious moments. The fact that its ecchi never took away from this and for humor purposes definitely added to it more than a few times.
Another ecchi with an interesting story in my opinion is Worlds End Harem. The animation kinda sucks but I think some of the characters and story are worth sticking around for. Plus it’s uncensored so that’s a bonus.
@@Spnozilla I'll try to check it out. While I'm a sucker for good animation, the story is will what will keep me around. :)
I TOTALLY agree with you on Nadia. It's one of my all time favorites to. How is it only sitting at a 7.52 currently on Myanimelist? This is easily a 9 for me.
There is one anime that I seriously love and hardly people talk about at least in my community. Bartender, it's basically set in a Speakeasy Bar and stories revolves on customers coming in the bar. So basically like short stories, it's really relaxing and I love the stories from the customers each episode, and it even shows the recipe and how to make the drink of that episode in real life.
MAL mecha tends to be at the lower end of the rating imo, they don't like Mecha anime that much unless it's a hyped anime like Code Geass or some Mobile Suit Gundam. I have to agree on Vandread, it's an amazing anime and if you are interested on it, you might like Dual! Parallel Lun-Lun Monogatari or Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure. It's basically an EVA clone during the hype of NGE but the premise is boy gets transported into a parallel universe where he's the only male that can pilot the mecha that can only be piloted by a female. It's really cute and action packed. Other one is Brain Powered, not much I remember on that anime because I watched it on cable and no subtitle so I have little memory but the opening is a freaking banger and still on my playlist tiil this day.
The two What's Michael OVAs are CRIMINALLY underrated on Myanimelist. The first is currently at 5.62, and the second at 5.8. These are easily at least an 8 for me.
Dude omg I haven’t seen dragon half in years I was so surprised to hear you talk about it. Also blue is right up my freaking alley I’ll be watching that real soon!
I recently finished watching Bubble and I gotta say I totally agree a solid 10.0. Keep the reviews coming always on the lookout for awesome anime
I hardly ever hear anyone talk about Oban Star-Racers!! Anime collaborations with Western studios are rare enough, but this one has great characters and an engaging story. Maybe more for a younger audience, but it holds its appeal for all ages. The first Blu-Ray release is coming soon!!
I've seen most of these and agree that they deserve better ratings, though maybe not as high as Dai gives some of them. This list did give me a few 'new' ones to check out though.
Thanks for the list and for reminding me of ones i had forgotten about.
My introduction to Amagi Brilliant Park was a car skin in Forza Horizon 4 of Sento with just the title in Japanese. I remember searching for hours to try to find the sauce, grabbed the show and binged it in a night. What a fun bit of media
Rune soldier and mars day break are pretty good anime I never hear anyone talk about, ever.
Rune Soldier is hilarious.
I'll probably check out some of the anime you mentioned. As for me, Strike Witches is one of my favorite series, with 3 seasons, a movie, and a spin-off, with each one between a 6 and 7 on myanimelist. For me they're all between 7 and 8.
I really like that one girl with the abs.
Every time I hear the phrase Retro Anime the song Flyday Chinatown starts playing in my head
Better be careful Dai this might too much booba for suzan to handle lol.
I agree Girls Bravo is an amazing and underappreciated show. Its one of the first anime I watched when I got back into anime in middle school.
I only know about Blue Gender because it was always an ad on my dragon ball Z tapes
Ruin Explorers was pretty great. I happened to stumble upon its ova on onDemand (i think) years ago.
I try to push boundaries when I can. That, and I want to be honest about what I like.
@@OtakuDaiKun Just like the booba! 🙃
Susan doesn't own UA-cam anymore though, right?
