As the years go on some anime rise to the tops, no matter how good or bad it is, while others are skipped over for some reason or another. So I thought why not make a list of some anime that people don't seem to know that much about but should watch. As always I'd love to have you guys add on to the list as well.

Vandread. Created by Gonzo in 2000 and 2001, Vandread is a Si/fi, Adventure, Comedy anime with 2, 13 episode seasons. Also quick heads up it does have some Romance in it but it also has GIANT ROBOTS, and that makes everything better right.... right? Anyways Vandread is set in a universe where humans have colonized the galaxy as Earth kinda... went boom I believe or something like that, and in one star system, men and woman live on 2 different planets, making the gender war very real. We focus on our main character Hibiki Tokai, as he is aboard a new men ship when a group of female pirates attack it and Hibiki, along with two other males are forced to become part of the all female crew (both sides not very happy about it). I just enjoy it because it's an anime that just is a lot of fun to watch and doesn't take itself too seriously. Also giant robots.

Scrapped Princess. Starting as a light novel, Scrapped Princess was adapted into an anime in 2003 by Bones. Also fun fact the character designs are done by Takahiro Komori who is also known for his work in Cowboy Bebop. Scrapped Princess is 24 episodes long. Our story takes place in a fantasy setting, but it's also in the future, try to rap your head around that one. Our main character is Pacifica Casull, the sister in a pair of twins born to the royal family. Oh ya also everyone in the world tries to kill Pacifica when she is born. Why you may ask yourself? Well you see the 5111th Grendel Prophecy predicts that she is the "poison that will destroy the world" if she reaches her sixteenth birthday. To prevent this, she is dropped off a cliff as an infant, or scrapped. But ya this is a amazing anime and all the characters are a lot of fun to watch. This is one of my favorite anime and I can highly recommend it.

Kino's Journey. What was originally a light novel soon became a anime in 2003, made by A.C.G.T and Genco. Kino's Journey is a 13 episode by episode anime that, really is hard to talk about but I'll try my best without giving too many spoilers away. Kino, accompanied by a talking motorcycle named Hermes, travels through a mystical world of many different countries and forests, each unique in its customs and people. Kino only spends three days and two nights in every town, without exception, on the principle that three days is enough time to learn almost everything important about a place, while leaving time to explore new lands. This show will suck you in and you will enjoy each episode, as each one takes place in a different land so really anything could happen.

Those are 3 anime that I believe aren't talked about enough and should be better known. As always please share your opinion and bring up some anime you think should be added to this list.

Anime that i think is not well known,eh? I could say shows like D.Gray Man,and The World God Only Knows.But...There is kind of a reason they are not popular,there not that good.Even though i really enjoy them,i guess i can't put them on the list.So,i will think of 3 anime,that i personally believe,are underrated.

Bokurano: Ours: Originally based off the manga,by Mohiro Kitoh,this show is a deconstruction of the mech genre.And is one of my personal favorites.Really don't know why this has not taken off yet.It has not been picked up by any company.You think Funimation would hop on this thing,immediately.

Xxxholic: Yeah,the first season of the anime is..Mediocre,but trust me,it gets so much better,after season 1.It picks up right where the first season ended,and offers very interesting concepts,and ideas.Third season is not to bad either.

D.Gray man: Screw it,i can break my own rules.Before someone watches D.Gray man,i always say to them,"D.Gray man is a show,where you just have to accept the fact,that its a shonen.That is the only way to enjoy." In truth,shonen is a genre that is very..Predictable.Just think about it for a moment.In a Shonen action manga,they almost always take an element from our world,then twist the mythology,to extreme levels.Follow me for a minute.

Ninjas? Swift striders of death,that use well planned tactics,to dispose of a target? Nope.What we do,is trap a demonic fox,inside of a boy,who wants to be the leader of his village.



Grim reapers? I believe you mean,samurai grim reapers.Who sure spend alot more time fighting other reapers,that actually slaying the HOLLOWS!



Pirates? No drinking,rape,or murder around here mate.Just the adventures of mister fantastic!




They take alot of things from reality,and twist them.That is why shonen is my favorite anime,and manga genre.And that's why i love D.Gray man.

