15 Underappreciated Anime III

Okay, so we're onto our third entry in the Underappreciated Anime series. I found a few more titles—let's see how many of these you've seen. Before we do that, however, a huge 'thanks' is in order.

Why? Because the Underappreciated Anime series has officially blown my Underappreciated Films series out of the water! Over the last year or so that I've been writing with Vocal I put two big projects together on films and anime.

My first big project, the Underappreciated Films series started in July last year and is my longest-running project.

The first entry in my underappreciated anime series was published by Digital Fox Media, and updated over a few months to reach the 15 entry mark. The second installment was published on Vocal a few months later.

Here's where the 'thank you' is relevant, for the longest time the article with the highest number of views on my profile was 5 Underappreciated Sci-Fi Films which hovered around 150 views or so (it's more now but that's not the point is it). I thought that it was going to hold onto its spot, so imagine my surprise when I checked the view counter a few weeks ago and found that 15 Underappreciated Anime II has the highest score—292 views!

A perfect birthday surprise, so thanks guys and gals! Enjoy the list!

15: 'Lady Death'

Kicking off this list we have Lady Death.

This film was extremely disappointing to me—especially after I read some of the original Lady Death comics!

The story follows Hope, the daughter of a warlord, who ends up in hell when she's wrongfully persecuted for witchcraft and has to do battle with the devil for the throne of hell.

Now, the film was released by ADV Films in 2004 and was generally negatively received. The writing and artwork was kind of 'meh,' and much of the backstory was cut out. In the years since its release, Lady Death has seemingly developed a cult following of sorts.

There are some good things to the film but for the most part; this film is largely ignored.

14: 'Elfen Lied'

Elfen Lied... what can I say about this series? Well, it's memorable for one thing, but it's also definitely not for the squeamish!

Lucy is a diclonius, a human with powerful psychic abilities and horns on her head... yes, horns. She escapes from a secret lab facility, killing everything in sight—think of the prom scene and its aftermath in Carrie and you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.

This psychotic psychic is shot on her way out, and ends up being found with amnesia by a young man and his cousin who take her in. I won't say anything else about the story itself because I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it and still want to.

I will tell you right now that if you are even remotely squeamish; this might not be a fun watch. It's only 12 or 13 episodes so it's not a long series but it's a brutal one to watch. While the plot, animation, music and fight scenes are fantastic; almost every character is ridiculously cruel. This means that you don't really feel bad for them when Lucy goes bananas and starts killing them.

Not one of my favorites but not a bad watch—if you have a strong stomach.

13: 'Kaichou Wa Maid Sama!'

Misaki Ayuzawa is the student council president of Seika High School, and has a reputation for being hard to please. She's also secretly working at a maid cafe to make ends meet.

When her secret is discovered (because of course it is), she freaks out and hilarity ensues.

I've read the manga that this series was based on and adaptation-wise it's very close to its source material. That shouldn't be much of a surprise but somehow it is... anyways I've seen both the English and Japanese versions of the series and both are good—although I personally like the Japanese dub better.

The series ran for 26 episodes, from April 1 to September 23, 2010, and is a fun watch that sadly doesn't seem to get much attention these days.

12: 'Knights of Sidonia'

Knights of Sidonia follows a young man named Tanikaze, as he pilots a giant robot called the Tsugumori in battle against giant alien lifeforms called Gauna to protect a living spaceship called Sidonia.

A more modern title, this one seems to be largely unknown to anyone outside of sci-fi fan circles. It's kinda sad to be honest.

The music and characters are great, the story is interesting and well-executed and the battle scenes are incredibly well done! It is a bit hard to get into, but if you can get through the first episode or two that's pretty much all you need to do to get past the initial awkwardness of the series.

All in all, Knights of Sidonia deserves a lot more attention.

11: 'Highschool of the Dead'

Based on the manga of the same name, Highschool of the Dead follows a group of teenagers as they escape the zombie apocalypse and make their way through Tokyo to reunite with their families.

The first complaint that I hear when I discuss this series with someone is about the fan service.

"There's too much fan service and not enough story!"

I can't really disagree with that statement either because the show is shamelessly sexual when it comes to the many female characters. Now just a quick note for those who are unfamiliar with the term: fan service is essentially where the film/series includes material for the fan base i.e. Stan Lee cameos in the MCU films. In regard to anime, it's typically something along the lines of sexy character designs. I know my explanation is a bit lackluster so you can find a full definition here.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with a fan service type of show but typically you'd have likable characters to go with that fan service. This is the second major gripe with the series; the characters are mostly unlikable or flat or both.

The story also suffers as a result because you don't really care about the characters enough to want them to succeed. Now, I did read the manga as well, and the characters do sort of become more likable there, but sadly the manga is unfinished as the author Daisuke Sato passed away in March of 2017.

All that said, this is a decent watch even with all its flaws—especially if you're looking to just kill some time.

10: 'Black Cat'

Train Heartnet is the Black Cat, a legendary assassin who becomes a sweeper (bounty hunter) when a friend of his is killed to track her killer.

Based on the manga by Kentaro Yabuki, Black Cat is probably one of my favorite series' and was one of the very first anime titles I ever watched. Running for 24 episodes, this series is full of fantastic characters, music, action and, of course, humor.

The buddy cop type dynamic between Train and his partner Sven is fantastic, and it's a shame that nobody really pays attention to this gem anymore.

09: 'Le Chevalier D'eon'

This historical fantasy series follows D'eon De Beaumont, a knight in the king's secret police, who ends up on the trail of the man who murdered his sister. He ends up caught up in political intrigue and espionage in his search.

The fight scenes are fantastic, the music is great and the story is legitimately enthralling. You're never really bored, while watching and the plot twists leave you with a sense of insatiable curiosity right to the end. In terms of the quality of the show, Le Chevalier D'eon is beautifully animated and well-paced.

