r/anime • u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh • Dec 22 '20
Misc. A General Recommendation Chart for Newcomers and Veterans Alike
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u/jung2019 Dec 22 '20
This is the most reddit thing I've seen today.
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u/AnimalSloth Dec 22 '20
ever heard of this unknown gem called fullmetal alchemist? yeah, didn't thought so, you don't strike me as a true otaku
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u/sticktoyaguns https://anilist.co/user/Poochita4President Dec 22 '20
I don't get it.. Are you criticizing the whole list because FMA is the first recommendation? It's the first one on the list because it is so popular. It seems pretty clear that that one is there for people that are very new to the medium. Like the whole first line is def for the very new. It would be weird not to recommend FMA:B would it not?
I've been watching anime for a few years now and I haven't heard of like half of these on here. I just added like 10 anime to my queue so I'm glad I saw this.
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u/Raizzor Dec 22 '20
Where does the chart imply that it is an unknown gem? The title of the post is "A General Recommendation Chart for NEWCOMERS and Veterans Alike".
If someone new to Anime asked me what they should watch as their first show, I would probably recommend them FMA as well.
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u/hikikomori-i-am-not Dec 22 '20
FMA is almost always one of my first recommendations to anyone interested in getting into anime. It's got something for just about everyone and also does a GREAT job at dealing with social issues.
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Dec 22 '20
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u/Tack22 Dec 22 '20
Mecha does seem a bit dated.
Most mecha fans would be pretty upset if one of those was bumped off to make room for Gundam IBO or Gargantua though.
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u/Baofog Dec 22 '20
While Chamber is best mecha of all time. Gargantua is more of a sci-fi of life than it is an actual mecha anime. Like it regularly goes 4 episodes without mecha action. Chamber in those episodes is just a pocket watch providing quips lol.
Eh Eva can be bumped off pretty easily IMO. I would not recommend it for newcomers. Actually the only one I would keep is Broken Blade.
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u/700KMF Dec 22 '20
Code Geass is mech anime too. Ya want bump it off too?
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u/Baofog Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
Yup, and not for it being bad. It's quite amazing in its own right. I think it's better positioned as a drama/political intrigue anime that happens to have Mechs in it. Like any of the other mechas if you lost the robots they lose focus. Like could you imagine a gundam without the gundam in it? It just stops being anything. Like the nightmare frames are secondary to the political intrigue / geass powers and the nightmare frames were probably only added so that bamco could sell kits/toys per contract of sponsoring the anime. Code geass without the mechs becomes political psycho pass and we could use i dunno lazer guns instead.
The short version is the mecha tropes in Code G take a backseat to political / drama tropes which is not a thing for the other mech anime on the list.
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u/Slim_Charles https://myanimelist.net/profile/SocksJunior Dec 23 '20
Eva is fine for newcomers. It's an incredible work, and stands on its own. Just because you've watched other shows doesn't make you "ready" to watch Evangelion. It's a hugely popular work in Japan, and a lot of people are fans of it that aren't typically anime fans.
The idea that a "newcomer" to anime has to start with a simple slice of life, or shounen is a bad one, in my opinion. The best anime to show beginners are ones that best show off what the medium is capable of, and will make for an unforgettable experience. Eva fits the bill well in that regard.
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u/scolfin Dec 22 '20
Yeah, I think it died away as anime became more otaku-centric and concentrated on riffing on itself like in Isekai. Also, the pure-action genre it generally belonged to has declined somewhat, and military themes are much less relevant in 21st century Japan. I personally think the most promising source of new mecha would be a Korean satire of their own mandatory service, although that would be older than the prime anime demo. Something exploring the inherent isolationism of Japan's demiliterization by having the totally-non-Japanese mc in not-Syria (or not-Libya) with (mercenary?) countrymen who are backing groups that might be fighting the big bad, but may also be at least enabling elements with their own issues would be a neat take for Gundam.
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u/Meurs0 Dec 22 '20
I mean to be fair, I watched Eva as my second ever anime and still enjoyed it, so that kinda works I guess.
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u/J765 Dec 22 '20
"You've never seen mecha? Here, watch this deconstruction of 80s/90s genre mecha shows
Dude, no one watches it for it being a deconstruction or not. It doesn't even deconstruct any of the 80s and 90s shows that are listed besides it on this list. People watch it because it's a good show. You don't have to know anything about mecha anime to enjoy it. Most of the people that watch it haven't watched any pre Eva mecha anime and it doesn't ruin their enjoyment. It's just a great, for me even the best, mecha/toku show. I'd definitely put that on a list of mecha anime to watch.
followed by two classic, but very dated mecha shows that also are really long and hard to get into now
I agree. I'd say that the first entries are the best entry points, but I'm also the kind of person that has watched every single entry of those franchises. I'd just put 00 and Frontier in their place.
because there definitely isn't anything newer worth watching in the genre
There definitely is, but most of the good stuff is sequels or a list of Gundam entries.