@@randomcatname7792 she had just started and is still in the process of moving out of the ceo spot when I made that comment
well, my to watch list grew :)
My forgotten gem is definitelly Saber Marionettes J series. It was the one who really turned me into an anime fan. I watched in the BBrazillian Portuguese dub (which is soo bad xD) but still has that special place in my heart
Yes, I remember enjoying this series - I'm pretty sure its one I have on VHS. For whatever reason the mini-marionettes on the "development tree" image still sticks with me. I remember the only real complaint I had when watching it the first time was the power drop from a certain marionette's first appearance to her "joining the party." It's like when an enemy joins your party in a video game, and your like "where's the planetary destroying meteor you used on me?" and they go "oh sorry, I can only use that when I'm evil and/or first appear." :P
Still love the series. Though later in life I realized the genetics didn't make sense, which means someone decided that everyone would be the same sex somewhere along the line ;P
Thank you for the recommendations, Dai.
One-half of your list I've already watched, but I'll be sure to check out the older series as I'm rather curious.
I'd say Aim for the Ace (Ace wo Nerae!) from 1973 is pretty underrated. It's currently a 7.09 on MAL, but I think it deserves at least an 8. It's a classic by the legendary Osamu Dezaki!
I know most of these anime! I enjoyed alot of them vandread, bubble, iron fortress, brilliant park, and girls bravo the alot of them. thanks dai I feel old now lol. great video dai keep up the great work
6:05 Yo! You saw girls bravo dai!? I watched that anime a few years after gurren lagann aired on Syfy in the mid 2000s. I am amazing that girls bravo is getting attention because a UA-camr/vtuber streamer I know called Leafuchii is casually watching girls bravo.
My underrated anime was perhaps the first one I watched to completion. I’ve mentioned it before and it’s Called Future GPX Cyber Formula. It’s about a boy named Hayato Kazami who accidentally becomes a racing after activating The Cyber System Asurada, (who can only be registered with one person) while trying to escape with it from people trying to steal it. In addition it has 4 OVA Sequels, and I think the series really shines in that area, especially animation wise. Currently the series has a rating ranging from 7.3 to 7.4 or so, but I think it deserves a 8 or even a 9 depending in which series it is.
I think I saw videos for that recently. I love the race queen girl.
The most underrated anime I'd pick are from the mecha & super robot genres since transformers and the brave saga ended up becoming my gateway into anime as a whole:
1. Captain Earth: One of the last original mecha anime of the late 2010s before the drought of original mecha anime that's still ongoing to this day
Fantastic writing and characters, great mecha design and a bittersweet ending
The fact that it apparently takes place in the same universe as Star Driver (another underrated and unique mecha series) and Eureka Seven (often stated as one of the best mecha series of all time) is a huge plus for me
2. My second pick would be "Genesis of Aquarion" and its sequel "Aquarion EVOL":
Amazing mecha fights, great writing, INCREDIBLE music from Akino and Bless4 and a wonderful love story spanning multiple lifetimes
I love Evol's character designs.
@@OtakuDaiKun have you watched the series?
@@Tfbrave I did. It was interesting. I wasn't blown away, but I did simp over Zessica.
When you brought up Matsumoto Rika, it harked me back to the woman that voiced most of my childhood, Hayashibara Megumi
Yup, she's everywhere too, but she's also more famous.
The most underrated anime to me is the show "Princess Principal"! It's about spies in a stream punk Victorian in an alternated UK. Amazing story with great action and fun characters! I will 100% say that the dub is better because Sentai flimworks got the VA's to speak with British accents. The show is 1 season but 6 movies(3 are out currently). I can't sell this show enough! Can't believe that shows on Amazon Prime and HiDive have been looked over!
Well…
Kantai Collection, the ladder episodes may be bad, but I strangely had a good time with it.
Gonna Be the Twintails, the Eng Sub may have sucked, but the Eng Dub managed to be way better.
SAO Alternative GGO was so good that I feel like it surpassed the original SAO - not counting the SAO movies.
Girls Und Panzer, there is always something about this anime that I liked, and I guess that it was the historical references.
Speaking of references… Nyaruko-San, there was something about the blending of a female version Nyarlathotep and JoJo Reference that actually made me smile.
Seen about 90% of your list, the memories, man im geting old
I still have Plastic Little somewhere on vhs. Seeing that OVA on this list reminded me of how cultured I was as a youth. Another OVA dear to my heart is Shadow Skill. Anyone looking for strong female protag nowadays should check that one out.
