In a thriving anime fan culture consistently ranking series by a combination of hype and perceived quality, many incredible shows and movies can go criminally underappreciated. Such is the case with the dreaded 7/10 score and the solid anime hit with this designation on MyAnimeList, but calling some of these affected anime “mid” is a massive disservice.

Granted, part of the fun of crawling the list of 7/10 anime is in appraising these scores. Even those that fall just short of the 8/10 designation are often renowned hits, albeit sometimes showing their age or other flaws, but they’re still worth considering. After all, even viral newcomers like The Elusive Samurai fall below the 8 mark.

10

Eyeshield 21

Animated by Gallop

Adapted by Gallop and channeling Yusuke Murata’s art before his tenure on One-Punch Man, the series is shōnen football, American-style. It’s an approachable series, clearly defining roles and fitting characters to embody them, while making it accessible to those less interested in sports. Oddly enough, its 7.91 score among fans was hampered by limited animation and frustrating filler.

Still, its over-the-top and loose applications of sports conventions have aged well. Its story of a shy boy convinced to join his American football club as a running back is endearing, and its supporting cast, particularly quarterback Yoichi Hiruma, brings the appropriate levels of intensity to bring each game alive, and land its gags.

9

Tekkon Kinkreet

Animated by Studio 4°C

While certainly less acclaimed than Taiyo Matsumoto’s superior adaptation, Ping Pong the Animation, Tekkon Kinkreet tells the story of two co-dependent orphans, Black and White, in an uncaring, dystopian city. Their brushes with local Yakuza causes the two to cross considerable lines, with blood soon being spilled as the pair are separated, Black soon falls into a dark spiral.

Tekkon Kinkreet is not for the average audience craving a run-of-the-mill story where the two put aside their differences and fight back against the Yakuza. It’s a seinen anime film with poignant nods to mental health issues as the two, despite causing significant discord together, can’t function apart. Its 7.93 score is understandable in terms of general audience appeal.

8

Macross: Do You Remember Love?

Animated by Tatsunoko Production

While 7.93 is certainly nothing to scoff at, it remains broadly misunderstood by franchise newcomers. New Macross viewers may be put off by its diegetic music and bonkers finale, but it’s also possibly the most incredible film ever put out by the franchise, blending the usual transforming mecha fighter jets, solid stylized animation, an endearing love story, and great music.

An abridged version retelling two-thirds of 1982’s Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Do You Remember Love? is a violent space opera following humanity’s deadly encounter with the warmongering all-male Zentradi and all-female Meltrandi alien races. Bred for conflict and seeing human culture as an arcane secret, these aliens are in for a major surprise in the movie’s legendary musical number finale.

7

Kanon

Animated by Kyoto Animation

A textbook KyoAni series, Kanon hits all the right notes for audiences, and commonly ranks among its studio’s best. It’s not even the first Kanon anime, adapting the hit 1999 visual novel, but it hits all the usual atmospheric and emotional beats. Featuring a snowy town setting, a subdued soundtrack, and a central character encircled by forgotten connections.

It’s an emotionally resonant anime, deftly combining the visual novel’s routes to create a narrative where its star, Yuichi Aizawa, reconnects with the girls of his town, each containing a piece of his erased memories. By all accounts, Kanon is certainly nowhere near “mid” as anime go, especially for seasoned viewers craving a strong story and classic KyoAni vibes.

6

Noragami

Animated by Bones

Enough of a case has already been made that Noragami was underappreciated in its era, and unfairly measured against an already-stacked output from its stellar studio, Bones. Still, this middling perception by the average viewer merely glimpsing its 7.94 rating, which is nowhere near bad, may push some audiences to look elsewhere instead.

Please don’t dismiss it so easily, though. Noragami is a charming 2014 shōnen anime, appealing enough to shōjo audiences while carefully balancing great animation with Japanese folklore in which its central stray god, Yato, charges a mere 5 yen for various demeaning odd jobs, while concealing a dark past. With My Hero Academia done, Noragami deserves a second chance.

