Tired of romances being too predictable? Magical girls fighting the monster of the week becoming too monotonous? Characters getting boring and bland with same-face syndrome and self-insert protagonists? Mysteries not as mysterious as they would lead you to believe? Isekai too… isekai? Overall just fed up with all the tropes just beating a dead horse? Well, you’re sure to find these series will subvert your expectations as they give refreshing twists on otherwise predictable, tiresome tropes!
Videos by ComicBook.com
Whether you’d prefer a protagonist who’s more relatable, realistic, and actually unique, a villain who’s not actually the antagonist, cute girls doing unexpectable things, or a wacky, comedic adventure having actual dire consequences, these shows will definitely restore your faith in anime to have novel spins rather than dull, overused devices. But which anime are the best at dodging the predictable cliché culprits? This list is sure to have some surprising series in store!
1) Go! Go! Loser Ranger! Turns the Sentai Genre on its Head
The Dragon Keepers may have heroically defeated most of the Nefarious Monster Army thirteen years ago, but the battles have since been mostly just for show, unbeknownst to the general public. Although the monsters appear every Sunday in their perceived endeavor to conquer Earth, the remaining weakest monsters, aka Dusters, are, in reality, just allowed to live in oppression while the Dragon Keepers secure fame and status for themselves. But one Duster, Sentouin D, has had enough. Tired of being a punching bag for the “heroes”, this monster decides to leave the fortress in an attempt to change the fate of monsterkind. With some unexpected help from the inside, Sentouin D discovers even more corruption and secrets within the Dragon Keepers than he bargained for.
While sentai genre and adjacent shows like Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Voltron, and, of course, Power Rangers and Super Sentai typically center around a group of color-coded superheroes who genuinely want to do good by stopping evil, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! instead exposes the rainbow-clad league for the corrupt phonies they really are.
Go! Go! Loser Ranger! can be streamed on Disney+ or Hulu where available.
2) Neon Genesis Evangelion is Anything but a Normal Mecha
As Earth is attacked by strange celestial alien beings known as Angels, it’s up to the mysterious scientific organization NERV headed by Gendo Ikari to defend humanity through the use of Evangelion, or Eva, giant piloted humanoid “robots”. When Gendo calls upon his abandoned son Shinji to become one of these pilots, Shinji, alongside fellow pilots Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, faces a lot more at stake than defending humanity from giant monsters, as the secrets behind NERV and Gendo’s ambitions are revealed.
Even from early on the series drops hints as to the underlying secrets of what the Eva truly are, and it’s definitely not simple robots. As much as they look like mecha, the metal-clad giants contain mysteries way beyond their underlying concealed flesh, mysteries much more existential than simply endeavoring to defeat strange alien-like creatures.
Neon Genesis Evangelion can be streamed on Netflix.
3) School-Live! May at First Look Like a Typical CGDCT, but will Definitely Surprise You
The cheerful Yuki Takeya absolutely loves her life at school so much that she enjoys attending the School Living Club. Headed by the supervising teacher, Megumi Sakura, and president Yuuri Wakasa, with members Kurumi Ebisuzawa, Miki Naoki, and club dog Taroumaru, the club strives to make the most out of life at school.
The less said about this anime, the better, as it’s highly advised to simply just jump straight into watching. With cute girls going about their lighthearted daily school life, School-Live! may look like a typical Cute Girls Doing Cute Things series, but will definitely subvert your expectations.
School-Live! can be streamed on HiDive where available.
4) Puella Magi Madoka Magica Twists the Magical Girl Narrative
When junior high school student Madoka Kaname and her friend Sayaka Miki happen upon the cat-like magical creature Kyuubey, the contract it offers of being able to grant them each a wish in exchange for becoming magical girls to fight witches sounds too good to be true. Homura Akemi, a transfer student who turns out to be one of said magical girls, tries to warn them that it is. But Mami Tomoe, an upperclassman who’s also a magical girl, offers to allow Madoka and Sayaka to accompany her on a witch hunt so they can decide for themselves. In battling the surreal evil creatures, Madoka and Sayaka soon learn that the idea of becoming magical girls isn’t as it seems.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or simply Madoka Magica, may be a magical girl anime, but, with its subversion to the genre and darker themes challenging conventions, it isn’t for the faint of heart.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is available for streaming on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
5) Uncle From Another World Takes the Idea of an Isekai and Subverts all Expectations
After a near-fatal accident with being hit by a truck, Takafumi Takaoka’s uncle, Yousuke Shibazaki, suddenly awakens after being in a coma after seventeen years. Spouting gibberish in an unknown language, Takafumi at first dismisses his uncle asserting that he’d been transported to a magical world called Gran Bahamal. But upon witnessing his uncle effortlessly recite an incantation that makes a cup of water hover in the air, Takafumi immediately inverses his opinion and invites his uncle to live with him. The two then team up and create a YouTube channel to showcase Yousuke’s magical abilities. As Takafumi acquaints his uncle with updated society and technology, Yousuke recounts his adventures in the other world to his nephew, who realizes just how many opportunities his uncle had ignorantly squandered in the magical world.
