It often feels like there are unlimited possibilities in anime and the storytelling medium continues to evolve in groundbreaking ways that can frequently transcend language barriers. Anime accessibility is greater than ever before, and it's incredibly encouraging to see niche properties receive international translations and appear on mainstream streaming services.
English anime dubs have come a long way since the '80s and '90s, and it's become increasingly rare for big series to not receive regional dubs. Nevertheless, there are still some popular anime series that slip through the cracks and are largely ignored by general audiences since they've never been dubbed in English.
10 Dr. Slump
243 Episodes
Akira Toriyama has become a household name when it comes to anime and manga due to his creation of the totemic Dragon Ball franchise. Dr. Slump is Toriyama's playful gag series predecessor to Dragon Ball and it's oddly struggled to receive the same attention outside of Japan. Curiously, Dr. Slump's Arale has crossed over in several Dragon Ball episodes and the character even has an official English dub voice actor.
However, a proper Dr. Slump English dub has yet to happen, and it remains a major anime blind spot for many. A single episode was dubbed in English and released on VHS by Harmony Gold, but it's an anomaly.
9 Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
47 Episodes
The surprise success of Gundam Wing's English dub led to the long-running mecha franchise going back to its origins and properly adapting each major series. The majority of Mobile Suit Gundam has a corresponding English dub, but there are a few rare oversights.
Victory Gundam, After War Gundam X, and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ all lack English dubs, with the latter being the strongest of the missed mecha series that also provides proper closure to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Gundam ZZ technically had an English dub created by Animax Asia for English-speaking Asian countries, but it's become lost media. Only a few episodes and clips have surfaced online.
8 Kaiba
12 Episodes
Masaaki Yuasa is one of the most creative voices in anime and Kaiba is a passionate and unconventional deconstruction of memories and identity. Kaiba crafts a wildly original cyberpunk dystopia realm with unpredictable character models and fluid visuals.
A touching story plays out across a dozen episodes, but the lack of an English dub has kept many from experiencing this emotional masterpiece. Some of Masaaki Yuasa's more obscure titles have retroactively received English dubs, including Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, so with any luck a Kaiba dub will eventually become a reality.
7 Re:CREATORS
22 Episodes
The popularity around Re:Creators has slightly cooled down in recent years. However, it was one of the biggest series of 2017 and a property that seems perfect for an English dub.
Re:Creators creatively subverts isekai tropes when pop culture fan Sota Mizushino becomes the unlikely leader of a team of his favorite characters from anime, manga, and video games who mysteriously enter the real world and prepare for an apocalyptic battle. Amazon Prime Video tends to not produce English dubs for their anime acquisitions and this has led to Re:Creators getting stuck in a tough place.
6 Nisekoi
23 Episodes
There is an abundance of romantic anime that neatly fit into the harem subgenre where a hapless male lead finds every woman that he encounters falling head over heels for him. Nisekoi rejuvenates hormonal harem silliness with a burst of yakuza-driven action and danger.
The children of two rival gang leaders experience an odd meet-cute and an entertaining will they/won't they dynamic plays out between these two in a dangerous environment where their potential love seems destined to fail. The genre-bending antics of Nisekoi make a natural pick for an English dub, but despite its prevalent streaming status it remains exclusively subtitled.
5 Space Runaway Ideon
39 Episodes
Space Runaway Ideon is an overlooked mecha series that's significant for being Yoshiyuki Tomino's immediate follow-up to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Space Runaway Ideon takes and improves upon many of Gundam's themes, yet showcases even more inventive mecha designs.
Space Runaway Ideon isn't the most popular anime to come out of the '80s, but its reputation alone makes it a series that deserves an English dub and the chance to be enjoyed by as large of an audience as possible. It's an important piece of anime history that shouldn't be forgotten.
4 The Tatami Galaxy
11 Episodes
The Tatami Galaxy is one of anime's most fascinating examinations of destiny, regret, and the endless possibilities that the universe holds through Sliding Doors-esque alternatives. A third-year university student becomes obsessed over how his life may be different if he devoted his time to other social clubs. The Tatami Galaxy is set at Kyoto University, but the malaise and anxiety that its protagonist experiences are universal.
The Tatami Galaxy's universe continues to expand, whether it's through the feature film, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, or the new sequel series, Tatami Time Machine Blues. Its growing world makes it an even more logical pick to receive an English dub.
3 Bakemonogatari
15 Episodes
Bakemonogatari disguises itself as a simple vampire series where an introverted high school student struggles to cope with his recent transformation into an immortal undead. Bakemonogatari's ideas don't reinvent the wheel, but studio Shaft's dazzling visuals become the series' secret weapon.
Bakemonogatari introduces a sprawling franchise of non-linear vampire mayhem that culminates into a satisfying and surprising action arc. Bakemonogatari crafts an emotional journey for its characters that's frequently punctuated with grandiose battles. Unfortunately, many audiences haven't sunk their teeth into the series because it lacks an English dub.
2 The Laughing Salesman
126 Episodes
Anthology series are especially popular in anime and The Laughing Salesman is a macabre creation that’s like if The Twilight Zone masqueraded as a slice-of-life series. The titular salesman, Moguro Fukuzou, seeks out troubled individuals and offers them seemingly simple solutions to their woes, albeit with serious consequences if they break his unusual conditions.
The dark comedy that’s present in The Laughing Salesman feels relevant now more than ever and so it’s unfortunate that an English dub doesn't exist. The series' lengthy number of episodes may have played a factor in its lack of an English dub, but at least the 12-episode remake could have been attempted.
1 Digimon Universe: App Monsters
52 Episodes
Digimon hasn't seen the same success as Pokémon, but there is decades' worth of material across its many series. Digimon dubs were a foregone conclusion during the franchise's height. However, diminishing returns and smaller viewership numbers led to a more selective approach to Digimon dubs, and the seventh entry in the franchise, Digimon Universe: App Monsters, gets skipped in the process.
Digimon Universe: App Monsters is admittedly not the most popular entry in the franchise due to its smartphone-based approach where Digimon are essentially complex apps. That being said, it does contain some appealing connections to the core series and completionists have been eager to experience it in English.