10 underrated anime series every fan should try once

Japanese animation offers mountains of flashy big-name shows, yet hidden in the corners of the catalogue, sit smaller gems that never got giant billboards or loud opening songs. These underrated anime series deliver tight stories, emotional impact, and cool animation tricks, all while flying under the average viewer’s radar.

This list celebrates exactly that kind of hidden treasure. No giant robot icons or shonen megastars—just ten underrated anime titles that quietly blew minds without trending on every social feed. Each one of these underrated anime still streams in plain sight, ready for anyone looking for a good story without fanfare.

Disclaimer: The article solely presents the author's opinion, and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

10 must-watch underrated anime series

1) Erased

A struggling manga artist named Satoru discovers he can jump back in time a few minutes—a phenomenon he calls “Revival”—just enough to prevent small tragedies.

When a murder from his childhood suddenly connects to a new crime in the present, his power yanks him all the way back to grade school to stop a serial killer. Frozen Hokkaido streets, old cassette tapes, and tiny clues pile up as he works to save doomed classmates.

The suspense in Erased anime is sharp, the snowy town feels chilly yet cozy, and the early episodes hit like a mystery thriller novel. Each small time-leap reshapes friendships and family bonds, turning an ordinary life into a life-and-death puzzle.

2) Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu (Image via Studio Deen)

Spanning the immediate post-war decades of Japan, this drama follows ex-con Yotaro begging a famous rakugo storyteller to become his master. Rakugo—a solo stage act where one performer plays every character—acts as the heartbeat of the tale.

As decades roll by, we watch friendships, love triangles, and rivalries swirl around this dying art form. Dialogue is snappy and nostalgic, the voice acting is next-level, and the tragic story arcs feel like reading a thick historical novel.

The script of this underrated anime treats the stage spotlight as a magnet, pulling dreams, regrets, and the weight of tradition all into that single beam.

3) Kaiba

In a universe where memories fit on small green chips and bodies are cheap toys, a boy with a hole in his chest wakes up with no name. He drifts across chaotic planets meeting lovers, rich warlords, and memory smugglers, all while searching for his stolen past.

The retro candy-colored art style resembles a 1970s children’s picture book turned psychedelic. Each short adventure peeks into how people value—or throw away—family, identity, and pain. Beneath the cute, round faces live giant questions about what makes anyone truly human.

4) Planetes

Written years before private rockets went trendy, Planetes imagines space cleanup crews in 2075 sweeping Earth’s orbit of dangerous junk.

New recruit Ai Tanabe dreams of the stars but ends up in orange jumpsuits, unclogging dead satellites. The small crew of the debris ship Toy Box grouches, jokes, and grows while science talk mixes with soap-opera chatter. Zero-gravity scenes feel slow and floaty, then sudden collisions crank tension sky-high.

Politics, budgets, and simple team lunches blend into a calm yet gripping slice-of-life set far above the planet.

5) Dennou Coil

A group of kids in a near-future city wear special glasses that reveal magical extra layers of digital pets and monsters.

Through these glasses, hacked creatures glitch, warp, and chase across real streets and empty classrooms. The mood mixes summer vacation freedom with growing dread about a mysterious digital anomaly tied to buried research.

Viruses, urban legends, and shy friendships form a puzzle box that unwraps one painful memory at a time in this underrated anime. Cool chase scenes and cozy snack shop talks share space like slices of summer camp mixed with spooky sci-fi.

6) Paranoia Agent

A mysterious kid on rollerblades dubbed “Lil’ Slugger” whacks victims with a baseball bat and vanishes into city shadows.

Each episode zooms in on a different person—an anxious office lady, a fading pop idol, a greedy toy designer—whose panic feeds the rumor beast. Director Satoshi Kon plays with sketchy line art, sudden dream cuts, and creepy laughter.

The city itself seems to pulse with dread, showing how stress, shame, and media hype mix into something monstrous. By the last episode of Paranoia Agent, fantasy, reality, and guilt crash together in a wild swirl of color and shadows.

7) Princess Principal

Princess Principal (Image via Studio 3Hz & Actas)

Alternate steampunk London lives under the shadow of a civil war that split the city with a great wall, and five teenage spies attend an upscale girls’ school while plotting secret missions. The cast ranges from a noble runaway to a pauper turned assassin; all click together like a smooth black-ops team.

Eras blend—corsets, gears, cigarette smoke, and zeppelins roar over cobblestone alleys. Princess Principal's episodes hop around in timeline order, delivering surprise backstabs and gentle tea-time chats. Jazz trumpets and rotating gears chew up cliches, making every short mission feel like a spy movie trailer.

8) Kino’s Journey

Traveler Kino rides a talking motorbike named Hermes across surreal lands, never staying more than three days in each country.

Every stop holds a new weird custom: a country where people can murder once without punishment, or another where robots care for the last old man. Dialogue stays calm and observational, coloring moral puzzles with quiet gunshots and soft pastel sunsets.

Crisp yet minimal backgrounds paint each land like a storybook cutout, letting strange rules stand center stage. Slice-of-life setups ride straight into philosophical detours, always ending with a small shrug and the sound of Hermes kicking up dust.

9) The Tatami Galaxy

A nameless college freshman wishes for the perfect rose-colored campus life and keeps rewinding to freshman orientation night. With each restart, he joins different clubs—film circle, cycling gang, ramen group—only to ruin every scenario in fast-talking three-minute bursts.

Surreal frogs, magic wells, and black square gatekeepers appear between comedic meltdowns. Experimental art splashes sharp ink strokes and rainbow crowds onto the screen, matching the mile-a-minute monologues. Despite the chaos, a gentle message about living without regret sneaks up under the rapid-fire jokes.

10) Run with the Wind

Run with the Wind (Image via Production I.G)

Former elite runner Kakeru steals food, meets a wild college dorm called Chikusei-so, and ends up training for the Hakone Ekiden, one of Japan’s most prestigious university relay races.

The ten residents vary from soccer dropouts to literature nerds who have never jogged past three blocks, yet the group aims for one of Japan’s toughest university races. Rushed night runs, icy winter tracks, and ripped shoes form a slow-building tale of teammates learning to trust each other.

Slow burn growth replaces flashy tricks: calloused feet, crunched lap times, and goose-bump finish lines. By the final stretch, the simple image of runners passing a baton glows like fireworks over nighttime city rivers.

Conclusion

Each underrated anime on this roster skipped the merch blitz and pop-score charts yet earned a loving fanbase one quiet episode at a time. Quiet mysteries, steampunk spy daydreams, chip-memory love stories, or a crew sweeping space trash—no single mood dominates the underrated anime list. Pick any title, hit play, and discover a new pocket of the anime world.