Its formulaic,yes.Its characters are flawed.Its writing is..Well,actually better than i thought.The animation never looks bad,just mediocre.And has the potential to look great.And in all honesty,that just describes most Shonen anime.Most of them are all mediocre.And i have no problem with that.However,i would argue this: "If nearly every shonen anime,is similar to another shonen anime,then why should one be looked down upon?" All shonen anime,are almost the same thing to me.But no matter how stupid they get,i will always love them.

But i believe i have rambled long enough.Thanks for making this thread.I love seeing people share opinions.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: I'm not too good at describing anime, but it it's not very well known. This anime starts out as a slightly typical school life/comedy, but as the story progresses it gets serious while still retaining the humor. My friend described it as an action/comedy/drama anime.

From what others have said, I'll second Kino's Journey and Bokurano for sure. I've watched Kino's Journey multiple times. Similar to that one in its slow pace and thoughtfulness, Haibane Renmei is also pretty good.

Also, Monster is one that I really liked. It's fairly long (like 60 episodes or something) and it gives the same kind of vibe as Death Note because of the cat and mouse style plot and philosophical questions. I also like it because it stays grounded in reality and doesn't have the usual supernatural elements that many anime have. Definitely check it out.

Hmmm what's Haibane Renmei about, I may watch that one. Oh ya I have a few more to put on the list...

The Big O. Make your jokes now.... ok you good? you good? Good. Anyways this is a future/mecha anime, and it has GIANT ROBOTS. Created in 1999 (this is a older one) by designer Keiichi Sato and director Kazuyoshi Katayama, and written by Chiaki J. Konaka for Sunrise. The writing staff was assembled by the series' head writer, Chiaki J. Konaka who is known for his work in the Digimon season, Digimon Tamers. Digimon Tamers was extremely good and now we have a writer from that show working with giant robots, this has got to be good. Plot time, The story takes place forty years after a mysterious occurrence causes the residents of Paradigm City to lose their memories. The series follows Roger Smith, Paradigm City's top Negotiator. He provides this much needed service with the help of a robot named R. Dorothy Wayneright and his butler Norman Burg. When the need arises, Roger calls upon Big O, a giant relic from the city's past. It's a very good anime and I feel it can hold it's own with some things from today.

Gosick. What started off as a Light Novel (Ya a lot of anime start off as ((A)) a Light Novel, or ((B)) a Manga) soon became an anime in 2011 by Bones (Bones is awesome, I'd recommend almost anything by them), Gosick takes place in 1924 in a small, French-speaking fictional European country. The story centers on Kazuya Kujo, the third son of a high-ranking officer of the Imperial Japanese Army, who is a transfer student to St. Marguerite Academy, There he meets Victorique, and let the whacky begin. But ya I recommend the anime because of the first little bit of it, the beginning is a Mystery anime and is fun to watch, some people might even enjoy the last part of it to so I thought to throw it on the list.

And again here we have 2 more anime's. Like always please keep on posting guys, I need more anime to watch and I'd like to get the younger anime watchers to watch some of the unknown stuff. Also forums like this are fun.

You are right: I have never heard of any of those anime. 

I might have to check out Vandread. That sounds pretty good. 

thing1 : It's a very fun anime and it has GIANT ROBOTS. Watch the first few episodes to see if you like it.

I'd like to throw my hate into the ring, how about Rurouni Kenshin, looking back its dub wasn't half bad, the voice acting was really good (Steven Blum as the terrifying villain Shishio was a real treat for the ears) and while I admit the fact they called the Katana a "Japanese sword" despite the fact that the setting was Feudal Japan during the Mejii era it was a pretty faithful dub by Media Blasters sometimes keeping the full Japanese Names for many attacks and so on, and as a child watching this on Toonami it was like magic seeing the swordplay and animation. Perhaps this is a bit well known for the list I feel as though people don't talk about this anime all that often any more, pushed aside for the Evangelion or Triguns of yester-years.

If I were to suggest something look up the anime ending theme Heart of the Sword, its a theme that speaks with an anime lover like me, I put it up to the level of awesome of Soul Eater's Resonate.

