Needs More Love (Sugar Wiki): Difference between revisions

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{{Just for Fun}}

 

If you can think of an awesome work that just didn't get the love it deserved, here's the place to put it!

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Desert Punk (manga)|Desert Punk]]'' is very, very, funny, being one of the very few anime by [[GONZO]] to not have superfluous amounts of CG mixed with the dazzling scenery of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Each character's personalities, although suffering from the occasional flanderization, are unique, quirky, a little bizarre (at first), and extremely over-the top, all fitting in the anti-hero categories. That's right. All of them. There is no total overarching plot in the series, yet that does not prevent each episode from having a well-thought-out script, containing off-the-wall and EXTREMELY raunchy humor to well-paced action that will completely take you by surprise once it reaches the halfway point and having a very good dub. ''Desert Punk'' is a [[Seinen]] that has a surprisingly small fanbase.

* ''[[Kanamemo]]'' is a very funny show, with great, colorful animation, fun and likeable characters, an actual romantic relationship between two girls, probably one of the best scripts ever written with ''many'' quotable moments, is somehow able to do a good job handling the the drama involving the main character, and is no doubt closest to rival (in my opinion) ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]''. Yet, its still ''very underrated'' and never really got much popularity in Japan (airing on TV Tokyo, nonetheless) [[Too Good to Last|to even warrant a second season]]. Even with Crunchyroll, it still hasn't garnered much attention that it at least deserves after two years. Watching the aniem lately has become nostalgic and even made me sad for bit. If you ask me, the series at least deserves 26 episodes, not half.

* ''[[Mouryou no Hako]]'', a one-of-a-kind, utterly mind-consuming mystery series, based on the ''excellent'' novel by Kyougoku Natsuhiko and animated by Madhouse's best (with character designs by [[CLAMP]]!). The script, atmosphere, acting, and plot are captivating and realistic but keep the eerie supernatural vibe present in Kyougoku's novel. And if you weren't already afraid of boxes, well... consider yourself warned.

* The American [[Gag Dub]] of ''[[Duel Masters]]''. The whole concept was far-fetched and silly... yet, it didn't get that far. At least, not before the [[Abridged Series]] appears.

* Come on, ''[[Beyblade Metal Fusion]]'' needs some love! Just look at its page!

* ''[[Spring And Chaos]]'': an autobiographical OVA base on the life of Kenji Miyazawa, one of Japan's most famous poets. It's directed by ''Shoji Kawamori'' (the ''[[Macross]]'' guy), no less. It's one of the most moving films you'll ever see.

* ''[[Butsu Zone]]''. A short-run manga first by Hiroyuki Takei, featuring power-armored Bodhisattvas, an interesting plotline, as well as detailed and insightful looks into Buddhism.

* ''[[Kagerou Nostalgia]]'' is an obscure manga, which thanks to [[Executive Meddling]], and sheer stupidity on the part of the publishing company (only licensing the second half, what's up with that?) has never been fully released here. This is too bad, as it's a genuinely interesting story, dealing with a group of reincarnated heroes trying to save an AU medieval Japan from their predecessors' mistakes. The series' is quite dark—the basic premise seems to have been "take a your classic shonen [[Five-Man Band]] and drop them in a [[Crapsack World]]"—and is unflinching in its portrayal of war and demonic attacks, with characters that are flawed and far from cliché. For anyone interested in reading it, here's a link to the first few volumes: http://www.mangareader.net/1477/kagerou-nostalgia.html

* ''[[Mushishi]]''. I love this anime, and it's pretty much a fresh breath from all the other animes out there... for when you just need a rest from crazy action and moe fanservice and what have you.

* ''[[Kieli]]'' is terribly obscure. It started as a light novel and was adapted into a wonderful manga. Definitely worth reading.

* ''[[Helen ESP]]''. It's a two-volume manga about a blind, deaf and mute girl who finds out she has [[Psychic Powers]], by the author of ''[[Franken Fran]]''--[[Better Than It Sounds|wait, come back here]]! [[Sincerity Mode|No one gets]] [[Gorn|dismembered]] [[Sincerity Mode|in this series, I promise]]! All joking aside, ''[[Helen ESP]]'' has interesting characters and can be quite [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|heartwarming]] at times.

* The ''[[Monster Rancher (anime)|Monster Rancher]]'' anime had pretty much everything you could ask for in an anime—a deep storyline, plenty of [[Monster Rancher/Awesome|Moments Of Awesome]], knowing the stakes were serious, compelling characters, and a pretty good English dub. But it got sidelined by Pokemon and Digimon.

