Anime That Have Never Been Dubbed Into English

Anime licensing has evolved significantly over the last few decades with more simulcasts receiving instant English dubs than ever before. However there remains a vast library of acclaimed series that have never received an English voice adaptation due to licensing issues or niche appeal. Some of these shows rely heavily on Japanese wordplay or cultural nuances that make translation difficult for localization teams. Fans of these productions must rely solely on subtitles to experience the stories and performances in their original format.

‘The Tatami Galaxy’ (2010)

Madhouse

A college student relives his university years in parallel universes as he attempts to find the perfect campus life and a raven-haired maiden. Each episode resets the timeline as the protagonist joins different clubs and makes different choices that ultimately lead to chaos. The narration is delivered at breakneck speed which presents a significant challenge for any potential dubbing production. Masaaki Yuasa directed this surreal and visually experimental series that explores themes of regret and opportunity.

‘Space Brothers’ (2012–2014)

TOHO

Mutta Nanba is a thirty-year-old man who decides to chase his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut after getting fired from his job. He joins the JAXA selection exams to catch up with his younger brother Hibito who is already a trained astronaut preparing for a moon mission. The series provides a grounded and realistic look at the rigorous training and politics involved in space exploration. Despite its critical acclaim and length of nearly one hundred episodes it has never been licensed for an English dub.

‘Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku’ (2018)

A-1 Pictures

Narumi Momose is a closeted fujoshi who tries to hide her hobbies from her coworkers until she discovers her childhood friend Hirotaka Nifuji works at the same company. They decide to start dating and find comfort in their shared understanding of otaku culture despite their awkwardness. The series explores adult relationships and the balance between professional life and geeky passions in a refreshing way. Amazon Prime Video held the exclusive streaming rights which often resulted in shows remaining subtitled only.

‘Re:Creators’ (2017)

TROYCA

Fictional characters from anime and video games are brought into the real world and forced to fight by a mysterious girl in military uniform. The creator of each story must confront their own creations while the government tries to contain the destruction caused by these powered beings. The show deconstructs the relationship between authors and their work with meta-commentary on the entertainment industry. This action-heavy series was another Amazon exclusive that did not receive a dubbed release.

‘Eromanga Sensei’ (2017)

A-1 Pictures

Masamune Izumi is a high school student who writes light novels and discovers that his reclusive illustrator is actually his younger stepsister Sagiri. Sagiri shuts herself in her room and only communicates through online streams or floor thumps while drawing artwork under a pen name. The siblings navigate their new professional relationship while dealing with rival authors and publishers in the industry. Aniplex of America released the series on home video but opted not to produce an English dub.

‘Detroit Metal City’ (2008)

Hakusensha

Soichi Negishi is a gentle young man who dreams of writing trendy pop songs but finds success as the lead singer of a death metal band. He adopts the persona of Johannes Krauser II and performs vulgar acts on stage that contradict his actual personality. The comedy arises from his struggle to balance his double life and keep his metal career a secret from the girl he likes. The extreme nature of the lyrics and content has kept this cult hit from being dubbed.

‘Sound of the Sky’ (2010)

A-1 Pictures

Kanata Sorami joins the military as a bugler and is assigned to a remote outpost in a post-apocalyptic world. She bonds with the other female soldiers in her platoon while they protect a town that preserves old traditions. The show mixes slice-of-life elements with a melancholic backstory about the war that destroyed civilization. Aniplex released the series in North America but it never received an English voice track.

‘Plastic Memories’ (2015)

Doga Kobo

Tsukasa Mizugaki lands a job at the Terminal Service which retrieves androids known as Giftias before their lifespan expires and they lose their memories. He is partnered with a Giftia named Isla and tasked with collecting these androids from their owners in emotional farewells. The series explores themes of mortality and what it means to have a soul through a sci-fi romance lens. Despite its popularity among tear-jerker anime fans it remains available only with subtitles.

‘Silver Spoon’ (2013–2014)

A-1 Pictures

Yugo Hachiken flees the academic pressure of city life to enroll in an agricultural high school in Hokkaido. He is initially overwhelmed by the hard manual labor and the reality of raising animals for food but slowly gains respect for the farming lifestyle. The story was created by Hiromu Arakawa who also wrote ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ and draws from her own upbringing on a dairy farm. The series offers an educational and heartwarming look at agriculture without an English dub.

‘Daily Lives of High School Boys’ (2012)

SUNRISE

Tadakuni and his two friends Hidenori and Yoshitake attend an all-boys high school and engage in absurd skits about their mundane lives. The sketches cover everything from role-playing imaginary scenarios to awkward encounters with girls from the neighboring school. It serves as a comedic counterpart to the cute girls doing cute things genre by focusing on the stupidity of teenage boys. NIS America licensed the home video release but released it as a subtitle-only collection.