I was worried at first that Shikimori would fall into the trap of him getting in trouble and her saving him, but I was pleasantly surprised that they did not. Its just a fun Romance.
With HSOTD, its so sad we lost its Creator before even getting close to an ending. I even got the Manga just so I could get a little more story. So many questions that will never be answered.
Izetta was a great War Story with a dash of Magic. Its story shows that while one side may be in the right, War requires that even they must do wrong.
I HAVE seen and greatly enjoyed both Vandread and High School of the Dead! And though I haven't yet WATCHED Dragon Half for myself, I was still aware of it before now thanks to another channel I watch reviewing it in a segment they call "What Am I Watching?"
Bloody heck, youtube appears to have lost my original comment, now I have to try to remember it :(
To start, the reminds me both of my horrible backlog on anime, and the number that I need to rewatch. Anyway, here are my comments on a few that I have seen:
- I'm a bit suprised that Kanebanara was so low. It had a good story, and amazing anime with awesome visuals, but I seem to recall it didn't really having an ending?
- Nadia is definitely one of my favorite long-ish anime, and I feel like Nadia's character is a timeless design.
- I remember loving Mai's character, and not just for her assets!
- I don't think I saw liminality, but I seem to recall .sign having a great soundtrack. Unfortunately the game itself is tragic for me as I bought the 4th installment used, but didn't get to it for a while, and it turned out somewhat had switched in AOL discs :( Put me off from the rest of the game series.
- I did like High School of the Dead, though I recall thinking some of the relationships were a bit forced. I also recall being disappointed by the cliffhanger ending with no resolution. This definitely deserved a second season, especially when you realize Walking Dead got 11!
- I think Dragon Half may have been one of the first anime I saw, back when you could only get anime by ordering VHS tapes from questionable sources because you just couldn't get it domestically. To this day, I think this is an absolutely hilarious series. I'm of a mixed bag on whether I wish it had more, only because I've heard the comic uses running jokes extensivesly, and I could see that getting old after a few episodes. Still, as a 2 episode OVA, I will never not laugh at it!
- I haven't see it, but for Steel Angel Kurumi. . . I'm not convinced Daikun (love him though I may, despite him wanting the English Dub :P) has ever discovered Romance ;D
- Sorry, but the original Dirty Pair will always trump the competition (though I may be somewhat biased by having some of the original Dirty Pair Mange as well). Still, more Dirty Pair is always better!
- I remember liking Ruin Slayers, but for the most part I don't remember why, so this has shot to the top of my list for rewatches! Also, kudos for the shout out to the Lunar video game series. Eternal Blue is still probably my favorite classic JRPG to this day as I liked the characters better than those from FF7 despite the latter having a higher production value and arguably a better combat system. The original was on Sega CD, the there was a rerelease on Playstation, but I ironically actually found it to be a downgrade in many ways despite having some added story and cut scenes. I don't recall it having a timer, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first game I spent 60+ hours on, especially when I figured out it had an epilogue (which was a wonderful surprise several months after I finished the main game [no easy internet guides back then]). Thought part of that was spent searching for the Dark Scimitar (If you know, you know).
For under rated anime, maybe Mahō Tsukai Tai! OVA. It's from 96, so while not having a bad score 7.05, I think it has largely been over shadowed by more recent and serious offerings. I remember it as both a cute and hilarious anime However, apparently a number of jokes are apparently rooted in the Japanese language, like one of the character's names translating to "Greased Pole." There was also apparently a follow-on TV series that I never saw, so can't comment on. The main OVA series is only 6 episodes though, so its an easy binge that I think is worth your time.
Mushi Shi is an ABSOLUTE 10, at least season 1. Extremely disappointed that season 2 didn't get an English dub.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi get's no love, but it's a REALLY good anime and short too.
Birdy the Mighty Decode caught me off gaurd with how amazing that anime was.
Desert Punk in absolutely a 10/10. It's so clever in so many ways.
Spriggan is a great OVA. The animation and story keeps your eyes glued to the screen the entire time.
Madoka Magica deserves a 10/10. With all the plot twists after plot twists, it continually surprises you as you learn new things along the journey and that ending...
