Bet you didn’t know some of these were made by the author of one of your favorites.
Oftentimes, we know our favorite authors for their most famous works only. Despite that, they usually have created many things besides their biggest hit. Sometimes, they get anime adaptations. These ten anime are examples of relatively obscure works by authors who are famous for something else.
Level E
Level E is a 2011 gag comedy anime that follows an alien prince toying with earthlings for his own amusement. Despite being incredibly smart, prince Baka Ki El Dogra (yes, his first name literally means “stupid”) is a carefree and erratic man who only cares about his own entertainment.
This character actually makes a cameo in another work by the author: more specifically, in the 2011 adaptation of Hunter x Hunter. Yes, Level E is written by Yoshihiro Togashi, and the manga actually predates HxH by a few years.
Planetes
Planetes isn’t exactly obscure, but it is definitely underwatched nowadays. A so-called “hard sci-fi”, it puts extreme emphasis on a realistic portrayal of technology in it.
It also doesn’t forget to be a surprisingly touching character drama, and that’s understandable if you know who the mangaka of the original is. It is none other than Makoto Yukimura, who is more known for his work on Vinland Saga — at least to modern fans.
Eyeshield 21
Dr. Stone manga is actually made by two people. Riichiro Inagaki, the person responsible for the story, has collaborated with other artists as well — and his first major collaboration was Eyeshield 21.
A classic sports manga and anime from the early 00s, Eyeshield 21 actually has another very big name attached to it. The art for the manga, as well as the character designs for the series, was made by Yusuke Murata, who would later proceed to be the artist for the printed version of One Punch Man.
RIN-NE
Rumiko Takahashi is perhaps the most successful female mangaka. Most people remember her for InuYasha, Urusei Yatsura and Ranma ½ — but she had many other works. Some of them got adaptations: RIN-NE (Kyoukai no Rinne) is one of them.
Weirdly enough, it wasn’t really popular, despite the author being famous and the anime receiving three whole seasons.
Hyakushou Kizoku
Hiromu Arakawa is mostly known for Fullmetal Alchemist, but that’s not her only manga. Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji) is another somewhat popular series by her, which follows life on a farm.
Curiously enough, Hyakushou Kizoku — a recently released anime short — is also based on a manga of hers that deals with farming, and this one is autobiographical.
Clockwork Planet
Yuu Kamiya, the author for No Game No Life, has gained notoriety for drawing the illustrations for that series himself. However, he doesn’t always do that: Clockwork Planet is a LN series which is a collaboration between him and Tsubaki Himana, with art by Shino.
It is also one of the most unique anime out there in setting alone. Clockpunk is a relatively underused genre even in Western media, and in anime, this is literally the only example.
Baoh the Visitor
Before being famous for his iconic JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken) series, Hirohiko Araki had multiple manga series published, some of which were relatively successful.
One of them was Baoh the Visitor (Baoh Raihousha), which was adapted into a two-episode OVA in 1989. The result is weird, but it’s interesting to see how much Araki’s writing changed over time.
Synduality: Noir
Synduality is a mixed media project which includes games, manga, light novels and anime. The second season of the anime series, Synduality: Noir, is actually airing right now.
What many people don’t know, however, is that the writers behind the anime are Hajime Kamoshida and Takashi Aoshima. The latter is an industry veteran responsible for many anime adaptations, and the former is a LN author — you might know his name from The Pet Girl of Sakurasou (Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo) and Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai).
Pretty Boy Detective Club
To many, Nisio Isin is famous for his involvement with the Monogatari series. A successful author who had many of his works turned into anime, he is known for his unusual writing style which includes heavy focus on dialogues and Japanese wordplay.
Fans often joke that Shaft, with their signature visual style, is the perfect studio to adapt his works. Despite that, Pretty Boy Detective Club (Bishounen Tanteidan), their latest adaptation of his LN, wasn’t really successful. Some fans blamed the premise, which was too unusual even for him.
Chaos Dragon
Chaos Dragon: Sekiryuu Seneki is a very unique series. It is based on a series of role-playing sessions by a few popular authors, which were later adapted into light novels and anime.
The result was… controversial, but at least the concept was interesting. People involved were Gen Urobuchi (Psycho-Pass, Fate/Zero), Ryohgo Narita (Baccano!, Durarara!!), Kinoko Nasu (Fate/stay night, The Garden of Sinners), as well as light novel writer Iduki Kougyoku and the artist Shimadoriru.