Underrated Anime!!Consider this the ultimate guide to hidden gems in anime! Warning: you will have an even bigger backlog by the time you're done reading these lists.
Updated August 5, 2022 57.4K votes 19.1K voters 1.0M views
Over 19.1K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of 18 Criminally Underrated Anime That Don't Get Talked About Enough
Voting Rules
Vote up the underrated anime that doesn't get as much acclaim as it deserves.
With so much anime out there, it's hard to tell what's good or what's not unless you do a bit of digging and research. In the process, there are tons of great anime series that get overlooked or don't get as much credit as they deserve. This list is full of underrated anime that doesn't get brought up enough, even though they're all fantastic series that deserve your viewing time.
Good anime can get outshined and overshadowed by other creations from the same studio, or just plain forgotten about or overlooked. These underrated anime series range from older series to like Satoshi Kon's Paranoia Agent to more modern hits like Shinichiro Watanabe's Space Dandy. Vote up the overlooked anime series on this list that you've seen and want others to watch too!
Eden of the East is suspense, drama, and romance all bundled up into 11 episodes of psychological awesome. A mysterious man has his memories erased, and discovers that he's part of a game where he has to save Japan with only ¥10 billion (about $93,109,000 USD.) If all the money gets used up, his game is over. Eden of the East is accompanied by 3 films, Air Communication (a compilation film), The King of Eden, and Paradise Lost, which accompany the series beautifully. Fans of thrillers, mysteries, and high tech will really enjoy this one.
Mushi-shi is a collection of stories following Ginko, who can see ethereal beings called Mushi. A lot of people can not see or interact with Mushi, so Ginko employs himself as a traveling "Mushi Master" in order to aid people who are disturbed by their presence.
The paranormal and surreal experiences Ginko goes through while dealing with the Mushi are cool insights on Japanese superstition, and very enticing to follow. It's a tad bit slow, but well worth the watch.
Ergo Proxy is beautifully animated and deals with philosophical subjects in an ominous, cyberpunk future setting. Robots and cybernetic beings called AutoReivs are slowly being infected by a virus which causes them to become self-aware. If you've ever seen a dark cyberpunk film, you know that robots gaining sentience starts to throw off the balance of society.
As the story progresses, you begin to learn just how messed up things in this dystopian world really are.
Last Exile was well received in America, but isn't often talked about. The series has a steampunk theme, with a lot of the deigns being a wonderful fusion of Europe's rising industrial period and German inter-war technology and mechanics. With flying ships, WWII-era fashion, and an amazing storyline, this anime is basically candy for people who are into science fiction, steampunk, and adventure genres.
Paranoia Agent involves street assaults, victims, detectives, and a mysterious "Bat Boy" (AKA "Lil' Slugger") that brings them all together. The anime has a lot of satirical and existential paranormal aspects and is very enjoyable to follow if you're a fan of dark thrillers.
Although Paranoia Agent had a brief run on Adult Swim, it's not an anime that would come up in casual conversation or really gets as much attention as it deserves.
Ben-To is a ridiculous harem anime about brawling for bento boxes. Why make such a big deal over bento boxes? They're half-priced, of course. Bento brawls have rules though, and if Yล Satล wants those bento boxes, he'll have to learn and abide by them. The fights are pretty much a melee free-for-all where chopsticks are thrown and tactics can get sneaky.
