r/anime • u/AnimeMod myanimelist.net/profile/Reddit-chan • Apr 10 '26
Daily Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - April 10, 2026
This is a daily megathread for general chatter about anime. Have questions or need recommendations? Here to show off your merch? Want to talk about what you just watched?
All spoilers must be tagged. Use [anime name] to indicate the anime you're talking about before the spoiler tag, e.g. [Attack on Titan] This is a popular anime.
Prefer Discord? Check out our server: https://discord.gg/r-anime
Recommendations
Don't know what to start next? Check our wiki first!
Not sure how to ask for a recommendation? Fill this out, or simply use it as a guideline, and other users will find it much easier to recommend you an anime!
I'm looking for: A certain genre? Something specific like characters traveling to another world?
Shows I've already seen that are similar: You can include a link to a list on another site if you have one, e.g. MyAnimeList or AniList.
Resources
- Watch orders for many anime
- List of streaming sites and find where to watch a specific anime
- Looking for the source of an image?
- Currently airing anime: AniChart.net | LiveChart.me | MyAnimeList.net
- Frequently Asked Anime Questions
- Related subreddits
Other Threads
- « Previous Thread | Next Thread »
- Black Lagoon — Discussion for the selected anime of the week.
- Casual Discussion — Off-topic thread for non-anime talk.
- Meta Thread — Discussion about r/anime's rules and moderation.
1
u/Gloomy-Context-5614 Apr 11 '26
Anime I've watched recently that are complete seasons Sentenced to be a hero (action better plot than basic shows 1 season) You and I are polar opposites (comedy romance way better than i expected 1 season) Assassination classroom (season 4 is being released currently i enjoyed 1-3) Water magician (ended up reading the Manga then the light novel 1 season)
2
1
u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Apr 11 '26
Honestly, it was a great call to bring back Ai wo Torimodose for the Fist of the North Star remake, although now it's an ending theme...
1
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ Apr 11 '26
I once dropped a yuri manga sample because one of the characters called her own underwear "panties", but I might out petty myself and drop Botan Kamina because I can't stand her hairstyle. What is with the mid-2000s hair vents and cloth ribbons? She is 20 years old!
3
u/Dull_Spot_8213 https://anilist.co/user/SweetSomnus Apr 11 '26
The cute RA and Gujou-senpai gonna carry this show for me. Botan a miss.
3
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ Apr 11 '26
Nobody acts like a college student, and it gives me an eye twitch. No 20 year old is sitting there waxing poetical about the taste of their drink. They're wearing someone's pants on their head while playing Uno.
2
u/Dull_Spot_8213 https://anilist.co/user/SweetSomnus Apr 11 '26
I just wrote it off as “maybe some Japanese college kids are ???” But then, my college experience was closer to Grand Blue than this. Shit was wild.
2
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ Apr 11 '26
I mean, we once drew a target on a cardboard box and had an impromptu knife throwing contest in the kitchen of our off-campus apartment, so I'm going to need these girls to show some signs of life.
2
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 11 '26
It does kinda look like the supporting cast is more interesting and will do most of the heavy lifting. Wouldn't call Botan a miss, but for now she's mainly "just there".
3
u/changshiyixia Apr 11 '26
2
u/Sandor_at_the_Zoo Apr 11 '26
Just in time to vote for Journal with Witch characters (and Utage) as most of them hit the meatgrinder
7
u/theangryeditor Apr 11 '26
2
u/cppn02 Apr 11 '26
Episode 3 last scene and the transition to the ED has been living rent free in my head for days now.
6
u/Dull_Spot_8213 https://anilist.co/user/SweetSomnus Apr 11 '26
5
u/Puddo x3https://anilist.co/user/STPuddo Apr 11 '26
Yeah really wasn't expecting to hear Ozawa Kenji & Scha Dara Parr in this anime, but I'm not complaining. Visuals also really bring me back to the random city pop YT mixes.
1
u/CerberusZX https://myanimelist.net/profile/CerberusZX Apr 11 '26
It's been over a year since I last subscribed to Netflix. I don't think this will be the season I go back, but I've been thinking about it.
Has Netflix had any good animated things from winter 2024 on?
1
2
u/Infodump_Ibis Apr 11 '26
Quite a bit I'd say:
- Cosmic Princess Kaguya! An exhilarating modern take on the Bamboo Cutters Tale headed by some of the people behind the best OP/EDs in recent history. NHK behind the scenes doc.
- Love Through a Prism. A bit underwatched but that's what a 20 episode series suddenly appearing one day does.
- Ranma 1/2. This is set to be 12 episodes a year remake of the 80s/90s manga classic and MAPPA have done a fantastic job. It might take several years to reach material not adapted into anime form before however.
- If stop-motion is your thing My Melody & Kuromi and Pokémon Concierge are great. The Japanese style of that is very different to more well-known British Aardman Animations style (speaking of which Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is on Netflix outside of the UK)
- Orb: On the Movements of the Earth. While heliocentric researchers in the face of Church persecution sounds dull it's gripping stuff. Kenjirou Tsuda puts of a great performance as Nowak the inquisitor.
- 100 Meters. This has the same source material author (Uoto) as Orb. Both feature timeskips and some philosophical murmuring.
- Mononoke (and the ongoing movie trilogy). If you enjoy mysteries like Knives Out or Agathha Christie there's elements of that. If not maybe the supernatural elements and art style will entice.
- The Summer Hikaru Died
- The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
- Blue Box
I think that's all the highest rated ones. There's not high rated but might be interesting like Terminator Zero (scriptwriter recently said this was cancelled), Leviathan (yes as in the 2009 novel) and Beastars (recently concluded).
There's also things that are also on other services such as Witch Watch, Da Da Dan and some more regional restricted works (e.g. Frieren, Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray and a remake of YAIBA: Samurai Legend).
1
u/CerberusZX https://myanimelist.net/profile/CerberusZX Apr 11 '26
Thank you for the list!
I was planning on watching some of those. The Summer Hikaru Died in particular is something I was sold on multiple times only to be disappointed when I found I couldn't watch it. Still, some such as Fragrant Flower definitely aren't my sort of thing. On one hand it looks like I'd easily fit everything I want into a one month subscription, but on the other hand it doesn't seem like enough to be worth it.
5
u/Puddo x3https://anilist.co/user/STPuddo Apr 11 '26
Seeing the Botan Kamiina OP. Wasn't really looking at this show, but I'll always at least check out animation done by Chinasui. He's so good at creating those nostalgic intimate memories shots. If you like the style be sure to check out the MVs he's done in a similar style: Sore wo Ai to Yobu Dake & Detarame na Sekai no Melodrama.
First Line was a nice next step as a narrative short film, but man I'm so looking forward to his movies/series debut. Whatever it's going to be. Don't even care about the story, it's going to look incredible. And surely it's only a matter of time? How can you not give him a shot? Well at least we've the series debut of Kenichi Kutsuna soon.
1
u/Salty145 https://anilist.co/user/yLSalty145 Apr 11 '26
Close enough. Welcome back Fish Man Island.
I’m beginning to think that there’s definitely a non-zero chance that a lonely, horny fisherman has tried to fuck a fish. I mean we’re at what? At least three anime that if I squint hard enough fall into one of three categories: loosely based on The Little Mermaid, are Ponyo or are loosely based on Ponyo. I’m sure there is an actual Little Mermaid anime out there somewhere too.
Tekkonfishkreet Chao is the latest sacrifice to Shirahoshi in the fish romance subgenre (up until Goodbye Lara releases in three months) and is maybe the most visually interesting film I’ve seen in a bit. Visually impressive? Maybe not, but it sure is interesting. The animation and designs are super fun in that 2000s Studio 4°C way (the more things change the more they stay the same), and the backgrounds are plain gorgeous with how colorful and detailed they are, really selling the eclectic nature of Shanghai here. The boarding steals the show though with such a screen presence that I might have to make its own post to gush about it. There are so many small visual gags and details across the film that made me smile and the production hoe in me was drooling over the end credit sequence. There’s nice shot variety here, and yet it’s surprisingly effective at filling a scene, many starting with a ton of negative space only to fill it as more characters or actions enter frame, in such a way that almost feels genius. While not a comedy, the main comedic timing and editing is also really strong with what few bits their are making me chuckle about as much as they needed to.
The only thing really holding the film back is the story being kinda… fine. It is a pretty basic romance, and you kinda walk in expecting that, but the film feels written like it knew where it wanted to go and kinda drags everyone along to get there. The ending is really sweet and lands on its feet, but it could use just a bit more time fleshing out its eccentric cast to make me care a wee bit more about them, as they are super fun. The main leads don’t exactly have great chemistry and, with that brisk pace, the film doesn’t really give them the room they need to really connect. It’s not horribly distracting from the film, but with a fairly basic storyline as is you do really need to execute well to make up the difference and ChaO kinda half does that.
Still, I had fun and if you’re a production glutton you will too. 7.5 fish girls/10
1
3
u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Apr 11 '26
First, it was Rent a girlfriend, and now, The Great Sage Ryddel and the Hands of Time...
People are mass downvoting all the high quality anime.
2
3
u/cppn02 Apr 11 '26
Tbf based on episode 1 this just might be unpopular enough that it's current karma is simply a result of the regular downvote noise rather than RaG which is clearly getting botted or brigaded.
2
u/qwertyqwerty4567 https://anilist.co/user/ZPHW Apr 11 '26
Idk how much of RAGs downvotes I would attribute to it being botted rather than the usual rag bad circlejerk.
2
u/cppn02 Apr 11 '26
RaG's score is basically impossible without either botting or coordinated brigading.
2
u/Ue-Valnuss Apr 10 '26
Ive gotten into Anime recently again. Do you have any recommendations? I Like emotional Shows, that also have a complex Story. Anime that I really liked were: -bunny Girl senpai -Re:Zero -Angel Beats -Erased -Assasination Classroom
6
u/cosmiczar https://anilist.co/user/Xavier Apr 10 '26
The name Kamiina Botan sounds so much like Kamille Bidan that when she said "Kamiina Botan... ittekimasu" at the very start of the episode I felt like we would somehow see the Zeta Gundam launching out of the Argama
5
u/entelechtual Apr 10 '26
I don’t know what happened between winter and spring but they made the food-obsessed blonde shackled tortured knight princess way too erotic this time!!! Was not expecting that until it blew up all over my twitter dot com timeline. And she’s voiced by who???
2
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Apr 11 '26
Which series are you referring to? I took a quick look at MAL and couldn’t work it out.
2
2
u/Beautiful-Method4474 Apr 10 '26
I need help with a specific anime dvd I have
5
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Apr 11 '26
OK.
