Which less-known series do you recommend?
Which less-known series do you recommend?
I bet that most of our reading/watching lists have a few hidden gems. Which ones do you recommend to the other people here?
Kagami no Kojou is great. A movie from 2022. (Is it "less-known" or "hidden"? AniDB has only 95 votes, so I thought it would be. But MAL has 6k.)
Now and Then, Here and There is great. A series from 1999. Outside of the dated 480p visuals it’s exceptional. It has great depth. my short review and a clip
If Kagami no Koujou counts as hidden/less-known I have no clue, but I'll definitively check it out, it sounds cool.
The second series sounds heavy-themed based on the tags and desc, but still interesting.
Yeah, Now and Then, Here and There is definitely heavy in parts of the series.
I'll start with four manga series:
Otherworldly Munchkin - Let's Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! (tabletop RPG-like world, anti-hero protagonist, action)
The protag was cursed by the goddess of a tabletop RPG-like world, so he only got 1HP. But who cares? He stole her worldbook and is willing to exploit the rules as much as possible, while looking for his sister. He got guts and it's fun to see how he exploits game knowledge, foes, and even friends.
The One Within the Villainess (otome game story, villainess protag, revenge)
Emi reincarnates as the villainess of an otome game, but the original soul of the villainess Remilia is still there, watching Emi from the inside, and Remilia can't help but feel genuinely attached to the Emi unwillingly snatching her body. And then, when the condemnation event happens, and Emi tilts, Remilia takes control over her body again... only to promise to take revenge on everybody who hurt Emi.
Tired of all those marshmallow villainesses? Then Remilia is for you; she might not be evil but she's certainly not soft. And for those who don't mind spoilers, here's the scene that "sold" me the series:
Ch6 dialogue
Villager A Wants to Save The Villainess no Matter What! (otome game world with male MC, romance and adventure)
He's born in the slums of the otome game that his sister forced him to play, and the only decent character of the story is the villainess. He then decides to save her from the tragic fate awaiting her at the end of the game.
The series has plenty comedy moments but this doesn't detract from its overall serious tone. Both the MC and the female love interest are likeable characters, the romance moves in a nice pace, and it's fun to see the MC working to get a better life, from cleaning sewers to his first adventurer odd jobs. Make sure to check the light novel too.
Isekai Shikkaku aka No Longer Allowed in Another World
Swords-and-magic world with no game elements, weird protag, comedy.
The protag is a writer from the 1940s who gets into isekai by trying a double suicide with his lover. And he still wants to die, even in isekai. A image is worth a thousand words:
Ch1
Not sure if it's less known, given it has been adapted into 3 seasons of anime, with a 4th in the making. But I never met anyone who knew about it outside of fan-communities.
Ascendance of a Bookworm Bookworm Urano died shortly before she was able to fuffil her dream of becoming a librarian. Buried by her own books, ironically enough. She gets reborn as Myne, a sickly child in a medieval-era world where books are a rarity reserved for nobles and some rich merchants.
Being the obsessed bookworm she is, Urano, now Myne, sets out to create her own books no matter what.
The series shines with heavy, but rarely boring or intrusive world building. From the home of Mynes family, the forrest, the city, up to the nobles quarters and other duchies, the world keeps on expanding. Characters are rarely, if ever, one-dimensional. They have their own motivations that go beyond plot conveniences. The cast of characters is also shifting every once in a while, with most characters never truly disappearing out of sight and progressing on their own still. Storywise, its a mix of wholesome, yet dark fantasy with excursions into the development of printing and other technologies in our world. Mist stoeybeats get sprinkled with a little bit of natural humor.
The LN is at book 29(?), so there is a lot to dive into. Believe me when I say that my description has barely scratched the surface. The anime has finished the contents book 7 and is very faithful to the source. Rarely cutting material, but often shortening some beats or mentioning them in little shorts that play after tje credits. If you wish to get a feel for the story overall, the first few episodes of the anime will do that just fine.
Bookworm is one of those series whose fanbase might not be the biggest (outside Japan anyway), but they are super devoted. In fact, there is a whole lemmy instance devoted to the series! For as dedicated as the Bookworm community is to the series, it has managed to remain remarkably wholesome at the same time. I have not yet consumed any of the series myself, but have only ever had positive interactions with other fans. I have written before about how I have always kind of held this series in my back pocket for when I get sick of bad isekai, I know I can turn to Bookworm for a good one.
Yeah, its one of thr better ones. Probably because the isekai aspect was an afterthought to the author and wasn't added to the story because it is popular but because it was necessary. It made sense. And this trend continues. Things happen because they make sense, not because of some trend or something.