Underrated Anime


Episode 67

Underrated Anime

In this episode of Gateway to Anime we talk about (in our opinion) underrated anime, that have either been somewhat forgotten through the passage of time, or simply not given the credit they deserve amongst the community.  With an arbitrary criteria implemented (from MAL ranking and popularity scores) the gang go through shows they think are underrated and deserve more credit.  You might just find your next favorite hidden gem! 

FEATURING

Sam

Charlie

Graeme

ANIME REFERENCES

Paradise Kiss

Hayasaka Yukari is a typical high-school student who listens to her parents and attends school every day. As she starts to question her way of life, she encounters a group of fashion design students who have a clothing label known as "Paradise Kiss." The group needs to find a model to showcase their designs in an up-coming fashion show and decides to pick Yukari. Initially reluctant to be associated with this seemingly eccentric group, she eventually realizes they are really nice people. Furthermore, their passion and enthusiasm to follow their ideals make Yukari realize she has not been enjoying her life and thus motivates her to pursue her own dreams. The story follows Yukari as she gets involved in the group and eventually falls in love with the leader, George.

Soul Eater

Set in the Shinigami technical school for weapon meisters, the series revolves around 3 groups of each a weapon meister and a human weapon. Trying to make the latter a "Death Scythe" which is the highest title for a weapon and thus fit for use by the Shinigami, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch. Maka & Soul Eater, Black Star & Tsubaki, and Death the Kid with Patty and Liz Thompson are the characters Soul Eater revolves around. Besides taking the time to gather souls, these students of Shibusen defend Death City from some of the most powerful of creatures while still attending school and trying to become stronger.

Space Dandy

The story of the anime revolves around Dandy, an alien-hunter. His job is to seek out new aliens never seen before, and receives a reward whenever he finds a new species. His mission is to find those new species faster than anyone else as he travels the galaxy. Together with the bucket-of-bolts robot QT and the dimwit alien Meow he picked up along the way, he comes into contact with new planets and their inhabitants.. (Source: Anime News Network)

Skip and Loafer

This country girl is ready for the big city! Well, at least she thought she was. Mitsumi’s dream is to attend a prestigious school and make the world a better place. But when she finally gets to Tokyo, it turns out she isn’t exactly prepared for city life. Luckily, she runs into Shima, a sweet and handsome classmate who becomes her first friend! Can she make it in Tokyo with Shima by her side? (Source: Crunchyroll)

Ghost Hunt

While at school, Taniyama Mai and her friends like to exchange ghost stories. Apparently, there is an abandoned school building on their campus that is the center of many ghost stories. During the story, they are interrupted by a mysterious male figure. The person turns out to be Shibuya Kazuya, a 17 year old who is president of the Shibuya Psychic Research Company. He was called by the principal to investigate the stories surrounding the abandoned school building. The next day, on the way to school, Mai passes the school building in question. While examining a strange camera she spotted inside, she gets surprised by Kazuya's assistant. Unknowingly interfering with the investigation, Mai breaks the camera and Kazuya's assistant gets injured. Kazuya forcefully hires Mai in order to pay for the camera and replace his injured assistant. From that point on, Mai begins to learn about the paranormal world and the profession of ghost hunting. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

SK8 the Infinity

Reki, a high school sophomore and skater, is addicted to “S,” a highly secret and dangerous downhill skateboarding race that takes place in an abandoned mine. The skaters are especially wild about the “beefs,” or heated battles that erupt in the races. Reki takes Langa, a transfer student returning to Japan after studying abroad, to the mine where the races are held. Langa, who has no skateboarding experience, finds himself pulled into the world of “S”...

Sonny Boy

It’s an ordinary summer vacation...except for the fact that Nagara’s high school has mysteriously drifted into another dimension. As the students begin to develop strange new powers, will they work together to survive the alien environment and find a way home, or will their newly formed factions and rivalries turn on each other? (Source: Funimation) Note: The first episode received an advance release on YouTube on June 19, 2021. The regular TV broadcast started on July 16, 2021.

Blue Exorcist

This world consists of two dimensions joined as one, like a mirror. The first is the world in which the humans live, Assiah. The other is the world of demons, Gehenna. Ordinarily, travel between the two, and indeed any kind of contact between the two, is impossible. However the demons can pass over into this world by possessing anything that exist within it. Satan the god of demons, but there's one thing that he doesn't have, and that's a substance in the human world that is powerful enough to contain him!! For that purpose he created Rin, his son from a human woman, but will his son agree to his plans? Or will he become something else...? An exorcist?

Paranoia Agent

An elementary school kid dubbed with the title "shounen bat" or "lil slugger" has been going around attacking people with his bent, golden bat. Now, two detectives are investigating so they can stop this kid from making any more attacks, but they will find out soon enough... that this case is much more than they expected. (Source: Anime News Network)

Skip Beat!

Kyouko followed her true love and childhood friend Shou to Tokyo so she could help him reach his dream of becoming an idol. She cleans, cooks, works three jobs and does nothing for herself because she loves him so much, but gets nothing in return. Still, she remains by his side. But then one day she goes unannounced to his agency with a delivery, and overhears him talking about her; he reveals to his manager that he only took her with him as a maid, and that he doesn't care for her at all. Upon hearing this, Kyouko doesn't just sit around and cry. She cuts and dyes her hair, changes her clothes and attitude and thus begins her journey to join showbiz and have her revenge against Shou.(Source: Anime News Network)

Death Parade

When two people die at the same time, they’re sent to a place that’s neither heaven nor hell—a lavish bar between worlds where the stakes are high and the rules are simple: if you win you live again, if you die… you’re gone for good. Decim is the bartender charged with serving the souls who enter Quindecim. He may make a mean cocktail, but his true profession is to play the role of arbiter—a judge who determines whether or not a soul is worthy of reincarnation. To aid in his judgment, the bar’s patrons are forced to play simple games laced with sadistic twists designed to bring their true natures to light. To Decim, judgment has always been black and white—that is—until he meets a mysterious young woman whose fate seems impossible to decide. His indecision shakes the very foundation of the games and raises the biggest question of all: Who is fit to judge the dead? (Source: Funimation)

Gintama

Life isn't easy in feudal Japan... especially since the aliens landed and conquered everything! Oh sure, the new health care is great, but the public ban on the use of swords has left a lot of defeated samurai with a difficult decision to make concerning their future career paths! This is especially true if, as in the case of Gintoki Sakata, they're not particularly inclined towards holding a day job, which is why Gintoki's opted for the freelance route, taking any job that's offered to him as long as the financial remuneration sounds right. Unfortunately, in a brave new world filled with stray bug-eyed monsters, upwardly mobile Yakuza and overly ambitious E.T. entrepreneurs, those jobs usually don't pay as well as they should for the pain, suffering and indignities endured! (Source: Sentai Filmworks)

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