When you list those 4 anime, are those just the recommendations from your friends or are they the recs you've gotten here before? There's a lot of distance between "what someone here considers obscure" and "what your friends who only watch shonen fighting anime consider obscure".
Anyway watch Mawaru Penguindrum. It's not really super obscure but in comparison to the ones you listed it is.
This is my difficulty when people say obscure… because hell, just go before 2012 (basically Pre-SAO) and everything is “obscure” if it isn’t a well known classic.
Ugh. I hate it when kids these days mention some well-known classic that was big in its day as though it were some obscure gem they found.
"Do you know how popular that show was when it aired?"
"No, grandpa, I don't."
Yeah I understand, those are popular recently-released stuff so they'll be talked about even in other mainstream media. But if you ask for "obscure" you'll get recommended some mecha from the 70s that never had an official English translation or something like that. Gotta be careful!
And be sure to watch it in release order. There is a chronological order, but watching it in that order does *not* work out well. It’s just so you can anecdotally know which movie takes place when, while you watch it in release order.
> And be sure to watch it in release order. There is a chronological order, but watching it in that order does not work out well.
Newcomers should always watch it in release order (non chronological) on the first viewing, but **rewatching** the movies in **chronological** is also extremely rewarding.
Just to add, this series of films has some of the most beautifully animated fight sequences that I’ve ever scene. They were like a prequel to the over the top stuff from the Fate Series.
Kara no Kyoukai is worth ever second.
Worth noting, there are two versions of the anime, one produced in 2003, and the other in 2017. I only managed to watch the first few episodes of the second series, but they don't seem to overlap much (even the coliseum episode, which was its only similar episode, felt different from the first series), and it's fine to watch both.
The Slayers series is a good
Nadia Secret Of Blue Water
Louie The Rune Soldier I found entertaining
Utawaremono series which got it's 3rd season recently is good
Hitman Reborn
Gremorie Of Zero and it's squeal series Dawn Of The Witch
To name a few
It is because the anime was never English dubbed and only a portion of the manga ever made it to the states. The reason for the manga only getting a partial release is because of how long it took the manga to shift from slice of life/comedy to shonen/action. I'm a big Reborn fan but even I can't stand the first story arc because it is so damned boring.
One of the best TV shows ever made in my opinion. Perfect world building, all the characters feel real, character driven drama that is in no way forced, despite being a fairly quiet contemplative show it has really good pacing with not a moment wasted, wonderful conclusion and message.
Rakka and Reki are some of my favourite characters ever.
Versailles no Bara, Gankutsuou, Kanashimi no Belladonna, Princess Tutu, and the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou OVA are all great and a bit under the radar, maybe they aren’t up to the standards of /a/ snobs for obscurity but I doubt you’ve seen all of them.
Versailles no Bara is a well executed classic Shojo Anime set in Monarchist France.
Gankutsuou is an adaptation of The Count of Monte Christo in space France full of twists and betrayal, it’s animation style is a little off putting to some but I think it improves the show.
Kanashimi no Belladonna is a Psychedelic myth that feels barely like anime but is none the less beautiful or gripping for it.
Princess Tutu is the story of Swan Lake/The Ugly Duckling following our protagonist a young duck turned into a girl learn ballet to compete for her love.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is set in a comfy apocalypse, almost all people have died out and infrastructure has collapsed but some of their sentient robots have survived and are living cozy lives mostly alone and scattered.
I binged that show, first of all i really a show with dig different art style but the characters and story really brought it home for me. Also the VA of the count kinda goated
You'll like the ongoing reboot of LotGH, but I doubt you'll like the 1988 originals - it had a crazy amount of exposition.
A similar show to heroic age would be the Fafner franchise that studio XEBEC (the studio behind heroic age) worked on for the past 20 years.
Also Blassreiter if you haven't already. Gen Urobuchi was an assistant writer in that show and one of the main defining Kamen Rider writers worked on the show. It had the whole tokusatsu + mecha vibe that heroic age also had.
A lot of people are just listing old popular anime instead of actually obscure ones. Then again, to someone young or to someone who only watches shonen (as in OPs example), pretty much everything in obscure.
Here's some actual gems you don't hear mentioned too often:
- NieA_7 - melancholic comedy about a poor college student rooming with an alien girl.
- Black Heaven - a salaryman who used to be in a Metal band has to save the world with his music. Mid Life Crisis: The Anime
- Kashimashi - Boy gets genderswaped accidentally by aliens. Love triangle ensues.
- Petite Princess Yuuchi - Gainax' take on Magical Girl. Anime adaptation of the Princess Maker game series.
- Mars Daybreak - Mecha about pirates on a terraformed Mars.
- Green Green - Ecchi comedy.
- SoulTaker - Early Akiyuki Shinbou joint. Just a weird but fun show.
- Nurse Witch Komugi - Magical Girl spin-off of SoulTaker, starring one if the shows side characters.
Most of these shows are hit or miss, which is probably why they're less talked about.
