Random Deceiving Anime That Prove You Shouldn't Judge A Book By Its Cover (15 items)

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  (#14) Punch Line

  Punch Line has one of the weirdest premises of any anime ever, and it's pretty easy to write it off as nonsensical ecchi anime with a completely absurd premise. For the first five episodes, that's exactly what it is. If Yuuta Iridatsu sees panties, his incredible powers will be activated, and the world will be destroyed. Sounds like a thinly veiled reason to draw anime panties, right? Wrong. Punch Line features one of the most tightly woven plots in anime history. Every single thing that happens makes some type of logical sense within the rules of its universe. What's more, the art is spectacular, the character development is spot-on, and it's just overall a really good series with a really good plot - something most people would never imagine given its wacky description.
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  (#1) Made in Abyss

  • Sci-Fi, Adventure, Mystery, Drama, Fantasy

  Made In Abyss tells the story of a spunky little girl named Riko who wants to be the greatest Diver the world has ever seen. Divers are responsible for exploring the Abyss, a strange gaping hole in the earth that's full of mysterious creatures and hidden secrets. In the first episodes, these secrets sound a little dangerous but mostly magical and fun. However, the dangers of the Abyss turn out to be far more dangerous and grotesque than viewers expected. The Curse of the Abyss can transform formerly normal humans into immortal monsters that are in terrible pain and can't think or reason. All this suffering is portrayed in the most gruesome way possible - something you likely aren't expecting based on the adorable art and warm atmosphere of the first few episodes. 
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  (#4) School-Live

  School-Live goes out of its way to try and lull viewers into a false sense of security. At first, it focuses on the cheerful adventures of the School Living Club, a group of girls who live at their school. It's not until later that viewers find out the reason behind this unusual arrangement - the girls are the last survivors of a zombie apocalypse, and are hiding out in the school to avoid becoming the zombies' next meal. This is lost on Yuki Takeya, who is under the same illusion that the audience is in the beginning, but for the rest of the club, life is an utter nightmare. 
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  (#12) Mysterious Girlfriend X

  Mysterious Girlfriend X is an anime that a lot of people write off because its utterly bizarre premise - a couple falls in love after the boy tastes the girl's drool. This sounds like the kind of anime that gives people who don't like anime an excuse to dismiss the medium entirely - but actually, it's surprisingly good. The characters don't behave like any archetype that can be found in anime - there are no tsunderes, no yanderes, no harem leads, no nothing. Both leads just act like actual human people - weird, yes, but no weirder than what can be found in reality.

  This anime is shocking not because of excessive violence or horror, but because it sets you up for something sketchy and bizarre, but instead gives you something heartfelt and genuine. 
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  (#15) Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

  • Action, Adventure, Fantasy

  Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is often incorrectly thought of as the most light-hearted entry in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. With its brightly colored school setting, its seemingly inconsequential fights involving super-powered dolphins and sentient dinosaurs, it does seem that way at first. But if you power through to the third season, it goes completely off the rails to become one of the darkest shows in anime history.

  The main cast gets transported to a hell-like world by a demonic being from the past named Yubel who claims to be the protagonist's former lover. She brainwashes him into becoming an evil overlord who commits genocide against thousands of card spirits, attacking his friends. To finally put an end to all this, Judai eventually agrees to let Yubel live in his body like a parasite, which completely changes his personality to the point where he no longer has any empathy for his friends. Oh, and the show also features illegal cage matches that result in one character being electrocuted until his heart stops, teachers who think their students shouldn't be alive and want to do something about it, and more. So much for cheery and light-hearted. 
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  (#5) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

  Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni is another seemingly cheery anime about adorable high school girls being adorable - and if you look at some of the episodes, like the obligatory beach episode, it does seem to be that. If you didn't know it already, this show is one of the bloodiest shows in anime history. The true focus of this show is not cute girls doing cute things - it's Hinamizawa Syndrome, a psychiatric condition that impacts everyone in the village of Hinamizawa that causes a plethora of symptoms, the most noteworthy being a murderous rage. 

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