The one anime that pops into my mind that nobody seems to know about (but is one that I love) is: .hack//LEGEND OF THE TWILIGHT. There have been tons of .hack// animes and mangas, but the one that I love the most is LOTT. It's a great little anime (and manga) that is only 12 episodes long (or 3 books long) but is thoroughly enjoyable. (I'll save an actual review for a later post.)
The one manga series that I love which is still rather unknown would have to be: Junk Force. It's only 3 books long, but has a great, gripping story that pulled me in from the start. It's really pretty hard to find now, but if you can, I'd definitely pick it up. (Again, a review will come later.)
Discussion Time Again!What about the rest of you? Do you have any gems in your anime/manga collection that it seems only you have watched/read? Share them with us!
Update! I did some looking around and apparently there are also some Junk Force novels. Not graphic novels, but regular, no picture novels. I'll have to do some looking and see if I can't find those. If any of you see them anywhere, let me know!
ReplyDeleteClannad, but that is only unknown over here. DVD sales for that anime are very prominent right now in Japan.
ReplyDeleteThe manga that I like that is fairly unheard of (or at least not talked about at all) is Desert Coral. The story is sweet but short (finishing off completely after three books), and the art style is by far my favorite for a manga.
Oooooooohhhh boy let me tell you, I could REALLY have a field day with this one! XD Probably not anywhere near as much as some of my friends could, but I do feel like I know quite a bit myself. For me though I'd say probably the 3 favorites of mine would have to be Baccano, Monnonoke (not having ANYTHING to do with Princess Monnonoke, by the way ;) ), and Texhnolyze.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that Baccano is all that little known now that it's finally been licensed but from what I understand it's always been quite the obscure series. And in all honesty I have no idea why because it seems like something that would really appeal to the mainstream audience. It might have something to do with the unique way in which it's plot is structured, I don't know. It is kind of an acquired taste in that sense.
Monnonoke is, quite frankly, one of the most unique works of art I've ever seen in an anime series. It's art and animation style for one is unlike anything I've ever seen before, almost to the point where it doesn't even look like anime, and the directing style is just pure genius. It's also a very beautifully deep and engaging series as well. It doesn't have a linear plot and is split up into 5 story arcs over 12 episodes, which even though linear plots are a big deal to me as much as anyone else, doesn't bother me at all because the series is just so unbelievable in so many other areas. Plus that and it helps that the Medicine Seller is arguably one of the most awesome characters of all time! 8-)
Unfortunately though there's no U.S. license for it, and who knows if there ever will be. There is however licensed in the U.S. (though probably fairly hard to find) a series called Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales in which Monnonoke is based off of the Bakeneko (Goblin Cat) arc of that series. You could probably pick up that DVD somewhere (all 3 episodes of that arc are on one DVD) and get a taste of what Monnonoke is all about, in fact it's suggested you watch that arc before you watch the series. But Monnonoke itself you'd have to go find some torrents for or something.
And then there's Texhnolyze, which basically is by the same people who did Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei. This one is more like Lain though, only not quite as confusing (although still very, very confusing nonetheless....) and is actually much darker in nature. It has one of the more depressing endings you'll ever see in an anime, very similar to how Wolf's Rain ends in fact. But if you dig deep enough it actually is a very, very uplifting one nonetheless, also very similar to how Wolf's Rain ended. ^_^ I wouldn't be too surprised if I was the only person in like, the entire state of Utah who's even heard this series' name though...... :C Part of that is because it was a Geneon series, which basically means it's now officially out of print, but it was FAR too much of an obscure title to begin with anyways.
Oh, as for manga, well I've gone on for far long enough about obscure anime titles that we'll just leave that one for some other time. ^_^'
ReplyDeleteI am forced to second each series that BroEl mentioned since he stole them from me. As for my own picks, I also could ramble on and on so I'll limit myself to two anime and two manga.
ReplyDeleteAnime:
Giant Robo definitely comes to mind. Even if you dislike giant robots, it is a series well worth checking out.
Pale Cocoon is one of the best short films I've had the pleasure of watching. Only 30 minutes, but a powerful 30 minutes at that. It technically isn't licensed, but is available legally on Crunchyroll.
Manga:
Solanin is my #1 favorite licensed manga and #2 favorite overall. It contains what is probably the most relatable story I have ever read in a manga. I saw so much of myself in Solanin that it is downright scary.
Me and the Devil Blues would be my other choice. I have been recommending it like crazy lately. It's a fictionalized account of the life of famous Blues musician Robert Leroy Johnson and it is thoroughly engrossing. Too bad it is currently on hiatus in Japan.
Alright, so here's a couple of manga series I thought of:
ReplyDeleteParasyte: Not a very hard series at all to find. Heck, I'm able to find it just over at my local Barnes and Noble, and that's really saying something....... From what I understand though, it's a very unappreciated series. I'm only assuming it's because of how tripped out the cover art for all the volumes tend to be...... But it is a very excellent series. Very engaging and intense storyline, and has some pretty fairly thought-provoking themes as well.
Historie: Another one of those series that's not yet licensed in the U.S., unfortunately. :C Basically though it's from the same manga artist that did Parasyte, and from what I understand it's a very underappreciated masterpiece. I myself have only read about 10 or so chapters of it (and I really, really need to get around to reading more sometime..... ), but from what I've read I can already tell it's a very impressive series.
@BroEl: I've seen Parasyte at Barnes and Noble, I've just never picked it up and read through it. I probably should one of these days, if it's as good as you say it is.
ReplyDeleteIf you do I will warn you though that it can be a very brutally shocking series sometimes. Don't know if you've seen worse/just as bad before, but some of the stuff that happens in that series isn't really for the faint of heart, that's for sure.
ReplyDelete