I put a lot of thought into this list!
1}Lots of people heard about it, lots of people watched it but not many of those people gave it the credit it was due или nobody really sits down and talks about how great it was, even if it's "mainstream" because the majority thought it was a good anime
2}lots of people have at least heard of it but few have actually sat down and enjoyed what a good Показать it is due to having an infinite to watch list
3} No one has heard of it but you, making it a hidden gem that unfortunately leaves its future survival to small groups of dedicated advocates but еще likely than not will be forgotten with the sands of time.
So if Ты can take a guess I will be talking about definition number 2, those Аниме that еще likely than not Ты have heard about, being actually recommended to Ты или recognized by the community as good anime, I'm also going to be just a touch еще selective with my choices by naming some Аниме that are being mentioned even less frequently as times go on because the Аниме business is still producing Аниме that steals the limelight, attention, and affection.
Honorable mentions: because these ones are still regularly recommended to newbies или consistently make underrated lists или this is my impression of the people on Fanpop viewing habits
->Baccano (most people on Fanpop and Youtube have heard about it, also a go to since durarara Любовь is strong)
->Code Geass (people who watched it know it's good and since I am heavily biased I decided not to officially put it on the Список since most people on Fanpop have watched it, it's just there's little talk about it)
->D.Gray-man (despite being mainstream I rarely hear people talk about it anymore, most of the Последнее buzz being towards the 2016 HALLOW announcement, but I can't really blame them about lack of talk since it is a finished Аниме with slow Манга Обновления but I still see it's influence in a lot of places and it is rated high on MAL so I decided not to add it to the list)
->Darker than black (though highly regarded this is another one that I feel the talk has died down and I see it less and less often on super powered Аниме lists, tumblr activity is pretty dead, but it also has a slight bias from me and it's not like people don't know about it)
Then without further ado here is the Список ordered less on how much I Любовь them или "technically the best" and еще on "have Ты heard of it?" или "Don't forget it"
{Number 14} Hyouka
Hyouka is a slice of life mystery Показать animated by the ever Популярное Kyoani studio and that name alone is the reason it's not higher on the Список since the Kyoani studio is one that most people have heard of their works such as Clannad, K-ON или Free! which has ensured their studio's name will be not forgotten anytime soon and almost guarantees the audience for any of their future projects. However this popularity of the few select shows does cause some of their works to fall through the cracks and I feel like Hyouka and another one coming up fit the bill. Hyouka is a gorgeously animated Показать featuring a very laid back main character named Oreki, who has very little ambition for going through the school life and sees no reason to change his nature, however he is often compelled by his classmate and fellow club member Chitanda to use his intelligence to solve very minor riddles или problems in their school. As much as it hurts him to do еще than the minimum requirement he does his best to solve the problems quickly but in a way that satisfies the ever curious Chitanda. I really Любовь how despite the majority of the cases Oreki solves being relatively minor, Oreki draws Ты into the solution by being very methodical and logical in his approach, which is also kinda relaxing since Oreki is a very low key person, his clear explanations are easy to follow and are accompanied by unique imagery and wonderful animation. Since it is a slice of life there is a kinda one день at a time feel to it which is something that relies on your taste in Аниме being open to slice-of-life but the mystery bits are just spell binding since on вверх of being well done surprisingly the solutions for some of these cases are very memorable, the most arresting being the case that explains the title. Oreki himself is a perfect lead, being very quiet and calm most of the time due to his low energy lifestyle but very smart which represents the rest of the Показать in terms of energy perfectly. Very laid back but impressive when the time for intelligence is required.
{Number 13} Deadman wonderland
Ganta's life really sucks. After a masked man murders all his classmates in front of him, he is sentenced for this crime he didn't commit and sent to deadman wonderland. A prison built like an amusement park. Upon entering he meets Shiro, a girl who claims to be his old friend and together they try to survive this crazy wonderland so they can find the masked man who ruined Ganta's life.
