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Most underrated classic anime/manga recommendations?
- Thread starter pramod
- Start date
OH-MyCar
Member
I too love the original Dragon Ball, and even prefer it to Z (I've always wanted to see Dr Slump as well, but've never had much luck on that front).
As for mine: I absolutely love Tezuka's Don Dracula and I've never heard anyone else say anything remotely positive about it. It's always a failed experiment, dated, "not funny"... It's one of my top 10 favorites of all-time. Then again I grew up on Count Duckula? I don't know.
As for mine: I absolutely love Tezuka's Don Dracula and I've never heard anyone else say anything remotely positive about it. It's always a failed experiment, dated, "not funny"... It's one of my top 10 favorites of all-time. Then again I grew up on Count Duckula? I don't know.
FMbarbarian
Member
You can also count me among those who prefer Dragonball to DBZ.
Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) is an amazing manga turned anime turned drama that I almost never hear anyone talk about. I’ve loved every iteration of that story. I suspect that it may be more popular I n Japan because they adapt it frequently but stateside no one really talks about it.
Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) is an amazing manga turned anime turned drama that I almost never hear anyone talk about. I’ve loved every iteration of that story. I suspect that it may be more popular I n Japan because they adapt it frequently but stateside no one really talks about it.
generaldane
Member
Legend of the galactic heroes is the best space opera ever (in any media)
Ashita no Joe (the real underrated boxing show Hajime no ippo is quite well known)
Akagi - My favorite gambling show
Ashita no Joe (the real underrated boxing show Hajime no ippo is quite well known)
Akagi - My favorite gambling show
AquaticSquirrel
Member
Hajime no Ippo was an immensely popular manga in the 90's and beyond, the anime adaptation is not even that old and it was again really popular. About 8-10 ish years ago Hajime no Ippo exploded in popularity in the west and is generally on a ton of people's top lists for manga/anime.
Dragon Ball of course is not as popular as DBZ, so by that comparison I can see that it might be underrated. But it is still incredibly well known with massive brand recognition.
Area 88 I'll give you as not many people are that familiar with it and it likely doesn't get the appreciation it deserves.
Again sorry if it seems like I'm attacking the OP, it's just that this is a very good thread premise but then to list two out of your 3 initial choices as 2 of the most popular/well known manga of all time with popular well liked anime adaptations seems really weird to me.
For underrated I would say the 90's Giant Robo OVAs. Absolutely phenomenal series. Pretty much pioneered the modern "retro" look, great animation and action sequences. The music is absolutely incredible, each OVA has it's own complete score composed by Masamichi Amano. The storyline is great with a lot of unexpected twists and there is some great melodrama in there. Funny enough when creating Giant Robo for some reason the director was not allowed use the original characters/story from the manga other than Giant Robo himself (and I assume Daisaku). What the director did then was ask could he use characters from the managa creators other famous works (Babel II etc..) so he created an almost amalgam world with characters spread across his works, pretty much a love letter to his work.
I think a lot of people were put off by the cover art/general art style at the time because mecha anime with sexy designs were all the rage and here we have this hulking Egyptian looking robot on the cover.
EDIT: Almost forgot, the late 80's/early 90's Devilman OVA is amazing. Much much better than Crybaby. It was reasonably popular at the time of release but kind of faded from memory as anime fans became the type who want 2D one note archetypes, over done unoriginal 'skits' and 9 year old girls. To them Devilman was just this weird violence porn nonsense. To this day it's still one of my favourite anime and I think it stays true to the spirit of the manga much more than Crybaby. I actually really enjoy the dub, they had a lot of fun with it and it adds to the style a little.
DOUBLE EDIT: I'll come back to this thread later when I've had time to think about some more underrated gems at the moment my mind is a bit hazy.
Dragon Ball of course is not as popular as DBZ, so by that comparison I can see that it might be underrated. But it is still incredibly well known with massive brand recognition.
Area 88 I'll give you as not many people are that familiar with it and it likely doesn't get the appreciation it deserves.
Again sorry if it seems like I'm attacking the OP, it's just that this is a very good thread premise but then to list two out of your 3 initial choices as 2 of the most popular/well known manga of all time with popular well liked anime adaptations seems really weird to me.
