Here are 28 of the most underrated anime series that you may not have heard of yet.
Today’s list will depict the most underrated anime series that are underappreciated, unknown, and overlooked. You might have never heard of these but I’m sure that you’ll enjoy them.
So, as we all know there are so many popular mainstream anime titles that are known by almost everyone. Maybe you’re running out of shows to watch and aren’t sure which random one to pick that nobody has recommended yet.
Don’t worry! In this list, we compiled a list of anime series that may have not had their chance to rank and be popular, although each anime in this list is unique and deserving to watch.
Here we go:
28. Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist
Makai Ouji should be much better known. It’s an underrated anime that deserves more attention. You should give it a shot because it has 12 episodes, was produced by Doga Kobo, and is spanning the following genres: mystery, historical, and demons/supernatural.
William’s uncle’s business has been failing for a while now, and he lost all of his possessions. William feels that the family name is on the line and returns home, in search of a way to save his kin. In search of something, William stumbles across an underground room left by an ancestor sealed with magic. unfortunately, the spell activates and summons a devil. The devil’s name is Dantalion, and he reveals that William is the one who is decided to rule over the demon world.
27. Tsuki Ga Kirei
This is a great 12-episode underrated anime, that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. It is produced by feel studios and has a romantic school setting. This is a story where romance story that will form between two shy high school students. It’s their final year of junior high, and fate makes the students Kotarou Azumi and Akane Mizuno meet each other in the same class.
Though they may be complete strangers, a few encounters could lead to the development of feelings, which can happen in spite of initial differences. That intense gazes and the beating hearts are enough to make any romance fan swoon. This love will become a reality as fate brings their paths together.
26. OverDrive
OverDrive is an underrated anime with 26 episodes from Studio Xebec. It spans the genres of shounen and sports and is available on multiple streaming services.
The story highlights: Unfortunately, Shinozaki Mikoto doesn’t know how to ride a bike. He will join a club and learn through practice. While he feels the wind in his face, an ambition starts surfacing in his mind: being on top of the world as a pro racer!
There can be no doubt that his journey to grace was fraught with hardships and failures, but now it is time for a new achievement to be wired in the history of the Tour de France. So, will the top racer in this famous competition will be him?
25. Mayo Chiki!
Mayo Chiki! is a good underrated romance anime. It has 13 episodes and is a highly recommended series, for those fans who like harem, and ecchi themes.
Mayo Chiki is all about When you’ve got a cute gynophobia, an abnormal fear of women. Hence, even a Pretty girl can be a malady, and as the sparring partner for his family of female wrestlers, Sakamachi Kinjiro has the worst case ever!
24. Tsuritama
Tsuritama is a brilliant, but unknown anime show produced by A-1 Pictures. It spans genres of comedy, sci-fi, slice of life, and sports. The story follows these Four as they have adventures on an island while fishing. Yuki, due to his poor communication skills, has never succeeded in making any real friends. Haru, who attempts to teach Yuki fishing. Natsuki an irritable local, and Akira initially watches everyone from a distance.
23. Druaga no Tou
Druaga no Tou is an underrated anime to watch. It’s a fantasy adventure comedy that can give you many good feelings and make you wish you were in the show!
Synopsis: Thanks to some divine protection this summer, any demons in the tower won’t be able to use their power anymore. That’s why this country of Uruk invades the tower and wants to exterminate all demons.
“The army knows this is the chance to put an end to Druaga once and for all.” Moreover, not only there are soldiers in the tower, but there are also other groups with specific agendas. So, what events to look forward to this unusual summer?
22. Z/X Ignition
The story of this over-looked adventure, fantasy anime series is set in the near future. Something’s going on with the world. Completely out of nowhere, five entrances to different parallel universes start showing up. After that, beings from these new worlds start popping up in ours.
These beings are the inhabitants of five worlds. These worlds are the same, but they exist in different time-frames. So to ensure their own survival, each of the five invasion forces fights to eliminate the other futuristic world.
21. Rail Wars!
Rail Wars! is an underrated anime that a lot of people seem to have never seen or heard of. It’s produced by studio Passione and spans action, harem, police, and ecchi genres.
This unknown anime highlights the story of Follows Naoto Takayama who wants to become an employee for Japan National Railways because of the comfortable life that it will enable him to live.
In order to reach his aim, he joins its training program, where he and some students must show their knowledge of trains as well as their skills to encounter any challenge that might happen.