* ''[[Dennou Coil]]'' is a science fiction anime from 2007 which gained quite some recognition during its airing, but has since failed to retain its popularity. The show is about a group of children in a small town, who all use a type of computer in the form of glasses as means to play around on the digital interface overlapping the city, often bumping into trouble of some kind. The animation and soundtrack are beautiful, although the character designs and colouring could be seen as somewhat subdued - it gives the series a sense of realism that brings out the childish fantasy and emotions bubbling underneath.

* ''[[Variante]]'' is a [[Tear Jerker|sad]] 19-issue manga involving a dead girl coming back to life, a secret government agency that wishes to use her, and monsters that they are tasked with both fighting and hiding from the public.

* ''[[Fractale]]'' is an eleven-episode sci-fi anime series that, despite having excellent characters, a well-written story, beautiful animation, and being loved by basically all who have seen it, it's so under the radar that I can't even find the full version to its opening theme.

 

* ''[[Grimjack]]'' by John Ostrander and Tim Truman, Flint Henry, Tom Mandrake, etc. If it's good enough for Roger Zelazny (a big fan, wrote the forword to the Graphic Novel) it's good enough for anybody.

* The ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Comic Book)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' manga-style comic by Tania del Rio. This could have been just a cheap gimmick by [[Archie Comics]]. Instead, Tania took the manga idea beyond the look: it had good characters, a detailed mythos, and an actual arc.

* ''[[Trinity Angels]]'', which is quirky and fun, but is often ignored by even [[VH 2]]-era Valiant fans, and is the only [[VH 2]]-originated Valiant property to not even rate an entry in [[The Other Wiki]].

 

* ''[[A Twisted Tale]]''. A pretty decent ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]''-''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'' crossover. There was a small period of about three chapters where the author got skimpy, but got longer. Really needs more love.

* ''[[The Sacrifices Arc]]'' an alternate universe of [[Harry Potter]] which presents different rules of magic, a powerful Harry, focus on minor characters of the series and try to show the point of view of anyone. Present on the internet but not detailed often.

* ''[[A World Without Rainbows]].'' It's a very compelling [[Alternate Universe]] ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfiction. The story explores the importance of Rainbow Dash's first Sonic Rainboom. Good development, memorable scenes, and a good joke every now and again make this a winner.

 

* ''[[The Road to El Dorado]]'' is a fun, truly unique film with no proper hero character (the writers themselves admitted to focusing the entire story on [[Those Two Guys]] on purpose), gut-busting humor and a creative premise that goes sorely glossed over for absolutely no reason.

* Likewise, ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]'', while chastised for being an animated musical take on a story in the Book of Exodus, and often compared to ''[[The Ten Commandments]]'' in that regard, is a truly epic movie. The songs are gorgeous to listen to, the truly spectacular animation is to die for, and it even gives little explanations for things never really touched upon originally, such as the vitriol between Moses and Ramses, and the way the Priests mimic Moses's miracles. Really, the only reason for anyone to not see this movie is because it's so dang tough to find.

* Gasper Noe's ''Enter The Void'' is a uniquely visceral and ground breaking film. It's quite disturbing to watch (as expected from Gasper) due to all its strange and sexual imagery. But from its POV scenes to the protagonists out-of-body experiences it's a film like no other. ''Enter The Void'' was Gasper Noe's dream film, but unfortunately it did very poorly financially.

 

* ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (novel)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' is a quite under-rated series. It manages to keep the story light-hearted and serious at the same time, and has a unique plot, at least in the later books.

** Of course, since that entry was written, the [[How to Train Your Dragon (animation)|film adaptations]] have come out, raising the books' profile considerably.

* Anything by [[Storm Constantine]] besides ''[[Wraeththu]]'', which is often the only work of hers that both fans and non-fans are familiar with. This is not helped by the fact that her other books tend to be difficult to find.

 

* ''[[Playmakers]]'' was a fantastic show surrounding the troubled lives of professional [[American Football]] athletes, and ESPN's first try at a scripted TV series. Think [[Mad Men]] but darker and about [[Department of Redundancy Department|American Football]]. The show demonstrated great promise, with empathetic characters, great writing, and solid acting, and garnered positive reviews and ratings. The show rivals many HBO originals with it's production value and shameless graphic content. Sadly got [[Screwed by the Network]] after the NFL pressured ESPN to cancel it, and only 12 episodes were aired.

* ''Wild World of Spike'' was a show from [[Captain Obvious|Spike]], which featured three hosts giving their thoughts on web and TV clips. The hosts were a kickboxer, a skateboarder, and a comedian who was the Butt Monkey of the show. Sometimes, they would challenge each other to recreate the clips that they saw and that would range anywhere from lifting weights with your testicles, breaking through a brick wall, and getting tased. Cancelled after one season with 14 episodes and it seems the only way to find it is through either Zune or the Spike official site.