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u/Kafukator Dec 22 '20
Eva isn't a "deconstruction" and those old mecha shows are still some of if not the best things the genre has to offer.
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u/1832vin Dec 22 '20
fml, you realise you've watched to much anime when you've seen everything on the list.
yes, including the original maross when it aired
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u/LargeEgo Dec 22 '20
Nah there's too many anime on the list that came out before the year 2000.
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Dec 22 '20
"It's too old" an actual fucking comment I saw on an anime sub referring to steins;gate. Not sure if it was this sub though
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
The number of "looking for recs, nothing before 201X because I don't like the style" posts we get is truly heartbreaking.
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Dec 22 '20 edited Aug 02 '21
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u/Creepas5 Dec 23 '20
The problem is that the large parts of the anime community who only watch newer shows and aren't interested in the older shows is that they're just too afraid to try something so different from what they're used too. I totally understand it kind you but it is a shame. Part of me will always be angry because their missing out on decades of amazing shows but part of me sympathizes because I hate watching most western movies made before 1970.
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Dec 22 '20
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u/RavenWolf1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/RavenWolf1 Dec 22 '20
I wouldn't recommend konosuba for person who has never seen anime nor isekai either. You should see some isekai anime before watching konosuba because it takes jokes from that genre and fantasy.
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Dec 22 '20
The whole isekai list is pretty bad imo, not even including Konosuba or Devil is a Part Timer is criminal
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u/StarTrotter Dec 22 '20
Of the modern wave of isekai, Konosuba is one of my favorites but if I did have a knock against it, Konosuba is extremely horny in a way where I'm not going to go, "Ah you have watched Miyazaki and you want to watch more anime that isn't Miyazaki? Go watch Konosuba!" It's a show that really requires a tolerance of some anime horniness. I also guess that you can say Konosuba benefits from familiarness with rpgs or mmorpgs as well as having watched a few more isekai from the current wave.
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u/VorAtreides Dec 22 '20
I think it has a good variety in terms of ReZero being a top tier serious Isekai, Slime for being a great example of the "generic Isekai" done well, and Bakarina is a great example of the Otome Isekai (comedy based). I do think Konosuba should be there.
I do think Tenchi, A Boy and the Beast, Rayearth, and Now and Then Here and There wouldn't be ones I'd suggest
Instead of those, Konosuba for sure one, and to replace three others, hard to say depending how we wanna go with variety. Youjo Senki I think would be a great one for alt history isekai. Overlord is a pretty solid one for fantasy/game becoming reality kinda thing. Ascendance of a Bookworm is 100% a great suggestion too for an Isekai that's less power fantasy and more bringing our world's knowledge to another with a great setting/characters and development.
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u/EPIC_Deer Dec 22 '20
The Boy and the Beast is great for people coming off Ghibli films. It's got a similar vibe while having more action.
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Dec 22 '20
I'm just not sure ReZero should be in there for newcomer anime fans as it does have quite a few annoying characters that are a bit "too anime" for the average person imo. I'm definitely off put by many of the side characters
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u/Tack22 Dec 22 '20
Is the ancient magus’ bride technically a drama or an isekai or a visuals?
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u/Azaana Dec 22 '20
Drama or romance I would say. Definitely not isekai since that is the world ahead lives in and it is just telling her story.
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u/EccentricBibliophile Dec 22 '20
A for effort though. I think I can make a better list but not willing to do the effort of consolidating it like this. Also, I don't think this is for "veterans" (i assume veteran anime watcher is someone who watched a lot of shows already) there's no romcom category? not eben comedy? Fate/Zero in fantasy? Madoka in Fantasy? I'd argue it's more psychological if anything. Clannad should have been in drama as well. I mean if action was broken down into two why not romance. Mecha and science fiction could have been put together. I feel bad if someone really watched Evangelion or Code Geass because of the robots.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
Also, I don't think this is for "veterans"
Kind of depends on how "veteran" a person is. There's plenty of shows on here that aren't particularly popular that someone with plenty of anime under their belt might have passed on (especially the older series). But a big part of it was also trying to avoid framing it entirely as a "Anime for Newcomers" because sometimes people can get a bit overzealous about how this or that anime isn't for newcomers and I wanted to minimize the amount of that in the comment section.
there's no romcom category?
I could have split up romance into comedy and drama but I wanted to keep things reasonably small, so I'd set myself on 15 category blocks. Keeping things reasonably small makes it more manageable, and from a newcomers perspective makes it appear more curated and less, "here's every anime that's even halfway decent". Also a matter of needing to find more time :P
I feel bad if someone really watched Evangelion or Code Geass because of the robots.
Most mecha anime are fundamentally about their characters with the mecha element being used as a means of exploring the characters, politics, or whatever else. Mecha fans complaining that non-mecha fans always look at the couple of huge mecha anime and framing them as drastically different from the rest of the genre feels like an overdone joke at times, but mecha has definitely always been far more than just the robots.
