There’s no feeling quite like finishing a show, loving it, then going to check MAL and finding out that it’s ranked among the bottom of the proverbial anime barrel. To borrow a ‘Simpsons’ quote: “Am I out of touch? No, it’s the children who are wrong!” For the sake of this list I’m presuming any anime under #6000 on MAL qualifies as being widely “hated” and any anime I’ve scored 80/100 or higher falls under being “loved” by me. So with that info out of the way we can count down the 10 Anime That Everyone Hates That I Love.
~Number 10~
Magical Girl Spec Ops
MAL Score: 6.45, MAL Rank: #6147, My score: 80/100
One of the more recent shows on the list (last season as I write this post), its not entirely surprising that this show didn’t resonate with everyone but I think it had a lot more going on than anyone (maybe even the show itself) gave it credit for.
~Number 9~
Hangyaku-sei Million Arthur
MAL score: 6.30, MAL rank: #6890, My score 81/100
While there were availability issues with this series at the start (it wasn’t on any Western streaming services) that shouldn’t really be deserving of a show scoring so low. Especially one that had such a bright and entertaining cast of characters who were impeccably voiced and had such wonderful comedic charisma with each other. With comedic styling reminiscent of ‘Konosuba’ its utterly perplexing why more people haven’t watched and don’t love this show.
~Number 8~
Girly Air Force
MAL score: 6.39, MAL rank: #6465, My score: 82/100
Another show from last season that seemingly had the internet against it for inane reasons from just the title alone–“girls as planes, pfft stupid” was one of the more frequent and tone-deaf dismissals. But beyond the surface level was an interesting story about war-torn refugees, what it means to be human and the dread of fighting an enemy with seemingly no motif. Also Gripen was adorable best girl!
~Number 7~
Senran Kagura
MAL score: 6.43, MAL rank: #6301, My score: 83/100
The first Senran Kagura series was a big hit in the West and yet its score reflects that it was somehow a disappointment too? Colour me confused…
~Number 6~
Tachibanakan Triangle
MAL score: 5.61, MAL rank #9188, My score: 83/100
Manga readers will tell you that this short anime does a disservice to the source material but I say an anime should be judged separately from its origins. And personally I think this show is cute, sweet and hella sexy.
~Number 5~
Senran Kagura: Shinovi Masters
MAL score: 6.36, MAL rank: #6654, My score: 84/100
While the original Senran Kagura kept its fan service in the PG-13 non-nude realm, (thankfully) Shinovi Masters brought us all nipples, all the time! Well at least for the first few episodes until it got all serious–maybe that’s why the score is so low?
~Number 4~
HIMOTE HOUSE -A share house of super psychic girls-
MAL score: 5.81, MAL rank: #8631, My score: 85/100
It’s always devastating to see such an original comedy get neglected and ignored as much as ‘Himote House’ did. From episodes that went their entire duration before revealing a punch-line to a joke, talking the reality of gay-marriage in Japan, and bath-time discussions of cryptocurrency–not to mention all the improvised parts–this series was a breath of fresh air–I could have seriously watched a thousand episodes of this and never got bored.
~Number 3~
SONI-ANI: Super Sonico the Animation
MAL score: 6.18, MAL rank: #7425, My score: 86/100
It’s disappointing to see a show as purely joyous as this one, and a character as wonderfully wholesome and kind-hearted as Sonico-san get so maligned by the MAL anime community. In fact, when I was telling this list to the irlwaifu she audibly gasped and said “not Sonico!” a sentiment I can only echo. If there’s one show that’s worthy of a second appraisal it’s this one–just give it 3 episodes and not just 1.
~Number 2~
Hybrid X Heart: Magias Academy Atraxia
MAL score: 6.39, MAL rank: #6480, My score: 88/100
Aside from the phenomenal fan service this series also had an engaging storyline and considerable character development–obvious points against the show are how things were left unresolved (like most one-season action ecchi shows) but what we got was still compelling–in many senses of the word…
~Honourable Mention~
Pastel Memories
MAL score: 5.22, MAL rank: #100049, My score: 75/100
While obviously not eligible for the list because of my own self-imposed rules (I gave this show a 75/100 while my cut-off was 80 or above) I wanted to mention it because I honestly don’t understand how a show like this can rank as low as under 10,000(!) Yes it’s sometimes lazily animated and is occasionally boring. But it’s also a love-letter to anime itself and that in of itself is endearing enough to mention it! Also it has one of the best ED’s of any anime ever made so shut-up haters!
~Number 1~
Chu-bra!!
MAL score: 6.29, MAL rank: #6929, My score: 92/100
I’ve wanted to talk about this series on my site ever since I first watched the show–it’s something of an anomaly–a female led ecchi series that’s also almost entirely made by women from the script writers, to some of the episode directors, to the key animation as well as the original mangaka. And it’s just interesting as someone like me, who is an unabashed fan of ecchi see something which is ostensibly directed to me (it’s about bras and panties after all) but directed with the female gaze. It’s almost hard to put into words and while I could understand ‘ecchi purists’ taking issue with the unexpectedly innocent and down-to-earth approach of the show, I’m saddened that more people don’t know about this series. It’s a body positive series that’s empowering and informative to women of all ages, that has great character development, plenty of laughs but also a lot of depth too–and it just happens to be an ecchi too–go figure!
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And those are my picks! Let me know which shows you love have found themselves in the “Under 6000” rank on MAL, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
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