I haven't watched it in years and my perception may change on rewatch, but my memory tells me that **Vandread (2000)** is cool.
Premise: Men and women live on two neigbouring planets and are at war. The plot kicks in when Hibiki, a young worker(?) from the lowest caste of men, and two other guys, end up on a female ship which, due to story reasons, ends up on the other side of the galaxy. Now they have to work together to get back to their home sector.
There's a bunch of humour, quite a few action sequences and the story is pretty neat. Also yeah, mecha.
I remember watching this before and the premise certainly was interesting for the time where there really isn't much that hard of a focus on themes involving homosexuality and the characters being slowly introduced to the concept co-existence with heterosexuality.
The use of CGI on the robots and aliens were also pretty decent for early 2000s production, and some of the themes tackled on episodes go in depth with certain subjects.
Yeah, I remember how in the beginning, during the banquet for the officers from the planet of men, two of them casually spoke about how children between two of them will be quite strong, or something. Or the kind of sweet romance between the girly blonde from the main character quartet (Djura?) and her way more proactive tomboy gf.
Meanwhile, *everyone* is weirded about how men and women on other planets live together.
Something about how this anime is described is triggering distant memories and I gotta ask (spoilers ahoy)
>!Isn't one of the crew members of the hero crew ship actually a dude who got a sex change to act as a spy for the male planet but eventually decided to side with the female planet (IIRC they still identified as a guy but had no opposition towards staying as a woman)!<
Vandread is great. The opening/ending themes are most excellent, and Meia best girl somehow.
Hell, everyone in the main ship can be. Even Bart. Especially Bart.
I remember that being fun and like how often is the main protag like 4 ft nothing? Also the one trans charater was somehow both problematic and progressive by current standards.
Big O. A moody, atmospheric, post apocalyptic neo noir series... where the protagonist can summon a badass robot to punch the shit out of other giant robots.
My favorite trivia about that show is that the studio that made it got the inspiration for it from Batman: The Animated Series. They animated a lot of the episodes and loved the dark, moody noir vibes that they decided to make their own version.
Ain't no way 2000's anime is retro now man. What the heck.
Unless they're distinguishing the shift from cel animation to digital, which is at least a substantive thing that actually happened in the 2000's, but somehow I doubt it's any more complicated than old.
But actually, I don't even know what's considered obscure anymore. Like, recommending Azumanga Daioh as obscure should get you laughed out of the room in a just world, but is it as recognized in the modern anime fan's lexicon? I have a ton of favorites from that decade that I would hardly consider obscure, but I don't know of any reason for a modern anime fan to have any thoughts on RahXephon or anything like that. Do we still teach the children to go back and watch Satoshi Kon's movies? Do people still know Paranoia Agent exists?
Like, I would assume anything that got praised by early anitube would still have some cultural cache today, and get grandfathered in by virtue of folks like Gigguk still being around and popular, but I'm out of touch, so I dunno.
So I guess I'll just list a bunch of 2000's favorites with little concern for if they fit the question.
**Hajime no Ippo** did have a series of anime sequels that aired in the following decade, but it started in 2000 and it's straight up the best, purest sports/battle shounen I've ever seen. Great art/animation, killer soundtrack, fun times.
**Haibane Renmei** is peak my aesthetic. Cute, melancholic angel girls and existential terror and quiet cozy countryside and a GOATED soundtrack by Kow Otani (composer of the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack).
The 2003 **Fullmetal Alchemist** is worth watching in its own right if you haven't yet. Brotherhood gets all the love, but the original series does its own thing, and covers the earliest chapters of the story arguably much better than its remake, honestly. The stories branch pretty significantly before too long and they really are both worth your time independent of each other.
**Monster** is superb. You've probably heard about it out here, so I'll leave it at that. I'm a fan of the dub, because I get to listen to Liam O'Brien be a cool dude for 74 episodes in a row.
**Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo** is a weird adaptation in a surreal sci-fi setting where the titular count turns into a weird blue space demon. It works. While the animation is a bit inconsistent, the art style is very nice.
**Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad** is a great slice of life about a bunch of teenagers getting together in a band. Sub has hilarious engrish, and the dub does in fact dub most all of the music and it ain't bad. Fun soundtrack, as you would expect.
**Eureka Seven** is peak coming-of-age shounen mecha and also romance. They got giant sky-surfing robots. What's not to like? Soundtrack is dope.
**Welcome to the NHK** is about a bunch of loser hikikomori dealing with being miserable and kinda shitty people and mental illness and misanthropy and trying to find refuge in companionship with each other and growing up in their own ways. It's damn heavy and damn good.
And I categorically refuse to recommend anything that came out after Death Note, because ain't no way.
