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Sorry if there's a topic on this already, but are there any lesser-known anime titles you love or hate? Ones that don't get a lot of coverage in the fandom or by critics but are still worth mentioning?

It's probably just my tendency to root for the underdog, but I tend to search for these kind of titles. Sometimes, you can discover some real buried treasures. As for one off the top of my head, Aoi Bungaku is an interesting little series. Each episode starts off in live-action explaining a bit of context behind the adapted stories, including the lives of the authors and how they played a role in how the stories were written. "No Longer Human" and "Run, Melos!" are especially outstanding examples of how an artist's perception and experience influences the type of story they write--both were by the same author and you can easily tell which one was written during a calmer period of his life versus during his downward spiral even without the introduction. But as a word of advice, don't watch the last two episodes before bedtime. Just don't.

Oh, somebody who actually watched Aoi Bungaku!
I haven't watched all episodes - only the "No longer Human" ones because I had to write a paper about the book and thought it would be a nice idea to compare the book version with the anime version.
But "No longer Human" is not really my favourite anime/book.. I can appreciate it for what it is and the anime has been made really well and everything and is a pretty good adaption of the book. But it is too sad, melancholic, crazy for my tastes. I don't really like stuff that puts me down, I mainly consume uplifting, happy or cherry media.

Apart from that.. I don't really watch a lot of anime, so I can't really think of any "underdog" ones.

Hmm I don't know how many people know this one but as far as I know it's not commonly mentioned. Gurren Lagann is a really good one. I'm not really into mecha anime but I thought this one was exceptionally good. That's just my personal opinion. Also Shinrei Tantei Yakumo is good but I think the reason it's not overly known is because it's still slightly new. ^^'

EDIT:I forgot Kaze no Stigma!!! how could I forget such an awesome underdog!!!! T.T (oh it is a 13 episode series but the manga production stopped because the author died T.T so sad)

There are people who haven't seen Aoi Bungaku!?
What has the world come to!

I have so many, where to begin...
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki
Cheeky Angel
Gargoyle of Yoshinaga House
Shadow Skill - Eigi
UN-GO

Are some very under appreciated titles.

Do Lemmasoft WIP games count?

This is about lesser known anime titles, so no.

Elfen Lied is one of my favourites, but doesn't seem to have too much of a dedicated fandom. Probably due to it being rather short, especially the anime. (The manga continues on whereas the anime stops.) It's great though. Gore-filled, but great.

Not sure if this would count as relatively obscure, but going by the general mentions i'd assume so:

Tenshi no Tamago (english title: "Angel's Egg") is Mamoru Oshii's first feature film, centered on the story of a nameless (7?) year old girl and an equally nameless soldier carrying a cross (rifle?) on his back who live in a town in which apparently no other creature exists. There are at most 15 lines in the entire film, and the incredibly achieved ambience make it an amazing (if somewhat terrifying) watch.

These are some titles I enjoyed. I think they are lesser known, might be wrong about some though. The first 3 are more aimed at children, but still good.

Ashita no Nadja
Fancy Lala
Uninhabited Planet Survive
Toward the Terra
Fantastic Children
Please Save My Earth - Okay, I'm cheating a bit here. It's actually the manga I'm in love with.

Would lesser known manga be ok here, or just anime?

@ Haze

Either or is okay.

lilyrose wrote:Hmm I don't know how many people know this one but as far as I know it's not commonly mentioned. Gurren Lagann is a really good one. I'm not really into mecha anime but I thought this one was exceptionally good. That's just my personal opinion.

Gurren Lagann is relatively well-known. I've seen dozens of cosplays and AMVs based on the series.

My obscure gems include
:
Diamond Dust Drops: 13 episodes, 6 story arcs. Relatively realistic stories about women in Hokkaido, and their troubled relationships. Very loosely based on the "Kita e" Dreamcast games. The ADV Films version is called Diamond Daydreams, and is pretty easy to find.

Hyouge Mono: a soldier loves art and tea. Lots of historical references and slow, serious scenes. Watch it because of its strengths: adult characters, no fantasy elements, and a remarkable lack of cuteness.

The Unlimited Hyoubu Kyosuke: the darker side of the Zettai Karen Children universe. An antagonist centered show with both action episodes and thoughtful moments.

Detroit Metal City: it will offend you, and its humor is usually bleak. It's a series about a man who may be losing his sanity, and the dysfunctional adults who don't help him.

Ok, here are mine.

Not sure how many people know about this one but Hibiki's Magic is a really great manga about, to put it in very basic terms, a girl who ends up becoming a teacher at a magical academy and the various shenanigans that happen to her. It looks really cute(thanks to the art), but the story can be quite bittersweet at times, especially the side story at the end of volume 1. Only 2 volumes have been produced, and the first one came out in 2004, so this is unfortunately an unfinished series.

Kurozakuro, also a manga, is about a high school student who's never hurt a person in his life becoming a monster that loves the sight of blood and the taste of human flesh. When I read volume 1, I couldn't put it down; it's really good.

Millennium Snow, by the author of Ouran High School Host Club(Bisco Hatori), appears to also be an overlooked series. It's a cute shoujo manga about a vampire who knows the pain of living forever(one notable line: "Can you understand the horror of living for a thousand years?!") and a girl with a heart condition who could die at almost any time. It's pretty comedic, but it also has some serious parts. Bisco Hatori worked on it before Ous Host, but she put it on hold when Ous Host got popular, so only two volumes were released. She just released volume 3 in August, which made me pretty happy.

As for one off the top of my head, Aoi Bungaku is an interesting little series.

On a random note, I've always wanted to get around to watch Aoi Bungaku because I like No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai and the short stories of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, especially Mandarins. I know it isn't anime or manga, but if you ever get the chance, read Mandarins. It's a short story well worth your time.

Aurélie wrote:Elfen Lied is one of my favourites, but doesn't seem to have too much of a dedicated fandom.

Really? It seems to be pretty well-known on the internet.

They Were 11 - Scifi anime movie about ten space cadets being sent to a decommissioned space ship for their final test only when they arrive there are eleven of them and none of them have ever met. Its an interesting little mystery, worth at least one watch.

Shinesman - This is a very short very funny parody of the Sentai genre. It is probably the only anime I will ever recommend watching the dub over the sub.

Kanata Kara - Very shojou manga, with a girl being transported to a magical world, meeting a super handsome and overpowered guy on arrival and finding that she's some prophetic world changing force. Where this is good is in the details, like the fact that she spends a good deal of the manga unable to speak the local language.