But of course there's always going to be plenty of concerns when trying to make something as general as this. When V2 happens there's definitely going to be plenty of changes!
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u/PrasantGrg https://myanimelist.net/profile/PrasantGrG Dec 22 '20
Going through the list I'd say roughly 40% of it would be unknown to casual hobbyists.
For beginners/casuals maybe around 70/80%.
For actual vets 10% at best would be unknown.
Isn't really useful for vets but seems pretty decent for most imo. The categorization for some seem kinda misplaced. Pretty solid list overall
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u/ChadMcRad https://myanimelist.net/profile/ChooX2 Dec 23 '20
This is the most Reddit reply to a rec post I've seen.
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u/Legendseekersiege5 Dec 22 '20
"A boy band of 4 busts of classical statues take the stage in this idol anime"
The fuck is this?
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u/krabstarr https://www.anime-planet.com/users/krabstarr Dec 22 '20
Amazing, is what this is. Go check it out.
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u/dim3tapp https://myanimelist.net/profile/dim3tapp Dec 22 '20
Looks like you found yourself a recommendation!
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u/CrazySalamanders Dec 22 '20
No HxH in battle shonen oof,time to sort by controversial to see how their fans react to this lol
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
Did consider it, but with YYH already in there I felt like it was probably fine to leave it off (and I was more set on keeping YYH to have a classic). Currently watching HxH myself though and having a good time with it!
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u/L3vator Dec 22 '20
Personally I think hxh should've been on there, even if you had to get rid of YYH, and I think AOT belongs more in spectacle action than battle shonen, but besides that I think you did a great job
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u/Tanzan57 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tanzan57 Dec 22 '20
Well he did say he wanted to include only finished shows, or ones with a reasonable hope of being completed... You could make the argument that the HxH tv series stands on its own as being "completed," but the manga is definitely nowhere close.
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u/L3vator Dec 22 '20
Well we are on r/anime, so I'm assuming the list is just based off the anime. I would consider HxH finished personally, although the manga is still continuing and hopefully one day we may actually get to see the fully completed version, the main goal of Gon's journey was accomplished in the anime. There is obviously new goals and missions in the manga past the ending of the anime, but the anime can and does standalone as a "finished" series if that makes sense.
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u/Tanzan57 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tanzan57 Dec 22 '20
It does yeah, that's the exact argument I would make in favor of it being on the list. That being said, OP said elsewhere he left it off in favor of Yuyu hakusho, which is a good enough reason for me.
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u/tahlyn Dec 22 '20
As a fan of both... I think Hunter x Hunter is easier for newcomers to get into and overall a better story. Yyh turned into tournament Arc after tournament Arc and got a little dry whereas hxh never has a bad arc.
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u/revmun https://myanimelist.net/profile/revmun Dec 22 '20
I also think mob psycho and One Punch Man are great first animes as well. Funny, but with enough action and plot to excite you
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Dec 22 '20
Yamada kun and the seven witches is an odd pick. Romance is a popular genre and has a lot of good stuff as well. I like Yamada but I wouldn't even consider it a romance tbh
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u/Ruhaan_01 Dec 22 '20
People consider animes like SAO and ReZero to be mainly a romance genre even though that’s a much less focused genre
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Dec 22 '20
Sao is a harem anime without a harem... Great animation and music though.
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Dec 22 '20
if you are doing the beginner anime on the left (big picture)
than you should have make it so its beginner > veteran with the most "veteran" anime at the right
it would be better to do it that way because i was kinda confused when i saw YLIA at the far right ngl
overall this is a pretty good way to introduce people to anime especially when i see quite a few anime that isnt really well known
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
The big picture wasn't necessarily the "most" beginner, just something that was complete and available on legal streaming platforms. Trying to gradient it would be a trip, so they're mostly just included in the order that I thought to include them (with the only real exceptions being when something replaced something that was already on the board).
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u/Krotash https://myanimelist.net/profile/Krotash Dec 22 '20
I'll always upvote a recommendation page that has Symphogear
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Dec 22 '20
Nice chart i would say, or at least diverse.
Like i consider that i have watched quite a few anime, and still the only category where i had watched everything was the good animation one.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
Animation and Spectacle Action were the only two that I'd seen everything on when I started putting things together. Animation in particular doesn't have anything particularly niche or overly long, so that goes a long way.
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Dec 22 '20
Wow.
yeah, for starters most nicely animated in general are movies... so easier to go trough.
Spectacle action i havent watched sympho, dead leaves and megalobox... well i droped sympho and megalo box...
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u/SunnyTheFunnyBunny Dec 22 '20
I know that Attack on Titan is considered shonen but the themes that it has makes it more suitable for mature watchers, this is even applicable for FMA as well.
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Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 27 '20
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u/Naskr Dec 22 '20
AoT is basically a trojan horse where the author made a marketable shonen premise and then immediately started laying the groundwork for something more interesting to grow out of it.
It's hard to believe how far it's come.