‘Wandering Son’ (2011)

AIC Classic

Shuichi Nitori is a young boy who wishes to be a girl and Yoshino Takatsuki is a young girl who wishes to be a boy. They become friends and navigate the complexities of gender identity and puberty as they enter middle school. The series is praised for its delicate watercolor art style and sensitive portrayal of transgender themes. It remains one of the few anime to tackle this subject matter seriously and has never been dubbed.

‘Usagi Drop’ (2011)

Production I.G

Daikichi Kawachi is a thirty-year-old bachelor who impulsively decides to adopt his grandfather’s illegitimate six-year-old daughter Rin. He adjusts his lifestyle to become a single parent and learns the difficulties and joys of raising a child. The anime adapts the first half of the manga and focuses entirely on the wholesome bond between father and daughter. The show is widely regarded as a parenting classic but has only ever been released with subtitles.

‘Humanity Has Declined’ (2012)

AIC A.S.T.A.

The human population has dwindled significantly and the Earth is now populated by small fairies with advanced technology and a love for sweets. An unnamed female mediator travels between human settlements and fairy villages to resolve disputes and mishaps. The show uses pastel visuals to mask a cynical and satirical tone that critiques modern society and consumerism. Sentai Filmworks released the series on Blu-ray but did not commission an English dub.

‘Kyousougiga’ (2013)

Toei Animation

A young girl named Koto crashes into a mirror world that was created by a monk who could bring his drawings to life. She searches for her mother while interacting with the eccentric siblings who govern this chaotic dimension where humans and youkai coexist. The series features vibrant colors and fluid animation that captures a sense of family drama amidst magical mayhem. It is an original work by Toei Animation that has remained without a dub despite its visual flair.

‘The Eccentric Family’ (2013–2017)

P.A.WORKS

The Shimogamo family consists of tanuki who can shapeshift into humans and live among the people of modern Kyoto. The third son Yasaburo tries to live a fun life while dealing with tengu and humans who pose a threat to his kind. The story weaves folklore and family drama together in a setting where magical creatures hide in plain sight. NIS America released the series with subtitles but never produced a dubbed version.

‘Non Non Biyori’ (2013–2021)

SILVER LINK.

Hotaru Ichijo moves from Tokyo to a tiny village where the local school has only five students of different ages in the same class. She befriends the other children and adjusts to the slow and peaceful pace of life in the countryside. The show is a healing slice-of-life series that focuses on playing outdoors and appreciating the changing seasons. Despite having three seasons and a movie the franchise has never received an English dub.

‘Servant x Service’ (2013)

A-1 Pictures

Lucy Yamagami joins the civil service to find the employee who approved her ridiculously long name so she can complain to them. She works in the health and welfare section of a government ward office alongside other quirky public servants. The show highlights the mundane and stressful aspects of office work with a romantic comedy twist. It is set in the same universe as ‘Working!!’ but has also never been dubbed.

‘Nisekoi’ (2014–2015)

SHAFT

Raku Ichijo is the son of a yakuza boss who is forced to pretend to date Chitoge Kirisaki to prevent a gang war. He searches for the girl he made a promise to ten years ago while managing his fake relationship and a growing harem of admirers. The anime features the distinctive visual style of studio Shaft with exaggerated reactions and head tilts. Aniplex of America released both seasons on Blu-ray without an English audio track.

‘Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend’ (2015–2017)

A-1 Pictures

Tomoya Aki is an otaku who recruits beautiful girls from his school to help him create a visual novel game. He tries to mold a plain classmate named Megumi Kato into the perfect heroine for his story. The series acts as a meta-commentary on dating sims and anime tropes while developing the relationships between the creators. It remained subtitled throughout its two television seasons and the finale movie.

‘Oreimo’ (2010–2013)

AIC Build

Kyosuke Kosaka discovers that his seemingly perfect younger sister Kirino is secretly a hardcore otaku who loves eroge games. He agrees to help her keep her hobby a secret from their strict parents and acts as her confidant. The series explores the stigma surrounding otaku culture and the rocky relationship between the siblings. The show was a major hit for Aniplex but never received an English dub for either of its seasons.

‘Grand Blue Dreaming’ (2018)

NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan

Iori Kitahara moves to a coastal town for college and joins a diving club that spends more time drinking and partying than swimming. He gets dragged into the antics of the muscular upperclassmen and struggles to maintain a normal college life. The comedy relies heavily on visual gags and over-the-top reactions to the chaotic drinking culture. Amazon streamed the series exclusively and it remains without an official English dub.

