Edited the OP to add convenient links to the best source to legally stream each recommendation. (Except Wolf Children, which is currently in iTunes jail for a price where you may as well just buy the DVD at that point.)
It's still in progress, but...
To Your Eternity - God casts an orb of light to earth. A complete blank slate, whose purpose is to experience anything it comes into contact with. Naturally, the very first thing whose form it takes on is a rock. It's a pretty chill rock for awhile, until a dying domesticated wolf-dog collapses next to it. It's a bit of an idiotic creature, and frequently dies, because it doesn't know how to feed itself, but it always regenerates, because by its very nature, it's an immortal entity. Making its way through the frozen tundra, it comes upon the dog's former master, an endlessly optimistic but alone young man who's making it work by surviving on his own.
Together, the two resolve to experience all sorts of experiences, to find other people and a less desolate, hostile world, and their journey begins.
In the vein of Kino's Journey, Mushishi, and Violet Evergarden, it's episodic while maintaining a consistent through-line. Its first three episodes have been absolutely wonderful to behold, with beautifully rendered backgrounds, lively and sympathetic characters, and explorations of what it means to be an immortal creature, gradually figuring out what life is all about.
So, this thread combined with a thread from another forum got me watching YouTube clips of the music from the main Macross series (Specifically SDF Macross, Macross Plus, and Macross Frontier). It's really amazing how well the J-Pop side of the series holds up over time. Not Minmay's songs in Robotech (Lancer's song holds up just fine), but the original songs from Minmay, Myung/Sharon Apple, Sheryl Nome & Ranka Lee.
Also this. It's big so I wanted to put it in spoilers but I also don't know how....
***BIG***
The road to hell is paved with adverbs.
A lot of great recommendations on there, especially for veteran anime-watchers!
That chart sucks. Sure is plenty of Shonen fluff. Conspicuously low on Shojo. weird!
I Object! There's no Tenchi Muyo or Ranma 1/2 in there!
Well! Ball's in your court. What's missing?
Any anime recommendation list that doesn't include Revolutionary Girl Utena is a false prophet
I need to rewatch Utena. It was absolutely a watershed production for LGBTQ+ and I remember it fondly, but I'm not entirely sure how it would hold up nowadays. Much like my anxiety with the rest of the classics, I hold them in high regard and I'm not sure how much of it has to do with the fact that they were good or just good enough at the time.
It's hard to revisit classics when the seasonal lists are just so dang packed.
Big sympathy oofs re: revisiting old favorites.
This year I've been going back to a few shows (anime and otherwise) that meant a lot to me when I was younger, and discovering they aged poorly or even horribly is a real gutpunch.
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(@_____@)
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Yeah, sometimes a show is just the right show for you at the right time. It doesn't mean the material got worse, just that the lens through which you view it has changed.
...doesn't make it suck less, whether it's old movies, old anime, or old games to realize that you now think some of the things that gave you the most joy in your formative years can no longer bring that same spark.
@solstice It holds up great. It's a purposefully time period ambiguous fairy tale.
Time for everyone's favorite discussion: what is anime?
Don't get me wrong. I really liked the Boondocks and wished Aaron McGruder could have made more seasons. However, does it qualify as anime or is it a cartoon in an anime style? If it's anime, are Avatar: the Last Air Bender and The Dragon Prince anime? In Japan, anime is any cartoon, regardless of style or origin. So do you consider the Simpsons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and South Park anime? If none of those are anime, what about Korean and Chinese cartoons that are in anime style?
Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam
@ominous said in Good Anime:
I really liked the Boondocks and wished Aaron McGruder could have made more seasons. However, does it qualify as anime or is it a cartoon in an anime style?
It's anime.
If it's anime, are Avatar: the Last Air Bender and The Dragon Prince anime?
Yes.
In Japan, anime is any cartoon, regardless of style or origin. So do you consider the Simpsons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and South Park anime?
Not really. I think of 'anime' as anything that is influenced by Japanese animation. So, The Boondocks fits, Avatar and The Legend of Korra fit, Exo-Squad fits, but Transformers does not.
Whether something fits that expansive description is up to each person, but I think it's safe to say that Family Guy does not.
“It is better to live doing the things that you like. It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing unpleasantness and doing only things that you do not like.” -- Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
@ganymede said in Good Anime:
Not really. I think of 'anime' as anything that is influenced by Japanese animation. So, The Boondocks fits, Avatar and The Legend of Korra fit, Exo-Squad fits, but Transformers does not.
Wait, Transformers doesn't fit this definition? The original series was literally animated by Toei.
@roz said in Good Anime:
@ganymede said in Good Anime:
Not really. I think of 'anime' as anything that is influenced by Japanese animation. So, The Boondocks fits, Avatar and The Legend of Korra fit, Exo-Squad fits, but Transformers does not.
Wait, Transformers doesn't fit this definition? The original series was literally animated by Toei.
How do you look at Megatron and not see Japanese influence?
Ooooh, I forgot one! It's in my top ten; though, I haven't seen it in a long time, so I should probably re-watch it and re-evaluate it.
FLCL (Fooly Cooly)
Fooly Cooly is a coming-of-age story about sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Also Vespas and an evil interstellar company that wants to iron out all the wrinkles in the universe to keep people from thinking for themselves. It's in the comedy/drama genre. It is a surreal, chaotic mess that is a thing of pure beauty. It experiments with music, art styles, and the media of anime as a whole. You will be just as confused going through it as a person is confused by adolescence. It's amazing how good of a job the English translators did in, since there so many in-jokes and culturally specific bits of humor. It's only six episodes, so, if you haven't seen it, set aside a few hours in an evening and crank it out. If you need more convincing, here is an actual journalistic review: 20 Years Later, 'FLCL' Is Still an Essential Anime Gem - Revisiting the intensely chaotic six-episode anime series that set a new creative animation standard.
@roz said in Good Anime:
Wait, Transformers doesn't fit this definition? The original series was literally animated by Toei.
I'm not beholden to my statement, so I will replace it with "Bugs Bunny."
So amended.
@ganymede said in Good Anime:
Not really. I think of 'anime' as anything that is influenced by Japanese animation. So, The Boondocks fits, Avatar and The Legend of Korra fit, Exo-Squad fits, but Transformers does not.
Wait, Transformers doesn't fit this definition? The original series was literally animated by Toei.
