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)
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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
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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]
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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
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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]
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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]
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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
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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.
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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.