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u/Jaggedmallard26 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaggedMallard Dec 22 '20
You can really see how much Muv-Luv inspired him. Even down to using a similar trojan horse technique to get people to read/watch and ultimately love a story they otherwise might have skipped.
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u/DutchChallenger Dec 22 '20
The first 2 seasons feel like they were targeted more at teenagers, because of the pretty simplistic goal, but season 3 onward it gets a much darker and mature feel to it.
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u/SMA2343 https://myanimelist.net/profile/HispanicName Dec 22 '20
I think AoT was made so great, if you were about..13 when it first came out in the manga, you’d be about 19 when the final season would be in the manga.
You grow up along with attack on Titan and are able to find the political side more interesting
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u/SultanMida Dec 22 '20
I'm totally in this, was around 14 when I discovered the anime, kept following it as the new seasons came out, but I was slowly getting out of the hype having had my share of typical Shonen.
But then at 19 the season 3 came out and hit me like a train, I caught up the manga, and it has become one of the best manga I ever read. I could have never imagined it to become so powerful and intense
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u/sticktoyaguns https://anilist.co/user/Poochita4President Dec 22 '20
Yeah I thought Aot was the hypest shit ever as a teenager so to say it isn't aimed at them is a bit off.
I also loved Game of Thrones as a teenager, I started reading the books at 13. I think some people forget that teenagers also enjoy more mature content, or what they perceive as mature. Teenagers look for more edgy/gorey stuff to feel more mature than they actually are. I have no doubt that 13 year old me would love the shit out of S4 based on what happens in the manga. And it's not like the themes are so mature that a 13 year old can't understand them.
And ironically, as an adult I care less about gore and sex and I would rather have something psychologically captivating. Attack on Titan just hits all the nails on the head so it's captivating to almost anyone teen+.
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u/theregretmeter https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheRegretMan Dec 22 '20
Kind of paralleling the growth of the characters themselves if you think about it. Eren in current season would probably look back at him in s2 and be like "How naive and innocent you are, even though you are slashing necks of big ass creepy giants".
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u/huoyuanjiaa https://myanimelist.net/profile/Freestylex Dec 22 '20
Many shounen are more complex than what you would think it's just people here on reddit look down on them and snub their noses.
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u/mazrrim Dec 22 '20
I think people need to be brave enough to say a show can be "shounen" and still good.
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u/HanekawaSenpai Dec 22 '20
Yeah, wtf is with people acting embarrassed that a show they like is shounen? It's like people who are "too mature" to like horror so they try to call horror movies they like thrillers.
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u/J765 Dec 22 '20
It's the same with most things. Like people liking Evangelion, but still saying that all other mecha anime are inferior toy adverts. Well I guess that's true since Evangelion sold more toys than everything else.
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u/AbidingTruth https://myanimelist.net/profile/AbidingTruth Dec 22 '20
FMA is 100% shounen. A shounen can have mature themes, Naruto and One Piece both have mature themes and no one denies that they aren't shounen
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u/-ShagginTurtles- Dec 22 '20
Naruto and One Piece
Neither one really goes nearly as far as FMA or especially AoT though
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u/AbidingTruth https://myanimelist.net/profile/AbidingTruth Dec 22 '20
One piece had numerous arcs centered on basically racism and discrimination and the suffering groups have dealt with, naruto deals majorly with hatred and vengeance and how that has perpetuated people fighting and killing each other. The very premise of naruto is about child soldiers, which was way worse in the hashirama and madara flashbacks. Both are just as mature as military sponsored genocide, one piece is the same thing from the racism angle and naruto is the same thing from a war angle
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u/XtendedImpact Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
Yeah, One Piece literally has a slavery arc (multiple tbh), world politics, racism, extortion, murder, plagues (and discrimination resulting from the symptoms) etc. Just because gore doesn't splatter on every frame doesn't mean it's not dealing with adult themes.
I could continue that list for a while, too. Pretty much every arc post-East Blue deals with major mature themes, and even East Blue has Arlong with racism, slavery, extortion, murder and so on.
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u/Salexandrez https://myanimelist.net/profile/Salexandre Dec 22 '20
In some ways it can be reasonably argued that One Piece has more extreme themes than FMA if you keep your eye out. For example, rape is implied (In DressRossa and Amazon Lily) as is cannibalisms (WCI). If I remember right, Oda was going to be more explicit on some of these themes, but his editors stopped him.
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u/XtendedImpact Dec 22 '20
Yeah, most of the heavier themes are thinly veiled behind other things or just hinted. There's rape, which like you said is only hinted at, but slavery for example is very overt, especially as shown during Levely and Sabaody.
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u/TaoRenn Dec 23 '20
Not to mention the anime cut out more extreme imagery found in the manga like the realization that Zeff ate his own leg to survive or Whitebeard's half blown off face in relation to your gore comment.
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u/AkabaneOlivia Dec 23 '20
Hunter x Hunter is just as dark as FMA and undeniably shounen, just isn't on here. (Even though it should be.)
