Time to update your anime library with these hidden gems!
The depth and diversity of the world of anime are just too wide and wild to fully grasp within a few titles. Once you get hooked, you find yourself falling through an endless library of shows; it is difficult to wrap your head around this bottomless pit. From rom-com to sci-fi to fantasy, and even bizarre mixes of all three, anime has something for everyone. However, even the most hardcore anime lovers cannot scan through every manga or watch every show on the planet, and sometimes a number of underrated hidden gems fly by without ever getting picked up by your radar. Thankfully, Crunchyroll has a vast library of such titles to explore. Let’s have a look at some of these underdogs, one of which might become your “next best anime” or “next favorite anime” that you’d love to share with your friends and family.
The Promised Neverland (2019–2021)
Produced by: CloverWorks | Genre: Sci-fi, Dark Fantasy
Cast: Sumire Morohoshi, Mariya Ise, Shinei Ueki
The Promised Neverland is a sci-fi dystopian fantasy set in the year 2045, where a disturbing agreement between humans and demons from another plane of existence keeps the world from plunging into an endless war. The “promise”, as it is called in the series, keeps demons from entering the human world and causing havoc, and requires humans to set up breeding centers in the guise of orphanages in the demon world where little children are farmed to be fed to high-ranking demon lords. An orphan from one of these centers, an 11-year-old girl named Emma, finds the truth about her existence and tries to escape the hellish “Neverland” with some of her friends, however, their path is full of fiends and monsters of all shapes and sizes.
Gintama (2006–2018)
Animated by: Sunrise/Bandai Namco | Genre: Sci-fi
Cast: Tomokazu Sugita, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Rie Kugimiya
Perhaps one of the greatest anime shows that you might’ve never heard of, Gintama speaks of an alternate history of Japan in the late-Edo era, where humanity is attacked by aliens, and the shogunate is turned into a puppet government. The samurais are stripped of their iconic swords and are forced to do odd jobs to make a living. However, the eccentric samurai Gintoki Sakata is not someone who follows the rules set up by this puppet government, and together with his new friends, sets out on a path to eventually become the hero who would save humanity once and for all.
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma (2015-2020)
Produced by: J.C. Staff | Genre: Comedy
Cast: Kappei Yamaguchi, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Minami Takahashi
If cooking shows are your thing, but you are also a fan of anime, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma is the perfect show for you. Students at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy aspire to be the best chefs in the world, and to accomplish that they often hold shokugeki (food war) to prove their worth. In this highly competitive and dramatic world, teenager Soma Yukihira strives to be the best at the elite culinary academy, and one day surpass his father, who once used to be one of the top chefs in the country.
Moriarty the Patriot (2020)
Produced by: Production I.G | Genre: Crime, Mystery
Cast: Sôma Saitô, Aaron Dismuke, Theo Devaney
One of the many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty the Patriot focuses on the famous nemesis of the world’s greatest detective. Set in the late 19th century, it tells the story of a corrupt British government through the eyes of Moriarty and his brothers, as they plan to take down the failed system through terrorist activities, going as far as to frame Sherlock for murder. The familiar battle of minds gets a fresh new take in this hidden gem.
Noragami (2014–2015)
Produced by: Bones | Genre: Action, Supernatural
Cast: Hiroshi Kamiya, Maaya Uchida, Yûki Kaji
Before getting into a bus accident while attempting to save a stranger, Hiyori Iki was a typical middle school student. Noragami tells the story of what happens after that fateful accident, which leaves her spirit drifting out of her body. She learns that there are two parallel worlds: the Near Shore, which is populated by humans and animals, and the Far Shore, which is home to phantoms (demonic creatures) and human souls. Through her soul, she finds Yato, a bizarre, unnamed deity without a shrine who is seeking to establish his reputation. They are accompanied by Yukine, Yato’s “Regalia” made from the soul of a dead person. Together, they struggle with their relationships, identities, and pasts over various adventures.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride (2017)
Produced by: Wit Studio/Studio Kafka | Genre: Dark Fantasy
Cast: Atsumi Tanezaki, Ryôta Takeuchi, Dani Chambers
The Ancient Magus’ Bride follows orphaned Japanese high school girl Chise Hatori, who chooses to sell herself at an auction in order for someone else to take her in and have a new place to call home, after being shunned by both her family and society. She is bought by Elias Ainsworth, a seven-foot-tall humanoid with an animal skull for a head, for five million pounds at the London auction. In her new homeland, Great Britain, the magus—who resembles a demon more than a human—will either lead her to the light she so desperately craves or engulf her in the darkness that becomes progressively worse.
The Devil Is a Part-Timer! (2013-2023)
Produced by: White Fox | Genre: Fantasy, Comedy
Cast: Josh Grelle, Felecia Angelle, Tia Lynn Ballard
The Devil Is a Part-Timer! came back after a long break in 2022 after airing its first season in 2013. The plot follows Satan trying to take over the peaceful land of Ente Isla. He is stopped by Emilia, the hero, and is forced to flee via a gate that takes him to contemporary Tokyo, Japan. Satan takes on the name Sadao Maou and works part-time at a fast food joint named MgRonald’s, a spoof of McDonald’s, in order to live and find a means to get back to Ente Isla.
Overlord (2015)
Produced by: Madhouse | Genre: Dark Fantasy
Cast: Satoshi Hino, Chris Guerrero, Yumi Hara
Overlord starts with every 2000s gamer’s sad reality, alone on a server missing the friends they once used to play with. Set in 2126, when video game technology reached new heights, a skeletal Lich “Overlord” character named