I feel like the most amazing thing about the Аниме is not the gore, action, или Анимация but Ganta, the lead himself. It's a very horrid tightrope that writers have to deal with making a realistic character that the audience won't bash and then wonder why they don't get еще complex characters :/ Ganta however has a perfect mix of the horror and fear of someone who was thrown in a terrible situation would have, a self-preservation mechanism kicking in exactly as it should, and a timid but surefire determination to fight back against the crazy world he's in without accepting any of the twisted ideals. He's not always perfect but he tries his best to be someone that he won't regret looking at when his life's over. He makes mistakes out of fear but those are things that the Аниме allows him to look at at wonder if this is really who he wants to be. He's both realistic and admirable. While he is without a doubt afraid that's not going to stop him from moving forward.
Add that then with wonderfully animated action and a crazy environment makes a survival Аниме that's worth watching.
{Number 12} Chuunibyou demo koi
Yuuta used to have Chuunibyou disease, a really embarrassing phase of his life he just wants to forget where he thought he was a dark flame master, cosplayed to school and other things like that. He moves to a school farther away than where he went to middle school in hopes of starting anew. However on his first день Rika a girl who is a Chunnibyou zeroes in on him and he's forced to play the straight man to her many antics.
While I do see this Аниме on romance lists I feel that something underrated about this Показать is how fantastic the Письмо is. The Письмо makes it so that while Rika's Chunniness is utilized a lot for comedy it also very fluidly shifts to using it for drama или character development. They try to take advantage of this aspect as much as possible, to explain Rika to you, her relationships to others, how it affects the people around her whether for better или worse. The Показать lets Ты see how it connects her to her Друзья and the main character. There's something laughably relatable about the actual chuuniness but they land the jokes by letting Ты see the stark contrast between Rika's imagination (some great epic battle between the forces of good and evil) and reality (a girl smacking someone with her ponytails). But some of the best jokes are the ones that continue until they aren't jokes anymore (think "My name is inigo montoya Ты killed my father prepare to die"). The juxtaposition of Rika's imaginary world and reality pull a 180 and what Ты were laughing at before now reveals the еще serious issue, Rika's tragic rejection of reality and how it negatively affects her family and herself sometimes. The way the Показать is written it doesn't feel like a gimmick или sudden manipulation but just tilting the your view slightly so that Ты see as much of the issue as possible. Even after the drama comes Ты can go back to laughing at the ridiculousness of it all but it doesn't ignore certain aspects of Rika (how her chunniness is realistically affecting her) to highlight on others (how laughable her chunniness is). it's hard to explain but the fact the Показать was able to accomplish that is amazing and I feel it needs Благодарности for doing that.
{Number 11} Mushishi
Mushishi follows Ginko, a traveling Mushi master, who goes around solving oddities that happen in the world due to unseen creatures that live all around us.
Mushishi is a marvel, having the most harmony I've seen in Аниме between it's many elements, the writing, characters, animation, and Музыка all seem to work together to give Ты an experience. Each episode is compact and something special. Despite a simple art style, the Анимация makes everything feel so alive and vibrant. I find it really hard to talk about this Аниме since it should be something Ты feel for yourself. It's very atmospheric, dragging Ты into the world that is a unique creation every time.
{Number 10} Ao Haru Ride
Following our main heroine who has let herself ignore things like looks so that she can better blend in class. She reunites with Tanaka, someone she knew and loved when she was younger to learn he's become pretty apathetic about everything including any feelings he may have had for her. As they once again come into each others life they start to change and maybe even fall back in love.
I feel like in the season when this came out it was overshadowed by "Say I Любовь you", "wolf girl and black prince" and "My little monster" so it was a lot of shoujo's competing and sad to say Shoujo as a genre does not spit out as many Аниме as shounen (or as popular) so while there were people who watched it and liked it, along with a lot of shoujo it seems to be on the verge of being forgotten and it should not be so. Ao Haru Ride presents some very realistic characters and a very simple premise. A pace to let the characters naturally grow together and reveal their personalities. I feel like it does a good job of connecting the characters by having them all have the same problem but have it manifest in different ways. The issue of being themselves. Our lead Heroine's issue with this is that she wants so desperately to fit in, Tanaka has issue with this due to not feeling like he is deserving of living life as normal, and the other characters also have different ways of tackling it. I feel like it's a solid show, very relatable and touching at points with very natural connections between all the characters.