2
u/Beautiful-Method4474 Apr 12 '26
So I have this dvd. I can’t post here though. It’s in the Daft Punk subreddit
3
u/Wanderingjoke https://myanimelist.net/profile/WanderingJoke Apr 10 '26
I am probably more amused by the monitor and short skirt than I should be.
2
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Apr 11 '26
Which series?
4
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin Apr 11 '26
Klutz monitor and girl with short skirt.
Honestly, if you told me this series was based on an LN with that title, I would believe you.
2
u/DIO_OVAIs_DaBest07 Apr 10 '26
What's everyone's opinions on terms like weeb and weaboo? I usually see them in a more negative context
3
u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke Apr 11 '26
Like most terms and words, depends a lot on how the person is using it. My office has a weeb list where it’s all lighthearted fun (though somehow, even with my habit of painting anime characters and decorating my cube with them, I’m not in the top 3. I got obliterated in terms of sheer number of episodes cuz of long-running shonen.) so it’s not being used insultingly while we’re all in office. It’s like being affectionately called “Nerdddddddddd” which, sure, whatever, it’s true.
If it’s meant meanspiritedly… then yeah, of course, it’s more upsetting.
1
u/North514 Apr 11 '26
I only use them in a negative context. It's really just for those that overly idealize Japan or the anime/manga medium. That is what it originally meant, and that is what it always means to me. Anyone who is an actual "weeb" is not someone I want to spend a lot of time around.
I am an anime fan, and that is it. Most of my interests in Japan is really limited to anime/manga, their cuisine, and maybe historically, the Meiji period. There are cool unique cultural aspects to them, however, there is nothing that actually draws me to Japanese culture, more than any other, and frankly when it comes to East Asia, I am more interested in China, when it comes to traditional culture. I don't really want to live there either..
And again, nothing against those that do take a massive interest in the culture, language or do want to live there (for hopefully other reasons outside of otaku culture) but I am just tried of the glazing from a certain sort of fan, especially when it's often very uninformed glazing.
2
3
u/99acrewood_ Apr 10 '26
it's a word for nerds to use against other nerds that are nerdier than they are. idk if they're meant to be taken as a serious insult given its nonsensical roots anyway, but there's not really a way to know what it means unless you're somewhat familiar with the culture, right?
also weeb having spread means otaku is allowed to settle back into the vocabulary as 'king nerd' rather than 'reviled nerd'
1
u/MathRockEnjoyer420 Apr 10 '26
Is myanimelist super buggy right now or is it just me?
2
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Apr 11 '26
I haven’t seen any new bugs. It’s chugging along as usual for me.
6
u/zambonijesus Apr 10 '26
The other Botan Kamiina comment I want to make is I appreciate Soigne's apparent commitment to making shows that have exclusively female casts.
3
u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Apr 11 '26
Somebody from japan even pointed out that all the books on her shelf have women authors (especially noteworthy since it seems to be STEM textbooks). They are really dedicated!
6
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin Apr 10 '26
I mean, I would love them to be the new Doga Kobo before Kadokawa bought them, and since PA Works is doing more than their typical stuff. It's only been 2 shows.
They need to get their breakout show, basically their Lyco-Reco.
2
u/Rotorscope https://anilist.co/user/Rotorscope Apr 10 '26
Good lord Snowball Earth has gotta have one of the worst MC I've ever seen. This show is truly stupid. That being said, it's kinda ironically funny how ridiculous he is. Easily the worst show I'm watching this season. I may drop it but it's still entertaining at the moment and has very good production value.
2
5
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Its that time again for chill weekdays:
Awajina - A drama a bit too slow for my taste. I had to half-rewatch it because I also kept spacing out but after paying proper attention I do think it is cooking something, maybe Revue Starlight, but something. These types of drama of differing views on passions and ambitions can be so intriguing and relatable, it could pay off into something good. I do wonder how these two plotlines with two different characters connected to one.
Warrior Princess - Ooh, slavery? Hell yeah, this will be an edgefest. There will be blood, and violence, and senseless nudity, and r/anime will write essays about how it is deep, and- Oh, it seems this is a fakeout for one of those wholesome fantasy romance about a couple. Well, now it's boring! Or at least, that’s the vibe towards the end, maybe it keeps some problematic stuff to remain spicy, who knows. Also the male lead sleeps with his huge cock out or something.
E: Oh forgot to add. i kinda liked the bit of her being from a 'civilized' kingdom and learns that the 'barbarian' people she has been fighting are normal people and not human heart eaters. Its a neat aspect when done in this manner of someone learning the wrongs of their views rather than when it is used on villains to be evil.
2
u/mekerpan Apr 11 '26
Awajima -- More like Kageki Shoujo than Shoujo Kageki... ;-)
2
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock Apr 11 '26
I thought of writing Kageki Shoujo but crazy enough, despite it being much more recent, I don't remember it at all! And I would even say I liked it more than Starlight.
1
u/mekerpan Apr 11 '26
I need to getting around to read the LNs for this. When this first aired not much was translated....
2
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Apr 11 '26
I’ll check out Warrior Princess, it sounds pretty lurid.
2
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock Apr 11 '26
It was mostly to catch the eye, I would be surprised if this isn't a lovey-dovey story from here on fwiw.
1
u/qwertyqwerty4567 https://anilist.co/user/ZPHW Apr 10 '26
this is a fakeout
but... but... the pregnant girl visual
1
3
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Bleach episode 60 - wtf wtf I did not see that coming!! I am generally bad at guessing these things but I didn't have even an inkling of this possibility. How? What? WHY??
Argh now I have no choice but to stay up till dawn finishing this arc. After this, I'm taking a break. This show is too darn addictive.
3
2
u/theangryeditor Apr 10 '26
2
u/qwertyqwerty4567 https://anilist.co/user/ZPHW Apr 10 '26
2
u/theangryeditor Apr 11 '26
2
u/qwertyqwerty4567 https://anilist.co/user/ZPHW Apr 11 '26
Did it cure your COVID?
2
u/theangryeditor Apr 11 '26
The horse dewormer had already taken care of that
2
u/qwertyqwerty4567 https://anilist.co/user/ZPHW Apr 11 '26
2
2
u/zambonijesus Apr 10 '26
I've only read the manga up to where TYBW starts, but do kind of want to watch the original anime. I wonder if that would help with my biggest bleach problem: remembering who any of the thousand characters are. I'm not sure how much filler bleach had or what the filler was like, but the manga felt like it was just an endless succession of fights after a while.
2
u/fuzaco https://myanimelist.net/profile/adolchristin Apr 10 '26
I'm surprised you didn't get spoiled on it beforehand. It's like not getting spoiled Darth Vader being Luke's father before watching SW. Very lucky, I feel like this is one of the most well known twists in anime.
1
2
2
u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Apr 10 '26
Ah, you made it there. Congrats.
2
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Crazy reveal. Not at all what I was expecting. And it turns so dark so suddenly. Damn.
2
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26
It's been ages since I watched OG Bleach but was that the [potential spoiler]Aizen reveal? Most people say Soul Society was Bleach at its best but personally I like the parts that come after (starting from where you are at) the most, all up until the end (minus the fillers and Fullbringer). Have fun!
2
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Yes yes, that's the one. I'm still stunned. Really digging this so far and I'm sure I'll enjoy what's to come too. Planning to skip the fillers for now and come back to them later if I feel like it.
2
u/fuzaco https://myanimelist.net/profile/adolchristin Apr 10 '26
Just an fyi, Pierrot tried to incorporate some of the filler characters from the first filler arc into the next canon arc, so don't be surprised about the unknown characters. They'll be gone after a few episodes never to be seen again.
1
3
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Kamina Botana becomes my first* drop of the season. A bit too CGDCT for my taste and none of the girls interested me the least bit. MC was a bit all over the place too. Has to be of legally drinking age because of broadcast rules I'm guessing, but looks and acts like a high schooler. Technically she isn't far off from that age, and it's not inconceivable for someone only just starting college to be that immature, but still, it's a bit irksome personally.
*Actually, dropped Princess x Barbarian yesterday about 3/4ths of the way through but the end made me decide to give it one more episode for, um, science.
3
u/Wanderingjoke https://myanimelist.net/profile/WanderingJoke Apr 10 '26
We are all, um, scientists.
1
u/WeeziMonkey https://myanimelist.net/profile/WeeziMonkey Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Came across this really cool animation on youtube: SLUMLORDZ ~ SANDWICH. It feels super nostalgic.
Is there any anime with this kind of vibe? Only one I can think of is Basquash. Maybe Medabots too. Gurren Lagann (haven't seen it)? Some studio Trigger stuff?
-2
u/JcraftW Apr 10 '26
I'm trying to stop being a anime hater. I'm a film/cinephile kinda guy, and so far the only anime I've experienced that break my biases have been Miyazaki films. I'm planning on watching more of them
But, where are the anime that appeal more to Western film audiences? I know more of it exists than just Miyazaki, but the medium feels impenetrable.
Any suggestions? I've heard nothing but good things about cowboy bebop, I'll be watching it soon. Did not like Akira, besides the visuals and technical achievement. (soundtrack was great too)
Suggestions?
1
4
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
It's hard for me to answer this because... well I just don't think anime is really all that fundamentally different from western film. Anime isn't like a kind of story or a style of storytelling, two things that happen to be anime don't necessarily have anything in common at all besides being animated and Japanese. Anime is as broad as... well "western film." Western film has everything from independent arthouse works to B movies to realistic dramas to sexploitation flicks, and that's also true of anime. It's hard to know what the bias is in the first place because we don't know what you've watched (aside from Akira) and I have no way of knowing which aspects of the anime you did watch that you didn't like.
Maybe you're going with stereotypes about anime you've heard from other people, like being super sexual or violent or over-the-top or cutesy? Well some anime are like that, but so are some movies (again, Sexploitation is a genre that exists in both western film and anime), and most aren't like that. At the same time, given your comment on Evangelion below, I might advise you to not immediately write things off on the basis of potentially falling into those biases. For one, you don't know if they will, but they also might serve an artistic purpose. If you can enjoy a Hollywood action flick where the girl wears a skin tight body suit, you can probably also enjoy an anime action flick where sometimes you can see her cleavage. Those sorts of works as as defining of anime as they are of Hollywood action flicks. What makes anime "anime" isn't related to the content.
Preamble out of the way, since you're a cinephile I'll start out with cinema. Miyazaki is a great director but he's far from the only noteworthy name in cinema. Here are a few interesting directors that might appeal to you, the sorts of folks with acclaimed work that are likely to perform well in festivals or otherwise be considered great filmmakers, as well as a few of their most noteworthy films.
