what are some good anime recommendations?

[Tarnsman]

roadworx said:

uhh...110 episodes?

It's anime War and Peace. The length is a feature not a bug.

[[McD] James]

Berserk: The Original Series. Greatest anime series of all time in my mind. An absolute must see for fans of dark fantasy.

[Clonehunter]

esselfortium said:

Riding Bean is... it's been a while but I mostly remember disliking it. One of the few details I can recall is that he had a bulletproof headband, which only worked because somehow no one thought to shoot him anywhere else.

I'd say Riding Bean is more of a curiosity for those who liked Gunsmith Cats. It's fun to find all of the elements that were reused or redesigned for the Manga/Anime. For example, the Shelby GT was originally the car of an antagonist in Riding Bean before becoming the vessel of the main character in Gunsmith Cats.

Bean himself was fairly over the top (Bulletproof clothing, picking up a car, throwing a knife hard enough to break a car door off), but it had some decent action and was a fun enough romp. They toned him down quite a bit in the manga, which was nice.

[Master O]

roadworx said:

holy jesus that's a lot
however...i'm sorry that i din't mention this before, but i'm mostly looking for post anime post-1990. so, the more modern stuff.

You're really missing out on 1970s and 1980s anime. Most of the tropes people see in anime nowadays come from those two decades.

[Cynical]

The Devilman OVAs are the only anime worth watching.

[TheOrganGrinder]

If you're in the mood for something pretty current, and giant robots aren't a deal-breaker, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans sounds like it falls within the bounds of what you might enjoy.

[ZALGO]

Just For lul's sake. Prison School.

But Seriously, What I will recommend is FlCl or "Fooly Cooly" It's one of the weirdest shows out there. It lasts 6 episodes but each episode is so entertaining and weird that it makes almost every episode worth a watch. I highly recommend this show for the list of comedies and weird stuff.

[Kurwa]

roadworx said:

holy purple eisenhower this is a long post

... Best sentence of the year goes to Roadworx!

OT: uh, I don't really like anime... Barney And Friends?

[SuperCupcakeTactics]

(Replying since thread bumped) Just finished watching Kino no Tabi, and I'll recommend it because it's comfy and I don't think shows like it are made anymore. It's a show of traveling and experiencing short stories/tales across those journeys that the main characters encounter and observe, and also it's only 13 episodes. The OVA was really meh but the first "movie" is worth checking out imo for completing the backstory. 'Tis a show of self-discovery and philosophy that I feel is worth checking out.

[Jon]

Samurai Pizza Cats

[esselfortium]

SuperCupcakeTactics said:

(Replying since thread bumped) Just finished watching Kino no Tabi, and I'll recommend it because it's comfy and I don't think shows like it are made anymore. It's a show of traveling and experiencing short stories/tales across those journeys that the main characters encounter and observe, and also it's only 13 episodes. The OVA was really meh but the first "movie" is worth checking out imo for completing the backstory. 'Tis a show of self-discovery and philosophy that I feel is worth checking out.

I've heard great things about Kino no Tabi, definitely need to check it out sometime. Along possibly similar lines, have you seen Mushi-shi? It's another quiet show structured around a traveler who passes through various peoples' lives. It's sometimes somber, always absolutely beautiful stuff.

[Angry Saint]

I really liked Last Exile. So much steam/diesel punk.

[Koko Ricky]

"Belladonna of Sadness," an x-rated psychedelic feminist anime about a woman who seeks revenge on her oppressors through witchcraft, after making a pact with Satan.

[DoctorGenesis]

The Nutshack (When will they start making season 3?)
Darkwing Duck (Best fight scenes in any animu!)
DuckTales (Webby is such a Mary Sue, good show tho. XD)
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Carl just needs a waifu.)
Space Ghost Coast to Coast (That time where Banjo died made me cry! One of the Top 10 saddest anime deaths.)

