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Anime as a whole has evolved from where it started, especially in terms of the animation quality. The likes of Studio MAPPA and Ufotable have become the creators of peak animations like Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan, and Fate: Stay/Night Unlimited Blade Works.
This, however, has somewhat spoiled some fans. Those used to the animation styles of the aforementioned two studios tend to expect far too much out of other shows or other studios. This article will take a look at 10 anime who's animation quality may not be at that peak level, but are worth it regardless.
Disclaimer: Spoilers will be included for the various anime on the list. Any opinions expressed are strictly those of the author, and/or fans that are quoted.
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10 anime with underrated animation, ranked by uniqueness
10) Star Wars Visions
Star Wars Visions is a collaborative project between seven anime studios and Lucasfilm/Disney, that has a wide breadth of animation styles on display for each short. From the black and white Kurosawa tribute that was The Duel to the bright and colorful T0-B1, each short has some form of unique animation style on display.
To say they're all beautifully done is an understatement. Each short has its own highlight, whether it's the childlike wonder aspect, the lightsaber combat, or even just the glares characters give each other before fights begin. The combination of traditional animation and CGI for some shorts, like The Duel, helps to distinguish them from each other.
Most anime fans will probably recognize Studio Trigger's handiwork on The Twins, as a "what if Luke and Leia were raised by the Empire" story. But some will probably be surprised they animated a more low-key short called The Elder, wherein a Jedi master and apprentice search for a Sith. Another studio fans may recognize is Production I.G., who animated The Ninth Jedi. It's only at the bottom for being a collaborative effort.
9) Nier automata v1.1a
Nier Automata v1.1a is based on the video game of the same name and has already made a splash with very crisp looking animation. With a fusion of 2D and CGI, Nier Automata v1.1a is definitely following in the footsteps of Studio MAPPA's Attack on Titan with its animation style. At least, that's what most watchers will probably associate it with.
The heavier color tones already emulate the game's art style and the heavier art does a better job of showing the injuries 2B and 9S go through than the game did. Likewise, the show explores different ideas pertaining to the game: machines gaining sentience to protect flowers as a side story, Lily's backstory, and so on.
The puppet shows at the end of each episode help to illustrate the game's many endings, usually in comedic fashion. This usually helps alleviate the often depressing mood that's put into each cour, given that the subject matter is man vs. machine and whether AI truly can be sentient.
8) Kill la kill
It's not often that an anime can go from A+ animation one minute to chibi drawings the next, but Studio Trigger's Kill la Kill pulls it off. Studio Trigger is known for making really over-the-top animations - Kill la Kill, Promare, and Cyberpunk Edgerunners being three examples of such a series. The fun part usually comes from the over-the-top nature of attacks or even just talking.
Mako Makanshoku's interruptions of scenes and whacky antics wherein she draws her own conclusions of what's going on are always fun to watch. The fact that the anime can have a balance of hilarious scenes that sometimes go into still frames and cutaways alongside the bombastic fast paced action is a plus.
There are examples of it being horrifying too, with Nui Harime breaking the fourth wall to threaten someone or the first person view of Satsuki getting pummeled by her mother being examples. Point being, for Studio Trigger's first real series, they proved they had what it took to create something memorable.
7) RWBY/Ice Queendom
This is a two-part entry, focusing on Rooster Teeth's RWBY and the Studio Shaft spin-off RWBY: Ice Queendom. The original RWBY was started by Rooster Teeth back in 2013, and already looked impressive for the time. The fight scenes were especially stylized by the late Monty Oum, focusing more on fast paced, frentic action.
The animation jump from software Poser to Maya absolutely represented a huge leap forward. The shadow people as background characters were gone and replaced by actual background characters - details like flames and trees and water were done better, and the characters moved more fluildly. It showed how well 3D animation can be used, especially for an independent studio without a huge budget.
Ice Queendom, on the other hand, opted for a 2D animation style with Studio Shaft - the studio behind Magica Madoka - at the helm. While the first three episodes were a recap of RWBY's first volume, episode four and onward focused on its own original story. The animation was considered very crisp, with several scenes recreating the original's action scenes and funny moments being highlights, though the anime's original story was likewise considered strong too.
6) Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt
The art style of Panty and Stocking makes it more immediately unique than most others on this list. It's done up in the style of older Cartoon Network and other western cartoons of the 2000s. It also shifts into anime style for the transformation sequences, which are done like poll dances.
The series has plenty of adult content, and was considered banned from broadcasting in the United States for some time due to said content. Swear words, lewd song lyrics, and references to plenty of things not suitable for broadcasting are all included. Some have likened it to a high-budget version of South Park in anime form.