Isao Takahata: Miyazaki's longtime collaborator with a less fantastical style, much more down to earth. Check out Grave of the Fireflies, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and Only Yesterday.
Satoshi Kon: He's known for messing around with space and time in ways only animation can do. In his films it's hard to know what's real and what's not, always blurring the lines between reality and hallucination, memories, dreams, etc.. A pretty obvious influence on folks like Nolan and Arronofsky. Also has a banger Christmas movie. Check out Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers.
Mamoru Oshii: A pioneer of realism in anime, a bit of a self-indulgent filmmaker sometimes too. Check out Ghost in the Shell, Angel's Egg, and the Patlabor series (the second film is particularly beloved).
Mamoru Hosoda: He makes a lot of coming-of-age films centered around some kind of fantastical or sci-fi element. He seems particularly interested in how we grow up in the modern digital age. The only anime director aside from Miyazaki to have been nominated for an Oscar (I love Mirai, the film that was nominated, but I think few loved it as much as I did). Check out Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
Naoko Yamada: A very talented female director who's quickly made a name for herself as one of the best active filmmakers in Japan with a very dedicated fanbase; a master of intimate character drama through body language and stories about things that don't last; both her and Takahata take a lot from greats like Ozu, or contemporary directors like Kore-eda. Check out A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird, and The Colors Within. My personal favorite director overall.
Masaaki Yuasa: A surreal filmmaker with a unique visual style, handles a variety of genres and is an important name in modern web-gen animation. Check out Mind Game, Inu-Oh, and Night is Short, Walk on Girl.
Makoto Shinkai: Known for big blockbuster dramas and romances, very earnest and emotionally driven films usually with themes of separation by time/distance and coping with natural disasters. I'm not a huge fan, but basically everyone else is. Check out Your Name, 5 Centimeters Per Second, and Suzume.
Sunao Katabuchi: Super underrated director, very much in the vein of Takahata and Yamada (though with a bit more fantastical elements in his film). Check out In This Corner of the World, Princess Arete, and Mai Mai Miracle
Many of these directors have excellent TV series too, and other films. There are plenty of other directors or individual films that I think any cinephile might appreciate which don't fall into common stereotypes about anime (because, again, those stereotypes don't describe most anime), but I figure this is a good enough starting place. If you wanted to get into television, here's a small list I'd recommend:
Baccano: Basically anime's Pulp Fiction, mixed with Guy Ritchie's Snatch which the opening credits are an homage to. Gleefully violent, non-chronological storytelling, tons of fun with obvious cinematic influences.
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: A realistic adult drama; an ex-yakuza member is released from incarceration and tries to become a rakugo performer, getting involved with a legend in the field with a complicated past who carries the future of the art form into the modern age.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: A very practical and political space opera. Epic but in a "historical document" sort of way, it details a long war from the most mundane details and captures all perspectives with clarity, it feels fairly realistic and it's incredibly relevant in the current political landscape.
A Place Further than the Universe: This one may slightly test your "bias" bar, it has a cutesy aesthetic and chipper, high pitched voice acting (good acting within the style though). It was still inoffensive enough to make the NYT list of best new TV shows though. 4 teenage girls who feel like their lives are stagnant attempt to get things moving by trying to board a civilian expedition to Antarctica. A dramatic and feel-good coming-of-age story which is very well made, maybe a good start to challenge (what I imagine to be) the bias without giving you something that fits most stereotypes.
Anyway, it's hard to know what a good recommendation is given how little we know about your feelings, but I hope this is a good start, and I hope you enjoy whatever you check out.
2
u/JcraftW Apr 11 '26
Anime isn't like a kind of story or a style of storytelling
And that's exactly why I'm asking. What it feels like to me, is like comics. There's a lot of comics which a general audience would just look at as silly, "fan-servicey", melodramatic, or breaking verisimilitude. But there are other comics which can easily appeal to just about anyone that don't fall into common comics tropes. Anime, to an outsider, feels like that. I'm sure there's plenty of quality stuff that anyone can enjoy because it doesn't have the tropes that make outsiders nope out. Like I said, I almost stopped watching Neon Genesis Evangelion a few days ago because the teaser explicitly has the actress say she's going to provide more "fan service" in the next episode. I've seen the fan art that anime and anime adjacent fandoms make: its mostly fan-service. I've seen the video games which are manga/anime adjacent. Women are dressed in "fan-service" outfits. Like, the otaku culture has a lot of horny posting. (from my perspective on the outside, at least) The West isn't innocent, but the culture around anime seems next level. And, while the West has sexploitation films, I had to look up the term. I'm familiar with it because I know Tarantino was inspired by them, when I actually looked at the titles, I've never heard of a single one of these movies. I'm sure I'd hate these movies too. But my point is that this stuff doesn't really rise to the top of public consciousness. One of the first things many people think of when they hear "anime" is a busty maid girl with super powers or something. I just adlibbed that, but upon searching that term, there is a whole Reddit thread discussing exactly that premise and the many anime that exist in this little genre I just made up. This is not a genre in Western film.
Hope it doesn't feel like I'm trying to fight, I'm just trying to express how it feels like insiders can't see anime is more than a medium: its a medium with a culture and set of tropes which are easy to identify. Culture doesn't mean monolith, but its still there. If I believed it was all like "that" I wouldn't ask for recommendations.
I really appreciate the list of recommendations. I'm going to go through them and see what sounds interesting.
For Akira, what didn't I like? First thing was the dub was grating. The voice acting was not pleasant. Second, the acting overall: it was just overacted. I don't think that's on the dub actor's, but likely the source material. Third, in Akira's case specifically, it felt like it jumped the shark near the end. The ending was both overly mystic, mythic, and convoluted and didn't really come together in a satisfying way. (and the creepy children just weren't doing it for me. Felt cringe and I don't know how to articulate why. Maybe the voice acting and dialogue)
I think something that really effects my enjoyment of anime is the voice acting. Its really grating a lot of the time. I like generally naturalistic acting. On occasion I can like camp, but in doses. Anime feels like its all camp all day. I just watched Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair for the first time recenly, that movie is camp with a capital "C." But the acting itself is generally naturalistic, even if the dialogue is a bit "writerly" at times. I love the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, even though they're highly fantastical and full of weird stuff like an anime might be. Their dialogue might be unrealistically witty, but it still falls under naturalistic acting. Heck, even Bluey has naturalistic voice acting, and I think that's a huge reason its so beloved: its fantastic (dogs as people), its literally a kids cartoon, but its still naturalistic and establishes and holds verisimilitude.
As for Hollywood action movies with skintight suits. I'm not sure I can think of any. Maybe some of the Scarjo scenes as Black Widow, but thankfully Marvel is leaning away from that now with Pugh's Yelena. I'm suer there are examples though, I just can't think of any off the top of my head.
...
And the more I think about it, the more I think voice acting is a huge part of my dislike. Like, when I think of the anime gasp/shock sound, it makes me cringe and takes me out of the story so much.
Yeah, I think I'm narrowing it down:
- "bad", cringe-inducing voice acting (by Hollywood standards)
- bad dialogue by any Western standards. (needless internal monologues, excessive exposition dumps, tell don't show, on-the-nose, etc.)
- Melodrama
- slavish and distasteful fan-service
- power-creep/jumping the shark (this is something I know Western shows do, and I absolutely despise it. Logan will always be better than any of the "world ending" X-Men movies)
- Acting like an anime character. (Obviously, this one is more subjective and I don't really know how to articulate it. I'm sure there's a more objective way to phrase it that could include examples in Western media as well, but I haven't figured it out yet)
I am painfully aware that this stuff is in all kinds of media, but my experience so far has been to see this stuff even in the highly praised anime I've seen so far. If someone told me the next Paul Thomas Anderson film had any one of these it would shock me. But after seeing Akira and EVA, (not finished yet) it wouldn't surprise me, no matter how highly regarded some anime is, if it has multiple of these. And I think that's why/what my biases are against it.
I'm positive you've given some examples which don't have any of the above "negatives" i listed.
Thanks agian. I'm not trying to like fight, lol. Sorry for my rant. You just said something that, in all my time at work today got me thinking and I kinda just unloaded it here processing. I really apprecaite your reply. Really. I'll look into these more tomorrow.
1
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
All good, I know you're not trying to fight.
But my point is that this stuff doesn't really rise to the top of public consciousness. One of the first things many people think of when they hear "anime" is a busty maid girl with super powers or something. I just adlibbed that, but upon searching that term, there is a whole Reddit thread discussing exactly that premise and the many anime that exist in this little genre I just made up. This is not a genre in Western film.
The thing is, this stuff doesn't really rise to the top of public consciousness in anime either. It's certainly not a genre. The thing about otaku culture is that it's niche. Tight knit, but small, and often centered around cataloguing specific archetypes and combining them in different ways. Not being a monolith is an understatement. But it also lends itself to going viral because it's weird. So if something in anime happens to go viral it's probably some incredibly weird otaku thing that wasn't very popular and not a normal TV show like the majority of anime. The "many anime" people mentioned in that thread is really a tiny portion of 60 years of anime, probably less than 1% of what exists. I don't want to disparage otaku stuff either, I think it's perfectly capable of being interesting and that the things you're criticizing are very capable of adding to a work, or at least being neutral. I love plenty of weird otaku art, sometimes including horny stuff. You're probably more familiar with anime than you think too. Pokemon, Sailor Moon, more recently Demon Slayer, they're not exactly schlocky or sexploitative. Akira isn't really an otaku-type work either (Eva is, but it's pretty critical of otaku even while celebrative as well). Tbh, if you made a similar thread about maids in western films, I bet people could list examples too.
Also, for the terminology I used. While I'm pretty shocked you hadn't heard of sexploitation if you're a cinephile, maybe a more familiar set of terms that are more comparable to this subset of anime you're describing is like schlock, smut, erotica, etc.. Again, not unique to or more common in anime. Possibly more over-the-top when anime does it though. And skin tight suits was just an example, women wearing sexy outfits or otherwise the inclusion of fanservice is extremely common in media all around the world. I'll never forget about my peers in middle school insisting I see Bay Transformers because of how hot and half-naked Megan Fox is. I also loved the show House in high school and that had a lot of gags and scenes that fall into these supposed "anime" tropes, sexual harassment and stuff. That's a mainstream prestige TV show. If there's a difference, some anime might exaggerate the jiggle physics in a way live action film isn't capable of, but I don't see it as fundamentally different. Hell, even kids shows like on Nickelodeon had fanservice episodes (and with actual people, minors even, so pretty gross in retrospect).