I would recommend Jigoku Shoujo, Kamisama No Inai Nichiyoubi, Shigofumi or Canaan, because there indeed very few people who watched it, although these animes are very great, and also have deep messages o=

There's a lot of animes you could put in this and I see plenty already being suggested. So I'll throw my two cents worth in and hopefully hook someone up with some decently good animes. 
1. Toward the Terra
2. Planet Es
3. Jin-Roh : The Wolf Brigade
4. Shinsekai Yori ( From The New World )
5. Zombie Loan
6. Scrapped Princess
7. The Witch Hunter (El Cazador de la Bruja)
8. The Twelve Kingdoms (Juuni Kokuki)
9. Ben-to
10. RahXephon
11. Tegami Bachi Reverse
As I said before there are a lot I could name but if any of those hit your fancy then glad I could help out. :O)

Brain-Splattered : RahXephon is on my watchlist. I heard a very good remix song of its opening and I immediately got interested in watching it.

I would also like to recommend something, but I haven't seen a wide variety of anime to judge which are popular. Maybe Captain Harlock. I still have to watch the new movie, which should come this month to my country, but I read some chapters of the manga in the past and it was very good. It's also very old, so don't expect an incredible quality from it.

Well I guess I'll throw in my two cents:

Paprika - This is actually a movie,  but its a really good trip, detailing it would give out spoilers so...
Tonkeet Street - A tale of two orphan boys who struggle out.
Tiger & Bunny - The story of a couple of superheroes who try to take the title of ''King of heroes'' in a live-action show that details a contest between heroes.
Zetman - Is an incredible sci-fi gore anime with super hero theme.
Gundam Wing - Probably the darkest and poorly known Gundam series out there.
Gundam Build Fighters - A relaxing show about plastic models that ca be played with like a video game.
Bakemonogatari - Really random tales that revolt around a guy who had an encounter with a vampire
Basquash - Basketball in giant robots
N0.6 - A sci-fi utopia that is really like the novel 1894

Anime that people should watch that are not that well known?....Hmmm,well I am thinking that Steins;Gate for instance is a very good example in this case.Based on the visual novel which was the original material,Steins;Gate is a pleasant surprise for anime fans.Apparently,this anime is a sequel for Chaos Head and that anime was beyond the realm of disaster(I am not joking around,it IS really bad)It was full of plot holes,plain bad characters and confusing turn of events.People didn't expect Steins;Gate to be so good and not many did bother in checking it out as a result,but I digress...I said it was a sequel but not an ACTUAL sequel meaning it was just set in the same world.Now,I am going to give you readers(those of you who are not familiar with the anime)more information about Steins;Gate without giving names or elaborating on concepts(believe me,there are many!)First off all,do you guys know anything about John Titor?If not,then conduct your own research about him via Google(I think is better this way since there is a chance I could talk about John Titor for the rest of day xP yeah,you can tell I'm a big fan of him)I guess I could at least tell you who was(or is)he:Basically,John Titor is the name of somebody who claimed to be a time traveler from 2036(And that's it,don't ask me more about him...GO AND SEARCH HIS NAME VIA GOOGLE FOR MORE INFO OTHERWISE THIS POST IS GOING TO BE WAY TOO LONG! XD)*regains composure*Sorry about thatJust make sure you do in order to understand Steins;Gate even further.The anime is about a group of people trying to create a time machine.They succeeded but then they messed up time and an evil organization now out to kill them.Steins;Gate presents some pretty solid scientific theories about time travelling and its subsequent effect.In fact,eleven theories were used by the original visual novel to support time travel.This complex story started out weak with a guy pretending to be a mad scientist going around town and talking to cliché characters.Who would've thought it would transform into one of the most epic,gripping,dramatic and action packed stories about time travel and the effect of changing time?Absolutely brilliant!The most impressive part about the anime is that it had a limited cast but the twists and surprises would always easily catch you off guard.It has some of the most impressive character development you will ever see in an anime as well.*taking a deep breath*In the end,words can't make justice to this masterpiece.Without a doubt,this is not only one of the best animes ever made in all anime history but also one of the best time travel stories ever known.Btw,don't worry if it seems difficult for any of you to understand some things because Steins;Gate has the ability to take overcomplicated terms,concepts or definitions and simplify them in a way that it seems to make more sense.Lastly,are any of you Doctor Who fans?Then,THIS is the perfect anime for you to watch.Seriously,is a commitment.If you haven't watched it,DO IT when you have the time even if you are not interested in time travel theories or time machines at all....El Psy Congroo.

