Underrated Anime & Manga

[Abiding Angel]

These are the: Shinesman

Hi everyone! I'm a tad bored, so I thought I'd put together a thread where you can list anime or manga that you think is really good, that most people haven't considered seeing or reading...yet. Try to keep it to anime/manga that people/your friends haven't really heard of, like non-mainstream stuff.
Good example: Manga: Duklyon CLAMP Campus Defenders
Bad example: Anime: Naruto. Bleach. Dragon Ball Z.
~Also, give your opinion as to why you think it's good - that will help convince us to watch/read it with you!
~Ask about any anime or manga you don't know about but want to learn more about.
~Oh, no bashing please. If you don't like a certain anime/manga, state it like constructive criticism. Why is it crappy? Why do you not recommend it? Be nice because someone may actually like it. :3

...Aaaaaannnnd Go go go!:

What I recommend:
Manga:
Kare First Love by Kaho Miyasaka
Description Here

Ok, ok, it's another teen romance/shoujo manga. The story is pretty straight forward and is set in the real world, but because of that it makes the reader relate easier. There's drama with relationships, and character match ups, but has an overall depth that portrays human hearts. I know that sounds corny, but if you're a romantic, it's worth the read.

Anime:
Midori no Hibi (Midori Days)
Description Here

Ok, so a guy wakes up to find a chibi girl attatched to his right hand. Disturbing? Yes. Hilarious plot? Why yes~! I mean it's so bizarre how this happens, but it's a tight knit little story. You meet some pretty funny characters all while dealing with the issue of matters of the heart. The anime is a bit different form the manga, and I admit, I haven't even read the manga - though I should. sweatdrop Overall, if you want some good laughs, it's a great one to watch with friends.

What I want to know more about:
~Black Butler or Kurotsuji...? I think Is it any good? I've heard good things about it, but I'm not quite sold...
~Princess Tutu. I've started the anime, 2 episodes in, but feel like this will get old fast. Does the story get better?  

[mugoi_usagi]

Duklyon is something not many people have read!? Sad!

Manga: Kitchen Princess
Description Here

I saw this in the store and wasn't sure how I felt about it. I checked it out online and decided to buy it. It's about a orphaned girl (Najika) who gets an opportunity to attend an prestigious high school and is a member of the "Special Class" which is only for students who have incredible skills. Najika has an amazing sense of taste and fantastic cooking skills. This is a 10 manga series sharing her experience at this school as well as an omake section with recipes!


Anime: Spice and Wolf
Description Here

Oh Horo! I found this series and decided to download it. It's so fun! Horo is a saucy wolf (but she looks like a red fox if you ask me!) with a sharp business sense. She teams up with a traveling salesman in the hopes that he will help her get back home to the north as she's been trapped in a small village for years. It's a lot of fun with lots of adventure and I love it! I'm planning on cosplaying Horo at the next con I get to!  

[magicalgirlme]

This is a awesome Idea!
This post is reserved for my recommendations! For now I am off to Japanese. xd  

[Abiding Angel]

@ Mugoi: Yes, Duklyon is underrated. : (

I LOVE Kitchen Princess! And I've made a few of the recipes too. XD Such a drama filled soap opera, but good.

The Spice and Wolf looks great~! And right up my alley too since I'm into business. Shineman was a fantasy while making-fun-of-business series too. I'll check it out.

@Yama: Thanks, I figure it'd be a good place for reviews and for people to talk about animes/mangas they were kinda curious about. 3nodding  

[Reveladom]

There's no such cat in the metropolis, who holds all the pieces in monopoly,

Question, would Legal Drug count?

It seems to have been discontinued but I really can't find any information on it, there were only three Manga made and no more (That I can find) And any time I try to look them up I can never find what I'm looking for. There are always these stupid cook books and litteral lists of Legal Drugs in the United States. T^T

Sorry about the rant, but again, I can never find anything about it's popularity.

for performing surprising illusions, and creating eccentric confusion.

 

[mugoi_usagi]

Ice_Wolf_Demon

There's no such cat in the metropolis, who holds all the pieces in monopoly,

Question, would Legal Drug count?

It seems to have been discontinued but I really can't find any information on it, there were only three Manga made and no more (That I can find) And any time I try to look them up I can never find what I'm looking for. There are always these stupid cook books and litteral lists of Legal Drugs in the United States. T^T

Sorry about the rant, but again, I can never find anything about it's popularity.

for performing surprising illusions, and creating eccentric confusion.

heart Legal Drug! What you want to search for is Lawful Drug. That's the translation of the Japanese title Gahou Drug. Here's the wikipedia for it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_Drug
I would count that as an unknown. It explains in the wiki why it has stopped being published. You should totally review it here though!  