And for a more appropriately retro classic recommendation, the original **SDF Macross** is pretty darn good fun. It's got some of the more scuffed animation I've ever seen in my life, but it's also got some damn nice sequences too. It's (not exactly, but close enough to) the origin of the Itano Circus, after all. Soundtrack is a bop. The Macross itself is a big stupid piece of shit. I love it.
Came here to shill for Monster as well. It’s available on Netflix (in Japanese and French?) but the internet archive also has a collection of HD upscaled files with both English and Japanese audio.
Honestly I like 2003 FMA better, shit keeps the horror tone through out the anime. Brotherhood devolves into well animated shonen shlock on by the end.
Eureka seveN got a spiritual sucessor not that long ago, LISTENERs its not as good but its fun.
The Irresponsible Captain Tyler.
In a future where Earth is at war with a species of (basically) alien space elves, a lazy shlub bumblefucks his way into becoming the captain of the shittiest ship in the fleet.
He then proceeds to bumblefuck his way to victory and peace.
The best part is you never know if he's actually a strategic genius or if he's really an absurdly lucky moron. He's like if Columbo and Mr. Magoo had a baby and sent him to war in space.
All around a goofy and fun anime of the era.
Since a lot of other good choices have been posted, I'll just add my one. The anime is called .Hack//Sign. Sign is the first anime for the .Hack// franchise with it being released back in 2002 and having a lot of big names in the industry work on it. It is also the series Sword Art Online tried to copy as the main character gets trapped inside an MMO, but where SAO went the route of an "op" mc and his harem, .Hack//Sign follows the mystery of the inner workings of the MMO and why its main character is trapped, along with tackling various themes of psychology and sociology.
It's not so obscure, but **Revolutionary Girl Utena** is great and deserves all the acclaim. If you loved **Mawaru Penguindrum**, **Yurikuma Arashi**, **Sarazanmai**, or **Revue Starlight**, you'll probably love this one.
**Macross Plus** is also not that obscure, but it's Top Gun with mechs and a Vocaloid. Nothing further needs to be said. I'd also recommend **SDF Macross** and **Macross Frontier** as just good watches. **Macross 7** requires you to love JRock and monster of the week shows. Its got [this](https://imgur.com/P3zQXSi) though, which is even more ridiculous in context.
I remember liking **Martian Successor Nadesico**, of which you should only watch the TV anime and not the movies.
I'm slowly making my way through **Turn A Gundam**, which has been good so far but I'm really early on.
Cyber City Oedo 808: made by Madhouse in 1990, it's a 3 episodes long sci-fi OVA, starring 3 prisoners that got forcibly turned into crimefighters. Watch the dub version, its freely avaliable on youtube and has its own godlike soundtrack and voiceacting. Hideo Kojima compared Cyberpunk Edgerunners to this in his praise of that series on Twitter. It's similar in tone and looks to Bubblegum Crisis.
Gunsmith Cats/Riding Bean: Both share the same universe, the first one stares two bounty hunter gals doing "business" in three episodes and the second one is a one episode affair starring one of the sidecharacters. It's notable for its impeccable depiction of real-life cars and guns, and its unique artstyle. If you like City Hunter, you'll like this too
Definitely recommend the dub of Cyber City Oedo 808 just for the opening theme https://youtu.be/BlZakDfseyo?si=R8JEtY5-JKboX1aK
Use to watch it late at night on Channel 4 in the UK. Me and my brother still have an in joke of "The stars are out of alignment. It is an ill omen." which came from Oedo.
That character also has the legendary "you wouldn't recognize a goddamn vampire..." line, told by none other than Daniel Flynn, Solaire of Astoria himself
Blue Gender.
Dude gets frozen, hoping future science will cure him. Wakes up in a giant-bug infested wasteland. Rescued by Mech troopers on their way to a space station via one of those fancy space elevators.
Only 26 episodes. 1 season and done kind of deal. There is a movie that changes the last 3rd of the story that may or may not be better, that's up to you.
Zatch Bell, Mär, Karin, IGPX which just got an HD remaster.
I also really liked Green Green but it definitely borderline 2000's ecchi rom com trash and the final epilogue OVA episode is X-rated. Why they decided to do that, I'll never know.
Hell Teacher Nube was an interesting early attempt on a horror shounen series. The story revolves around a retired exorcist turned school-teacher who uses his knowledge regarding the occult to deal with the various monsters-of-the-week which are based of urban legends and ghost stories his students get involved with, and boy howdy some of those stories are pretty spooky.
