can you recommend me anime to watch?
I'm not particularly into anime, I like it just as much as live action shows or other types of animation. Having said that, I feel like watching some and I'm not sure what to pick.
Here's a list of other anime shows I've watched/manga and novels I've read, so you can better judge what to recommend. ( would greatly appreciate the story to be completed, I hate waiting years for closure) :
Full Metal Alchemist, Naruto : both great stories, I've read the mangas and loved them. They wouldn't be a priority to watch because I already read them.
Attack on Titan: started with the anime, it was great, switched to the manga, got extremely disappointed with the story development and its ending. It felt a bit like nonsense for me.
Dragon Ball/Z : probably my favourite, I've rewatched it recently. I don't like GT and Super.
Overlord: I've read good part of the novel and manga. I'm liking it so far
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: please No thanks. Not for me.
Death Note: loved the first arc, not a fan of the ending but no hate for it unlike with AOT.
I also recall Escaflowne and Inuyasha, they were alright but not something I've loved or hated. Cowboy Bebop also in this category, excellent visually and great OST but the story wasn't as gripping.
Other than that... Feel free to suggest any other titles! Extra thanks if you are specific about any versions and why is the show so great.
TIA
My recs, roughly in order of what I'm predicting that you'll like the best, based on what you said.
A few classics that I feel like they should be mentioned, but don't relate well to what you said that you liked:
Some old style isekais, since you mentioned that you liked Overlord:
I don't recommend the anime, but check the manga if possible:
Wow you went above and beyond with the recs menu, thank you. TTGL sounds interesting when you put it like that! Appreciate the other recommendations too. As for the movies- I was looking for series, and yes I've seen most of studio Ghibli ones, Chihiro and Totoro being the two I liked the most.
Tengen is freakin awesome!! It's such a good entertaining anime.
Wow maybe I should read Elfen Lied because I remember the anime fondly, but maybe it was just the shock factor of discovering the story for the first time that made me gloss over any flaws. Was a long time ago too.
I heavily recommend reading the manga. It contextualises Lucy's actions better, makes Kohta look less like your typical "powerless boy" throwing random tantrums and more like a genuinely traumatised and conflicted one, and it delivers the message of the story better. The anime was fun back then, partially due to its violent nature, but I think that it aged poorly. (Notable exception: Lilium, the opening song, is still as beautiful as it was back then. Also the lyrics make more sense in the context of the manga than in the anime.)
Yesss, that reminded me I sampled a toy box version of this in an old track of mine.
I'll put that manga on my to-read in tachiyomi, thanks!
If you like DBZ you would probably like Hunter X Hunter and Yuyu Hakusho. These two are both written by the same person and have similar vibes but the story and setting are very different. HxH especially is very widely acclaimed for good reason. In this vein you may also like Black Clover.
Anime that I'd recommend in general would be Akame Ga Kill, Mahou Shouju Madoka Magicka (watch 3-4 episodes, trust the process), Parasyte, Gurren Laggann, One Punch Man, Angel Beats, Katanagatari, Made In Abyss, and Berserk (1997),
If you want to get in your feelings: Erased, Kotaro Lives Alone, and The Promised Neverland (season 1 only). Spy X Family (cute and silly but very good)
Some current very popular DBZ-esque anime is My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer Kimetso no Yaiba.
Oh boy. I'm not the kind of person that rewatches shows, but I've seen Yu Yu Hakusho 3 times and HxH twice. Both of them are just so excellent. I had no idea they were by the same guy. That's awesome
I watched Yu Yu Hakusho only once, and several episodes when it aired on Cartoon Network many years ago.
As I just finished recently I can say that I loved it, although I'm not sure if I would re watch it again, I feel like it peaked at the Dark Tournament arc, which is not a bad thing, but I struggled a bit to finish it after that.
About HxH is on my backlog!
Some say it is better than Yu Yu Hakusho, some say the latter is the best, so well, only one way to find out.
Okay, points for Hunter X noted... Thank you for all the recommendations!
I’m not particularly into anime either, but I thought that “The Devil Is A Part-Timer” and “One Punch Man” were really funny and clever.
I’m also not much of an anime fan but The Devil Is A Part-Timer was indeed entertaining
Serial Experiments of Lain!
Cult classic! Duvet is such a great song
Ooof, watched that yeeeeaaaaars ago. I remember it being pretty psycho and disturbing. Not sure if this still holds up today but it's definitely not everyones cup of tea.
