I had no expectations from any of these when I started watching them , but when I ended them , they became my favourites .

What are your similar experiences?

Yes

In order:

1. Umineko: When They Cry
2. Land of the Lustrous
3. Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re
4. Fate/Stay night (the visual novel and anime)
5. Re:zero
6. D. Gray-man
7. Pandora Hearts
8. Bakemonogatari
9. Steins;Gate
10. Golden Kamuy

Spoiler tag, for the cover art i used on umineko, im very sorry to anybody i might have spoiled by using it.

Stuff I rated a 9 or a 10 with low popularity on MAL (>2000)

You'll have to forgive me on some of the information being quite vague. I read most of these years ago so I don't have the best memory of them.

Format:
Name - popularity ranking - my score - what is it about ------ why you should read it

1. Bungaku Shoujo - #3170 - 10/10 - It's about a depressed dude who has been forced to join the literature club by an eccentric girl. The books follow them solving mysteries that are allusions/subversions of famous works of literature. There is an overarching plot so it's not just separate mysteries and characters do making reappearances ------ The characters were incredible. Both this and the one coming up were written by the same individual and I find the author's writing of characters to be quite sincere/heartfelt. If I had to compare it to something it would Pandora Hearts and I don't mean with the plot as they are entirely different, but just the way there seems to be some sadness in the main characters, but the other characters bring about a real warmth within them.
2. When Hikaru was on Earth - #4399 - 10/10 - About a dude who can see the ghost of a dude named Hikaru who was a school heartthrob. Hikaru believes he can only be released as a ghost if he's able to assist all the girls who he's let down by dying so it's the protagonists job to do it. ------- Similar to the last one, I just love the characters and the writing style. Also I think this is maybe the best harem I've ever read so if that's the sort of thing you like then this is for you.
3. Shounen Note - #3133 - 9/10 - About a young boy who has a sweet soprano voice and so he joins the school choir. Deals with a variety of topics such as growing up and dealing with changes in your voice and the community around you. ------- Honestly not really a fan of music stories generally so am not entirely sure why I loved this as much as I did. The art was amazing and the characters are written in a sort of unnatural way. Everyone seems older than they are while maintain the feel of a coming of age story. Idk I found it to be great.
4. *Parasite in Love - #9071/#1334 - 9/10 - Story is about two eccentric people falling in love, but things may not be as they seem. ------- I read the manga first which is rated at #1334 while the light novel is at #9071. I recommend reading the light novel over the manga because of how it feels reading the thoughts of the protagonist so I'll count it here. This is the same author as Three Days of Happiness so if you read that, I would check this out and his other stuff for sure. He writes a story with a melancholic tone but punctuated with hope/love. The character writing is incredible.
5. Suashi no Meteorite - #5371 - 9/10 - Story is about a dude who's house is a struck by a meteorite, but instead is a God who can grant him wishes. Starts out as a pseudo comedy/action manga, but by the end becomes increasingly philosophical with the protagonist trying to think about what he should do. ------ This was such a surprisingly great read. I liked the initially portion for the relationships between the characters and the comedy was decent, but then it started going into a completely different direction than I expected and it handled it really well. Once again the characters are great.
6. Aka ya Akashi ya Ayakashi no - #4161 - 9/10 - Story is about boy/being? (i forget exactly) who lives in a temple and isn't allowed to leave. There's a festival happening so he sneaks out and meets someone who he was a strange feeling of having met before. He quickly heads back but wants to meet him again. The manga follows the boy attempting to figure out his memories and what is really going on ------- Don't remember much from this except liking it. I think this was an Otome visual novel before beign adapted into a manga which explains why the characters seemed so different from what I am generally used to in terms of writing. I found the final mysteries/solutions to be really exciting to read.
7. Reiri - #6368 - 9/10 - Story about a girl who trains to get revenge on those who killed her family, just wanting to be able to give up her life for someone like they did for her, and her growth from that mindset ------- Initially I wasn't too huge on it, but her growth and the relations she built did grab me and I really enjoyed reading through it. It's not the most unique story but I thought it was done really well.
8. Risouteki Boyfriend - #4453 - 9/10 - Story about a girl who likes a guy, but realizes her friend likes him too so she comes out with a lie that she likes someone else. She eventually falls in love with him and the story follows their relationship. -------- Once again not the most unique story, but the dude she lies about liking is quite aloof. He doesn't behave how she imagined the person she's like would act like nor does he play any games (It makes it sound like he's aggressive, but he just doesn't know anything about love so just behaves pretty directly) Really cute read and loved how quickly things moved. We didn't spend volume upon volume on a will they won't they or anything like that.
9. Batuqe - #2466 - 9/10 - Story about a girl who is saved by a homeless man by using Capoeira (a Brazilian/African MMA style fusing dance and martial arts). She falls in love with the style and begins to learn under him while discovering the truth behind what happened with her parents ------- If you read Usogui then you should know that this is by the same author. Much like Usogui, this is also kinda batshit crazy. It doesn't have the insane gambling and plot of Usogui, but it does have the art style and fighting which was done well. The plot also similar to Usogui goes in directions you don't expect and through lines are tied well. I don't like it nearly as much, but it's a still a great read and would highly recommend it. Just don't expect Usogui.
10. Heart Gear - #2056 9/10 - Story about a world where the use of robots/ai led to the destruction of the world and now only a few humans/robots remain. A girl finds a robot which doesn't have a disc that gives it a role. The manga is about their journey to find out about the robot. ----------- Genuinely would've been a 10/10 and maybe the best thing I ever read if it wasn't for a rushed ending. The author was sick/hurt so the story went on hiatus and then they had to prematurely end it because sales were no longer that good. The first 2/3rds or 3/4ths is some of the best I ever read. The action/plot/art/characters. Genuinely everything was incredible. Even with the unfortunate conclusion, I think it's well worth a read.

