Anime series everyone should watch at least once!

Similarly to my last blog, I'll be giving some recommendations, but this time anime ones. I won't list OVA/OAV/movie-exclusive anime though, as those are for another blog (I have a LOT of them)! This time, I'm focusing more on lesser known (or almost completely unknown) anime series that are a good or great watch, but will list some more recent ones that went completely under the radar.


Aoi Sekai no Chuushin De
Starting with a pretty average one, but for people on this forum it can prove to be a fun watch. Imagine a medieval world with two kingdoms based on Nintendo and Sega fighting for supremacy, with characters being based on characters from the respective company's games and having superpowers, with the added bonus of seeing hotties getting their clothes blasted away every so often!:P

.hack//Roots , .hack//SIGN , .hack//Versus - The Thanatos Report , .hack//Liminality , .hack//Gift , .hack//G.U. Returner , .hack//Legend of the Twilight , .hack//Quantum
Yeah yeah, I know, expected considering it was in my last blog (hell, if I make a game suggestion blog you can expect these to be in there:rofl2:), but as a huge fan of the series that started almost as many cliches as Akira, it's a must watch for everyone who's interested in game-based anime or anime that blend computers with the real world! If you aren't feeling like watching them all, give SIGN, Liminality and Roots a try in that order. Expect some of the most amazing music you will ever get to hear in an anime when watching these too, so fitting ("GOD Diva" for example is EPIC)!

Grenadier
Sexy busty blonde chick kicks ass with a revolver in a medieval-Japan-like world AND has kinda interesting characters and plot, so what else could you ask for?

Bokurano
Fight to save the Earth from getting cleansed with different Earths getting pitted against one another and being represented by a giant mecha, with home and away fights. While the main premise isn't that interesting, DEFINITELY give this a watch, as it has some of the best character development out of all anime out there, despite having a huge variety of characters with deep backgrounds! This anime mainly revolves around a certain group of early-teen kids, with greatly varying backstories and can get pretty damn dark at times!

K (aka K Project)
Plenty people know of this, but most of the new generation of weebs doesn't know it, so give it a watch. It's edginess overload, with interesting characters and a sort of comical hook which keeps you along until the very end. I'm referring to the original series though, not the second one (which is decent at best).

Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi (aka RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyne)
First off, heads up, this is an R-rated show as it contains a pretty damn nice amount of nudity, but also it can get VERY gruesome! This anime takes place around 1990 (but can vary a LOT throughout), in a real world-like place, but one where angels exist among the population. Angels are created from regular people seemingly randomly, with female ones gaining immortality (lucky them... except for all the torture in this show, lol:rofl2:), while males one gain immense strength and other abilities but can only live for a single week. The show follows the stories of two females and can get really interesting!

Rinne no Lagrange
A classic story that takes elements from mecha shows like Evangelion, about a schoolgirl ending up piloting a mecha and protecting her city against enormous aliens, so really cliche, but this one is good! And while this isn't a comedy or anything, whatever humor it has in it is actually funny compared to the cringey humor other shows like it have. On top of everything, it has some beautiful visuals if you are into that kind of anime watching, with a touch of fanservice...

Rozen Maiden (Seasons 1-3 and Zurückspulen)
A show about dolls that have been imbued with life by their creator for the purpose of finding a master to draw power from and fight until only one remains, who will turn into a girl that goes by the name of "Alice", a supposedly perfect girl that their creator has been longing for. A really fun show to watch, an interesting plot, beautiful visuals despite being outdated, AMAZING soundtracks (all 3 openings and especially "Kamp":bow: among others) and the two most important dolls being gorgeous, especially the "evil ones" (with Suigintou being by far one of my favorite characters of all time)!

Togainu no Chi
Here we have an anime with everything it needed to be epic, but falling really short because of bad production. However, it's still a great watch, despite the bad character development and even worse animation! It's about a guy getting framed for something and as means out, he gets sent to a secluded city of undesirables, where people murder one another without a second thought and tries to find a way out of it all. If you decide to watch this series, watch it through to the end, even if it starts losing you, as the towards the climax you will see that awesome powers can make even a badly animated series look incredible!:P

__________________________________________________________________________________
Welp, I'm tired, so I'll leave it at this for now... I mainly got tired trying to decide what series to recommend as I have HUNDREDS of them I want to, but I'm too lazy to write descriptions of...;-; I'll probably make a part 2 sometime soon, but don't count on it, may instead do the OVA/OAV/movie one first! Anyway, let me know what you think about these recommendation blogs of mine down in the comments and also whether you have watched these or what you thought of them after you watched them due to this blog!
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Made in Abyss was amazing, but you should really read the manga (recommended it in my blog about manga series if you go take a look), as it's considerably further ahead and it's gotten to a really interesting part!

About Angel Beats though, to me it was decent at best. As for the "sad ending" everyone and their mothers say they cried and all that, it was so cliche and pointless that I felt nothing of it. Watch the ending of Hanasaku Iroha (which isn't even a sad one, rather cheerful one) and you will cry more despite nothing actually bad having happened:P
 
@SANIC Kimiuso didn't make me cry, but did get me feeling kinda down after I watched it. Was a very good watch btw!
 
