Forum - View topicWhat's Your Anime Hidden Gem?
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Hal14
 Posts: 728 Location: Heart of africa |
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My number one hidden gem: Planet With. It's my favourite of the authors works but the least mentioned.
Second hidden gem: Gatchaman Crowds. Gatchaman as a whole is fairly niche but Crowds especially is this weird mostly unrelated spin-off. But I loved the cast and political discourse which has aged pretty well, Imo. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2752 |
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My first pick would have to be Hakumei to Mikochi. It is a slice of life in a very charming magical world. I still hope to see a season 2 be announced.....some day.
For second place I am going with the Hozuki's Coolheadedness series. The series has such charming yet very dark humor and very unique/weird characters, Finally, if I may be so cheeky to mention a third one, Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari is an anime I like to revisit every now and then. Last edited by smurky turkey on Sat Sep 02, 2023 9:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Thundercracker
 Posts: 55 |
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Zillion and Genshiken.
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Cam0
 Posts: 4934 |
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Major would be my pick. It's a baseball anime that follows the main character, Goro, chasing his baseball dreams all the way from kindergarten to adult life. The fact that it's as much about Goro growing up as it's about hot-blooded baseball is what makes it unique and charming. It manages to deal with things like loss and forgiveness while also being a shonen sports anime. I'd recommend the first season to anyone since it works great as a standalone story. Problem is that it was never licensed so one would have to rely on piracy to watch it and it might be difficult to find since ahobt went private. It has some issues with pacing and an evergrowing cast, but it's still a great journey that kinda continues on to Major 2nd which follows Goro's son. I wish that got a 3rd season.
Last edited by Cam0 on Sat Sep 02, 2023 9:33 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Nom De Plume De Fanboy
Exempt from Grammar Rules
Posts: 638 Location: inland US west, pretty rural |
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Granblem - magic and mechas, but with characters who develop.
Moyashimon - just because it is set in college does not mean people should just ignore it. |
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Akamaru_Inu
 Subscriber Posts: 104 Location: Florida |
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I'm so, so happy to see Samurai Flamenco and The Lost Village on here. I have such fond memories of watching both of them with friends, screaming at each plot twist.
My personal pick for a hidden gem is Kemonozume, Masaaki Yuasa's 2006 monster romance action series. Last edited by Akamaru_Inu on Sat Sep 02, 2023 1:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7425 Location: Maine |
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I can't believe Samurai Flamenco and Starblazers 2199 are already 10 years old! I would have guessed maybe 5...
Definitely agree on Dual Parallel Trouble Adventure. I was buying those DVDs as they were coming out, but they're hard to watch now, the quality of the release wasn't all that great to begin with, but those old Pioneer discs just didn't age well. The animation still holds up, though, just needs some cleaning up. Would love to see them get a remastering, especially with the new Tenchi OAVs and GXP series referencing them. It's one of the few obscure things about those series that could be easily accessible to new audiences if given a second chance. As for my own hidden gems, I'm looking through my watch list and there's a few in there that I like a lot and more importantly actually remember past the initial visuals like History's Strongest Disciple, Buso Renkin, CANAAN, And Yet the Town Moves, HYOUKA, My Little Monster, Occult Academy, and Rideback. But one of my favorites that I can go back and watch any time is Ben-To from 2011, an absolutely ridiculous and fun battle anime about fights over discounted convenience store meals. No, it doesn't make sense, but that's what makes it fun along with a likeable cast of characters and the bonds they form over saving a few bucks on a rice bowl. Absurd in the best way possible. Emerje |
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2623 Location: Germany |
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Tree in the Sun by Madhouse, based on the Tezuka historical/medical manga: anime#2254
It´s slightly abridged and maybe too bleak but was done by the best studio on the market in its prime so it´s hard to complain. A major reason no one knows of it is due to how long it took for the show to get fansubs or even raws. Rainbow Samurai is another fully buried treasure but it is legitimately too abridged: anime#4606 23 volumes don´t make 39 eps but it´s good outside of that and there is always the... untranslated manga. Sigh. Sakamoto Ryoma is in everything, he even has his own Yakuza spin-off, but his anime still has to get any translation. The last good anime stuck in Japan and not too old at 31 years. Edit: Let´s fill out a top 3 to highlight 90s anime. Notari Matsutaro´s OVAs are the definition of obscure: anime#7370 They are more decent than good, abridge the first 7 volumes to the bone and are of course untranslated, as I running an agenda here  , but are easy to follow and have great production values. The somewhat overheated Rowdy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro wouldn´t be the meme it is if that reboot stuck to how the OVAs adapted the far grittier manga.