For underrated I would say the 90's Giant Robo OVAs. Absolutely phenomenal series. Pretty much pioneered the modern "retro" look, great animation and action sequences. The music is absolutely incredible, each OVA has it's own complete score composed by Masamichi Amano. The storyline is great with a lot of unexpected twists and there is some great melodrama in there. Funny enough when creating Giant Robo for some reason the director was not allowed use the original characters/story from the manga other than Giant Robo himself (and I assume Daisaku). What the director did then was ask could he use characters from the managa creators other famous works (Babel II etc..) so he created an almost amalgam world with characters spread across his works, pretty much a love letter to his work.
I think a lot of people were put off by the cover art/general art style at the time because mecha anime with sexy designs were all the rage and here we have this hulking Egyptian looking robot on the cover.
EDIT: Almost forgot, the late 80's/early 90's Devilman OVA is amazing. Much much better than Crybaby. It was reasonably popular at the time of release but kind of faded from memory as anime fans became the type who want 2D one note archetypes, over done unoriginal 'skits' and 9 year old girls. To them Devilman was just this weird violence porn nonsense. To this day it's still one of my favourite anime and I think it stays true to the spirit of the manga much more than Crybaby. I actually really enjoy the dub, they had a lot of fun with it and it adds to the style a little.
DOUBLE EDIT: I'll come back to this thread later when I've had time to think about some more underrated gems at the moment my mind is a bit hazy.
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FMbarbarian
Member
That intro is amazing. This show looks exactly like something I’d love. I’m going to try it out.
I prefer dragon ball to dragon ball z but I do think that Dragon ball z had higher highs/super hype moments. I guess I would say Dokkoida only because I love it but only because no one really talks about it. Most of the anime that are underrated were stuff that released before the internet became a big thing.
Without a doubt Cat's eye.
Honestly I have never understood how this gem was really popular. Characters were great, Story was interesting, And the overall Lovestory between a thief and a cop was very engaging as well.
Also while very popular in Japan Touch and MAison Ikkoku never were really popular in the west...
Honestly I have never understood how this gem was really popular. Characters were great, Story was interesting, And the overall Lovestory between a thief and a cop was very engaging as well.
Also while very popular in Japan Touch and MAison Ikkoku never were really popular in the west...
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RokkanStoned
Member
Almost replied with animes/mangas that weren't from 70s-90s. Some years ago I would've said "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure", but that's changed with the animes. From what I've experienced these are at least underappreciated:
Serial Experiments Lain - anime
Angel Sanctuary - manga
Desert Punk - manga/anime
If we counted early 00s manga, I'd also add Holyland and O-Parts Hunter.
Serial Experiments Lain - anime
Angel Sanctuary - manga
Desert Punk - manga/anime
If we counted early 00s manga, I'd also add Holyland and O-Parts Hunter.
michaelius
Banned
Definitely. Scope of the whole story is beyond everything else in the genre plus the depth of characters despite there being a hundreds of them is amazing.
Lupingosei
Banned
Slayers
They are stupidly overpowered and also don't use their great powers very reasonably. Also, Lina Inverse is not really a good person, she has to be pushed to do the right thing and often does it out for very selfish reasons. But that is what makes it so funny and I still rewatch those episodes, because the stuff they do is just too silly.
They are stupidly overpowered and also don't use their great powers very reasonably. Also, Lina Inverse is not really a good person, she has to be pushed to do the right thing and often does it out for very selfish reasons. But that is what makes it so funny and I still rewatch those episodes, because the stuff they do is just too silly.
The Sane Psycho
Banned
I know it falls out of your criteria a little bit, being early '00s rather than '70s-'90s, but Shingu: Secret Of The Stellar Wars is an anime I never hear anyone talking about that I absolutely loved when I watched it years ago. I need to watch it again.
pramod
Banned
Really want to check out LotGH. What do you suggest is the best way to get started? Should I just watch the anime series? Or try to read some manga first?