PHOTON is really good. It's an anime from the 1990's and it has ALL the japanese tropes you'd expect. The characters are lively, the humor is fun and you can tell the show doesn't take itself seriously at all.
Cyborg 009 is one of the best shows I've experienced. It did a really good job on making a more mature feeling saturday morning cartoon. Unfortunately I didn't ever finish it, but the start is strong and the ending is great...and unfortunately the ending in the anime isn't the real ending. You have to stop the anime around 2-3 episodes early if you want the true ending.
I'm also a BIG fan of Nuku Nuku OVA. The tv series was bad and dash wasn't my thing, but the OVA was so much fun.
Spriggian was once an old anime movie in the 90's. Then they did a remake. Glad they did 😊
I- Dai? Did you really use Gravity Wall from Re:Creators as background music? You, good sir, have some damn fucking good tastes!
High School of the Dead is gold. The only other zombie-related content that I've enjoyed in recent years was Kingdom and Train to Busan
Both the Train to Busan live action movie and the anime spin off were really good, with the latter having some really good twists. Honestly I'm surprised zombies as a horror genre doesn't show up in anime more often.
I personally couldn't get into HSOTD, mainly cause outside of the over the top ecchi elements, it's basically the same zombie apocalypse story we've seen so many times already. Plus the characters to me were very unlikeable, especially the main protagonist.
Heroman is 10/10!!!
I enjoyed it so much! It have right amount of anime and right amount of comics energy.
14:10 I was just thinking of that one while watching this.
i knew ONE of these, loved the Iron Fortress, it was still in the early days of me watching anime so i only worked out half of what was going on, maybe i should go read it as i better understand whats going on when im not distracted by amazing action scenes
Here are other underrated anime I want to add that deserve more attention than they deserve.
Inferno Cop - (7.22 on MAL) Many people may be surprised but Kill la Kill isn’t actually TRIGGER’s first anime, that would go to Inferno Cop. This mini series follows Inferno Cop (if Ghost Rider was a cop all about justice) and his misadventures fighting against evil organizations, gangs, ancient beings, and even dinosaurs (yes, you heard me. Dinosaurs) as he delivers justice wherever he goes. That’s all I can say about its ‘plot’ as it goes off the rails. This series is as insane as TRIGGER can get, the visuals consist of still character images moving around and that’s basically the whole thing with added affects that looks like were used in movie maker, and the series is only voiced by one single person. Despite its crude animation and how far it is from what people are used to there is a sense of sincerity in the production, with how it seems like the team looked like they were having fun. Go give it a watch as it’s interesting to see how TRIGGER started with their first series. (9/10)
Love is like a cocktail- (6.96 on MAL) this is a short romance anime that also follows a married couple, Chisato Mizusawa, who’s an office lady she is cool and collected who apparently does not like alcohol but at home she enjoys it and has an extremely cute side when drunk after her beloved husband Sora (who happens to be a bartender) gives Chisato a nice meal with a fresh homemade drink. This anime also presents different drinks such as Plum Splet, Orange Breeze and other types with a presented menu by the end of each episode that you can actually make, its short, sweet, wholesome and will surely keep you smiling all the way to the end of it.
Brace yourself cause this will be a long one.