* ''[[Miami Medical]]'', a realistic, medically accurate drama with good characters played by good actors. It managed to avoid most inter-doctor romances, the need for happy endings and only left the hospital setting for brief hops, yet still developed the characters without hitting you in the face with tragic backstory. Yet it got crammed into a crappy timeslot, had little to no advertising and was cancelled before its original 13 episodes had finished airing. And no one watched it.

* ''[[Blake's 7]]''. Honestly, even people old enough to have seen it the first time around have never heard of it.

* To see it discussed by fans of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]], [[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' redefines [[So Bad It's Horrible]] and did nothing right, ever. But actually, it had a lot of interesting stories, inventive solutions to the problem of the week, and later on, hard, decisions having to be made in the moment. And the ratings were quite high ''throughout'' the first season, not just when it was shiny and new—it didn't fall off until it ''started'' having TNG-like stories in the early second season. (If you watched it in the first season and jumped ship around "A Night In Sickbay," skip to "Canamar" or thereabouts. It gets back on track.) It's a good show, just... not for the people whose idea of adventure is Picard discussing Shakespeare or the intricacies of Klingon politics.

* ''[[Space Precinct]]'' was a cop show IN SPACE, you can tell from the name. You probably know no more about it than that. It was [[Screwed by the Network]] because it had the kind of alien makeup one expects of a kids' show but the material of a serious effort. Not knowing what to do with it, networks buried it. But if you can find it, and can handle a few [[People in Rubber Suits]], give it a try.

* ''[[My Own Worst Enemy]]''. A spy series involving split personalities running amok. Cancelled after 9 episodes, probably due to the fact that it was on extremely late.

* ''[[Lost Girl]]'' is a great urban fantasy noir series that simply not enough people know about.

* ''[[Justice]]'' doesn't even have a page on [[TV Tropes]] and it was [[Too Good to Last|canceled]] after one season, but it is one of the most involving court dramas in a ''long'' time. The defense firm the series had as protagonists was filled to the brim with [[Magnificent Bastard]]s that would make [[Chicago|Billy Flynn]] proud, everyone always had an agenda (except, perhaps, the accused), and it was never sure until the very last scene whether the accused had actually commited the crime in question.

* ''[[Smith]]'' should have had a longer run...it was cancelled after a very brief run. It followed the exploits of some high-tech thieves.

* ''So NoTORIous'' was a [[Life Embellished]] sitcom created by Tori Spelling that aired on [[VH-1]] in 2006. Critics, who typically use Tori as their favorite punching bag, frequently praised the series, saying that the show was quite a bit [[Better Than It Sounds]], both due to it being very well put together in terms of production, and because Spelling was more than willing to make fun of herself. Adding in some supporting performances from the likes of Loni Anderson and [[Zachary Quinto]], and its short 10-episode run is definitely worth a few hours of your time.

 

* This entire section; dozens of bands who are popular and obscure don't even have a page.

* The Acro-Brats are an excellent punk band that most know from their song "Day Late Dollar Short," which is in [[Rock Band]]. They're quite talented and deserve a listen. Just look them up on Youtube.

* [[My Vitriol]] gained some minor popularity back in the early 2000s but quickly disappeared after they refused to release a second album. The second wave of [[Shoegazing]] bands owe a lot to these guys, as they are used as the focal point of where the second wave officially started. People tend to forget they exist due to their sudden decision to hide from the spotlight. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0_TLDOOTnM They gave the genre a new modern flair.] Whoever said [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] were the only Shoegazing band to spark an entire movement?

* [[Red House Painters]] are one of the most consistently acclaimed artists of [[The Nineties]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1F8r_f0qWo With slow, drawn out songs with lovely instrumentation,] it's a wonder why they didn't get a wide audience.

* Brooke Fraser, she has a beautiful voice and her songs are wonderful. Take for example ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4KiGN1j1No Shadowfeet]'', the lyrics are so optimist that it may give [[Sweet Dreams Fuel|sweet dreams]].

* [[Blind Melon]]. Especially their second album, Soup. It was given some harsh reviews because of the darker and unique sound that changed a lot from their first album. The death of Shannon Hoon soon after kept the band from being able to tour and support it keeping the album from being a hit like it deserved or at least a [[Cult Classic]].

* He Is Legend, a southern/stoner metal ensemble.

* While she's an iconic figure in her native UK, [[Kate Bush]] is relatively obscure in the U.S. Which is a shame, as she's one of the most unique and innovative singer-songwriters of all time.

