Are there any animes or TV shows you can't stop recommending?
Are there any animes or TV shows you can't stop recommending?
Are there any animes or TV shows you can't stop recommending?
Apothecary Diaries
I cannot stress this enough. Apothecary Diaries
Light hearted and fun (low stress):
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Kuma Kuma Kuma bear
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Mashle
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Raising kids while adventuring
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I parry everything
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Killing slimes for 300 years
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By the grace of the gods
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Fluffy paradise
Used to also recommend Bofuri but the last episode of season 2 implies heavily that season 3 is going to head way off in a completely different feel from 1+2
Lighter and did not end on a hard cliffhanger
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Aristocrat's otherworldly adventures
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Banished former hero lives as he pleases
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Campfire cooking in another world
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Level 2 super cheat powers
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Reincarnated as the 7th prince
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Parallel world pharmacy
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Sleepy princess in the demon castle
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Villainess level 99
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The wrong way to use healing magic
Other suggestions offered based on the person's preferences:
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Dungeon Meshi
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Goblin Slayer
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So I'm a spider, so what?
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Solo leveling
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That time I got reincarnated as a slime
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Dan da Dan
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The vexations of a shut-in vampire princess
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Ya boy Kongming
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Standalone complex
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One punch man
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Kill la kill
Dan da Dan is just coming out now. First episode animation looked really good and it is off the walls insane.
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The Leftovers
OMG!!! I get to recommend Delicious in Dungeon!!! The show is a bit of a slow burn, but the early episodes set up the incredible world building and the basic plot points. Then as it starts churning it gets crazy. The story is strong enough on it’s own, but it’s animated by Studio Trigger so the anime is pure perfection.
I keep hearing it's amazing but I bounced off hard on the first couple episodes. I wish anime didn't need the 5 episodes rule, things should sell themselves from the start. Maybe I'll give it another go. My wife is keen to watch it.
I powered through as I kept hearing everyone recommend this. It felt pointless because I didn't get watching a cooking show about stuff you could never eat because it isn't real.
The comments I read said it took a tonal shift when they finally got back to the red dragon. It's about halfway through, which took me weeks to get to.
The second half is awesome! If this is what it was like all along, it would have been amazing. The first half gives you nothing to expect what the second half is, which makes it feel more intense, but I still feel is kinda terrible pacing.
I want more now because the characters really are good, which is probably why they used that first half the way they did, but it was tough before seeing where it was going. Frieren had a much better buildup before it really started getting serious for example.
I was hooked by the second episode.
I was also watching a lot of cooking shows while playing Elden Ring. So maybe it was right fit right time.
Read the manga first to get past that initial hump. You can clear like 5 episodes worth of material in the time it takes to watch an episode and see if it's for you.
Gurren Lagan
Fucken watch it
Also,
Log Horizon is what SAO wishes it was
Just who the hell do you think we are?
Yeah absolutely clicked on this to spout my spiel about Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It’s my favorite anime ever.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is up there too, but I like TTGL more.
Fuck i forgot about Gurren Lagan. What am I doing with my life
Gurren Lagan
What is so great about this? Just watched the first couple of eps. First impression is not good: It seems like the classical mindless shonen fighting anime alongside pretty childish humor and a distastefully sexualized main female character. Her outfit is literally a bikini and she's sexualized in the very first scene and in basically every scene she's in since that one, wtf?
Clearly your drill is not the drill that will pierce the heavens. /s It's not for everyone, and for all the sexualization there is never any sex or nudity depicted. At least you gave it a try though!
The Good Place
Season 1 is just setting up the story
Holy motherforking shirtballs... someone stole my post idea!
Maybe not everyone cup of tea but to me Mr. Robot.
At first sight you may thinking the show is about "individual" hacker taking down corporate but once you understand it has longer lasting effect especially when you relate/something similar with Elliot. The cinematography, the score is chef kiss👌🏻, Season 2 slow burns on the first half but worth to not miss them.
The magical thing is this show on rewatch make more sense and definitely Sam Esmail planned everything from get go on writing.
Among the best TV series I have seen.
The thing that's so great about Mr. Robot is that it ends perfectly. You can tell the show writers decided exactly what story they wanted to tell and then executed on that plan. They didn't just meander about and eventually land on a half-assed ending once the show's budget dried up.
I disagree. First season was perfect. But then it went downhill into unresolved Lost mystery boxes. The last episode of the last season itself was great but Esmail had no idea how to fill out the episodes of the last season to get there.
He was throwing around split personalities like Ronald Moore threw around Cylons. The time machine story went nowhere despite a multi season build up.
SPOILER ALERT
First time I realized that the ending/revelation was that near in S1, jaw dropped really hard.
@Crafter72
I watched a good chunk of it when it was first coming out, but I had to drop it because i was frankly not in a good enough place to hear the things that show was trying to say.I can see your point as I watch the show after everything released (late 2022).
I was only able to get a couple episodes in. When his surrogate gay dad said that he'd do anything for him and two scenes later you have Rami Malek going "AHH I have noone who can help me what do I do?!??", I couldn't keep watching.
Though it might also be my inability to watch a show where characters get 'worse'. I got upto the third last episode of Arcane and when a pivotal moment in a characters story went bad It took me 5 days to finish the show.
Scavengers Reign is incredible, easily the best animated sci fi show made in the past few years IMO. It’s weird and emotional and deeply sincere in a way a lot of media isn’t anymore.
If you liked Fantastic Planet you’ll probably like Scavengers Reign.
I really enjoyed this show. The characters were all good the life cycles and the weird biology were interesting and largely made sense. There were only a couple points where I went that's silly the writers clearly just wanted x to happen but x was cool enough for the silly to not bother me too much, it just took me out the moment a little. Solid recommendation, one of the best sci-fi I've watched in the last couple years.
scavengers reign knocked me on my ass, great recommendation.
thanks for the recommandation. I just bingewatched it. Not my kind of show since the story is so thin: It's a road trip,
except the road is full of weird alien biology plant slowly trying to kill you
But that crazy alien biology is cool to watch
Honestly, Cowboy Bebop. The universe it builds feels lived-in, and the animation style is incredibl, but the music is really the star.