The entire SSSS series- (SSSS. Gridman with 7.12 and SSSS. Dynazenon with a 7.41 score on MAL) it’s probably cheating including two anime but their part of the same franchise so just let me do what I want. If you’re an anime fan you must you know the name of the studio named TRIGGER: after being formed by the staff who made Gurren Lagann after they left Gainax, they have garnered massive success such as Kill la Kill, Little witch academia, Promare, and more recently Cyberpunk: edgerunners, all these anime have become well-known with their recognizable art style, crazy stories, and bombastic animation, SSSS. Gridman/Dynazenon are the complete opposite of what TRIGGER is known for. Instead of loud and over the top it’s quite and relaxing, crazy animation is replaced with subtle movement yet very telling of what the characters are feeling, something to note is that most TRIGGER anime are sort of remixes of different genres/tropes Kill la Kill with the ecchi action genre, Little witch academia and the magical(girl?) genre, Cyberpunk: edgerunners with the.. well the title does give it away, Kizniaver (another underrated TRIGGER anime) along side with the “power of friendship” trope, and even Gurren Lagann (it’s essentially TRIGGER) with the Mecha genre. The SSSS series is a giant love letter to all things both Mecha and Tokusatsu as well as being a sort of continuation to a old 90’s Tokusatu series called Gridman: the hyper agent. SSSS. Gridman follows Yuta Hibiki, a kid who has amnesia, as he battles Kaiju with the help of Rikka and Utsumi as well as other allies who join the battle, this is a great departure to what TRIGGER usually makes but it’s all the better for it the main trio feel like actual teenagers (I can say that as I’m a teen too) so it makes each character interaction feel authentic the anime are made by TRIGGER’s B team (who made Kiznaiver) but still have that sense of TRIGGER flair, the action is mostly made up of CGI but it was made intentionally to give the feel of real actors in suits duking it out,and the CG is actually really good. The transformation sequences are so satisfying with great 2d animation especially in Dynazenon as the King Kaiser Gridnkight scene is one of the best transformation sequences I’ve (personally) seen, the few music it has is made by Shirou Sagisu the man who gave us the Berserk ost for the controversial Berserk CGI anime and trilogy films, all of bleach’s music, and the entire soundtrack for Evangelion throughout the original anime and the films so you know your in for a treat. Gridman is a great mixture of mystery, action, a bit of slice of life, with a great antagonist and an ending where by the end of it your head will be upside down, the only complaint I can give is that the main character Yuta is kinda boring (at least that’s what people who’v seen it say) otherwise it is a very solid 8/10.
(A side note you do not need to watch the original 90’s to enjoy the anime)
SSSS. Dynazenon is my favorite anime of all time and quite possibly TRIGGER’s best work, it does everything a sequel should do- improvement on the action visuals, a brand new cast of complex characters who also feel grounded , an op that is even more of a banger than the first, more focus on the slice of life aspect, somehow more funnier with its organic deadpan humor, and themes of escaping loneliness and sadness with 5 individuals working together to fight Kaiju and solving each other’s issues and past traumas, as well with
a sprinkle of romance. It follows 5 people Yomogi: a high schooler who is empathetic and will not hesitate to try help others when absolutely needed, Minami: a girl who hides her troubles and a bit reserve, Gauma: a self proclaimed “Kaiju user” who values kindness and empathy, Koyomi: a shut in who is seemingly lost in life after an incident during his middle school days, Chise: an energetic girl who skips middle school, she’s also Koyomi’s younger cousin. When a Kaiju suddenly attacks the city Gauma bring together Koyomi, Minami and Yomogi to fight the Kaiju with the giant robot Dynazenon, after defeating the Kaiju they engage a battle against the Kaiju eugenicists. TRIGGER did a fantastic job with improving the action while giving more focus on the main cast and their personal struggles and it’s really cool that even the clothing contribute narratively. Honestly it really is a shame that it is isn’t as popular as other TRIGGER anime as there is no better time to get into this franchise since (as of writing this comment) the newest entry, the crossover film “Gridman universe”comes into theaters (at least in Japan) literally tomorrow so please give this series a chance.
Edit: I’m looking at what I typed for Gridman/Dynazenon and it is a mess, I guess I just don’t know how to properly express my love for this franchise.
Love ecchi like Girl's Bravo, my fav episode is called Bravo at the Pool where body swapping and an attack from a Pervey monster are the highlights.
I was lucky to have a CD with Japanese Openings and Ending songs to some amazing Anime released towards the end of the 90s called Anime 2000 on the CD cover.
On the CD, there was both Opening and Ending songs of Blue Gender with a Rocking Opening followed by a Beautiful Love Ballad in the Ending.
The DVD of Blue Gender I have from early Funimation only has the English dub version of the opening and ending songs if you watch it dubbed, but if you watch it subbed the Japanese vocals are far better the pop actress was really are putting their heart into her singing.
