I don’t do memes too often anymore (not cool enough), but I really enjoyed this one, which I first saw posted on Rise’s blog a couple of days ago. I know bingo card generators in general have been around for quite some time, but I found this anime one super quick to make and pretty fun to put together. For anyone who may be interested, you can do so over on Anime Bingo.
For my bingo card, I didn’t want to make it super difficult, so I elected to just do a 4×4 (other options are available). I did feel like making it at least somewhat of a challenge though, so I deliberately selected several titles that I’ve personally watched all of but which don’t seem especially popular or overwatched in the broader anime community.
Let me know how you do!
OTAKU LOUNGE 
Oh man, I’ve only seen Juuni Kokuki from your list. Although, five titles have been on my plan to watch list for ages. Great choices!
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Cheers! Yeah, a lot of these titles are older and/or a little more obscure – I probably would’ve seen only about half of them if not for a friend back in college who was a bit more adventurous in his tastes. I did end up liking every title here to at least some degree though. 🙂
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I actually recognized that a lot of them are considered pretty obscure, or least under watched by most audiences. The only one I had to look up was your top left since it rang no bells in my head. But I’m glad you had a friend to introduce you to all these interesting titles!
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Second from the bottom row bingo and almost a couple other bingos.
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Nice!
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Well…almost a diagonal bingo. Never seen Twelve Kingdoms, but I have seen the other three on that diagonal. I actually like Rideback’s OST better than I liked the series itself though.
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To be fair, Twelve Kingdoms is pretty long (well, in comparison to the one-cour shows that mostly come out these days), and it takes a while to get going as well. As for Rideback, I’d say that if I tried to watch it now, I’d probably have a lot less patience than I did when I watched about a decade ago. I enjoyed the show overall, but it definitely wouldn’t make any kind of best-of list for me.
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I thought Rin was a really good heroine, but the story didn’t grab me the way it should have. It definitely wasn’t bad, but it might have been better with 24 episodes and more space to develop the different plot threads and let us get to know the characters before Things Happen to them, but I haven’t seen it in ages so I don’t remember the details too well anymore..
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No bingo here. Not even close.
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Yeah, a few of these are definitely on the more obscure side of things, at least these days.
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I got Kino’s Journey (original), Texhnolyze, and Mushishi…so, no bingo. 😦 I do like the concept though!
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I figured the original Kino’s Journey and Mushishi would be among the most-watched anime from this list. Comparatively, not that many people seem to have seen Texhnolyze though, so that’s definitely something.
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You think so? Mushishi I can kind of understand, but I think some people might be more familiar with the remake with newer fans.
I do agree about Texhnolyze since that anime is so underrated and overlooked despite being brilliant (okay, it’s not an easy watch, let’s be honest). The thing is I’m a big Yoshitoshi ABe fan, so this was right up my alley. It’s my 2nd favorite work of his next to Haibane Renmei.
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Oh yeah, I have no doubt that the Kino’s Journey remake is more watched by newer/younger anime fans than the original. I wouldn’t say that necessarily makes the original obscure though – plenty of people will at least recognize the name, and possibly watch it on the basis that they saw enough of the remake to be curious enough to track it down. Whereas I fully expect (rightly or wrongly) many of those same anime fans to look at a few other titles on this list and be like, “Mnemosyne? Never heard of it.”
Agreed that Texhnolyze is underrated, though certainly no walk in the park in terms of viewing experience. I quite like Yoshitoshi ABe’s work as well – it’s my kind of trippy (when I’m in the mood for it), and his artwork always struck me as very unique.
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Sure thing. The original is still available with the revived ADV company even though it’s now a Sentai imprint, but that’s a story for another day. I think people who saw the remake would eventually find out about the original. That is a possibility with the other entries. I’ve heard of most of the series, but I just never had the chance to see them.
Thank you! It’s awesome seeing other anibloggers who know about Texhnolyze. I would also argue that it’s low-key one of Madhouse’s best works as a studio as the animation still holds up to this day (saying nothing about the story and characters). Hooray! Another aniblogger who appreciates ABe! [high five] Yeah, some of his stuff can be trippy, but also very artsy. His artwork is very unique. It’s crazy how he can do all of that stuff without a straight edge or how he can make detailed iPad sketches with just one finger.
Speaking of Texhnolyze, I put Kano in my list of underrated anime villains and the series in my list of anime for the arthouse crowd.
https://iridiumeye.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/top-7-underrated-anime-villains/
https://iridiumeye.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/top-7-anime-for-the-art-house-crowd/
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I forgot that Kino’s Journey was mentioned in both lists, too!
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“I would also argue that it’s low-key one of Madhouse’s best works as a studio as the animation still holds up to this day (saying nothing about the story and characters).”
Fair enough. I don’t know if I’d quite say that – Madhouse has been around a pretty long time after all, and shows like Cardcaptor Sakura and X would top my list before Texhnoloyze. But respect where respect is due, absolutely. I think you’d really like Dennou Coil, by the way – another Madhouse entry there.
