Good Anime

[Solstice]

Hello, fellow anime fans! Or more precisely, hello to people who are anime-curious and have no idea where to start, or feel like maybe there's no good anime in the world, and I'm a lying liar. This is fair. Your opinions are valid, here.

Look, I don't know you. Or maybe I do. That's not important right now. I have no idea what genres you like, so I'll just rattle off what I think are some pretty safe bets and their synopses. As it's generally off-putting, I've tried to focus on shows that I know have minimal-to-no "fanservice" - and if any, nothing that you wouldn't see in a movie with a similar rating.

Non-Ghibli Movies (Because recommending Ghibli is often redundant)

• Your Name (2016) - The less you know about this movie, the better, but it's one of the most lavishly beautiful and wonderfully-scored movies that I can recall. Makoto Shinkai is known for his signature style of bittersweet romances, and this is a small departure from that. The elevator pitch: Two disparate characters from rural and urban Japan respectively find they're only occasionally swapping bodies with one another, and in trying to solve the mystery as to why this is happening, learn about one another's lives - because they've never met. [Available on YouTube]
  

• A Silent Voice (2017) - A wonderful adaptation by Kyoto Animation. The leading minutes are a difficult watch, because this is a show about bullying, and the psychological toll it can take on all parties involved. The victim and their families, people who tacitly participated by not stopping it, perpetuated by the dangers of group-think and 'not wanting to be the one to rock the boat'. That being said, this movie is at its core a story about what it means to make amends, and as difficult as the leading minutes are, it makes for a beautifully animated, rock-solid character drama. Everyone is believable, not everyone is redeemable, but it's above-all consistent. [Available on Netflix]
  

• Wolf Children (2013) - Directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who did the also-wonderful movies The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, Wolf Children is a story about motherhood, coming of age, and trying to do the right thing for your children, even when you're still trying to figure what 'best' actually means for either of your children. Small in scope as a tight-knit family drama, but larger than life. [Clicky for Trailer]
  

• Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018) - Everything that's magical in this world is beginning to ebb away, and everyone knows it. Wyvern-like creatures called Renato are domesticated and dying, largely due to their domestication. Nations are fighting over the political leverage that can be gained by clinging to any last bit of magic they can before it goes away forever, and an ageless people called the Iorph (totally elves) are caught in the crossfire. The story is more intimate in scope than the backdrop, as its principle cast is small. The backdrops are to die for, and the sense of melancholy and joy that oozes from every pore of this production is wonderful. Pacing issues in places are what lowers it on this list. A wonderful watch. [Available on Tubi]
  

Shows

Okay. This is going to be a work in progress, I'm certain, because there are so many god damn genres and I can't possibly think of all of them on the first pass while making any sort of workable elevator pitch, but I will do my absolute best.

Drama / Introspective

• Violet Evergarden - What does a soldier do when the fighting's over? Violet Evergarden follows a former child-soldier who finishes mending up after her last battle to find that the war is over. Left struggling for purpose, she decides to take an acquaintance up on his offer for help ghost-writing letters for those who can't find their words, which she herself is horribly inept at. Her growth through this position helps her to reevaluate and re-contextualize the emotions she's been bottling up. Mostly episodic in nature, but with a few overarching character threads that unravel gradually over time, with stories ranging from wholesome to heartbreaking. A Kyoto Animation tour-de-force. [Available on Netflix]
  

• Ano Hana: We Still Don't Know The Name Of The Flower We Saw That Day - No, stop. Don't run. I know the title is very long. Ano Hana is the story of a group of childhood friends called the 'Super Peace Busters' - so dubbed because they were like six, and it sounded cool at the time. Our main character Jinta Yadomi was seen as the friend group's leader, but the glue holding it all together is the endlessly optimistic if airheaded Meiko Honma - until one day, everything about their group dynamic changes. They drift apart, and Jinta becomes a shut-in, externalizing his anger in unhealthy ways that many of of will be able to recognize from our idiot teenage years as ourselves, or someone we knew. All of that changes when one of his old friends decides to pay him a visit - the only problem is that no one else can see her. It's up to Jinta to get out there and get the gang back together, and fix his rotten outlook on life in the process. The first half of the first episode has maybe 10 seconds of mild fan-service, but do not let that dissuade you from an otherwise solid exploration of love, loss, and change. [Available on Netflix]
  