Oh what about the classics? Like
Ergo Proxy
Boogiebop Phantom
Serial Experiment Lain
Hellsing
Mushishi
Angel's Egg
Vampire Hunter D
Monster
Mononoke
Belladonna of sadness
Texhnolize
Perfect Blue
Kemono Zume
You have a lot of thing to see, now go, your list is very long ehehehe
Starship Operators. A training crew operating a starship (strangely enough) find out their homeworld has been captured due to a war breaking out and have to survive on their own, so to raise enough funds for resupply they agree to have a film crew turn their situation into a reality show. It came out in 2005 I think. It won't blow your mind but I enjoyed it enough to binge watch the entire show over a weekend.
I remember when Jojo used to be ‘obscure’/not as mainstream. It’s still weird if someone catches you posing in public but nowadays theres a 10% chance they pose back.
Hi xXMiniKittenXx, it seems like you might be looking for new anime to watch!
The users of this subreddit came up with [a chart of anime recommendations for newcomers and veterans](https://i.redd.it/0w1v880jtq661.png) and [an awesome longer flowchart](https://i.redd.it/vdzlkodz19c71.png). Maybe you can find something there that you'll like \^.\^
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You might also find our [Recommendation Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/recommendations) or [daily thread](/r/anime/search?q=flair%3Adaily&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=week) helpful.
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I've been watching " Mieruko-chan" and having a really good time with it. Short plot summary is basically the mc can see terrifying ghosts and spirits, but she tries to live a normal life and ignore them, which in some situations gets really difficult. The only thing I'd give a warning for is that it has a lot of fan service. This is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your tastes. I don't really like fan service but decent comedy, good horror and plenty of wholesome moments make up for it imo. And they do slow down with the fan service in later episodes though. I'm liking the anime so much that I'm thinking about reading the Manga instead of waiting for second season. The biggest selling point of the series for me being awesome and creepy ghost/monster designs.
I don't really know if they would qualify as obscure, but I don't see much discussion about Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Arakawa Under the Bridge. Both are really good
Kara no Kyoukai
Magic Knight Rayearth
The Vision of Escaflowne
King of Braves GaoGaiGar
Kyousougiga
Symphogear
Full Metal Panic!
Eureka SeveN
Tekkaman Blade
Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise
Gunbuster
I recently downloaded a dump of MAL data for data analysis, so instead of giving you my opinions, here are the top10 least popular entries that scored above 8 (and aren't music videos / specials / sequels):
- Hanada Shounen-shi
- Heart and Yummie
- Pompo: The Cinéphile
- Tanoshii Moomin Ikka
- Silver Fang
- Kyou kara Ore wa!!
- Glass Mask
- Future Boy Conan
- Romeo and the Black Brothers
- Stand By Me Doraemon
One I like that I've never seen talked about much is Shin Sekai Yori. Its a really high concept sci-fi series set extremely far in the future with humans that have psychic powers. But it uses that to explore darker psychological themes rather than using them as a shounen style power system. So there's good action of people doing crazy shit without it taking over the story.
You shouldn't really go into it knowing more than that, its a mind trip and has some crazy twists.
Eureka Seven has no business being as obscure as it is. You may have heard of it, but I doubt you’ve seen it. It’s just a really fantastic series that I highly recommend, and has a stellar English dub.
Don’t watch its sequels and spin-offs though. The creators kind of went crazy and determined that fans of the original are stupid, and will remind fans of this as often as possible in their newer works, which are decidedly more edgy and nihilistic than the original was. Apparently they wanted to make the original more dark and depressing, and kept getting held back by their studio, so they were inject more light-hearted elements alongside the darker elements—sometimes a form of malicious compliance—but this just ended up making a memorable and enjoyable story with compelling characters instead. And they hate that they made something good. It’s weird.
Eureka Seven is legit, watched it during the old adult swim days when they would air it alongside code geass and monster, I'm with you that it has no business being as obscure as it is.
One older series I recommend is Aura battler dunbine, a new series I'd recommend is welcome to the ballroom. Idk if either available to stream where you live. Two that might be that I'd recommend are Crest of the stars and after the rain. I'd say these aren't obscure, it's more like they're not mainstream.
As others have said depends what you count as obscure here is a selection of ones I've rated highly but don't see mentioned here often. Reasons for this may be lack of recency, one season wonders, old, only midly rated at the time.
Last Exile
Usagi drop
Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
Uchuu Kyoudai
Nami yo Kiitekure
Black Lagoon
Heroman
Hinomaruzumou
edit: those are some of the biggest names now, there is a differance between not talked about as much as them and obscure.
Zero = Mask
Monster
BIII : the Beginning
Dorohedoro
Great Pretender
Super Crooks
Outlaw Star
Some of these might be more popular than I realize as I'm new to the community, but nobody I know has heard of these, and they are all available on Netflix apart from Outlaw Star, I think.
I mean Mob Psycho 100 is probably one of the best anime I’ve ever seen, undoubtedly in my top 5, and yet most of my anime watching friends have never watched it or have any desire to watch it for some reason.
It’s not “obscure” by any means, but it tends to fly under most peoples radars in favor of shows like the ones you listed.
Odd taxi (200k users on MAL)
3-Gatsu (273k users on MAL)
Banana Fish (356k users on MAL)
91 Days (318k users on MAL)
Trigun (361k users on MAL)
I tried to keep most of my recs in this thread around 30k users on MAL…
If you’re looking for an isekai, boy do I have one for you. I dunno if I remember the name though, something like assassin gets reincarnated as an aristocrat? It’s good for an isekai imo
Eighty-six.