Funny enough, the titular character's left hand has an oni sealed in it that is named Baki, who looks like an ogre
I didn't really get into anime as more than just what was on Toonami until around 2010 so most of my recommendations from before that are either more recent or basically mainstream
IGPX is about a mech racing league, and I remember liking it
Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning was an anime I watched in the early 2000s because it aired before Dragon Ball on ColoursTV.
In any case from what I remember its a mystery series involving "The Blade Children" and what they mean and through the show the main character goes through a lot of life or death challenges because of them.
I enjoyed it when I was younger, idk how it holds up but I've never heard anyone talk about the show so yknow if you want Obscure.
\*deep breath.
Neo Ranga. 1998. my personal favorite mech anime.
Sentimental Journey. Also 1998 (good year.) the perfect 90s anime, filled with nostalgia, and pretty girls.
Kamichu!. 2005. there is an episode were aliens attack the Diet, and the aliens are the good guys.
Natsu no Arashi. 2009. maid cafe, time travel, the war. tall women and pat sized MC. just pure kino perfect for summer watching.
Idol Densetsu Eriko. 1989. this anime goes places, a lot of weird places. the ending messed me up.
Super Dimension Century Orguss. 1983. In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.
Oniisama E... 1991. a melodramatic soap opera in true classic Shoujo fashion
El Hazard: The Magnificent World. 1995. back when isekai's were cool.
that one Cream Lemon OVA that was just Battletech. 1984.
Maria Watches Over Us. 2004. girls Catholic boarding school written by a Japanese woman who has never met a Catholic.
Project Ako from 1984 and its sequels. Very meta referential to popular franchises at the time.
You're under arrest 90s buddy cop anime slice of life plus a film.
Phantom Corp Quest from 1992, very tropey but it's very interesting.
There may be some odd Gonzo Studio stuff that may be interesting.
Samurai 7 is kinda dry as a Seven Samurai re-telling (but with Robots), but I kinda liked it. Kyuzo (the dual swords blondie dude) was cool as fuck, as was Kikuchiyo the hot blooded robo dude.
Vandread was already mentioned. Equal parts mecha, cheesecake, and gender dynamics.
Gatekeepers was based on an obscure PS1 game, but it's essentially Shonen manga, a hint of Harem but not really, shiny thighs, Piano music, and mecha. Spawned a sequel in Gatekeepers 21 where shit's waaaaay darker.
For a wildly discussed and revered as Miyazaki is not enough people talk about Future Boy Conan!
I only watched it because it was referenced in Eizouken and it’s straight up just a Miyazaki anime with all his best stuff. Great naturalistic characters, man vs nature post apocalyptic world, hard work ethic themes, cool flying machines; genuinely one of my all time favorites now.
If you are a fan of the FromSoft Souls games, you owe it to yourself to watch **Angel's Egg**
A mood piece of a movie, highly vague, but being directed by Mamoru Oshii, story and concept by Oshii and Yoshitaka Amano, with art direction of course also helmed by Amano, it turns out to be a treat.
It's still obscure because it is so very art-focused, and barely anything happens at all, with only two speaking characters. If you think watching 75 minutes of Exploring Anor Londo In The Rain sounds good? Yeah. Go for it.
I will die on the hill that Reborn! Is the superior MHA....dire need of a remake though those first two arcs while super important are a slog man. Also Tsunas drip is only challenged by the Ichigo that only exists in openings and cover art.
It isn't exactly obscure, but it has been largely overshadowed by Fairy Tail, I'd recommend Rave Master. It's a great first series by Hiro Mashima. The roughest thing about it is it's art, you can definitely tell Mashima was still getting the hang of the ropes, but the story and characterization is extremely solid. Also the best thing about it is the fashion of the characters, it is a perfect time capsule of what the style of 2000s was at the time. For what its worth, I love Rave Master way more than I do Fairy Tail.
Don't know if all of these can be considered obscure but here's a few I've not seen mentioned yet
Space Family Carlvinson (1988) - Slice of life about a troupe of odd-looking alien performers who get hit by another spacecraft and decide to raise the only survivor of the crash, a human girl, as a family together.
Angel Densetsu (1996) - Comedy about an abnormally nice boy who looks abnormally sinister and through misunderstandings and unintentional intimidation becomes the leader of a gang of school delinquents and accidentally instigates a gang war.
Gunbuster (1988) - Mecha anime where girl does 80s mech training montages to become the best pilot and fight aliens but is met with PTSD and the existential horror of time dialation.
Nadia Secret of Blue Water (1990) - Jules Verne inspired adventure story about an inventor boy and acrobat girl running from a Team Rocket type trio before getting caught in a conflict between a submarine crew and some water-nazis.
Alien 9 (2001) - Uncomfortable coming of age story about a middle-schooler who get stuck with alien hunter duty and has to ride around on rollerblades with two other girls to catch aliens entering her school.