Worth searching for both songs in their full online if you are interested in listening to Blue Gender's opening and ending songs as they are almost as 90s Anime as you can get.
D4DJ All Mix is sitting at a 7.4 on MAL. It's a 9 in my book.
I haven't really checked out these anime except for Amagi Brilliant Park which I'm sad it never got a sequel. I loved it so much, I was pumped when i watched it and binged it whenever I had time.
Got a few older anime I might want to retry watching but I tried a few episodes of Dirty Pair and it didn't really draw me in, would the sequel be a better choice for me to watch?
It's worth a shot. DP Flash is somewhat of a reboot done a decade later.
Ah! My Goddess and Xam'd Lost Memories are criminally underrated imo
I too have watched and enjoyed Girls Bravo, High School of the Dead, and Shikimori San. I am surprised HSotD and Shikimori are so low rated. I recall people loving them when they came out.
Of course, now I have new anime to add to my list.
Hmm... the series I've really enjoyed but lacks recognition would probably be "Kaitō Joker".
I have a feeling it might be underestimated because of being a children show (even despite touching on some really serious themes).
On a side-note, I've started composing my list on MAL just yesterday. I wonder how many entries will it have...
Damn do i miss old anime, so i thank you for these recommendations
Good video, here are some recommendations for anime under 7.5 that I enjoyed,
Monster musume
Isekai quartet
Arifureta
Skullface bookseller honda san
Lots of anime can have one 'flaw' that people latch that results in lower averages.
Plastic Little deserves all the love, based
One of the most underrated anime In my opinion would be World trigger. It's a shonen battle series that has interesting characters, an interesting powersystem and has more strategic fight scene then fight scenes were 2 powerful beings shouting at each other while having a p***s measuring contest on whos more powerful.
World trigger is an underdog series that deserves a little bit more love.
12:09 "Alot of anime may have created this idea that anime needs sophistication to be objectively good, but the kind of anime I fell in love with growing up was special for being unhinged with fantastic visuals"
I personally hate when people say what objectively makes a good anime, since what makes a good anime is going to VARY from person to person. For example, some people prioritize shows with a lot of action, and will only gravitate to Shonen anime ( see DBZ, Nauuto, and Bleach) while they are others who prefer more anime with scifi elements ( with shows like Pyhcho Pass). While other prefer shows that have a focus on politics ( see Babylon). And that's not even getting in to how someone can objectively say what makes an anime good. For instance, a lot of anime fans prefer hand drawn animation, and particularly don't care for CGI ( so shows like Ghost in the Shell won't click for them). Then there's popular shows like Konosuba, which has a mostly one dimensional cast ( like with Darkness entire character being a masochist) that will no doubt turn off people who put character development above all else in their stories. All of this is silly since it's all subjective.
Personally, when I watch anime I generally do prefer shows with tight writing involving world building, and character development. It's why I love shows like "Eureka Seven", since it shows a immersive world with multi dimensional characters, and showed many sides of them, like how the romance of the main couple evolved through out the course of the narrative. In comparison, I hated anime like Familiar of Zero, since the couple featured a romance that doesn't really go past a will they won't they for much of the series, and involves a one dimensional girl who is a tsundere and nothing else. Visually the show was okay, but visuals will only get you so far with me.
With all that said, this list shows me that the creator of this video and I consider anime to be good based on different metrics, since I also thought that both Kabaneri of Iron Fortress and Bubble were mediocre overall. Yes, visually both were exceptionally good, as expected of Wit Studio, but the characters and writing were so jarring in both ( and in especially in Bubble) that I couldn't give the show the same score as shows like "Fate/Zero" and "Madoka Magika", or the film "Maquia When The Promised Flower Blooms". But as I always say that art IS subjective, and what art ( like anime) that people find to be good is going to vary from person to person.
Overall, this video featured an interesting list of titles. I particularly didn't expect Vandread to be there, since you don't see many people talk about it, and it brought a smile to my face seeing it since I too enjoyed it . Yeah I have issues with it, but I still enjoyed it none the less.
Bubble is really fantastic, will always recommend it to everyone who hasn't seen it.