20. Natsu no Arashi
Natsu no Arashi is an underappreciated anime. The story follows Yasaka, a cute boy who used to spend summer vacation at his grandparents’ house. One day, he met Arashi in the store. As it turned out, she’s a pretty girl who works there. Meanwhile, a man appeared and forced her to go home, but Yasaka ran away with her. She now stays with him at his grandpa’s place. Later, she turns out not to be an ordinary girl, as she possesses mysterious abilities.
19. Daughter of 20 Faces
Spanning genres of action, adventure, and mystery, this underrated anime is so good to watch. The story is epic and follows Chiko, the daughter of a rich Mikamo family. She has to live with her aunt, and uncle after her parent’s death. Her aunt is greedy and wants to inherit the Mikamo family’s wealth. hence, she gives Chiko poisoned food. However, one day she’s kidnapped by the Nijuu Mensou (20 faces) and decides to join his clan.
18. Library Wars
Library Wars is another unknown anime series to watch. The show is so good at highlighting the story of Kasahara Iku, the first girl to join the Library Task Force.
Set in the year 2019 in Japan. In order to crack down on free expression, a new law is passed, which allows the government to create an armed force to find and destroy objectionable printed material. Meanwhile, to oppose this oppressive crackdown, the Library Force is created. The Library force’s task is to protect the libraries.
As a result, a fierce battle then ensues between these two groups.
17. Donten ni Warau
Donten ni Warau is a good underrated action historical anime centering around the story of the mighty samurai inhabitants that started to decrease, due to the newly established law that bans using swords.
They’re still some people who are starts rebelling against this law, causing violent disturbances all over the countryside. To fight against rising criminal activities, an unbreakable lake prison was constructed.
Therefore, three young men, were in charge of delivering criminals to their place of confinement—but could there be more to their task than meets the eye?
16. Qualidea Code
Produced by A-1 Pictures, Qualidea Code is a really good underrated magic anime series that highlights the story of a world where humanity is in a war against the “unknown”—the enemy of humanity.
The unknown are forces that try to overthrow the human race and force the world to collapse. Hence, children who were saved and have been asleep for decades, wake up from their slumber to learn that now they possess supernatural forces. Now, their mission is to protect the country and fight against the “unknown”.
15. Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin
This anime is the real deal, it is a good underrated tv show that touches upon genres of; adventure, comedy, mystery, and supernatural.
The series follows a teenage boy Juugo Yama, who moves into an apartment on an artificial island only to discover that it is haunted by a ghost. The ghost turns out to be Nanana Ryugajo, a girl who was killed a long time ago. With his high school’s adventure club, Juugo Yama goes on a treasure hunt for the mysterious Nanana Collection.
14. Peace Maker Kurogane
If you like samurai series and you are running out of good titles! then Peace Maker is a good underrated anime to watch now.
The show follows Ichimura, who wants to be strong in order to quench his thirst for revenge caused by the murder of his parents. To Do so he wants to join the Shinsengumi, However, Ichimura’s kindness makes him unable to cut down whoever threatened peace and the Shinsengumi. Hence, being a Shinsenguli member, he is about to know the harsh reality of blood and pain that he must face.
13. Togaino No Chi
Togaino No Chi is another best underrated anime worth watching. The plot follows the aftermath of the third world war that left Japan in ruins. Now Tokyo is controlled by an organization known as Vischio. Often, there are battle games known as Igura Takes place in Tokyo back alleys.
One day, an undefeated street fighting champion is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit but is soon approached by two strangers who promise him freedom. The terms? That he signs up for the deadly battle game Igura.
12. Sands of Destruction
Sands of Destruction is an underrated fantasy anime that deserves more attention. Here we have Morte, a lonely beauty with an axe to grind and a grudge against the world. Her brother died in the war between men and beasts, and now, she’s out to make everyone pay for her loss.
That’s where Kyrie comes in. This wandering cook may hold the key to unlocking the Destruct Code: a mysterious orb capable of eradicating everything in existence. Hence, the fate of the planet hangs in the balance, but these heroes would rather destroy the world than save it.
11. Ninja Slayer From Animation
Next up, we have an amazing underrated anime called Ninja Slayer From Animation. and this tv show, as you may have guessed already, deals with ninjas.
In this story, some ninjas seal their souls away so they can be resurrected in the future. However, thousands of years later, some reincarnated ninja starts wreaking havoc, and one ninja soul possesses a salaryman by the name of Fujikido Kenji and becomes a ninja slayer, seeking revenge on ninjas for killing those close to him.
10. Coppelion
Here is an unknown anime tv show that was first released in October of 2013, and for sure this is a series that will keep you entertained the entire way through.