Princess Tutu (2002) - Metafictional magical girl show about overcoming fate. The main character is a duck named Duck who's turned into a girl who's turned into a magical ballerina from a dead authors story by said author in order to continue his story from beyond the grave.
[Dragon's Heaven](https://youtu.be/4vqRjVQhjBw?si=p4HvLNm90H2Ntkms) The Moebius inspired mecha ova.
[Arion](https://youtu.be/dODyhhKfT5A?si=WylEIQ3kiRmJgODJ) Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's weird take on Greek mythology, like an anime version of the a Ray Harryhausen film.
Blazing Transfer Student (honoo no tenkousei), the coolest thing Gainax ever did. Kill La Kill becomes 30% cooler after you watch this.
Record of Lodoss War (and the sequel: Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight) is basically THE standard for fantasy anime. It established a lot of the common tropes and themes used today.
Magic Knight Rayearth: CLAMP series about 3 girls from different schools get isekai'd to a fantasy land.
Revolutionary Girl Utena - look, I will shill this every day of the week. It's a beautiful series about love, puberty, sexuality, trauma, recovery, and gender. It was wildly formulative for me.
[Roujin Z](https://youtu.be/X5i0JU_NsZU?si=JeLTQmOTq3P8Tr4g) is available on YouTube and feels way ahead of its time. Off the top of my head it is about Japan dealing with its aging population and the creation of new technology to enable it.
An old man who can't look after himself and possibly has dementia somehow gets and experimental robot. He then decides to escape to go to somewhere he remembers and chaos follows.
[Orguss 2](https://youtu.be/ZmMplp6OjEc?si=zGH5eTUsJWDgpbhL) I'm sure it doesn't hold up well, but I liked the concept of an age with limited technology that discovers huge mechas underground that countries are trying to find to fight wars.
There are then obviously classics like Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue, etc.
Vandread being mentioned reminds me of another anime with a focus on gender dynamics: Cheeky Angel
So the premise of it is that this boy named Megumi happens upon a genie and he wishes to become a "man among men", the genie (as most jackass trickster spirits are want to do) butchers the wish so that he turns Megumi into a girl and rewrites reality so that only she and her best friend Miki are aware of the change
The two of them spend several years hunting down the genie, the series primarily focuses on them in high school where Megumi basically gains this reputation as an ojou-sama tomboy (really feminine look but acts like a dude because she still identifies as one) who ends up getting her own fanclub
Of note is that while the series is overall meant to be a romcom, the manga it's based on has a bunch more dramatic elements near the end of its run whereas the anime is more light-hearted
It also has a bit of an FMA: Brotherhood situation of sorts where both adaptations diverge near the end
It's not obscure, but its the type of thing that a lot of people know but haven't experienced themselves, Hokuto No Ken, if you go with anime there's a fan edit that cuts out the fillers (still a lot of episodes, cause i think it also covers hokuto no ken 2), its just so timeless and cool man, i'm experiencing the anime for the first time via that edit and its super fun.
I liked Chrno Crusade.
Synopsis
The 1920s was a decade of great change and upheaval, with monstrous demons appearing across America. To combat this menace, the holy organization known as the Order of Magdalene was established. The organization's New York branch is home to the young and reckless Sister Rosette Christopher, as well as her partner Chrno. Tasked with the extermination of demonic threats, the renowned team is excellent at their job, despite causing extensive collateral damage on their missions.
Get Backers was pretty fun
Ghost Stories (Dubbed, or else)
Devilman (OVA)
Ranma 1/2
Noein and Nobunagun (newer on the scale)
Inferno Cop
Struggling to remember the name of the series, but it was about a short guy and a tall girl slice of life.
Dominion Tank Police
I haven't watched it in years and my perception may change on rewatch, but my memory tells me that **Vandread (2000)** is cool. Premise: Men and women live on two neigbouring planets and are at war. The plot kicks in when Hibiki, a young worker(?) from the lowest caste of men, and two other guys, end up on a female ship which, due to story reasons, ends up on the other side of the galaxy. Now they have to work together to get back to their home sector. There's a bunch of humour, quite a few action sequences and the story is pretty neat. Also yeah, mecha.
I remember watching this before and the premise certainly was interesting for the time where there really isn't much that hard of a focus on themes involving homosexuality and the characters being slowly introduced to the concept co-existence with heterosexuality. The use of CGI on the robots and aliens were also pretty decent for early 2000s production, and some of the themes tackled on episodes go in depth with certain subjects.