It doesn't help that the heads of Studio Gainax were apparently drunk when they came up with the series, following Gurren Lagann's release. The animation goes from top tier anime into Americanized 2000s cartoon style on a whim, which can be disorienting when it switches for jokes.
5) Bocchi the Rock
Yes, the series about an anxiety-ridden guitarist is also on the list for having its own unique takeaway on being an anxiety-ridden mess. While Komi Can't Communicate has several giveaways about Komi's own issues, like Komi growing cat ears or the art style shifting, Bocchi The Rock doubles this with multiple cutaway gags for some of its moments.
Sometimes Bocchi herself will literally glitch out, sometimes it'll go into claymation, which is basically that if Bocchi herself is having a meltdown, the art style will shift quite a lot. From Bocchi turning into a giant monster, to stick figures, to old MTV style music videos, this anime has plenty of heart in it with regard to its animation portraying social anxiety.
The fact that this is a music-based anime certainly marks an improvement over the typical action-based shonen anime or isekai anime that have been released recently. Some anime fans liken it to K-On!, if the latter had more social anxiety put into it.
4) xxxHolic
xxxHolic adopted a very gothic look throughout, with darker and very inky coloring in its animation throughout. The creators were Production I.G., known for Ghost in the Shell and Haikyuu. The anime featured more than a few characters with long limbs and resulted in sometimes uneven and uncanny valley looking people.
This was deliberate, however, as it was trying to emulate the manga. In fact, the longer and spindly-limbed characters instantly make it a unique looking anime for one released in the 2000s, since most anime released around that time featured more realistic proportions for characters, depending on the anime that was watched.
The other thing that made it iconic was the Victorian-style clothing that most everyone wore. The clothing styles helped establish it as unique as well, as most anime back then were either present day affairs like Death Note or more fantasy like One Piece or Naruto.
3) Aggretsuko
The Sanrio-animated office comedy Aggretsuko is certainly an outlier in animation, being very arresting in its cute style. Given that it is by the same creative mind that made something as innocent as Hello Kitty, some viewers have been taken aback by the more adult topics that this seemingly cute anime tackles.
While the art style is definitely reminiscent of the latter-mentioned franchise, more adult topics like drinking, the pressure of being single, overworked, workplace harassment, and abuse are all tackled in one way or another. The art style also shifts on occasion to resemble a heavy metal looking style whenever Retsuko herself decides to belt out a metal scream.
It's mostly an underrated art style because, it is very different compared to the others on this list. While a lot of others are more traditionally animated, or have human characters, this one exclusively stars anthropomorphic animals. The fact that they are animals is also referenced at least once, and is not just for symbolism (e.g. Retsuko's boss being a boorish pig).
2) Pop Team Epic
Another collaboration style series was Pop Team Epic. It's more of on the weirder side of things as well. The entire anime is basically sketch comedy, with hardly any continuity to speak of. This is intentional, and made the anime much better known than the manga.
This series usually has a flat art style that frequently shifts to different styles. From pencil scribbles to heavy ink to a regular anime art style for a more serious moment, all of the skits have different voice acting, and art styles that are distinct from each other. It helps to distinguish itself from other anime, even if the two characters are dressed like schoolgirls.
The anime also likes to poke fun at cliched series, even having its own in the form of Hoshiiro Girldrop. It also drops more than a few jokes at the expense of idols, music videos, the mecha genre (with aid from Studio Sunrise no less), and Japanese delinquent stories. Given that it's a parody series, this is to be expected.
1) The Tale of Princess Kaguya
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is loosely based on the famous novel The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. This means the story follows a girl found by a bamboo cutter who's thought to be a princess cast out from heaven. One thing that makes it unique right away is that it's Studio Ghibli's longest film, at two hours and 17 minutes long, and arguably one of the longest animated films in the world that isn't tied to a media franchise.
Now, the animation itself is beautiful and made in the style of an oil painting. It wasn't put into a realistic art style on purpose, as the director and artists involved all made the decision to make it very simple with watercolor art. As a result, the colors pop a lot better than traditional animation or realistic art styles would allow.
Due to all this, and multiple delays, the film was considered the most expensive Japanese film ever made and released. They made back all that money and then some, even getting nominations for Academy Awards as a result. It was likewise the final directed film by Isao Takahata, director of Grave of the Fireflies, prior to his death in April 2018.
All of these anime have unique and different art styles that, while maybe not having the same budget as Studio MAPPA or Ufotable, make an impact regardless. The animation in them may not look the greatest when it comes to the modern day standards, but that only makes them worth watching even further.
Not only does having a nice palette of different art styles make anime better, but likewise experiencing these shows and movies helps to expand on more than a few horizons. If you think we missed out on any, let us know in the comments below!
