Anime Recommendations
What would you recommend for someone getting into anime?
It really depends on what you are into personally, but I definitely feel like there are a few series and anime movies that can help you decide what suites your own personal tastes. These are by no means "The Best" anime of each genre, more so Anime that can help you determine what you want to focus on and consume. While all of these will have some degree of fan service in them, I did try to pick titles that does not have an excess of needless fan service.
Note: Unless stated, either the sub or dub is fine to watch.
1 - My Hero Academia - Shonen | 8 Seasons and a handful of Movies
MHA is one of the most popular Shonen anime to come out in the past decade, and at the time of writing this the final season is currently wrapping up. It follows a green haired kid named Deku, who is born powerless into a world that has real superheros. His true dream is to become like those heroes he's always looked up to and due to a chance encounter with the worlds Number One Hero, Deku is given the chance to try and become that person he's always aspired to be.
Quite a large portion of the current anime community started with watching this and overall it's quite enjoyable overall. However it's not without criticism, as it suffers very heavily from "too many character's" syndrome (the main cast is in excess of 25 people who all get screen time) along with quite a bit of questionable fan service, but if you can look past both of these points the anime overall is quite a fun watch. Nearly all the main character's stories are wrapped up by the end of the series and, while I did just complain about the amount of characters, the variety of different super powers and character designs allows everyone to have their own hero that they can grow attached to.
2 - Ghost Stories (Dub) - Comedy/"Mystery" | 1 Season and 1 OVA
The dub for this anime is sort of infamous in the anime community, and how the dub came to be is hotly debated. The short version is Funimation acquired this dub in some way, shape, or form and the Voice Actors decided to make one of the most unhinged pieces of media you will ever have the pleasure to experience. I will give a bit of warning, there is a decent amount of fan service in this and the humor is very early 2000's but if you can look past both of those things the Anime is peak comedy.
I would attempt to describe the plot here, but really all you need to know is there are ghosts. Something strange is happening in the neighborhood. They don't know who to call, so they have to become ghostbusters. Hilarity ensures. Trust me, when you finally do watch it you'll wonder why you waited so long. Below is a clip from the dub, illustrating just how unhinged it is.
3 - Hi-Score Girl - Comedy/Drama | 3 Seasons
This anime is a coming of age story about two kids, Haruto and Akira, who bond over their shared love of arcade games. Both of our main characters are super talented at them and will do almost anything to win, and this anime goes through their entire adolescence as they learn what falling in love for the first time is like. Its a great story, and while it is three seasons, it goes by super quickly and you get a completed story by the end. I also don't believe there is much, if any, fan service in this anime however it has been a number of years since I watched it.
Now the issues with this anime. There are two big ones and I'll start with the first. It was an early Netflix anime adaption so the animation can be very stiff at times and can really turn someone off, especially if they are more used to today's style of animation or if they want to only watch well produced anime. This isn't that. The other issue is that Akira is mute and it can be viewed as a negative as she has almost no dialogue and all of her communication has to be inferred via body language which could turn some people off to this. However, on the other hand this is one of the strengths of the anime because of the interesting circumstances it puts Haruto and Akira into.
4 - My Roomate is a Cat - Iyashikei, Slice of Life | 1 Season
If you like like cat's then this is the anime for you. Subaru Mikazuki, our leading man, is a introverted author. One day he adopts a cat and hijinxs of a new pet owner ensure. Subaru has to learn how to take care of his new fuzzy buddy, Haru, and if you've ever had a cat then you'll be able to easily relate to the situations the two of them experience. This anime is a great little introduction to the "Slice of Life" genre since "Iyashikei" is a sub-genre of SoL anime whos goal is aimed to make the viewer feel peaceful and "have a healing effect", and My Roommate is a Cat delivers on this in every episode.
I would add a section talking about the flaws of the anime itself, however I watched it when it aired in 2019 and remember really enjoying it, but never see it discussed online anywhere. I do plan to re-watch this soon and when I do I'll come back and add more here, however I don't think it needs a post of it's own.
5 - Akira - Cyberpunk, Action | Movie
Akira is the anime movie that started it all over here...depending on who you ask. I wasn't alive when it came out. It (along with Ghost in the Shell) should be on your "To Watch" list as the amount of influence Akira has over popular culture is above and beyond nearly any other piece of popular media. The scene of the Bike Slide has been parodied across TV, Movies, Video Games, Album covers, Posters, Shirts, you name it and there is likely a chance you can find a parody of the scene somewhere in pop culture, and this is just a singular scene from a two hour movie! It's influences are so far reaching beyond that one scene as well, and to be honest it really deserves a post of it's own, so I will keep this pretty short.