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My personal favorites from Madhouse are CCS, Gunslinger Girl, Trigun, and Paprika. But that’s just me. 🙂
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Great choice with Paprika! It’s a wonderful movie, very creative, and it’s literally the original Inception. 🙂
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All decent picks, no argument there. It’d be pretty hard for me to go through and actually rank my top Madhouse productions I think – they must be one of the longest-running anime studios by this point, definitely an extensive catalogue!
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I haven’t seen X, so I couldn’t tell you anything, but to each their own. A lot of Satoshi Kon’s works would be on that list for me. I heard good things about Dennou Coil though.
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Horizontal bingo for me (third column). Although I’m kind of cheating, having dropped Twelve Kingdoms early.
Out of all these shows, Texhnolyze left the strongest mark on me — it enthralled my cynical, broody younger self. I’d be interested in a re-watch, but I fear I’d find it too emotionally draining nowadays.
Your list includes a number of titles I’d never heard of: Stellvia, Mnemosyne, Rainbow & Kiminozo. How fond are you of these?
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I’ll let you have Twelve Kingdoms, it’s a long show as it is and does take its sweet time getting going. Once I was in, I was IN, but were it not for the fact that I was watching with friends who were determined to keep going, I probably would’ve ended up dropping it myself, patience being far from my best virtue.
Out of those titles, I’d say Stellvia and Mnemosyne are my faves, and I’m still quite fond of both (though it’s been a while since I’ve watched, so I couldn’t say how well they’ve aged). I’ve talked a little about Stellvia before on my blog if you’re interested – no spoilers: https://otakulounge.net/2014/02/19/good-family-friendly-anime/. In comparison, Mnemosyne is a lot darker and edgier, and absolutely not what I’d call family-friendly, just fyi.
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Will give them both a shot. Thank you!
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I have three near-bingos (1 show missing each), if you count diagonals:
The only show I haven’t seen from the bottom row is Rainbow; the only show I haven’t seen from the thrid row (from the left) is Texhnolyze; and the only show I haven’t seen from the top-right-to-bottom-left diagonal would be Rideback.
I’ve seen about two episodes of Kino no Tabi, and about 5 episodes of Saraiya Gorou, and both shows are very high on my list to finish; loved them.
The shows I haven’t even watched a bit of are either on my to-watch list, or I know only of their name. Here goes:
Texhnolyze is a high-priority title, but I have to find time AND be in the mood; it’s not, I expect, a show to watched while I’m stressed out. Mononoke is also a high-priority show, and more likely to be watched “soon” (it’s been on my list for a long time now, hence the “”).
Mnemosyne and Rainbow are medium to low priority, with Mnemosyne ranking higher. I’m not particularly drawn to the shows, but I’m definitely curious. They’re in good company on this bingo card, so both shows have gotten a bit of a push right now.
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is basically a low-priority show, but not always. It’s the type of show I waver on a lot. I fear the melodrama, but also I fear missing out since it could be right up my alley. This is probably the wild-card on the list.
Rideback and Stellavia I know by name only. You’ve piqued my interest.
As for the shows I’ve watched I’d rank them thus:
1. Mushishi: A mood piece like no other, with a range of stories. One of my favourites.
2. Juuni Kokuki: Best Isekai I’ve seen, I think. Can’t think of one I prefer (but I can’t rule out I’m forgetting something).
3. Dennou Coil: The SF works. The characters work. The humour mostly works. And there are some *very* memorable segments in there.
4. Serei no Moribito: I own this on DVD. It’s a great a epic adventure fantasy, without borrowing too much from the Western traditions. (If we go by works adapted from the novelist I prefer Kemono no Souja Erin, though.)
5. Eve no Jikan: I can’t believe you placed so many shows onto this card that top Time of Eve. I adore this show and want to put it higher, but really, I can’t. In a different mood, I can see it top Serei no Moribito, but not any of the other shows.
6. That leaves me with Tsuritama. This is the only show on the list that I’ve seen anything of that I didn’t love. I mean I enjoyed it. I had fun while watching it. But I don’t have any particular attachments to the show, and one of the problems watching shows weekly as it airs is that… well, if you’re not quite liking the show as much as nearly everone around you seems to, you get a little tired of hearing the name, and then you end up unfair on the show… I’d have probably enjoyed the show more if I binged it later.
But, yeah, among the cards I’ve seen this has to be one of the closest matches for my taste, so the shows I haven’t seen get a push from being on it. I’ve had fun.
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I wouldn’t necessarily say I absolutely love every single show I put on here, but I do definitely think they’re all underrated, or at the very least underviewed, for what they have to offer. Some just seemed to have slipped under the radar, possibly simply due to their age, so if anyone’s inspired to check out even one of these shows thanks to it being on the bingo card, I’m satisfied.
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