In the age of isekai and Marvel movies, it’s easy to get bored with popcorn, cookie-cutter fiction. Sure, once in a while something comes along that’s genuinely good, or you just want to turn your brain off and enjoy it. But there are series out there that were fantastically creative, each in their own right. Sadly, most of them became cult classics with dedicated fanbases and relatively little new content. Most are a mixed blessing: full of potential that could have gone so much further, or should have.

1. Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D is a post-apocalyptic, gothic, cyberpunk, high-fantasy version of Blade. Yeah, that’s a loaded mouthful, but it’s hard to condense 58 books into one sentence. From characters to atmosphere, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t a foundational series for modern story telling. Hell, Castlevania can trace its lineage back to Vampire Hunter D, and Alucard was inspired by D himself.

Blending genres is hard, but this series is a master class in how it should be done. I listed a lot of genres above that don’t seem like they should go together, yet they’re woven together seamlessly here. Unfortunately, despite the impact, the series has made, its anime releases have been sporadic at best — two movies, and a third that’s been teased for years but never come to fruition. Only thirty of the original books have been officially translated. Without any new releases, a series this influential is fading from people’s memories.

2. Gungrave

Explaining Gungrave is easy: mobster Frankenstein. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Gungrave was the gold standard for adapting a video game into an animated series — though Netflix’s Castlevania gives it a run for its money. The Gungrave games are story-light, mostly fast-paced action, and they were fun at the time. The anime, however, is lore and story galore with action elements woven in. It elevates a blood-soaked tale of vengeance into a sad farewell delivered in a hail of bullets. That choice changes the pacing and brings everything together.

At its heart, Gungrave is a classic story of grief, loss, and betrayal — a lovely mess of a life. It has its flaws; the animation isn’t timeless, but its visual style and atmosphere still hold up. Unlike most villain-of-the-week stories, this one retroactively breaks your heart. Flashbacks keep telling you about who these people were before they became monsters, which does wonders for building complex villains. A new game in the series released in 2022, but given its sales and reception, more anime seems unlikely.

3. The Twelve Kingdoms

The Twelve Kingdoms is a tour de force in character development and world-building. Yes, it’s technically an isekai, but it treats its world with the utmost care, from unique socio-political issues to its own mythology. The world isn’t built to make the protagonist feel special or overpowered — in fact, compared to most isekai heroes, they’re vastly underpowered. A divinely ordained king, and your power is… a sword and a horny flying horse. Your get to see the best and worst of what divine right looks like and sometimes its terrifying.

The series has no singular antagonist or protagonist, but multiple of each, all interacting with one another. From a villain who thinks birth in our world is monstrous and barbaric, to a spoiled prince who becomes a thief and helps lead a revolution, every character feels unique. I own all of the currently translated material — books and video — and I’ve rewatched some episodes multiple times. Unfortunately, the TV series was never finished. Seven Seas Entertainment acquired the rights to the books two years ago, though, so there’s still some hope.

4. The Pirates of Dark Water

The Pirates of Dark Water — the nerve it took for David Kirschner to make this series. Set in the world of Mer, a prince and his companions must collect thirteen artifacts to stop Dark Water, a sentient toxic sludge devouring all life. In an era when animated media was still looked down on as childish, and before anime had found its footing in the West, Kirschner said, “let’s do a long-form animated story with A-list talent and complex characters.” Not just voice actors, either — Jodi Benson from The Little Mermaid, sure, but also the late, great Tim Curry.

The characters had realistic flaws and shifting motivations, and there were real stakes — entire islands were wiped out. The animation isn’t great by today’s standards, but even then it was unique, raw, almost painterly. The series didn’t reuse assets or lean on computers, so production was prohibitively expensive, and mistakes were permanent. Toy sales could have saved the series, but that fell flat too. At least fans got some closure with the Sega Saturn game that followed.

