As you may already know, I’ve done a few blogs in the past dealing with anime characters, but this week, I’d thought I’d make an anime recommendation list. I tried not to mention animes I thought were super popular ("Pokemon," "Sailor Moon," "Tokyo Ghoul," "Attack on Titan," etc.) because there are some others that I’ve seen that definitely haven't gotten the attention they deserve. A few popular ones may still have made it into this list, though. I won’t go into plot descriptions here, but I’ll highlight a few aspects I liked from these shows so y'all can decide whether it’s something you’d be interested in.
"Angel Beats"
http://www.taringa.net/comunidades/a-4-ever/918977...
I thought this anime was absolutely beautiful. It’s hilarious, has a few lovable characters, and the music is great (the opening bars of the theme song are actually what got me hooked on this originally). I wish more of the characters had gotten moments to shine, and there are a couple of plot issues, but overall it’s pretty great. Word of warning: have a box of tissues ready. It is a comedy, but your heart will be destroyed, especially at the end. You’ve been warned…
"Blood Lad"
http://myanimelist.net/anime/11633/Blood_Lad
I haven’t seen this anime advertised much, which is surprising. It’s hilarious, has an interesting plotline, is paced pretty well, and has a few unexpected twists that keep it interesting. I kinda wish this one got more attention; it’s really enjoyable the whole way through.
"D. Gray-Man"
http://myanimelist.net/anime/1482/DGray-man
This anime is amazing; I could hardly stop watching it (I only did so because the dub stopped halfway through; it's picking back up this year, though!). The story’s pretty engaging, and the action and characters are both great. The action can stretch for a few episodes, though, so this anime might not be for you if that’s not your thing.
"Danganronpa"
http://danganronpa.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Anime
I mentioned this one in another article of mine, but I’d thought I’d include it just because I haven’t seen much publicity for it (unless you’re more familiar with the video games than the anime). This is a murder-mystery anime, not really comedies like the first two in this list. The outside world is post-apocalyptic, and the inside world, the school the characters are in, is filled with tension. The deaths can be pretty brutal in this one, too. Word of advice: don’t get attached to anyone. Just sayin.
"Death Parade"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Parade
Don’t let the theme song deceive you: this anime will wreck you, and it doesn’t get any easier after the first episode. Regardless, the plotline is very interesting, and it actually gets pretty deep, talking more about life and personhood toward the end of the series. There are some serious thematic elements in this anime, such as suicide, so be careful if you choose to watch it. Overall, it’s great, but have some tissues and/or a pillow ready (and maybe even a friend) for this one.
"Durarara!!"
http://durarara.wikia.com/wiki/Durarara!!_Wiki
A friend (who also told me about "Danganrompa") recommended this one to me, and I wasn’t disappointed with what I watched. This is a mystery anime with lots of twists and reveals that keep you engaged. One aspect of this anime I really liked was that for the number of characters in this anime (and there are a lot), each one is given a spotlight to an extent, and each is significant to the storyline; some episodes will even tell the same event from a different character’s perspective, but this also helps further the plotline. If nothing else, watch it for the characters, mainly Celty or Shizuo. And never trust Izaya. Just…don’t.
"Gangsta"
http://bentobyte.co/2015/06/08/gangsta-anime-relea...
I mentioned this in one of my other blogs as well, but I’d thought I’d mention it here, too, since I haven’t seen it advertised much (is there even merch for this anime? Please tell me if there is). This is definitely not for the faint of heart or the very conservative due to its graphic nature. The storyline and different plot elements are fairly unique, though (or at least uncommon to the point it’s refreshing to watch). The only part that angered me about this anime was discovering there might not be a second season for it since the studio in charge of it went bankrupt (if you watch it, you’ll understand my frustration).
"Hamatora The Animation"
http://www.shanethegamer.com/page/hamatora-season-...
This. This anime. Go watch it. Now. This is more of a mystery, crime-solving anime. It has two seasons; both are fairly short, and the first is arguably better than the second (but both tie together really well). The characters, the mystery, the action, the plot, the reveal- all of it’s great. I randomly found this anime while looking up a voice actor I liked to see what else he’s been in. The animation for this looked cool, so I looked up the plot. The plot looked interesting, so I watched it…I wasn’t disappointed at all (well, at the time I was only disappointed season two wasn’t out yet). But really. Go watch it.
"Noragami"
http://myanimelist.net/anime/20507/Noragami
This one is easily in my list of top ten favorite animes. The story is great. Even if it had stopped after season one, the ending would’ve been perfect; the second season’s also just as great if not better than the first (I’ll leave that up to you to decide). Between the character development, storyline/plot, action, and feels (because they will hit you; fair warning), this’ll have you hooked from start to finish. This anime’s also pretty short, so you could probably watch both seasons in a weekend (or one day if you're really dedicated).
"The Seven Deadly Sins"
This anime was refreshingly good. The plot, pacing, action, voice acting, and even this world in general are all amazing. One thing I really appreciated about this was that the really powerful characters got to use their really powerful abilities multiple times. You know how like in old Superman or Batman cartoons they kinda use the same move when they had other, more powerful/better ones at their disposal (like Superman's heat vision being used to fix buildings but never used to stop an enemy)? Yeah, this doesn’t happen in this anime, and there’s actually enough space in this world for them to fight at full strength without causing too much collateral damage (unlike the new Superman movie, but I’ve ranted enough about that already). This anime’s also on Netflix, and a second season should be coming out very soon.
These are just a few of the animes I fell are good but unpopular or underappreciated. There are many more to choose from, though. I’ve only really been watching for about two years now, so I’m just scratching the surface with this article. If you have any suggestions for other underrated animes you think are great, let me know, and I’ll add them to my (ever-growing) list to watch them later. Also, let me know what you think of these; I'd love to talk about them with someone else (and by talk I mean fangirl for hours and possibly rewatch them later).
