Anime & Manga Favorite Anime?

[Gaotau]

Hey all! I'm pretty new to anime. My wife introduced it to me and I really enjoy it. Currently, I've seen Attack on Titan, Death Note, Sword Art Online, and I'm watching Claymore. Do you all have any recommendations? What's your favorite anime?

Thanks!

 

[TheWingless]

TOKYO GHOUL (Haven't read the manga bc currently struggling to college)
See. Who can you really blame when things that are so good shift into mainstream and all of a sudden no one will stop talking about it?

 

[hologram]

Did somebody say recommendation thread? I think I heard somebody say recommendation thread.

I've been watching anime for uh, almost 20 years at this point and somehow with each passing year my tastes expand and I discover more I'm interested in. Combine that with the proliferation of easily accessible streaming services, physical media being way more reasonably priced than it was in my younger years, as well as knowing where to find copies of unlicensed or out of print material, and... I'll probably never be able to see everything I'm interested in seeing. The true existential crisis: there's too much anime for me to watch.

It looks like you're predisposed to stylish action series with interesting settings so I basically have to recommend Cowboy Bebop. Somehow, I only watched this show for the first time this year and it's definitely worth the legendary status it has among a lot of anime fans. You might also dig the Ghost in the Shell franchise which has a few different series and movies. My favorite entry in that franchise is both seasons of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Death Parade might also be up your alley. It's a neat little show about a bar in the afterlife where the bartender judges the souls of the deceased through twisted versions of bar games and similar pastimes.

I try to recommend at least one somewhat lesser-known classic series or movies from before the 2000s every time I do a recommendation and here I think I'll throw in Lupin the 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro. Lupin the 3rd is a massive franchise spanning almost 50 years of animated properties but it doesn't really have much of an overarching continuity (with a few exceptions, mostly in more recent productions like the recent Lupin the 3rd: Part 4 which I also recommend). At its core, it's a very cartoony story about a band of thieves. I've seen it referred to as 'James Bond meets Bugs Bunny' and that's a pretty good summary of the varying tone and content of the series. The Castle of Cagliostro is a standalone film directed by none other than Hayao Miyazaki which casts the Lupin gang in a more compassionate light.

My favorite anime of all time is also a lesser known classic, a 90s OVA (direct to video anime, basically) called Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still. I can't properly sum up this anime because it means so much to me that I'm prone to endless info dumping.

EDIT: Also somehow I forgot to mention JoJo's Bizarre Adventure despite having one of its characters judge me every time I make a post on this forum. I also recommend that.

 

[AnimeGenork]

I mean, my absolute favorite is Digimon, but Fairy Tail's an extremely close second. I've basically decided that Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches is now one of my new favorites, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood holds a special place in my heart.
Pandora Hearts always breaks my heart (the manga).
And K (a.k.a. K Project) and The Seven Deadly Sins are freaking amazing.
Dang it there was another one I thought of that I REALLY love but the name is not coming to me.

 

[The Omen of Death]

I am absolutely divided in my favorite anime with two shows. Monster and Gintama, both are stark polar opposites in terms of genre. Monster being a masterpiece of a Psychological Thriller and then Gintama being basically an animated sitcom with 4th wall breaking and an episodic format but some arcs being great for seriousness and hitting you with an emotional whiplash

 

[Gaotau]

Thank you all! I'm almost done with Claymore and I'll be binge watching what you all have suggested! I'm extremely excited about it - since I'm new, it's like a new world of adventure.

 

[Idea]

Well, in terms of recommendations, I have a thread where you can request those. I'd give them here, but I'm afraid you didn't give, well, any info about your tastes, so it's a bit hard to outright recommend anything that might suit you.

As for my for my favorite anime, here is a list starting with my favorite, to my top ten, top 20 and a few honorable mentioned (because I couldn't help myself). Keep in mind that, for shows with more Han 1 season, I compiled them as just 1 anime for the wholes series.

Favorite anime:
1.Re:Creators -To say this anime is underrated is completely wrong. On one hand, because naturally it isn't for everyone. It is an anime of deep and complex writing, of layers upon layers of meta and puts into question certain ideas that, if taken seriously, can really bring one to think, which makes it overall rather slow and hard to get at times, making it perhaps less accessible. To put it in a metaphor, it's a really deep pond you have to sink into of your own accord instead of a wave that pulls you in, but in the end it just pulls you to more sand. On the other hand, it's wrong to say underestimated precisely because of that depth- it's far from just underestimated, the effort, creativity and masterful writing are typically disregarded in terms of how slow it is, but the intelligence and effort with which this story about stories and story-writers is woven is undeniable. Add a stunning soundtrack and great visuals, and you get Re:creators.

Spoiler: Rest of the Top 10

2.Code Geass - Code Geass is a classic. A story of war, opression, dreams, future and present... The cleverness of the writing and twists, and the way the central focus of the story, both the power known as Geass and the main character, Lelouch are explored in a consistent yet fluent manner like an ever escalating crescendo that terminates only with the best finale I've seen to an anime, EVER, it's truly melodic.

3.Konosuba-Konosuba is comedy and parody at it's finest. Not only have I rewatched a few times, it's also the only anime that got me to buy the light novel (first), though that's in large part due to unavailable nature of them in my country. That said, the comedy in Konosuba is pure gold, and as a huge fan of comedy, that's a really big plus, but with the continuity in the story, the great writing and true display of consequences, plus some interesting world building, Konosuba is amazing and hilarious, and every involving aspect is working in tandem to strengthen that.