Romance

• Toradora - A high-school romance featuring two socially outcast characters - one is judged by his appearances for looking 'too much like a Yakuza stereotype' and the other is a diminutive delinquent whose social skills need work, to say the least. Taiga is in love with Ryuuji's Best Friend, and Ryuuji is in love with Taiga's best friend. Their odds look slim alone, so they enlist one another's help to woo their respective partners. Every single character in this show fits well into the story, and has their own part to play. I'll argue until I'm blue that Taiga isn't a tsundere, but if the slapstick-violent female trope gets under your skin, you may wish to avoid this one. If it doesn't, buckle in for a wonderful character-driven romantic comedy. [Available on Netflix]
  

• Wotakoi - Love is Hard for Otaku - Thankfully, romance also exists outside of high schools. This romantic comedy focuses more on the nuance of being in a relationship and getting to know your partner more than the chase itself - and with the principle cast all some form of geek, there's plenty of relatability to be found here. [Available on Prime Video]
  

• Your Lie in April - Piano prodigy Arima Kosei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But the overwork and stress and a certain turning point left him with a mental block where he can no longer even hear the notes he's performing. Enter Miyazono Kaori. She's a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality, and Kosei is immediately fascinated. Unfortunately, she's already dating his best friend. [Available on Netflix]
  

Action/Adventure

• A Place Further Than the Universe - The 'Adventure' of Action/Adventure, this is a wonderful show of a group of teenagers aiming for an impossibly high goal - to raise the money required to book passage on an Antarctic Expedition. Though the four principal cast members all have their different reasons for wanting to partake in this adventure, the thrill and joy of exploration and just getting out there and doing something makes for a wonderfully charming and enjoyable ride. Not to be missed, and all but deserves its own category called 'Just Watch It'. An inspirational and wild ride of the highs and lows of travel. [Available on Crunchyroll]
  

• Demon Slayer - Possibly the most popular entry on this list as of the time of this writing. Fluid fighting animation and enjoyable characters elevate this above other shows of its kind. Thrust by necessity into a life of fighting demons in order to protect his sister, a young boy with a kind heart is forced to make difficult decisions. Along the way he's joined by a cast of like-minded individuals, and they... slay demons. The premise is simple as can be, but the execution is what really makes this special. [Available on Netflix]
  

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - A full remake of 'Fullmetal Alchemist', this is brought into the modern day with better animation and a storyline that is more consistent and faithfully follows the source material. Edward and Alphonse Elric experience a personal tragedy, and in trying to make things right violate the established taboos of alchemy and pay a heavy price - the former losing two limbs, and the latter even more. In seeking a way to correct their mistake, they become State Alchemists, solving others' problems on the side while trying to unravel the mysteries of alchemy - and unveiling a far-reaching conspiracy in the process. A classic for a reason. [Available on Netflix]
  

• My Hero Academia - Rapid genetic mutation and advancements mean that over 90% of the world has developed a unique ability called 'Quirks'. Naturally, this lends itself to heroes and villains. These manifest often around kindergarten or grade school. Midoriya Izuku is a mega-fan of the Number One Hero, 'All Might', and eagerly awaits his quirk's appearance only to discover that he lost the genetic lottery, and was born quirkless, putting an ungraceful end to his dreams of being a hero. Or does it? Can a quirkless individual be a hero? The absolute joy of this show is the wide array of powers on display, some of which are overpowered and others are so banal that they seem useless - and seeing the interplay between those two is easily half of the fun when the tables are turned on by the underpowered. [Available on Crunchyroll]
  

Mystery/Thriller/Supernatural

• Erased - Satoru Fujinuma has a supernatural ability of being able to relive the same moments that surround tragedies. Usually, this manifests by repeating time until the accident is prevented in fifteen-to-thirty second intervals. One day, he gets involved in an accident that has him framed as a murderer. In his desperation to solve this particular case, his power manifests by sending him back in time - all the way to grade-school, where he meets a young girl who died under mysterious circumstances. Unable to return to the present until he solves this mystery, he has no choice but to change course and solve the death of his classmate before he can solve the murder he's been framed for. [Available on Netflix]
  