 

* ''[[Gamma World]]'' was a fantastic RPG that focused more on fun rather than Byzantine rules, and was often used to test things that would later go into ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''. Yet it was poorly presented and got little advertising, looking a lot worse than other games at the time. And Wizards of the Coast [[Uncanceled|brought it]] [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|back]] in December 2010.

* ''[[w:Tribe 8 (role-playing game)|Tribe 8]]'' is often-overlooked next to its publisher's mecha games ''[[Jovian Chronicles]]'' and ''[[Heavy Gear]]''.

* ''[[Alternity]]''. Has some bottlenecks in mechanics, but has its advantages too. As well as elements that were innovative (in a good way) at the time and still look good now. A remake (''[[Alternity]] 2017'') was announced.

 

* Bungie's ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]]''. What did this game bring into video games, specifically first-person shooters? Let's start with vertical aiming, Multiplayer objectives other than just kill everybody, single player objectives other than just kill everything, computer-controlled allies, idle animations for enemies, the ability to swim, dual wield, "Jump," use an in-game Radar and map, and use an alternate fire for some weapons; enemy chatter, humerous in-game dialogue, asymettrical character models, different models for players with different guns (In DOOM, all players appeared to have a gun that wasn't in the game regardless of what weapon they were actually using), vacuum areas, an [[Almost Out of Oxygen|Oxygen Bar]], and not to mention it has an incredibly in-depth plot and was the inspiration for ''[[Halo]]''. Despite all of this, people still acclaim Halo for setting the guidelines for First-person shooters, mainly for its regenerating health.

* ''[[Act of War]] : Direct Action'' and its expansion pack ''High Treason'' were particularly great RTS games, not just in an extensive campaign, faction diversity, audio and visuals (they still look and sound good by today's standards, and well scaled), but in the fact it was very realistic in terms of gameplay, with units being incapacitated and requiring of repairs or healing before coming back into the fight, also aircraft units come from off the map, terrain and vegetation affects units sight and urban combat interaction feels like you are looking a real S.W.A.T. operation. Unfortunately [[Act of War|Ao W]] was released by the same time as ''[[Command & Conquer]] Generals'' and didn't have too much appretiation from reviews, which said there was no particular innovation for the genre (a rather dull argument considering RTS gamers usually don't appretiate changes to classic gameplay) or simply diminished it, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBity08oJes these videos] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCN67EVKFQU show a bit] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7z6Qm2uk_I of the game.]

* ''[[Battlezone (1998 video game)|Battlezone 1998]]'', a RTS-FPS mix featuring a compelling storyline, great graphics and overall high production values was largely overlooked by consumers when it game out in the late 90's even though it was awarded high scores by critics.

* ''[[Donkey Kong Country|Donkey Kong Land 2 and III]]''. These are two games that sadly, didn't get as much attention their Super NES counterparts got. ''[[Donkey Kong Land]] 2'' is a Game Boy port of ''Donkey Kong Country 2'', with changes to the game from DKC2. A lot of the game has changed to fit to accommodate the Game Boy's limitations. (though [[Misblamed]] on Rare) Even for an 8-bit system, the second game's [[Crowning Music of Awesome|underrated, yet awesome music]] by Grant Kirkhope is still as awesome as its Super NES counterpart, even if the sound system was limited. ''Donkey Kong Land III'' is a different game that's based on DKC3. The entire game is different (with a couple bosses missing; it still somehow keeps the trend of awesome music for an 8-bit system. This time it's Eveline Fischer composing). It also includes a time attack mode as a reward for completely beating the game. The only complaint (to some) is that the game [[Your Mileage May Vary|may be too]] [[It's Short, So It Sucks|short for]] [[Unpleasable Fanbase|some people]]. It also received a [[Video Game Remake]] for the Game Boy Colour in 2000 that [[No Export for You|never left Japan]].

* Hell, how many ''cool'' [[ZX Spectrum]] games, including homebrews get little attention?! You'd never thought that [[Sturgeon's Law]] now would apply not only for crud but for overlooked things! {{spoiler|...on one ocassion, I even think it would grow into a separate category. One day.}}

*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qscOuAP4nhM Now with the viruses and pills available in seven flavours.]

** ''Goody'' had crappy jump physics, that's right. The thing didn't stopped it from very little-quantity fans to reboot it into a PC remake. And yes, it's both hillarious AND awesome!

* ''[[Star Soldier]]'' is a odd case. You've probably heard of it, but have you ever ''played'' it? Shame, because it's an excellent shooter.