Still haven't finished this one..
I'd recommend the movie Akira (1988). It's pretty much a classic from the era of early anime, extremely detailed animation and official English dub.
Yes, that's an excellent one. I've watched the movie and the manga is epic. 100% with you on that one. I didn't list as I was thinking mostly series, not movies.
Haikyu is great. It’s about volleyball and follows the same sort of theme of DBZ about constantly pushing to improve.
If you liked the environment and feel of Cowboy Bebop you might enjoy Samurai Champloo. Same director but replace jazz with hip hop and space with feudal Japan. I think it’s a masterpiece.
Completely agreed on Samurai Champloo, I'm yet to watch something else that floored me as much as that show did. I watched it several times over the years. It helps that I'm a massive trip-hop head and the soundtrack is made by legendary producer Nujabes (RIP).
I have heard so much about Haikyu, I could not care less about volleyball, but I have read it, somehow does not matter to enjoy it.
That's interesting, I usually eschew when a sport is the main theme in a show. But you're saying it's enjoyable regardless of the volley?
Volleyball is just the vehicle for the themes of the story.
That is what I have been told, I couldn't say for sure because I haven't watched it, but it is sitting in my backlog though.
Samurai Champloo
Psycho-Pass
Koe No Katachi
Jujutsu Kaisen
Chainsaw Man
Made In Abyss
Sonny Boy (fucked up, looks nice tho)
Ghost in the Shell(1995) and the Stand Alone Complex series(2 seasons and a movie) are great.
Purists may hate the suggestion of an American studio but... Avatar, legend of aang and korra are both great
Nick just opened a whole studio devoted to making more series in the universe so maybe a good time to check them out. The first series is perfection and Korra has some amazing highs (and lows that aren’t really the series’ fault but the exec’s fault)
Fun fact: People in the industry say that Avatar has such great animation and choreography that they are heavily ripped off, I mean, referenced, in the making of other western animated action shows. I should definitely check it out
Oh interesting thanks I'll definitely look that up! loved the world building, progression and growth from aang to korra
Totally agree on the highs and lows, Amon was such a good introductory antagonist and the suspense at the end of season 1 was something else, some things just seemed resolve themselves a bit too quickly!
Yes, I heard good things about Avatar! Cheers
Here's a couple of fairly comprehensive recommendation flow charts I grabbed off Reddit a while back (well before all the recent shit):
https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/d7ogclnrbwy.png
https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/pyq9cznb394.png
Thank you, only the second one loads for me. Looks useful!
Not the person you replied to but his first link has a spelling error hence it's not opening.
Try this link instead
Legend! Thanks
I feel like your anime history is pretty similar to mine and I love Code Geass.
That's a compelling argument. Okay then, note taken!
Code Geass is very death notey. Main protagonist is super smart and very good at planning and anticipating every detail. Ending was pretty clever too.
It sounds like you tend to like shows with good story lines, and don't seem to mind older shows/animation as much. Simply based on their story telling, these are probably my 3 favorites.
Seconding Ergo Proxy!
Thank you! I never heard about the first two, they sound good.
As for Fruit Basket- haven't heard about it in ages! Back in the day, it was precisely the highschool slice of life that put me off. No idea it got a remake. Typically I don't like when a show makes me cry. I already have a real life for that. I seek excitement, mystery, action, escapism. But it's good to know it has a good plot, I'll keep it in mind.
The original Bubblegum Crisis of course.
Never heard of this show before. Quick search tells me the original is the 1987 version? In few words, what makes it so good?
Renegade industrial robots, cute kickass heroines, an evil megacorp ... you know, stuff.
Bubblegum Crisis is also where a lot of inspiration for a lot of cyberpunk films around that time came from. That, and Ghost in the Shell heavily influenced the cyberpunk genre. I've not seen Bubblegum Crisis, but the original GitS (as well as Stand Alone Complex) are also fantastic.
Ohh I see. One of those shows that fly under the radar of the masses but every other show rips off of, like Akira? I liked GiTS, I'll keep the other recs in mind
I wouldn't exactly call it under the radar, they made 3 series, a reboot (2042) and a spinoff (AD Police). But it was very popular because of the high quality animation, good plot and great soundtrack.
I'm not big into Anime, but FMA and Initial D have become my favorites to watch time and time again.
Initial D has this weird underlying pedo sub plot in it. I tried watching it again and it's just off putting.