• Fate/Zero - The best place to begin the Fate franchise, and the best place to end the Fate franchise. Urban Fantasy, where mages compete to claim the all-powerful holy grail, which can omnipotently grant the winner of the competition any wish they desire. To obtain it, they summon notable figures from history and fantasy as their familiars, called 'Heroic Spirits'. The first episode is notoriously slow, but if you can stick it out through a bunch of people circling eachother and explaining what I just did, it's a wonderful tale of combat, betrayal, the nature of power, the nature of leaders, and what it means to be a 'hero of legend' - and at what cost. Too dark to slide into the Action/Adventure category. Fans of World of Darkness and similar will take to this theme like ducks to water if they give it the time it need to exposit. [Available on Netflix]
  

• Puella Magi: Madoka Magicka - A subversion of the magical girl genre. If you've seen a single episode of Card-Captor Sakura or Sailor Moon, you'll have all the context you need to know what this show masterfully disassembles and creates dread and hopelessness in its place. [Available on Netflix]
  

• Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai - Okay, seriously, come back. This is the most unfortunately-named show in the world, and it makes a lot of people pass over it. Snappy dialog and compelling mysteries make this a show not to be missed. Sakuta Azusagawa finds himself in the center of several mysterious supernatural occurrences, from a girl who finds to her horror that she she's slowly becoming invisible to more and more people every day to someone who inexplicably finds herself repeating the same day - and dragging everyone else along for the ride until she gets it right. The title is crap, but the show (along with its sequel movie, Rascal Doesn't Dream of a Dreaming Girl) is an utter gem. [Available on Crunchyroll]
  

• Stein's;Gate - Okabe Rintarou has the annoying habit of sponging off of his friends and talking like his idea of a mad scientist, but he has very little to back up his bluster - he attends a scientific conference on Time Travel because he's fleetingly curious, and witnesses something that shakes him to his core.. and then goes home and faffs around for a few episodes, because he's not sure he even saw what he saw. This is a slow burn, but if you like time travel, this one pulls it off in spades. Give it the time it needs to establish itself. When the beat drops, it's a nonstop rollercoaster ride straight through 'til the end. [Available on Hulu]
  

• Wonder Egg Priority - Trigger warning, the show! Plunging into the depths of some extremely dark topics shouldn't be quite so compelling to watch, but the show handles every single occurrence with the weight and gravity it deserves. Ai witnesses the death of her only friend by suicide. On her way home, she is dropped unceremoniously at a vending machine that vends eggs that can't be cracked - at least, until the one who purchases the egg goes to sleep alongside of it. In the dreamscape that ensues, the egg hatches into a girl who's taken their own life and needs to be protected from the specters of what drove them to suicide to begin with. The objective? Protect enough eggs, and the person you're trying to see again will be reincarnated. Fortunately, Ai doesn't have to take this on alone - there are three other girls she encounters who have a similar objective. A wild and trippy ride that is an utter master-class in animation if you can stomach the material and a slightly rushed ending. [Available on Funimation]
  

Healing Anime

So, this is a genre. Basically, it's shorthand for shows that are about next-to-nothing and are great to just chill out to and unwind to. There's an absolute glut of them, but some stand out over the others.

• Girl's Last Tour - In defiance of the very name of this genre, the setting to this show is bleak. Civilization and the world are essentially dead, but Chito and Yuuri - two former soldiers - are still alive. They wander the ruins of the world, exploring and coming to terms with their situation both with humor and with introspection, hunting for fuel, cooking, and every so often encountering a fellow survivor. Melancholy, hopeful, funny, and sorrowful all wrapped up into one easily digestible package. Life is what we make it. [Available on Prime Video]
  

• Laid-Back Camp - Girls going camping in the region surround Mt. Fuji. That's it. That's the show. But it is just the comfiest thing in the entire world, and is quite informative about modern camping practices, ways to keep entertained during camping trips, and a glut of inviting scenery, cozy scarves, warm food, and everything that makes winter camping a joy. [Available on Crunchyroll]
  

