Top 10 Anime You've Never Seen

This is a countdown I've wanted to do for a long time, but have been kind of scared to. See, as much as I would like to go down this list business as usual, and recommend you all ten anime that you've never heard of, I don't think I can. The simple reason is that I don't think I'm quite down the metaphorical rabbit hole of anime to pull out of my library ten definite, obscure anime that you, the reader, have never heard of. I just don't think I've been watching anime long enough you see, and, dare I say it, haven't seen the truly "out-there" and "slightly-disturbing" corners of the medium yet(a thought which troubles me deeply since I've seen some truly messed up things in my time watching this medium). But despite all of that, I'm going to give it a try. Because since I don't have time to review everything, there is a couple of shows out there I want you all to know about.

     Hello people of "The Wired", my name is Quan, and welcome to a new countdown, where I will be talking about the top anime you've(probably) never seen. I've already mentioned that my ability to pull really obscure anime out of a hat is somewhat hampered by how much I have seen, so don't be surprised if you've heard of or seen at least a couple of the shows I'll mention here(so I'll probably do a sequel to this list when I've seen a little more "out there" anime), but my hope is that you'll come out of this list with at least one anime that you think looks interesting, because remember, I'm not ranking these anime in any particular way, this is more of a collection than anything. To increase the likelihood of this event(and since I'm going to do my best to not mention any anime I've talked about before in detail on this blog), I'm really going to be digging deep into the toybox, or how a normal person would say it, everything is fair game for this list. TV series of course, but also movies, OVA's, ONA's, shorts, or even things that arguably don't even count as anime if we're being literal here. The last thing I want to quickly say is that the anime I talk about won't exactly be amazing ones. These aren't some mystical, gold-crusted gems that inexplicably slipped past the communities' eye, some of these aren't truly that great and some are even average... however, I don't think they deserve to be forgotten, so let's get on with this list.



10. Eve No Jikan

Eve no Jikan(or the Time of Eve), is a rather unique 6-episode ONA series that aired through 2008 to 2009. In this futuristic sci-fi world, humanoid androids have been completely integrated into human society, but while some view them as mere tools, others believe that the androids have real emotions. The story explores aspects of this slowly disintegrating line between man and machine through the eyes of Rikuo, our high-school age protagonist, as he discovers with his friend a rather unusual cafe: Time of Eve, a cafe which has one rule: that "humans and robots must be treated the same..."

     It's a rather fascinating little series actually, that explores what it means to be human in a world where such things are so blurry, sort of like Ghost in the Shell, if more calm and relaxed, with plenty of down-time to have interesting conversations about robot ethics. I quite like it. And true, 6 episodes doesn't leave as much space for characters, especially when your show revolves around a core idea, and the story is sadly inconclusive, whoever, if you're any sort of fan of sci-fi and robots, I really would point in the direction of this anime. Let's move on then.

9. Noein

Noein is an anime I watched a very, very long time ago, before I even properly knew what these Chinese cartoons even were, and so maybe I'm pulling on very hazy memories in order to recommend this show to you, but if it's at all like the anime I remember, it has more than earned that recommendation. Noein is an extremely complex sci-fi action show that delves into a variety of cool ideas and concepts by the end of its run: including parallel dimensions, time-travel, and even quantum physics by the end. It's a rare sci-fi gem that really needs more attention, because despite its many short-comings(and yes there are many) in all my time of watching anime, Noein is still one of the most imaginative and downright crazy in terms of the story-line anime that I've ever seen, and in all the ways that you would expect from an anime. And yes, that's a good thing.


8. Hotarubi no Mori e

Anime is general seems to have an issue with the romance genre: most of the time romance is not focused upon enough or given enough time to fully develop, and sometimes the extreme amount of cliches will creep into a romance show and make it aggravating to watch. Despite all this, romance remains one of my favorite genres only when it is done right, so whenever there is a prime example of a simple romance story done right in anime, I tend to direct people towards it.
      Hotarubi no Mori e(or To the Forest of Firefly Lights) is one such example. This 44 minute movie has no time to waste with filler or exposition, and instead dedicates its entire run-time to developing the relationship between the two main characters: Gin and Hotaru. It's a very simple, very tranquil little love story with a dash of metaphorical super-natural elements, that while is nothing really ground-breaking, is more than worth your time. Sure the ending is a little rushed, but hey, nothing is perfect.


7. Outbreak Company

I feel like a lot of people skipped Outbreak Company simply by judging it by what it appeared to be, which actually kind of wonderfully ties into the whole point of the show. Produced by the infamous Studio Feel, Outbreak Company follows the extremely cliched premise of the average anti-social otaku being suddenly transported to a fantasy world to teach the population about otaku culture, anime and manga, of course gathering a small harem of girls along the way. But instead of being a cliched and fan-service heavy bore like most of Studio Feel's works, Outbreak Company was instead a lesson about perception and stereotyping. About how people put other people into very distinct boxes, and judge them for what they love, a fact which our main character Shinichi knew all too well, and hell, maybe even some of the viewers of the show.
     It still could be rather tasteless at times sure, and never truly broke out of the cliched premise, but Outbreak Company was still a pleasant surprise for me, and it hurts to see other people disregard it completely just because of the studio it came from or what it says on the cover. And even if you don't care about the message and so forth, Outbreak Company is still a really funny show at times, and has more than a few references to popular anime and manga along the way.