RokkanStoned
Member
Oh, just started reading a manga from the 90s called "Angel Densetsu" and it's quite frankly hilarious. If it continues like this, then I'll definitely have to call it underrated.
michaelius
Banned
I haven't read manga but with anime you want to start with main series (as there are also bunch of prequels etc.)
woopWOOP
Member
Is Samurai Pizza Cats underrated? I absolutely loved it when it aired way back and I don't see it mentioned much, tho it did get special DVD releases at some point.
A bunch of Mega Man looking robot cats fighting a giant robot of the week in a edo style, roboticed animal people world.
Also apparently they weren't given translated scripts for the English dub so they just made up something weird to go with the mouth movements. Main character complaining about not getting paid enough for this acting gig, villains discussing brushing their teeth, etc.
A bunch of Mega Man looking robot cats fighting a giant robot of the week in a edo style, roboticed animal people world.
Also apparently they weren't given translated scripts for the English dub so they just made up something weird to go with the mouth movements. Main character complaining about not getting paid enough for this acting gig, villains discussing brushing their teeth, etc.
FMbarbarian
Member
Guyver is great. I can’t speak for its popularity now but it was popular enough to get two American made D tier movies back in the 90s. One with Mark Hamil as the villain and one with David Hayter (yes Solid Snake) as the lead. I actually seen both of those movies before I knew what the anime was. Same with the Fist of the Norh star live action. I liked really shitty action movies when I was a kid.
Jon Neu
Banned
Fushigi No Umi No Nadia (The Secret Of Blue Water).
One of my favorite animes of all time from my favorite anime director of all time. Teenage steampunk adventures of an idealistic young inventor who fells in love at first sight with an african teenage girl, all crossed with Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea until it reachs the final part and becomes something more serious, preparing the terrain for what will come next after it: Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The concept of this anime series was actually created by Hayao Miyazaki and Hideaki Anno working together. Miyazaki ended doing Laputa and Anno made Nadia.
One of the most underrated animes of all time.
Cybrwzrd
Banned
I will never not love that artwork. Some of the best character designs by Gainax.
Totally forgot Otaku no Video in my other post as well.
rokkerkory
Member
Not sure if this qualifies as underrated but Bubblegum Crisis
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SLoWMoTIoN
Unconfirmed Member
None of those are classic. Or maybe I'm just old.
Blam
Member
They're pretty old for me and the main ones I remember from back then so I dunno.
yet_another_alt
Member
I wouldn't call it underrated since it was very well received at the time but it's definitely no longer as appreciated by newer generations. And it's a travesty that the manga's finale was never animated. It was freaking beautiful to read and I can only imagine how well it would have been in motion.
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SLoWMoTIoN
Unconfirmed Member
Sports anime before it was just something fujoshis watched.
Unknown Quantity
Member
Future boy Conan, stuck with me and captain tsubasa.
Wouldn't that pretty much be every anime, considering almost all "fans" these days only consume what's currently airing?
Touch is a baseball anime. Baseball isn't played much around the world...so, it's not surprising. Still, really great anime, I even imported the BDs from Japan.
I think he meant "classic" as in "old". The manga of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is relatively known. I've only watched both OVAs but those were merely "okay".
Actually underrated: To-Y
Personally I think Kuroko is the better Anime in this case. Slamdunk has not aged that well for me.I wouldn't call it underrated since it was very well received at the time but it's definitely no longer as appreciated by newer generations. And it's a travesty that the manga's finale was never animated. It was freaking beautiful to read and I can only imagine how well it would have been in motion.
Jon Neu
Banned
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michaelius
Banned
Holy wall of pictures - there's preview button for a reason here 
BANGS
Banned
This post reminds me so much of hanging out in Barns and Noble as a teenager...Sadamoto is an awesome character designer with a lovely art style.
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SLoWMoTIoN
Unconfirmed Member
lol
Dr. Claus
Vincit qui se vincit
Here are a few that I absolutely loved, though I am not sure if you would consider all of them "Classic":
Onani Master Kurosawa
A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi)
20th Century Boys (and its "sequel": 21st Century Boys)
Akira (well known, but most people haven't read the manga with is even better than the anime).
Onani Master Kurosawa
A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi)
20th Century Boys (and its "sequel": 21st Century Boys)
Akira (well known, but most people haven't read the manga with is even better than the anime).
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ertitoagus
Member
My 2 cents for Kochikame. Very good anime adaptation