• Mushishi - Like a bedtime story. Self-contained stories of weird events happening to people revolving around 'Mushi' (basically spirits), and a wandering traveler with an affinity for seeing and studying them, trying to help them out. Results are mixed. Outcomes are uncertain. Endings are hopeful, endings are bleak, but it's always hauntingly soothing. There's often no moral - much like life. It's lovely, but I recommend pacing yourself. It's a difficult one to just binge because it's so episodic. [Available on Tubi]
  

• Sweetness and Lightning - A single father want to learn how to cook in order to make delicious lunches for his daughter. It's fluffy and adorable and I can't even with this cream-puff of a show. The food all looks delicious, and every character is precious. [Available on Crunchyroll]
  

Comedy

• Kaguya-sama: Love Is War - In the prodigious school of Shuchiin Academy, Kaguya - The Student Council Vice President is definitely in love with Shirogane - The Student Council President. Shirogane is definitely in love with Kaguya. But they're both too obstinate and proud to admit it, and have opted to trick one another into confessing in increasingly elaborate or nonsensical ways, because they view the act of confession as tantamount to accepting defeat. The results are often hilarious, in no small part because they're both as utterly inept at love as they are capable in academics. [Available on Hulu]
  

Classics

Sometimes, you just feel like going back to the roots. These aren't always relevant today, but they undeniably shaped the industry. I probably don't need to go into too much detail here.

• Cowboy Bebop - Space cowboys? Check. Inspired Firefly? Check. Corgi? Check. [Available on Tubi]
  
• Evangelion - It's so classic that the story isn't even finished yet. Or, well, it just finished. In Japan. Maybe. [Available on Netflix]
  
• Trigun - Vash the Stampede is a murderer. Leveled an entire town. Huge bounty on his head. He's also a complete dipstick. Or is he? He is. Or is he? [Available on Hulu]
  

Anyhow, I intend to edit this post to add content, feel free to critique or suggest your own things, or roast my awful taste! (Lies.)

5/1/2021 - Edited to add links to streaming sources.

[Dreampipe]

Space Dandy!

The director of Cowboy Bebop made it and it features a new art director for every episode. It's my favorite. PLEASE WATCH IT.

[Solstice]

@dreampipe

Space Dandy is deliciously weird.

[Wizz]

I'll maybe throw some more suggestions up later, but in terms of comedy I def feel like The Disastrous Life of Saiki K deserves a mention!!

It tells the story of the most powerful psychic on the planet, Saiki Kusuo, who could communicate telepathically by 14 days old and started running mundane errands for his completely incompetent parents at a month.

By the time he's in high school, however, he is utterly jaded and apathetic about life, because his psychic powers have robbed him of any thrill or sense of accomplishment; everything is trivially easy for him and he can't be surprised by anything (due to his clairvoyance, precognition, telepathy, etc).

It's hard to say much without spoiling the best moments in the show, but I love it so dearly. It doesn't rely on raunchy humor or a lot of cultural tropes that might be unfamiliar to American viewers and is one of the few anime I have ever seen that actually managed to make me cackle out loud just because of how constantly absurd it is. Give it a shot!!

[Ominous]

@solstice said in Good Anime:

• Demon Slayer - Possibly the most popular entry on this list as of the time of this writing. Fluid fighting animation and enjoyable characters elevate this above other shows of its kind. Thrust by necessity into a life of fighting demons in order to protect his sister. Along the way he's joined by a cast of like-minded inviduals, and they... slay demons. The premise is simple as can be, but the execution is what really makes this special.

This is a great anime. Right up to episode 21, when the creator apparently went "I really like Bleach. I want to remake Bleach. Even the fact that Bleach is good up to the end of the Rukia Retrieval Arc then sucks after that. Definitely going to include that."

Humorous biting comments aside, it's a good anime that's a touch heart-warming, a touch depressing, and a touch dark with great art. However, after episode 21, if you've watched Bleach, you're going to start thinking "This is starting to feel really familiar," and, if you haven't watched Bleach, you're going to think "Ugh, I don't like the swerve this suddenly took."

Anime tend to do the opposite of American shows. Where Star Trek: The Next Generation took a couple of seasons to find it's voice then it got good, anime, such as Bleach and Demon Slayer, also can take a season or two to find it's voice then it gets bad.

