CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

If there's one thing I've learned with any form of media, it's this: Good stuff will often go unnoticed.
This is true of anime, especially. So what are some gems the world should know about, guys?

Personally, I think Baccano! deserves way more recognition.

Cross Game
Glass Mask
There are a couple of others i might put here, but I think I've seen them mentioned around here a fair amount, so I'm not sure they "don't get enough love"

I agree that Baccano! does not get the attention it deserves as it is overshadowed by Durarara!

I'd say Fafner. It's either accused of being an Evangelion clone or even more frequently completely ignored. Despite popular enough in Japan to have spawned a prequel OVA, a movie and a currently airing second season, it is still virtually dismissed in the West. So much so that one is hard pressed to find anyone who is even watching Exodus.

To a less extent, Last Exile.

I think Gargantia, although it gets noticed, deserves more attention, I'd say log horizon as it seems to be in SAO's shadow a lot

Gun X Sword. It gets overshadowed by Code Geass. I admit that Season 1 of Code Geass was a more fast-paced, exciting show. It did a better job of pulling the plot together, and it had an impressive cast of interesting characters. But (keeping in mind that I haven't finished Season 2 of Code Geass yet!), I think that Gun X Sword had more likeable characters -- or at least, more likeable main characters. Even if a series has a compelling plot, I generally want there to be characters I like and can root for.

Mouse2010 wrote:Gun X Sword. It gets overshadowed by Code Geass. I admit that Season 1 of Code Geass was a more fast-paced, exciting show. It did a better job of pulling the plot together, and it had an impressive cast of interesting characters. But (keeping in mind that I haven't finished Season 2 of Code Geass yet!), I think that Gun X Sword had more likeable characters -- or at least, more likeable main characters. Even if a series has a compelling plot, I generally want there to be characters I like and can root for.

The last half of Gun x Sword was so tedious that I almost didn't finish it. However, I can definitely get behind its having better, more likeable characters than CG, as I didn't really care about any of the Code Geass characters by the end of season 1. I certainly didn't like any of them.

Area 88. The original 1985 OVA, none of that computer generated crap like the newer series.

Also, Mononoke does not get enough attention. It is visually stunning, supremely bizarre and a beautiful take on Japanese traditional themes of the supernatural kind. The narrrative is intelligent and adds a layer of originality to an already very unique anime.

Virtually no one saw Mouryou no Hako, which is a shame and it is one the few anime that is genuinely dark and mysterious while delivering a suspenseful story. The Mishima references make it even more interesting.

Obligatory mention of Legend of the Galactic Heroes goes here. I’m so glad some members of CAA raved about it in Recommendations, because I would have missed out on it otherwise. It is truly a hidden gem of epic sci-fi.

Hyouka.
Watashi, ki ni narimasu!
http://myanimelist.net/anime/12189/Hyouka

Dennou Coil
Kids playing with virtual reality
http://myanimelist.net/anime/2164/Dennou_Coil

Toshokan Sensou/Library Wars
A good show even though some elements of the world building drive me up the wall.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/3613/Toshokan_Sensou

=== And now for some shows that have actually been licensed ===

(I'll trust that someone else is already working up an essay in the virtues of Giant Robo. so I'll let it lie.)

Bounen no Xamdou/Xam'd: Lost Memories
http://myanimelist.net/anime/4177/Bounen_no_Xamdou

Majestic Prince
A group of high school misfits, piloting mecha, in SPAAAAAACE.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/15863/Ging ... tic_Prince

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Military comedy in SPAAAAACE.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/569/Museki ... chou_Tylor

Humanity Has Declined
Title sounds like it must be something depressing; it's not. Very odd. Amusing but ever so odd.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/10357/Jinr ... Shimashita

Tonari no Seki-kun
8-minute shorts about a girl who tries to pay attention in class and the boy who distracts her by fiddling with things at his desk. It's short, go watch.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/18139/Tonari_no_Seki-kun

STAR DRIVER
Ask Goldy. I'm out of words.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/8934/Star_ ... _no_Takuto

MomentOfInertia wrote:Dennou Coil

This is on my list of things I want to watch but can't find anywhere, so I was glad you said this:

MomentOfInertia wrote:=== And now for some shows that have actually been licensed ===

Bounen no Xamdou/Xam'd: Lost Memories
Tonari no Seki-kun

and these.

