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Ask Anime Recommendation thread
Same as before, if anyone want to look for some anime to watch but don't feel like making a full post, here's a place for everyone to ask each other for recommendations.
Someone previously also asked for good anime "intro points" here and got lots of good recommendations. If anyone has any more to add feel free to also suggest here.
P/S: You can also ask for manga recommendation here or share about your current watch/read here.
I watched Tomo-chan Is a Girl and loved it! Went looking for other anime that captures the same sweetness. I found Komi Can't Communicate and liked it even more! They occupy the same space in my brain: characters finding their way in the world, trying to overcome their limitations, with supportive and interesting casts behind them. Now that I've finished these two, I feel a palpable sense of loss.
What other anime — probably in the romcom or slice of life genres — captures a similar sweetness and supportiveness between quirky characters? I've tried several others, and they're not quite scratching the same itch.
I prefer to watch dubs, so if you can recommend dubbed anime, that would be awesome. Can't wait to see what you suggest!
The first show I though of after your first paragraph was Horimiya. It is so wholesome.
If you haven't checked out Toradora! yet, it meets your criteria perfectly.
Clannad is also a classic wholesome romcom, though if you have any interest in visual novels that's probably the better option.
I will never forgive Toradora for that Drama Bomb right in the middle of the series
I'll interpret your question as seeking wholesome, character-driven anime. None of these are explicitly romance anime, however.
Bocchi the Rock! [no dub] -- a guitar prodigy struggles with her social anxiety while her friends do their best to support her
Ranking of Kings [dub] -- a diminutive prince doubted my many proves himself
The Demon Girl Next Door [dub] -- a magical girl takes pity on a demon girl and decides to help her become stronger
Nichijou - My Ordinary Life [dub] -- a trio of childhood friends get into high jinks
Here are a couple anime that are character-driven, albeit not necessarily wholesome. They're classics, though, so I'll recommend them in case you want to broaden your scope some.
Your Lie in April [dub] -- a violin-playing classmate inspires a gifted child pianist to play piano again
Violet Evergarden [dub] -- raised without emotions, Violet learns about love and loss through her work writing letters
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is very funny and sweet. It does lean toward the comedy side but not overdone, pretty laid back feel, and plenty of cute scenes between the two leads. The dub seems pretty good.
I watched Angel's Eggs a while ago and really like the cryptic storyline and minimal dialogues. Anyone knows any other anime like that? Preferably movie length cuz last time I also watched Serial Experiments Lain which fits that mood but tv show length was too much for my brain to handle.
It sounds like you would like Cat Soup
Thank you! Just found a clip of it on youtube and it looks right at home.
The first thing to pop to mind is, unfortunately, another show with Boogiepop Phantom. It’s basically a show about vibe (dark and brooding), so cryptic story without much dialogue (it came out around the same time as Lain and they both get lumped together frequently, which is deserved but they are very different shows)
(This is only talking about the 90s one, not the recent one. Have not seen it, did not hear good things).
Some that don’t work as well:
Belladonna of Sadness - Dark but vibrant with the color work, not really cryptic though. This is more of trying to match high artistry
Mushishi isn’t cryptic, but fits in the theme of shifting focus from dialogue to cinematography while being kind dark (Show + Movies)
Mamoru Oshii’s other work - nothing is a duplicate of Angel’s Egg, but he generally works with more focus of beautiful long shots instead of dialogue. If you haven’t seen Ghost in the Shell yet, there’s a reason it’s a staple and man are there some awesome shots in it
EDIT: Oh, and adding to the list of anime that don't fit too well: Shigurui (again TV show though, samurai historical drama). It's very dark and gory (so if you don't like gore, definitely do not watch it), but it has limited dialogue and probably the best cinematography I've ever seen in an anime. It's just absolutely beautiful to watch and take in - again only if you're okay with gore though. But man is it beautiful and a trip to watch
Shows are more challenging but not to worry, it's not like I avoid them at all cost haha. I did watch Mushishi before and very much enjoyed it so I'll just work my way through the other shows slowly when I have the time.
I recently watched Berserk (2016), Berserk (1997), and Berserk (2022). Is there any reason to watch the 3 movies? They are surprisingly difficult to find.
Some other shows that I have watched partially but would like to finish eventually:
Some shows/movies I have watched that I want to rewatch now that I am older:
Shows I really want to watch:
I know I have a lot more but I can't remember them and I don't have my crunchy roll account on my work computer. Besides, all of this is going to lose the second I get my hands on more of the Berserk manga.
Psycho-Pass, Sword Art Online, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Maybe the 2023 Urusei Yatsura.
Ah I take it that this is your recs for anime "intro points" right?
I like all of the above. The first two as good sci-fi, the third as an example of a magical girl anime that transcends the genre. (Puella Magi Madoka Magica is great but would have been a conventional answer; Futari wa Precure and Futari wa Precure Max Heart are superficially a magical girl anime but they mix the fighting of Dragonball Z with a religious education that covers Shinto and Confucianism)
If you want fan service but very well done there is Strike Witches. Just as Urusuei Yatsura is "present day Japan merged with the Heian period and aliens", Gin Tama is "present day Japan mixed with the Meiji period and aliens with a dose of American style humor". I had been a fan of the Hyperdimension Neptunia games and found that Gin Tama was the decoder ring for the humor of Neptunia, most people think Gin Tama starts slowly and it might be one of the most challenging anime there is but also the most rewarding. It certainly has many of the best gag sequences there are
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THmkQ_CYonc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4S9NuI6NKo
and yeah I am watching Chaika: The Coffin Princess right now.
Interesting. I would not suggest SAO or Psycho-Pass as an introduction to anime. May I ask what about them makes them good intros to you?
Oh I just assumed so since the topic description said 'suggest more intro anime' :p At least with Psycho-Pass, it was a fairly popular cyberpunk back then and that's like everybody favorite genre atm so maybe it'd still work.
Though it seems you don't believe that's the case, may I also ask what makes you think so? ...UNO ...reverse ...card... :p
The main reason I wouldn't suggest Psycho-Pass to someone as an introduction to anime is the same reason the show is so great and partially why I love the medium so much. Psycho-pass gets brutal, dark, and intense in ways I don't see nearly as often outside of anime (at least I don't think so), and I attribute partially to both the medium of animation, and partially to the way manga/anime gets created. There are sequences in the show that get very difficult to watch because it is doing a great job of making me feel the emotions and the reaction the show wants me to have, which is crushed and depressed and broken. In the same vein, while I love both shows, I most likely wouldn't introduce someone to anime with Chainsaw Man or Tokyo Ghoul.
That's a really good point I undervalued. Lots of cyberpunk is popular right now. To be fair, a lot of this will depend on the taste and sensibilities of the person you are making the recommendation for. Someone who is a massive horror fan or cyberpunk fan will have a much better time with it than someone who watches mostly romcoms. I tend toward suggesting shows that are more "stereotypical" anime for the genre the person likes (note: I know for some people that is interchangeable with "shonen", but I do not mean that here. I don't only recommend shonen to people if I am trying to get them into anime), and then once they're hooked I start showing them some of the more "out there" stuff.
I wouldn't suggest SOA because I have a personal strong dislike of the show :P