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Gun-dou Musashi (2006)
An awful oddity
One of the things that are a norm in multimedia is how sometimes you will get oddballs released to the public. Rarities that are 1 in thousands, as beautifully crafted presentations or just awful things that makes you question why did they even cared to release such things to the public. Another common thing is how people always orbits towards something only because there's a big name or a known face within the production of said multimedia project. Musashi Gun-doh is such thing.
Created indirectly by Monkey Punch (famous for creating Lupin the Third) since he created the story but this one was originally scrapped, Musashi Gun-doh is a weird thing to both explain and witness. The show premiered in 2006, the same series as the popular Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, yet the show looks almost like if it came from the 60's. It features dreadful art direction, looping animations, outlines clearly visible in the characters, lack of sound effects in some scenes, no effort put on lip-syncing, backgrounds changing in irregular ways, etc. It is truly something worth watching, but for the wrong reasons.
The story isn't that bad, in fact it could be something decent with some retouches, however that wasn't the case. Musashi Gun-doh is a weird series, almost unreal to even accept its own existence, but still is remembered by some people. Ultimately, if the show can be enjoyed ironically or not, is up to the viewer.
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita (2012)
A good approach on society
Humanity has Declined is one of the most interesting series released during its year and has every right to be praised.
The story puts the viewer on the daily life of a snarky unnamed female protagonist who must deal with diverse problems that the remaining humans on the place have to treat while also approaching little creatures called fairies, which the protagonist describes as the "new humanity". The show takes bites on many topics about our modern society like consumerism, public relations, evolution, etc, however it doesn't go in a "in your face" exposition, instead, such information is delivered in subtle scenes and dialogues where the viewer must connect the dots in order to understand the full picture. Something that can be off-putting is how the show was broadcasted. In a similar fashion as the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Humanity has Declined aired in no chronological order. While this can confuse some people, the viewer might also end enjoying the show even more due to the stories presented and how those connect to previous episodes.
Humanity Has Declined is a really interesting show and can be re-watched due to its high entertainment value or just to have a better grasp of some bits of story.
Kidô shin seiki Gundam X (1996)
The most underrated entry on the franchise
Gundam X's situation is a particularly well known one. Released during a time where new Gundam series were being released one right after the other one (even shown on the previews for next episode) causing people to eventually get a bit sick of Tomino's biggest project, this show ended being the biggest victim in this Gundam "wave".
Contrary to other entries on the series, Gundam X gives a bigger focus on world exploration and the daily life of people living on a post-apocalyptic Earth, heavily hit by colonies dropping on it, as opposed of other Gundam entries focusing only on the war segments. This of course might turn off many fans since the "war element" has always being the main focus, however Gundam X's take on the series is still an interesting and entertaining one, showing different takes on humanity's attempt on survival as mecha scavenging and creation of cults just to keep their sanity. Seeing the main character (Garrod Ran) not being a new-type archetype is also refreshing, and while Heero Yui (the main protagonist of the previous Gundam Wing) might also fit in this category, Garrod doesn't suffer of plot armor or similar things. And this leaves to the main charm of the series: its human development. Each character feels more "real" and not exaggerated as many anime series, and almost all of them have their own backstories and dedicated scenes/episodes making the viewer care more about them, and not feeling they are disposable.
Gundam X is a really fine show, with some nice mecha designs (see GX and Bertigo), however, its cancellation lead to a really rushed final arc which might leave some people with a sour taste in their mouths. Regardless, this is a show worth watching.
Kemono Friends (2017)
An unusual victory of writing over visuals
Kemono Friends might be considered one of the biggest oddballs in the last 10 years in Japanese animation, being a low budget show created with almost no motivation other than their staff just wanting to share a story. Being part of a failed multimedia project, this anime had no purpose or expectations from fans and viewers alike.
Its first episode is incredibly rough on the edges, being the main responsible of its negative reception in both Japan and mainly west. Such a strong dislike that even its premise of cute animal girls couldn't save it from its initial flak. However, this episode also works as a filter: those who decided to ignore the show just because of the visuals, will just keep consuming the average template anime regurgitated by anime studios in desperate attempts of getting a quick buck. Those who kept watching however will be rewarded with a show that improves with each episode, adding new entertaining elements and a quite interesting backstory. Maybe the part where the show triumphs easily over the rest of shows is the way it delivers its story and information to the viewer, relying on the viewer's attention to details in the background, keywords being said from characters who make not a big deal from it, and not a single trace of information dumps or ridiculous explanations delivered by a character explaining the setting (a common trope in anime). It has an incredibly long cast of characters, yet all of them have their own distinctive personalities, which is another good feat this anime achieves. And the story has heavy shifts while staying consistent: from just a nice adventure, to dramatic situations, but always keeping the core element of "all characters being nice" which is refreshing to witness, compared to other shows.
The visuals are a complete turn-off for the average anime consumer and that's to be expected since they have been accustomed to this. However, the passion of the staff with the show is shown with quite appealing scenes and camera angles, showing that budget didn't interfered with creativity. Voice acting is also a surprise: with most of the cast being newcomers, they start with grating acting on episode 1, but they improve with each episode, to the point where they deliver some quite heartbreaking lines in the last 2 episodes.
Kemono Friends is the most pure definition of a "dark horse". A show with no expectations, competing with big titles as Konosuba S2 and Maid Dragon, and surpassing all of them at the end of the day. The massive popularity it had after its airing is well justified and deserved. This anime saved the whole franchise from its demise, even transforming it in the anime equivalent of Final Fantasy.