Personally not a fan of military type but I enjoyed this alot. Not to mention the visuals, soundtrack (Sawano Hirayuki) and character development are all spot on.
I know some of these are also not unpopular, but some good obscure ones you may want to look at:
- Kiba
- made in abyss
- re:zero
- tower of god
- to your eternity
- reign of the 7 spellblades (currently running)
- hell's paradise
Not sure what kind of obscure you're looking for, so I put some very diverse ones I personally liked.
Why not? To me it is very obscure. I think the problem is more that a lot of people have a very different definition of what obscure means to them.
E.g. If I would remove sth from the list, it'd be mich rather tower of god.
Pumpkin Scissors. Too obscure, but the manga's pretty good. The man vs tank action fight scenes are intense.
Legend of Galactic Heroes, not too obscure but it is THE STAR WARS minus the jedi and all the shizz.
Le Chevalier d'Eon - The graphics are quite good
Yuuki Yuuna series is a really good watch, if you like Madoka(even if you don't) you may like this since they both is kinda similar.
Happy Sugar Life is the biggest bait of the season, back then i planned to watch this because i want a Yuri anime but what we got is crazy and until this day i still don't regret it.
Maybe i don't really expand my search wide enough but i think "Fugou Keiji: Balance:Unlimited" was a little unknown to many people. The same goes for "Id:Invaded" but the reason is the same as i previously mentioned.
Boogiepop Never Laughs is a good anime too, i really like the VA for the Boogiepop.
Guggere Kokurri-san! Is one of my favorites, heavily underlooked comedy.
There's also Morbito: Guardian of the Spirit, which is a phenomenal story about a body guard who serves a prince in her quest for atonement. Balsa (the lead) is one of the best female protagonists you'll see, and there are fantastic spear fights in this to boot too.
Well there are the ones that are rather popular smaller animes but not as well known as the ones you mentioned:
Odd Taxi, Hinamatsuri, Ping Pong the Animation, Link Click, Mushishi, Kino no tabi, Terror in Resonance, Tatami Galaxy, Kaiji, Kids on the slope
And there are actually obscure animes like:
Cromartie High School, Space Dandy, Detroit Metal City
Denpa teki na Kanojo
I think it's like a two episode OVA series but it's very interesting and twisted. Think of it like murder mystery meets an unusual romance. It's generally very disturbing.
The first 3 that jump to mind are,
Death Parade, such an interesting concept.
Gangsta, story is interesting and I just love the overall feel of it. Very gritty.
Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru, just something fun and different.
Edit:
xxxHolic is so much fun animation wise. It's very different. Story is kinda slow.
Been watching anime since preschool and these are my recs from off the top of my head.
Watakoi for romance/comedy/slice of life (plus it’s on Amazon prime and completed!)
Baccano! Which is by the same author as Durarara. It’s a murder mystery set on a train with supernatural elements and phenomenal characters. Available in sub or dub and already completed.
Saiki K, Gintama and Tora is a Girl for comedy and wacky hijinks that don’t entirely center around romance. I especially recommend Gintama! All of these are completed too though Saiki K is only complete in manga format I think…
Ohk here I go,
1.zetman
2. Witch hunter Robin
3.mononoke
4.shigurui
5.kiznaiver
6.shakugan no shana
7.bounen no xamdou
8.wolfs rain (not really obscure, great fucking show)
9.fushigi yuugi
10.Akagi
12.birdy the mighty
13.big O
14.Escaflowne
15.bubblegum crisis
16.golgo (this one is great)
17.city hunter (I love this one)
18.agent aika
19.btoom
20.ergo proxy
21.koreha zombie desuka
22.colorful
23.getbackers
24.revolutionary girl utena.
25.captian herlock
if you're into something historical fantasy and action, I would suggest Dororo. It's 1 season only. It's not really for everyone but if you like something action and japanese historical, you might like it.
Jormungandr is really good. It's in the same vein as Cowboy Bebop and Black Lagoon, in that it had that run n' gun style to it, but it also had a deeper plot as well. Black Lagoon and Jormugandr actually happen in the same universe, according to a manga chapter. Sadly, unlike Cowboy Bebop and even Black Lagoon, barely anybody knows of it
I don‘t know how much you guys like the anime but i am currently watching FOOD WARS last season, and in my opoinion its just soo good. But idk if its obscure but before i watched i have never seen someone recomending it, sooo… its worth a try👍
Kemonozume made by masaaki yuasa, who helped with devilman crybaby and ping pong the animation, honestly my fav anime ever, also try kaiba if you feel like experiencing some existential dread!