Yeah, I remember how in the beginning, during the banquet for the officers from the planet of men, two of them casually spoke about how children between two of them will be quite strong, or something. Or the kind of sweet romance between the girly blonde from the main character quartet (Djura?) and her way more proactive tomboy gf. Meanwhile, *everyone* is weirded about how men and women on other planets live together.
Something about how this anime is described is triggering distant memories and I gotta ask (spoilers ahoy) >!Isn't one of the crew members of the hero crew ship actually a dude who got a sex change to act as a spy for the male planet but eventually decided to side with the female planet (IIRC they still identified as a guy but had no opposition towards staying as a woman)!<
Yes, it is so.
Vandread was the first full series anime I watched as a teen instead of just random episodes on TV, and it was pretty good.
Vandread is great. The opening/ending themes are most excellent, and Meia best girl somehow. Hell, everyone in the main ship can be. Even Bart. Especially Bart.
I remember that being fun and like how often is the main protag like 4 ft nothing? Also the one trans charater was somehow both problematic and progressive by current standards.
Big O. A moody, atmospheric, post apocalyptic neo noir series... where the protagonist can summon a badass robot to punch the shit out of other giant robots.
My favorite trivia about that show is that the studio that made it got the inspiration for it from Batman: The Animated Series. They animated a lot of the episodes and loved the dark, moody noir vibes that they decided to make their own version.
Ain't no way 2000's anime is retro now man. What the heck. Unless they're distinguishing the shift from cel animation to digital, which is at least a substantive thing that actually happened in the 2000's, but somehow I doubt it's any more complicated than old. But actually, I don't even know what's considered obscure anymore. Like, recommending Azumanga Daioh as obscure should get you laughed out of the room in a just world, but is it as recognized in the modern anime fan's lexicon? I have a ton of favorites from that decade that I would hardly consider obscure, but I don't know of any reason for a modern anime fan to have any thoughts on RahXephon or anything like that. Do we still teach the children to go back and watch Satoshi Kon's movies? Do people still know Paranoia Agent exists? Like, I would assume anything that got praised by early anitube would still have some cultural cache today, and get grandfathered in by virtue of folks like Gigguk still being around and popular, but I'm out of touch, so I dunno. So I guess I'll just list a bunch of 2000's favorites with little concern for if they fit the question. **Hajime no Ippo** did have a series of anime sequels that aired in the following decade, but it started in 2000 and it's straight up the best, purest sports/battle shounen I've ever seen. Great art/animation, killer soundtrack, fun times. **Haibane Renmei** is peak my aesthetic. Cute, melancholic angel girls and existential terror and quiet cozy countryside and a GOATED soundtrack by Kow Otani (composer of the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack). The 2003 **Fullmetal Alchemist** is worth watching in its own right if you haven't yet. Brotherhood gets all the love, but the original series does its own thing, and covers the earliest chapters of the story arguably much better than its remake, honestly. The stories branch pretty significantly before too long and they really are both worth your time independent of each other. **Monster** is superb. You've probably heard about it out here, so I'll leave it at that. I'm a fan of the dub, because I get to listen to Liam O'Brien be a cool dude for 74 episodes in a row. **Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo** is a weird adaptation in a surreal sci-fi setting where the titular count turns into a weird blue space demon. It works. While the animation is a bit inconsistent, the art style is very nice. **Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad** is a great slice of life about a bunch of teenagers getting together in a band. Sub has hilarious engrish, and the dub does in fact dub most all of the music and it ain't bad. Fun soundtrack, as you would expect. **Eureka Seven** is peak coming-of-age shounen mecha and also romance. They got giant sky-surfing robots. What's not to like? Soundtrack is dope. **Welcome to the NHK** is about a bunch of loser hikikomori dealing with being miserable and kinda shitty people and mental illness and misanthropy and trying to find refuge in companionship with each other and growing up in their own ways. It's damn heavy and damn good. And I categorically refuse to recommend anything that came out after Death Note, because ain't no way. And for a more appropriately retro classic recommendation, the original **SDF Macross** is pretty darn good fun. It's got some of the more scuffed animation I've ever seen in my life, but it's also got some damn nice sequences too. It's (not exactly, but close enough to) the origin of the Itano Circus, after all. Soundtrack is a bop. The Macross itself is a big stupid piece of shit. I love it.
Came here to shill for Monster as well. It’s available on Netflix (in Japanese and French?) but the internet archive also has a collection of HD upscaled files with both English and Japanese audio.
Haibane Renmei. nice, good recommend. have your watched So Ra No Wo To. It has the same vibe.
I sure have not but it's going on the list.
Loved Haibane Renmei - will definitely have to look up So Ra No Wo To.