One Stormy Night (Arashi no Yoru ni) - A beautiful movie I've never heard anyone mention, about a goat and a wolf who become friends despite the prejudice of their herd/pack.

Scamper the Penguin - A really cute movie about an adventurous penguin who gets lost with his best friend and has to try to find his way back home.

Ergo Proxy - A weird, trippy anime, but still a good one. It starts as a murder mystery in a post-apocalyptic dystopia...and then goes in all sorts of weird, fascinating directions. Also, if I could choose to look just like any anime character, I would pick Re-l.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo - Probably the biggest impediment to this being better known is its headache-inducing art style. It's really hard to focus on it at first, but once you get used to it, it's really interesting. Basically, it's the story of The Count of Monte Cristo retold in a sci-fi setting, complete with all sorts of fun Japanese touches like a demon vampire...thing. It has some content I could do without, but has the best ending to any version of this story I've seen (including the book).

Gunslinger Girl - I don't hear much about this, but it's beautiful. I need to watch it again. Basically, it's about a bunch of young, cute girls...who are trained to kick butt and do all sorts of assassination missions. But even with its crazy action, Gunslinger Girl is a very sad, thoughtful sort of show.

Haibane Renmei - Everyone I know who's seen this has loved it, but there just aren't that many people who have. A breathtaking story of people called Haibane who are born into the world with no memories of their life before, but they have angel wings and halos and carry out a special role in the town before they mysteriously disappear when it's their time. I absolutely love this anime.

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade - A really interesting, sad movie about a war-torn Japan and an ill-fated romance between two people caught up in the riots.

Lovely Complex - A hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt romance between a really tall girl and a really short boy. This anime does a good job of holding up strong friendships as well as the main romance it centers around. Easily the best shoujo I've ever seen.

the_wolfs_howl wrote:Gunslinger Girl - I don't hear much about this, but it's beautiful. I need to watch it again. Basically, it's about a bunch of young, cute girls...who are trained to kick butt and do all sorts of assassination missions. But even with its crazy action, Gunslinger Girl is a very sad, thoughtful sort of show.

Indeed. It is gorgeous, and for all that it's an action anime about killer cyborgs, a lot of it plays out like a slice of life, and I think it is a good combination; a very thoughtful and heartfelt examination of what we choose to do with technology and what those choices do to us as a society.

p.s., I think Haibane is getting plenty of love, at least around here.

Princess Jellyfish rules and everyone should watch it.

Maybe Blast of Tempest--it was the fist anime I watched subbed (cause it never got dubbed), and I really enjoyed it, but I don't hear that much about it. So, yeah, I it deserves more love, imo.

Also Steins;Gate. I know it has a good deal of recognition, but I also know that allot of people don't watch it because it "looks boring" or because "nothing happens in the first few episodes" (I don't agree with either of those statements, btw).

So, Steins;Gate and Blast of Tempest.

Nate wrote:Princess Jellyfish rules and everyone should watch it.

I've actually had a few people tell me that I need to watch that one. The first time I heard the name I just thought, "Oh, that sounds stupid", and didn't even give it a second thought, but Cowboy Bebop taught me you can't judge a show by its name, so I'll definitely check it out sooner or later.

Also if you watch Princess Jellyfish and Mayaya isn't your favorite character then you're wrong.

the_wolfs_howl wrote:Ergo Proxy - A weird, trippy anime, but still a good one. It starts as a murder mystery in a post-apocalyptic dystopia...and then goes in all sorts of weird, fascinating directions. Also, if I could choose to look just like any anime character, I would pick Re-l.

True, Ergo Proxy deserves a lot more attention than it gets. Same goes for Texhnolyze, its sheer bleakness and harsh delivery probably kept people away.

the_wolfs_howl wrote:Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo - Probably the biggest impediment to this being better known is its headache-inducing art style. It's really hard to focus on it at first, but once you get used to it, it's really interesting. Basically, it's the story of The Count of Monte Cristo retold in a sci-fi setting, complete with all sorts of fun Japanese touches like a demon vampire...thing. It has some content I could do without, but has the best ending to any version of this story I've seen (including the book).

That a wonderful soundtrack.

the_wolfs_howl wrote:Gunslinger Girl - I don't hear much about this, but it's beautiful. I need to watch it again. Basically, it's about a bunch of young, cute girls...who are trained to kick butt and do all sorts of assassination missions. But even with its crazy action, Gunslinger Girl is a very sad, thoughtful sort of show.