* The ''[[Kirby]]'' series is well known and already popular, but one game in the series that was vastly ignored (mostly due to ''F-Zero'' and ''[[Mario Kart]]: Double Dash'') was ''Kirby Air Ride''. With unique controls, interesting gameplay, and the adventurous City Trial mode, this game could have been more innovative had people not been so harsh on it.

* ''[[The Guardian Legend]]''. A hybrid shooter for the [[NES]] which pretty much embodied [[Nintendo Hard]]. Desperately in need of a next generation reboot!

* ''PoPoLoCrois'' is a Japanese RPG series for the Playstation which was almost released over here, but wasn't. No fan translations exist, but if you understand Japanese, check it out. Even if you don't, an English version was released on the PSP which combined the plots of the first and third game. Apparently it's vastly inferior to the originals, but still fun. Two anime series were also created, both of which have been subbed by some awesome guy named Wyrdwad.

* ''[[Shantae]]''. It's a Metroidvania-style game for the [[Game Boy Color]], unfortunately released roughly at the end of the portable's life. It's got enough love that it's seen a sequel, but still...

* ''[[Noitu Love]]'', especially the sequel. It is a brilliantly fun game, a 2d side-scrolling beat-'em-up with great boss battles, a sense of humour, and a whole pile of fun. The definitely [[Needs More Love|needs as much love as it can get]], as the creator, Joakim 'Konjak' Sandberg is in dire monetary straits, and had a kind of crisis of confidence. Check out his website: he's also released a game called ''Chalk'' which is fun on a bun, and there's a whole bunch of unfinished and/or abandoned projects that show he has real game-making chops.

* The ''[[Escape Velocity]]'' series by Mac-based shareware developers Ambrosia are great. They're basically Elite from a 2D, top-down perspective. Become a trader, a pirate, hero of United Earth, fly off into the unknown to meet new alien races, whatever. The first two, ''Escape Velocity'' and ''Override'' were originally only released on pre-X version of [[Mac OS]], but the newest, ''Escape Velocity Nova'', was released for [[Mac OS]] X and Windows, and total conversions of Nova to the previous two are available.

* ''[[Star Fox 2]]'', [[Vaporware|never released]] and only available as [[Game Mod|patch]] for [[Star Fox (video game)|Star Fox 1]], features 3D high-speed dogfighting...in 16-bit. And it is glorious.

* ''Black'' for the Playstation 2 might be a bit of tech demo game and quite short, but it's also a load of fun to play. Lot's of explosions, gun porn and destructible environments makes for some memorable moments.

* ''[[Darkwatch]]'' is an arcadey fps set in a Wild West/Horror/Steam Punk universe, and at times feels a bit similar to Painkiller. Even though it's repetitive at times it's still a lot of fun throughout.

* ''[[Might and Magic]]:''[[Dark Messiah of Might and Magic|Dark Messiah]]'' is a very immersive action-RPG that eventually gained itself a bit of a cult following. It has some cool spells and environmental kills, and the few cutscenes that there are very interesting. Despite numerous glitches and some dodgy level design it's really a great experience overall.

* [[Prequel (webcomic)|Prequel]] is practically a must-read for any fan of [[Elder Scrolls]], and still a pretty good idea for everyone else. The story centers on Katia, who might be the most pitiable Kadjhit in all of Cyrodiil, as she attempts to make a new life for herself, and fails. The art is surprisingly good, and the audience can submit commands for Katia to consider, which she will, ''in comic.'' Be warned, it can swing pretty heavily from lighthearted humor to bitter depression and back in an instant, but don't let that dissuade you.

 

 

* ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]'' had endearing characters and some truly wonderful writing. It even had the critics on it's side! There were actual reviews about ''a [[Disney]] cartoon'' that really raved about the show! Sadly, it was [[Too Good to Last]]. *Sigh*

* ''[[The Mighty Ducks (animation)|The Mighty Ducks]]'', one of cartoons of [[Disney]]'s from the 90's. Was an action/comedy that had endearing characters and some truly impressive action scenes. And it only lasted one season, [[Screwed by the Network|most likely do to it's unusual premise]].

* [[Bobby's World]] was a show on FOX Kids that has very little recognition anywhere despite its hilarity.

 

* Space programs in general. People living in space 24/7! Robots on the surface of other worlds! Yes, there are more exciting things in SF, but these things are cooler because they happen to be ''real''.

* Cryonics.

* Weapons other than the AR-15 in tactical shooting events.

* [[Just for Pun|These people tend to be called virgins]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Sweet Exists (Sugar Wiki)]]

[[Category:Needs More Love]]

[[Category:Sugar Wiki]]