Samurai Flamenco would be a classic if it was like its first 1/3 for all its runtime. It sadly isn´t. One of the biggest drops in quality I have ever seen in any medium. One for the Buried Garbage column. RIP. Last edited by residentgrigo on Sat Sep 02, 2023 10:20 am; edited 5 times in total |
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absent
 Subscriber Posts: 38 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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My pick would be Windy Tales (Fuujin Monogatari). Slice of life with unconventional but gorgeous art direction, character design and animation. Covers some familiar ground thematically for a show in that genre, but I think that its style elevates it. Very pretty soundtrack as well.
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ninjamitsuki
 Posts: 640 Location: Anywhere (Thanks, technology) |
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It's never been licensed and at this point I doubt it will, but Space Family Carlvison is one of the most wholesome shows I've ever watched.
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dm
Subscriber Posts: 1482 |
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Excellent choice. I would nominate Mahou shoujotai Arus, localized as Tweeny Witches, by Studio 4C when they were still having fun with what computers could help them do in 2D, before they started 3D CGI. Fun, imaginative imagery, a great cast. If you like Little Witch Academia, you should check it out. Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko, both the OAV and the sadly never licensed TV series. Everything you like about Akiyuki Shinbou in its early development stages. (Maybe check out Soul-taker, too, another early Shinbou style-fest.) Also, thanks, Richard, for mentioning Re:creators, though i think they could have done more with those ideas. |
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anifani
Posts: 92 |
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Even after all these years, it would have to be "Now and Then, Here and There." It had such an impact, and brought out so many emotions. There was the eternal optimist, the mentally ill Ruler, the oppression, and worse.... children being brainwashed and forced to fight in a useless war.
And I'll never forget these words echo'd by the optimist: "No matter where you are...whatever troubles you face, as long as you've got your life something good is bound to happen. Something so totally awesome that it would make up for all the bad stuff." SHU |
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asneakysnake
Posts: 28 |
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Great to see Granblem get some love!!!
For a more recent pick it have go with Machikado Mazoku S1 (The Demon Girl Next Door) Flip Flappers was also incredible and I'm constantly surprised it never got more traction (or figures!!!) |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18508 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Ecstatic that Richard picked Re:CREATORS, as that is one of the two titles I immediately thought of when I saw the topic. In addition to the merits Richard mentions (all of which I heartily agree with), it features arguably one of the all-time-great villain performances, with Maaya Sakamoto voicing the playfully psychopathic Magane, and may be the only anime series where fan art becomes a major plot point. It's so thoughtful and clever a series that I rewatch it at least once a year and would buy it in a second if it ever came out on Blu-Ray.
My other pick would be the 2018 series Beatless, another casualty of Amazon Prime. It's far from the greatest-looking sci fi series, and looks like an ordinary "guy gets an android girlfriend/protector" plot from the start, but it gradually evolves into a very deep rumination about mankind's relationship with technology, especially advanced AIs and the way they can be used to progress humanity. Though it has some action components, it joins Re:CREATORS as one of the most thoughtful anime series I've ever seen, to the point of giving me chills at certain points late in the series - and that's without factoring in how it feels even more on-the-nose now (with the recent hubbub about AIs) than it did when it aired. |
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db999
Posts: 347 |
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Hidden gems is a great topic. I actually agree with a few of these. I loved Re:Creators, Garo Vanishing Line, and Star Blazer 2199. I have a few, although they’re not so much hidden as they are overshadowed by its source material or its later adaptations. I’m talking about Persona 4 The Animation, which is a fantastic adaptation of the video game and one of the only video game adaptations I can say is a legitimately good substitute for its game, Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 and Hunter x Hunter 1999, the former which is overshadowed by Brotherhood even though it’s earlier iteration is just as good, as the manga, and the latter of which is superior to its later adaptation, at least up until the end of the Yorknew City arc. The biggest disappointment is that none of them are available for streaming anymore, except for some reason the FMA finale movie Conquerors of Shamballa which is on Crunchyroll, and you can’t even buy Hunter x Hunter 1999 because it’s out of print.
My real hidden gem though is Infinite Ryvius from 1999. It’s about a bunch of space cadets learning on a space station, but when a space dive is sabotaged and the adult staff is murdered, the kids must form their own society as they attempt to make it back home. However, they’re unaware that their home government wants them dead. It’s directed by Toro Taniguchi of Planets, Code Geass fame, and has the same character designer of Gundam SEED. It’s a great show full of mystery and thriller aspects as the students clash with each other over how to run the ship. However, it is not available for streaming and I also think it’s out of print. |
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