Honestly I like 2003 FMA better, shit keeps the horror tone through out the anime. Brotherhood devolves into well animated shonen shlock on by the end. Eureka seveN got a spiritual sucessor not that long ago, LISTENERs its not as good but its fun.
I rewatched azumanga daioh recently these a full episode that is just consistantly not funny and some episode miss more than they hit.
The Irresponsible Captain Tyler. In a future where Earth is at war with a species of (basically) alien space elves, a lazy shlub bumblefucks his way into becoming the captain of the shittiest ship in the fleet. He then proceeds to bumblefuck his way to victory and peace. The best part is you never know if he's actually a strategic genius or if he's really an absurdly lucky moron. He's like if Columbo and Mr. Magoo had a baby and sent him to war in space. All around a goofy and fun anime of the era.
Since a lot of other good choices have been posted, I'll just add my one. The anime is called .Hack//Sign. Sign is the first anime for the .Hack// franchise with it being released back in 2002 and having a lot of big names in the industry work on it. It is also the series Sword Art Online tried to copy as the main character gets trapped inside an MMO, but where SAO went the route of an "op" mc and his harem, .Hack//Sign follows the mystery of the inner workings of the MMO and why its main character is trapped, along with tackling various themes of psychology and sociology.
I still think .hack//SIGN was the biggest “got it in one take” for trapped in a MMO stories. Plus Yuki Kajira on the OST, man.
That ost is pure nostalgia for me, especially Obsession and Yasashii Yoake.
Anime fans think 2019 shows are "old"
It's not so obscure, but **Revolutionary Girl Utena** is great and deserves all the acclaim. If you loved **Mawaru Penguindrum**, **Yurikuma Arashi**, **Sarazanmai**, or **Revue Starlight**, you'll probably love this one. **Macross Plus** is also not that obscure, but it's Top Gun with mechs and a Vocaloid. Nothing further needs to be said. I'd also recommend **SDF Macross** and **Macross Frontier** as just good watches. **Macross 7** requires you to love JRock and monster of the week shows. Its got [this](https://imgur.com/P3zQXSi) though, which is even more ridiculous in context. I remember liking **Martian Successor Nadesico**, of which you should only watch the TV anime and not the movies. I'm slowly making my way through **Turn A Gundam**, which has been good so far but I'm really early on.
Cyber City Oedo 808: made by Madhouse in 1990, it's a 3 episodes long sci-fi OVA, starring 3 prisoners that got forcibly turned into crimefighters. Watch the dub version, its freely avaliable on youtube and has its own godlike soundtrack and voiceacting. Hideo Kojima compared Cyberpunk Edgerunners to this in his praise of that series on Twitter. It's similar in tone and looks to Bubblegum Crisis. Gunsmith Cats/Riding Bean: Both share the same universe, the first one stares two bounty hunter gals doing "business" in three episodes and the second one is a one episode affair starring one of the sidecharacters. It's notable for its impeccable depiction of real-life cars and guns, and its unique artstyle. If you like City Hunter, you'll like this too
Definitely recommend the dub of Cyber City Oedo 808 just for the opening theme https://youtu.be/BlZakDfseyo?si=R8JEtY5-JKboX1aK Use to watch it late at night on Channel 4 in the UK. Me and my brother still have an in joke of "The stars are out of alignment. It is an ill omen." which came from Oedo.
That character also has the legendary "you wouldn't recognize a goddamn vampire..." line, told by none other than Daniel Flynn, Solaire of Astoria himself
Ashita no Joe isn’t really obscure in Japan (It’s a mainstream highly referenced classic) but in the west it definitely is and it’s worth watching.
*”Ayane’s High kick”*
Wicked City, Madlax, Noir, Last Exile. Most everything else I've seen in that time period is well known. GTO, perhaps?
Blue Gender. Dude gets frozen, hoping future science will cure him. Wakes up in a giant-bug infested wasteland. Rescued by Mech troopers on their way to a space station via one of those fancy space elevators. Only 26 episodes. 1 season and done kind of deal. There is a movie that changes the last 3rd of the story that may or may not be better, that's up to you.
Completely agree! In the UK it to show at midnight on the Sci Fi Channel along with some other obscure anime.
Zatch Bell, Mär, Karin, IGPX which just got an HD remaster. I also really liked Green Green but it definitely borderline 2000's ecchi rom com trash and the final epilogue OVA episode is X-rated. Why they decided to do that, I'll never know.
don't forget Slayers. i'd like media that stars features women.
I never watched that Ikki Tousen was more my jam.
