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What anime should everyone watch?
I want to make a list of anime that everyone should see, whether completely new to the medium or a veteran.
Personally, i'd say FLCL. It's a rollercoaster.
I want to make a list of anime that everyone should see, whether completely new to the medium or a veteran.
Personally, i'd say FLCL. It's a rollercoaster.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
I'm not so sure that's something I'd suggest to everyone.
Call me stupid, but there are many things for me to see before I watch the same 50+ episode for the second time just to check the differences.
FMA: Brotherhood speeds up the retreading and gets to the different story arc very quickly, in less than ten episodes I believe.
But my time is limited and there are lots of awesome stories out there I know nothing about!
Plus: I watched a few episodes of Brotherhood and I prefer the original. I don't get this fidelity hard-on. If the Grimm brothers were true to the source material, they would have been nothing but two scriveners!
I also like the original Blade Runner a lot more than the stupid director's cut. And Apocalypse Now. And Alien. Some scenes were meant to be cut! Directors know shit! I think I got a little carried away here... :P
I prefer the original FMA myself, I find it to be more poetic in terms of how the plot develops. But I was surprised that Brotherhood essentially felt like a completely different story by the end.
It's enough that I would actually say they could count as different shows, which isn't something I expected going into it.
Brotherhood diverges massively from the original Anime, to the point where the original anime adaption is almost like a spin-off from the manga. There are entire geographical regions and countries added to the overall world, as well as a far more in-depth exploration of the nature of alchemy and also competing forms of alchemy. It also honestly features way more and way better action scenes near the end than what the original Anime delivered, you can't top King Bradley defeating an entire platoon of soldiers including armoured support with nothing but a sabre, and the fight choreography is simply gorgeous throughout. It also has, imho, far more complete and satisfying arcs for Colonel Mustang and his crew, not to mention the new characters it introduces, many of which really add to the overall flavour of the world in a way I feel like Dante never properly did.
The animation is also consistently good, you may think it a little unreasonable to compare the new and shiny thing to the older Anime but Brotherhood's qualities are not strictly related to it taking advantage of improved technologies, it simply features good art direction, good composition, and just overall a ton of effort and animation craft that is a joy to watch throughout.
FMA:Brotherhood is 100% worth the watch even if you have seen the original multiple times, because it simply isn't the same. It's not "checking for differences" as much as it just watching an entirely new season of FMA you never got to see before.
You might’ve seen it but the OP asked for anime that everyone should watch from the new to anime viewer to those who have seen everything.
FMA:B is one of the great anime ever put to screen and it absolutely should be considered by anyone who watches anime
Evangelion. It's what got me into anime and I never really found anything else like it. So, I never really got that into anime.
Eva isn't even one of my tip-top favorite anime, but it's pretty clearly the #1 choice for must-see things. While there are other things which have appeal to those who don't necessarily like what anime typically is (Miyazaki films, for instance), Evangelion has that appeal while also being distinctly anime, both being heavily grounded in established tropes and influencing everything that came after.
It's also just really good.
RahXephon is Evangelion's slightly better planned brother, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone. It also has one of the best tragic romances in Anime. There is also an extremely condensed version for those who don't have patience for the series.
Both were just added to VRV via HIDIVE
I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion.
What does that even mean?
VRV is a streaming service. HIDIVE is a channel they just added to it.
i watched it in chunks on TV as a kid so I don't remember most of it. I've been meaning to go back to watch it but I'm confused by all the different versions out now.
I would personally just watch the whole original series plus End of Evangelion, but you can also just watch the new movies which are kind of a series remix with a different ending. Those movies are a series in themselves, and I think they are still in the middle of producing the final one.
Tatami Galaxy is one of the best anime I haven't ever heard anyone talking about. It is a growing up story that tackles the unique position this generation goes through. It's very experimental in animation and narritive but that's just another thing to love. I guess the best way to describe it is that it's like a novel in anime form.
The Big O is Batman with giant robots. It's got a crazy noir and art deco inspired art style and a very compelling plot and world that is still very captivating today because it never answered several of it's mysteries.
Although you probably have to be familiar with Lupin III in order to fully appreciate it, A Woman Called Fujiko Mine is worth a watch even if you aren't. It transforms a property that was mostly about the heists they would go on and focuses it on developing the characters instead. The animation is also completely unlike anything else out there.
I'm sure I don't need to explain how awesome Cowboy Bebop is. I'll just recommend watching the movie as well. Space Dandy has the same creator, and it's one of the only comedies I would put on this list.
There are a lot of traditional 'everyone should watch these' anime, like FMA, Cowboy Bebop, etc. But for some anime that I think everyone should watch that aren't as mainstream, I would say:
I think these cover a pretty wide range of genres and interests, and while relatively popular aren't as well known to the wider western community.
I would like to say Ouran High School Host Club, mostly because the dub is honestly great and one of the better ones. It holds up pretty solidly and the animation is nice (you don't get those really BAD frames if memory serves). It's also just a really fun story and the characters are very lovable. I've known A LOT of different people who have enjoyed it. As a side note, Samurai Champloo was tied, mostly because the dub is also outstanding, the theme and music and animation and story are top tier as well. It's a very solid anime.
As someone not really into anime: The films Hayao Miyazaki did for Studio Ghibli. I still haven't seen all of them myself though. Of the ones I have seen I consider Spirited Away my favourite.