Ohh yeah that rich guy with the school girl? Huh, I forgot about that. Yikes, I wonder why that was even a part that needed put in the anime. Her story/character is the worst part of Initial D IMO, even without the pedo sub plot.
Initial D is really more about relationships than it is about racing. I think her story is important because some girls do end up in situations like that either willingly or unwillingly. Either way, Initial D shows the complications that come with having a secret unhealthy relationship. It is uncomfortable to watch, but I appreciate that the show takes the situation seriously and not as some running gag joke.
Seems to be a confluence of One Piece popularity right now. If you start watching the anime you be caught up around the time the final airs - which is in 3-4 years, which goes to show how much you have to watch through.
Yeah I heard lots of praise but couldn't get myself to watch it, it's visually not something that catches my eye and there is nothing about the plot premise that lures me (at least from what I've read- spoiler free). Perhaps I would love it if I give it a chance, after all that's how DBZ went for me. But I've never heard anyone tell me what makes the show so good. It's just "watch it, it's good"
I couldn't get into it. I already did DBZ. No time for Naruto or One Piece
First of all, I probably won't watch it because of just how long it is (and the art-style). But the plot is one of the best ever written, asking some surprisingly deep questions about freedom, power and corruption, while still being fun and enjoyable by young boys and teenagers.
So... You know this because you read the manga or...?
I've only read parts of the manga, as I find the artstyle rather jarring. I know the story because half my friends won't stop talking about it. I then read blogs and articles about aspects / characters who interest me.
3-gatsu no lion or in English: March comes in like a lion. One of the best anime series I've ever watched.
I hate cliche anime bs so I usually can't stand regular slice of life or shonen but this slice of life feels a lot more real with minimal anime bs.
If you don't like anime bs, I'd highly recommend it. By anime bs I mean like high school kids, power of friendship, fan service, etc.
That's an interesting way of recommending. I'll keep in mind
Can't stand anime bs. What's some anime that I can specifically avoid for fan service?
If you are not joking and are looking for anime with can service, there is a great youtube series that is really entertaining called "Good Anime You Can't Watch In Public". You can check that series out as there are some spicy anime on that list. Here's the first video in the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEhZRXA3zNE
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=AEhZRXA3zNE
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Thanks, I will definitely check this list.
I really hope Grenadier is on here.
Grave of the fireflies
on that note, Miyazaki's filmography. just all of it
Fairy Tail has kinda a DBZ vibe, but the fights are over with in one or two episodes, not 45. (Funimation)
If you like suspense and psychological thriller, and don't mind subtitles, Kaiji is an excellent watch. It's about a man who cosigned a loan with a friend, from a bunch of loan sharks, and has to play increasingly deadly games to try to regain his life. It will take you for a ride. (Crunchyroll)
I really enjoyed Dr Stone. An apocalypse occurs, petrifying the entire world. Humanity starts to slowly awaken, and they try to rebuild the world while fighting against an opposing group trying to start a new world order. At least for season one. I haven't cought up recently cuz my depression has been kicking my ass. (Funimation)
That's all I got off the top of my head, and I hope it helps.
Edit: If you like Kaiji, it has two separate side stories.
Akagi is set in the 70s, I think, and is about a man who is apparently a savant at Mahjong, and ends up playing against a mob boss. wagering his blood against the bosses fortune. The show is really good at trying to explain the rules to the uninitiated without being condescending, and still keeping it suspenseful and engaging.
The other is Mr. Tonegawa's Middle Management Blues, more of a slice of life workplace comedy, centering around one of the antagonists of Kaiji, and trying to manage his employees while pleasing his boss. I didn't finish this one, cuz I got the point about halfway through, but I had fun while it lasted.
And I just remembered Cells At Work, also subbed, but an excellent romp which I would call "edutainment," but don't let that dissuade you! It anthropomorphizes different cells of the human body, describing their functions in kinda a slice-of-life meets monster of the week format. The white blood cells are the knife-weilding defence force of the human body, cutting down Power Ranger monsters that never were. Again, don't get put off by the edutainment label, cuz the edu and the tainment both hit hard.
Thanks for the thorough recommendations! Will keep in mind. Cells at Work makes me think of Ozzy and Drix, which I liked ha. Cheers!
I will warn you, just in case you are sensitive, there is literally comical amounts of blood when a WBC cuts down a virus. Like, ten foot tall blood spurts, with them drenched in blood. No gore or viscera though.