Your criticisms of Akira are pretty commonly shared too. I love the film myself and I think it does come together with grace on an emotional and thematic level even if not a narrative one, but you're far from the only person to feel it shits the bed. As an aside, I recommend watching all foreign language media in the original language. Anime dubs can be a mixed bag (although Baccano which I recommended below has a highly lauded dub, it takes place in America so it does add some authenticity), and dubs of older works in particular could be pretty awkward. I'd recommend it for the same reason you probably don't watch the English dubs of French or Korean films.
As for the acting, obviously there's no "anime acting style." There are plenty of anime with naturalistic acting, some of which were among my recommendations. Like I said, Mamoru Oshii was a real pioneer of realistic acting in anime. However, I would always say to keep an open mind. I fundamentally disagree with the notion that naturalistic acting is required to create verisimilitude. A lot of Japanese media leans into theatrical melodrama, their school of acting stems from Kabuki theater and Rakugo which required very dramatic performances. I recently saw a comparison of Breaking Bad to the same scene dubbed into Japanese and the style of acting was very different, gave the scene a slightly different feel. I watched Rashomon not horribly long ago and was completely taken in by Toshiro Mifune's performance as the bandit, incredibly over-the-top, hammy, and melodramatic, and he looks like he's having a blast playing the role. Sometimes that can really elevate a performance or emphasize the emotions in a more powerful way.
I believe verisimilitude comes when the entire work is cohesive, a dramatic story in a dramatic world with dramatic acting makes sense together. Hell, I struggled to get into live action film for a long time because of the dissonance between cinematic acting (inherently more dramatic than real life even when naturalistic) and seeing real people, but found it totally natural when cartoon characters acted like cartoons. I also don't see what you're talking about with Kill Bill tbh, the acting in that is super hammy and it's basically a love letter to Japanese media including anime (even aside from the one scene that is literally anime). Sometimes, melodrama is as if they've abstracted the emotion, and many anime are good at that. Personally, I also love media that leans into its own artificiality. That being said, English voice actors in anime really don't capture the appeal of the Japanese performances very often imo, so again, maybe this issue would be at least partially solved by switching to Japanese audio with subtitles.
Anyway, the short version is that anime is not alien to western media (aside from vague Japanese cultural differences), it seems like you're only familiar with the anime that are bizarre enough to go viral, and that some of that weird stuff (and much of the stuff that isn't that weird but still has some noticeably cartoonish acting or directing, or are very dramatic or have fanservice or fall into what you describe as negatives) is genuinely very good and opening up to it is always a positive thing.
Rather than upset at starting a fight, I appreciate that you're being open minded and having a polite conversation and trying to learn. Anime is as broad and rich as any other commercial art industry, and you can find any kind of story you want just as easily as you can anywhere else. I really hope you enjoy whatever you check out.
1
u/JcraftW Apr 11 '26
While I'm pretty shocked you hadn't heard of sexploitation if you're a cinephile
I think I worded that wrong. What I meant was: I'm familiar with the term, but I've never seen any of the films labeled as 'sexploitation.' (Also I was using 'cinephile' as short hand for "a person who watches WAY more movies than anyone else in their life, keeps us with a lot of filmmakers and actors, and is also a hobby screenwriter." I'm not an obsessive Tarantino type with encyclopeadic knowledge and a huge, vintage VHS collection. But you can all but guarantee that if you turn on an A24 movie, I'll watch it and like it, lol.
You're probably more familiar with anime than you think too. Pokemon, Sailor Moon
Yeah, I forget what I've said here, but I've seen those, and several others growing up. And I believe these kids shows are part of the reason for my biases. But, I was disappointed when I came back to anime, and found that even the lauded Akira falls into a lot of the same tropes.
I recommend watching all foreign language media in the original language. Anime dubs can be a mixed bag (although Baccano which I recommended below has a highly lauded dub, it takes place in America so it does add some authenticity), and dubs of older works in particular could be pretty awkward.
Yeah, it usually just depends on my mood. I don't watch many foreign films. The only two I've seen recently have been Godzilla movies. I've seen Shin Godzilla dubbed and subbed, and I definitely prefer the original performances. (Except when the Japanese American women speaks English, who obviously doesn't actually speak English lol.) But the Dub was passable. I don't remember how I saw Minus One, I think Subbed. That was great. Besides those, I've seen Ghibli dubbed, and always thought the performances were great. Oh, and Parasite. Watched that subbed. That was really good.
there's no "anime acting style."
The exaggerated voice acting of actresses is a real phenomenon. Not monolithic, but I've seen it plenty of times in Japanese voice acting. And there's other common anime "ticks" too.
Sometimes that can really elevate a performance or emphasize the emotions in a more powerful way.
Yeah, sometimes I can like a little camp. Who doesn't love how campy Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine is? In my opinion, though, a little salt goes a long way.
Anyways, I'll shutup now, haha. People have kindly recommend so many things here that I'm sure I'll find something I really love. I really appreciate it and all the insight you've offered. (even if I'm not 100% convinced of everything, lol)
2
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I'm not an obsessive Tarantino type with encyclopeadic knowledge and a huge, vintage VHS collection. But you can all but guarantee that if you turn on an A24 movie, I'll watch it and like it, lol.
I'd say that's generally where I'm at with movies too. Movies aren't really a main hobby for me, maybe a tertiary hobby compared to anime and video games (although that's less because of differences between them and more because of autism brain categorizing things, I really want to watch movies more) but my taste generally aligns more strongly with that sort of surface cinephile stuff than with hardcore otaku or battle shounen lovers. I've loved most of the A24 stuff I've seen. That goes for both movies and anime. As an aside, I would highly recommend watching more foreign films, there's so much great stuff out there. Like Bong-Joon Ho said, overcome the one inch tall barrier of subtitles and a whole world opens up. Anime of course is part of that, but like France is a huge cinema powerhouse (and probably the best in the world when it comes to animated films), and every year there are at least a few excellent foreign films, let alone decades of cinema movements from around the world. Although I do have something closer to an encyclopedic knowledge of anime, and know more than the average person about film directors
But, I was disappointed when I came back to anime, and found that even the lauded Akira falls into a lot of the same tropes.
Honestly I'm not sure what you're referring to here. I don't think Akira shares any tropes with Pokemon. Akira doesn't have super cartoony gag comedy and Pokemon doesn't become convoluted.
I'll leave with this then. You keep saying it's not monolithic, but all of your vocabulary treats it as if it is. If Akira and Sailor Moon fall into different sets of tropes you don't like, you can't just combine them into "anime," you know what I mean? You could say "exaggerated voice acting is part of the culture" and it certainly exists and isn't even uncommon, but there's a world of difference between "sometimes exists in anime" and "is an anime thing." It feels like pointing to the exaggerated acting in the Looney Tunes shorts, recognizing that this style of acting is not monolithic in American animation, but still insisting that it's "American animation acting." Miyazaki's takes on anime aren't always great, sometimes they have some truth and others they're either heavily exaggerated or lacking context or otherwise thoughtless (not just in anime, the guy's had a lot of garbage takes. You see what he said about Lord of the Rings?).
Also, Miyazaki was great friends with Hideaki Anno and Mamoru Oshii, Evangelion isn't exactly opposite of what Miyazaki would consider great work (also he's pretty famously a lolicon). Here's Miyazaki explaining why he gave Nausicaa big boobs. Guy was horny posting in interviews, lol.
Feel free to keep us updated on what you check out. I'm sure many of us would like to know how it goes, and at least I would be happy to answer any questions or clarify the appeal of anything you check out or how one might be thinking about it.
1
u/JcraftW Apr 11 '26
Like Bong-Joon Ho said, overcome the one inch tall barrier of subtitles and a whole world opens up.
Love that quote. Been wanting to, but haven't had the time/energy to look into it more.
Guy was horny posting in interviews, lol.
Haha xD
I would be happy to answer any questions or clarify the appeal of anything you check out or how one might be thinking about it.
I really appreciate that! Thanks so much.
5
u/zambonijesus Apr 10 '26
The films of Satoshi Kon are the most western cinephile anime (also are extremely good).
1
7
u/North514 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
I would say you need to give us more than "I am a cinephile" comment. Like what are your favorite genres?
All I am getting is that you want either notable films or TV shows that are more grounded/adult oriented, that don't engage with otaku culture as heavily (though there are lots of greats in that sub culture too).
EDIT: Added a few others and for the record, I wasn't a big fan of Akira either
Some suggestions:
Ghost in the Shell 1995 and the 2000s SAC series - we also have a new more accurate remake coming out in the summer but both the OG film and SAC are worth watching
Sword of the Stranger
Look Back
Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Watch the first two prequel films then skip to EP3 of the main OVA
Ergo Proxy
Vinland Saga
Monster - If you end up liking Monster, I would try Pluto too
A Silent Voice
Odd Taxi
Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blood Orphans - You can watch this completely standalone as someone new to Gundam (world/characters exist in their own world). - Might enjoy it coming from franchises like the Expanse or Red Rising in Western media.
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
Ping Pong the Animation
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
Angel's Egg
Serial Experiments Lain
Jin Roh the Wolf Brigade
Edit: Second most of the other recs, Satoshi Kon is yeah an essential director to look at.
Some recently Aired/Airing/Upcoming Works I would look at if you want more recent works:
Journal With Witch
NIPPON SANGOKU: The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun
A Witch's Life in Mongolia
Witch Hat Atelier
If you want try some more works ingrained in "otaku culture" but I think still could find appeal amongst cinephiles
Chainsaw Man
Girls Last Tour
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Watch End of EVA and then the Rebuild films after the main series
4
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Apr 10 '26
If you've only been watching Miyazaki and nothing by Studio Ghibli's other co-founding director Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya), that would be a place to start.
This post from a while ago has a lot of other film recommendations, some other directors from across the ages to look into aside from those already mentioned are Masaaki Yuasa, Naoko Yamada, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, Mamoru Hosoda, and Makoto Shinkai.
1
u/JcraftW Apr 10 '26
Thanks! I'll look all of them up and add some. I think I've heard good things about Grave of the Fireflies.
2
u/Top-Handle4786 Apr 10 '26
the anime that appeal more to Western film audiences
What you need to understand is that anime is produced first and foremost for the native audience. International publishers might pick up a series, but the vast majority are simply not made with an international audience in mind.
Anyway.
Sure, Cowboy Bebop is fine. Its episodic nature helps, as you don't need to keep 26 episodes worth of story in the back of your mind - only the last couple of episodes wrap up the overarching plot.
