incidentally, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Carole & Tuesday are all created/directed by the same individual, Watanabe Shinichiro. Since this is a TV show list it makes sense you wouldn't list anything by Kon Satoshi (RIP) or Yuasa Masa'aki tho it's great you mentioned two of their films at the top (Tokyo Godfathers, Night is Short).
In an industry & art-form with a *ton* of issues, those three names are (IMO) part of the cream of the crop.
Good stuff. Anime definitely follows the 80/20 rule, some filler, some gems. Helps to have weeb friends to act as a first filter.
I might add Gurren Lagann. At first it just seems like a kids show, then like maybe they're just doing a sort of kitsch mecha dream world... then it leans into Gainax doing all the stuff that Gainax does. If you want something halfway between FLCL and a kids show about big robots... I know that's hard to imagine but I think they found kind of a sweet spot there.
I don't think Baccano! had many followers, but I liked it. Had a bit of the polish of Bebop, great music and setting anyway, and it was very short. If you like old noir, comedy heists, with a thin layer of wonder sprinkled in, like the Indiana Jones setting, you might like it. If you like heists and hijinx, honestly Lupin the 3rd is the classic in that lane, if you want it more serialized and more goofy comedy.
I’ve been enjoying Restaurant to Another World, where the premise is that a restaurant in Japan that serves the Japanese take on Western cuisine has a door that opens onto a magical world every Saturday, and a variety of fantastic beings show up for the food.
Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Sword of the Stranger, Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal, Trigun, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. Think you would really like Monster
Nice list. You got most of my favorites. If I could add one it would be Asobi Asobase. It's short and hilarious. About three girls who start an after school club to alleviate their boredom. Humor veers from sitcomy to absurdist. Also the outro song is a banger.
This is a good list. I think economics would be better if we all pivoted to anime critique. JF would be more fun to read, at least.
My own list would add Kill la Kill, a sort of reconstruction of high school magical girl anime, and Madoka Magica, _the_ deconstruction of magical girl anime. For the latter, give it at least three episodes before deciding if it's your jam.
just here to say that while Planetes isn’t on any paid streaming service, all 26 episodes are on YouTube. It is an amazing show, thanks for including it
It looks like Noah and his posters haven't watched any anime in 10-15 years.. all the recommendations skew pretty old!
The death of "original" anime series means that most modern series are generally unsatisfyingly incomplete, little more than ads for the still on-going manga. (And 90% of anime are some variant of coming of age story for teens & young adults, which lose their resonance once you move out of that demographic.)
That said, here are a few more recent ones.
Attack on Titan. You've probably heard of it. Yes, the ending is highly disappointing. But it tackles a lot of adult topics in a way anime rarely does.
Violet Evergarden. A traumatized soldier struggles to reintegrate into a society torn apart by the war.
Re:Zero. An isekai that deconstructs the typical isekai character. A lot of typical anime fans don't like the main character without realising the whole point is that he's acting exactly like how they told act. But eventually he grows up.
Mob Psycho 100. The author has 2 series (this and One Punch Man) where he breaks the usual superhero stereotype and gives a character who is literally The Strongest but still makes it entertaining. One Punch Man is funnier but this has more heart.
Vinland Saga. A kinda mostly realistic historical Viking saga.
This is the sort of content I subscribed for
incidentally, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Carole & Tuesday are all created/directed by the same individual, Watanabe Shinichiro. Since this is a TV show list it makes sense you wouldn't list anything by Kon Satoshi (RIP) or Yuasa Masa'aki tho it's great you mentioned two of their films at the top (Tokyo Godfathers, Night is Short).
In an industry & art-form with a *ton* of issues, those three names are (IMO) part of the cream of the crop.
Good stuff. Anime definitely follows the 80/20 rule, some filler, some gems. Helps to have weeb friends to act as a first filter.
I might add Gurren Lagann. At first it just seems like a kids show, then like maybe they're just doing a sort of kitsch mecha dream world... then it leans into Gainax doing all the stuff that Gainax does. If you want something halfway between FLCL and a kids show about big robots... I know that's hard to imagine but I think they found kind of a sweet spot there.
I don't think Baccano! had many followers, but I liked it. Had a bit of the polish of Bebop, great music and setting anyway, and it was very short. If you like old noir, comedy heists, with a thin layer of wonder sprinkled in, like the Indiana Jones setting, you might like it. If you like heists and hijinx, honestly Lupin the 3rd is the classic in that lane, if you want it more serialized and more goofy comedy.
Noah, you have respectable taste!
Liked what bits of _Robotech_ I sawa s a kid, absolutely love _Cowboy Bebop_ and am currently working through _Planetes_ which is very, very awesome.
have you ever seen black lagoon? i really like that show. trigun and the big O are also awesome.
I’ve been enjoying Restaurant to Another World, where the premise is that a restaurant in Japan that serves the Japanese take on Western cuisine has a door that opens onto a magical world every Saturday, and a variety of fantastic beings show up for the food.
Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Sword of the Stranger, Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal, Trigun, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. Think you would really like Monster
Nice list. You got most of my favorites. If I could add one it would be Asobi Asobase. It's short and hilarious. About three girls who start an after school club to alleviate their boredom. Humor veers from sitcomy to absurdist. Also the outro song is a banger.
Damn noah thats some good stuff
This is a good list. I think economics would be better if we all pivoted to anime critique. JF would be more fun to read, at least.
My own list would add Kill la Kill, a sort of reconstruction of high school magical girl anime, and Madoka Magica, _the_ deconstruction of magical girl anime. For the latter, give it at least three episodes before deciding if it's your jam.
just here to say that while Planetes isn’t on any paid streaming service, all 26 episodes are on YouTube. It is an amazing show, thanks for including it
It looks like Noah and his posters haven't watched any anime in 10-15 years.. all the recommendations skew pretty old!
The death of "original" anime series means that most modern series are generally unsatisfyingly incomplete, little more than ads for the still on-going manga. (And 90% of anime are some variant of coming of age story for teens & young adults, which lose their resonance once you move out of that demographic.)
That said, here are a few more recent ones.
Attack on Titan. You've probably heard of it. Yes, the ending is highly disappointing. But it tackles a lot of adult topics in a way anime rarely does.
Violet Evergarden. A traumatized soldier struggles to reintegrate into a society torn apart by the war.
Re:Zero. An isekai that deconstructs the typical isekai character. A lot of typical anime fans don't like the main character without realising the whole point is that he's acting exactly like how they told act. But eventually he grows up.
Mob Psycho 100. The author has 2 series (this and One Punch Man) where he breaks the usual superhero stereotype and gives a character who is literally The Strongest but still makes it entertaining. One Punch Man is funnier but this has more heart.
Vinland Saga. A kinda mostly realistic historical Viking saga.
Samurai Champloo is fantastic. You might like Michiko to Hatchin too.
No Fullmetal Alchemist?!?
I gotta plug for Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex. First season of that is the best season of any anime I've seen.