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - A full remake of 'Fullmetal Alchemist', this is brought into the modern day with better animation and a storyline that is more consistent and faithfully follows the source material. Edward and Alphonse Elric experience a personal tragedy, and in trying to make things right violate the established taboos of alchemy and pay a heavy price - the former losing two limbs, and the latter even more. In seeking a way to correct their mistake, they become State Alchemists, solving others' problems on the side while trying to unravel the mysteries of alchemy - and unveiling a far-reaching conspiracy in the process. A classic for a reason.

Second best anime of all time. Lots of twists and turns. The only downside is that they rush through the first few episodes as those episodes are a retread of a bunch of the episodes of the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime. My recommendation is watch the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime through episode 22, then switch to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood starting at episode 9 and finish it out.

• My Hero Academia - Rapid genetic mutation and advancements mean that over 90% of the world has developed a unique ability called 'Quirks'. Naturally, this lends itself to heroes and villains. These manifest often around kindergarten or grade school. Midoriya Izuku is a mega-fan of the Number One Hero, 'All Might', and eagerly awaits his quirk's appearance only to discover that he lost the genetic lottery, and was born quirkless, putting an ungraceful end to his dreams of being a hero. Or does it? Can a quirkless individual be a hero? The absolute joy of this show is the wide array of powers on display, some of which are overpowered and others are so banal that they seem useless - and seeing the interplay between those two is easily half of the fun when the tables are turned on by the underpowered.

The best shonen anime currently being produced. I'm hesitant to place it in my ranking, but that should be a sign of how good it is, as it's been out for years now and I still haven't decided just how good it is. My only concern is that it is a touch Naruto-esque and Naruto definitely started to get a bit meh near the end.

• Puella Magi: Madoka Magicka - A subversion of the magical girl genre. If you've seen a single episode of Card-Captor Sakura or Sailor Moon, you'll have all the context you need to know what this show masterfully disassembles and creates dread and hopelessness in its place.

@Solstice did not do a good job appropriately explaining how much of a disassembly this show is. It is NOTHING like normal magical girl anime. If you're expecting She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, RWBY, or anything like that, you WILL be disappointed, and, if you're under the age of 12, you WILL be traumatized for life. This show is a cute teddy bear that is stuffed with living centipedes and spiders. It has the cute, colorful coating of a magical girl show but what's inside most definitely is not.

• Cowboy Bebop - Space cowboys? Check. Inspired Firefly? Check. Corgi? Check.

Best anime ever. From my understanding, even though it is loved in the US, it is barely remembered in Japan. Germans Love David Hasselhoff after all.

• Evangelion - It's so classic that the story isn't even finished yet. Or, well, it just finished. In Japan. Maybe.

Evangelion is...an experience. Watch it to be able to say you watched it.

• Trigun - Vash the Stampede is a murderer. Leveled an entire town. Huge bounty on his head. He's also a complete dipstick. Or is he? He is. Or is he?

Not the best or second best anime, but it's definitely in my top ten or twenty. It's starting to show its age a touch, having a definite "Anime from the 90s" look, but the story is good, there are some decent twists, and the ending is phenomenal with an unexpected but great Chekov's Gun scenario.

I'm not going to be as organized or as thorough as @Solstice was. I'm just going to throw a few out there that came to mind.

• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - It's a bit pretentious and the sequel lets the creator's anti-American colors seep through a bit, but the first series/season is good if you're into cyberpunk or transhumanist sci-fi and military oriented fiction. It's not afraid to show blood and guts or fanservice.
  

• Naruto & Naruto: Shippuden - A shonen anime about chasing your dreams and punching everything that gets in your way in the face. Also magical ninjas. Naruto starts off a bit slow, then gets really good around episode 20. Once you reach episode 135, STOP, as the rest is all filler and doesn't progress the story any. (You can also skip episodes 97 and 101-106 as filler as well.) Switch to Naruto: Shippuden which was the second series and finished the story. It stays good until about episode 211, then it just sort of drags out from there unfortunately.
  

• Dragonball Z - How can this not be listed? It's not among the best anime, and honestly I refuse to watch it anymore, as Dragonball Z Abridged remade it funnier and much better, filling in plot holes and smoothing over some of the wrinkles. Still, it hooked a lot of us on anime and is a classic.
  