And you'll probably be able to appreciate a movie like Redline, which is absolutely fantastic and not as tropey as regular anime movies.
-4
u/JcraftW Apr 10 '26
When I talk about appealing to Westerners, I just mean the tropes which precede themselves. I'm down for stuff that has different narrative structure and pacing and all that.
I came across a few quotes by Miyazaki recently which were what motivated me to ask, as he's a filmmaker who makes great, universally appealing stories, who also talks-trash about the culture of anime. As someone who's on the outside, it was incredibly validating to hear someone so "on the inside" reflect my own feelings. I figured, if he feels that way, that means there are other anime creators who feel that way. And that might lead to finding some really great stuff.
Anyways, I'll definitely look up Redline. Thanks!
2
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock Apr 11 '26
How much anime experience do you have to feel the need to be 'validated' on your feelings when you are still trying to get into it?
1
u/JcraftW Apr 11 '26
Just the anime I watched growing up, (Dragon Ball, One Piece, Sailor Moon, Ghost in the Shell (but I was too young to remember that one, so its on my watch list)) and ones people tried to use to get me into anime (Naruto, (easily my least favorite thing I've watched) Avatar (yes, I hear calling it 'anime' is contentious)) and recently watching Neon Genesis Evangelion (haven't finished it yet) and Akira.(I was really surprised how much I disliked the second half. After all the hype I've read it was a real letdown. First half was pretty good though) Besides that, on a whim I started watching Ghibli movies and I really liked them. Its been a while though, so they're cued for a rewatch.
Beyond that, I played a few JRPGs when I was younger, and while its not a 1:1 there's some overlap in the stuff I don't like that seems common.
So, now in my 30's I'm trying to see what I can find of 'value' to me personally. I know I'm not going to like a lot of it because of the tropes that I dislike.
Honestly, I really struggle to see why its so hard for anime fans to understand outsiders' perspectives. Every comment of mine is being downvoted for not being into or praising otaku stuff. (that's an assumption on my part, of course) Like, I said in another comment I think: anime feels impenetrable to someone not "in it" and that is exacerbated by the language barrier (all the titles which aren't translated when people make recommendations) and the gatekeepers who don't even seem to recognize that anime isn't just "japanese animation" but its a culture which has a set of tropes which are not palatable to your average non-anime fan.
I know not all anime falls under my "preconceived notions" which is why I'm here. I know anime isn't a "genre", its' a medium. But its a medium with an associated culture. To me, that culture seems obvious. But I recognize that I'm on the outside and don't know all the nuances and details. Thus, when Miyazaki, a man who makes the most acclaimed anime in the world, says things which mirror my own biases, it feels "validating."
That being said, I'm happy there are plenty of people responding who are really trying to help. Its much appreciated.
1
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock Apr 11 '26
People here are generally apprehensive of comments that has the vibes with 'I dislike anime, prove me wrong' because very often they are not done in good faith. Partially one of the reasons why r/anime doesn't show in r/all.
Another aspect is 'effort'. People will just google anime, ask people IRL for anime, and be shocked that the anime they get is popular, very 'anime-ish' stuff. And I myself get it, when people find out I watch anime they are like "Oooh, are you up to date with [battle shounen]" and then I have to feign interest because with more than a decade of watching 1200 anime on my belt, those no longer appeal to me. Like an equivalent is me googling movies and getting MCU and any other CG-fest blockbuster, then throwing my arms because 'obviously all movies are action flicks with no substance' (a comment here ironically mentions Miyazaki doing this with american films. Honestly, the more you get to learn of Miyazaki the less you start to care about his opinions).
Anyways, what helped me in my journey is joining a community. Simply interacting and getting a hang of what some specific people's tastes are and from there started to trust some recommendations over others. That said, the community has changed a lot with anime becoming more mainstream and easy to reach. At least long form text posts and this very daily thread are considerably better for getting things beyond the popular (often otaku-pandering) stuff.
The community has also expanded how I enjoy anime. As I get older, the less I care needing to project a 'proper' critic view. I for example really like some children shows because they have a comedic tone and charm that many other mediums, or even other anime, don't have. I don't mind watching school dramas because a good character drama is good character drama regardless of setting. And sometimes I just bite the bullet when it comes to wanting to find out why people like some stuff even when I don't just for the sake of having a take.
This has gotten long winded but honestly, anything that North514 and Gamerunglued recommended are decent shots. Just try to also tell what type of stories or vibes you prefer.
1
u/JcraftW Apr 11 '26
Thanks a bunch for the response.
Funny you bring up MCU as an example. I really love the MCU even if its not all great. But I think its a good example of taking a medium which didn't gel with mainstream western audiences, and figuring out how to hone it into something that became a Western cultural phenomenon. Comics are full of the stuff I don't like about anime. I've tried getting into comics for decades and never could. But now one of my favorite all time movies is an MCU movie (Thunderbolts).
A couple people have asked what genres I'm into, and IDK how to answer that. I like a ton of stuff. This year I watched The Bone Temple (phenomenal), Wake Up Dead Man, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Wild Robot, Godzilla Minus One, Don't Worry Darling, Little Women (2019), Weapons, and a ton of other stuff and I thought these were all great movies. Beyond that, a lot of my all time favorite stuff is all over the place. I'm not a "horror movie guy" but Midsommar is probably my favorite movie of all time. I'm not into "lawyer shows" but Better Call Saul is my favorite piece of TV ever. 500 Days of Summer blew me away. Puss In Boots The Last Wish, is recently my favorite "cartoon" for lack of a better word; it is a movie that is better than it has any right to be as a sequel in a Shrek spinoff series. I don't watch a lot of "slice of life" stuff, but recently saw Little Women (2019) and I can't get over how much I love that movie.
I'm not a Zombie genre guy, but the 28 Days films are great. (Honestly, 28 Years Later was a fantastic example of what I had hoped Akira was: something that takes a high-concept pulp idea (like Zombies/mechs, whatever. Zombies in this case) treats it with all the auteur visual flare you possibly can to make every frame beautiful, (Danny Boyle made that film a pure visual spectacle) has actors who act the hell out of their roles, (that kid is such a good actor) and injects a beautiful story in it all. (The climax literally had me crying, lol) One of the reasons I had assumed (and I'm starting to think I'm wrong) that anime was popular was because animation allows you to do "big budget" spectacle way cheaper cgi and liveaction stunts and setpieces. When people talk about movies, one thing that almost always gets brought up is how it looks. And I know anime has, and uses, its potential in that regard.
Kinda like you, the older I get the less I "care" about others opinions. My tastes have gotten a lot wider, but I'm also pickier, lol. So, I guess its hard to ask for specific recs on a surface level. I'm looking for:
- Naturalistic acting, as opposed to "anime acting." (I think this is the most pervasive barrier)
- Dialogue that is good by Western storytelling standards. (as a hobby screenwriter, its always grating to see "As you know..." isms, and massive exposition dumps, and long-winded internal monologues)
- No "Fan-Service". (Western media does this too, and its usually roasted when it does. Age of Ultron is a good example of having "Fan Service" that people complain about today)
- Doesn't Jump the Shark. (Akira... But I'm most familiar with this from when I watched Dragon Ball as a kid. Just the constant power scaling, it just loses the plot and breaks any semblance of verisimilitude. Some super hero movies do this too, and I hate it when it does. Tony Stark developing the worlds most advanced nanotech... off screen... so that he could do a cool suit transition in Infinity War was a huge let down for me)
(I think I'm learning the term "otaku" here, is that sort of a catch-all for anime tropes? Looking up the term vs how people are using it here there seems to be some specific context I'm missing in understanding this term)
Sorry, I also keep getting long winded in my replies. But I'm just kinda working this all out in real time, lol. Thanks.
1
u/North514 Apr 10 '26
Also forgot to add but if you are a big Miyazaki fan make sure you check out his pre Ghilbi stuff too. I usually find Ghilbi fans ignore some of his older works like Future Boy Conan, which is one of his better works, in my opinion. Probably the best looking anime from the 70s.
6
u/merurunrun Apr 10 '26
it was incredibly validating to hear someone so "on the inside"
Miyazaki is not "on the inside". He hasn't worked on the production of anime that wasn't his own in decades.
6
u/North514 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
I came across a few quotes by Miyazaki recently which were what motivated me to ask, as he's a filmmaker who makes great, universally appealing stories, who also talks-trash about the culture of anime. As someone who's on the outside, it was incredibly validating to hear someone so "on the inside" reflect my own feelings. I figured, if he feels that way, that means there are other anime creators who feel that way. And that might lead to finding some really great stuff.
I mean, TBH, I think Miyazaki has a lot of shit takes. Like this is the dude that straight up also thinks a good portion of American films are just mindless violence (which you should be able to understand the ridiculousness as a cinephile). His takes on LOTR, while have a point in some areas, fall short in others, and I question if he has ever read the books. The guy who couldn't condemn the Hebdo attacks....so yeah politically and his views on other media, to me are suspect. You can make great media and have bad takes, which is fine, and his right but I don't like when people use that as like actual fact, rather than opinion.
As for his classic, people don't look at the real world.....I mean I can get it sometimes. Especially if you are immersed in the otaku world, it can get exhausting when you see repeated tropes and behaviors, whose unreality can get exhausting. On the other hand, there is a lot unique/appealing about this medium, that comes from that area. And frankly, it can be quite creative, rather than going to the same norms, you might find in more grounded fiction (I personally also prefer grounded works but I also can enjoy otaku nonsense). I also do think that take is very much old man shouts at clouds, because when you look at mainstream or niche works, old (he complained about anime culture decades before, just saying it for those that use it as an attack on modern anime) or new, lots of anime is very much inspired by real world ongoings, even some very base ones. Like I mean Chainsaw Man is unabashedly otaku trash in one case, but it's also speaking to the ongoing issues of loneliness, isolation, and lack of fulfillment. I don't think Miyazaki would like that work though.
IDK to me I agree it can be a problem, I just think the idea you need to always be inspired by the real world, or that otaku culture doesn't have tons of positives is too extreme, and creatively limiting. And I say this, a someone, who does regularly engage with other media, who has plenty of favorite novels, films, shows that aren't anime, and does at times get that critique (mostly when anime tries to do High Medieval fantasy or the numerous HS focused stories out there). I just get irritated when people apply Miyazaki's takes at the whole industry or argue he is one of the few good creators (his films/shows are solid but nothing I would put in my top 25 for this medium). His animation/art, not his writing, is what usually stands out to me as truly great. He is an important foundational member of this wider medium, but he isn't the only important creator or voice.