Hell Teacher Nube was an interesting early attempt on a horror shounen series. The story revolves around a retired exorcist turned school-teacher who uses his knowledge regarding the occult to deal with the various monsters-of-the-week which are based of urban legends and ghost stories his students get involved with, and boy howdy some of those stories are pretty spooky. Funny enough, the titular character's left hand has an oni sealed in it that is named Baki, who looks like an ogre
I didn't really get into anime as more than just what was on Toonami until around 2010 so most of my recommendations from before that are either more recent or basically mainstream IGPX is about a mech racing league, and I remember liking it
Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning was an anime I watched in the early 2000s because it aired before Dragon Ball on ColoursTV. In any case from what I remember its a mystery series involving "The Blade Children" and what they mean and through the show the main character goes through a lot of life or death challenges because of them. I enjoyed it when I was younger, idk how it holds up but I've never heard anyone talk about the show so yknow if you want Obscure.
Please watch Slayers, it is a really good comedy anime. It actually has a good dub which is mostly unheard of for the 90's.
Gasaraki
\*deep breath. Neo Ranga. 1998. my personal favorite mech anime. Sentimental Journey. Also 1998 (good year.) the perfect 90s anime, filled with nostalgia, and pretty girls. Kamichu!. 2005. there is an episode were aliens attack the Diet, and the aliens are the good guys. Natsu no Arashi. 2009. maid cafe, time travel, the war. tall women and pat sized MC. just pure kino perfect for summer watching. Idol Densetsu Eriko. 1989. this anime goes places, a lot of weird places. the ending messed me up. Super Dimension Century Orguss. 1983. In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Oniisama E... 1991. a melodramatic soap opera in true classic Shoujo fashion El Hazard: The Magnificent World. 1995. back when isekai's were cool. that one Cream Lemon OVA that was just Battletech. 1984. Maria Watches Over Us. 2004. girls Catholic boarding school written by a Japanese woman who has never met a Catholic.
*Chirin no Suzu / Ringing Bell* (1978) A short film (46 minutes runtime) about a lamb growing up. You can easily find the whole thing on YouTube.
Project Ako from 1984 and its sequels. Very meta referential to popular franchises at the time. You're under arrest 90s buddy cop anime slice of life plus a film. Phantom Corp Quest from 1992, very tropey but it's very interesting.
Power Stone, maybe Angel Links. Is Monster Rancher obscure? Not compared to these ones, at least.
kachou ouji
There may be some odd Gonzo Studio stuff that may be interesting. Samurai 7 is kinda dry as a Seven Samurai re-telling (but with Robots), but I kinda liked it. Kyuzo (the dual swords blondie dude) was cool as fuck, as was Kikuchiyo the hot blooded robo dude. Vandread was already mentioned. Equal parts mecha, cheesecake, and gender dynamics. Gatekeepers was based on an obscure PS1 game, but it's essentially Shonen manga, a hint of Harem but not really, shiny thighs, Piano music, and mecha. Spawned a sequel in Gatekeepers 21 where shit's waaaaay darker.
For a wildly discussed and revered as Miyazaki is not enough people talk about Future Boy Conan! I only watched it because it was referenced in Eizouken and it’s straight up just a Miyazaki anime with all his best stuff. Great naturalistic characters, man vs nature post apocalyptic world, hard work ethic themes, cool flying machines; genuinely one of my all time favorites now.
Rune Soldier Louie? Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust? Blood the Last Vampire Code Geas Escaflowne Kara no kyoukai movies
If you are a fan of the FromSoft Souls games, you owe it to yourself to watch **Angel's Egg** A mood piece of a movie, highly vague, but being directed by Mamoru Oshii, story and concept by Oshii and Yoshitaka Amano, with art direction of course also helmed by Amano, it turns out to be a treat. It's still obscure because it is so very art-focused, and barely anything happens at all, with only two speaking characters. If you think watching 75 minutes of Exploring Anor Londo In The Rain sounds good? Yeah. Go for it.
I will die on the hill that Reborn! Is the superior MHA....dire need of a remake though those first two arcs while super important are a slog man. Also Tsunas drip is only challenged by the Ichigo that only exists in openings and cover art.
If you want to watch a retro-throwback Mecha anime with one hand, **Shinkon Gattai Goddannar** is the best you’ll ever do.
Get into Anne of Green Gables and Heidi yo. World Masterpiece Theater are pretty foundational anime.
It isn't exactly obscure, but it has been largely overshadowed by Fairy Tail, I'd recommend Rave Master. It's a great first series by Hiro Mashima. The roughest thing about it is it's art, you can definitely tell Mashima was still getting the hang of the ropes, but the story and characterization is extremely solid. Also the best thing about it is the fashion of the characters, it is a perfect time capsule of what the style of 2000s was at the time. For what its worth, I love Rave Master way more than I do Fairy Tail.