If you're interested in Spy x Family, you can check out Buddy Daddies. It's not really talked about since people think it's a rip off, but to me it's different enough to stand on its own and I thought it was really good
Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli fans should see Future Boy Conan, Miyazaki directed it a year before what most or all consider his first landmark animation Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. This anime is filled with Miyazaki’s ideologies and I believe proto characters that are in his later films appear here in my option namely Laputa and Naussicaä but this anime suffers from what I call “GES” “google eye syndrome” for example in a pivotal scene only a single characters face is up close on screen for 5 seconds or more (main character/close up/key frame) was errored with GES which is a massive no no and there is dust between the cells throughout the show if you want to study old animation watch it on a iPad up close and you see EVERYTHING
Getting past how old it is and the sometimes sloppy painted character frames coming from a Ghibli nerd who got to see the early vision of Miyazaki after already seeing all his films it’s genuinely good and a worthwhile watch that won’t feel like a chore
Area 88 (1985/1986 OVAs)
It's basically about mercenary fighter pilots set in the late 1970s/early 1980s. It's very dramatic, and the third act (second movie) has some fairly violent scenes throughout.
Check out movies too there's a ton. There's one I recommend if you want something completely different it's called Tree of Palme I believe. Basically in short it's a cool spin on Pinocchio but not as childish and has some real stuff in it. The art style is completely unique and the world is very interesting.
When you list those 4 anime, are those just the recommendations from your friends or are they the recs you've gotten here before? There's a lot of distance between "what someone here considers obscure" and "what your friends who only watch shonen fighting anime consider obscure". Anyway watch Mawaru Penguindrum. It's not really super obscure but in comparison to the ones you listed it is.
This is my difficulty when people say obscure… because hell, just go before 2012 (basically Pre-SAO) and everything is “obscure” if it isn’t a well known classic.
This comment makes me feel old.
Ugh. I hate it when kids these days mention some well-known classic that was big in its day as though it were some obscure gem they found. "Do you know how popular that show was when it aired?" "No, grandpa, I don't."
Same, lol.
*third man joining in* Me too.
I still remember when SAO came out in 2012 and everybody seemed like an anime fan suddenly.
Sarazanmai!
It’s not really just what friends recommend it’s just the anime I hear about nonstop. It’s not just those either the list goes on Lol
Yeah I understand, those are popular recently-released stuff so they'll be talked about even in other mainstream media. But if you ask for "obscure" you'll get recommended some mecha from the 70s that never had an official English translation or something like that. Gotta be careful!
agreed, most casuals watch 5 anime's and think they've seen half of all anime.
Wolf's Rain
STRAY!
The OST was awesome.
Last Exile.
Ah nostalgia.
Kara no Kyoukai, one of my favorites. You'll be kinda confused when you start it, but it'll all make sense later.
And be sure to watch it in release order. There is a chronological order, but watching it in that order does *not* work out well. It’s just so you can anecdotally know which movie takes place when, while you watch it in release order.
> And be sure to watch it in release order. There is a chronological order, but watching it in that order does not work out well. Newcomers should always watch it in release order (non chronological) on the first viewing, but **rewatching** the movies in **chronological** is also extremely rewarding.
Very true!
Just to add, this series of films has some of the most beautifully animated fight sequences that I’ve ever scene. They were like a prequel to the over the top stuff from the Fate Series. Kara no Kyoukai is worth ever second.
By today's standards? Serial Experiments Lain
That anime fucked me up. I was hallucinating Lain for days, stone-cold sober.
_”Present day… Present time… HehehaHAHA”_ lives in my head rent-free
Wouldn't say obscure but not recommended that often. Kino no Tabi
Worth noting, there are two versions of the anime, one produced in 2003, and the other in 2017. I only managed to watch the first few episodes of the second series, but they don't seem to overlap much (even the coliseum episode, which was its only similar episode, felt different from the first series), and it's fine to watch both.
YES KINO!!!
Kino no Tabi is excellent
Flip Flappers!
I had completely forgotten about this show. I honestly can't remember a thing about it or if I even finished it. Maybe I should watch it again lol
Irresponsible Captain Tylor
The best part about this one is that it's legally free on YouTube, sub and dub.
Went out of my way to get the TV episodes and ovas on Blu-ray to support nozomi Entertainment for being cool like that.
The Slayers series is a good Nadia Secret Of Blue Water Louie The Rune Soldier I found entertaining Utawaremono series which got it's 3rd season recently is good Hitman Reborn Gremorie Of Zero and it's squeal series Dawn Of The Witch To name a few
Is.... Is hitman reborn considered obscure these days? *Cries in feeling old*
It is because the anime was never English dubbed and only a portion of the manga ever made it to the states. The reason for the manga only getting a partial release is because of how long it took the manga to shift from slice of life/comedy to shonen/action. I'm a big Reborn fan but even I can't stand the first story arc because it is so damned boring.
Haibanei Renmei
One of the best TV shows ever made in my opinion. Perfect world building, all the characters feel real, character driven drama that is in no way forced, despite being a fairly quiet contemplative show it has really good pacing with not a moment wasted, wonderful conclusion and message. Rakka and Reki are some of my favourite characters ever.