I think I'm going to have to agree with you on FLCL. I think Akira, and Paprika are also really good picks
Re: Paprika, everything Satoshi Kon made in his tragically short life was pure gold. I would also recommend Paranoia Agent and Tokyo Godfathers. These two are also the only anime I am aware of that represents gay men in a respectful way (in other words, not as a joke).
Tokyo Godfathers is absolutely great. Another must watch for anyone really.
Maybe it was the English dub of Paprika, but one thing I didn't like about that movie is that they never explained just who or what the hell she actually was. She had some connection to the other woman, but what exactly?
Everything else about the movie I absolutely loved.
It's been a while since I've seen it so I'd have to re-watch to see if that's something that was ever explained in the Japanese version.
I guess I'll have to bring the obligatory Madoka Magica recommendation. The less you know about it going in, the better, but this show in particular is the reason that the "three episode rule" is a thing.
I considered recommending it, but it's one of those shows I wouldn't want to show to someone who was new to anime since most of it's impact comes from the way it subverts the magical girl tropes.
Personally I would say Attack on Titan. It's what got me into anime, and I think it breaks a lot of the anime stereotypes. A lot of people think anime is all cheesy romance stories and whatnot so I think if you have to recommend a first anime it should be something that doesn't fall in line with generic anime stereotypes. Death Note would also be a good one in terms of solid plot, writing, and animation without being the generic anime.
I've kinda given up on anime for years because it seemed to always revolve around some variation of "high school boy finding out he can communicate with spirits" and "super fighter finds technique to become ultra fighter". Attack on Titan got me back into anime. It's nuts enough to only be possible in anime and it has a visual "thing" going on that sets it apart from the usual anime aesthetics. Still awfully stretched (what's in that goddamn cellar?!?) but those titans look an absolutely unique yet perfectly anime kind of creepy and I like how they built all the nerdy details around figuring out how to fight them. It's fun!
I think you are probably talking about Shonen anime. It's called that because it's targeted to boys and teenagers. While that doesn't automatically make them bad, the incredible popularity of the metagenre gives a skewed impression about anime as a whole.
The way many Shonen anime gets produced makes them have to really stretch out the plot so that it keeps parity with the progress of the manga. This is why many of them get produced for years on end and why the less popular ones end without a proper conclusion.
The thing is that there is a lot of variety to Anime. Not everything is made to cater to kids, and sometimes it can be an auteur production. You just have to look.
I feel like 80% of the plot usually follows the "anime formula" and that means the remaining 20% have to be really interesting. The ones that do not do the formula are incredibly rare. It's also an aesthetics thing for me. It's hand drawn, you can do a lot of things there, no reason to make them all look the same.
It's been yeas since I took a deep dive and tried to track down good anime to watch but even the most enthusiastic recommendations seemed to not move far from the formula. Maybe I should do another search! ;)
That all being said, I've watched a ton of anime in my life and some is really great! It started with me discovering Akira (the manga, actually before I discovered that there was an animated version and – oh boy!), then Cowboy Bebop because they played that on MTV back then and Ghost in the Shell. All the Miyazaki/Ghibli stuff, of course, because it's just too damn good but it seems almost its own category of animation. Others I remember fondly are Paprika and Mind Game. I like when they go all-out and have a bit of a unique style!
Anime can change a lot based on who gets put in charge of different aspects of production. It's surprisingly auteur. So if there is something you like about a particular show, look and find who was in charge of that aspect and find out what else they have done. This is the best way to find shows that will interest you.
If you liked Paprika, Satoshi Kon had a pretty good career to follow. I think you would particularly appreciate Paranoia Agent. Tokyo Godfathers is my favorite Kon work though.
Mind Game was created by Masaaki Yuasa, who also made Tatami Galaxy, a show I recommended earlier.
Our conversation motivated me to do some googling and I now have both on my radar! Might check out a few new (to me) anime over the next couple of weeks, it's been ages!
Yeah a LOT of anime is just the generic "woah wacky teen has wacky thing happen in his mundane life!!!" which is why I haven't watched a lot of anime lately. I don't know, I have a to watch list but I just can't get back into it.
JoJo, older parts, from the beginning. This is probably the most balanced, fun show for many audiences. Not too calm, not too crazy, with moderate special abilities.
5 centimeters per second, a non episodic anime which is just pure jaw dropping art, realistic dramatic slice of life.
Hunter X Hunter.
I think it's a show that'll exceed most people's expectations by virtue of being so long and progressing at an even pace. It's still a shounen and has some of the associated tropes, but it really delivers something special that will probably draw in whoever's watching it into the medium. Every new anime watcher who I've shown it to loved it.
Mushishi
It's a succession of (mostly) standalone episode with a very strong fairy tale vibes. It has a very mellow and calm atmosphere.
I'd still say Gundam, especially Gundam Wing. It's fairly accessible (provided you watch the episodes in order, from the beginning) and doesn't rely on comedic anime tropes or fanservice too much, it's just a really cool sci-fi story with giant fighty robots and I think a lot of people could appreciate it for that.
I don't like 'serious' cartoons, I think the whole idea is stupid. Cartoons are for kid shows and comedies.
However with that said - One Punch Man is the epitome of television and should be watched by everyone.
Animation is a medium, not a genre. The advantage of it is that you can depict things that would be extremely difficult or impossible to film in live action. It's really closed-minded to discount all animation that is not for children or comedies.
Perfect Blue.
Basically everything I’d say has been said already, but just to repeat some with extra info on what to expect:
And two personal suggestions that I haven’t seen mentioned:
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
some say its the anti-Evangelion, but to me, its just an over the top, very inspiration piece of art that spoke to me and blew my mind