CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Is there an anime title that not too many people know about or simply one that is just plain good but underrated. The question I ask is this: what (in your opinion) is the most underrated/unknown anime title?


For me its probably Planetes. The series really did not really go over all that well and it was really marred by more popular titles in its year of release. The cast is the best aspect of the series and the characters development is amazing to see. A really underrated series in my opinion.

Baccano.

Also, from my knowledge of most anime fans, Monster. Both of these are more unknown than underrated; I doubt they'd be underrated if more people gave them a chance. XDD

Kaleido Star.

It's amazing and like no one's ever heard of it.

I've heard of Kaleido Star!! In fact I've seen many episodes of it!

Anyone heard of Sandibell (sp?) or Candy Candy? I don't really hear much about those, but when we were on a mission trip to Hungary back in '98 (I was nine years old and my brother was almost six ^-^) they would play Hungarian-dubbed anime on TV...so we watched the two above-mentioned titles...couldn't understand a darn thing they said (unless mom translated for us), but it was entertaining in a way. Not sure if those series are any good, but I thought they'd be worth mentioning. I looked them up on Wikipedia a while back, and apparently they're both from Toei Animation, same people responsible for Sailor Moon and One Piece.

They were also playing Sailor Moon but we didn't watch it for more than a few seconds.

Now that I think about it, it's been ten years last month since the mission trip. Wow...

[quote="Radical Dreamer (post: 1257346)"]Baccano.

Also, from my knowledge of most anime fans, Monster. Both of these are more unknown than underrated]

much agreed in regards to both titles. i would like to add Mushishi to that as well.

Dragonball Z. Why the world has failed to grasp its greatness, I will never know.

In all seriousness, Tenshi ni Narumon! is a very disturbing show that nonetheless has a lot going for it. It's macabre, cute, serious and silly, all at once, without holding anything back. I don't see a lot of fans (probably because most people have taste and/or dignity) but it's truly unique and a must-see for anyone interested in the potential of entertainment as an art form.

Ah Baccano looks really good. I'll have to check it out.

I think that Gundam is vastly underrated on this side of the globe. Gundam needs more love, yo. And when I say "Gundam", I'm talking Universal Century Gundam, not like Wing or any of the other alternate universe stuff.

Actually, quite a bit of mecha anime is pretty unknown in the US. Like, Mazinger Z is legendary but hardly anyone over here even knows what it is. XD

theanimeguy (post: 1257344) wrote:For me its probably Planetes. The series really did not really go over all that well and it was really marred by more popular titles in its year of release. The cast is the best aspect of the series and the characters development is amazing to see. A really underrated series in my opinion.

My thoughts exactly, good sir...

[color=seagreen]Win.[/color]

Anyway, I haven't heard many people mention "Kino's Journey". I've only seen a handful of episodes, but it is a really great series and one that I highly recommend.

While not epic, I'd say Sonic X is definetly underrated (very good series for anyone who's being introduced to anime....as long as they have the willingness to watch both the sub and the dub...)....

While, Get Backers is very good, yet, at least in my opinion, seems unknown to many in the anime community....

I wholeheartedly agree with Monster.

If Monster is underrated/unknown, then I'd second what Radical Dreamer said. It's an amazing story - riveting, if a little too realistic for my tastes at times.

Another really great anime that isn't wildly popular is Haibane Renmei. That's my second-favorite anime of all time, and the ending is my favorite too. If you ask me, it's the perfect anime, or at least as close as you can get without any cool shonen action stuff. Beautiful music, lovely animation, and a blissfully positive message that can actually be taken as pointing towards God.

the_wolfs_howl (post: 1257418) wrote:Another really great anime that isn't wildly popular is Haibane Renmei. That's my second-favorite anime of all time, and the ending is my favorite too. If you ask me, it's the perfect anime, or at least as close as you can get without any cool shonen action stuff. Beautiful music, lovely animation, and a blissfully positive message that can actually be taken as pointing towards God.

Oh yeah, Haibane Renmei! I completely forgot that as an underrated title, but it really is! SUCH a good series, my third favorite!

Back when I first got in to Anime there was this little show called My Dear Marie. Only three episodes. It was this pretty, if just quirky, little love story about a geek who feels he has no hope with the girl he loves so he builds an android replica of her. When everyone discovers the Android, he claims she's his little sister. Not for the squeamish, as it was originally a hentai in Manga. There's a little fanservice and some topside nudity in the Anime, but nothing else.

Tokyo Majin is top on my list. Especially the first season (first 14 episodes).

A lone fansubber has made a side project out of Mama is a Fourth Grader and has done the first five episodes. I dearly wish I could find more of this. It is ancient, but one of the cutest anime ever made.

If the silly fem-dominatrix fan service doesn't bother you, Sorceror Hunters is one of my all-time favorites.

I'm a big fan of the original Tetsuwan Birdie (aka Birdy the Mighty) OVA. I'm enjoying the new series, but I will always prefer the original.

