Highlights:
* Here are five best sleep hit anime of all time.
* Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Tiger & Bunny, and My Neighbour Totoro are some of the notable sleeper hit anime.
Despite the global popularity of anime, many films and shows often tend to underperform financially for various reasons. Sometimes, the specific anime productions lack a strong plot, while on some occasions the promotions don’t work. Still, over time, many anime emerge as sleeper hits, with overnight success. In the following section, we have compiled the list of five such sleeper hit anime.
- Also Read: Top 5 Anime With Bad Endings
Five Best Sleeper Hit Anime Of All Time
Here are five of the best sleeper hit anime that were either initially dismissed or went largely unnoticed, but later saw a resurgence in popularity:
Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai
| Original Run | October 4, 2018 – December 27, 2018 |
| Written By | Masahiro Yokotani |
The first addition to the list of best-ever sleeper hit anime is the oddly-titled, Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai, which served as the animated adaptation of manga titled ‘Rascal Does Not Dream.’ The 13-episode anime series didn’t have the best promotional campaign, as many misunderstood it as just another harem comedy. The show wasn’t just another mindless generic comedy, as it offered much more than the initial expectations. Ultimately, what many deemed to be a mediocre show turned out to be a massive success.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
| Original Run | April 5, 2020 – June 21, 2020 |
| Written By | Megumi Shimizu |
The cases of Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai and My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! are not so different as the latter was also unable to garner much attention initially. It was being dismissed as one of many Isekai anime, which didn’t have anything special to offer. Interestingly, after its launch, the show was able to change the perception as it got attention for its unique premise. At the same time, My Next Life as a Villainess was also praised for its representation of LGBTQ+, which became one of the many reasons behind making the show a sleeper hit anime.
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Tiger & Bunny
| Original Run | April 3, 2011 – September 18, 2011 |
| Written By | Masafumi Nishida |
A show rarely succeeds when there is little to no buzz around it, but Tiger & Bunny is an exception. Before its release, even the staff that worked on Tiger & Bunny didn’t expect it to turn into such a humongous success, but it eventually turned out to be phenomenal. Being a superhero show, it was praised for the handling of its subject, while its financial performance was also commendable. Ultimately, Tiger & Bunny resulted in the production of many follow-up projects.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
| Original Release | September 13, 2022 |
| Written By | Masahiko Otsuka and Yoshiki Usa (Screenplay) Bartosz Sztybor, Jan Bartkowicz, and Łukasz Ludkowski (Story) |
Cyberpunk 2077 had an underwhelming debut with many technical flaws. Thus, fans didn’t have much expectations from its anime adaptation, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Interestingly, the show turned out to be one of the best-ever sleeper hit anime as it garnered positive acclaim. The performed financially well, won multiple awards and nominations, and also seemingly rejuvenated the interest in Cyberpunk 2077 by contributing with an increase in sales.
My Neighbour Totoro
| Original Run | April 16, 1988 |
| Written By | Hayao Miyazaki |
My Neighbour Totoro has been considered as a monumental film and has bagged several accolades courtesy of the positive acclaim. However, when it was initially released, My Neighbour Totoro was not able to attract an overwhelming number of audience, which reflected in its initial box office collections. The film didn’t perform exceptionally well financially, but over the years has got praises from almost everyone, while it has re-released multiple times across the world. Thus, due to initial underperformance and late resurgence has made My Neighbour Totoro a sleeper hit anime in the truer sense.
- Also Read: Top 5 Anime To Watch Like Demon Slayer
That concludes our list of top five sleeper hit anime of all time, but readers can also check out five best happy ending anime.