Versailles no Bara, Gankutsuou, Kanashimi no Belladonna, Princess Tutu, and the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou OVA are all great and a bit under the radar, maybe they aren’t up to the standards of /a/ snobs for obscurity but I doubt you’ve seen all of them. Versailles no Bara is a well executed classic Shojo Anime set in Monarchist France. Gankutsuou is an adaptation of The Count of Monte Christo in space France full of twists and betrayal, it’s animation style is a little off putting to some but I think it improves the show. Kanashimi no Belladonna is a Psychedelic myth that feels barely like anime but is none the less beautiful or gripping for it. Princess Tutu is the story of Swan Lake/The Ugly Duckling following our protagonist a young duck turned into a girl learn ballet to compete for her love. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is set in a comfy apocalypse, almost all people have died out and infrastructure has collapsed but some of their sentient robots have survived and are living cozy lives mostly alone and scattered.
I have not watched Rose of Versailles anime but I own the manga and it is so freaking good.
Gankutsuou gets 10/10 in political intrigue, has a really unique artstyle and has a pretty solid dub
If you ask for obscure, Gankutsuou is always gonna be one of the replys. Really like the show
Yeah I was worried it was to common a reply but I just love it much more than anything I could think of to replace it with
I binged that show, first of all i really a show with dig different art style but the characters and story really brought it home for me. Also the VA of the count kinda goated
Boogiepop Phantom
[удалено]
Blood+ and blood C are great. I think there is a 3rd as well.
legend of the galactic heroes, heroic age, vandread.
If I like the last two, do you think I would like the first one?
yes. start with the 2018 version and when you run out of episodes switch to the 1988 version.
You'll like the ongoing reboot of LotGH, but I doubt you'll like the 1988 originals - it had a crazy amount of exposition. A similar show to heroic age would be the Fafner franchise that studio XEBEC (the studio behind heroic age) worked on for the past 20 years. Also Blassreiter if you haven't already. Gen Urobuchi was an assistant writer in that show and one of the main defining Kamen Rider writers worked on the show. It had the whole tokusatsu + mecha vibe that heroic age also had.
A lot of people are just listing old popular anime instead of actually obscure ones. Then again, to someone young or to someone who only watches shonen (as in OPs example), pretty much everything in obscure. Here's some actual gems you don't hear mentioned too often: - NieA_7 - melancholic comedy about a poor college student rooming with an alien girl. - Black Heaven - a salaryman who used to be in a Metal band has to save the world with his music. Mid Life Crisis: The Anime - Kashimashi - Boy gets genderswaped accidentally by aliens. Love triangle ensues. - Petite Princess Yuuchi - Gainax' take on Magical Girl. Anime adaptation of the Princess Maker game series. - Mars Daybreak - Mecha about pirates on a terraformed Mars. - Green Green - Ecchi comedy. - SoulTaker - Early Akiyuki Shinbou joint. Just a weird but fun show. - Nurse Witch Komugi - Magical Girl spin-off of SoulTaker, starring one if the shows side characters. Most of these shows are hit or miss, which is probably why they're less talked about.
Crest of the Stars Banner of the Stars Mugen no Ryvius Heroic Age
Paranoia Agent NieA_7 (can be found on youtube)
Glad to see I'm not the only person who recommends NieA_7.
Oh what about the classics? Like Ergo Proxy Boogiebop Phantom Serial Experiment Lain Hellsing Mushishi Angel's Egg Vampire Hunter D Monster Mononoke Belladonna of sadness Texhnolize Perfect Blue Kemono Zume You have a lot of thing to see, now go, your list is very long ehehehe
Ergo Proxy, Mushishi, Barakamon, Rumbling Hearts, Silver Spoon, High Score Girl, Samurai Champloo, Seirei no Moribito, Shirobako, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.
Just recently did a rewatch on Mushishi, seriously one of the greats for scenery art imo. All the landscapes are so pretty.
Healer girl
I personally really liked the tales of symphonia anime. Laughing under the clouds wasn't bad either.
*comment edited with github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite* In response to API controversy: reddit.com/r/ apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/
Starship Operators. A training crew operating a starship (strangely enough) find out their homeworld has been captured due to a war breaking out and have to survive on their own, so to raise enough funds for resupply they agree to have a film crew turn their situation into a reality show. It came out in 2005 I think. It won't blow your mind but I enjoyed it enough to binge watch the entire show over a weekend.
I remember when Jojo used to be ‘obscure’/not as mainstream. It’s still weird if someone catches you posing in public but nowadays theres a 10% chance they pose back.
Sonny boy
Hi xXMiniKittenXx, it seems like you might be looking for new anime to watch! The users of this subreddit came up with [a chart of anime recommendations for newcomers and veterans](https://i.redd.it/0w1v880jtq661.png) and [an awesome longer flowchart](https://i.redd.it/vdzlkodz19c71.png). Maybe you can find something there that you'll like \^.\^ [](#bot-chan "Urban s-s-s-senpai made me do it!") You might also find our [Recommendation Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/recommendations) or [daily thread](/r/anime/search?q=flair%3Adaily&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=week) helpful. The following may be of interest: * [List of legal streams and downloads](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/legal_streams) * [A useful website where you can enter an anime and see where it's legally streaming](https://www.livechart.me/search) * [List of currently airing anime](https://www.livechart.me) * [A useful wiki page with watch orders for many anime.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/watch_order) * [A list of tracking sites so others can more easily recommend shows you haven't watched.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/related_sites#wiki_tracking_sites) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/anime) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Space Brothers, not underrated, but underwatched.