[Memfis]

Romeo no Aoi Sora - a boy sells himself so that he can pay for his father's surgery. He has to work as a chimney sweep (which can be very bad for a young body and ruined many children's lives in the old times) in Milan, he lives in terrible conditions, he is treated lower than a human, and then there are the street gangs... Gradually he makes some allies and fights for himself and others. Very impressive story, made me cry several times, sometimes out of happiness.

Oniisama e... - very strong school drama with a beautiful art style. Touches on lesbianism, incest, drugs, suicidal thoughts, incurable diseases, and other controversial topics.

IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix - very nice mecha racing series that talks quite a lot about psychology in sports. Surprisingly high production values for anime with tons of cool electronic songs, great writing, spectacular 3D animation, and so on.

Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra - nice mature fantasy series.

Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings - a realistic look at the work of rescue pilots.

Kachou Ouji - a bunch of aging loser farts team up to play rock "just like in the good old times" so they can save Earth from an alien attack. There are tons of silliness and you'll probably get very sick of hearing the same song again and again, but it's also a good and rare dose of salaryman lifestyle.

Gokiburi-tachi no Tasogare - a philosophical look at life through the eyes of cockroaches. First they are living in peace with a man who just doesn't care, then something happens in his life and a crisis begins. Also it's interesting how the people are real actors, while cockroaches are animated (and don't worry, they are cute and not repulsive at all). Very strange and surreal, I don't know anything similar to it.

Crayon Shin-chan Movie 09 - all adults are infected with something that makes them act very childish, so it's up to their children to save them. Wacky, funny, adventurous and a little sentimental. You don't need to be familiar with the original series at all to watch this.

Cyber City OEDO 808 - it's a classic, a three part scifi action story about criminals working for the government so that they can make their 100+ year prison sentences a little bit smaller with every completed job. Back then studio Madhouse was at its peak of creativity, innovation, production values, everything.

Roujin Z - noone wants to take care of the elderly, so why don't we make a robot that will do all the boring work instead? Oh shit, we forgot that it's Japan...

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - a slow yet fast romance story that deviates from the norm quite a bit. I was confused by that at first, then realized how cool it is.

Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna - umm. It's a bit like watching a YouTube rant of some conservative conspiracy theorist talking about how you should be one with nature, how abortion is bad, etc... Except it is done by a team of excellent visual artists along with one of the best Japanese composers and a writer that perhaps simply wants to tell you a good story. If you're very "anti-bullshit" you might not be able to handle it, otherwise give it a try.

Zegapain - great dramatic mecha series that might remind you of Matrix a bit. Don't want to spoil anything, just see for yourself if you want.

Hyper Police - future furry police, what more do you need to know? Tons of 90's fun and quite memorable portrayal of animal love among other things.

Super GALS! - daily lives of young girls in Shibuya, kind of a fashion capital of Tokyo. An attractive unique setting, hilarious humor, tons of silly fun... Which makes the dramatic parts all the better. I think it didn't need 52 episodes but I'm still a fan.

TAMALA 2010: A Punk Cat in Space - a "fuck the world\society" kind of movie. Very artsy, mostly black & white, quite surreal and with excellent music. It gets especially weird toward the end, see if you can understand at least the general idea. But even if you don't, you'll probably enjoy watching it anyway.

Zettai Shounen - this is one of these stories where it's kinda hard to tell what it's really about. There is a small town with a bunch of kids lazily spending their summer, then some mysterious stuff starts happening that doesn't affect their lives that much but yet it's there. Love the overall weirdness, love the calm slow pace, love the music.

Chikyuu Bouei Kigyou Dai-Guard - along with Patlabor, this has to be one of the most anti-romantic outlooks on the mecha genre. This time the robot requires three pilots, and even that way it's quite difficult to use. It's very clumsy and limited in capabilities, so if there is a big obstacle on the way it needs to be dismantled, transported by helicopters, and then combined again, which takes hours. Actually even getting to operate it at all is a struggle because you have to get all sorts of permissions first since using it costs so much. And when our heroes finally win and come back to the base, they don't get applause and have to go through a bunch of boring official documents instead. The plot itself is not so interesting perhaps, but this "salaryman mecha" style is something else, and the human side here is good too.

