The Best Unknown Animes of All Time

Maybe you have watched most of the popular animes, but have you watched all the best animes that exist on earth? In this article, I will share the best animes that are unknown to most people.

Animes that are mostly better than the “popular” animes themselves, many are even among the best in the Japanese rankings, yet they go unnoticed by Brazilians, some haven’t even been properly subtitled.

Many of the animes on this list are in my TOP 10, if not TOP 3 of favorite animes. I get frustrated that no one knows these animes. I hope you enjoy the list of the best unknown animes of all time.

Many animes on this list are not even present in other lists of unknown animes. I truly hope you enjoy the animes that, in my opinion, are mandatory. Don’t forget to share the list with your friends!

Uchuu Kyoudai – Space Brothers

Already mentioned in an article as an unknown anime, Uchuu Kyoudai has a quite unique story, but it is perfectly executed, of quality, and keeps you engaged from the beginning to the end of its 99 episodes.

The anime tells the story of Nanba Mutta, a man in his 30s whose life is made as a car designer, but who suddenly decides to follow a childhood dream that his brother managed to fulfill, to become an astronaut.

The anime has always been among the TOP 5 of Japanese TV during its airing, beating out animes like Naruto and even One Piece. The work also spawned movies and even a Live Action that I approve of. Uchuu Kyoudai is in my TOP 3 favorite animes.

It may seem like an unappealing synopsis, but the anime features plenty of action, comedy, slice of life, with an epic soundtrack, good animation quality, and a beautiful script. I guarantee that those who watched it, got interested, and went all the way through, including the reluctant ones.

Detective Conan – Meitantei Conan

This is considered one of the most popular animes in Japan, even my mother enjoys watching it. It is an anime as vast as One Piece, with over 900 episodes and 22 movies. The anime has been airing since 1996 to this day.

Detective Conan is a sort of Japanese CSI or Sherlock Holmes, where the protagonist is a high school student who was transformed into a child by a secret organization. The anime has episodes with isolated cases and an overarching story, with recurring characters.

The anime is very good, despite some clichés that make it a children’s anime. Even though it is an anime with more childlike traits and approach, I doubt that children in Brazil have the capacity to understand the complexity of this anime.

Despite its childlike nature, the anime is suitable for the whole family, featuring quite complex explanations about crimes, creating a psychological thriller atmosphere, with comedy and romance. This anime is also among my TOP 3 best animes of all time.

Gyakkyô burai Kaiji

Kaiji is a psychological thriller anime that ends up being ignored due to its strong traits. The anime tells the story of a young man in debt who gets involved with suspicious men in a betting game in order to pay off his debt.

The anime is quite interesting, featuring mental and psychological games involving life. It reminds me a lot of the drama Liar Game, another favorite of the genre. It is a Kakegurui-style anime, but not as crazy. Only the art style keeps people from watching it.

I strongly recommend ignoring the art style and giving this great two-season anime with spin-offs a chance. I also recommend the anime Akagi by the same author with a similar story, but focused on Mahjong.

One Outs – A Baseball Anime

If there is one thing I don’t like, it’s sports animes, but One Outs is different; the protagonist is a myth in psychological games, applying these mental games in baseball matches over 25 episodes.

The anime is a bit old, unknown, but it kept me engaged from start to finish. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the continuation I was hoping for. I feel a significant absence of animes in this genre; it reminded me a lot of the atmosphere present in Kaiji.

The story begins when Kojima Hiromichi, the best batter of the Lycaons, goes to the southern island of Okinawa to train. There, he meets Tokuchi Toua, a pitcher and undisputed leader of a form of baseball game called “One Out”.

N.H.K ni yôkoso!

It tells the story of a Hikikomori in recovery (a person who lives trapped at home). An anime that has a psychological atmosphere, with plenty of comedy, addressing issues of life, friendships, romance, work, and bullying.

The story centers around Tatsuhiro Satō, a 22-year-old young man, unemployed, lonely, and depressed who dropped out of college. Believing he is part of a conspiracy, he lives a hikikomori life.