[Carma]

This post is deleted!

[Solstice]

@ominous said in Good Anime:

My recommendation is watch the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime through episode 22, then switch to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood starting at episode 9 and finish it out.

See, this is a really good take on it. Completely agree. They zipped through the original material in brotherhood. I endorse this watch order, if you can deal with the occasionally antiquated animation of the original.

@wizz said in Good Anime:

I'll maybe throw some more suggestions up later, but in terms of comedy I def feel like The Disastrous Life of Saika K deserves a mention!!

Okay, I'm really going to have to watch this now. This is like the fifth time I've had it recommended.

[Groth]

If youre into mastermind/xenatos gambit kind of shows or mecha, then Code Geass is a great watch.

In terms of classics, I think most people will enjoy Ranma, Inuyasha, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach and Hunter x Hunter. They all have the same story structure which is a young protagonist who refused to give up in the face of adversity and grows stronger as they keep facing incrementally harder opposition.

If you want disturbing violence, then Elfen Lied is the show for you.

If you want a show that is willing to take a critical look at some mecha tropes, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is worth a watch because it takes a moment to recognize some of the horrors that most mecha shows gloss over.

One of the shows that has stuck with me the longest after watching it is 'From the new world' which depicts a post apocalyptic world where all remaining humans are psychics and they use sentiment mole rats as servants. As the show goes on, the main character keeps learning more horrifying things about how things are and came to be.

For something much less violent. I quite enjoy the board game shows like Hikaru no Go (main character gets possessed by best Go player of all time) and Saki(it is about a group of girls wanting to save their mahjong club).

[Wizz]

A few more recommendations:

Baccano!

Baccano! tells the story of a group of alchemists who meet in secret in 1711 aboard a ship called the Advenna Avis where they are gifted with an elixir that grants immortality by a demon; they then split up to travel the earth. We follow them through a series of nonlinear stories as they encounter one another again and again across the centuries, with most of the show focused on an escalating conflict between rival mafia families during the Prohibition in New York City where the immortals and the elixir surface again and shenanigans ensue.

This is like, easily in my top ten favorites. The score and the way the story is told are fantastic, the cast is large and interestingly eccentric, and the action and occult elements are just fun.

Pet

Hooboy, Pet.
It is an incredibly heavy and dark story about a criminal organization that uses psychic hitmen to either manipulate memories or cause mental breakdowns and catatonia in their targets. This is another one that is hard to say much about without giving too much of the story away, but it is complex and just...a lot. The visuals are amazing, as the show takes you into the psyches of the victims and the psychics, it's very surreal.

There are some elements of the plot that are very troubling, if not actually triggering, and so I'd say be cautious with it. But it's worth the watch, and lingers with you for quite some time.

Inuyashiki

This is an intense horror/sci fi anime that follows the lives of an elderly salaryman and a teenager whose bodies are accidentally destroyed by interdimensional aliens, who absolutely panic and proceed to replace them with super advanced cybernetic weapons platforms and then just...bail. The teenager, who was already mentally unstable, blossoms into a terrifying psychopath and the old man is forced to try and stop him.

It's a genuinely bizarre show, and very graphic and unsettling, but still worth the watch imo. The old man in particular (the titular Inuyashiki Ichiro) is such an unusual protagonist and you develop so much sympathy for him over the course of the series as he slowly learns to become a hero, and what that actually means. Plus, there's a scene where Ichiro is trying to activate this jetpack built into his torso and he can't make it work until he starts singing the old Astro Boy themesong to himself and C'MON THAT'S JUST ADORABLE, you'll wanna pinch his wrinkly old man cheeks!!

Parasyte

SPEAKING OF UNSETTLING BODY HORROR.

This is another show that is in my top ten, and is just amazing. It's an Invasion of the Body Snatchers-esque story of these little, well, alien parasites that burrow into people's heads, eat their brains, and take over their bodies -- only one of them fucks up when it tries to snatch the body of high schooler Shinichi Izumi, who traps it in his arm where it is forced to adapt and possess his hand instead.