Space Adventure Cobra (TV) - I give anime a lot of flak for boring pointless action scenes. Cobra is one of the best exceptions from that. Fantastic dose of 80's silliness with space adventures (duh), hot women, and an extremely likeable main character that was probably based on Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - the most exciting Gundam series that I watched. Very thrilling, plot twists and cliffhangers everywhere. If you've seen Code Geass, it's kind of like it but less about mind games and more about politics and stuff.

Kaleido Star - inspirational shoujo-like series about circus and everything related to it. This is from back when Studio GONZO was making these awesome shows taking place in foreign countries that sort of transcended anime and became something more accessible for the rest of the world. Good times.

Shoujo Kakumei Utena - a masterpiece of surrealism.

Gallery Fake - about an owner of an art gallery, who is an expert on all sorts of stuff like determining forgeries for example. At times it's almost like watching Viasat History or something, other times it can be romantic, thrilling, anything. A good example of an episodic series that is consistently entertaining, or so I thought. I remember only one wtf episode where it became too Indiana Jones-like.

Joshikousei: Girl's High - a dirty ecchi series about airhead schoolgirls that somehow manages to be weirdly sentimental at the same time. The ending sequence is one of the best ever made.

Choujikuu Kidan Southern Cross - another non-typical mecha series. Focuses on the human side just as much as on the war side, which I thought was really nice as it made me care about the characters so much more. Apparently it was originally supposed to be a comedy with a very different focus, and I guess some of that style remained in the final product. Requires a certain level of tolerance for 80's silliness.

Muumindani no Suisei - the Moomin series were fantastic but maybe you don't want to watch like 100 episodes of that, in which case this movie should be more than enough to feel that amazing atmosphere of wonder and chill.

Shinreigari: Ghost Hound - somewhat similar to Zettai Shounen but with much more focus on pseudoscience, creepy paranormal stuff, etc. Kinda genius I think.

Platonic Chain - in the future someone hacks the internet and creates a web service where you can look up any street cam recording and a whole bunch of stuff about almost any person. However, it's not some thriller with FBI running around. Instead you get to look at high school girls having fun with that service. And it's all in lovely outdated 3D. :D I adore it because it feels like a perfect embodiment of early computer animation, and most stories are quick, fun, and witty.

Kuuchuu Buranko - eleven stories about an eccentric psychiatrist and his weird patients. Almost every episode will make you think like "omg, I might have this disorder too". Experimental animation style and music that fucks with your brain are used to portray the absurdity of human mind really well. Watching this felt a bit like rediscovering anime all over again, that's how fresh it seemed to me.

Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula - mecha again. UN organizes a robot duel contest that is supposed to unite the crumbling world. Several countries participate and the winner will basically take control of everything. Of course no one is going to play fair... I really liked the drama and suspense, even though at times it drags somewhat.

Black Blood Brothers - very solid series about vampires, their gang conflicts, their struggle to survive in the modern world, etc. Good constant pace, well developed setting, oldschool-ish character designs. Didn't find anything to complain about.

Paranoia Agent - crazy, incomprehensible, amazing.

Brigadoon: Marin to Melan - very unique and varied. I don't want to ruin anything so no further comment, just watch it maybe.

Master Keaton - somewhat similar to Gallery Fake in that it also reminded me of documentary television at times. This time the focus is more on general survival tips and historical knowledge rather than art.

Stop!! Hibari-kun! - also kinda genius, this is where my current avatar comes from btw. It's not fully translated anyway so I'll be lazy and won't describe it.

