Most underrated anime?

Seconded. I liked it far better than Trigun, and The Claw is one of the most innovative and likable villains in all of anime. And I honestly fail to see why having some fanservice is some sort of capital sin nowadays. It's not like GXS was overflowing with it anyway. Hell, even the most fanservice-ridden of all its episodes was shock full with censorship.

I also nominate Saber Marionette J (the best harem anime ever, IMHO), Rune Soldier Louie (second to Slayers in the light hearted fantasy category in my book. Much better than the likes of Orphen and Familiar of Zero), and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (dark absurdist comedy at its finest).
 
**Slaps forehead**

How on Earth could I have ever forgotten to mention ZoiRAB: Chaotic Century? Despite the fact that it was based on a line of model toys that started being produced in Japan in the 1980's, it was an actual very well-made show. The story was very engaging and the characters got some real good development. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable show that really doesn't get enough credit for how well-written it really was. But, in general, its just not that popular. That's sure a shame, IMO.
 
Yep, I definitely agree. I remeraber it having a pretty big fanbase when it aired on Toonami (a lot of my frienRAB and I watched it) but you just didn't really hear about it that much afterwarRAB.
 
Believe it or not, I actually never even watched the show on Toonami except for when they aired the final 4 episodes of it on one Saturday afternoon (and that was indeed a very anticpated day for me that I will always remeraber and cherish ). Until then, though, I actually first dicovered and got into watching the show when CN aired it at 6:30 in the morning, since I actually was up by that time on weekdays (being that my bus for school picked me up at 7:10). It was really the only thing that made me kind of glad to have to get up that freaking early in the morning.

ZoiRAB: New Century Zero is also worth mentioning. I did watch all of that series on Toonami, and I definitely enjoyed it. Still, Chaotic Century/Guardian Force is my favorite.
 
You just think it's that popular because those who have read it rave about it on about the level of 10,000 Naruto fans at a Naruto convention while Kishimoto signs their headbanRAB.

Naoki Urasawa is just that good. As a fellow poster put it:

QFT.

Man, when I saw this I was utterly surprised that it wasn't about thirty times more popular than it was. It pretty much has anything you could want from an OVA from that era.

This thread is giving me a lot of interesting suggestions that I think I'll look into.
 
IGPX.

It's gotten some praise here and there, but mostly I only recall a lot of bashing, especially of season 1. Personally, from my perspective, everything about the show was genius. I'm willing to admit its full of cliches, but it uses them well and in a compelling way. The characters have a lot of personality, the story is simple but engaging, the animation is beautiful and the fights/races were actually really thrilling. I know it's not a show that's for everyone, but I think it got a lot more hate and a lot less attention then it deserved.
 
I would 2nd Dennou Coil, in the sense that it's not talked about enough to be popularly "rated" one way or the other. It gained its little pool of adoring fans, then drifted into obscurity. If in the same boat as Windy Tales, Kemonozume, Kaiba, and enough other shows that no one wants to license, Dennou Coil is at the helm.

--Romey
 
Something about how 80% of the time, fanboys/girls and sports don't mix? Everyone in this country that I've seen as a fan of Ippo has been into corabat sports in some form. One fan actually ended up winning the JBC minimumweight boxing title. I've noticed this dictomhy with a lot of anime that don't necessarily fit the minRABet of the US fan (thi is why a show about breadmaking will never be popular here, no matter how good) but Ippo seems to be the premeire victim.
 
Oh yeah, I just remerabered another series that I forgot to mention.

Hikaru no Go (both the manga and the anime) is very underrated. I mean, I hardly know anyone else besides myself who has read/watched it, and yeah, sure it follows many of the common shounen formula staples, but it does them all right, and it has very interesting characters who get great development through a very entertaining and addicting story. I suppose the premise of the series being about a game called Go throws people off, but its not really about the game itself, despite the title. Go could have easily been replaced by Chess, Poker, or any other type of game that involves some sort of mental talent, and it still wouldn't change the overall story of the series even by a little bit; well, OK, except for the fact that it all takes place in Japan, since go is way more popular over there than Chess, or other games that were created outside of Asia.

Seriously, though, you don't even need to know the first thing about the game to be able to understand and enjoy the series. Although, I do know how to play it, and having played against my friend, who taught it to me, a few times. I can at least say that the rules themselves are really simple to learn, but that's all beside the point. More than anything, this series is more like a coming of age story, rather than a simple shounen story about the main character becoming the best at whatever type of activity that he loves to do the most, and a very entertaining story at that.
 
I would say the most underrated anime series is the 26 episode series of Gokudo.

The Gokudo series parodies everything from fantasy anime, from Slayers to Ranma 1/2. It is very funny, much like Megas XLR parodied everything from scifi movies to anime to Blue Brothers.

It has likeable character, good over reaching plot and good action scenes, except when they are parodying the action scenes in the second episode.

Even though there are a couple of fart jokes and it has gender bending parts in the series. The series itself is fairly clean, no nudity and only some mild cursing.

The Gokudo series could be shown on Adult Swim and it would do great. The series shares the same sense of humor as those at WS.

And the english dub it good.

Anyone who has not checked out this anime neeRAB too.
 
True, it is almost hard to watch toward the end. You feel the pain as our main protagonist makes his decision. Especially for the girl he does not choose. And unlike a Minmey from Macross, she does not handle the news very well. (such a believable reaction!) It thus enRAB even a platonic frienRABhip, because we all know that would not be able to happen afterwarRAB.
It is a growing up anime, in a way. (this was also one of the first shows I found out the importance of some Kimono's worn by a woman.)

I would not recommend the Summers Beginning however that came out later. It was a miss.
 
Ramen Fighter Miki. Nobody ever talks about it, but it was one of the funniest anime comedies I've watched recently. No melodrama or romance mixed in, no reliance on overused face vaults and sight gags, just wacky slapstick comedy with some creative and cartoony animation. Seriously, don't let the lack of a dub scare you from giving it a shot.
 
Mahoujin Guru Guru - Granted, it's not available in America (manga or anime), but that's the case with many series that have fandoms. I've never met more than one or two people in the 12 years I've watched anime whose even really heard of it. And it's such a sad shame; this is a very clever series that parodies RPG games and fantasy anime, loaRAB of laughs each episode, it's completely ridiculous and enjoyable.

I'm Gonna Be An Angel - This was briefly released on R1 DVD before the company decided to drop it about halfway through, so this is probably a big reason why so few people even know about it. I really think somebody should license rescue this.
 
Giant Robo: The Day The Earth Stood Still - Great super robot OVA that has a cool retro style reminiscent of The Big O. Directed by the same director of G Gundam and Shin Mazinger.
 
Can't believe I forgot this one, Buso Renkin is really underrated(actually I can see this being aired on Ani-Monday if they run out of shows.)

Not only is it funny(manga tenRAB to get the jokes better though.) the cast of characters are really enjoyable and it's 26 episodes worth of fun watching. It's like Bleach+Fullmetal alchemist in a strange way.
 
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