They slowly become uneasy allies in the fight against the other parasites, who are infiltrating society and snacking on people. It's tense, incredibly gory, very creepy, and explores what it means to be human. I love it.

[Kanye Qwest]

@carma said in Good Anime:

Two things I wish I knew before watching Cowboy Bebop:

1. Its treatment of PoC was already disappointing and it's aged even worse. So, just be prepared for some heavy sighing.

2. The lack of consistency throughout each episode bothered me until I was able to look at the show from a different lens: the main characters aren't the main characters. They're extras in other characters' stories. Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed - they only get about 2 - 3 episodes each that focus on themselves; otherwise, the episodes are all about the lives of other characters.

Yeah, my read is that the whole series was about these people who were stuck in inertia, and you can only contextualize their arcs by the stories they observe or play some small part in. Until the end, where they do all at least get to move on, if not be resolved. Haven't watched in awhile, was actually planning a quaranrewatch, so will brace myself.

[Solstice]

Admittedly, I haven't watched Cowboy Bebop through the lens of anything but an early-00s teenager, so I can't speak to how it's aged. That being said, even at the time I felt there were too many 'story of the week' episodes and not enough arcs, but at the time, it was such a breath of fresh air that I didn't much care.

Viewed through a 2020s lens, with anime in monumentally wider supply and Japan becoming gradually more progressive in its views (so... very... gradually...), I imagine its representation isn't the best by contrast.

[mietze]

I still have not learned how to do the fancy insert image stuff, but two of my all time favorites are Ergo Proxy (kind of weird but I love it) and Last Exile. This probably ages me a bit, as I've not kept up so much with the anime watching habit as I did when my now-teens/young adults were little kid, and first got hooked on these when Netflix sent you DVDs (which is how I was introduced to them, though as an old fogey I too have them now on DVD.

To add on to the old people anime, I really liked Gankutsuou, which is a retelling of Count of Monte Cristo, but is done in an art style that while it takes a little getting used to is something I found quite beautiful when I did.

[Ominous]

Anyone know much about Great Pretender? I've been eyeing it, because I do enjoy a good heist film.

[Solstice]

@ominous

I couldn't get through it, myself. It oozed style but not presence. It's everything I should love in a show, but in the first 8 episodes at least, the heists felt like they fell into the category of mysteries that I hate - where there was a total zero chance you ever even remotely saw the bones of the plan, so unlike satisfying heist movies, they felt a bit unearned.

I still intend to go back to it at some point to finish it out, because some characters I just need to know more about.

@mietze said in Good Anime:

I still have not learned how to do the fancy insert image stuff

Easy mode is that at the top of the reply bar, just press the gif button and slap in some words. To make sure they don't zonk out formatting, make sure they're not in the same paragraph as other words. I ... learned that last bit when making this post.

[KDraygo]

@solstice said in Good Anime:

• Wotakoi - Love is Hard for Otaku - Thankfully, romance also exists outside of high schools. This romantic comedy focuses more on the nuance of being in a relationship and getting to know your partner more than the chase itself - and with the principle cast all some form of geek, there's plenty of relatability to be found here.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this one and it definitely is a plus that it isn't about high schoolers.

• Your Lie in April - Piano prodigy Arima Kosei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But the overwork and stress and a certain turning point left him with a mental block where he can no longer even hear the notes he's performing. Enter Miyazono Kaori. She's a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality, and Kosei is immediately fascinated. Unfortunately, she's already dating his best friend.

Careful, this anime will get dust in your eyes. Unexpected side affect. Also made me regret a little bit that I didn't take my own musical talent more seriously when I was a youth.

• Cowboy Bebop - Space cowboys? Check. Inspired Firefly? Check. Corgi? Check.

One of the classics that originally got me into some anime and still an amazing anime in my book though.

This pandemic turned me into a weeb.

[Solstice]

@kdraygo said in Good Anime:

This pandemic turned me into a weeb.

[Runescryer]

@solstice said in [Good Anime]

• Puella Magi: Madoka Magicka - A subversion of the magical girl genre. If you've seen a single episode of Card-Captor Sakura or Sailor Moon, you'll have all the context you need to know what this show masterfully disassembles and creates dread and hopelessness in its place.
  

That farking evil muppet from Hell....