Dead Man's Wonderland.. Not sure if it is as well known as the big 3 (Naruto, DBZ, One Piece), but it is a great anime. Also, Blue Gender is another great anime set in a post apocalyptic world.
 
@gman666 If you mean Deadman Wonderland (that one with the "branches of sin" superpowers involving blood), it's slightly known, but the anime isn't really that good beside the epic opening song. I suggested the manga in a previous blog, so check that out, adds a lot more to the story. Blue Gender isn't that known though, but it's a pretty good one, so yeah, that one is a good suggestion!

@Ericthegreat How is DBZ a "hidden gem" exactly? If anything, it's more famous than even Akira!
 
@Ericthegreat Nope, nobody mentioned that I think and it's a pretty damn cool show, too bad the story gets retarded halfway through... It went from a revenge story to a story about a butthurt dude with a giant mecha that can't accept the death of his wife was for the greater good:P
 
Well, what follows is a list of "hidden-gems" together with some very well known ones (I think) that for some reason I don't listen enough about...

Kaiba,
an interesting story in a world where memories can be extracted from a body and stored, later to be plugged into a different body.

Chihayafuru,
Some kids get attached to each other due to Karuta, they grow up and get together again due to Karuta... really, their stupid life is Karuta, but still it is good. PS: Karuta.
I don't think this one is unknown, but who knows... Also, I don't think there will ever be a season 3, but I love this shit, and the manga is quite nice.

Cross Game,
Best Mitsuru Adachi anime IMHO, you know if Adachi Mitsuru was there, it is about Baseball, Koshien, some romance, etc. (mostly). I don't know what else to say not to spoil it. The first episode should be enough to sell it.

Hensemi (the OVAs),
Don't judge me. For some reason I found the perversion on this one really funny.

Interstella5555: The 5tory of The 5ecret 5tar 5ystem,
This is not a long videoclip, this is a movie. /s
Also it is great.
Also it is well known. Well, well.
Also if Leiji Matsumoto was there, this is anime, no matter how french it may be.

Kara no Kyoukai OVA series,
Well... already I don't know what is "hidden" anymore.
Sure this is not hidden for any nasuverse fan, but perhaps it is for the general public? No idea. It is great weird action-supernatural inside the nasuverse mythos.

Lovely Complex,
Not sure if this is well known.
It is a very funny highschool romcom with Osakan protagonists.

Master Keaton,
I already named it before but I never gave a description.
A half Japanese/British ex-SAS member, archeology professor, turned into an insuranse investigator (but still holding dreams for his archeology research) goes around his everyday in a very clear midlife crisis.
There is a lot in this series, action included.
The anime is somewhat episodic and a little over the place regarding the story, it does not conclude but it still is great. I've heard the manga is awesome, also in its conclusion, I've not read it.

Monster,
I already named it before but I never gave a description.
A young Japanese genius (yet quite idealistic) brain surgeon is working in West Germany during the end days of the cold war era. His idealistic views that every life is worth the same and worth saving leads him to losing his position, but also, it seems a child he saves ends up being a monster...
Hmmm... horrible description, I can't come up with something better, expect conspiracy, mind games, thriller, this series is fucking great.

Space Brothers,
Beautiful slice of life, slow as fuck, about two brothers that want to go to space together, and a lot more.

Mirai Shounen Conan,
This should be well known, as this is made by Hayao Miyazaki, but still I think this series was good but I don't think many people have seen it.
Adventure/action in a post-apocallyptic world. It is pretty much targeted to children, but it is very enjoyable still.

Redline,
Well, if this one is not well known then I don't even...
Something like wacky races on LSD. This is visual orgasm.

Shion no Ou,
Again, this series is probably well known...
A kid that lost her voice in a traumatic event is a genius Shogi player that tries to advance in the profesional Shogi world while clues to that traumatic event and its perpetrator slowly become clear.

Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings,
Yeah, I know this is probably an ad for the Japanese SDF made into an anime series, but still I found it very enjoyable.
It goes about a team of rescuers and their helicopter, well, going to rescue people in danger, in accidents, etc.
 
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Good list, all good anime, although some notes... Kara no Kyoukai is both famous and a series of movies, not OVAs, still awesome nonetheless! Redline is second most famous anime about driving after Initial D, so it's not "hidden", but a very enjoyable shroom trip:P

PS: Funny descriptions, good job:yay:
 
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@Ericthegreat
Dragon Ball Z is only good if you watch it in Japanese. Besides that Kai is better.
 
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I would say Dragon Ball Z is like that quite big half rotten apple, and DB Kai is the same apple, only people tried to cut and discard the most rotten parts.

Not sure if that really means better... not as bad perhaps.
 
Both are average to be honest and just make you want to end it already, but Kai lets you end it 100 episodes sooner...
 
Also Kai has a way better English Dub than Z. The screams give me chills.
 
Who in their right mind watches DB dubbed? Japanese only and it's still hardly bearable! You must really hate yourself...
 
I watch it mostly subbed. I'd say the Japanese voices are amazing but the English Dub is good. Love Freezas and Whis's JP Voice
 
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I never minded Goku's voice or any voice to be honest, but I did and still do mind all the stupid screaming...
 
tbh, I'm the strange type who likes dub rather than dub, so I never had to here the actress who played goku
 

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