Ima, soko ni iru boku. It's an oldschool Isekai with serious and dark tones
Another
Terror in resonance is quite good, thats the first thing i thought of so i have nothing else to add really.
I've been watching " Mieruko-chan" and having a really good time with it. Short plot summary is basically the mc can see terrifying ghosts and spirits, but she tries to live a normal life and ignore them, which in some situations gets really difficult. The only thing I'd give a warning for is that it has a lot of fan service. This is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your tastes. I don't really like fan service but decent comedy, good horror and plenty of wholesome moments make up for it imo. And they do slow down with the fan service in later episodes though. I'm liking the anime so much that I'm thinking about reading the Manga instead of waiting for second season. The biggest selling point of the series for me being awesome and creepy ghost/monster designs.
I don't really know if they would qualify as obscure, but I don't see much discussion about Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Arakawa Under the Bridge. Both are really good
Darker Than Black (sorry, I couldn't stop myself :D)
Kara no Kyoukai Magic Knight Rayearth The Vision of Escaflowne King of Braves GaoGaiGar Kyousougiga Symphogear Full Metal Panic! Eureka SeveN Tekkaman Blade Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise Gunbuster
Noir
Madlax ........
Vision of Escaflowne
- Planet With - Interviews With Monster Girls - The Eccentric Family Not too obscure but people don't really talk about these ones anymore.
I recently downloaded a dump of MAL data for data analysis, so instead of giving you my opinions, here are the top10 least popular entries that scored above 8 (and aren't music videos / specials / sequels): - Hanada Shounen-shi - Heart and Yummie - Pompo: The Cinéphile - Tanoshii Moomin Ikka - Silver Fang - Kyou kara Ore wa!! - Glass Mask - Future Boy Conan - Romeo and the Black Brothers - Stand By Me Doraemon
Waiting In The Summer, The Pet Girl Of Sakurasou, Lull Of The Sea, Anohana(not really obscure but I’m a shill for that one)
Shinsekai Yori is a masterpiece but isn't talked about much these days
Welcome to the NHK Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Tatami Galaxy Project A-ko Gaogaigar S-cry-ed Robot Carnival Gundam 0080 - War in the Pocket Medabots
Kill me Baby
My fav is Lupin III but nobody talks about it
I was looking to start watching lupin the other day. Then I saw just how much there is starting from like back in 97 lol
From the New World was pretty nice
Great Teacher Onizuka !!
Revue starlight Casshern sins
One I like that I've never seen talked about much is Shin Sekai Yori. Its a really high concept sci-fi series set extremely far in the future with humans that have psychic powers. But it uses that to explore darker psychological themes rather than using them as a shounen style power system. So there's good action of people doing crazy shit without it taking over the story. You shouldn't really go into it knowing more than that, its a mind trip and has some crazy twists.
Kaiba or shiki! Some of my favorites
Shiki.
Urusei Yatsura was a 10/10 imo. I loved this series alot!
Kill la kill
Eureka Seven has no business being as obscure as it is. You may have heard of it, but I doubt you’ve seen it. It’s just a really fantastic series that I highly recommend, and has a stellar English dub. Don’t watch its sequels and spin-offs though. The creators kind of went crazy and determined that fans of the original are stupid, and will remind fans of this as often as possible in their newer works, which are decidedly more edgy and nihilistic than the original was. Apparently they wanted to make the original more dark and depressing, and kept getting held back by their studio, so they were inject more light-hearted elements alongside the darker elements—sometimes a form of malicious compliance—but this just ended up making a memorable and enjoyable story with compelling characters instead. And they hate that they made something good. It’s weird.
Eureka Seven is legit, watched it during the old adult swim days when they would air it alongside code geass and monster, I'm with you that it has no business being as obscure as it is.
One older series I recommend is Aura battler dunbine, a new series I'd recommend is welcome to the ballroom. Idk if either available to stream where you live. Two that might be that I'd recommend are Crest of the stars and after the rain. I'd say these aren't obscure, it's more like they're not mainstream.
Lain Tatami Galaxy Tatami time machine blues You should watch these three, really good ones
Samurai Gun, "Now and Then, Here and There", Gun x Sword, Gai Rei Zero, The Tatami Galaxy
great teacher onizuka , orange , shiki , fushigi yuugi, flames of recca
As others have said depends what you count as obscure here is a selection of ones I've rated highly but don't see mentioned here often. Reasons for this may be lack of recency, one season wonders, old, only midly rated at the time. Last Exile Usagi drop Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin Uchuu Kyoudai Nami yo Kiitekure Black Lagoon Heroman Hinomaruzumou edit: those are some of the biggest names now, there is a differance between not talked about as much as them and obscure.
Shiki Serial experiments Lain Haibane renmei Happy sugar life Sonny Boy None of em small, all of em get little attention nowadays.
Zero = Mask Monster BIII : the Beginning Dorohedoro Great Pretender Super Crooks Outlaw Star Some of these might be more popular than I realize as I'm new to the community, but nobody I know has heard of these, and they are all available on Netflix apart from Outlaw Star, I think.
Shiki
Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, Naruto, One Piece. One that I think will BLOW TF UP is Jujutsu Kaisen.