Be aware, however, that while there are happy moments, it is an anime about bounty hunters, and there are very few happy endings. Beautiful endings, poetic endings, satisfying endings - but never happy.
Bang.
See you space cowboy...
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
The first half was some of the best anime I've seen. Then it devolved into a by the numbers shonen complete with a magical school and "tests" with unnecessary action scenes. I was ultimately disappointed by it because the whole season didn't live up to the amazingly high standard the first few episodes set. I still enjoyed it and would give it a solid recommendation but it gets worse as it goes on in my opinion. The first half where you are properly seeing the world through the eyes of someone ageless has that beautiful sadness I don't think I've seen anywhere else.
The first episodes just gave me existential dread every time haha. So I was glad when they "softened up" after a while. But in hindsight, you're right, the end of season 1 got somewhat stereotypical. I wonder if season 2 will be better.
100% agree with you. Loved the first half and was really let down by the 2nd.
The only other show that's given me similar vibes to the 1st half of Frieren was Violet Evergarden. Not so much for the content but in the melancholic, beautiful-yet-bittersweet vibes the whole show gives off.
I think that show greatly benefitted from the limited runtime though and would have suffered if they'd tried to push it out to Frieren length.
Better call Saul - a beautiful drama with a hint of comedy and action. Better than Breaking bad and doesn't require much knowledge of it.
And then once you finish it, you can watch Breaking Bad again. Then El Camino. Then loop back around the Better Call Saul again. And once you're done, you can watch Breaking Bad again...
Steins;Gate, can't believe I haven't seen anyone mention it yet. It's good, but do watch at least halfway before you judge it.
Yeah this one takes several episodes to set the hook and understand some behaviors. But once it does it's binge worthy
This one happened during a period when moe was more brain-dead than cute, and the sister character who is supposed to be his motivation for everything just ruins the whole show for me she acts so stupid.
@Shkshkshk @asklemmy First season of Jessica Jones. But its got some major trigger warnings around sexual assault, suicide, domestic abuse and drug use, for a superhero show.
#superHeroesDavid Tennant deserved an award
Gurren Lagan, to second like a dozen people. Kill la Kill is A+ if you can get over it being weird Also I adored Promare.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners is another great one from Trigger. Set in Night City, same world the Cyberpunk 2077 game, a year or so beforehand (but the plots are largely independent).
Real strong warning though: There are no happy endings in Night City. The ending will fuck you up.
Yeah someone already spoiled me on that, I find myself not enjoying stuff that has turbo-downer endings.
Wife refused to watch anime because "of all the weird shit". Inuyasha broke the ice, Naruto got her a little further, and then I said "Let's watch this - but I'm going to tell you right now, your first reaction is going to be to recoil and cringe. But I promise - if you give it a chance, you'll enjoy it".
And probably ONLY because she loves me so much, she did give it a chance. And WOO boy that helped open the flood gates to sooooo much more. She loved Kill La Kill by the end of it, and ended up being so much more willing to trod through uncomfortable stuff with me. Which, unfortunately, sometimes you have to do when it comes to Anime.
My wife sat down and started watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure with me on a whim about half way through part one and she's a bigger weeb than I am now.
Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell_(1995_film)
A vintage cult classic, which is the inspiration for many other cult classics
Meh, Stand alone complex is among the best media in existence, that's my can't recommend enough.
Surprised I had to scroll down this far to see SAC mentioned
Though I love the original film too
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Frieren was awesome but it's so fresh I'm not absolutely sure it'll keep being that
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Severance season 1 (follow-up seasons upcoming, not sure if they can keep up with the extremely high quality of S1)
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True Detective season 1
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Madoka was great, thanks to tight storytelling and the best soundtrack I've ever heard
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Kino's Journey -- somewhat similar to Frieren but 20 years prior
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Chernobyl (2019)
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Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
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Firefly
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Twin Peaks, especially seasons 1 and 3, but season 2 and the movie might be needed to fully appreciate
Twin peaks has a third season?
Yup, the season's called the return. If you liked the first two seasons you should watch it
Yes and it's awesome.
I struggled to watch season 2 & 3. Fortunately, I had a buddy who watched with me because some scenes, you really question the choices.
As a whole ride on Mr Lynch's crazy train, I enjoyed it.
- Frieren was awesome but it's so fresh I'm not absolutely sure it'll keep being that.
Oh but it does (imo), I mainly read but I think Frieren and Atelier Witch Hat is the strongest running fantasy series currently.
I've been wanting to re-watch firefly lately. It's short but there's just so much in it. It's one of two shows I've watched start-to-finish more than once.
And since we're here for recommendations...the other show I've watched more than once is Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Based on a book by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) it's charming and insane in ways you might expect if you're familiar with Hitchhiker's Guide but it's absolutely not predictable either. So much fun. (Available on Netflix (in Canada...last I checked))
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Yeah that's a good one. Especially the first season, but the second ain't bad either.
Having pushed past season 2, I think the rest of True Detective is worth watching, although they're still very different from the first.
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For anime, I highly suggest Serial Experiments Lain if you haven't seen it. Non-anime cartoons I'd recommend are Adventure Time and Lower Decks (its star trek and hilarious). For crude/absurd humor Rick and Morty and Human Resources. For non-animated tv I'd recommend Strange New Worlds (star trek again), Sandman, Fall of the House of Usher, Severance (I haven't seen season 2 yet but the 1st season was really good)
Scavengers Reign. One of the best pieces of sci-fi I've ever seen. They managed to create a world that feels truly alien, and the environment has such complex cause/effect relationships. Highly recommend!
Just finished this yesterday, totally agree, 10/10
I only opened this thread to make sure someone mentioned this show. My husband keeps saying "I wish we could find another like that one we watched, with the alien really alien planet, what was it called?" It is impressive.
