10 Anime That Are Way Better Than Their Titles Make Them Sound
In this case, what you see ISN'T always what you get.
While most people who've never really given anime a try are missing out on quite a lot—from fantastic storytelling to mind-blowing visuals, it's hard to blame them when a majority of anime can get a bit... crazy at times. There's an anime where disgraced Yakuza enforcers become female pop idols, and one where Jesus and Buddha are literal roommates, so there's no telling just how silly and ridiculous anime can really get.
That said, a lot of the silliness in anime can come out in a show's title, with the anime itself being a lot more serious and well-written than its strange preview implies. Whether it be a title that doesn't translate well into English or one that simply doesn't make sense without context, many fantastic stories have flown under the radar from an off-putting title alone, one genre of TV show often mistaken for another.
While what you see is often what you get in some more self-explanatory shows, there's a good number of anime whose name and title card, and even the premise repeated on every piece of promotional material, cannot even begin to encompass just how good the show really is.
Here's a list of some anime that were a lot better than their titles and accompanying synopses made them out to be.
10. Get Backers
A fun, action-packed buddy adventure focusing on the jobs of two powered individuals paid to retrieve items for their employers on a mercenary style contract-to-contract basis, Get Backers has about the most self-explanatory title you can get, without ever quite being able to capture the nuances of its likeable cast of characters and their deeper, darker backstories.
Though the title might sound a little silly to English-speakers, and the simple premise makes the show seem more "contract of the week" than anything, there's a lot of fantastic yet subtle world-building in this early 2000s anime, with the comedic main duo often encountering, and sometimes fighting, equally super-powered work associates.
Ban Mido, with his cool stoic demeanour and his illusionary technique, the Evil Eye, and his partner, the child-like, rambunctious, and ever-hungry Ginji Amano, whose personality belies his dangerous and powerful lightning abilities and his status as former gang leader and "Lightning Emperor", work odd jobs out of the Honky Tonk cafe, finding and retrieving anything from useless sentimental trinkets to missing bomb parts.
Similar to the acclaimed Cowboy Bebop, Get Backers sees paid contractors having to eventually face their dark pasts, all while trying to hold onto their happier present.