@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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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