‘Katanagatari’ (2010)

White Fox

Shichika Yasuri is a martial artist who fights without a sword and travels with the strategist Togame to collect twelve legendary blades. Each episode is nearly an hour long and focuses on dialogue and character development as much as the battles. The art style is unique and mimics the look of traditional Japanese paintings with flat colors and distinct character designs. The series is written by Nisio Isin and shares his signature wordplay which poses challenges for localization.

‘Mononoke’ (2007)

Toei Animation

A mysterious medicine seller travels across feudal Japan to exorcise malevolent spirits known as mononoke. He must learn the Form, Truth, and Reason of each spirit before he can unsheathe his sword to slay it. The animation looks like moving paper textures with psychedelic colors that create a horror atmosphere unlike any other anime. It is a spin-off of the ‘Ayakashi’ horror anthology and has gained a cult following despite lacking a dub.

‘Beelzebub’ (2011–2012)

Chukyo TV

Tatsumi Oga is a delinquent student at a high school for juvenile offenders who is chosen to raise the infant son of the Demon King. The baby is attached to his back and shocks him with electricity whenever he gets too far away or displeases the child. The series mixes supernatural action with school life comedy as Oga tries to pass the baby off to someone stronger. Discotek Media rescued the license for streaming and home video but did not dub the sixty-episode run.

‘Sket Dance’ (2011–2012)

Studio Tulip

Three high school students form a club dedicated to solving any problems brought to them by the student body. They handle requests ranging from finding lost pets to helping with serious personal issues while engaging in random banter. The show is often compared to ‘Gintama’ due to its episodic humor and the fact that the author was a former assistant to Hideaki Sorachi. It ran for nearly eighty episodes but never received an English voice adaptation.

‘Cross Game’ (2009–2010)

TV Tokyo

Ko Kitamura aims to become the ace pitcher of his high school baseball team to fulfill a promise to a girl who passed away. He grows up alongside her sister Aoba who is a talented pitcher herself but cannot play officially because she is a girl. The series is a touching sports drama that focuses heavily on character relationships and coping with loss. Viz Media released the manga in English but the fifty-episode anime remains subtitled.

‘Karakuri Circus’ (2018–2019)

Studio VOLN

Masaru Saiga inherits a vast fortune and becomes the target of puppets controlled by his sinister relatives. He is protected by a martial artist named Narumi and a woman named Shirogane who wields a massive puppet of her own. The sprawling epic spans generations and continents involving a curse and a war between automata and puppeteers. The complex narrative was compressed into thirty-six episodes and streamed exclusively by Amazon without a dub.

‘Iroduku: The World in Colors’ (2018)

P.A.WORKS

Hitomi Tsukishiro is a colorblind girl from a family of witches who is sent back in time to the year 2018 by her grandmother. She attends high school with her teenage grandmother and joins the photography club where she begins to see colors again. The series features stunning background art and a gentle story about finding emotions and connecting with others. It was an Amazon exclusive title that remains available only in Japanese with subtitles.

‘Boarding School Juliet’ (2018)

LIDENFILMS

Romio Inuzuka and Juliet Persia are the leaders of rival dormitories at a boarding school that houses students from two warring nations. They are secretly in love and must keep their relationship hidden to avoid starting a massive conflict between the student bodies. The show is a comedic retelling of Romeo and Juliet with over-the-top action and school hijinks. It streamed on Amazon Prime Video and did not receive an English dub.

‘Kaiba’ (2008)

Madhouse

In a universe where memories can be stored on chips and transferred between bodies a man wakes up with no memory and a hole in his chest. He travels through space to different planets and switches bodies while evading authorities and searching for his identity. Masaaki Yuasa directed this series which features a deceptively simple art style reminiscent of classic cartoons. It explores deep themes of identity and the commodification of the human soul without an English dub.

‘Amagami SS’ (2010)

Anime International Company

Junichi Tachibana finds himself heartbroken on Christmas Eve but decides to try his luck at love again two years later. The anime is adapted from a dating simulation game and is split into separate arcs for each of the main heroines. The story resets after every few episodes to show how a romance would develop with a different girl. Sentai Filmworks released the series on home video with Japanese audio only.

‘Tari Tari’ (2012)

P.A.WORKS

Five high school students form a choir club to pursue their love of music after being rejected from the official school choir. They work together to recruit members and prepare for a recital while dealing with their individual family issues and future aspirations. The show is a heartwarming story about friendship and the joy of singing together. It was another P.A. Works production that was released in the West without an English dub.

‘Slow Start’ (2018)

CloverWorks

Hana Ichinose is a shy girl who enrolls in high school a year late because she missed her entrance exams due to illness. She tries to keep this gap year a secret from her new friends for fear of being judged. The series features incredibly fluid character animation and focuses on the cute and gentle interactions between the girls. Aniplex of America released the series on Blu-ray but did not include an English dub.

Tell us which of these anime you most wish would receive an English dub in the comments.