Let’s be real: with so many new anime coming out every season, even the most devoted fans are guaranteed to miss a couple of gems. While blockbusters like Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia get all the attention, there are plenty of amazing shows that quietly go under the radar. These are the sleeper series—the ones that didn’t make huge splashes but deserve your time. From gut-wrenching emotional punches to genre-bending strangeness, here are 10 underrated anime you must watch.
10. AnoHana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Ready to be moved in all the ways? AnoHana is about a band of childhood friends who’ve drifted apart since a tragedy—and are brought back together when the ghost of their deceased friend, Menma, appears. It’s a gorgeous, melancholy exploration of healing, growing up, and unfinished grief. Every single one of them is bringing something around, and every episode is stripping away the layers. Just try not to cry. A lot.
9. Full Metal Panic!
Picture putting a seasoned battle-hardened soldier in a high school and expecting him to just fit in. That’s the setup for Full Metal Panic!, blending action and military life with slice-of-life humor in a manner somehow successful. Sousuke’s efforts to guard Kaname—while comically misinterpreting all social signals—provide some of the series’ strongest moments. It’s clever, comedic, action-filled, and utterly distinctive. And let’s not overlook the hysterical spinoff, Fumoffu.
8. X/1999
Dark, dramatic, and unapologetically 2000s, X/1999 is a chaotic mix of prophecy, psychic powers, and the end of the world. Kamui Shirou has to decide whether he’ll save or doom humanity, caught between two supernatural factions. It’s vintage CLAMP, full of style, emotion, and crossovers with other titles like Tokyo Babylon. If you’re into high-stakes supernatural conflict, this one’s a classic that doesn’t get nearly enough love.
7. Rave Master
Before Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima introduced us to Rave Master, a shonen adventure with a healthy dose of charm, friendship, and epic battle. Haru Glory’s journey to vanquish Dark Bring may adhere to established tropes, but the passion and enthusiasm behind it make it new again. The characters are endearing, the action is well-executed, and Plue—the snowman-dog-thing—is iconic. It’s old-school anime goodness that’s worth a second glance.
6. Air Gear
Air Gear is essentially Tony Hawk in anime form—with gangs, record-shattering tricks, and crazy tech-enhanced rollerblades. It’s over-the-top in a good sense, watching Ikki go from street punk to gravity-defying legend. The animation is smooth, the music is lit, and although the fanservice is certainly present, it never gets in the way of the raw, adrenaline-fueled enjoyment. It didn’t receive the love it deserved, but it’s a blast from beginning to end.
5. SonnyBoy
Sonny Boy is not your run-of-the-mill anime. Think of a group of students who are suddenly brought to a mysterious realm where time and space operate differently—and where every student gradually gets unusual powers. Under the direction of Shingo Natsume (One Punch Man), this series is philosophically richer than action-oriented, exploring the meanings of isolation, identity, and liberty. It’s visually striking, emotionally nuanced, and guaranteed to be a cult classic.
4. Kaiba
Want something different? Kaiba is a psychedelic sci-fi story that takes place in a world where memories can be transferred, sold, or pilfered. Masaaki Yuasa’s trippy visual style may appear deceptively plain, but the subject matter is far from it. It’s a love story, a class story, and a story about what it is that makes us, us. Emotionally deep and crazily imaginative, Kaiba is unlike anything else in anime—and it’s time more people knew it.
3. Welcome to the NHK
Ever feel like the world’s just a little too much? Welcome to the NHK plunges us into the existence of Satou, an antisocial shut-in who harbors delusional conspiracy theories and shuns human interaction at all expenses. It’s darkly comic, existentially painful, and unexpectedly inspiring. Satou’s cringe-inducing path toward self-acceptance is a paranoia-fueled, comedy-drenched, emotionally raw rollercoaster. It’s not an easy watch—but it’s one that’s not soon forgotten.
2. Serial Experiments Lain
Half cyberpunk, half psychological thriller, Lain is an immersive experience of the internet in the years before the internet took over. The more Lain gets entangled in “The Wired,” the more her hold on reality falters. It’s mysterious, intellectual, and well ahead of its time, challenging identity, technology, and what it means to be alive. If you prefer your anime confusing and a little creepy, Lain is a must-watch.
1. Death Parade
Death games in a sleek, afterlife bar? Sign us up. Death Parade drops people into a mysterious lounge where their souls are judged through bizarre bar games—from darts to bowling—with everything on the line. The stoic bartender Decim serves as both host and arbiter, and through each episode, you’ll confront the very nature of morality, regret, and redemption. With breathtaking animation, a chilling jazz score, and emotional resonance, it’s quite one of anime’s most underappreciated gems.
Wrap-Up
There you have it—10 anime shows that deserved so much more love than they received. Whether you need your emotional drama fix, your wacky sci-fi, or just something different, these hidden gems show that sometimes the greatest anime isn’t the trending one—it’s the one patiently sitting in your watchlist.