Delicious in Dungeon!
I recommend this to non-anime fans too! The episodes are so good and non-anime tropey.
Another one that I found gave a kinda similar feel is Dr Stone.
Though instead of diving deep into fantasy mechanics, that one is based on real world physics (well, other than some characters having super-human levels of skill) and rebuilding a modern society from scratch.
I find them similar due to their attention to detail and using their environment to build up their capabilities. The overall plot is very different and DinD has a bit more charm. Not that Dr Stone doesn't have charm.
If I could choose which one I want to see one more season of right now, I'd pick DinD. If I could choose which one gets seen through to the end, I'd pick Dr Stone.
I just couldn't get into the groove with Dr. Stone. I felt it required a much greater degree of suspension of disbelief since the setting is rooted in our reality, but they hand-wave over a lot of infrastructure needed to create the technologies they produce. When they got to cell phones/radios I just had to stop.
Anime:
- Pluto (Dark alternative story of Astro Boy)
- Banana Fish (heartbreaking, hard to forget. Don't get spoiled too much looking it up)
- Heavenly Delusion (brother gets brain transplanted into dead sisters body; interesting plot and characters but only one season so far)
Cartoon:
- Bojack Horseman (great mix of realistic depiction of depression and comedy)
- Arcane (almost makes one want to play League)
TV:
- Atlanta (surrealism and critique of society, also I just love Donald Glover)
- Dark (the one German show that is not ass)
- The Expanse (great sci-fi and politics, only gets weaker in the later seasons)
- Severance (one big black mirror episode, I am so hyped for season 2)
I recommend watching Undone especially if you liked Bojack Horseman; it's created by the same guy.
You can stream it for free here: https://hydrahd.com/ or check out the c/piracy wiki for one that suits you.
Oh I remember watching the first episode or so back when I still had amazon prime. Didn't know it was made by the Bojack creator.
I have the whole *arr suite and jellyfin now, but thanks for the suggestion.
Heavenly Delusion was a trip. I enjoyed it a lot
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. For me, it's the perfect anime. An amazing blend of action, narrative, great characters, and an extremely good and satisfying ending.
Archer is a great adult animation. I find it so goddamn funny.
Bojack Horseman is probably has the best fictional depiction of depression ever. Also has plenty of funny moments.
What did you find satisfying about the ending? While a big improvement over FMA, it didn't quite wow me
In comparison it's wildly different, and some of the comments to make are massive spoilers. I will say the difference in "sacrifice" is much better, as the first betrays some built in concepts, treats one of the childhood friends as disposable, and doesn't really let the main character grow.
In brotherhood they call out some of what I said, plus many more characters have much more enjoyable personalities, even some of the pieces of shit like Kimbley(at least he had principles, insane as they were). I like the homunculi better too, even if they were trying to go for a more emotional and artsy thing. Their father is also has far better reasons in Brotherhood for being absent.
I feel like the first anime tried to tug the heartstrings and/or focus solely on the brother relationship too much. I also hated what was done to Rose for what appeared to be no reason but to make things more emotional.
Pretty much anything by Trigger is going to be worth at least a watch through at least once, usually multiple times.
The League of Legends show, Arcane, is some of the best animation I think I've ever seen and season two comes out next month.
FLCL and FLCL Alternative are both amazing, I couldn't get into Progressive.
Mob Psycho and One Punch Man are wild rides. I think OPM is better, but that's because I'm bald.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an absolute hoot if you can see the humor in all the over-explanations and goofiness
I'm about to start Dead Dead Demons Dedede Destruction tomorrow. I'm going in blind, but I really love Inio Asano's other works. Goodnight Punpun changed my life, but really, do not read it if you are already depressed.
I keep editing this because I keep remembering stuff.
Frieren is amazing and makes you feel incredibly close to these characters.
Delicious in Dungeon is Trigger, but a different Trigger than something like Kill la Kill or BNA. It's slower, comfier, and like Frieren, makes you feel SO close to these characters.
I think OPM is better, but that's because I'm bald.
Based.
For DDDD, not gonna tell you how to watch but i've seen a lot of people going both ways. You can either watch episode 0 at the start or after episode 16. Episode 0 is chronologically out of order. I watched it at the start.
I just recently finished bingeing the show and really enjoyed it. Let me know how you liked it
Oooh I've been eagerly awaiting season 2 of Arcane. Hadn't seen the release date yet. Excited now. 😸
ODDTAXI. The intro will pull you in. The dialogue and story will keep you hooked.
But please, use subs. I don't think the English dub is good enough.
ODDTAXI is an absolutely amazing show. It feels slow and chill, yet it’s really gripping.
The writing is phenomenal! Every detail matters, even little stuff like “what pen is that guy writing with?”
I don't think the English dub is good enough.
That's usually the case, which I find unusual since the original voice acting is there; just copy it.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Death Note
- The Apothecary Diaries
- Ranking of Kings
All of these animes have a fantastic story that even people who don't regularly watch anime's will love.
IMHO while brotherhood is obviously better, it's even better if you watch the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime first
Jericho: A post apocalyptic show that isn't just mohawk bejeweled raiders roaming around. It is a show very much of the GWB era, with offbrand Blackwater as major villains and heavy Dick Cheney vibes when it comes to the larger plot.
Kings: A sort of retelling of David versus Goliath except set in the modern day. If you liked the weird esoteric spiritual stuff on the Battlestar Galactica reboot, you'll like this.
The Unit: A fictionalized adaptation of Delta Force missions, with at least early on heavy influence by the former Delta author of Inside Delta Force. Great early seasons. Later seasons become more Hollywood nonsense, you tolerance may vary, but season 1 and 2 have some gold.
The Wire: This was a huge show when it was on, but maybe zoomers don't know about it. This is the crime show for people who hate everything about modern "procedural" crime shows. It is nuanced, thoughtful, and engaging.