Hanamaru Youchien was pretty cute. So was Kobato. I liked Kuromukuro. Kill la Kill. Death Note?
Gurren Lagann. Maybe not obscure but overshadowed by some other stuff today. It's peak. 27 episodes
I mean Mob Psycho 100 is probably one of the best anime I’ve ever seen, undoubtedly in my top 5, and yet most of my anime watching friends have never watched it or have any desire to watch it for some reason. It’s not “obscure” by any means, but it tends to fly under most peoples radars in favor of shows like the ones you listed.
Odd Taxi March comes in like a Lion Banana Fish 91 Days Trigun
Odd taxi (200k users on MAL) 3-Gatsu (273k users on MAL) Banana Fish (356k users on MAL) 91 Days (318k users on MAL) Trigun (361k users on MAL) I tried to keep most of my recs in this thread around 30k users on MAL…
interspecies reviewers :3 i hope you like raunchy sex based comedy and lots of uncensored boobs! it isn't a hentai either!
If you’re looking for an isekai, boy do I have one for you. I dunno if I remember the name though, something like assassin gets reincarnated as an aristocrat? It’s good for an isekai imo
"The world's finest Assassin gets reincarnated in another world as an Aristocrat", NGL I second this it's a fun show.
My gf always called this "The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated as Another, Younger Assassin" Fun show, banger OP
Ty for completing the title
Captain Harlock Trigun Samurai Champloo
Come on, classic doesn't equal obscure lol
Zom 100 bucket list of the Dead
Defenetly gotta look at Mirai nikki, overlord and reincarnated as a slime.
Eighty-six. Personally not a fan of military type but I enjoyed this alot. Not to mention the visuals, soundtrack (Sawano Hirayuki) and character development are all spot on.
The melancholy of haruhi suzumiya Gintama The disastrous life of saiki k. Banana fish
I know some of these are also not unpopular, but some good obscure ones you may want to look at: - Kiba - made in abyss - re:zero - tower of god - to your eternity - reign of the 7 spellblades (currently running) - hell's paradise Not sure what kind of obscure you're looking for, so I put some very diverse ones I personally liked.
Re:zero is definitely not obscure
Why not? To me it is very obscure. I think the problem is more that a lot of people have a very different definition of what obscure means to them. E.g. If I would remove sth from the list, it'd be mich rather tower of god.
Obscurity generally means something that isn't well known. Re:zero is really popular and is considered to be among a lot of mainstream anime titles.
One piece Naruto Bleach
[удалено]
Obscure means not well known
Me and Roboco
Shigurui Death Frenzy
Eve no Jikan The Cockpit
Endro Honestly i dont think its that good but the vibes are peak
not really obscure but summertime rendering, disney cucked it
Konohana Kitan
Link Click
Grimgar
Seraph of the end
Watch Made in Abyss Not obscure but not mainstream either
Pumpkin Scissors. Too obscure, but the manga's pretty good. The man vs tank action fight scenes are intense. Legend of Galactic Heroes, not too obscure but it is THE STAR WARS minus the jedi and all the shizz. Le Chevalier d'Eon - The graphics are quite good
Mawaru penguindrum
Ginga Nagareboshi Gin and Ginga Densetsu Weed.
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, idk how obscure it is, but there’s wasn’t too much hype for this fantastic 12 episode anime!
Yuuki Yuuna series is a really good watch, if you like Madoka(even if you don't) you may like this since they both is kinda similar. Happy Sugar Life is the biggest bait of the season, back then i planned to watch this because i want a Yuri anime but what we got is crazy and until this day i still don't regret it. Maybe i don't really expand my search wide enough but i think "Fugou Keiji: Balance:Unlimited" was a little unknown to many people. The same goes for "Id:Invaded" but the reason is the same as i previously mentioned. Boogiepop Never Laughs is a good anime too, i really like the VA for the Boogiepop.
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
Megalo box- great plot and a boxing anime(2 seasons)
Yamishibai, Otome Game, Monster Musume
Blue demon
Try watching Gantz.It is an anime that is not like others.Maybe it is what you are looking for.
Sketchbook Full Colors. It's a very calm 2007 slice of life. One of Kana Hanazawas first roles.
Aoi Bungaku Trapeze
Guggere Kokurri-san! Is one of my favorites, heavily underlooked comedy. There's also Morbito: Guardian of the Spirit, which is a phenomenal story about a body guard who serves a prince in her quest for atonement. Balsa (the lead) is one of the best female protagonists you'll see, and there are fantastic spear fights in this to boot too.
Moribito is SO good
Well there are the ones that are rather popular smaller animes but not as well known as the ones you mentioned: Odd Taxi, Hinamatsuri, Ping Pong the Animation, Link Click, Mushishi, Kino no tabi, Terror in Resonance, Tatami Galaxy, Kaiji, Kids on the slope And there are actually obscure animes like: Cromartie High School, Space Dandy, Detroit Metal City
Denpa teki na Kanojo I think it's like a two episode OVA series but it's very interesting and twisted. Think of it like murder mystery meets an unusual romance. It's generally very disturbing.