On the topic of 'subverting the Magical Girl genre'...
Yuki Yuna Is A Hero. For those that thought Madoka Magica was just too optimistic.

Now, happy time stuff...

Nyaruko: Crawling With Love: What you get when you combine a comedy harem anime with the Cthulhu mythos...No, seriously. Nyarlthotep is the main character, appearing as a silver-haired schoolgirl. Cthuga is a red-head vying with Nyaruko-chan for the affection of the male protagonist. And then there's Hastur-chan, the shota in yellow. Funny, self-aware hijinks (instead of the sweat-drop trope, it has an actual SAN loss gag), and far less tentacles than you would expect from the concept.

Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Noob gamer Kaede starts playing the VRMMO New World Online, but her hard-core gamer friend Risa can't join her on the first day, so Kaede creates her character, 'Maple', by herself. The title sort of fills in the blanks. Amazingly, Kaede starts breaking the game through her development choices, leading to hilarity in the game and frustration among the programmers and other gamers as they try to figure out how to stop the juggernaut that is Maple.

Tiger & Bunny. Another look at Western superheroes through the anime lens. In Stern Build City (Manhattan) Superheroes have corporate sponsorships and compete in a live-camera reality show called Hero TV that films them as they stop crimes and save civilians. A washed up hero named Wild Tiger gets new TV exposure as his sponsorship is bought out by a major corporation and he becomes the mentor to a new hero, Barnaby 'Bunny' Brooks Jr., who has the same power as Wild Tiger. It's a great take on both superheroes and reality TV. Plus, nearly all the sponsors are real companies (Amazon Japan, Bandai, SoftBank, Calbee...) even Pepsi got in on the action and had an animated commercial featuring 'their' sponsored superheroine for Pepsi Next.

[Ominous]

@runescryer said in Good Anime:

On the topic of 'subverting the Magical Girl genre'...
Yuki Yuna Is A Hero. For those that thought Madoka Magica was just too optimistic.

Nyaruko: Crawling With Love: What you get when you combine a comedy harem anime with the Cthulhu mythos...No, seriously. Nyarlthotep is the main character, appearing as a silver-haired schoolgirl. Cthuga is a red-head vying with Nyaruko-chan for the affection of the male protagonist. And then there's Hastur-chan, the shota in yellow. Funny, self-aware hijinks (instead of the sweat-drop trope, it has an actual SAN loss gag), and far less tentacles than you would expect from the concept.

This sounds amazing, and I am ashamed to have not heard of it before.

Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Noob gamer Kaede starts playing the VRMMO New World Online, but her hard-core gamer friend Risa can't join her on the first day, so Kaede creates her character, 'Maple', by herself. The title sort of fills in the blanks. Amazingly, Kaede starts breaking the game through her development choices, leading to hilarity in the game and frustration among the programmers and other gamers as they try to figure out how to stop the juggernaut that is Maple.

Thank for reminding me of this series. I started it and got like three episodes in before getting distracted and forgetting about it.

Tiger & Bunny. Another look at Western superheroes through the anime lens. In Stern Build City (Manhattan) Superheroes have corporate sponsorships and compete in a live-camera reality show called Hero TV that films them as they stop crimes and save civilians. A washed up hero named Wild Tiger gets new TV exposure as his sponsorship is bought out by a major corporation and he becomes the mentor to a new hero, Barnaby 'Bunny' Brooks Jr., who has the same power as Wild Tiger. It's a great take on both superheroes and reality TV. Plus, nearly all the sponsors are real companies (Amazon Japan, Bandai, SoftBank, Calbee...) even Pepsi got in on the action and had an animated commercial featuring 'their' sponsored superheroine for Pepsi Next.

Another that I am ashamed to have never heard of.

[Groth]

I like how Tiger and Bunny is one of the more realistic takes on how super heroes would play out in that sponsorship money would be their primary funding and looking good for the camera would be increadibly important.

[Runescryer]

Okay, Netflix's new anime Yasuke just hit. Soul & Sword meets Mecha & Magic in a fantasy feudal Japan, centered around the legendary African Samurai, Yasuke. It's a fantastic mash-up of genres.

Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijKAtzQY1wc&ab_channel=Netflix