5 forgotten 2010s anime series that are masterpieces from start to finish

Anime fans have endless options when it comes to what they watch, and it’s interesting to notice the various trends and changes that accompany each decade. The 2010s weren’t that long ago, and yet it’s a formative decade that helped anime explore new ideas and embrace different genres and styles of series.

The 2010s marked the debut of some of the biggest anime of all-time, including Attack on Titan, Mob Psycho 100, Haikyu!!, Ping Pong the Animation, and the exceptional Hunter x Hunter reboot. The 2010s feature even more anime that are just as impressive as these standout series, but that sadly didn't reach the same levels of mainstream success, leaving them to become cult classics.

Tsuki Ga Kirei Authentically Explores The Awkward Experience Of Early Relationships

Tsuki ga Kirei, also known as As the Moon, So Beautiful, is a 12-episode coming-of-age romance from 2017 that prides itself on simplicity, realism, and a lack of manufactured drama. It's easy to see how such a quaint and cozy title could become overlooked.

Tsuki ga Kirei is one of the best depictions of young love ever, and it doesn't have a misstep across its dozen episodes. The series deconstructs the awkward innocence of being in a relationship for the first time, and that simple, relatable focus is a boon. It doesn't need to stoop to artificial love triangles or contrived misunderstandings in order to ramp up the tension.

There's an authentic tenderness to Kotaro and Akane's relationship that grows a little stronger in each episode. To this point, Tsuki ga Kirei benefits from putting these characters together early on in the anime's run, instead of saving the relationship as a culminating achievement. Tsuki ga Kirei does some excellent work when it comes to examining text message communication, and how awkward, introverted individuals can be more comfortable when hiding behind screens.

Princess Jellyfish Celebrates Female Friendship & How To Find Inner Strength

Princess Jellyfish is a celebrated josei slice-of-life series that follows 19-year-old Tsukimi Kurashita, an unabashed otaku who lives in an apartment complex with five other unemployed NEET figures. Tsukumi struggles to connect with others and figure out her place in the world, yet she's driven by her passion for illustrating and a powerful jellyfish obsession that goes back to her childhood.

Tsukimi's monotonous life is irrevocably changed when she meets an alluring, confident woman who helps her save a jellyfish. This unique presence in Tsukimi's life begins to hang out at her apartment and positively influence the lives of those around her. However, all is not as it seems as Tsukimi's new friend — Kuranosuke Koibuchi — reveals "herself" to be an affluent and wealthy male college student.

Princess Jellyfish tackles how to be comfortable in one's own skin, and to practice self-acceptance. It's quite comforting to see a josei anime that's purely focused on female friendship and the power of sisterhood, without needing to explore romantic endeavors.

There's a lot of love for otaku culture in Princess Jellyfish, as it attempts to destigmatize some of the stereotypes that accompany this space. The series also extends its point of view to look at other hyper-specific niches, and how they offer different forms of comfort. It's also genuinely impressive to see how maturely and appropriately Princess Jellyfish handles Kuranosuke, especially for a 2010 anime.

Cross Game Is A Cathartic Coming-Of-Age Sports Romance

Anime has a healthy relationship with sports and there's basically an anime out there for every popular recreational activity. Cross Game is a shonen baseball series that concluded its 50-episode run in 2010, yet it's a series that has a very nostalgic, retro quality that's reminiscent of the '80s and '90s.

Cross Game uses baseball as a catalyst for coming-of-age romance, independence, and a way to process grief. The story follows Ko Kitamura, who's friends with the four Tsukishima sisters, who are all deeply passionate about baseball. When one of these sisters tragically drowns, Ko grows closer to Aoba, a Tsukishima sister that he's always held a rivalry with, as they both try to fulfill the deceased sister's baseball-centric dream.

Sports fans will have plenty to appreciate in Cross Game, but it's also so much more than just an anime about baseball. Cross Game astutely explores grief, love, and commitment as Ko and Aoba move closer to their goal.

Kids On The Slope Is A Touching Tribute To Jazz & The Healing Power Of Music

Shinichiro Watanabe has earned a blank check in the anime industry after making monumental, evergreen hits like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. Kids on the Slope is one of Watanabe's more overlooked anime, even if it's progressively been reappraised as one of the 2010s' best anime.

This 12-episode coming-of-age anime is set in 1960s postwar Japan, and focuses on the friendship that's formed between two musicians with very different backgrounds and temperaments, Kaoru and Sentaro. Kaoru is a classically trained pianist who struggles to come out of his shell, whereas Sentaro is a more impulsive and unpredictable drummer. These two make beautiful music together, both literally and figuratively, as this creative outlet helps them navigate through a changing world.

The authentic bond that's forged between Kaoru and Sentaro is the anime's secret weapon. It also doesn't hurt that Kids on the Slope reunites Watanabe and Yoko Kanno, whose jazz soundtrack for the anime is in a league of its own. There's such a clear respect and passion for the craft of music and creative collaboration on display.

Girls' Last Tour Finds Peace & Empowerment During The End Of The World

"Post-apocalyptic" and "calm" aren't typically terms that go hand-in-hand, but Girls' Last Tour is such a special slice-of-life anime because it boldly combines such extreme ideas. Girls' Last Tour is a 12-episode anime from 2017 that follows Chito and Yuuri, two young girls who travel through a fractured world that's fallen into a post-apocalyptic winter.

There are extremely dark ideas and a grim status quo on display in Girls' Last Tour, yet Chito and Yuuri are perpetual antidotes to this nihilism. The series evenfits into the "iyashikei" subgenre, which is reserved for slice-of-life anime that create a calming euphoria that transfers over to the audience.

It's a tone that's rarely present in post-apocalyptic sci-fi anime, and it may initially be jarring to see Chito and Yuuri engage in cute and playful behavior amidst a ruined wasteland, but these optimistic vibes become infectious. There's a certain comfort and freedom in the fact that humanity's extinction and the end of all things looms close.

This isn't an anime about Chito and Yuuri trying to save the world or reverse this fate. They've accepted their lots, made the best of them, managing to achieve a certain level of coziness as they carry out their everyday routines. Girls' Last Tour wants its audience to be analytical about their own lives and question what gives them purpose so that they don't have to experience the same finite existence as Chito and Yuuri.