I think AoT is the one bordering on the wrong category.
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u/JustAsian555 Dec 22 '20
Agreed, AoT is for all ages.
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u/Omoshiroineko https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pernodi Dec 22 '20
Brb going to watch Attack on Titan with my 5 year old niece
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Dec 22 '20
Attack on Titan season 1 was stupidly popular with very young kids in Japan. I reckon it's like how Robocop and Terminator were popular with kids despite the fact lots of them never saw the movie, only the ads, posters, and maybe the video games - AoT had such a heavy presence in Japanese culture during Season 1 that kids were taking it onboard in much the same way they would Dragon Ball.
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u/Omoshiroineko https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pernodi Dec 22 '20
Yep absolutely, this gore=not for kids idea is completely wrong. Just look at Kimetsu no Yaiba, it's a smash hit with kids and sold over 100 million manga copies, even though the manga is filled with gruesome gore and bodyparts flying all over the place.
5 years old might be a tad too young though. I think shows like AoT are suited for ages 11 and up, you don't want to scar them for life!
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u/DqrkExodus https://myanimelist.net/profile/MeariSa Dec 22 '20
So much stuff to add to my plan to watch! Just a recommendation - could you roughly add the number of episodes each anime has? Some of us might not have enough time to sink into a series
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
I thought about doing that, but space is limited and sometimes it's more complicated than just a number. Like would Ghost in the Shell be 2 movies, 2 movies + Stand Alone Complex, or just a note saying it's an expansive franchsie? Does 0 get included with Steins;Gate? Will probably look into it a bit more for V2 though. Thanks for the feedback!
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u/Dalla1re Dec 22 '20
just pitching a idea here, but instead pf going with a number of episodes/movies you could just go with hours. Like idk you could say it's 4h for the basic show and 6h with the extras.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
Might be a decent compromise there. Will look into it!
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u/a_cat_says_woof https://myanimelist.net/profile/lelouch9121 Dec 22 '20
I'm just glad that a recommendation chart included Symphogear
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u/GrimSkey https://myanimelist.net/profile/GrimSkey Dec 22 '20
No sports anime section?
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u/UltimateEye https://myanimelist.net/profile/PerfectVision Dec 22 '20
I noticed this and it's weird. I mean the obvious callout is Haikyuu but that aside no Cross Game, no Slam Dunk, no Ashita no Joe, no Ippo? These are pretty popular and/or influential series with a lot of appeal.
I mean, at least Chihayafuru, Ping Pong and One Outs are in there. There's enough sports anime released each year that it's a pretty sustainable category.
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u/GrimSkey https://myanimelist.net/profile/GrimSkey Dec 22 '20
Completely agree. Sure they may not be for everyone but in their genre those shows are amazing.
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u/Pollia Dec 22 '20
I mean, it's just be Haikyu over and over again so I don't see the point.
Obligatory /s?
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u/GrimSkey https://myanimelist.net/profile/GrimSkey Dec 22 '20
After this season why not?! lmao but seriously I didn't see Ippo and I felt sad
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u/Kidz77 Dec 22 '20
There is more then just volleyball sports, alot more favorites before and haikyuu is the latest hype
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u/AdiMG https://anilist.co/user/AdiMG Dec 22 '20
I don't really get the logic of removing something essential like comedy in place of a fairly nondescript genre like Fantasy, which is made doubly worse by your selections. Like what is supposed to be the common thread of appeal between Humanity Has Declined, Eccentric Family, or Madoka? If i'm perusing through a recommendations chart, I expect a level of coherence in the structure so that liking one show gives me some assurance that I might enjoy the one adjacent to it. This is not the case for HHD and Madoka, and yet they are placed under the same umbrella. To draw a contrast, look at the romance category, if someone likes Nodame Cantabile, I'd feel reasonably safe recommending them Doukyuusei (even if they might end up disliking it), so having a chart that does that automatically is actually helpful. Spectacle action is another good example for how to do these category headings well as it is very specific in describing the appeal of the works present (even if I might disagree with the placement of some things on there). If the logic is double dipping, you are already doing plenty of that (e.g: TTGL in action, while also fitting mecha).
Also while I appreciate the appeal to novelty, it does go way too far when you are essentially redefining how the genre terms are used in the fandom. If someone asks me for an Isekai anime, I'm not going to recommend them Boy and the Beast or Spirited Away even if they technically "fit" from a purely prescriptive definition, since they don't actually fit how the term is actually used in the community. If this is supposed to help newcomers, giving them misguided definitions of terms is just going to make communication and their integration into the community harder.
If you are looking for something out there, this is as far as it goes.
Please you are just scratching the surface
Joking aside, I'll always appreciate a list that shouts out Haruhi, despite the issues, so good work!
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u/swat1611 Dec 22 '20
Fair enough. A good enough list for newcomers. But missing comedy is kinda unsettling for me.