Columbo: Speaking of crime shows and procedurals, Columbo is both and neither. Columbo is entertaining and keeps you invested with its unique approach to murder mysteries. It really doesn't pretend to be a proper procedural, and you're best off thinking of Detective Columbo as a supernatural embodiment of karma and guilt rather than an actual member of a police force.
Rewatching Jericho right now for the first time in a while and yeah... It's certainly a product of that decade lol. Still love it.
I second The Wire. Absolutely amazing, and I typically don't enjoy more serious shit, but I couldn't pull my eyes away from the TV
The Expanse- Very grounded scifi with an amazing cast.
HBO's Rome- The reason men can't stop thinking about ancient Rome
Ranking of Kings- Anime that looks cute and wholesome but has surprisingly mature storytelling and compelling characters.
I love Ranking of Kings. The art style really threw me off but I stuck with it. I appreciate how everyone has their own stories and motivations and all of the characters that enter the stage where you say "well that person is clearly the bad guy" becomes someone you understand and even admire later. The theme of the show is definitely that things aren't always what they seem, so err on the side of kindness. It's a good lesson.
I keep recommending Ancient Magus Bride. Nobody watches...
It's a seriously good anime with some slice of life and drama, an amazing magical world and SUPER GOOD SOUNDTRACK
If anyone reading this watches it, I beg of you, please tell me what you thought
Watching Ancient Magus Bride now from your recommendation! I had it on the back burner for a while. Five episodes in, it's good. Still curious what exactly will happen, there's not too much of an actual plot. But I'm fine with it even if it goes on like this.
It's a little slow and unevenly paced, but overall I do solidly enjoy it. There are some really great characters and arcs and I especially loved Elias trying to make friends. My girlfriend absolutely loves this show as well, so it's something everyone can watch and enjoy I think.
Psych
You know that's right.
TV: Letterkenny immediately followed by Shoresy. Shoresy is a spinoff, so you really should watch Letterkenny first, although you don't necessarily have to
Seinfeld, probably no need to explain (Edit: how could I leave out Curb Your Enthusiasm here?)
Adult Cartoons: King of the Hill, Bob's Burgers, Archer, Frisky Dingo. I could go on for a while about adult animation
Anime: Samurai Champloo, Baki the Grappler, Baki, Baki Hanma, Oshi No Ko, and Zombieland Saga. Plenty more, but I'll stop here for now
Summary: I like TV way more than movies. My favorites being Comedy/Sitcoms and Dragon Ball/Z/Super
Edit: Does professional wrestling count? I fucking love me some WWE
Letterkenny is an even better anime than Corey in the House.
Letterkenny and Shoresy are SO good. Jared Keeso is a brilliant comedian and has a knack for heartfelt story.
Also, wrestling counts. I'm an AEW girl but no tribalism from me. Who's your wrestler to watch, or storyline you love?
Oh boy, get ready
Penta el Cero Miedo. Tony needs to shit or get off the pot. Let my Lucha Bros. go!
Dominik Mysterio and the Judgement Day/Terror Twin storyline
Wyatt Sick6 and pretty much anything they are doing. My guess as to who is next is either Kofi/Xavier or maybe Jey Uso
Nia Jax. I really liked Bayley, but she honestly became boring after winning the title
Iyo and Kairi (and Asuka, come back soon!)
Bron Breakker
I loved Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed's feud
I really like NXT, but I can't think of anything particular this second (edit: how could I forget the Young OG? He's boooouuuncyyyyy. Also Cora is back! Now I'm just missing Nikkita Lyons. Sol Ruca deserves a belt)
The BCC storyline has made me enjoy Wheeler Yuta. I like Beast Mortos too
Komander and Dralistico (I'm a big Lucha fan)
Yuka! I like so much about wrestling I could go on all day, but I'll stop here for now. Are you part of the squared circle community?
The original Legend of the Galactic Heroes. This is top tier sci fi, politics, and mitary drama that is more impactful today than when the original novel was written.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned The Wire. A TVshow taking place in Baltimore about intricate relationship between drug dealers, police and politics. Love every part of it!
It’s shot in 4:3 aspect ratio despite 16:9 starting to become the standard for tv at the time. It’s has since been “remastered” and adjusted to 16:9 aspect ratio. I was worried it would ruin an already perfect show but I actually liked it. It’s an HBO show.
Long episodes (60min?) and might take a few episodes to get into as there are many characters and storylines that interlace.
Thanks be later, probably.
i tried to start the wire, but every character was a shit person. couldnt buy that. i'm more cynical now. maybe i'll start it again.
I think the creator and writer of The Wire based the characters and plot in his experience as a journalist working for Baltimore Sun. Some characters are less fictional than others, but I think he wanted to depict and emphasize how the city works. So maybe not too far from the real Baltimore.
I think while some characters are plain shit persons, many characters have a lot of depth in them, making you feel and root for them despite being the “bad guys”.
It also shows that doing what would be considered “right” will not always work out for you.
Patriot, on Amazon streaming. I’ve been telling people for years—it’s the BEST show that NO ONE watched.
A depressed deep-cover operative sings bleak folk songs about his job at open mics. Stylistic elements (both visual and writing) from the Cohen brothers and Wes Anderson. Incredible cast. Funny. Sad. Two seasons, and both are great. 10/10
I have recommended this show more than anything else in recent years.
it is absolutely a 10 out of 10.
the comedy, the obligations, drama, creativity, every element is heightened by every other element of the show.
I think you are the first other person I've heard of who has watched it, and that is a crime.
There are dozens of us. Dozens!
The Americans is the best show ive ever seen. Absolutely brilliant from the story to the acting.
My favorite show is also Haunting on Hill House. Its on Netflix. Perfect for Halloween if anyone is interested.
Haunting of Hill House. I may watch this every year in October until I die.
It’s a great horror show that can be rewatched multiple times, but it also has some amazingly written and performed drama and characterization. There’s literally a scene later in the show that portrays an outsider’s emotional breakdown better than I’ve ever seen in any medium.
