Anime has changed a lot over the years with various tropes going in and out of popularity over time. Still, some revered anime were released all the way back in 2012 such as JoJo's Bizzare Adventure, High School DXD, and even Sword Art Online.
With such massive names and franchises — some of which continue to this day — releasing a decade ago, it's been easy for a few other fantastic anime of the era to have flown under the radar and not receive the appreciation they deserve. Those who look back at the anime catalog of 2012 will find some fantastic hidden gems that still hold up today.
8 Kill Me Baby
With how popular Pop Team Epic is today, it seems sad that this anime, also adapting a 4-panel manga with similar humor, seems to be mostly forgotten. Kill Me Baby's "lol random" humor tells the story of two friends in high school. One is a normal girl and the other is a trained assassin. The show will still leave viewers busting up in laughter a decade after its release.
7 Thermae Romae
People love anime with bizarre premises when they're made well — just look at Ya Boy Kongming! This is exemplified in Thermae Romae where an ancient Roman architect named Lucius Modestus finds a tunnel in a public bath that takes him to a modern-day Japanese bathhouse.
He tries to use the knowledge he has of future technology to create amazing things but never quite manages to pull them off. Still, he starts to get attention for having amazing ideas and it turns his life around.
6 Medaka Box
With how popular strong-willed intelligent women are in anime today, it seems that Medaka Box should be given a second look in the modern era. Its titular character Medaka is gorgeous, athletic, and desired by everyone around her, kind of like an older version of Komi from Komi Can't Communicate. She leads her student council (Kaguya Sama: Love Is War anyone?) and does her best to deliver on the outright ridiculous requests given to her for the school and her classmates.
5 Polar Bear Cafe
What happens when a polar bear, a penguin, and a panda, all work in a little cafe and get up to all kinds of misadventures? The show is full of adorable moments and the kind of groan-worthy puns that anyone can appreciate. The chemistry between the characters in the main cast really makes this slice of life anime on par with many of the popular shows in the genre being released today. Make sure to catch all of the different EDs throughout the series as well, sung in characters by members of the cast — they are something truly special.
4 Sankarea: Undying Love
It's impossible to deny just how popular the Zombie genre is across anime, books, or any other form of media. Made in the era of Warm Bodies when zombie romance felt fresh, Sankarea: Undying Love follows the story of a boy who has his greatest dream come true when he gets to have a zombie girlfriend.
The show is equal parts horror and comedy creating a unique romantic tale unlike any other. With how often modern anime give the guy their "dream girl," it's nice to go back and watch a show that does this to great effect.
3 Tsuritama
Tsuritama is a show about fishing that'll get viewers hook, line, and sinker. Capturing the same kind of magic that modern fishing anime like Slow Loop has, it adds a unique sci-fi flair where they have to cast out their lines to try and save the entire world. The series feels like a roller coaster, starting off simple before speeding into an unexpected yet enjoyable context. The adventures of Yuki, Haru, Natsuki, Akira, and Tapioca are absolutely worth watching today.
2 Joshiraku
While Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju is considered one of the best historical anime of all time, Joshiraku seems to have been forgotten by many over the years. Both prominently feature Rakugo, a unique Japanese art of storytelling. It has fantastic gag humor with five different storytelling girls telling stories about their everyday lives. It was a major hit of the Summer 2012 anime season and is just as good today as it was then.
1 Kokoro Connect
Five students that don't fit in anywhere else form a club at their school — the Student Cultural Society. Suddenly, these five new friends encounter a supernatural phenomenon that forces them to switch bodies with each other for periods of time. This makes the friends learn a lot more about each other than they may have otherwise, from emotional scars to secrets they never wanted anyone else to know. It's an amazing older anime drama with a fantastic premise that still deserves attention today.