The only warning I will give is this movie is rated R, and it does have some violent and explicit scenes (including sexual violence) so be warned of that before watching if this could be something that could upset you, but if you're able to stomach that, the experience of Akira for the first time is something truly magical.
6 - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End - Adventure/Fantasy | 1 Season
I debated back and forth on putting either Bofuri or Frieren on this list, and at the end of the day I feel that while Bofuri is a good anime (I know a few people who got into anime off watching it after not being able to find anything they've liked), and it has the same amount of episodes as Frieren, the second season really holds it back. Frieren, on the other hand has some of the best visuals and storytelling of any anime that has aired in the past decade or so.
The story is set years after Frieren and her party have vanquished the demon lord. She decides she wants to meet up with her old party members and the story unfolds from there. It is a bit of slow-burn, due to how Frieren is an elf, her choices usually take the path of allowing things to unfold and some people may be turned off to that, as actions and fights only occur if she really has no other choice (If I remember right...I need to re-watch the anime to make sure I'm not getting another anime confused with it here), but you grow to love the character's as we follow their journey throughout the world they inhabit. As of writing, there is a second season coming out soon and it's sure to be excellent!
What about some anime for people who're not new to anime?
So you've seen everything on the above list, or maybe fan service doesn't bother you as much. Maybe you're currently in your "Black Hole" phase of anime where you somehow consume shows at a rate you'll never be able to accomplish again. Here are some good picks that will quickly turn you into a seasoned Weeb.
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Action/Mecha | 1 Season and 5 movies
There are many things that could be said about Evangelion, to the point that college thesis papers have been written about the series and its themes. It will either be one of the greatest anime you ever watch and possibly change your life, or you will find it so confusing you won't understand the hype behind it. But that's okay, because the anime is suppose to be obtuse and confusing as you watch through it.
This is another anime that will eventually have it's own post so I'll keep this brief for the time being. If you have the time to watch the anime, it comes highly recommended. However, do yourself the biggest favor in the world and track down either the original ADV dub or original japanese sub version and skip the Netflix re-release version.
Konosuba - Isekai, DnD Madness | 3 Seasons, 4 OVA's, 1 Movie
Konosuba is what would happen if the worst group of players decided to undertake a DND campaign to defeat the demon lord. Then every last thing that could go wrong, does go wrong. You have a priest who only cares about money, the tank who can't hit anything, a mage who can only cast a literal nuke and the dude who tries to keep everything from falling 100% apart. If you're someone who loves to play DND or TTRPG's then you should stop everything you're doing and put this at the top of your 'To Watch' List.
This is the first anime on either list that has a lot of fan service, but we're not on the beginner list, and I'm sure you've seen your fair share of fan service at this point. Give it a watch and enjoy the madness.
Laid Back Camp - Comedy, Slice of Life | 3 Seasons, 1 Movie
It's cold out, but you know what sounds like it could be fun? Camping. This anime is about camping. That's it. Three seasons of camping. And its a blast. You learn a ton about camping in general and get to follow the main girls (Rin, Nadeshiko, Ayano, Aoi and Chiaki) in silly adventures and hijinx. However, be warned that watching this may result in you going camping...even if its 10 degrees out.
Perfect Blue - Drama, Thriller | Movie
Perfect Blue will be the only title listed on here that will have less said about it than more. Satoshi Kon, who directed this along with Paprika (another movie that should be on your to watch list) was a huge influence on media and going into this blind is one of the best things you could do for yourself. No trailer link for this one, it would be a disservice to the film itself.
Neo Tokyo - Multiple Genres | Movie
Neo Tokyo is a little bit of a special entry, as it is not the greatest in terms of story. Instead, it's here because of how amazing the visuals and animation are in this. So what is Neo Tokyo? Instead of being one long movie, its broken up into three non-related OVA's
- Labyrinth Labyrinthos
- Running Man
- The Order to Stop Construction
and all three have some gorgeous visuals. It's a very early anime movie so there is a lot of violence and gore, but we're here more for how it looks and the special effects of the movie. Below is a link to an ancient AMV (anime music video) that uses parts from 'Running Man' to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. The trailer for the whole film will be linked right after.
Ghost in the Shell - Cyberpunk, Psychological, Mystery | Movie
So much could be said about GitS, and one day it will have it's own dedicated post, but for now this little blurb will have to do. Like the other movies on this list, Ghost in the Shell had a marked impact on Pop Culture, however unlike the other movies on this list GitS may have had the largest influence and impact due to it "Influencing" a certain small movie called "The Matrix". Between this and Akira, both cyperpunk and sci-fi were forever changed and shaped into what we have today.