Erased is my favorite anime of all time. I'm a sucker for both time travel and "big damn heroes" stuff.
Just watched it based on this comment. This anime is seriously good, definitely in my top 5s.
Have you watched Steins;Gate? It definitely has some parallels.
Gate
Stargate SG1
Andor, best piece of SW since the 80s
Yeah like... Why did it take that long to make the content andor has, it's cray
It's amazing how much Star Wars gets to stretch its legs once it's allowed to break away from the fucking Skywalker family.
Psycho pass.
Lots of philosophy on topics such as free will, determinism and AI mixed with action, in cyberpunk setting. Also nice end to end story in the first season.
Anime - Cromartie High
Hell yes.
anime
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You - One of the zaniest, wackiest anime in recent history to turn your brain off to. (genre: comedy, romance)
86 - Too good for me to put into words. Just watch it. (genre: action, drama)
TV shows
Silicon Valley (HBO series) - As someone pointed out: it's not a satire; it's a documentary - for programmers at least. (genre: comedy)
The Night Manager - The showmakers made it look like either side could win till the very last few minutes, keeping me on the edge of my seat for the entire show. (genre: thriller)
@Endmaker @Shkshkshk Hugh Laurie was absolutely fantastic in The Night Manager
The Magicians- the musical episodes are amazing.
I love musical episodes, I was so happy when everyone started singing in the magicians.
I still sometimes go back and watch The Buffy musical episode, too.
spontaneous breaks for musical nimbers are so great.
Mr. Robot: it’s not anime but I haven’t been able to shut up about it for a long time
Arcane. It’s always Arcane. Arcane.
That show had absolutely no reason to be so good for such a really toxic game.
I never watched any anime but then watched one punch man. It's really clever and very approachable for new and casual viewers.
I will never stop recommending Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Madoka Magika.
saw this comment and thought "this sounds exactly like gabi" then i read the username lmao
Gushing over magical girls is a good spiritual sequel to madoka
Here are a couple that I didn't see mentioned here.
- The Bear
- Ted Lasso
- Solo Levelling
- Dirk Gently holistic detective
- The Office
- Attack on Titan
- Code Geass Lelouch Rebellion
- Severance
- Bojack Horseman
I just finished Good Omens also, it's great but the first episode is not because it's all setup. It's a Terry Pratchett story that I think I'll recommend that one for a long time.
The Bear is awesome! The quality of the dialogue is really top notch. Some episodes are a bit intense (ie Thanksgiving from hell) where I needed a break in the middle but man do they ever have interesting characters!
2007 anime. From a manga. Women with gigantic swords , the Claymore, fight some sort of demons in a forsaken world. We follow Clare, the Claymore Number 47, the least powerful of them all.
Every episode has some sort of a twist, with new information about the incredible rich world and lore, and the power and origin of the Claymore. Drawing is captivating, unique, gorgeous. The eyes!
Way better than Berserker, in the sense, that everything make sense and is foreshadow in Claymore.
Thanks for the rec, I love an old anime.
Edit: still gonna check it out but an anime released in 2007 referred to as “old?” Oof. here I was thinking c. 1993. :D
edited ;)
I never found anything which scratches the same itch Claymore does.
Lots of great recommendations but I have not seen anyone mention the anime Made In Abyss or Dr. Stone.
Made In Abyss has some taboo content early in season 1, but it and season 2 story arcs are the best I've seen of any anime to date. You will also need to watch the third movie Dawn of the Deep Soul before season 2. Movies 1 and 2 are recaps of season 1.
Dr. Stone is also great as a zany "what if" modern civilization was sent back to the stone age. Similar to made in abyss, you need to watch the OVA between seasons 2 and 3.
Call out to Goblin Slayer season 1 as well. The series visuals and story deeply fall off after season 1.
Highly recommend Dr. Stone. It gets too anime sometimes if you're not into that. But the talk and approach of science is really good. My non-anime watching wife enjoyed parts of it. But then left the room during the anime trope-y parts.
Monster
74 episodes. Psychological thriller. Serial murder mystery, but instead of "whodunit?" it's "whydunit?". Dramatic as an opera. No weird tropes. Superb character development. I love Magnificent Steiner.
Dirk gently's holistic detective agency.
My only issue with Dirk Gently is that it got canned. I can't recommend shows that get canceled without a proper ending.
Yeah the shows creator is a rapist I think, so not too fussed it wasn't finished. Good show though.
- Frieren — fantasy, drama about an elf dealing with feelings she didn’t think she had
- Delicious in Dungeon — Fantasy, comedy/light drama about rescuing a party member and eating monsters along the way.
- Kaguya Sama — rom-com about not losing the love war
- Konosuba — Isekai comedy about… nothing really
- That Time I was Reincarnated as a Slime — Isekai about being reincarnated as a slime monster, then building a wonderful found family community of monsters.
They’re all pretty light hearted but all are well made and fun.
—edited for formatting
My only problem with Delicious in Dungeon is that later episodes don't have as much cooking. I'd love for them to get into food preservation now that they're deeper in the dungeon and food is getting scarce. Pickling, salting, smoking, etc.
Just a few off the top of me head.
Because of the way you formatted that, it all showed up one word after the others and it tells something about the genre that I couldn't recognise how many you mentioned. Thought it was like a single name for an anime show. Which imo wouldn't be unheard of
- The Terror (First season only)
- Atlanta
- Mob Psycho
- Devilman Crybaby
- Mononoke (the show)
- Prison School
- High school of the dead (I went into this expecting to be offended, but I left impressed)
I don’t watch anime or shows, yet there’s something I still recommend:
Anime: Neon Genesis: Evangelion (it’s old)
Cartoon: Final Space (Netflix killed it before the finale, the creators are making a comic about the final 2 seasons that’ll release sometime 2025)
Show: The Office (a lil bit anachronistic if you’re too young)
The f* did Netflix give Final Space the axe? So good. Now so sad.
Will 100% buy the comic.