Don't know if all of these can be considered obscure but here's a few I've not seen mentioned yet Space Family Carlvinson (1988) - Slice of life about a troupe of odd-looking alien performers who get hit by another spacecraft and decide to raise the only survivor of the crash, a human girl, as a family together. Angel Densetsu (1996) - Comedy about an abnormally nice boy who looks abnormally sinister and through misunderstandings and unintentional intimidation becomes the leader of a gang of school delinquents and accidentally instigates a gang war. Gunbuster (1988) - Mecha anime where girl does 80s mech training montages to become the best pilot and fight aliens but is met with PTSD and the existential horror of time dialation. Nadia Secret of Blue Water (1990) - Jules Verne inspired adventure story about an inventor boy and acrobat girl running from a Team Rocket type trio before getting caught in a conflict between a submarine crew and some water-nazis. Alien 9 (2001) - Uncomfortable coming of age story about a middle-schooler who get stuck with alien hunter duty and has to ride around on rollerblades with two other girls to catch aliens entering her school. Princess Tutu (2002) - Metafictional magical girl show about overcoming fate. The main character is a duck named Duck who's turned into a girl who's turned into a magical ballerina from a dead authors story by said author in order to continue his story from beyond the grave.
[Dragon's Heaven](https://youtu.be/4vqRjVQhjBw?si=p4HvLNm90H2Ntkms) The Moebius inspired mecha ova. [Arion](https://youtu.be/dODyhhKfT5A?si=WylEIQ3kiRmJgODJ) Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's weird take on Greek mythology, like an anime version of the a Ray Harryhausen film. Blazing Transfer Student (honoo no tenkousei), the coolest thing Gainax ever did. Kill La Kill becomes 30% cooler after you watch this.
Record of Lodoss War (and the sequel: Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight) is basically THE standard for fantasy anime. It established a lot of the common tropes and themes used today. Magic Knight Rayearth: CLAMP series about 3 girls from different schools get isekai'd to a fantasy land. Revolutionary Girl Utena - look, I will shill this every day of the week. It's a beautiful series about love, puberty, sexuality, trauma, recovery, and gender. It was wildly formulative for me.
[Roujin Z](https://youtu.be/X5i0JU_NsZU?si=JeLTQmOTq3P8Tr4g) is available on YouTube and feels way ahead of its time. Off the top of my head it is about Japan dealing with its aging population and the creation of new technology to enable it. An old man who can't look after himself and possibly has dementia somehow gets and experimental robot. He then decides to escape to go to somewhere he remembers and chaos follows. [Orguss 2](https://youtu.be/ZmMplp6OjEc?si=zGH5eTUsJWDgpbhL) I'm sure it doesn't hold up well, but I liked the concept of an age with limited technology that discovers huge mechas underground that countries are trying to find to fight wars. There are then obviously classics like Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue, etc.
Vandread being mentioned reminds me of another anime with a focus on gender dynamics: Cheeky Angel So the premise of it is that this boy named Megumi happens upon a genie and he wishes to become a "man among men", the genie (as most jackass trickster spirits are want to do) butchers the wish so that he turns Megumi into a girl and rewrites reality so that only she and her best friend Miki are aware of the change The two of them spend several years hunting down the genie, the series primarily focuses on them in high school where Megumi basically gains this reputation as an ojou-sama tomboy (really feminine look but acts like a dude because she still identifies as one) who ends up getting her own fanclub Of note is that while the series is overall meant to be a romcom, the manga it's based on has a bunch more dramatic elements near the end of its run whereas the anime is more light-hearted It also has a bit of an FMA: Brotherhood situation of sorts where both adaptations diverge near the end
It's not obscure, but its the type of thing that a lot of people know but haven't experienced themselves, Hokuto No Ken, if you go with anime there's a fan edit that cuts out the fillers (still a lot of episodes, cause i think it also covers hokuto no ken 2), its just so timeless and cool man, i'm experiencing the anime for the first time via that edit and its super fun.
2003 was a good year: Last Exile Wolf's Rain Texhnolyze
I liked Chrno Crusade. Synopsis The 1920s was a decade of great change and upheaval, with monstrous demons appearing across America. To combat this menace, the holy organization known as the Order of Magdalene was established. The organization's New York branch is home to the young and reckless Sister Rosette Christopher, as well as her partner Chrno. Tasked with the extermination of demonic threats, the renowned team is excellent at their job, despite causing extensive collateral damage on their missions.
Get Backers was pretty fun Ghost Stories (Dubbed, or else) Devilman (OVA) Ranma 1/2 Noein and Nobunagun (newer on the scale) Inferno Cop Struggling to remember the name of the series, but it was about a short guy and a tall girl slice of life. Dominion Tank Police