Oh I'm watching Shikimori right now.
Nadia is such a classic, great choice.
Izetta is awesome.
The law of Ueki 7 I feel like it should be a 8.5
Most OVAs from the 90s as well as under rated classics like Sound of the Sky
I'm the kind of weeb who hunts down random "cultured" anime and rolls with it even if it's like a 6/10 on MAL. But hey, to each their own.
I love watching Triage X although it cuts out a lot of stuff from the manga, and Killing BItes even if the manga continues the story.
You find a lot of awesome stuff that way.
the background music in the intro sounded just like Psychic Force
The video game? I loved the one on Dreamcast.
i played it for years with my brothers on PS1, still occasionally listen to the intro song
I think I have some new anime to check out, thanks! ^^
The hidden gem I have to reccomend is the adventure-comedy Kaitou Joker. It's rates 6.93 on MAL. It's about the phantom thief Joker (Ayumu Murase) and his assistance the failed ninja Hachi (Yumiko Kabayashi), who go on silly and fun adventures all around the world to steal treasure while competing with Joker's childhood friends/rivals Spade (Hiro Shimono) and Diamond Queen (Miyuki Sawashiro).
It's a very wacky and charming anime that can also get quite serious and touching more often than first expected.
It's also one of the very rare cases, where the anime is actually way better than the manga (in my opinion). The anime artstyle (done by Miho Shimogasa, an animation director on 90s Sailor Moon) surpasses the manga art by far. The characters are handled better and are more likeable most of the time and it has a more enjoyable narrative.
Time is funny. The animes that I loved or I though were underrated, bored me when I watched them again, so I had to purge some of my list. That said, I would say that the hidden gems that come to mind are four:
Sword of the Stranger (which to be fair, has a decent score but is not that well known)
Yozakura Quartet, that although the plot is kinda bland, the fight scenes are one of the best I've watched.
Odd Taxi, which was well buried despite being a Pulp fiction kinda show.
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, whose episodes, slowly but steady built up to the resolution.
Definetly will check yours, Dai.
Gee, this list was kind of making me want to go back and check out some of my old stuff, but now I'm somewhat afraid to. Doesn't help that a lot of my original stuff was VHS :( I know I recently went back and tried to reread a book to my kid I remember loving as a kid, and I could barely get through it (young adult book, and not because it was cheesy romance, just really simple prose and story telling, even if the overall concept was still kind of cool).
IMO 3 animes which deserve more recognition are:
- Grimgar, one if not the best isekai anime. Graphically it's gorgeous with a great pastel art style, it has some cool fights and good fan service (although a bit too much at the start). And more importantly some fantastic characters. Unfortunately, it probably was a bit to slow for isekai fan and many who would have like that kind of slower show probably were turned off by the isekai label.
- Rokka no yuusha, it's a really original take on the classic RPG-like story where hereos go on a journey to defeat the demon kind but here it becomes a closed room murder mystery in a meso American settings. Sadly the first few episodes aren't that good with some horrendous CG so many people dropped it before it got good.
- Shin sekai yori, it does have a hight score but it really isn't talk enough for how great a series it is. The antagonist is especially good one of the best ever (don't look them up tho, it's a big spoiler).
Grimgar needs a new season.
@@OtakuDaiKun Yeah, sadly I don't think It's gonna happen now that the LN is only a few volumes away from ending.
Also there's no good ending point beyond what s1 covered.
I'm surprised to here some else watched about Agent Aika. Hell two of my favorite show Ben-to and Murder princess are both poorly rated but they're just so much fun to watch they're highly rated on my list. Plus Mnemosyne is another sure it can be called torture porn but it is a really interesting show if you can look past that part.
I use Anilist more than MAL(same name on both) and it's nice see another person who's watched a shitton of anime like myself(almost 2.4K) and has a varied watch pool.
Do you people mark a wall or something? I've watched a decent amount of anime, but honestly I have no real idea of how much :D (just to be clear, this is not a criticism, it's just Dai's original comment got me wondering how many animes I had watched, and I realized I had no clue, so it kind of amused me/made me curious that some people apparently have relatively accurate counts).