The Gall Force OVA series (actually, the first installment was a theatrical release) has a very weak initial scenario, but they do so much with it, you can forgive the silliness (and the names of the two species involved.)

Getting a little more recent once more, I put a vote in for Zegapain. Really well thought out fundamental scenario, far better than most in its genre.

Finally, more people need to see Mujin Wakusei Survive which I thought was very, very good.

One that I'll mention is Figure 17.

Monster was the first anime to truly change my standards as to what "Good Anime" is. =)

It's also vastly unknown.

Oh Edo Rocket! That's the anime that's not really known anywhere. It doesn't have its little cults or anything. It's kind of bizarre, but very fun.

I'm not really sure if you can consider these underrated or unknown, because I don't really keep up with what's popular... but Princess princess and To Heart seem to be some ignored titles. (I've never actual watched a Princess princess, just seen some clips/ info about it. It seems to be leaning a certain way, but IDK n.n;; )

Oh, well. That's my thoughts!

EricTheFred (post: 1257472) wrote:Getting a little more recent once more, I put a vote in for Zegapain. Really well thought out fundamental scenario, far better than most in its genre.

My fiance really likes Zegapain, so it's on my "to watch" list.

Puguni (post: 1257554) wrote:Oh Edo Rocket! That's the anime that's not really known anywhere. It doesn't have its little cults or anything. It's kind of bizarre, but very fun.

Ahhh Oh Edo! I forgot I was watching that! XD;;; I really need to finish it; it was so funny!

Air....no one knows of it! at least in my friends

That and Yakitate Japan...XDD really not sure how popular it is. I only know of it by chance.

sharien chan (post: 1257633) wrote:Air....no one knows of it! at least in my friends

That and Yakitate Japan...XDD really not sure how popular it is. I only know of it by chance.

Ooh I love Air! Suuuch a pretty show, and so sad! It's been one of my favorites for a while, but I'll totally agree that it's unknown and underrated. XD

Dominion Tank Police
Innocent Venus are both very great animes that people barely talk about.
Silent Mobius and Sorcerer Hunters are also definite must haves.

One of the best anime shows I've ever seen, but few people know of it or avoid it because of the strange title. Princess Tutu. It's very hard to explain, but it's story telling at it's best. I usually describe it as "Disney, except darker and with a heavy plot", not to mention one of the most climatic (and very unexpected) endings!

RFC (post: 1257649) wrote:One of the best anime shows I've ever seen, but few people know of it or avoid it because of the strange title. Princess Tutu. It's very hard to explain, but it's story telling at it's best. I usually describe it as "Disney, except darker and with a heavy plot", not to mention one of the most climatic (and very unexpected) endings!

Not to mention it features BALLET! I don't get to see much of that in anime, though most of the anime female character designs seems to be pretty much built for it.

I guess I've said this a million times before (am I already spamming? *fearful glance*) but I'll say it anyway. Raijin-oh, the show from which the guy in my avatar and sig comes from is overtly obscure. There's just something about those elementary school kids and their school that changes to a mecha base that got me crazy for it. I've managed to submit a review of it in the CAA reviews section if you want to find out more about it.

jon_jinn (post: 1257364) wrote:much agreed in regards to both titles. i would like to add Mushishi to that as well.

Mushishi isn't underrated or unknown. Actually, you could make a convincing argument that it's overrated, though that is not my belief.

Oh! Edo Rocket is underrated, Mahjong Legend Akagi and Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji are unknown. If we can expand this thread to Manga, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure should be a lot more popular than it is.

Also, Giant Robo.

I'm going to second a few series mentioned by others above.

1) Princess Tutu - Didn't think about it, but this one really doesn't get the press it deserves, which is considerable. I suspect because too many people judge it on the first couple episodes, which seem to promise a sickly-sweet little shoujo romance without any depth. I think it can still be considered 'shoujo romance', but boy howdy does it have depth.

2) Oh! Edo Rocket - I cannot believe I didn't include this one on my original list. Yes, absolutely. It's a ride many more people need to take.

3) I nearly included Dominion Tank Police the first time arround. I think I'll go ahead and add it to my list now that someone else brought it up. It's a brilliant (and entirely too short) manga, and they did a very good job on the OVA, although the storyline was a little too compressed (a common problem with OVAs).

Oh, I want to see Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh! I love the opening song. XD We haven't been able to find the series anywhere though. D:

I got another one-- Muteki Koujin Daitarn 3! I bet nobody's heard of that. My fiance and I are working on subbing it. It's really old and has zero chance of getting licensed, lol. Next on our list after we finish Daitarn 3 is Trider G7, which looks like a heck of a lot of fun.

Radical Dreamer (post: 1257637) wrote:Ooh I love Air! Suuuch a pretty show, and so sad! It's been one of my favorites for a while, but I'll totally agree that it's unknown and underrated. XD

Yet another anime I found out by accident. XD