Generally I don't do historical fantasy series' but this is an interesting watch and is certainly worth your time.

08: 'Another'

Another is the anime version of Final Destination. That's how it was described to me and when I saw it that description made a lot more sense.

The story follows a kid who transfers into a school where every now and then students die mysteriously and tragically—stemming from an incident many years prior to the series' beginning.

Once again, fantastic story, animation and music back an enthralling mystery that leaves your jaw on the floor in the end. The best part is that it's a short series—just 12 episodes—so you can easily watch this in a day or so.

I will, however, warn you that the deaths in this series are very, very bloody so if you're kinda squeamish that might be a deal-breaker of sorts.

07: 'Basilisk'

This is Japan's version of Romeo and Juliet, I haven't seen this one in a while, but it's an interesting watch all the same.

The story follows two ninja clans that end up competing to serve the shogunate. These two clans have had a truce in place between them to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.

Also based on a manga, this series is a gore-fest of note and definitely not a title for everyone. The animation, music, story and fight scenes are absolutely fantastic. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be a very well-known title—at least as far as I can tell. Much like Elfen Lied, this series is not for the squeamish, but if you like a good ninja love story and you don't mind the gorier moments then give this one a try.

06: 'Grave of the Fireflies'

This 1988 film is... painful.

Grave of the Fireflies follows a pair of orphaned siblings, as they try to survive on their own in war-torn Japan towards the end of World War II.

The film is a haunting depiction of the effects of war on the civilians—particularly the children—left behind. As such, there's very little in the way of levity with this film; in fact most of it is one long heartbreaking downward spiral...

As dark and depressing as the movie is, it's still worth watching and it doesn't get nearly enough love.

05: 'Samurai Champloo'

Samurai Champloo follows a girl named Fuu, as she enlists a stoic ronin (samurai without a master) named Jin and a brash wandering vagabond named Mugen to aid in her search for the sunflower samurai. Why's he called that? Well he's:

"A samurai who smells of sunflowers."

If I could pick one word to describe this series it would be: eccentric. The juxtaposition of historical and modern influences allows for some... interesting visuals and some good laughs.

Definitely a series you could watch on repeat without getting bored.

04: 'Speed Racer'

Okay, the oldest title on this list and one of the oldest titles in the Underappreciated Anime series; this one isn't really talked about anymore and it's not hard to see why.

Speed Racer is about a young pro race car driver who goes on crazy adventures while entering races all over the world.

This is a great concept which is sadly underplayed. Now, when I say 'underplayed' I'm not talking about the adventure element. When you break it down; the core of Speed Racer is the cars—the driving. It's about a kid who wants to be the best driver there is. The racing element is still there, but it feels like it's just a gimmick rather than a central part of the story—as weird as that sounds.

Speed Racer was also based on a 1966 manga—Mach GoGoGo. The series ran for 52 episodes, from 1967 to 1968 and, at the time, was wildly successful; spawning multiple spinoffs in the franchise in the years since.

This is kind of an odd entry because even though it's a little over 50 years old it is still a popular franchise. I remember rushing to finish my homework on a Friday afternoon so that I could start the weekend kids block: Speed Racer, Dragon Ball Z, Batman: the Animated Series and Medabots were just a few of the titles that I enjoyed as a kid. Wow... I feel really, really old right now.

Anyways, as popular as the franchise is; this particular entry is pretty much ignored nowadays, and while I personally really like the series it's not hard to understand why. The art is incredibly dated, the writing is hokey and many of the performances are flatter than a freshly-made pancake! With all that said, it's still a fun show to waste time with.

03: 'Agent Aika'

Agent Aika... don't feel bad if you've never heard of this one.

I had to look up a plot synopsis for this series because otherwise it's going to sound weird. The plot follows Aika Sumeragi and her pal Rion as they get caught up in a plot to take over the world while trying to salvage a mysterious artifact.

Why would that sound weird? Well... you know how I talked about fan service in Highschool of the Dead? Yeah, this series blows that out of the water. The number of panty-shots in this series is ridiculous (no, really; one reviewer actually counted them) and feels kinda exploitative or at least pointless.

The humor is pretty good and the characters are likable but the fan service often distracts you from everything else going on.

With all that said, I do think this series deserves more attention—otherwise it wouldn't be on this list, would it?

02: 'Dominion Tank Police'

Dominion Tank Police follows Leona Ozaki, a newbie to the tank police branch of the police department, as she goes about learning the ropes and trying to capture a local gang.

Not the best synopsis I could give but it works. This four part OVA is a fun watch with great characters, beautiful artwork and fantastic humor. Now, there was a second OVA series—New Dominion Tank Police—which followed the same concept, but kept the tone and characters consistent, while providing some semblance of an overarching plot.

Personally, I like both, but the second one is more concise. So, why's the first OVA series on here and not the second one? Because nobody talks about them—either of them.

As a side-note: the series was based on a manga called Dominion by Shirow Masamune (the guy behind Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed) and while it's a slow read it's just as good.

01: 'Outlanders'

An alien princess comes to earth and basically kidnaps a young photojournalist, named Tetsuya, to take as a groom. This is so that her father won't destroy the planet... yeah, it's an odd one.

Not really a lot to say on this one, the characters are likable, the concept is—while not exactly original—interesting. The humor is... I guess a good way to describe it would be as an acquired taste. Some of the jokes are a little off-color, which could put some people off but it's a good film overall.

The one problem I do have, and this might just be a nitpick, is the animation itself. It's beautifully done, but the use of darker colors in certain scenes makes it hard to see what's going on sometimes.

Still, this is a fun watch and definitely worth a watch.