Thanks, I see it has a Tarantino touch to it. No problem
Feel you with Attack on Titan - goes into some weird places and I lost interest.
Have you tried Initial D? Old school 90's early 2000's teen comedy drama about street racing. It's really funny and touching at the right moments.
Now I'm a sucker for space westerns, so I gotta hype Trigun. If you liked Fullmetal Alchemist it has a lot to offer you.
Trigun was a gateway anime for me. And Orphen. But Trigun remains one of my favourites. It's not too long, has amazing subtle world building, and such fun characters
Okay... Noted :)
My friend recently told me about Vinland Saga
Campfire cooking in another world
The iyashikei genre needs more love. It's the perfect type of show for after a long day at work.
Bubblegum Crisis The Guyver
All the series I recommends below are complete. (tells story from start to end)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (There are TV series and movies that both tell similar story but not the same, TV series have darker story)
Kill la Kill
Blast of Tempest
Assassination Classroom
Back Arrow (first half of series is meh but it becomes better and better)
Mob psycho 100
Summer Time Render
Inuyashiki: The Last Hero is a great short story, 11 episodes with a cool premise.
Parasyte: The Maxim has great action and premise as well, also finishes relatively quick.
I’ve only seen a couple anime over the years, but I really enjoyed the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on Netflix
If you liked edgerunners you should check out Gurren Lagann and Kill La Kill, same creators.
Another, The Devil is a Part timer, Noragami, and Food Wars
If you want some 80s badassery, Hokuto no Ken.
Listen to the opening, "Ai wo Torimodose" and decide if it's to your liking or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9hhDEfV4uo
https://piped.video/watch?v=T9hhDEfV4uo for the Piped buddies
Haven't seen these mentioned yet:
This is one of the newer shows made by Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo). Follows the crew of a small terrorist organization as they implement their various plots - lots of intrigue that makes you want to keep watching.
Follows a boxer's journey in a semi-dystopian future. Very mature and themes of adulthood, especially season 2. And I mean real life mature, not gore and titties. I've never watched an anime that I found so relatable as an adult human being. Music is also extremely top tier and I'm personally a huge fan of it's animation style.
You are right, I think you are the first one suggesting these two. Thank you!
Cowboy Bebop, the series and movie. I'm not particularly into anime either but the story, characters, music and animation are all top tier.
Yup I've listed it last, it a good show and I agree on all scores with you except the story, which for some reason feels a bit too relaxed for me. But it is good, no doubt
The latest anime that wowed me was to your Eternity, especially if your into Eastern philosophy and stuff.
Hells paradise also wowed me as a straight battle Shonen that is quite beautiful, with lots of spiritual themes.
One Piece holds a special place in my heart. Watch up until time skip, then read manga.
Vinland Saga is amazing. Straight up. Great study of politics and humans search for power and inner peace.
For the record I consider HxH and FMA:b to be Shonen high water marks.
Hmm something tells me code geass is looking like a good choice. Thanks for the detailed suggestions!
Okay... I hope you didn't spoil it for me then? Thanks for the recommendation!
Steins;Gate is my all time favourite anime and I wish there were more shows like it. It's also the only show I've ever watched more than twice (and I've only ever watched 3 shows more than once including S;G).
My favorites are Steins;Gate, Steins;Gate 0, From the New World and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Both have excellent stories.
For what they are:
Doot duh doo
HNNKN is great!
I'm also not a huge anime fan, so my interests in the genre are pretty selective. The anime shows that I tend to enjoy are ones that usually aren't ongoing stories, and wrap up their narrative lines within a season or two. That said, I absolutely loved Hellsing and Hellsing: Ultimate (which is a sort of "reimagining" of the original series, if I recall correctly). They've got some of the most entertaining action scenes I've seen. The CastleVania series on Netflix is also pretty fun, though it starts to get pretty weird in the later seasons (though I'm feeling hopeful for the new CastleVania series that they just teased). I've also recently enjoyed Chainsaw Man, and am pretty excited for the next season to come out.
I also highly recommend Redline. It's not a series, but a standalone film, and it's one of my favorite movies ever. If you're at all familiar with the F-ZERO games, think of that, but as an anime.
Thanks for the suggestions, haven't heard of redline or Hellsing much . I'll see what these are about
The boondocks has been a pleasure so far.