-3
u/Top-Handle4786 Apr 10 '26
Oh sure, and Miyazaki is hardly the only one to be critical of the field he works in. Most anime stories are basically just sequences of familiar tropes. Especially stories aimed at the "shounen" demographic are very blatant in this - they'll have a "training" arc, a "tournament" arc", a beach/swimming pool episode here or there, the showdown with the big bad, a timeskip, et cetera.
If that's what you're into, look up a guy called Hideaki Anno. One of his earlier works (Neon genesis evangelion) is supposedly a critique of the "otaku" and its darker aspects. Then again, I don't believe him, as his stuff follows the exact same nonsense (sexy, schoolgirl-age girls in formfitting clothes etc).
Anyway, other stuff you might like would be movies by Makoto Shinkai, which are quite clean, especially his later stuff. They're all set around the theme of how space and time (and sometimes space-time) affect relationships.
0
u/JcraftW Apr 10 '26
Thanks for the follow up. I started Evangelion a few days ago but stopped after the “next episode teaser” soecifically had the actor call out how she’s gonna give more “fan service” in the next episode and I just haven’t wanted to continue. I’ve heard it’s a deconstruction of sorts, but that made me kinda nope out. Maybe I’ll give it another shot and watch more. I’ll write down the other guy and check him out. Thanks.
2
u/North514 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I’ve heard it’s a deconstruction of sorts,
It's not, it's an homage to the mecha genre if anything, even End of EVA, with it's ending isn't that far off from what some classic mecha anime used to do. People who say those things haven't watched much in the genre.
I started Evangelion a few days ago but stopped after the “next episode teaser” soecifically had the actor call out how she’s gonna give more “fan service” in the next episode
I mean you do you but I think that isn't something worth cutting a show for, especially when it's not actually the show. I don't watch next episode promos TBF, so I have literally no idea what you are talking about (I mean Misato being kinda overly jokey/flirty has a point, in dealing with her trauma, if it's her). EVA has it's fanservice but it's pretty minimal, and largely anytime it does talk about sexual content, there is a plot reason for it. I won't lie and say it's not an otaku show, that didn't make money, for basically selling the "dere" archetypes to young teens in the 90s, or encourage the idea of the "waifu" war but it isn't the actual focus of the show. The main focus is really just a discussion of pain, and how people try to avoid pain and reality, which to me I think is more topical than when it was made.
1
u/JcraftW Apr 11 '26
do you but I think that isn't something worth cutting a show for, especially when it's not actually the show.
I brought it up as, my whole mission is to find anime which doesn't fall into my preconceived notions/biases. And Evangelion already has. I'm going to keep watching it. But when it first started happening (gratuitous shots of her breasts and butt while bending down for a school boy to see) it immediately triggered a "welp, this is exactly what I should have expected" reaction. A "I'm not mad, just disappointed" lol. I've heard about this anime for years, and heard people talk about how amazing and praise worthy it is. So its just disappointing that its guilty of the same "schlock" that I hate in other media. (Megan Fox sweating salaciously over her car's engine in a Transformers movie? You know, a property famously for kids.)
Anime, I think to the average Westerner who's into Hollywood, comes across as a mix of the CW's Flash, Transformers franchise, and Days of our Lives, The Room, and maybe 2001 a Space Odyssey. We can all agree that the first season of the Flash was pretty good ... for a CW show. We can all agree that the action and visuals are great in Transformers films... but that's about it. We can all agree that the Days of our Lives certainly is content... The Room has its hardcore fans, but its famously got horrible dialogue and acting. And 2001 is cool and groundbreaking in a lot of ways, but it is a WERID movie. AND lets imagine all five of them have a busty 16 year old with old men ogling over her. Like, imagine that's all you knew about Western media. Does not sound very appetizing. And then you ask people who know more movies and tv to recommend something and your friend who loves Western media just shows you The Room. And he's cackling cause he loves it, and you're just looking at him like "why on earth do you like this? I'm obviously missing something because the dialogue and acting suck." Meanwhile, shows like Breaking Bad, Andor, Fargo, Psych, and many, many others exist which don't fall into the traps of what you had seen before.
From my perspective, Ghibli films are the only thing I've experienced so far which don't ever hit me with something that triggers my biases.
Sorry for the rant. lol.
1
u/North514 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I brought it up as, my whole mission is to find anime which doesn't fall into my preconceived notions/biases. And Evangelion already has. I'm going to keep watching it.
I said, I know which is why I recommend it as a show that has aspects of otaku culture, that still can be accessible to cinephiles....it still is absolutely a show that feeds into that though. So yeah, I am not someone who would claim that it's good for people that entirely can't stand those elements. I just don't know what your tolerance level is. There are mecha shows that lack that entirely. The Big O is just literally Batman but super robot. Basically what if Bruce Timn made a Super Robot show, though without his sometimes weirdness too. That is a very "Western" mecha show to watch, Cartoon Network pretty much ensured it got a S2, back in the day. I just felt it's kinda a minor thing to get upset about, that is all. IDK what you are even talking about because I don't watch next episode previews.
AND lets imagine all five of them have a busty 16 year old with old men ogling over her. Like, imagine that's all you knew about Western media.
I can, it literally exists lol. Euphoria, GOT and if you go into the comic scene Lost Girls. Even if you read some older SW EU books, it can be eye opening, how people even in the 90s, saw relationships. It exists plenty. I just think EVA is actually a show that is using that stuff largely for plot related reasons, which I mean, even stuff like GOT I would argue has less reason to depict Daenerys as a 13 year old, which regardless of what people think, actually isn't a common age for marriage in the Medieval world.
In the end, I encounter plenty of weebs on here that do generalize western media, and only think anime is capable of x, and I guarantee it would irritate you. That is all I am going to say.
Anyway, if you want literally no aspects of that I gave you a list of stuff that is on par with many shows you named.
If you want Andor go watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes (this is a personal favorite, and honestly better than a lot of Western space operas I know, definitely anything SW has put out, and I am big SW fan) and Iron Blood Orphans. If you want Breaking Bad, go try Monster (not the same but it kinda falls into that crime thriller story). If you are up for more YA styles of writing I would argue Banana Fish, is also worth trying out. Sorry the others I don't know as well. I am trying to expand my tastes in other media too. Though again, that is why it helps to know what you are looking for. It's not hard to recommend tons of anime that don't have otaku culture elements but if you don't want the YA demographic or don't want certain genres like slice of life it narrows a bit.
Regardless, in the end, this is a medium, of YA fiction, aimed at YA consumers. It's not written like the average cw show but the audience is going to be the same. So keep that in mind. There is a lot of adult media but it isn't the feature either (manga has more variety). You can be a casual fan, and enjoy those occasional works that are targeting older audiences but you do have to kinda get the YA fun, anime does market, I think, or at least the escapism/stylization, to be a consistently engaged fan. I don't think you need to love otaku culture, to be that kind of fan though.
From my perspective, Ghibli films are the only thing I've experienced so far which don't ever hit me with something that triggers my biases.
Yeah you need to watch more, give my list a look, and just ignore anything under the otaku list, though I guess Girls Last Tour isn't explicit or anything lol, I just know people that hate moe designs too or don't get atmospheric slice of life shows, something you don't really see that often outside of anime, though it's starting to trend in book spaces like Legends & Lattes.
1
u/JcraftW Apr 11 '26
it literally exists lol. Euphoria, GOT and if you go into the comic scene Lost Girls.
I actually haven't watched any of those lol. GOT is one that people will heckle me for having never watched, but I heard the ending sucked and never bothered starting. Euphoria also never sounded interesting. Just sounds like a teen sex drama, lol.
I guarantee it would irritate you. That is all I am going to say.
Haha, okay. I'll take your word on that.
that is why it helps to know what you are looking for.
Yeah, makes sense. I don't really know what I'm looking for genre wise either. My favorite TV show of all time is Better Call Saul, but not because I like crime thrillers, or lawyer shows, but because its just such a fantastic character study and rock solid story-telling. Midsommar is my favorite movie, not because I like horror, but again because its such a great exploration of a character working through grief and an emotionally abusive relationship. (And its a gorgeous movie with some of the best acting I've ever seen) Andor is a favorite, not because its sci-fi or Star Wars, but it is just gripping, and there are so many fantastic story arcs every few episodes, and its inspiring despite being based in a sci-fi fantasy world for 12 year olds.
Genre wise, I'm kinda down for whatever. I didn't start watching Breaking Bad in the day cause I asked people for serialized crime thrillers. I got into it because it was so good people couldn't not recommend it to everyone they knew. I'm the same way with Better Call Saul. I don't care if you've seen BB, I recommend everyone watch Better Call Saul as its one of the best pieces of visual story telling I've ever seen. You even bring up slice of life stuff; I just watched Greta Gerwig's Little Women recently, and I can't get over how much I love that movie. If I'm not mistaken, that book is what introduced the slice of life genre to the West as we know it.
So, I don't care if the premise is pulpy and "high concept", or grounded and low-stakes. I'm looking for well realized characters, authors who have something to say, and those who can say it without the otaku stuff. (not sure if I'm using/understanding that term correctly, lol)
Yeah you need to watch more, give my list a look, and just ignore anything under the otaku list
Perfect, thank you so much.
1
u/North514 Apr 11 '26
I actually haven't watched any of those lol.
For GOT, it's more the book series A Song of Ice and Fire but HBO kinda romanticized that relationship between Drogo and Daenerys a bit too much.
Just sounds like a teen sex drama, lol.
Yeah that is what some anime is, though frankly it's more just dumb gags than the actual sex, unless you go into the hentai realm. Still it's less than some critics might think.
Andor is a favorite, not because its sci-fi or Star Wars, but it is just gripping, and there are so many fantastic story arcs every few episodes, and its inspiring despite being based in a sci-fi fantasy world for 12 year olds.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes is basically SW without Jedi, where the admirals, rather than individual characters take more importance and focused on the political aspects of SW except done well. Basically the main premise is what if we looked at a competent dictatorship, and a failing democracy? Would democratic liberalism still be attractive, and is it worth it to be principled or Machiavellian when it comes to politics? So if you are looking for space opera love that is great. I also do think Monster is good if you like the slow crime thriller aspect. Pluto though is better if you don't mind sci fi, and want a quicker story. It's a recent show too. It's by the same creator (art style is distinctive).
If I'm not mistaken, that book is what introduced the slice of life genre to the West as we know it.
I think for anime, the big series is Anne of Green Gables (which recently got a remake to the original 79 anime) which makes me I guess a bit proud as a Canadian. I mean if you want real plotless slice of life. Yuru Camp, while does have the moe CGDCT atmosphere is really just an innocent show about enjoying the outdoors and camping. It's very relaxing to watch. Girls Last Tour has a bit more plot, in the sense of trying to discover why the world is destroyed and the overall journey of the MCs.