[mugoi_usagi]

No time now, but these will be added to this post tonight:

Manga:
The One I Love
Description Here

This is a beautiful collection of short stories. Clamp portrayed love is it's many forms and the problems that might come up in relationship. If you've been in a relationship before, you'll recognize your own relationship in one of the many stories. They also explain parts of relationships that you might not thing of, like that you have to learn to be yourself alone and with someone else when you're in a relationship! ^_^

Clover
Description Here

This was one of Clamp's experimental pieces. It's really more about the art and how it tells the story that the story itself. Totally worth getting for the stunning art style.

Legend of Chun Hyang
Description Here

This one is super fun about a strong headed young woman. Lots of fun. Not really sure what else to say. It was a good one though and I was sad that there was only one volume. It's a short story so one is all you get.

Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales
Description Here

Similarly to The One I Love, this is a collection of three short stories that are all about the Snow Goddess. Each story stands on it's own and are really just generally nice stories. ^_^

Kobato.
Description Here

This is Clamp's latest work to be released in the US. I've seen the art before but it just got licensed last year. The first volume will be released this coming May! Keep an eye out for it!

 

[Abiding Angel]

Ice_Wolf_Demon

There's no such cat in the metropolis, who holds all the pieces in monopoly,

Question, would Legal Drug count?

It seems to have been discontinued but I really can't find any information on it, there were only three Manga made and no more (That I can find) And any time I try to look them up I can never find what I'm looking for. There are always these stupid cook books and litteral lists of Legal Drugs in the United States. T^T

Sorry about the rant, but again, I can never find anything about it's popularity.

for performing surprising illusions, and creating eccentric confusion.

Totally counts. I haven't read it before, though I wanted to. When I say mainstream, I'm talking about animes you'd watch on the TV like things found on Adult Swim or Anime Network. Please tell us more about it! 3nodding  

[Abiding Angel]

I only have time for a quick post: .: rush rush:.

Anime: Pretear
Description right... Here

It's a magical girl anime but centers around the legend of Snow White... of course there are twists - it's an anime. ^_^ The older guys are crush worthy and the younger guys are super adorable! There are also some serious plot twists that make you say, "WT...OMGAREYOUSERIOUS?!" Sometimes it gets cheesy, but there are some really funny people and situations. I guess it comes along with the whole battle of good versus evil with magical powers.  

[Abiding Angel]

Neh, Mugoi, your images aren't showing up. D: I don't know if it's just me, but I only see the link.  

[Sora Itou]

easy, any manga that isnt a shonen jump ): thats just an estimate that is, i already know gundam, sailor moon, etc. is extremely popular. but at least we can keep out the messed up fans razz  

[Abiding Angel]

Sora Itou

easy, any manga that isnt a shonen jump ): thats just an estimate that is, i already know gundam, sailor moon, etc. is extremely popular. but at least we can keep out the messed up fans razz

Yes, series currently being featured in American publications is off limits. And while Gundam and Sailor Moon are full of win, they are also off limits because we already know how awesome they are. :3 Sora, even crazy fans are welcome. The idea is to expose unknown/underground anime to our friends here in the guild. Do you have any good series to add?  

[mugoi_usagi]

Water_Angel08

Neh, Mugoi, your images aren't showing up. D: I don't know if it's just me, but I only see the link.

Kay! Might be because I stole them all straight from wiki. I'll try hosting them on photobucket and see if that helps. I'm not having any trouble viewing them though so I'm not sure what the problem is.  

[Abiding Angel]

mugoi_usagi

Water_Angel08

Neh, Mugoi, your images aren't showing up. D: I don't know if it's just me, but I only see the link.

Kay! Might be because I stole them all straight from wiki. I'll try hosting them on photobucket and see if that helps. I'm not having any trouble viewing them though so I'm not sure what the problem is.

It's fixed. biggrin I'm not sure why it wasn't viewable...I guess you need the [img/] tag in it or something. I wish that that "Show blocked" worked in the guild forums too. I always have that problem when someone in a guild will post a picture, and all you see is the link. Then you have to highlight, copy, paste, and open in a new tab or something to see it. D: Oh mighty Gaia admins fix that problem pleassssseeeee~~~~!  

[mugoi_usagi]

Water_Angel08

mugoi_usagi

Water_Angel08

Neh, Mugoi, your images aren't showing up. D: I don't know if it's just me, but I only see the link.

Kay! Might be because I stole them all straight from wiki. I'll try hosting them on photobucket and see if that helps. I'm not having any trouble viewing them though so I'm not sure what the problem is.

It's fixed. biggrin I'm not sure why it wasn't viewable...I guess you need the [img/] tag in it or something. I wish that that "Show blocked" worked in the guild forums too. I always have that problem when someone in a guild will post a picture, and all you see is the link. Then you have to highlight, copy, paste, and open in a new tab or something to see it. D: Oh mighty Gaia admins fix that problem pleassssseeeee~~~~!

I dunno. I had the tag and everything. But they were direct from the sites so maybe it made Gaia angry. Well, what ever displeased the Gaian gods has been fixed!