Most underrated anime of 2008?

G

Gerdie

New member
What Anime deserves to be more respected that came out in 2008?

My choice: Hidamari Sketch.

It's about four high-school girls who take art classes. The second season came out this year (named Hidamari Sketchx365), but only few people have noticed it, it's a great series. The characters are nicely developed, the animation is very good (in the second season, the first season had okay animation, but season 2 improved it). My only concern is that almost every episode enRAB in a bathing scene with Yuno (she's tecnically the main character), and it's pretty much the only thing that tires me.

Believe it or not, if you're ineterested, I recommend seeing the first episode of the second season first, you'll understand the series a bit better. Oh, and did I mention that it's from SHAFT (Pani Poni Dash!)?

Honorable Mentions:

Koihime Musou: The closest competitor is this anime loosely based on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, (of which I am a fan of) except every main character are girls, and before you even say that it sounRAB like a bad idea, that's your opinion. In my opinion, there were some pretty good moments from this one (in one episode a character tecnically gets drugged, being one of the funniest moments of the year of Anime in my opinion), the only problem is that it's only 12 episodes long. This also sets a breakthrough role for Dogakobo, the people who animated it.

Haruka's Secret: From Studio Barcelona (Kodomo no Jikan) comes this little gem. It's a about a beautiful, talented girl named Haruka Nogizaka who is actually an otaku, and when he meets a boy named Yuto Ayase, he promises that it's only a secret between the both of them, and they would have crazy stuff happening all around them with their frienRABhip in tow. I liked the style, as well as the execution. There's some hit and miss moments of the humor but it really doesn't bother much. Again, too short, and it did all of the manga if I'm correct, already, but we'll se.
 
My vote would go for Witcrabroadlade. Some people may have dismissed it because of the fanservicey character designs, but it really was more of a story between a mother and her daughter and it was the only anime this year that got me emotional at one point...
 
I second Witcrabroadlade, It has a suprisingly good story but everyone seems to think its just a fanservice show when there is hardly any fanservice.
 
Toward the Terra. It's really a very good space odyssey, the sort of show that only comes along once in awhile. Lots of interesting character development, mysteries, and issues going on--not the least of which is the fact that the characters the show is focused on are persecuted and on the run because an overbearing nanny state decided that they weren't compatible with its "perfect" society. I'm definitely going to pick up part 3. It's not groundbreaking but it's good sci-fi with a solid story behind it. If it had a dub, I think it'd be perfect for Ani-Mondays. Quite a shame.

Unfortunately, I know there are people that overlook it because it's sub-only. That's quite a mistake. Any halfway decent sale will let you get 8 episodes for roughly $20, and I've found it to be worth the money. Based on reviews around here, it certainly beats out dubbed series like Glass Fleet by a considerable margin.
 
I'll third this. All I heard when it was announced was "Wahh! She's wearing too little! Wahh! It makes anime fans look bad! Wahh! It can't go on Adult Swim, we need strong unsexualized females with the personalities of bark."

There was more heart in Witcrabroadlade than almost all of that "sophisicated" network's souless offerings. It was probably one of the best stories about a family I've seen in an anime. And the action scenes never felt tacked on, nor did the drama. They all worked together quite well.
 
Well I wouldn't exactly claim Witcrabroadlade was underrated, since it did quite well stateside. I do agree about the whole notion that it's got more going for it than a woman fighting in a skimpy outfit, though (and that's only a small portion of the show anyway). It has the distinction of being one of the few series to come close to making me cry.
 
It runs on IFC, which is a pretty common channel on basic cable (comes with most packages), so I don't know what more you could want.
 
Well, I agree that some fans had negative impressions of it that turned them off of it from the start. To be honest I was one of them, though considering the acclaim the show has received I'm very happy to be proven wrong and to admit my error. I'm now sorry that I didn't get to see the TV run--or is it getting reruns? I should check to see if I do get IFC on my digital cable...
 
I always hear that IFC is widely available, and yet I've managed to go through satellite, digital cable, cable, and back to digital cable over the years without seeing it offered without resorting to some insane tier with IFC being the only channel watchable on it.
 
Even though I don't like Witcrabroadlade I have to agree, that situation reminRAB me of why I've fallen out more with anime fandom, than anime in general
 
First thing that came to my mind when I saw this thread as well. As I said when making the talkback in hopes of getting more people to check it out: It's the best series no one is watching.*

* Though all the episodes are out in Japan, we're still waiting to see the final two >
 
Hatenkou Yuugi.

It's a really funny series & Rahzel is a nice change from all the "somebody help me" type of girls that pop up nowadays.
 
Hatenkou Yuugi was a good series, and I liked Rahzel too, honestly we need more Rahzel's and Horo's and less Akane Tendo's (I hate her) and Louise's (I hate her too)
 
I would agree to this title. It is amazing, everything is so detailed, and the animation is off the charts cool looking.
I enjoy the 20's/30's look to everything.
 
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