6. Cencoroll

Out of all the anime I'll mention on this list, I'd say Cencoroll is probably my least favorite. It's not bad by any means, but this 25 minute short film feels a little thin, as if it doesn't really have anything to say, or any particular reason for existing. So why do I recommend it? Because Cencoroll falls into the category of anime that I like to call "delightfully weird". It's a very strange little movie filled with peculiar things and odd concepts, detailing a day when a strange monster appears in the sky of a Japanese town and the events that surround it, however, it carries a weird sort of charm that makes it likable. It feels very "anime" for a lack of a better word; it has that balance of bizarre and craziness that I feel only anime can do, or do well at the very least. So, even if the story and characters are lacking, watch it for the imagination, because imagination is something that is not worth wasting.


5. The House of Small Cubes

How long do you need to craft a good story? If you're The House of Small Cubes, then all it takes to secure emotional investment, exposition and character development is 12 minutes of pure, no-bars-hold storytelling. This short is a true example of how things can(and perhaps should) be simple yet powerful, with enough "feels" included to make you care. And so for a short movie, I'll keep this description short as well. In summary: go watch this short.


4. Daybreak Illusion

Daybreak Illusion may seem out of place on this list. It's not particular good analytically speaking, and it's not really obscure, quite a few people know about it in fact. However, this makes the list because of the assumption that while people have heard of this anime, many of them skip it because of it's reputation. After Madoka Magica shook up the magical-girl genre for the first time since Revolutionary Girl Utena did over a decade or so ago, Daybreak Illusion has sort of been viewed as a half-asked copy-cat Madoka that failed to understand just what made that series work, and thus many, many people have skipped it. While I would be inclined to agree with that hypothesis, there's a couple things here that I believe make Daybreak Illusion worth watching, because it's an interesting example of how story-telling can stray from intentions, and how a lack of understanding or maturity can make it suffer.


3. Gun X Sword

I have no idea why more people haven't heard of this show, because for all accounts, it should be popular. I mean, the main plot follows a sword-wielding bad-ass named Van as he traverses a Wild-West inspired desert planet, seeking revenge for the murder of his fiance. Oh, and also, people can call mechs to drop from space to fight, I mean, how bad-ass can you make one anime sound just from the premise?
     In reality, what I'd call Gun X Sword in an above average action show that sometimes manages to break even those expectations. It sometimes manages to feel like a mix of Cowboy Bebop and Trigun smashed together, and has enough style to serve with the action to more than earn that hefty comment. Of course, it's nowhere near the quality of those two shows, but you could do a lot, lot worse then checking out Gun X Sword for your next action fix. It's pretty awesome.


2. Now and Then, Here and There

To be honest, this anime is the reason I finally gave in to my intention to do this list, because I simply couldn't believe that more people haven't heard of it. An older show that aired way back in 1999, Now and Then, Here and There is probably the best anti-war drama I've seen since Grave of the Fireflies, and if you've seen my Top Ten Studio Ghibli Films countdown, you know that is not said lightly. This is an anime you watch for the atmosphere, which covers everything like a large damp cloth, wrapping the entire series in bleak hopeless despair, as our extremely out-of-place optimist of a main character Shu travels to metaphorical hell and back, taking on monsters, both human and animal, in a desolate future that seems to be on the horizon of the very end of history. It's ultimately an anime that places ideas before characters and exposition, leaving the world feeling rather under-developed, however, the impact of events that the cast encounter throughout are almost palpable in their horror and effectiveness. It's an anime that will leave you shaken by the end of it, and staring off into the sunset for awhile as the credits of the haunting last episode roll down the screen; an experience and show that will not be forgotten by me any time soon. After saying all of that, do I even need to tell you I completely recommend it? Just please, don't mind the animation. Remember, it was 1999, they didn't have "gradience" yet.


1. There She Is!!

This is the anime that pretty much fails to qualify as an anime, since its origins reside in Korea, but whether this was an anime or not strictly speaking, There She Is!! is a 5 episode(each episode being 5 minutes) ONA series that was released from 2003 to 2008, and is an experience that would have made the top of this list no matter what context we were talking about. Yes, I know I said that this list isn't ranked in chronological order, but out of all the anime I've talked about, this is the hidden gem that is the hardest to find yet the brightest. Told in series of gestures, emoticons and signs, the simplistic plot follows Doki, a female rabbit who falls hard for a male cat named Nabi, in a world where cross-species relationships are forbidden. It's a love story, but like Hotarubi no Mori e, it's a love story in its purest form, a story that only exists so we can watch these characters learn and grow together. It's become a favorite of mine, whether because of the excellent music that plays throughout, or the simplistic animation that truly shines in certain parts(and is even more impressive when you learn that the entire show was drawn by only 3 people!), the on-the-ball comic sensibilities, or because it knows how to be truly dramatic or heart-felt when it wants to be. I just love it so much, and I truly hope you will go watch it as soon as you can, I'm sure you've got 25 minutes to spare somewhere. I promise it won't be a waste of them.

Goodbye for now guys



Click here for an anime review of Kyousougiga. 

Or if you want another countdown, click here for my Top Ten Anime Endings. 

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