My Deer Friend is amazing.
Which reminds me that there's probably a new episode out right now. 😃
I also would always recommend the staples in anime:
Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Dragonball, DBZ, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rouroni Kenshin, Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll.
@Kolanaki @Shkshkshk I recommend a few of those and also Samurai Champloo
For sure! I'm sure I've missed a bunch more that I would put in that list, too.
I should have read your comment before I replied lmao. Everybody go watch Samurai Champloo
Holy hell you killed it on the anime suggestions. May I suggest Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood over the original?
Also, have you watched Samurai Champloo? That and Baki (all of them) are the only others I can think of off the top of my head
Edit: Oshi No Ko
Personally, I liked the original more. I just think it did the darker elements of the story way better. Brotherhood had a totally different focus, but I do appreciate it having an actual conclusion unlike the original.
To put it another way: the original makes me cry at some parts; Brotherhood never did.
Hajime No Ippo!
It's a boxing anime based on a manga (that's still going after decades!) where a school kid is beat up and rescued by a passing boxer, who takes him in to a boxing gym to fix his wounds. It turns out he's got some solid power from his family background in fishing, so he becomes a boxer and learns what it means to be strong.
If you like DBZ, you'll probably love this. Alongside this, it's refreshing in that it's an anime that praises hard work, rather than being "the chosen one" or being gifted power. What I love about it is that several characters go through huge growth in ways that are truly unexpected.
Angel, Hannibal, Evil, Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul.
So many great shows out there. I’m currently watching The Wire and it’s amazing too.
Season 4 of The Wire is brutal.
I watched The Wire way too late in life. I watched it last year and my wife couldn't get into it because of the old technology, but fuuuuuck was it good.
The Last Ship: The crew of a US Navy destroyer is faced with a new reality as a deadly plague wipes out nearly all of humanity.
Basically, mix together the good parts of Battlestar Galactica and The Walking Dead, and distill it down to 5 seasons with no filler. It's one of my favorite binge-watches.
5 season (13 ep each).. no filler
Pick one
I stand by my opinion, which is what it is. An opinion.
That being said, only 2 seasons of The Last Ship had 13 episodes, the rest only had 10 each.
So 56 total epsodes, versus Battlestar's 76 episodes + 4-hour pilot miniseries + 2 TV films.
Or The Walking Dead's 177 episodes, just for the original series. Which blows up to 336 episodes and counting, if you include sequels and spinoff shows.
Opinions may vary, but at least from a numbers standpoint, The Last Ship has less potential for filler episodes. If you really wanted to, you could stop watching the show after season 3, and get a complete-enough story. But the show's main selling point is the action, and it delivers on that front all the way through.
Comedy: What we do in the shadows;
Action: Black Sails;
Anime: Monster;
Depression: Bojack Horseman.
Mushishi. Very slow & contemplative, but I still think about it decades later.
Bojack Horseman and Violet Evergarden. If someone is a bit deeper into anime, Tatami Galaxy as well, since the subs go pretty fast. Ping Pong the Animation gets a nod if folks aren't super hung up on aesthetic.
I'm always trying to get people watching Konosuba it's just funny but yeah I liked it so much I read the novels and spinoff.
I liked it so much I read the novels and spinoff.
Same. In my case, it got me to read my first light novel.
Made in Abyss - really good but definitely not for the faint hearted and I only recommend this to people who ask me for dark anime with a disclaimer on the more questionable content. The version I watched was the heavily censored one. I was surprised to find out that the creator is Akihito Tsukushi, the same person who did the designs for the Elebits games! Of course, I'm separating the art from the artist here, but his name popping up made me nostalgic in a way.
Neon Genesis Evangelion - If you like biblically accurate angels, this is the anime for you!
Cowboy Bebop - has a very likeable main cast, an artstyle that I find very appealing, and it touches on themes that a lot of people can relate to despite the sci-fi setting!
Scavengers Reign - this one's pretty trippy and has some great creature designs! It only has one season so far (curse ye, Max!)
I cant get past the loli/shota grossness
at the startof Made in Abyss. I'd be embarrassed to recommend that to anyone.Edit: Apparently not just at the beginning? Disgusting either way.
You’re getting a recency bias, but I watched Akudama Drive about a month ago and really loved it.
Oh man so many. Most of which others are already mentioning. And I'm sure I'm forgetting many that have been constants througj the years. But these stand out.
Anime: Your Lie in April, Mushi-Shi, Scavenger's Reign, Violet Evergarden, One Punch Man
Anime but it's more of my selfish mention than a masterpiece: Tomo-chan is a Girl, The Wrong Way to use Healing Magic (English dub is really well done and I can be a sub snob most of the time), Bartender: Glass of God, Mashle:Magic and Muscles, Goblinslayer
Live Action:The Expanse, Midnight Diner, Midnight Diner:Tokyo Stories, The Goes Wrong Show, Blood Machines, How It's Made (I know, not likely what is being asked for but I thoroughly enjoy the show)
I have a really hard time getting into Live Action shows because too many of them either drag on, or they are just too predictable or forumlaic, or too samey, or it's all about people being horrible to each other. And there is also a severe lack of laid back story telling or unique story options. Hollywood is berift of interest for me 99% of thr time.
Your Lie in April
Such a great show! It slows down a bit in the middle, but gets going again!
If you like that one you should check out "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" weird title, sweet movie. 🙂
Eh, screw it. I'm gonna watch Eureka again.
Pantheon
Such a tragedy that this didn’t/doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
This is a good one that I don't think ever really got advertised at all. Caught me by surprise.
Fucking DEADWOOD.
I can't get anybody in my life to watch it and it is literally in the running for best show of all-time.
This thread is case-in-point!