Red Garden - a few American girls get killed but get a chance to continue living, except they now also have to fight zombies or some stupid shit. So it's sort of like Gantz, except this time the focus is mainly on how this mystical weirdness affects their everyday lives. I like how outright girly it is, and the art style feels is fresh and attractive. I really wish studio Gonzo made more stuff in this "non-anime" style.

Takarajima - an excellent adaptation of Treasure Island.

[VGamingJunkie]

I would mostly recommend classics:

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - Great use of character development as well as science, military, political, and religious topics that aren't heavy handed about it.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Not much to say about it, it feels like a super hero comic with how tongue-in-cheek it can get with its action but that suits it just fine.

InuYasha - While a bit winded with its pacing at times (A lot of filler, though The Final Act is far more streamlined since it came out a lot later), it's got likable characters generally speaking and good action.

FlCl - If JBA was tongue-in-cheek, this is just a straight acid trip from start to finish. Also very amusing and fun to watch.

[june gloom]

Here to throw in a vote for Evangelion. I do not watch anime -- avoid it really -- but NGE is one of my rare exceptions. I also enjoy Akira.

There was also Elfen Lied, but that one's messed up on multiple levels. Not that the other two aren't...

[dew]

Angel's Egg

Mind Game

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

WXIII: Patlabor 3

Perfect Blue

*is aloof, mysterious and cool*

[Ledillman]

Has nobody even mentioned glorious HUNTER X HUNTER 2011 ?

Oh, and BERSERK too, amazing, just amazing, while the original anime is pretty rad, I didn't like the ending, i'd recommend watching the movies too.

Some more:

• Puella Magi Madoka magica + the third movie
• Evangelion
• FMAB
• Yuu Yuu Hakusho
• Danshi Kouokusei no Nichijou (comedy)
• LOVE LIVE
• LOVE LIVE: SUNSHINE
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Little Busters and Little Busters Refrain!
• LOVE LIVE! THE SCHOOL IDOL MOVIE

[sirjuddington]

2 hours ago, Ledillman said:

Has nobody even mentioned glorious HUNTER X HUNTER 2011 ?

 

Yeah I was surprised not to see it mentioned yet. Finished watching it recently and it's definitely become one of my favourites, just does everything really well.

[Egyptian Guardian]

Garfield is my favorite. It has an amazing plot with twists, great dialogue and voice acting across the board. It also showcases the dog Odie as one of the greatest villains of all time!

 

Spoiler

Garfield is really Jon all along!

 

[Lizardcommando]

Well, for just anime in general, I'd suggest Cowboy Bebop, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100, Samurai Champloo, Yuu Yuu Hakusho, FLCL, Paranoia Agent and most Gundam series... Which brings me to this next part. 

 

For which series I'd watch for Gundam, the original Mobile Suit Gundam (original Anime or the movie compilation if you want to skip out on deeper character development), Zeta Gundam (original anime version), the 08th MS Team OVA, Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket (Highly recommended! 6 episodes long but well worth watching) Gundam 0083 Star Dust Memories, Gundam Unicorn (the original 7 OVAs, not the chopped up 25 episode Gundam RE:0096 version), Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. Gundam 00 is not bad. First season is great, the second season and the OVA is ok.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Lizardcommando

[Ichor]

11 hours ago, Bernie said:

Garfield is my favorite. It has an amazing plot with twists, great dialogue and voice acting across the board. It also showcases the dog Odie as one of the greatest villains of all time!

In the latest season, Odie (revealed to be Odyssio, who was long thought to be dead after the giant ninja robot invasion 20 years ago), goes back in time after finding the power jewel of MacGuffin and prevents Garfield from being born. And now there's no Garfield.

[dew]

11 hours ago, Bernie said:

Garfield is my favorite. It has an amazing plot with twists, great dialogue and voice acting across the board. It also showcases the dog Odie as one of the greatest villains of all time!

I much prefer the original manga. I feel like the anime is rushed and doesn't properly convey the philosophical depth the mangaka operates with.