@@reclaimatorerebus6531 It's not that we remember all of the anime we've watched. It's just that there are sites that are used to catalog & rate everything we've watched, like Myanimelist and Anilist.
Do To Love Ru, Onegai My Melody, and Nyaruko: Crawling With Love count as underrated? Because I never saw them on TV and only learned of them online, and it is hard for me to find episodes.
By the way, I recommend you check out the fanfiction writers Parcasious and davido747. They mostly specialize in Fate crossovers.
I saw to love RU on tv or anime network where with certain cable you can see those anime shows on demand for free.
Same as fsn hotd nyaruko etc
We search our hentai with a tag score, why not our anime?
I hate that MAL uses a flat 0-10 rating system because I would rather an anime be rated on how good it is in a category. If you want to watch an echii anime, you could find the best echii, if you want to find the best mecha, you get those. Using a standard score means that if it has fan service, people that don't like that will cause the score to drop and it will get lost in the 6s & 7s and without recommendations (which is getting rarer with the season chasing that happens today) you'll miss a lot of things for you.
Highschool of the Dead is a prime example of that. It is a fantastic anime IF you are cool with fanservice, because if you do then you see how great the story and action is, if you don't you can never see past the fanservice and rate it poorly so it makes it harder for newer people to find it.
That's a good idea.
@@OtakuDaiKun Thanks. You're doing even better work and it's nice someone is covering more than just this season's big hit.
Wouldn't mind seeing a continuation of Claymore
I wish Plastic Little was a 26 episode tv series with 100% creative freedom lol
I cant believe this doesnt include gunsmith cats / riding bean
6:39 Refresh my memory how krie best girl again
Tomboy who tries to act tough, making her lewd moments all the more embarrassing.
Heroman needs more recommendation, it's so underrated. I mean, Stan Lee co-created the series how awesome is that?
Isn't one of the characters in the Thumbnail from that Anime made by Stan Lee and an Anime studio Heroman ?
Sure is.
My recommendation would be Kiddy Grade and it's a shame I don't hear more people talk about it.
I know it but never watched it.
To this day I don't see the similarities between Kabaneri and AOT
Space dandy for comedy as it should get more talk being actually funny and can play so many genre without breaking the cast. Especially post live action of the brother series.
Godannar was a fun show. Sure it has that funny fan service old shows have that fake fans pretend didn't exist in the "gold era" when fan service was always there. It's a great show and fun for Gundam fans to see.
Historys greatest disciple kenichi. It's not underrated but the manga really dropped the ball at the end like most if not all anime that run too long like bleach Naruto etc but the ride is very good.
Danchigai. It's a fun story about a family of 5 siblings 1 male and 4 females in ova set up but the manga is super fun as well to read as a nice break of action.
Gundam isn't underated but I'd say 00 needs more attention especially now
If you want a bad comedy show. If her flag breaks is garbage but good to turn iff your brain to watch. The concept is great just not the anime.
Fate kalied as most people just listen to UA-camrs saying it's a fan service show and while the anime ups that to a max that's basically every Fate anime aside zero. The story gets much better as time goes on and especially the manga if people want to cut the fan service down. Also manga is especially top tier
Amagi is truly a perfect 10.
For me one of the most underrated anime is Gate Jietai.
I think it's so good, but almost no one talk about it =(
A few underrated anime I've seen are Robotics;Notes and Occultic;Nine. I know they weren't as grand and suspenseful as Steins;Gate, but as follow ups within the same universe they aren't all that bad, and yes the big titty girl in the latter is important to the plot trust me on that one. One other anime I see little discussion about is Parasyte the Maxim. The themes of humanity and the encounters Shinichi has with otherworldly creatures being aided by one of their own kept me watching even the English dub till the very end.
Occult nine was so confusing. I remember not liking it much.
12:08
Not gonna lie, "Dick Saucer" is by far the worst and best name for an anime character I've heard in a while :P That name alone gave me a good laugh!
I can only imagine the author was intentionally picking a silly name for their comedy anime.