Top10 Lesser Known Anime That Demand Your Attention (ft. Arkada From Glass Reflection)

Top10 Lesser Known Anime That Demand Your Attention (ft. Glass Reflection)

Feast your eyes on these diamonds in the rough. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we are counting down our picks for the Top 10 Lesser-Known Anime That Demand Your Attention.


For this list, we’ll be looking at the anime that we believe deserve a little more appreciation given their tremendous quality. While some of you out there will undoubtedly have many of these pinned already as cherished favourites, consider this countdown a means of spreading the gospel. After all, these shows deserve all the attention they can get.

Let’s jam.

#10: "Bokurano"

While it may lack the grit and darkness of Mohiro Kitoh's original manga, there can be no denying that this show will have you looking at giant robots in a whole different light. After finding themselves roped into a no-win scenario, a group of middle school students are forced to pilot a mecha in a series of bloody skirmishes against foes from alternate plains of reality. As you might have guessed, there's a far more sinister ploy going on beneath the surface, one that you won't be able to divert your eyes from no matter how much despair the series throws at you.

#9: “Space Brothers”

To boldly go where no man has gone before, that’s always been the dream of brothers Mutta and Hibito. Unfortunately, the oldest Nanba’s life turned out vastly different compared to that of his younger sibling, who's but a breath away from achieving his goal of heading to the moon. However, when the chance to join the next venture to Mars lands in his lap, Mutta finds himself given a second chance to make that childhood wish a reality. While there’s certainly an element of the “follow your dreams” trope to be found here, the series goes out of its way to make it crystal clear that any dreamers out there had better be prepared to put in the hard work in order to achieve it.

#8: “Ping Pong the Animation”

Long before Masaaki Yuasa was turning crybabies into Devilmen, he was making Ping Pong look like the most amazing sport ever conceived. Focusing on two childhood friends with a talent for table tennis, Peco and Smile find their passions put to the test when they enter a competition filled with a whole slew of top-tier opponents, some of who lead the duo to reflect on their own reasons for playing. Sure, you can point out any sports anime you want and rightly say that it’s premise and themes are run of the mill, but do you known what this show has that others don’t? It’s jaw-dropping animation. Holy Ma Long, does this show know how to may a serve look epic!

#7: "Kaiba"

Okay, fair warning, you're going to see copious amounts Masaaki Yuasa on this list. What can we say? The man's a genius, and his earlier work deserves just as much praise as his later ventures. While on the surface the series may appear to resemble something akin to Doraemon on first glance, in truth it's actually an intricate dystopian tale, one unafraid to tackle everything from economic inequality, the disregard for human life, all the way to the painful superfluity of finding purpose in an obscene world. Don't be like Kaiba, commit this series to memory!

#6: “One Outs”

Imagine if Ace of Diamond and Kaiji somehow managed to conceive a child, one that on the surface seemed to be your average baseball anime…but in truth actually revolved around a cocky pitcher and his do-or-die bet with a tyrant of a manager. For every out he makes, Toua Tokuchi earns himself a nice fat cheque of five million yen. However, every time he gives up a run, he owes his douchebag of an owner fifty million yen. If any of you out there are craving a gambling anime where the financial stakes are ridiculously huge, this one is a certified home run.

#5: “Mononoke”

Being the anime aficionado that I am, I've seen myfair share of enigmatic wanderers who spend their days exorcising rowdy spirits, though few have quite the same level of style and authority as the Medicine Seller. This oddly-feline-like fellow spends the series hunting down the violent entities known as Mononoke, which more often than not plague humans by manifesting through their negative emotions. Don’t worry if you find the Medicine Seller’s detective-esque antics monotonous at first glance, I guarantee it won’t take long for him to bust out that sword of his and engage in the most psychedelic battle scenes you’re likely to see. Talk about flashy.

#4: “Welcome to Irabu's Office”

Otherwise known as Trapeze, this anime dares to ask the big questions, the ones that fans have been unconsciously demanding for years. Like, how does a gangster with a fear of knives or a businessman with an uncontrollable erection cope with their daily lives? Enter Ichiro Irabu, a young doctor who holds the key to curing all manner of bizarre symptoms and mental disorders…by offering advice that’s even weirder than the patients’ conditions. Yet, somehow, it always ends up working. Prepare yourself for an unbelievable amount of crude and light-hearted comedy that will have you in such stitches you’ll need to book an appointment yourself.

#3: “Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu”

Essentially the anime indie darling of the past two years, Yotaro and Yakumo’s journeys through the Japanese performance art of rakugo cemented itself as the drama any fan worth their salt had to watch. Newcomers need not be deterred by the drastic cultural shift, since the series manages to beautifully introduce and portray the medium while also telling a compelling story about two polar opposites whose lives become forever interwoven with the stories they tell on stage. As far as character studies go, this anime is a masterclass that demands to be experienced.

#2: “The Tatami Galaxy”

Ah, Masaaki Yuasa, you beautiful bastard. While this exquisite anime has all the staples of his other work, including animation that will have you questioning what was in your drink, what makes this little project worth viewing is its incorporation of the “what if” element. What if our protagonist joined an alternate college club? What if he approached the girl of his dreams slightly different? What if he tried to better himself by just the smallest of increments? The answers to all these can be found in a series that for all of its obscenely beautiful art all amounts to a very human story anyone can all relate to, wherein we see how even the most minute of choices can alter a life in the most unimaginable of ways.

#1: “Aria” series

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times cough-including on my Youtube Channel-cough the exploits of Aria Company and their gondola rides through the beautiful city of Neo Venezia are the pitch perfect example of how a slice-of-life anime can create a sense of sheer tranquillity, one presented through the prism of a wholly unique setting. Akari’s interactions with the city’s inhabitants, the stunning representation of the planet Aqua, every episode practically radiates a calmness that will engross you before you can say the word Undine.