Deep Space 9; Adventure Time, and Gravity Falls
Little Witch Academia: a passion project and it shows, a witch school with a colorful cast of character and an even more colorful cast of villains, alternative name: lesbian hogwarts
Girls und panzer and its movie, while it does fall into the cute girls doing cute thing type of genre, GuP is one of the ones who really popularized it, its a series thats just plain old fun to watch how they fight their tank battles, especially the movie
Ben-to, another series thats just plain ol fun, people beat the snot out of each other for the privilege to buy price reduced food, animated by the people who went on to do jojo
that just be my top 3 to show everyone
Mr. Robot for live-action. definitely avoid looking anything up about it, there are spoilers everywhere and it's better to go in fresh. there's no good trailers for it really but if you watch the first six-minute opening scene... by the end of it you'll know whether or not the show is for you. and if you like it you will probably REALLY wanna keep watching. they go out of their way to get the tech stuff accurate and it's pretty much a cyberpunk story set in the present day. but also so much more deeper and psychological than you'd expect. my favorite show of all time, no contest. the whole thing was planned in advance and it SHOWS. it's more like one long very good movie than a television series quality-wise
and Bojack Horseman for animation. i'd also recommend avoiding spoilers for this. thematically, it gets off to a slow start pretending to be just another standard adult animation Family Guy-esque clone before it slowly morphs over the course of season 1 into a meta deconstruction of those sorts of shows and goes off the rails to truly hit its dramatic stride. and once it starts going it never lets up. it similarly hits very hard and gets pretty dark
Afterlife
I think nobody mentioned it yet. It's about someone who lost the love of his life, so the show is about those emotions and the struggle to continue. It's quite sad sometimes, but the show also has a lot of humour and I laughed my ass off multiple times.
Why watch a show about such a sad circumstance? I think we all lost someone or will lose very important persons / friends someday and it's important to learn how to deal with that and how it's important to continue. I can't emphasize that enough
Is that the one with Ricky Gervais? Couldn't take it seriously because he's such a prick irl (and in the show I guess)
Hahaha, I can respect that! Too bad though, he's a fine actor, with many faces.
have you heard about Ajin?
That one was solid, really wanted more but I guess Netflix said no
Extraordinary Attorney Woo - A Netflix K-drama about an autistic savant lawyer. It's charming, funny, and has a really beautiful story overall.
Bofuri: I Don't Want To Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense - a cute and fun anime about Maple, who doesn't want to get hurt in a VR MMO so she maxes her defense and becomes a hero.
I like light-hearted shows, so I'll be checking out a few of the ones in this thread 🙂
Terminator Zero was great.
Station Eleven is the best tv show ever made.
I can stop recommending Bad Sisters, but I won't. It's fantastic, through and through.
@Shkshkshk @asklemmy Foyle's War, Line of Duty, Shetland, The Brokenwood Mysteries, and now Deadloch
I have a genre for sure, lol
Foyles war is underrated, haven't seen the rest.
Deadloch too, new season should be great.
@InverseParallax Line of Duty is about the internal affairs type cops, UK style. It's pretty intense, lots of undercover stuff and suspense, with an arc that carries over seasons. First tv show I'd seen in a while where I was riveted to the screen and not doing anything else at the same time.
Monogatari series. I must have watched that entire series like a dozen times already. I absolutely love the VA's performance. Finally reading through the Light Novels now.
Hajime No Ippo. Manga is still a blast and the anime was incredible too.
I had a good time with Blue Lock as well.
Undone, it's created by the same guy who made Bojack Horseman.
I think most people haven't seen/heard of it because it's an amazon streaming exclusive, but you can watch it (and most other things) for free here: https://hydrahd.com/
I second this. I started watching "Undone" randomly while scrolling through the catalog, and I'm so glad I did. Absolutely loved it! The art style is nice, and I think Rosa Salazar is a great actress (she gives me huge Aubrey Plaza vibes too, which is cool).
I slept on Supernatural for a long time and now I can't stop, I'm on like season 13 and it still keeps getting better
For shows: My name is Earl was a very funny one that never got a proper ending before being cancelled.
For anime: Serial Experiments Lain.
Tower of God is my absolute favorite anime and comic right now. Can't recommend it enough. Deeply interesting systems, amazing supporting cast, unique twists on old tropes.
I got half way through season 2 and just gave up on it. All of it felt pointless, both seasons.
Dai-guard, a somewhat obscure mecha anime. It's a comedy about what would realistically happen if you had a giant mecha fighting monsters from another dimension: bureaucracy, lawsuits, government interference, and physics.
Lately Slow Horses on apple+
Very good UK agent/crime show.
For anime, Ghost in the Shell. My favorite is the Stand Alone Complex series.
For TV show, Fringe. It's a sci-fi show taking place in the modern world.
For movie, Red Lights. It's about a group that disproves paranormal/super natural events. I recommend it because it's not well known.
No. I don't have a problem. I can stop whenever I want! Y'all up to date on One Piece btw?
Yes, after two years of watching on and off
Now I hate the waiting
Omg I knowweee!
@Shkshkshk @asklemmy Travelers. First season of westworld. Better call saul. Mindhunters. The Jinx (documentary series about the strange case of robert durst). Clarkson’s farm (he is divisive but seeing him struggle with farm life is great). Ted Lasso
Bloom into you, the only anime that existed in my head
I'm not an anime guy. But I'll occasionally pop one on if the plot interests me. Vinland saga was good, Castlevania as well. I know the American anime haters will hate me. Aside from that I randomly watched "my happy marriage"with my wife and it was really good and I actually can't wait till season 2
Everyone knows, the best anime is Boondocks
Castlevania shouldn't be good but somehow is. Its certainly got some rocky highs and lows, but overall great
I was hooked from the first scene
Vinland saga was excellent. Really enjoyed that one.
I like watching Trigun, Clannad, Blood+ but I also really reccomend people read some Manga:
-
Tank Chair by Yashiro Manabu
-
Elfen Leid by Okamoto Lynn (also has an anime, but different endings)
-
Moto Shogun no Undead Knight by Shuko and Necoco
-
Dandadan by Yukinobu Tatsu (manga announced)
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You Will Hear the Voice of the Dead by Uguiso Sachiko
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Dai Dark by Q Hayashida
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Alchemy of Souls on Netflix. A mix of Kung Fu Theater, a comedy, a love story, and a horror all rolled into one great story. It ran two seasons and each episode is over an hour long. 10/10
Babylon 5
Yes! I've been rewatching Babylon 5 and it's as amazing as I remember!