Due to the main plot of the film relying on the viewer to figure out what's going on, I will keep this to a pretty short entry overall, but if you have the time (the runtime is under 90 minutes) you should absolutely seek this out.
Ghost in the Shell does have media beyond just this one movie, however I have not seen any of it due to the general consensus of it not living up to the original movie, as well as a disappointing live action remake with Scarlet Johansson.
Higurashi When They Cry - Mystery, Horror | Bro you better have a minute
Higurashi is a mystery series, and they do a pretty good job of obfuscating what exactly is going on. Without spoiling too much, a series of grusome murders happens each year in the town of Hinimizawa and our main character Keiichi Maebara is (maybe) on the case. The anime is broken up into what are called "Question" and "Answer" arcs and each one slowly unravels the mystery for the viewer.
Higurashi is based off an excellent visual novel series of the same name and if you can find the time commitment, it is absolutely worth your time, but the anime is not without its flaws. Its an early 2000's anime and it came out right as the push to CGI was getting huge so there can be some jarring moments of not great CG, as well as inconsistent censorship of the violence. The dub is also quite weak and I would personally recommend sticking to the sub, especially if you decide to stick with the series as the newest seasons will likely never receive an official English dub due to how poor the original was received.
Oh High School DxD, how we love you. If there is one show on this list that you should watch alone its 100% this one. The fan service in this one isn't measured by TPM but actually TPS (that's Tits per Minute and Tits Per Second) with the anime hitting levels of uncensored fan service the likes of actual hentai studios could only dream of. And I'm sure you're sitting there, ready to put something in your hand as you're putting this on, w0ndering if this actually is a hentai that somehow snuck onto this list, and let me assure you, it's not. There IS a story here.
What is the story? Our main man Issei is a horny kid, and all he wants to do it grab him some bozangas. One night, a girl gives him the chance...and then kills him. He gets revived by a red headed hottie with even bigger bonanga's and his life mission becomes "to touch dem boobies". We quickly discover Issei is literally powered by boobies and insanity follows as he collects his very own Harem though nothing but hard work, perseverance, and a dragon grabbin arm.
Okay yeah, the fan service is outrageous and gratuitous, but there's a reason it's the last one listed. I assume that by this point you've become a fully seasoned weeb and something like this won't bother you much. It's a super fun watch, and if you choose the dub (which you should) you're in for dialogue that rivals Ghost Story at times.
Okay, awesome! Now how about some anime I should avoid?
Want to know whats not worth your time watching on popular lists? I got you
Elfen Lied - Seinen, Gore, Horror | 1 Season
This was a popular "Gatekeeping" anime in the late 2000's due to the excessive...well...everything. People would recommend newbies to give it a watch with no warning about the insane ride they had just admitted themselves to and to be honest most of it is just cruelty.
That's the best way to sum this anime up. Cruelty for cruelty's sake. There are so many scenes of characters torturing each other in incredibly brutal and ruthless ways and it never amounts to much of anything. It's just twelve episodes of depression and ero guro. There are plenty of better options with today's anime offering to depress yourself with that isn't just twelve episodes of borderline fetishism.
The Promised Neverland - Mystery, Horror | Season 2
Season 1 of the Promised Neverland is amazing, and at some point in the future I would love to re-watch it and make a blog post talking about everything about it. However, you may be wondering why it's not on either of the above lists if I enjoyed it so much and that's due to the trainwreck that was the second season.
The first season does an amazing job with the world building and mystery that it presents. It makes you care for and root for the kids as they try to find a way to escape the terrible situation they find themselves in, they have a goal and they're working to achieve it! Then they decided to make...well whatever this turned out to be. If you watch Season 1 and enjoy it, do yourself a favor and pretend like Season 2 never existed. In fact, I won't even link the trailer for S2, because I would rather pretend it really never happened
Pupa - Body Horror/Gross | 1 Season (4 Min Episodes)
Look, no one is ever going to tell you to watch this anime. Outside of this post right here, and a few youtube videos/Icebergs on obscure/disturbing anime, you may never hear about this nightmare fuel. But, if for some reason you ever do come across this anime, read the description and go "Oh, yeah. This seems bad but like...it can't be THAT bad...right?"
You're wrong.
Very wrong.
This has to be one of the worst thing's I have ever watched.
I'd rather watch Boku No Pico again.
Anyway, if my warning isn't enough of a deterrent, below is a trailer for this.
Image Credits:
Cover Image: SirGrafo
Each anime's respective banner image: Anilist.co