It's a great show but it is fairly popular.

the_wolfs_howl wrote:Haibane Renmei - Everyone I know who's seen this has loved it, but there just aren't that many people who have. A breathtaking story of people called Haibane who are born into the world with no memories of their life before, but they have angel wings and halos and carry out a special role in the town before they mysteriously disappear when it's their time. I absolutely love this anime.

I love it as well but just like Lain it has a very large fanbase and one that covers extremely different people from all walks of life.

And I agree that Blast of Tempest deserves much more love. Anyone can drop Romeo and Juliet lines but The Tempest is known as one of Shakespeare's most obscure plays and I found it much more rewarding than other better known works of his. The way the anime tackled the play was also brilliant, the displaced narrative worked remarkably well.

Also, Un-go. Virtually no one has seen it and yet it's a sleek, stylish and highly original take on a mystery anime in which the supernatural is actually interesting.

Dennou Coil is like a benign version of Lain and gets overshadowed probably for that very reason. Which is probably why Key the Metal Idol also tends to fall by the wayside despite being quite good.

Red Garden is a rare case in which 'girls fight monsters' actually serves as a plot device to develop characters. Bonus points for one of the few more or less believable projections of life in the US in anime. Another often dismissed anime that does a great job at depicting the West is Ikoku Meiro no Croisée.

Wolf's Rain is one of the best anime I've seen and yet does not get much love.

Le Chevalier D'Eon is like Rose of Versailles on crack and gets crazy good on occasion yet is virtually ignored.

Hyakko gets completely overshadowed by K-On and all other popular slice of life 'girls doing cute things' anime but I found it much funnier than most. It actually made me laugh many times per episode and is zany enough to keep my attention.

Nocturnalux wrote:Also, Un-go. Virtually no one has seen it and yet it's a sleek, stylish and highly original take on a mystery anime in which the supernatural is actually interesting.

Too right! Un-go is quite worthy of some love, but it's so odd that I don't feel comfortable recommending it to anyone without really knowing what their tastes are.

Nocturnalux wrote:Another often dismissed anime that does a great job at depicting the West is Ikoku Meiro no Croisée.

This is the other series I've bought on disc (did I say I'd bought Gunslinger Girl?), and I do agree wholeheartedly that it needs more love!

I want to ramble about Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle just because, but I'm pretty sure it actually gets more love than I'm willing to admit.

Kekkaishi. Maybe it's got more popularity than I think, but I'm not sure I've ever heard it mentioned, and I think it deserves a hurrah or two. I think this show has great pacing and greater character development, with a rather solid story as well.

Nocturnalux wrote:Wolf's Rain is one of the best anime I've seen and yet does not get much love.

Oooh, forgot about this one! I definitely agree; Wolf's Rain is awesome. The very very ending was disappointing, but I loved it all the way up till then.

MomentOfInertia wrote:Hyouka.
Tonari no Seki-kun
8-minute shorts about a girl who tries to pay attention in class and the boy who distracts her by fiddling with things at his desk. It's short, go watch.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/18139/Tonari_no_Seki-kun

This. A million times this. This show is so much fun & silly. It's worth every second of silliness.

Xamd, Princess Jellyfish and dennou Coil for sure.

Bamboo Blade?

NekoNinja16 wrote:Bamboo Blade?

It's a great show. Tamaki is so cool.

skreyola wrote:

NekoNinja16 wrote:Bamboo Blade?

It's a great show. Tamaki is so cool.

Totally. :3

I thought that Shakugan no Shana did not get nearly enough recognition, despite being a really well-made show with great character development (especially during the last season!).

And, like a few people mentioned, Log Horizon, Gargantia, and Gun X Sword. Mostly because they were outshined by other, more popular anime.

Even though there are throngs of fan kids online, (and it also gets some love on this site as well) I almost always get a "Never heard of it" whenever I bring up HunterXHunter in a real life conversation with someone who watches anime.

That's really weird because HunterXHunter is pretty big,
Give it a couple years I suppose.

Some news came out recently that shows Gargantia does still have a decent fan base though, season 2 has been cancelled for production reasons, and was going to be set after the two OVAs. However the team has announced they will take the ideas for season 2 and turn it into a novel so fans still get the story, hopefully this gets an English release

I think Special A doesn't get much, as far as fanart and fics go. Namely fanart.

Emma: A Victorian Romance is way underrated considering how good it is. One of my favorite romances of all time, animation or not.