4.Yuuki Yuuna Yuusha de Aru- Consewuences. Prices to pay. These themes are common, but their display in this emotional rollercoaster of a magical girl anime is simply otherworldly. In fact the drama of the realism is such , the hopelessness hitting you in the heart is such, that when there is a glimmer of hope it almost seems odd.

5.Date a Live- Date a Live is honestly an anime I have a little trouble saying it's one of my favorites, cause people get really judgy about harem anime. Still, this anime has really proven itself to be, in my eyes, brilliant. It has a consistent and interesting world, a buck load of cuteness, and can touch you in the feels in any direction it wants. It's pleasing to look and ridiculously rewatchable to me. I CAN'T get tired of it, which is pretty amazing in this day and age.

6.My Teen Love Comedy is Wrong as Expected- I'm not sure if I would call this a harem , but it is most definitely a romantic comedy. The real strength of this , again, very rewatchable show, is the main character, Hiki. I am a sucker for self-sacrifice stories and boy does this one deliver. Plus the snarky comments he makes all the time , and the cunning strategies are right up my alley as well.

7.Boku no Hero Academia- I doubt you need me to talk a lot about how great Boku no hero is, from Greta characters, great story, ever-awing soundtrack... It's just an amazing shines overall, and you don't need to look far for confirmation.

8.Sakurasou Pet no Kanojou- Dealing with themes of envy is very difficult. Doing so with a mixture of comedy and melodrama is a f*cking art, and this canvas is painted all over with pet girl of Sakurasou. Just thinking of the struggles the characters, in particular the main character faced in this anime that is not afraid to show the reality of failure and the need to move past simple failure or success, still tugs my heart to this day.

9.Log Horizon-There are a lot of MMORPG titles in the market, and Log Horizon certainly brings great world building elements into the table, and learns how to explore said setting with loveable and ever-active characters. The story is at once political and dynamic, the setting a familiar unfamiliar with a greatly expansive and interesting world built with my favorite kind of magic system, an actual game-like magic system.

10.World God Only Knows- Returning with harem animes, this one focuses on the attempts to "capture" the love of the girls. The extremely active stance of the MC, the variety presented and great comedy, a few rather interesting premises, all of it leading to a befitting finale, in one of the few instances were I wasn't put off by the way demons and angels were represented.

Spoiler: Rest of the Top 20

11.Madoka Magika- Considerd by many as the founding place for the dark magical Girl genre, this anime left me depressed for quite a while. It was one for the first anime I watched as a teen and to this day the music I heart wrenching to me, appealing to the sadness of the contents.

12..Action Heroines Cheer Fruits- this anime made me cry. In over the 300 anime I've watched , two made me cry, and this was one of them. It's truly emotional and surprisingly realistic, but being emotional can only take you so far in my eyes.

13.One Punch Man- A hilarious parody and really awesome to watch. Everything you could want, you can probably find it here, melodrama, action, comedy, slice of life, superheroes... but at a point I just can't stir too much of a reaction about it. It's great when you're watching it, but when you stop for a bit it can really kill the hype.

14.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha- Before Madoka there was Nanoha, and while this anime is a lot more, well, kid-oriented up to a point, it is an incredibly mature show for what it is, and the world building, especially the weaving of magitech into this whole extremely unique and detailed universe is just jaw-dropping.

15.Is this a Zombie?- another hilarious comedy, and anothe harem, this one the pinnacle of the deviant syndrome of just juggling as many different things together as it can. Zombies and necromancers, violin-based magic, magical girls, vampire ninjas, fairies, you name it. And yet it manages to be emotional and hilarious when it wants, and it's certainly Re-watchable.

16. Fate- the fate franchise is huge. Just the name of it calls for waves of hype among the anime community. In particular zero and unlimited blade works are awesome and timeless. In addition to the self-sacrifice stories I'ma sucker off, fate has possibly one of the most awesome premises of any story period.

17.Kokoro Connect- this is, without question, the most relatable anime I have ever watched. At least, it has the most relatable character moment I've ever witnessed, to me personally. Add into it the boldness and uniqueness of a lot of it's stunts, and the way it plays with your heartstrings, and you get a great show.

18.Digimon- I pondered not including this one cause nostalgia goggles, but looking back, it's really an impressive premise, world-building , story, characters, action... There is so much digimon has to offer that it even was what got me to RPing in the first place.

19.Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry- "I liked it before it was cool" truly applies to my view of Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry. It is a show that plays that thin line of generic versus playing with tropes and the finesse with which it is executed and the great action and characters, in particular the actually limited main character make it a very enjoyable experience.

20.Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu- Festish-powered aliens attack the the Earth , while the MC (Male) genderflips into an action hero with a thing for twin tails. If that made you burst out laughing of even just chuckle a little, you should come and watch the show in which this is basically the premise.

Spoiler: Honorable mention

*Sora no Method- for extreme cuteness

*Rewrite-for the involving story, bold moves with the second season, and excellent mechanics

*Invaders of Rokujouma- for the cutest animation I've ever seen

*Dogs and Scissors-for the old premise and funny comedy

*Papa no Iukoto no Kikinasai- for the bold premise

*Handa-Kun- for making me drop to the floor with laugher, literally

*Netoge no Yome- for being strangely heartwarming

*magical girl raising project- for the angle with which it approached magical girls

*made in abyss- a great anime, really grappling, a little bit overhyped and too reliant on shock value (but boy does it have some heavy, realistic shock value). A great world around it as well, though I generally prefer writing that exposes something awesome, than one which relies on hiding it.

*full metal alchemist- really awesome, just not too rewatchable to me and not that appealing in retrospect