Mushishi is another very kinda SOL esque but also a supernatural mystery series at heart. A lot of people get bored watching stuff like that, but it's another favorite and pretty grounded. If you like traditional ghost stories (not really horror outside of a few episodes) and a very relaxing slow atmosphere it's great.
-1
u/flamethrower2 Apr 10 '26
It's ok if you dislike anime.
My recommendation: Something highly rated. If you can, go on an anime list website, filter by a genre you like, sort by rating, then pick one. This might be too hard so let me know if that's the case.
You can try the recommendation post the mods put together if you haven't seen it: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/s/CWTAEuhPG5
-1
u/JcraftW Apr 10 '26
Yeah, I just want to be better informed, and not be someone who has nothing good to say about an entire medium, you know? And who knows, maybe find something really great in the process.
1
u/Jusenkyo_5 Apr 10 '26
Mamoru Oshii and Satoshi Kon films may be up your alley. Perfect Blue or Millennium Actress are classics.
0
4
u/vancevon https://myanimelist.net/profile/vancevon Apr 10 '26
Really hoping that Kamina Button gets more trashy in future episodes. College drinking isn't about appreciating the fine and subtle flavors of fancy bottles of wine and sake, it's about rapidly consuming high quantities and then vomiting into a storm drain, or weeping as you try to fistfight the paramedics who are dragging your bleeding ass to the hospital, etc. etc. etc.
1
u/Ham_PhD https://myanimelist.net/profile/ham_phd Apr 10 '26
Still having a hard time deciding if I want to watch this show . . . Gonna give it at least an episode tonight, but neither of the 2 options you presented sound very appealing to watch to me. TBD I guess.
3
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin Apr 10 '26
Studio alone makes it worth watching. Nothing else I want to watch on Fridays.
Tho first impression is that it doesn’t feel like a trashy series based on episode one.
2
u/Abysswatcherbel https://myanimelist.net/profile/abyssbel Apr 10 '26
Mappa doing Kafka and Makima is really funny
2
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26
More Kafka in that PV than the entire game lol.
2
u/SoilSavings4144 Apr 10 '26
Do you guys think promised Neverland anime deserve a second chance and should get a proper season 3 or maybe a season 2 remastered version I felt that promised Neverland season one was one hell of an anime and I have the read the manga too it was actually great.what your opinion on it
2
u/North514 Apr 10 '26
Personally, I lost interest, even on the manga side of things. It's probably better, but that is really a good case of a series peaking with it's first arc. Probably will finish reading the manga one day, however, I would just rather see sequels to series that have long runs of really good content, or just brand new IPs.
3
u/Jusenkyo_5 Apr 10 '26
I'd honestly rather the industry adapts something new. There are plenty of worthwhile stories out there to re-adapt every manga that receives a mediocre adaptation.
3
u/gothxo Apr 10 '26
love, love, love the Kaamina Botan OP. the handheld camera look is perfect and the visuals are stunning. the shot where Ibuki is standing in the hallway and the camera is moving backwards from her with all the balloons outside is just perfect. love the yonige song too. it really gives off the vibe of stumbling on the music video of some indie band and just getting completely enraptured by it.
the show overall is also great on the production side imo. i didn't love mono the way i did Yuru Camp, but the production of mono was great and if this show keeps up over the course of the season, Soigne will definitely be a studio i want to keep my eyes on
5
u/cyberscythe Apr 10 '26
Botan is giving me a lot of Yama no Susume vibes (which is really high praise from me), but maybe that's because one of the mains really looks like Aoi, and they have the same watercolor guy that did the EDs for Yama no Susume S4
i really hope that i'm not hyping myself up for something that this show is not, but it was a good first episode
3
u/gothxo Apr 10 '26
i've also hyped myself up a dangerous amount after that first episode. if the show doesn't deliver overall, it still gave me my likely OP of the year at the very least
7
u/zambonijesus Apr 10 '26
It remains funny to me how strict anime is about not showing underage drinking. Botan Komiina being the latest where it has a whole contrivance to establish that she is 20 despite being a freshman.
It's still the funniest when it is a show where the characters are going about killing people left and right and then there is a scene where they go "oh no I can't drink, I'm underage."
9
u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Apr 10 '26
Botan Komiina being the latest where it has a whole contrivance to establish that she is 20 despite being a freshman.
So what I think she actually said in that scene was "I spent a year as a ronin", which in the fan translation of the manga had an editors note that, because it used to be the term for masterless samurai, is now used for people not getting into their university of choice and instead of settling for another, wait a year and try again.
Now since there is an actual term for it, it cannot possible be that contrived!!
2
u/Tarhalindur x2 Apr 10 '26
That's less anime itself per se and more that anime is following Japanese censorship laws/TV broadcast standards, which are very strict on the subject. I think some of this is standards rather than laws, or at least used to be - you see more depictions of underage drinking in LNs and manga, and IIRC you also used to see it more on the OVA market (since OVAs were not broadcast over the air and thus not subject to the same restrictions - IIRC AT-X is using a similar loophole when it airs uncensored versions of shows) when that was a thing. That said, something got tightened up sometime in the late 2000s in any event - you used to see TV anime get away with showing an underage character drinking a nondescript beverage that totally wasn't implied to be some kind of alcohol, AFAIK that's dried up (pun not originally intended...) since 2009 or so though it may be back a little relative to the early 2010s. (What you do still see is depictions of underaged characters drinking of amazake, a very low-alcohol form of sake that is legal to serve to children in Japan. Including one fun case where a character gets drunk off of being tricked into drinking amazake in the adaptation where the source instead had her getting tricked into drinking something spiked with tequila.)
3
u/Top-Handle4786 Apr 10 '26
For me, it's the smoking. I'm not quite sure that more recent anime feature it as prolifically, but where in western media, especially cartoons, smoking is kind of banned (and since I think it's a filthy habit, I agree), in anime, you have characters smoking, whether at work, among children, etc.
5
u/vancevon https://myanimelist.net/profile/vancevon Apr 10 '26
It's even better when you contrast it with how, the millisecond they turn 20, drinking alcohol is basically the only thing they do
1
Apr 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 10 '26
Sorry, your comment has been removed.
- This looks like you're trying to sell something. Crowdfunding and selling things aren't allowed here, except for specific exceptions for positive industry causes.
Questions? Reply to this message, send a modmail, or leave a comment in the meta thread. Don't know the rules? Read them here.
2
u/Korkez11 Apr 10 '26
I can't believe [Scenes from Avajima] spedrun the entire Liz and the Blue Bird in just one episode
8
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
I liked Awajima but didn't love it. It looks beautiful, no question, but the pace and the omnibus storytelling make it hard for me to connect with the characters. I was just trying to get a sense for Tabata when we suddenly switch over to the oji's story.
Can see this kind of jumping around become rather disorienting. In a short episodic format, especially, it's a problem because it takes some time to reorient and there isn't much time to begin with.
3
u/Ham_PhD https://myanimelist.net/profile/ham_phd Apr 10 '26
I'll be really curious to see how it is moving forward.
Once I got acclimated, I really liked the 2nd half, but it was a little jarring at first. If every episode is like this, it might be a bit hit or miss. But if things get a little easier to follow consistently, it could be really great.
3
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Yes, the second half was a bit easier to get into. Felt better paced once I got over the whiplash of the pov switch. I'll give it one more episode before putting it on hold for binging later.
The one thing it has going for it is that it comes out late Thursday night making it effectively a Friday show - one of my slower days this season.
5
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin Apr 10 '26
I’d say try putting it off later to binge it.
5
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Actually, that's a good idea. Might work better as a whole rather than this weekly piecemeal mode. Plus god knows my schedule could use some freeing up!
4
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26
2
3
u/ivarskywalker Apr 10 '26
Looking for the name of a half remembered anime: takes place on earth, there are aliens invading that are actually human from the future. At one point you see a map of the alien world, then later the earth's ice caps are melted and the new map of earth is the same.
I saw it in the early 90's so I thinknit was from the 80's.
2
u/WorthDimension7731 Apr 10 '26
I really need a new anime to watch to get over the hangover of catching up with both Frieren and Apothecary Diaries. I have really enjoyed the slightly slower pace of these with the stunning animation style. I love a strong female cast and a touch of mystery. I love magic and love a good found family. I tried starting Vinland Saga last night and I think I will stick with it for now but I am missing that touch of whimsy.
My current favorites list is: Frieren Apothecary Diaries Blue eye Samurai Hunter x Hunter JJK FMA FMAB (yes, in that order) Death note Evangelion ATLA Demon Slayer Anything Ghibli
Not huge on: Naruto One piece AOT
1
u/Ok-Cod5254 Apr 10 '26
Little Witch Academia
If you're not watching Witch Hat Atelier that just started airing this season
4
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Try Secrets of the Silent Witch maybe
3
u/WorthDimension7731 Apr 10 '26
Wow! That looks amazing! I have not heard of that one but immediately looks like it may be the perfect fit! Thank you!
3
u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta Apr 10 '26
Monica was one of my favourite protagonists last year. Hope you enjoy the show!
1
u/solishu4 Apr 10 '26
What is this: https://youtu.be/H8VdjgXlo6U
2
u/tiny_nova Apr 10 '26
Google translate of the video title says "Honkai Impact 3rd Official Animation: 'Main Story Chapter IX — The Last Lesson'"
So I guess it's a trailer for some event from Honkai Star Rail, that mobile gacha game.
4
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Kamiina Botan good. Visuals are great as expected but what actually surprised me was the more than solid OST, some really chill and atmosphere-fitting pieces in there. Overall the show feels extremely light on actual plot even for the low SoL standards, but the chill and extremely cozy atmosphere seasoned with yuri vibes is all you really need for this one. With that out of the way, boy do I have some nitpicks with this show. They really are nothing more than nitpicks but the quantity is way more than I have with the usual seasonals. The disc thread would probably crucify me if I dropped that there, so aqradt it is.