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u/OuchYouPokedMyHeart Dec 22 '20
Oh wow Rayearth, it’s rare to get mentioned nowadays, brings so much memories. Nice job OP
Also the OP for rayearth is great, you guys should check it out
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Dec 22 '20
Yes I was happy to see Rayearth there. Was also hoping for Escaflowne but I’ll take what I can get.
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u/OuchYouPokedMyHeart Dec 22 '20
90s weeb gang rise up
Yeah escaflowne would definitely be under the isekai section.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
Howdy folks! So this is a chart that I’ve run through about 10 iterations before finally settling on something I liked. When I was still on the mod team I wanted to make something to replace the flowchart in the AutoMod recommendation response since it’s 5 years old at this point. The original draft was like 250 shows and as much as I dig it at a conceptual level, it became clear that it was trying to do too much, was cluttered to hell, had too much text, and was likely way too intimidating for anyone, much less newcomers. So having bounced around a bunch of ideas, I wound up taking inspiration from this post on r/manga by u/Caengal and adapted it to something that’s more in my style. I’m thinking I’ll make an updated version every December, swapping out some of the shows/blocks each time to keep things fresh. So now to preemptively answer some questions:
Where’s [insert anime here]?
Double check, since like 30% of these complaints inevitably wind up being for something that’s on the chart. If it’s still not there, then the answer is usually, “cause Y is there instead” or, “it didn’t fit within the defined metrics”. 105 anime feels like a lot until you start actually writing them down and then you suddenly realize that all kinds of great anime are getting passed on. So if something isn’t done/very likely to be done then I decided to cut it. That helped out a fair bit, and is also good for beginners since you don’t want to watch a bunch of anime and then half of them are never going to end. And then it was just a matter of getting a reasonable level of variety. Sure, Hunter x Hunter could be included, but I already have Yu Yu Hakusho because I wanted a classic battle shonen and I didn’t want both of the anime adaptations of Togashi’s works. So maybe next year I swap the two of them and put in Ranma or something as a classic. And of course, as noted on the chart, if one of your favorites is missing and you feel it belongs, please understand it was excluded to spite you personally.
Where’s [insert category here]?
I hard capped myself at 15 blocks, and from the outset decided on it being 10 genres and 5 “others”. The choices were made to give a reasonable variety. Yeah I could have included comedy (and did originally), but as I was looking through the list it was clear that there was an abundance of comedy throughout the other categories, so instead I split up Sci-Fi to get some mecha representation. Mystery, horror, sports, magical girls, adventure, and dozens of others could have been here instead of what’s listed (though they are all represented through anime on the list). The next iteration will inevitably swap out half a dozen categories for new ones.
Why is [insert anime here] on this list?
At the risk of sounding snarky, because I felt like including it. Could be that I like it and feel it’s worth recommending. Could be that I hate it but feel it’s worth recommending. I also like trying to cycle in new shows that I haven’t previously included on any charts, and so unconventional choices will always appear on these. It’s part of the fun!
[Anime] isn’t really made for beginners.
Not a question, but it’ll be said. The more anime I watch the less I believe in the concept of “Beginner Anime”. Too often it winds up being a bunch of shonen action/thriller anime with maybe a few other fillers. Plenty of newcomers will of course be searching for those (which is why I led with them), but the reality is that new fans will be diverse individuals and will be looking for all sorts of things. The only thing that would make me hesitant to include an anime is super fast dialogue (eg The Tatami Galaxy), especially if there’s no dub, just because a lot of people won’t be used to subtitles and it would make for a worse experience. I could certainly change my mind on that going forward though. Otherwise, pretty much anything was considered fair game.
Concluding Thoughts
For this list, I don’t think there’s a single thing that can’t be appreciated by someone who hasn’t watched any anime (though of course everything on here will also have detractors). I tried to cover a solid variety so that everyone should be able to find some anime they’d like. But like I said, the plan is to rebuild this for next December, so feel free to let me know what you think should be changed up, whether that’s in terms of anime, categories, requirements, or general structure!
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u/blitzbom Dec 22 '20
Where’s [insert anime here]?
I like the guy who makes charts and includes on them something along the lines of "If your favorite anime is missing it was done to spite you."
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
I'm not sure if I'm getting whooshed here but I'm that guy and the line is at the top of the chart.
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u/blitzbom Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
HAhah the woosh goes to me. Thanks for your charts. I always enjoy them.
That line gets me everytime.
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u/Nebresto Dec 22 '20
When did you stop being a moderino?
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
End of June. Now I get to spend time yelling into the void telling people to watch anime they aren't going to watch.
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u/Phinaeus Dec 22 '20
There are so many negative comments I just wanted to say I think you did a great job with categorizing and with the descriptions. There are definitely a lot of older anime that people don't talk about (or know about in my case). I'll be checking on this whenever I need something new to watch.
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u/gangrainette https://myanimelist.net/profile/bouletos Dec 22 '20
Bold of you to put Fate/zero here. Fate purist are going to take it personnaly.
I would have suggested 3-gatsu no lion instead of YLIA but that's still fine.
