With just a smidge over 200 titles released between January 1st and December 31st, 2020 (which is only a little less than what we saw released in 2019), it would’ve been physically impossible to watch every single series that hit screens around the world during this seemingly never-ending year of misery and woe. With all the bad that happened this year, however, 2020 is a special year though because in between so many solid hits from various genres, there were some real buried treasure type titles that hardly anyone bothered to look at. Here are five titles from 2020 that you (probably) didn’t watch.
Arte
Taking place during the renaissance period of Italy when artists were fighting hard to find sponsors to help them create their masterpieces, the main character of this series is a young noblewoman named Arte who, as you’ve probably already surmised, wants nothing to do with high society and would rather create beautiful works of art which is unthinkable in the eyes of almost everyone.
Arte is not only a fun journey to a place and time that gets very little attention in the world of anime, but it looks good while doing it. Produced by studio Seven Arcs (Asura Cryin’, Dog Days, Tonikawa), this series was anything but just another seinen series.
If My Favorite Pop Idol Made it to the Budokan, I Would Die
What hurts most about including this series on this list is that it’s not likely to get a second season which just wounds my heart.
A very fun yuri series about a woman who is in love with an idol from the up-and-coming group ChamJam, this series flew under a ton of radars when it premiered in the first half of 2020. In this series produced by studio 8-Bit (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Grisaia), Eripiyo falls in love with an idol and devotes herself entirely to see her succeed despite the fact that it seems like her favorite is very standoffish towards her. What Eripiyo doesn’t realize is that the idol named Maina also wants to be closer to her fan, but is just too shy to express her inner feelings whenever they are around each other.
Asteroid in Love
Another yuri series, this time from Doga Kobo (Umaru-chan, WATATEN!) which flew under radars because of astronomy being the primary subject manner, this series had a lot of heart within its episodes which set it apart from so many others this year. In this series, a young girl promises a boy to meet up with him again later in life. When the pair are finally reunited in the high school astronomy club, though, she’s shocked to learn that he is actually a girl.
Gymnastics Samurai
This is a series that aired at the absolute best time possible for me personally. Produced by studio MAPPA (Zombie Land Saga, Kids on the Slope, Yuri!!! On Ice) Gymnastics Samurai is all about finding yourself again in a world that no longer has any use for you which was a feeling that I could relate to quite strongly. Throughout the eleven episodes; Jotaro, his daughter Rachel, and their personal ninja Leo learn all about themselves and what they still have to offer to the world despite feeling like they are washed up.
Appare-Ranman!
Finally, we come to a series that is so unlike any other P.A. Works (who are well known for their working girls themed anime titles) series that you’d swear that some other studio produced it!
In this series, two young men from Japan find themselves stranded in the early 20th century United States after an accident. In order to earn enough money to get back home, they enter a cross-country road race filled with colorful characters and tons of danger around every corner. This was easily one of the best series of its season, despite not nearly enough people giving it a real chance.
Do you have any favorite series from 2020 that you don’t think enough people watched or talked about? Sound off in the comments!
