Great Anime/Manga Series I Missed

Writer(s): 
Scott Gardner

Gundam Style

In a post-apocalyptic world people have forgotten how to socialize directly, preferring to interact using giant 10-story-tall transmutable robotic exoskeletons. Gobo, a university dropout and part-time aircraft hangar, secretly has feelings for his neighbor Rin, an artist who works nights as a discotheque. One day Gobo gets bitten on the leg by Rin’s bus-sized robotic Corgi, and the two gradually get acquainted as they share zany misadventures involving city zoning laws and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. Through it all they learn that friendship, like a well-oiled robot, won’t seize up even if someone has been crying in its command module for the better part of a half hour.

Cashcow Boy (in Japan, 金鵞鳥アトム [Kingachou Atomu] or “Golden Goose Atom”):

A lonely old man designs a superhero action figure in the likeness of his missing son and begins selling models of it to neighborhood kids. Cashcow Boy action figures become a huge hit, making the old man a multimillionaire. But the missing son miraculously reappears, demanding a majority cut of his father’s earnings. Meanwhile lawyers for Manganese Comics, a huge media franchise, take the old man to court on the charge that Cashcow Boy closely resembles their own superhero Captain Bonanza. In the end everyone’s mercenary designs are foiled when the original Cashcow Boy’s wish to become a real human is granted by a magical fairy and he retires from show business.

Squeegee of Destiny (宿命のスクイージー [Shukumei no Sukuiijii])

A young, brash martial artist named Onchi wants to prove herself by setting out on a journey to retrieve the fabled Squeegee of Destiny, which gives its owner unprecedented powers of observation and foresight. Her mentor, Bulbous, thinks she is far from ready, both for the challenge of the quest and for the power the artifact would give her if she found it. But once it is discovered that the evil Prince Pistachio has his sights set on acquiring the Squeegee for himself, Bulbous has no choice but to help his reckless protégée in her quest.

B-On!

A group of high school boys decide to break from tradition and start a quilting circle. For the next three years they face challenges in the form of bullying, heartache, pricked fingers, broken trusts, FARTs (fabric acquisition road trips), boll weevils, and even an alien invasion that catches everyone by surprise. Through it all they learn that friendship, like a good quilt, needs to be well scrimmed or else all the batting will sag down at one end.

Psychic/Cool-brained Hoki (ホキの霊能/冷脳 [Hoki no Reinou])

This life-after-death series follows an assistant demon named Hoki whose job is to read residential gas meters in hell. His only friend, Simpleton, happens to be the one who accidentally killed them both as humans in a freak accident at a cosplay convention. Together they have quirky encounters with other condemned souls, some of whom represent well-known celebrities and sports figures. In one episode the ghost of grand-scale environmental sculptor Christo wants Hoki and Simpleton to convey a complaint to the town council about his noisy neighbors. But the two luckless heroes get the address wrong and wind up shutting down an Iron Maiden concert being attended by Satan himself.

What The...?! (ありえない! [Arienai!])

Five junior high school kids selected by a quasi-governmental agency to operate nuclear powered, transdimensional, laser cannon equipped flying amphibious tanks, engage in regular battles with undead aliens from an alternate past who have stolen the bodies of extinct microbes to pilfer the world’s supply of Euphonium, a rare element found only in the nether regions of certain prep school and military brass bands. Between their weekly life-threatening melees, the kids hang out at onsens, eat soba noodles, and talk about love. Through it all they learn that friendship, like a good animated series, succeeds best when it is logically unhinged.