{Number 9} Princess Jellyfish
Tsubaki lives in a complex that prohibits men but gladly accepts women who Любовь something particular. For Tsubaki that particular thing happens to be jellyfish.
This Аниме happens to be very close to my heart. It has such a fun environment to be with, along with some eccentric but interesting females. It's actually an Аниме that tries to work being true to yourself and realizing how special Ты are with an understanding that Ты still need to live in the real world. It's a pick me up anime. Funny, charming, with a message Ты actually take to сердце as Ты watch Tsubaki both Любовь herself as she is and what she could be. While Kuronoske does do the voila magic doll up session that's not what you're supposed to fall in Любовь with about the character. It's her quirkiness, and her passion towards her hobby that Ты learn to accept and admire. I feel like this Аниме doesn't try to force change in who the character is but encourage a little courage to be who she is in the world she tries to hide from. Best shown in the ED which is my Избранное ED of all time. If you're looking for a little encouragement don't forget to give Princess Jellyfish a go.
{Number 8} Honey and Clover
Honey and clover is actually a simple anime. It revolves around the friendship and Любовь lives of some college art students, taking it's slice of life tone to the T. It takes the events день by day, with a very calm and peaceful tone, setting up relationships in a very natural way despite how complicated they are. It has it's fun with it's wacky characters, it's день to day-ness seldom gives way to huge disasters (no no, the Фан get's hit in the секунда season),while looking at the characters journey's which are all very relatable. The buildup to character development and arcs are perfect. Honey and Clover is a prime example of keeping it simple yet creating something very memorable since the issues that the characters go through are things that will always be relevant. It also treats the issues with an amount of reverence that give the Аниме it's maturity. No it doesn't mean it's gory или gritty but a seriousness that let the drama when it happens kinda seep in subtly. It's not overblown which actually helps the effect the Аниме has going for it.
{Number 7} Arakawa under the bridge
Arakawa's father has drilled one thing into him since he was a child, "never owe anyone anything", so he's horrified when he ends up owing his life to Nino, an eccentric blonde girl, after she saves it. Unwilling to let bygones be bygones he insists on returning the favor in whatever form she desires. Nino decides that Arakawa will be her boyfriend. He starts living under the bridge, is rechristened "Recruit", and the shenanigans commence as he does his utmost to be the best boyfriend ever while living with the oddest misfits.
This Аниме is hilarious. It had me dying in every episode. The Анимация is great, the characters delightfully odd, the jokes always hitting home. But I feel like the most impressive thing is actually the progression of the romance. I was thinking that the romance might be left at the wayside или overshadow the romance but it was handled very well. It was very nicely paced, with Nino and Recruit have some of the cutest chemistry in anime. Recruit learning to allow Nino to care for him without compulsively returning "the favor" and Nino's stoic personality slipping sometimes as her general kindness turns into genuine affection for Recruit. The Показать takes advantage of the comedy portion to progress the relationship to hilarious conclusions and could be very heartfelt since the Recruit had to lower his defenses and allow people to be kind to him. So as a comedy I think it's a layer еще done since it doesn't neglect certain aspects of the Показать for others. Funny, quirky, romantic, touching, and taking all these elements with an adorableness that Ты need to experience.