Typically, isekais focus on, well, the isekai plot — introducing going to another world, the trials of learning about a foreign magical system and society, the thrills of being in the midst of battle and not knowing the outcome, and perhaps even gaining a harem. Instead, Uncle from Another World focuses on returning to one’s original world to regale time spent in another as though it were no big deal.
Uncle from Another World can be streamed on Netflix.
6) My Love Story!! Goes Against the Grain of the Typical Romance
Takeo Gouda, a tall and intimidating but kind and pure high school freshman, may be renowned among his fellow male peers for his courage and chivalry, but he’s not exactly popular with the ladies. Unlike his cool and handsome best friend Makoto Sunakawa who’s constantly having girls confess their love to him, Takeo feels he can only dream of having the kind of luck with the ladies Sunakawa does. But one day, when he saves a cute girl from being groped by a creep on the train, it’s love at first sight for Takeo. Despite his suspicion that the girl would be more likely to catch feelings for Sunakawa, Takeo resolves to protect Rinko Yamato at all costs, totally ignorant of the fact that the infatuation is mutual.
But when the two finally get together, their love for each other makes for the most wholesome romance. While many anime tend to feature handsome, pretty, and moe main characters, My Love Story!! flips the shoujo tropes on their heads by giving a kindhearted character who wouldn’t necessarily be considered “traditionally attractive” a chance at love and the limelight.
My Love Story!! can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu where available.
7) Oshi No Ko is Anything but a Lighthearted Idol Anime
In the world of entertainment, idols hide behind masks of lies, and fans buy into the illusions. Although Ai Hoshino is one such sixteen-year-old idol of pop idol group B Komachi, selling said lies, she still hopes that the faux love she gives to and receives from her fans could someday become true. But just as she has the world enamored, Ai announces going on hiatus due to a vague health concern, which makes fans concerned. Meanwhile at a countryside hospital, Dr. Gorou Amemiya cares for the terminally ill Sarina Tendouji, both being fans of Ai, and it would be a dream come true if they could someday meet her. When Ai shows up to the hospital pregnant with twins, although Dr. Amemiya is mysteriously killed, he wakes to find he’s been reincarnated along with the late Sarina as Ai’s newborn twins, Aqua and Ruby Hoshino.
At first, Oshi No Ko may seem like a typical bubbly idol anime, but it quickly takes quite an unorthodox turn as a supernatural mystery-drama, abruptly showing its true colors just as the characters do behind the scenes of the entertainment industry.
Oshi No Ko can be streamed on Netflix, Hulu, or HiDive where available.
8) Paranoia Agent Includes a Common Enemy, but it’s Not What You Think
Beating people with a golden baseball bat with unknown motives and impossible to catch by fleeing on rollerblades, a mysterious boy known as Lil’ Slugger terrorizes Musashino City. His first victim: renowned timid character designer Tsukiko Sagi. Suspected of orchestrating the attacks herself, and only Maromi, the anthropomorphic pink stuffed animal she created the character for, believes her innocence. As detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa investigate the Lil’ Slugger cases, paranoia starts to set in as the chilling rumors spread.
Paranoia Agent is a great pick for those looking for a psychological horror. While a bit more on the suspenseful side, this series is a classic for any fan looking for a good mind-bending mystery from Madhouse.
Paranoia Agent can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
9) Space Dandy Defamiliarizes Tropes to the Point of Absurdity
“Space Dandy: he’s a dandy guy — in space. He combs the galaxy like his pompadour on the hunt for aliens. Planet after planet, he searches, discovering bizarre new creatures, both friendly and not. These are the spectacular adventures of Space Dandy and his brave space crew — in space.” Dandy, along with his crewmates, QT, the outdated robot, and cat-like alien Meow, explores space in their ship, the Aloha Oe, in search of strange, undocumented aliens in exchange for money. Often making pit stops at Dandy’s favorite diner, BooBies, the crew explores the perils of the galaxy, getting themselves into many misadventures in many strange places and even stranger encounters.
If you’re searching for a show that not only excels in fresh comedy but brings groovy new twists and turns that are sure to surprise, Space Dandy is for you, baby. While the series looks like just a wacky space adventure where the characters just go on carefree, episodic adventures without any real consequence, not only will each episode subvert expectations, but so will the overarching plot (yes, there’s an underlying actual plot).
Space Dandy can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
10) Link Click Breaks the Mold on Time Travel Tropes
Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang run the Time Photo Studio under their landlady and close friend Qiao Ling. Under the guise of a photo studio, their trade instead involves the client providing the photo. With it, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang are able to travel back in time.
While Lu Guang provides guidance with his ability to see 12 hours into the photo’s future, Cheng Xiaoshi leaps back to the moment the photo was taken, assuming the identity of the photographer along with all of their memories and emotions. The two must then work together in order to solve the client’s request and relieve them of their past regret. But witnessing increasingly tragic events progressively takes a toll on Cheng Xiaoshi and eventually garners unwanted attention.
Link Click can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
What anime series do you think deserves to be recognized for thinking outside the typical trope box? Let us know in the comments!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm. -
Image Credit: Roditeli Productions