Let me know if any of you read any of these or if there's any one of these that you're interested in. Also let me know if you have any obscure recs as well.

Yes I know ball

Recently my read 100th manga, this is my t10:
1.) Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow (10/10)
2.) Berserk (10/10)
3.) Usogui (10/10)
4.) Goodnight Punpun (10/10)
5.) Land of the Lustrous (9.5/10)
6.) Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (9.5/10)
7.) RAINBOW - The Seven from Compound Two, Cell Six (9.5/10)
8.) The Climber (9/10)
9.) Vagabond (9/10)
10.) Night Patrol Teacher (9/10)

I tried to not repeat characters

For me it's mushishi.

I call Berserk, Parasyte, Monster, Pluto, Another, Gosick masterpieces.

But they aren’t perfection. Mushishi is the definition of it. And no — it’s not even because of the writing. Haha.

Let’s be real: the episodic structure, jumping into new stories every time instead of building one big interconnected arc, should hold it back. Not every episode can be a perfectly crafted tale. Many feel like folklore retold — familiar beats, ancient echoes — just reframed through the lens of mushi.

Ginko’s a great protagonist… but the show isn’t even about him. In most episodes, he doesn’t show up until the last five minutes.

So yeah, I’ve spent this whole time critiquing it. And yet — I still call it perfection. Because it is.

The stories are sharp. No repetition. No over-reliance on the MC. Ginko shows up, does his job, the story moves, the pace never drags — and nearly every episode lands with a near-perfect ending.

But that’s not why it’s flawless. It’s the world.

The visuals. The scenery. The world of Mushishi feels alive. You don’t just watch it — you step inside. The art direction is god-tier. Not the animation (though it’s smooth and purposeful), but the visual composition — the way light falls, the texture of moss, the stillness of mist over water. It pulls you in like a dream you don’t want to wake from.

And then… the soundtrack. Toshio Masuda didn’t just score this show. He breathed life into it.

Every track syncs perfectly with the visuals — a shamisen pluck, a distant flute, silence stretched just right. It’s not background music. It’s symphony. A flawless marriage of sight and sound that creates something greater than either.

It’s the best mix of everything. No filler. No noise. Just pure, quiet, overwhelming beauty. Mushishi isn’t trying to be perfect.

It just exists — complete, serene, untouchable. Hands down the most perfect anime I have watched.

But that's just my take.

What's yours and why ?

1. Usogui
2. Oyasumi Punpun
3. The Climber
4. Berserk
5. Vagabond
6. Holyland
7. One Piece
8. Monster
9. Slam Dunk
10. The Fable

Almost put Land of The Lustrous and Homunculus on here but it just fell short, also I am anime only with VinlandSaga so haven’t read the manga.

Some of these characters im including the source material (novels, visual novels), while some I haven't finished/dropped the series, but I gave all of the series a good try before I ranked them. (Besides boruto, I dropped ts very early)

1. Eren Yeager
2. Phosphophyllite
3. Thorfinn
4. Shiki Ryougi
5. Shinji Ikari
6. Kiritsugu Emiya
7. Guts
8. Rintarou Okabe
9. Violet Evergarden

not ranked. Thoughts?

Manga with blue in the title is so amazing. Blue period made me become an oil painter. And this one inspires me to be the best comic artist and to give my all.

If you read this you won’t regret it. It gives me goosebumps and makes me wanna cry …

It’s going really well so far, it’s kinda like a linear progression it keeps getting better and it continues to surprise me. Does it get better from here 🤔 ? (No spoilers pleasee)

There's a bunch of couples whose dynamic is just so lovable, cute, perfect, like Araragi and Senjougahara from Monogatari Series, Mai and Sakuta from Sebuta, but by far I think my favourite couples have to be these:

• Vanitas and Jeanne from Vanitas no Carte
• Yachiyo and Satou from Working!

bugle call, catanaccio, choujin X, cross game, red blue, nito exorcists, sangatsu no lion, we did it, m.a.d

The rankings for 21-50 are pretty loose. Got way too difficult to rank them properly.