Chirin no Suzu

Films with dramatic/abstract visual portrayal of emotional struggle.

Sometimes, you just want to see cute characters suffer.
I think I got a good amount of anime here. So, I'm closing suggestions for the stack unless the anime is from the Summer 2023 season or newer. If you have an anime that fits that, send me a message and I'll check it out.

Are you looking to watch something a little off the beaten path but still worth your while? I have some hidden gems for you. This interest stack has been picked from the Hidden Gems of Anime club featuring our fantasy anime movie picks!

These 20th century series and animated films take place in the countryside, forest, or other rural location.

When I first started watching anime, I thought anime was basically a kind of animation with a unique art style. But now I am seeing that most anime comes with a lot of tropes, and a lot of people see these tropes as part of anime. I am not a fan of these tropes, so I am making a list of anime that I like, and I feel have a relatively low amount of tropes, at least compared to most other anime. I still haven't watched a lot of anime, for example - Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. But I will add more anime as I watch them.

Link to part 2 -
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/22994

Movies that bang
Some of them are short movies

Welcome to my Obscurity series, which I hope will help you delve deeper into the depths of anime, particularly the classics.

The criteria here is simple: Anime released in 2001 or earlier, with under 35,000 MAL Members, and which I've rated a 7 or higher.

I'm also not including anything that I've already included on my Good Stuff list: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9517

It is perhaps worth noting that I rate things entirely on gut feeling. It's just, "I like that, that was good, it gets a 7.", that's the whole process. I can also find enjoyment in just about anything and there's very little that bothers me.

Ascend: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9834
Descend: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9615

Tags: Old, Obscure, Oldtaku, Retro, Underrated, Hidden Gems

does not include anthropomorphic characters.

Pre-1990 films with talking animals, excluding Ghibli.

These anime have strong & dark depictions of suffering, mental illness, trauma violence, sex and various sociopolitical and economic problems in a grounded way and without sugarcoating it, although in fiction it is often impossible to completely avoid the distorting lense of epicness or melodrama when portraying reality.

When I say that these shows portray reality, I don't mean to say that they are necessarily based in material reality, as some are sci-fi or fantasy. What I mean, is that these shows portray the bleak and harrowing aspects of human condition without pulling any punches, and without romanticizing it (to some extent).

These shows often have a positive and hopeful overall message and/or ending sometimes, so I wouldn't call this a list of "depressing" shows. However, they have in common that they revolve around brutal and mature depictions of psychological, physical and spiritual pain of individuals and society, while also having a haunting and opressive feel to them.

some lesser known shows, movies, etc. some have been very surprising gems to me. some mind-blowing, some heart-warming, some merely interesting, some just outright hilarious!

series that seem innocuous enough but become pretty wack by the end

Anime that uses music very sparingly, or uses silence as key means to emphasize emotion or narrative.

No OST? No problem! It's just you and your thoughts now.
Yeah, we hate music here.
Get out, sound.


Feel free to DM or message me about any questions, suggestions, or opinions about this stack!

This is a stack of the best Anime from the 1970s. In short order, this decade was known for Mecha, Literary, and a bit of Sports Anime. This decade is frequently seen seen as laying the framework for the coming decade. Very notably, the beginnings were planted of a genre that will go on to become very popular in the 1980s: Mecha.

Along with Mecha, there was a huge focus sci-fi, especially in space. Much of this type of anime would come from a studio known as, Sunrise. This studio came into being after Osamu Tezuka, the father of manga, left his own studio, Mushi Production to work on personal projects. Without him, Mushi Pro ran into financial problems, leading to its bankruptcy in 1973. Former employees formed two new companies out of the ashes of the old company: Madhouse and Sunrise, two of the most influential Anime Studios to date.

And while Mecha seemed to be appealing to boys (Shonen), some Shojo (girl anime) also became quiet popular during this time. Both leaning very heavily on merchandising with in some cases the help from Bandai. For television outside of Japan, many animation for kids was censored of anything seen as political or sexual.

Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata made a series of literary anime with Nippon Animation. Taking influence, literary and story-telling anime were made by many other studios. After leaving Nippon Animation, Miyazaki continued making popular anime, including Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. This anime was a movie installment of the anime series Lupin III which started a few years earlier, and now is a long running series that has spanned decades with varying success.

There were additionally, some sports anime sprinkled throughout the decade also, following the popularity of sports on TV in Japan.

And then there's The Belladonna of Sadness. It was a first look into the world of Avant Garde for many. No words can accurately describe the experience of the Anime.

And that is a quick walk through of the 1970s. I will be releasing a stack for the best anime of the 1980s next week, so stay tuned. :)

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About List:
Anime is listed by a balance of popularity and score around time of release to give a more retro vibe, as opinions on anime seems to change notably over time, be it nostalgia or something else. Seems to be especially the case with Mecha Anime. But, regardless, the rating around the time is included for your own viewing.

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For those looking for good anime from the 60s, I don't plan on making a stack for the 1960s as of yet, but here is what would likely be included:

Tiger Mask
Sasuke
Dororo
Star of the Giants
Muumin
Astro Boy
Puss-in-Boots (Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko)
Kamui the Ninja: Stories Other Than the Legend (Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden)
Attack No.1

(v. 0.6.88 - 4646)

Movies from before 2000 that are not tied to other series

Stuff I would go completely haywire for in my cringe teenage era.

If you're (or used to be) a warrior cats / old VivziePop / DeviantArt animal comics enjoyer then you'll probably like some stuff in here.

This stack is pretty much just a result of me not having anyone around to tell about my old fixations so don't take it too seriously.

Stories told from an animal's perspective.

One entry per series.

For anthropomorthic animals, see https://myanimelist.net/stacks/25544