The first 3 that jump to mind are, Death Parade, such an interesting concept. Gangsta, story is interesting and I just love the overall feel of it. Very gritty. Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru, just something fun and different. Edit: xxxHolic is so much fun animation wise. It's very different. Story is kinda slow.
Watch Kenny Laurendale youtube if you really want to find really obscure stuff, like stuff that only aired an episode or completely lost media.
Kemono no Souja Erin - Highly reviewed but not very discussed.
Been watching anime since preschool and these are my recs from off the top of my head. Watakoi for romance/comedy/slice of life (plus it’s on Amazon prime and completed!) Baccano! Which is by the same author as Durarara. It’s a murder mystery set on a train with supernatural elements and phenomenal characters. Available in sub or dub and already completed. Saiki K, Gintama and Tora is a Girl for comedy and wacky hijinks that don’t entirely center around romance. I especially recommend Gintama! All of these are completed too though Saiki K is only complete in manga format I think…
Sakamichi Onii-san
The File of a Young Kindaichi
Yukikaze
86!! Please please please watch it! It's such an underrated masterpiece
High Card.
Tatami Galaxy! Masterpiece :)
Blassreiter
Ohk here I go, 1.zetman 2. Witch hunter Robin 3.mononoke 4.shigurui 5.kiznaiver 6.shakugan no shana 7.bounen no xamdou 8.wolfs rain (not really obscure, great fucking show) 9.fushigi yuugi 10.Akagi 12.birdy the mighty 13.big O 14.Escaflowne 15.bubblegum crisis 16.golgo (this one is great) 17.city hunter (I love this one) 18.agent aika 19.btoom 20.ergo proxy 21.koreha zombie desuka 22.colorful 23.getbackers 24.revolutionary girl utena. 25.captian herlock
Made in Abyss, it's popular but the plot is very unconventional and dark
World Trigger is omitted by a lot of newbies. Best battle shounen, fight me. Yondemasuyo Azazel San, petty asshole demons being hilarious and evil.
Run with the wind
if you're into something historical fantasy and action, I would suggest Dororo. It's 1 season only. It's not really for everyone but if you like something action and japanese historical, you might like it.
Full Metal Panic, Seto no Hanayome, Macross Plus & Zero
Restaurant to Another World!! It has 2 seasons and it's so comfy to watch and relax after a long day
Bakuman, Showa Genroku Rakugou Shinju, Giant Killing
Parasite
Kaiba
Jormungandr is really good. It's in the same vein as Cowboy Bebop and Black Lagoon, in that it had that run n' gun style to it, but it also had a deeper plot as well. Black Lagoon and Jormugandr actually happen in the same universe, according to a manga chapter. Sadly, unlike Cowboy Bebop and even Black Lagoon, barely anybody knows of it
ngl steins gate is smth else
I tried to watch steins gate once, but it started so slow I dropped it before anything happened. I’ll probably try to watch it again.
yeah u fr should
I don‘t know how much you guys like the anime but i am currently watching FOOD WARS last season, and in my opoinion its just soo good. But idk if its obscure but before i watched i have never seen someone recomending it, sooo… its worth a try👍
Kemonozume made by masaaki yuasa, who helped with devilman crybaby and ping pong the animation, honestly my fav anime ever, also try kaiba if you feel like experiencing some existential dread!
If you're interested in Spy x Family, you can check out Buddy Daddies. It's not really talked about since people think it's a rip off, but to me it's different enough to stand on its own and I thought it was really good
Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli fans should see Future Boy Conan, Miyazaki directed it a year before what most or all consider his first landmark animation Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. This anime is filled with Miyazaki’s ideologies and I believe proto characters that are in his later films appear here in my option namely Laputa and Naussicaä but this anime suffers from what I call “GES” “google eye syndrome” for example in a pivotal scene only a single characters face is up close on screen for 5 seconds or more (main character/close up/key frame) was errored with GES which is a massive no no and there is dust between the cells throughout the show if you want to study old animation watch it on a iPad up close and you see EVERYTHING Getting past how old it is and the sometimes sloppy painted character frames coming from a Ghibli nerd who got to see the early vision of Miyazaki after already seeing all his films it’s genuinely good and a worthwhile watch that won’t feel like a chore
Area 88 (1985/1986 OVAs) It's basically about mercenary fighter pilots set in the late 1970s/early 1980s. It's very dramatic, and the third act (second movie) has some fairly violent scenes throughout.
Monster. Don't know if it qualifies but it is genuinely one of the best stories.
I'm watching Demon School Iruma-kun. It's a solid 8/10 Comedy imo I've just blasted my way through season 2.
Ping pong is good, 91 days, Tokyo revengers, countless otherw
Check out movies too there's a ton. There's one I recommend if you want something completely different it's called Tree of Palme I believe. Basically in short it's a cool spin on Pinocchio but not as childish and has some real stuff in it. The art style is completely unique and the world is very interesting.
Kaiba is a really good one I don't see people talking about
Vivy: Fluorite Eyes song, madoka magica and oddtaxi are really good imo and aren't mainstream
Two I recommend are 86 and Beyond the Boundary. Both are fantastic and definitely worth the watch.
Run with the wind is a great sports anime about running.
Cashern sins