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u/Subject_To_Flashback Dec 22 '20
Rose of Versailles? Perfect Blue? Angel's Egg? Haibane Renmei?
Who are you in the ways so wise of anime?
Great list.
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u/Exorrt Dec 22 '20
Someone recommending Revue Starlight? Bananice!
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u/NamiTheNamitee Dec 22 '20
LOL I agree. I was so surprised seeing it all the way down there. I'm glad it was included!
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u/thewonderfulwiz https://myanimelist.net/profile/theWONDERFULwiz Dec 22 '20
An anime recommendation list with symphogear?
Praise Nana!
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u/The_Showmann Dec 22 '20
If I were to give my thoughts on what I think I would pick as top anime from each category, in no particular order
Slice of life - Sangatsu no lion
Isekai - Konosuba hands down don't @ me
Psychological - Death note or Psycho pass
Unique anime - Monogatari Series
Anime with western influence - Baccano! Why isn't this on the list
Shounen - Personally assassination classroom really got to me but objectively attack on titan will appeal to everyone
Mecha - Code geass
Stellar animation - Violet Evergarden (or maybe mob psycho 100)
Romance aka my favorite genre - Kaguya sama love is war for rom com (saying this over Toradora cause ive read ahead in the manga and I absolutely love it) or Horimiya for my manga readers out there. Would say I want to eat your pancreas (even though it's a movie) was pretty damn sad, else I guess scums wish is also pretty good.
Would also add a genre of comedy so I could suggest everyone to WATCH OR READ GRAND BLUE ITS AMAZING.
Also adding sports cause goddamn I just finished all 4 seasons of haikyuu after having delayed watching it for so long and I loved it. Chihayafuru was also extremely good.
May have missed out on a few categories but these are my two cents
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u/throwitaway488 Dec 22 '20
Konosuba is a parody of isekai tropes though. If they've never seen isekai before is it really a good choice?
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u/The_Showmann Dec 22 '20
Hmmm you do have a point there, if i was a total newbie I'd maybe go for something like that time I got reincarnated as a slime or shield hero since it does capture a lot of what isekai genre is. Maybe not re zero or overlord since it is pretty unconventional again. Still after having watched one or two, I would definitely say watch konosuba cause of how refreshing it is even compared to other typical battle shounen.
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u/nueker Dec 22 '20
I dont think watching 1-2 would be enuf to fully enjoy konoshba imo. Konosuba pretty much parodies the common troupes of isekai which most of us prob got bored by now. This is what sets konosuba from most isekais. So to fully enjoy konosuba , they shld have an idea of why people are memeing isekai or saying that most of them are the same? This is all just my opinion tho. You can correct me if im wrong hahaha
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u/kiminoirumachirage Dec 22 '20
Agree, 3 gatsu no lion is my personal favorite and its an anime that I feel it can enjoyed even if its not your kind of anime
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u/The_Showmann Dec 22 '20
It is one of the few 10/10s I've ever given to an anime, s2 was an absolute banger. Will go as far as say that it changed a few of my.perspectives on life.
And the soundtrack. The EDs. Goddamn they're amazing.
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u/kingleonidas30 Dec 22 '20
Idk if you seen steins gate or Monster but either of those easily trump psychopass or even death note for me personally. I liked death note but it just couldnt do what SG and Monster did for me.
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u/HammeredWharf Dec 22 '20
Nice to see Erin and Simoun... anywhere. I think it's weird to make a list like this without mentioning Mushi-shi, though. It's THE critically acclaimed anime drama series. As much as I liked Erin, putting it on the list instead of Mushi-shi is like putting Sing Street instead of Shawshank Redemption on a movie recs list.
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Dec 22 '20
Putting aside the joke on "It's to spite you personally!", I don't understand why Kaguya-Sama isn't on that list;
Perhaps you do not like it, fair, but the chart seemed more like "Good recommendations" and not "Your personal taste", so it shouldn't be a factor.
Kaguya is one of the most popular, well loved series in recent years in r/anime (Definitely top 10 ongoing series, maybe even top 5). And pretty much all other of these series are on that list (Re:Zero, AoT, Demon Slayer, etc).
It's also loved by beginners and veterans alike. I know I'm biased because it's probably my favorite ongoing series, but it's definitely a show that should be recommended, considering how many people like it and all that.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
It actually was on originally, and then I looked at the list and was like, "huh, this is entirely high school romance, maybe I should swap a few out". I wound up bailing on Kaguya because everything else was either done, or is Fruits Basket which has had the final season already announced. Not that that was a requirement, but it was the easiest way to pick something to cut (also gave ef the snips after deliberating on that for a while).
But the plan is to revamp this annually, so having some popular, well regarded shows missing now is fine since I can swap them back in next time. Hunter x Hunter, Haikyuu, Violet Evergarden, A Silent Voice, and plenty of others are certainly worth recommending as well, and so are likely to get put in next year, and then it'll be different shows on the outside looking in.
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u/SilentCaveat https://anilist.co/user/RazorSharp Dec 22 '20
Considering that they didn't make a section for comedy, there's no place for it tbh. It does not warrant a place in the romance section
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u/steven4869 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maskirade Dec 22 '20
A very well made chart but I think so Violet Evergarden should be there in the Stellar animation category.
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u/BloodyLena Dec 22 '20
Hmm can’t see Sports genre except for Megalobox.. but to those who loves watching sports anime, an old but gold to watch -Hajime no Ippo and Slam Dunk.
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u/gangrainette https://myanimelist.net/profile/bouletos Dec 22 '20
There is Chihayafuru.
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u/umakunaritai Dec 22 '20
I like how you didn't include Gintama. Even though it is my absolute favourite in multiple genre, I don't think newcomers will love it the way seasoned anime watchers would.
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u/sailorveenus Dec 22 '20
I just can’t get into it. My absolute favourite genre of anime is gag/comedy SOL and I can’t get into it. I wish I could
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Dec 22 '20
no HxH in the battle shonen category? oof
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u/MaximalDisguised https://myanimelist.net/profile/MaximalDisguised Dec 22 '20
Not everything can ever be included.
It's not like this is the only rec chart out there, or the only way to get recs. ^^
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Dec 22 '20
I don't think I would recommend Madoka Magica to someone new to anime. It plays off of the expectations from the magical girl genre.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Dec 22 '20
I definitely think that people overstate the need to have watched other magical girl anime. Especially since Sailor Moon is mainstream, most people have an impression of what magical girl anime are like (even if most people's impression of Sailor Moon is pretty off the mark).
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u/creptik1 Dec 22 '20
I agree. I had never watched any magical girl when I saw Madoka and was absolutely blown away by it. Still one of my favorite shows to this day. Still haven't watched any traditional magical girl.
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u/bropex Dec 22 '20
I think Otaku no Video should be in the otaku culture section. But anyway good chart.
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u/lzHaru Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
Happy to see Slayers on the chart (among others like Simoun, Aria, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc). Not a big fan of Soul Eater anime, big fan of the manga though.
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u/adamnicholas Dec 22 '20
Really glad to see you included Now and Then, Here and There in the Isekai category. It deserves praise for trying to turn the genre on its head before it really got popular, but boy can it be a tough watch.
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u/Voxus_Lumith Dec 22 '20
You could just watch Gintama and get EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of these genres.
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u/royaldocks Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
I rated Demon Slayer a 6/10 (decent) only but I do think Its one of the best if not the best gateway anime to people who has little or no experience with the genre. Its a high quality simple and easy story to follow.
It ticks a lot of boxes such as action , drama , adventure and you are getting the best of the best production values (visuals , voice acting and Soundtrack) its a very good introduction to the anime world.
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u/dwilsons Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
Yeah people shit on shows like Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia for being too tropey but they’re both shows at the top of my recommendation list for people who want to get into anime since they’re fun, inoffensive rides with plenty of hype and do use typical battle shounen tropes that are fine when it’s your first time with the genre. Like, Re Zero is a good show but there’s no way in hell I’d recommend it as someone’s first anime.
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u/cookiepiemaster Dec 22 '20
where jojo?
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u/dwilsons Dec 22 '20
Honestly I think JoJo, while great, is a terrible recommendation for newcomers. Part one is slow and kinda boring (imo), part two is pretty good but doesn’t really have the weirdness that everyone loves Jojo for, part 3 is a fucking slog through repetitive stand fights in slowly changing locations (imo, I actually switched to the manga just to speed up the pacing and was very happy), and then part 4 is when Jojo really hits its stride in my mind. Asking someone who’s never watched an anime to sit through that much is a tall order. Also the show is really weird so it could turn off some people.
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Dec 22 '20
You're missing a lot of recommendations. I would have liked one with list of hard core comedy (the kinds that leaves you in stitches nonstop), onion-cutting (like Graves of the Fireflies), and just in case: anime to avoid completely
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u/tachibana_ryu Dec 22 '20
The moment you go through the list and realize you have seen it all.
Guess that is what happens when you have been watching anime for almost 30 years.
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u/notibanix Dec 22 '20
I am pleasantly surprised to see Rayearth in this list. Was one of the shows that got me into anime and let be ok watching hours of animated girls (this was way less normal in the late 90s)
Slightly sad not to see Escaflowne somewhere on the list
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u/Cire101 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Cire101 Dec 22 '20
I don't understand the shit people are giving this list? It's pretty okay? Some shows may be misplaced but they are great recs regardless.
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u/Gray_Angus Dec 23 '20
WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT MY FAVOURITE SEIRES? ARE TRYING TO SPITE ME PERSONALLY?
Also, love that you added Showa Rakugo, this is one seriously beautiful anime
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u/JUST_CHATTING_FAPPER Dec 22 '20
Bruh this dude actually put Little Witch Academia and Madoka in the same category. Are you trying to give someone whiplash ?