You should absollutly give a chance to Vindland Saga. In my opinion, its very mature story with a lot of great characters, extreamly good music and great plot. Anime has great animation, season one is from WIT (AoT first seasons, Spy x Family), second season is from MAPPA (Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, last AoT season) so top studios.
Second, you should check Cyberpunk Edgerunners, its awesome and very good proposition for not hard core anime watchers.
Both are on Netflix.
I'm gonna take some leaps If you like the mind games parts of death note (since you seem to like the first part) I recommend trying Kaiji. My personal fav and one that got me changing my expectation of anime. If you like DBZ I assume it's the fighting. And even though the first assumption is people who like Anime probably will hate sports , sports anime are usually just tournaments for battling. If you want superpowers, I might recommend Kuruko No Basuke. I you want Mind Games, maybe One Outs. If you want something more modern, Haikyuu is a good shout.
A general shounen? Fate/Zero is pretty safe to try.
When it comes to recommendations, realistically there are lots of great anime movies to give yourself more context for what to watch
These are all just based on what you've mentioned but they're still a lot of spectrum for anime you could enjoy but haven't tried
No one mentioning Neon Genesis Evangelion, it’s only the greatest anime of all time.
Can you be a bit more specific please? I heard a lot of contradictory opinions on it, although to be fair perhaps I'm mixing them up with other Evangelion releases. Basically I get "this is the best thing ever, just because so", or " yeah it seems promising first but then gets weird and meh". Judging from who's saying what ( irl ) I think I'd be inclined to be on the "meh" band, but if you want to clarify I'm all ears/eyes
I watched it early on when I got into anime and I missed the point of it because of it as it's kind of playing off anime (especially Gundam) tropes you might want to get more familiar with to get the message.
Japan had a tradition of both animated and live-action shows about giant piloted robots called mechas. Neon Genesis Evangelion is considered the peak of this tradition, containing both excellent action scenes and asking the viewer what sort of world would build giant robots and let unstable teens drive them. It is just 26 episodes, each 20 minutes long. I would suggest watching it first and then reading more about it or watching the hundreds of videos trying to explain what it means. Many consider it to be the greatest anime ever made. Be warned that it is sometimes gory and confusing, although much less than people often claim.
An intellectual challenge, I see. Okay. I'll consider it
Consider watching the original Gundam anime first. It's time consuming and not the greatest (although decent) anime and it can feel a little dated but I would've liked to watch NGE after I watched that. Knowing the author of NGE watched it in his youth gives you a really good idea of the intentions he had when he created NGE.
Sure. For me, really cool mecha vs kaiju fights almost every episode, everyday but interesting people as the characters, and I think the overarching story behind the angels is interesting, even if it’s a bit convoluted.
It’s short and sweet at only 26 episodes and if you’re not hooked within the first 2-3 episodes I would not watch anymore.
I do not really spend time watching anime unless it really appeals to me.
I can't believe no one's recommended My Hero Academia! What a great show.
If you mentioned Ghost in the Shell then I must mention the two movies (original and Innocence). They're very important because they're both one-off's made by iconic directors and graphical artists, with their own style, distinct from the manga and the series. They're both amazing works of art, the soundtrack, the art, the plot, the cultural references, everything is top notch.
I actually love both movies and the manga goes very deep, but I read somewhere in the thread that he was looking for series and not so much movies.
If you love GitS, I recommend Patlabor movies (though the 3rd isn't very good), if you haven't already seen them.
Cowboy Bebop
I'm a little disappointed that Hajime No Ippo wasn't mentioned. It's from the early 2000s, plays in the late 80s and it's about boxing. The writing and how fleshed out the characters are is unexpectedly good for that kind of setup and it's one of my absolute favorites.
Two great comical animes are golden boy and great teacher onizuka but they have a lot of cliche anime perverted jokes I can see putting off a lot of people especially when they're not deep into anime.
Then there's goblin slayer but you might want to look up the controversy about the first episode before you go blindly into it.
I'll piggyback here to mention Yawara! for another great cross between sports (women's judo) and teenage drama/comedy. They did a great job on the anime but IIRC it only covers part of the manga. It's a great feminine counterpart to Hajime no Ippo.
If you are not joking, there is a great youtube series that is really entertaining called "Good Anime You Can't Watch In Public". You can check that series out as there are some spicy anime on that list. Here's the first video in the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEhZRXA3zNE
The Adventures of Little Koala
One of my favorites is Black Rock Shooter. It's a bit wierd around the edges and it's presented as this girly slice of life but it's actually deeper and very cool