Nichijou, Higurashi, Oregairu, Steins;Gate, SAO (season 1), Clannad, Naruto, Fruits Basket (?), Death Note, A Silent Voice, Ghibli Studio animes,
Psych. All time favorite show.
Higurashi no naku koro ni
Moe-Psycho galore only drip feeding you the real story.
Monster. One of the best anime series I've ever seen.
I go it recommended and watched it all. I kept waiting for it to become good. 🤷
I tried. I tried so hard. Attempted 3x to watch this. First time I got 5 episodes in. Second time I got 12 episodes in. Third time I got 16 episodes in.
Each time, I tried so hard to continue going. I'm sure it was great when it was released, but holy shit it was such a SLOG.
I'm with you. I watched it all though. They really needed to speed things up.
IMO, it's not that great.
It's a seinen. If you're more into shonen, then it's not going to be as action-packed as you might be used to.
I don't normally watch the same thing more than once, but I've seen this one three times (first time in college; then some years later I wasn't sure I finished it the first time, so I rewatched the whole thing again; then more years later I watched with friends from work on our weekly anime night)
I go it recommended and watched it all. I kept waiting for it to become good. 🤷
Really thoughtful and smart sci-fi animation. Don't want to spoil it so I'll be vague, it has the most realistic depiction of modern tech and how people interact with it than any other show I've seen. Really great commentary on big tech corporations and even a bit of geopolitics. Super ambitious yet it somehow pulls it off.
There is also a scene that still gives me nightmares (not even joking, I still dream about that shit) which is more than any horror movies or shows have done for me. Anyone who has watched it knows exactly what scene I'm talking about.
So i always recommend Mugen no Ryvius/Infinite Ryvius. Think of blue lagoon in space, but with a whole space ship of kids.
The Leftovers. Still think of some scenes all the time.
His and Her Circumstances (Kare Kano). Such a gently told manic love story.
Probably my favorite anime
Also, it was directed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion, Gunbuster)
Berserk 1997. Berserk is my favorite thing of all time, but it is deff not for the faint hearted.
Highly recommend the manga too. Its a bit different, but same atmosphere and general story. It has more context as 1997 was only designed for one season, so it cut out a lot of things that would have become important later on.
@Shkshkshk @asklemmy
There's a ton of anime that I *might* recommend to different people, depending on individual preferences and tastes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JZR7jtU3q-LTqoWaGY-7YurPpvLpTIY0ybScvA1L0GQ/edit?usp=drivesdkBut the one that I come closest to recommending everyone, without qualification, would be:
"Keep Your Hands off Eizouken"
It's basically a love letter to:
* joys and challenges in the process of creative collaboration
* how each success begets further goals
* how reflecting on details and oddities of the world adds to artApothecary Diaries
Everybody kind of slept on it but I really like AppleTV's See. Really unfortunate name for a pretty interesting premise, and the fight scenes are brutal and very well shot.
Looked pretty cool but it'd feel like cheating if I didn't finish Frontier first
Jellyfish can't swim at night
Frieren for anime - It has everything I love about anime.
MASH for TV show (version without laugh tracks) - Kind of old, but even now, the humor is not outdated."everything I love about anime" is a suspicious recommendation from a stranger on the internet!
It's been a few years that I've learned that MASH had laugh track. It's so weird. I never saw mash with laugh track and not even a morbid curiosity makes me want to try that.
Hazbin Hotel!
I'll throw in my most recent guilty pleasure is Space Battleship Yamato. I didn't grow up with the original so I'm currently re-watching the 2012 remake. But for fun at the start I watched episode one of the original Yamato, Star Blazers (70s American localization) and the remake in the same day just to compare, which was a cooler experience than I expected it to be.
Great show if you think One Punch Man would be better if Saitama was a spaceship
Cowboy Bebop, trigun and hajime no ippo
Higurashi when they cry. Not the new stuff but the old stuff.
Just visited the village it's based off of IRL and man was it a sight to behold. Simply a beautiful area.
link click
Yes many. Probably more than I will ever watch :P
If I did not recommend them yet I also can't stop doing that.
I did too much math today....
I watched a bit of in another world with my smartphone and it was peak garbage. I also downloaded the wrong 7 deadly sins once, unforgivably awful. I think I slogged through dog days while in my depressive always drunk phase.
actual recommendations: bna and little witch academia are my fav trigger (after infern cop obv.)
I dunno aku no hana for some weird rotoscoped shit thats kinda disturbing and stressful. The character visuals are more convincing than the manga version.
suisei no gargantia is probably the most any audience friendly mecha anime, apart from the breasty pirate literally named rackage being maybe a bit much.
knights of sidonia was probably the first all 3d anime I actually liked. I ended up watching a bunch of other stuff by the same studio and they have a distinct animation style and facial expressions that are easy to recognize as being the same studio.
the promised neverland for some dark shit, but I only saw season 1 and don't know if there even were more seasons. The manga version became a slog for me after that point in the story but I was also working full time++ when the anime ended.
attack on titan also became a chore for me after season 1 but it was a novel experience watching it for the first time.
Can confirm that there's no season 2 of The Promised Neverland. It ended at season 1. They really didn't do anything more, don't go looking for it. Trust me.
Sad we didn't get to see some of the later arcs animated, but at least we didn't get a half-assed failure of an adaptation like it might have be, right?
Macross 7 sounds incredibly stupid if you try and summarize it, but it's legitimately one of the best shows there is in my opinion.
Summary: Aliens attack a human colony fleet, and they fight back with a rock band flying into battle to sing at the aliens.
That sounds fucking awesome
Have you watched one piece? Already complete with one season of 24 episodes.