Living for years in his room, supported by his parents. Satō ends up meeting Misaki Nakahara, a mysterious girl who knocks on his door promising to help him stop being a hikikomori. Will he succeed?

Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate Zero

This one is not very unknown, but it goes unnoticed by most Otaku. Some simply have the courage to drop this masterpiece in the first episodes, even after I insist that by episode 13 the anime will blow your mind.

This masterpiece of time travel addresses the concept in an epic way, with many twists and connections between all the first episodes, which at first don’t make sense, but later make total sense and logic.

One of the best science fiction animes of all time. It tells the story of a crazy young man who lives in his fantasy club pretending to be a mad scientist. Until he inadvertently gets involved in conspiracies, time travel, and murders.

For a long time, this has been one of my favorite animes, where I place it in first or second place on my list of best animes of all time. A masterpiece in terms of story, soundtrack, and character development.

Other Unknown Animes I’ve Watched

Ashita no Nadja – A quite old anime that aired on cable TV dubbed, it was one of the first animes I watched in my life. A very feminine shoujo, but it kept me engaged from start to finish, pulling me into the world of animes.

Monster – An old psychological thriller anime about a doctor who saves the life of a serial killer, loses his job, and ends up being sought by the police because of the murders. He chases after this serial killer to prove his innocence.

I”s Pure – A short anime in OVA with about 6 episodes that tells a cliché romance but touched me for a long time. This one is quite obscure and requires a thorough search. I recommend taking a look.

Hunter x Hunter – It is not an unknown anime, but most of the supposed Otaku I know have not watched it yet. So I leave it here as a recommendation in case you haven’t seen it, another one from my TOP 3 favorite animes.

God Eater – This anime attracted me because of the animation and fights, a quite futuristic and apocalyptic story. The anime is based on a series of Action RPG games mixed with a bit of Novel. I also recommend Black Bullet.

Seto no Hanayome – One of my favorite comedy animes that made me laugh from start to finish. It’s about a boy who gets engaged to a mermaid.

Digimon Savers – Among the existing Digimon animes, Savers became one of my favorites, for having older characters, even being one of the less popular in the series, I think it’s worth giving it a chance.

Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai – It’s not that unknown, but many still haven’t watched it. It’s a Slice of Life with romance, addressing a quite controversial theme, otakus who play incest hentais.

GetBackers and Love Hina were other animes I watched on cable TV, but they are also not much talked about by people, even though they were aired in Brazil. They were among the first animes I watched along with Fullmetal Alchemist.

Samurai Champloo – An interesting anime that tells the journey of a girl accompanied by two samurais.

List of Unknown Animes to Check Out

Scouring lists of good and unknown animes on the internet, I managed to find many others that I don’t want to go into detail about, but I recommend taking a look. If you have any unknown anime in mind, feel free to leave it in the comments.

• Higashi no Eden;
• Btooom;
• Mushi-shi;
• Desert Punk;
• Ergo Proxy;
• Môsô dairinin;
• Sket Dance;
• Paranoia Agent;
• Last Exile;
• Ben-to;
• Togaino No Chil;
• Serial Experiments Lain;
• Bakuman;
• Space Dandy;
• Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
• Excel Saga;
• Angelic Layer;
• Texhnolyze;
• Baby Steps;
• Detroit Metal City;
• Mayo Chiki!;
• Over Drive;
• Tsuki ga Kirei;
• Makai Ouji:
• Devils and Realist;
• Tsuritama;
• Druaga no Tou;
• Z/X Ignition;
• Rail Wars;
• Coppelion;
• Natsu no Arashi;
• Daughter of 20 Faces;
• Library Wars;
• Tonten ni Warau;
• Qualidea Code;
• Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin;
• Peace Maker Kurogane;
• Tsuritama; Barakamon;
• Rokka no Yuusha;
• Katanagatari;
• Baccano;
• XXXHolic;
• Hyouka;

List of Unknown Mangas

I want to complement this article with a list of unknown mangas available in Brazil: