Anime No One Talks About That Live Rent Free In My Brain
There are some anime shows that I've watched, but when I go online I barely see anyone talk about them. Anime that have less than 100k views on My Anime List (I know MAL isn't the only metric out there, but it's a big one).
And yeah, these shows are probably mid to most people. But for one reason or another, I ended up really enjoying them.
Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist-
(Kai Byoui Ramune)
Dr. Ramune looks like an anime aimed at kids. It's not. The second episode is titled "The Chikuwa Penis", where a man's penis gets replaced by chikuwa - a spongy food commonly found in Japanese dishes like oden.
Dr. Ramune gets werid. And it also gets kind of dark. There's an abusive cult storyline, an arc dealing with grief gone bad, and generally some really horrible things that happen to the patients that Dr. Ramune and his assistant help out.
I think this anime would have received more attention if the character designs were more adult? Or maybe the first episode being kind of wacky with a kid that cries condiments was a no-go? But I implore you to give this show a watch.
Muteking the Dancing Hero
I am a sucker for transformation super hero/tokusatsu-esque anime. And the Muteking song that plays (nearly) every episode when he transforms and fights the bad guys is a consistent ear-worm even years later.
This is another anime that looks like it's aimed for kids. And it is definitely more kid-friendly than Dr. Ramune. But this show also has some weird and darker moments, especially towards the end of the show.
I say at least watch it for the music. Maybe you'll enjoy it as much as I did. If nothing else, maybe someone else will know what the heck I'm singing every now and again.
The Gymnastics Samurai
(Taisou Zamurai)
This anime has the looks and character designs that should have attracted an audience, but the pacing/plot lacked a lot of focus. It's half sports anime, with training, rivalry, and performances (with somewhat decent CGI involved), but the other half is slice of life/drama anime with the realities of being a single parent and missing out on things mixed along with goofy every day activities with a foreigner otaku who suddenly lives with the family.
And there's a weird pet bird too.
The first half walks, the second half sprints to an ending. There are some characters that could have used a lot more fleshing out. But it was fun. Plus the OP gets a thumbs up from me.