5. ReBoot

ReBoot strays even further from what people traditionally think of as anime than The Pirates of Dark Water does. It was a Canadian TV series about a world that exists inside technology — groundbreaking for its time as the first fully 3D-animated TV series. It ran from 1994 to 2001, building both a fanbase and an industry at the same time. Toy Story fans, say thank you ReBoot was the carry

Our hero, a guardian named Bob, fights and solves problems alongside a colorful cast, in a constantly evolving story with both recurring villains and an overarching narrative spanning the city of Mainframe and beyond. Don’t get me wrong, the CG looks janky as hell now, but the series had a unique premise that could have kept growing over time. Imagining Bob fighting off a new megacorporation called Crypto, led by “Bit The Coin,” still makes me laugh. Sadly, fans were left with a cliffhanger where everyone is going to die instead of a proper conclusion. There’s a confusing webcomic that was rumored to be the series’ true ending, but it’s essentially fan fiction.

As for the live-action reboot of ReBoot — get it away from me, it burns. It’s a dumpster fire of epic proportions. It’s like the writers watched two episodes and said, “I got this.” They didn’t. After that, the property will likely stay radioactive for years to come.

6. Shadow Skill

Shadow Skill is a fun romp of east meets west, with a distinctly western structure and eastern martial philosophy: discipline, focus, and spiritual mastery over pure spectacle. Sorry, Dragon Ball — you’re good, but the power creep is real these days. Shadow Skill is a dark fantasy with great characters, pacing, and fight choreography rarely seen today. Rather than flashy and over-the-top, most of its action sequences feel grounded by today’s standards. The only series I can think of with comparable themes and combat philosophy is Avatar: The Last Airbender. The master-and-apprentice journey of Elle and Gau hits many different tones, but it draws on the same mental focus and spiritual mastery that bending requires in Avatar. Make no mistake Shadow Skill is less child friendly from trauma and fratricide the series covers some heavy topics.

Every character in the series feels unique, even if a few are occasionally steeped in stereotypes. It’s unlikely we’ll ever see the original televised series return — though while writing this, I learned about the spin-off Shadow Skill: Dawn, which debuted in April 2026. Since the original manga still isn’t fully translated, though, this one probably won’t be either.

7. New Dominion Tank Police

New Dominion Tank Police is amazing. In response to rising crime, the government gave the police tanks. It’s cyberpunk, high-energy action, satire, and political commentary, combined with slapstick comedy, stellar world-building, and fantastic animation — and it’s remained surprisingly relevant given the U.S. police force’s own armored vehicles. The world is grounded, and its stakes carry real consequences. The series ends on a good note, with crime decreasing and the police de-escalating.

What makes it more interesting is that throughout the entire series, the police are the good guys — not because the show gaslights you or plays copaganda, but because they genuinely care about each other and their city. The series shows that the cops aren’t great, but the alternative is worse. At one point, a character named Brenten is nearly run over saving the city and the protagonist from a heavily armored truck rigged with a bomb that could have wiped out the whole city. Even though property damage is a running punchline, what you don’t see happen is always worse.

Sadly, the series was only a series of OVAs and wrapped up most of its plot threads a bit too neatly, to need a sequel. Its creator, Shirow Masamune, is better known for his other work, Ghost in the Shell — another favorite of mine. But because of its though its newest series, a reboot, it doesn’t fit on this list. Fittingly, the newest iteration of Ghost in the Shell features cameos from two Tank Police characters, Annapuma and Unipuma.

Conclusion

Some people may look at this list and see a bunch of older series, or just me fanboying. Honestly, I only love about half of what’s on it — but I respect and appreciate every series here. They either helped build entire industries or carved their world into the hearts of a fanbase so deeply that people will remember them for decades to come. Maybe they are some where in between, but that’s for you to find out. Please chech out the studios because while some peaked early others have left behind an amazing legacy, enjoy.

Featured Image: Science SARU via Amazon

Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games

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