The story is set in a time when Japan experiences the meltdown of a nuclear power plant in Tokyo, and everyone evacuates to avoid the deadly radiation. However, when a distress signal is picked up from Tokyo years later, 3 genetically engineered teenage girls are sent to investigate. Things will get interesting and captivating from there!
9. Diabolik Lovers
Diabolik Lovers: if you’re into vampires, this anime is definitely worth checking out. If you’re misogynistic and enjoy seeing women abused, then this show will be your favorite. If you’re also into masochism, you should enjoy this as well.
The story follows, the main female character Yui Komori, who due to her father’s advice, is sent to a mansion full of vampire brothers, and the only thing more intense than having a vampire trying to seduce a girl, is having 6 vampire brothers trying to seduce one girl.
8. Haganai
Moving on, among the most underrated anime tv shows of all time is Haganai. The series highlights that after transferring to a new school, making new friends can be extremely difficult. This is the case for Kodaka Hasegawa, who is cast out from the very beginning, after a while he and another outcast student create a club that welcomes people who have been rejected for not being “normal” by everyone else’s standards.
7. Cheer Boys!!
You probably have never heard of this, but Cheer Boys is a sports anime that might be one of the most inspiring “underrated” series out there.
The show depicts the story of Haruki Bandou and Kazuma Hashimoto, as they decide to quit judo, and start their team of male-only cheerleaders, known as the Breakers. Despite the general misconceptions about cheerleading, they are achieving success and making history. They’re still working to break down gender stereotypes, and cope with physical challenges and their doubts.
6. Domestic Girlfriend
Domestic Girlfriend is a great anime show that deserves more attention. This underrated romance anime series follows Natsuo and deals with some of the troubles of being an older teenager, unrequited love, and love triangles.
Natsuo’s father revealed that he is marrying a new wife, Tsukiko Tachibana, who will be coming over now to meet Natsuo. However, much to his surprise! it turns out that his new sisters are Hina and Rui Tachibana, the one he’s in love with and the other with whom he shared his first night.
Now, Natsuo must learn how to deal with his feelings for his step-siblings. Faced with a side of love that is more sinister and grotesque than he could have ever expected before.
5. Punch Line
Punch Line is another good underrated anime worth viewing. It has 12 episodes of comedy and supernatural themes.
The main character Yuuta Iridatsu has his soul separated from his body. He starts wandering around in this form trying to get his body back. Accidentally, he discovers that seeing panties could trigger a power that, if it becomes too powerful, will cause an asteroid to crash into the Earth.
Yuuta has to deal with the challenges of survival while being forced to unravel some mysteries and a nefarious organization that is trying to end the world. Will he be able to save everyone, or will this ever-present threat of panties result in failure?
4. Jitsu wa Watashi wa
In this underrated anime, we follow the story of Asahi Kuromine as he discovers that the girl he has a crush on in his school is actually a vampire girl. The boy promised that he would keep the secret safe, despite his lack of a poker face.
Having a supernatural being in his life poses a lot of problems for Asahi, but the start of the real troubles was when they started to multiply. Now he has to protect them all. Jitsu Wa Watashi Wa is an epic story that explores themes of tension, keeping secrets, and trying to win someone’s heart.
3. Princess Principal
This anime might seem like it’s only about school and girls, but the title is misleading because the show also includes spying as it takes place in a fantasy setting. I can say that there’s too much to the series than meets the eye.
Princess Principal is a nice underrated anime tv show with an original plot about espionage that keeps you interested throughout the show. It’s so creative. These spies are female students who hide their real identities. During the day, they’re a typical student and when the job calls, they pull out all the stops getting into shape and becoming skilled spies.
2. Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
If you have already watched The Prison Break Tv Series, there are some definite comparisons here to the great Madhouse’s Rainbow.
Set in 1955, this underrated drama anime series follows the story of seven teenagers locked in a reformatory. They are waiting for a ray of light in a daily hell. They have to face their suffering and humiliation while waiting and hoping to regain freedom in the end.
1. The Law Of Ueki
Wrapping out our list of the top underrated anime to watch with The Law Of Ueki. This is a show that follows the main character named Kousuke who has been chosen to compete in a tournament where the eventual winner will become the Celestial King.
Embodied with the power to turn garbage into trees, Kousuke will be joining in the battle against other students in this selection. Ueki goes on a journey to pursue his own sense of justice after witnessing the people around him misuse their powers for selfish purposes. But as he encounters talented power users, he realizes that achieving his goal will be much harder.
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