{Number 6} Princess tutu
Once upon a time there was a prince who was battling a raven. He sacrificed his сердце to entrap it and it's up to princess tutu to give him back the сердце he lost.This Аниме definitely has an appeal to me as a fairy tale nut. It was amazing to see the fairy tales be incorporated into the tale while being twisted slightly to be unique или a bit dark which is an impressive thing Princess Tutu accomplishes. It's capable of being dark without being gory. It instead uses symbolism and atmosphere. Making a very simple tale feel a touch twisted, dealing with tragic elements maturely, with some very complex characters since they cast is actually small. It's an Аниме where the tragic fate of princess tutu is not hidden but creates a compelling lead, complex antagonist, and actually surprises Ты when it heads in certain directions, pulling them off in the most perfect ways. Let it's art style или Название not deter you. Princess tutu deserves it's chance to wow you.
{Number 5} Chihayafuru
Chihayafuru is an Аниме about an obscure game even by japan's standards. Memorizing 100 poems and smacking them out before your opponent does. But like many sports Аниме (yes this is a sport) the amount of passion put into it by the leads suck Ты into this game too. As Ты learn еще about it and how much Любовь the leads have for it it's hard not to get invested. It helps that the leads are also pretty interesting people, having very strong personalities and aren't neglected of desires outside the game, having both a very solid friendship between basically any of the mains and personal journeys that Ты actually care about since they're all very likable. Every character is treated with the respect they deserve. Everything in the Показать is done to it's best.
{Number 4} Natsume's book of friends
Natsume's book of Друзья follows cinnamon roll Natsume, who has been able to see yokai since he was young, ostracizing him from everyone. He learns that his grandma was also someone who could see them, using this to kick butt and take names (seriously she took their names.) leaving Natsume the job to give those names back.
It's an episodic Аниме each story is soothing, with a calm pace, and almost all the stories are bittersweet. The main lead being one of the most precious things to grace earth with a very touching arc of allowing himself to be loved by the many people around him. As much as I like my psychological Аниме and super powers anime, I feel like the softer leads and quiet stories don't get much credit for giving Ты a character and have the slow change sink in. Soft male leads are actually a bit tougher to find and it's a shame since Natsume's journey towards allowing himself to be friends, be a family, be allowed to exist, is just as compelling as anything.
{Number 3} Yu yu hakusho
As for Shounen anime, I feel like it's one of the еще solid Tournament shows, being pretty well written with some likable characters, the dub is pretty good too. The Письмо is very fluid, taking Ты from situation to situation without hiccups. I feel like the Письмо is actually very tight knit. Some 90's action, dubbing, design, and...everything, does nothing but help the Аниме since it seems like it was the best time for that Аниме to be made. So for an oldie but goodie ;D
{Number 2} Shiki
In terms of horror Shiki is something that deserves a chance. It's ability to create a haunting atmosphere is established from the first episode and tackles the idea of who is the bigger monster. This isn't really an Аниме for the weak of stomach because while Ты may not be a stranger to gratuitous gore and blood in most of the horror genre and even action genre, there's a sickening grittiness to the scenes in this particular anime. But those scenes are actually left to the latter half of the show, the setup to it being brilliant, introducing characters, letting the threat they face seep in and settle for quite a bit so that Ты understand the characters more, their increasing fear making the outcome that еще horrifying. Their fear also lets Ты explore human nature, which is the show's big strength because it lets Ты invest yourself into someone with similar Просмотры and try to understand those who Ты don't agree with. So if you're in the mood for something a touch haunting with some thought behind it, try out Shiki.
{Number 1} Kyousougiga TV
Kyousougiga is a pleasant surprise. It has a very simple style yet no slack was taken with the shadows, colors, animation, action, или storyline. The Аниме gives Ты the story piece by piece by letting each character tell Ты what was important to them, leading to Ты getting an в общем и целом, общая picture of who the characters are, their relationships, how they work in the story, and what the story is. It doesn't force feed it step by step. Heck in the first episode the chaos is already there but Ты still understand so much, from how the world works and how the characters work. The Анимация is actually really impressive and so is the story which is about family, about insecurity, and eventually belonging. Each character encapsulates a different aspect of this so perfectly.
Thank Ты for reading!
Any Аниме people know are good but are in danger of slipping under the radar?