Zero no Tsukaima may be fairly well known, but apparently not well enough for anyone I know to know of it. That said, I personally consider it to be one of the best anime of all time, so in my opinion, it's worth a watch. Without a doubt.

Anime that isn't well known, but still fantastic? This might take awhile!  

Natsume Yujin-Cho (Natsume and the Book of Friends)- This is one of my favorite anime's ever created, I know the title sounds all cute and fluffy. And it does have its adorable warm and fuzzy scenes (like every ending to an episode, but isn't that the best ending?) but it's the exact opposite of what your thinking. This anime has ghost, it has demons, it has a extremely powerful higher up demon that's the pet cat of a teenage boy, its just great.

Now to what the show is actually about. Natsume Yujin-Cho is about Takashi Natsume, a teenage boy with the ability to see ghosts, an ability he inherited from his grandmother Reiko. His parents both died when he was young , so the little orphaned Natsume was shuffled around from relative to relative. Always ending up alone, and basically being treated like trash because no one could understand what he was going through. He simply wasn't like other people... Everything changed when he went to stay with the Fujjiwara's, a nice couple who simply adore Natsume for who he is (minus the 'Hey I see dead people' part) and when he finds the book of friends, a journal filled with different spirits names written in it. Something his late grandmother left behind... 


Noragami- I don't know for sure if Norgami is a well known anime or not, but it certainly got my attention. Norgami follows the adventures of a stray god (Yato), his regelia (Yukine), and a teenage girl stuck on the line between the living and the dead(Hiyori). Its filled with comedy, tragedy, and those scenes that you find funny but your really crying on the inside.. I highly recommend this anime, sense it was the very first one I watched in the downward spiral that was my life. 

Aldnoah.Zero

I think people should try to watch psyco pass , here is what it's about Psycho-Pass is set in 2113. The Sibyl System
is actively measuring the populace's mental states, personalities, and
the probability that individuals will commit crimes, using a "cymatic
scan" of the brain. The resulting assessment is called a Psycho-Pass. When the probability of a person engaging in crimes measured by the Crime Coefficient index exceeds a certain level in an individual, he or she is pursued, apprehended, and killed if necessary.

Fist of the North Star / Hokuto no Ken:

Just about as old as the original Dragon Ball manga (FotNS manga is older than DB), this series was inspiration for tons of future shows. Following the seemingly invincible yet cursed man Kenshiro, it's about his quest to get his love back, killing and watching the deaths of past comrades and brothers. They made a second part which isn't that bad, but you could watch the first part and not the second, and could still be satisfied.

I really enjoyed this series. I haven't seen anything as good as it yet, and I'm sure a lot of you know how much I love JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (also a good one but it's pretty popular).

Galacta : You beat me to it lady good for you i love that show so much that my layout is based off it  :3

A few that I personally know of that don't seem to be that well known (for whatever reason):

Baccano! This anime hinges on being borderline-crazy-weird.  It's a series about the New York mafia, alchemy, immortality,  the 1930's Prohibition era,  man-hunts,  train hijackings,  and gang battles. It is WEIRD but it is so. freakin' good.  The timeline isn't linear, which means you have to actually pay attention, but once you figure out the story it's soooooo worth the time.  It is also kinna gory at parts (I mean...gang war with tommy guns and drive-bys, sooo), but still good. 


Black Cat  Train Heartnet (yes. That is his name.) leaves a group of elite assassins to become a bounty hunter; insanity ensues. While working, he encounters a human bio-weapon, teams up with a professional thief, gets caught up in a world-wide underground war, gets turned into a child, fights an immortal, and helps end the war in the most UNCONVENTIONAL WAY POSSIBLE. 

.hack//SIGN  This had a big fanbase for a little while, then somehow it fell off the face of the earth? I don't know why. It's about a kid whose consciousness is trapped within a MMO game, and it goes along with the SEVEN PS2 games and OVA's that came out with it...and the later anime .hack//Legend of the Twilight, which I also recommend highly. The universe for this series is HUGE. Characters from the anime are in the games, and characters from the games are in the anime.