5

Fist of the North Star

Animated by Toei Animation

Featuring one of anime’s most iconic protagonists, bearing a unique catchphrase that immortalized the series, it might be surprising that Fist of the North Star has a 7.96 rating. Its influence is felt across the medium, with creators such as of Vinland Saga and Berserk having cited its influence on their works.

However, fans may have an opportunity to yet again reappraise the original 1984 Fist of the North Star anime depending on how the CGI-animated TMS Animation project goes. Given issues like inconsistent animation and bizarre censorship choices (white blood is a very unfortunate choice), Fist of the North Star’s subsequent localizations were imperfect, but could be far worse.

4

ReLIFE

Animated by TMS Entertainment

Resonating more with adult viewers given its seinen premise, ReLIFE is a solid example of an anime that’s not for everyone, yet its 7.96 MAL score is still far from terrible. The 2016 anime focuses on 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki, resigned to the underachiever life after leaving his exploitative former company, but ultimately offered a chance to relive his latter high school days.

Given an experimental pill that makes him regain the appearance of a 16-year-old, ReLIFE explores second chances and the feelings adults may have that life has passed them by too quickly. It’s also a solid slice-of-life series beyond the premise, featuring an excellent romance broadly enjoyed by the fandom.

3

xxxHOLiC

Animated by Production I.G

Custom Image by Rodrigo Sandoval Lahut.

A CLAMP classic, xxxHOLiC features the artist supergroup’s signature character designs and atmospheric accents perfect for this dark fantasy series. A few mere hundredths away from an 8 score, xxxHOLiC is often considered niche due to its episodic nature bearing less focus on plot, with binge-watchers perhaps turned off by it as a result.

Largely inspired by Japanese folklore, xxxHOLiC follows Kimihiro Watanuki, whose upsetting ability to see spirits nobody else can prompts him to drastic measures. Meeting Yuko Ichihara, a local wish-granting witch, Kimihiro requests to have this ability removed, to which Yuko says he must first work under her, often having to deal with other spirits in the process.

2

Dragon Ball

Animated by Toei Animation

Obviously, calling Dragon Ball mid is practically a cardinal sin among anime fans as far back as Gen X, but the original 1986 anime falls short of the franchise’s reigning TV series winner, Dragon Ball Z. Still, the OG Dragon Ball has every bit of Akira Toriyama’s spirit, and deviance, fully intact across its three-year run, hilarious quotes and all.

Instead of explosive battles threatening the fabric of reality, Dragon Ball was originally conceived as an homage to the classic Journey to the West story, introducing Goku as a teenager helping his new friend Bulma hunt the mysterious Dragon Balls. The plot would eventually shift to focus on martial arts tournaments, while ultimately encountering deadly global threats like King Piccolo.

Little else needs to be said to describe Dragon Ball, though. Virtually everybody either curious about it or steeped in its lore needs no explanation. It’s an iconic, revolutionary series with a massive cultural footprint easily standing alongside anime’s greats, so a 7.98 score feels somewhat underwhelming, all things considered.

1

Ranma ½ (2024)

Animated by MAPPA

Ranma ½‘s reception is far from bad, with a 7.99 score just barely keeping it out of the 8.0 range. However, it faced an uphill battle. Fans were already nostalgic for the iconic 1989 original, yet it seems to have met expectations fairly well. This is merely a case of how fan reception, and perception of a weighted scale from 1-10, can negatively affect one’s enjoyment.

Ranma ½ brings fans back to the original story with refreshed, modernized animation, featuring Ranma Saotome, who finds himself cursed with the affliction causing him to turn into a girl upon touching cold water. Even season 2 holds up well compared to the original anime production, but it can perhaps be frustrating to see it so close to that 8 benchmark, yet not quite reach it.