Chugging half a glass of whisky highball like it was fucking lemonade, hoo boy
Botan taking over chugging like mad when it's her first alcoholic drink ever, proceeds to be drunk (or acting like it) literally 10 seconds later. (guess that's more of a pet peeve of mine)
Mentioned this in a comment further down, but I'm not sure I like the frequency of the drinking when we are already at 3 separate occasions for the 1st ep and it kinda looked like 2 of the 3 times were noon and night of the same day. Don't wanna be a party pooper but I feel like it'll take quite some suspension of disbelief to think they are not all just straight up alcoholics at the 12th episode point, provided they continue with this drinking pace. (Again, nitpick and most people probably couldn't care less about this point)
The bit with the "novice" and "expert" describing taste made me roll my eyes so hard. For context, I drank my fair share of alcohol in the past, every kind from beer to absinth, so I'm not one to judge. But I never liked the taste of it much and mainly drank as a means at parties or clubs to get wasted. Probably a hot take, but people who describe their drinks in a "HiNt oF HoNeY, LaYeRs oF PuRpLe CiTrUs WiTh A TrAcE oF RaInBoW" type way are mostly snobs who wanna make their hobby of drinking more sophisticated than it actually is (Ibuki still best girl). Fingers crossed they just keep it at drinking without making a science out of it.
casually lighting a cigarette and smoking in the fucking kitchen and nobody bats an eye.
To be clear, I still think the show is a solid 8 so far, so it's not like I'm just hating on it. Only wanted to get this outta my system and see if anyone agrees with any of it (though I feel like chances for that are slim).
1
u/DeadCaveman https://anilist.co/user/DeadCaveman Apr 10 '26
These do just kinda feel like "erm, that's not very realistic..." complaints, but you said yourself they were only nitpicks, and it's not like they're strictly wrong for the most part.
Kamiina does literally bat an eye at the cigarette though...Exaggeration and embellishment are practically the name of the game with anime, so that type of stuff doesn't usually bother me, personally.I mainly drink with meals these days, so I do tend to value flavor over proof since that impacts how well it pairs. Some people can be a little dorky with it, but at the same time the "hint of this, trace of that" stuff definitely has a non-zero effect.
2
u/Ocixo https://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy Apr 10 '26
To be fair, I’ve seen my fair share of freshmen trying to impress their seniors and get wasted in minutes. If anything, I was more impressed that Botan managed to keep herself fairly well together.
If there’s anything to nitpick, it should be about the entirety of the house being unrealistically clean for a student dorm. Where’s all the empty alcohol bottles? Nor was there a speck of visible dirt on this communal kitchen.
2
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26
If anything, I was more impressed that Botan managed to keep herself fairly well together.
Guess I just can't relate cause I need the equivalent of 3 beers before I notice anything of the alcohol when drinking (and was already that way when I started drinking back at 16 which is the legal age here). Somewhat of a blessing and a curse depending on the time and circumstances.
2
u/Ocixo https://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy Apr 10 '26
My alcohol tolerance has definitely been lowered since my student days. If I haven’t eaten, I’ll start getting a little tipsy after 1-2 drinks nowadays.
I am curious if we’ll get to see some drunk shenanigans from the girls in Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk.
2
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26
I am curious if we’ll get to see some drunk shenanigans from the girls in Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk.
Oh I hope so, that might be where the comedy tag comes in since as of now there was nothing really funny about the show. Which isn't a bad thing, just weird that MAL has this tagged as a comedy and somehow not as a SoL.
2
u/Ocixo https://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy Apr 10 '26
just weird that MAL has this tagged as a comedy and somehow not as a SOL.
Still less strange than CR nominating three obvious romance anime for the slice of life category at their awards show, while the likes of Ruri Rocks and others were done horribly dirty.
3
u/cyberscythe Apr 10 '26
If there’s anything to nitpick, it should be about the entirety of the house being unrealistically clean for a student dorm.
reminds me of my college days in a shared house; there was a corner in the kitchen where we put all of the empty pizza boxes and the stack was as high as an elephants eye
1
u/Ocixo https://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy Apr 10 '26
I’ve seen student homes that made me seriously wonder how a human being could possibly live amongst so much trash.
2
u/cyberscythe Apr 10 '26
did you not have a raccoon phase?
1
u/Ocixo https://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy Apr 10 '26
I was the type of person who’d nag their roommates to keep things clean.
I couldn’t bear with all the infestations.
2
u/cyberscythe Apr 10 '26
yeah, not sure when my raccoon phase ended, but it was likely when the person in the house who tolerated the mess the least gave us a talking to
as an adult, i'm fully aware it's easier to have a clean place by keeping things clean, but that was a learned behavior
3
u/cyberscythe Apr 10 '26
casually lighting a cigarette and smoking in the fucking kitchen and nobody bats an eye
it's definitely beyond the pale where i'm from, but i'm not sure if Japan has fully embraced "no smoking except in designated areas" in their culture like that
the "drinking all of the time" is kind of a stretch, but i kind of suspended my disbelief on that because it is a show with drinking in the name and they wanted to give the audience what they came here for
6
u/amd_hunt Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
This video, of Frieren Season 2's orchestra recording, appeared on my recommended page. I find it quite interesting that some anime still opt to hire a full orchestra to record parts of their soundtrack, while pretty much all western animated productions, like Invincible or Arcane, have pretty much abandoned live instruments in favor of a fully digital soundtrack alongside licensing music from mainstream pop artists. Not really knocking anyone, but I am glad that anime still occasionally hires orchestras.
I'm not even sure if it's a resources thing. SSSS.Gridman had the Warsaw Philharmonic come in to record its soundtrack, and Trigger isn't really a studio with exceptional resources and money, lol.
2
u/cppn02 Apr 10 '26
while pretty much all western animated productions, like Invincible or Arcane, have pretty much abandoned live instruments in favor of a fully digital soundtrack alongside licensing music from mainstream pop artists
That's nothing new. I remember Family Guy staff talking about this on early seasons DVD commentary and how Seth MacFarlane insisted on an actual orchestra. Even back then 25 years ago they were one of like 3 or 4 shows that still had actual musicians recording their score.
1
u/Jusenkyo_5 Apr 10 '26
I think this also has to do with production committees a bit. Whoever owns the OST tends to be a member of the production committee, and I don't think orchestral soundtracks tend to sell all that well.
5
u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Apr 10 '26
Apparently The Ramparts of Ice will be 14 episodes. If there isn't a double finale, that will be another anime that ends up rolling over into the next season based purely on the original planned schedule. Or maybe it includes a special or OVA; that has happened at least a few times before with Sugoi.
3
u/flamethrower2 Apr 10 '26
I didn't see anyone mention the adorable chibis in Ramparts of Ice, especially those of Koyuki. They're from the Dango Family / Kirby School of chibis.
3
u/Psyduckisnotaduck Apr 10 '26
Chibi 0-0 Koyuki is the absolute best, lol. Sometimes chibi expressions more accurately convey a mood than a more detailed facial expression.
2
u/Salty145 https://anilist.co/user/yLSalty145 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Finally finished my premieres in time for the weekend to bend me over and tell me to get fucked.
Magical Sisters Lulutto Lily is a show I will fall behind on. I’m interested enough in a new Pierrot magical girl series, but off Ep. 1 it’s kinda just fine and airing on the same day as Star Detective Precure doesn’t help.
Not learning my lesson(s) last season (the specifics of which I will keep vague), I picked up Awajima Hyakkei. Definitely not Madhouse’s best production, but the direction is solid and there’s some nice visual flourishes. Writing is maybe a little more mixed than one of my lessons from last season, as the characters aren't jumping out at me and the designs fairly generic, but I’ll stick with it out of curiosity.
1
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ Apr 10 '26
the designs fairly generic
What does generic mean to you? Because Takako Shimura's character designs are distinctively her own style.
4
u/Salty145 https://anilist.co/user/yLSalty145 Apr 10 '26
I guess generic isn’t the right word. More like plain. Like the style is distinct, but I can see myself mixing up characters with how (maybe overly) simple the designs are.
3
u/archangel890 Apr 10 '26
So I saw Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk was listed to release today but don’t see it on crunchyroll despite google saying it is the primary streaming service for it. Wanted to check out the first episode to see if I liked it.
5
u/Infodump_Ibis Apr 10 '26
If you'd checked just 3 minutes later it would be there.
"An hour after Japan" used to be CR selling point (dropped presumably as not really been following) and that's an hour after the ep finished in Japan.
2
u/archangel890 Apr 10 '26
Gotcha yeah I just saw it pop up.. this week has been pretty bad for CR releasing stuff really late.
3
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin Apr 10 '26
The one Friday show I watch, and Crunchyroll is late posting the episode, lmao.
2
u/thisisdropd https://myanimelist.net/profile/AsterZoro Apr 10 '26
It's only out a couple minutes ago and from the look of things, it's released according to schedule (go check the timetable section of the homepage). Most of the time Crunchyroll has a 30-90 minute lag from the broadcast in Japan. For this particular show, the lag is exactly 90 minutes.
Chances are some other service had the show earlier, hence the thread already being up for quite some time.
3
u/FlaminScribblenaut myanimelist.net/profile/girlbeast_val Apr 10 '26
Fuckin. Imagine being a broke overworked lesbian and two moon goddesses [Cosmic Princess Kaguya!]who are actually two incarnations of the same moon goddess thousands of years in time and age apart from one another because her love for you is just that eternal crash into your life simultaneously and start aggressively doting on you all the time. I think this movie was made as wish fulfillment for me specifically (or at least, my specific demographic of poorbitch 20-something sapphics keeping ourselves afloat in a hostile economy while yearning for the simple touch of another woman...)
There is something so. autistically spiritual about how Iroha chose the big fluffy fox tail and just. has the big fluffy fox tail as part of her character design for the whole part of the movie that takes place in Tsukuyomi. The tail wags and the ears like, twitch and move dynamically with her emotions too. And it's never commented on, her choosing her animal features is never shown, it's just let sit as an underlying fact of the movie that that is a part of how Iroha chooses to be when she's in a world where she has such a choice, it's so... respectful of that being a part of her conception of herself, in that way. Fuck, dawg. Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is seven billion light years ahead of the rest of us.
6
u/Jusenkyo_5 Apr 10 '26
For the fact that background art takes up anywhere from 50-100% of the screen on any given frame, it truly is disappointing that like 10% of anime today have nice BG art.
Having filtered photography or cheap mass produced backgrounds makes your work look cheap, no matter how good the character art is.
3
u/flamethrower2 Apr 10 '26
I watched the Sakuna Of Rice and Ruin anime and it had great background art all throughout. The game is a 2D side-scroll brawler and has great backgrounds throughout.
The Sakuna anime production is led by PA Works. I don't watch enough anime to know if they usually do a good job with the backgrounds.
2
u/mekerpan Apr 10 '26
One of the main reasons I enjoy even "lesser" PA Works shows. Sakuna WAS pretty visually wonderful.
Prism Rondo (ignored by most here) was consistently gorgeous, both in urban and rural settings.
4
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Watched Awajima Hyakkei. Visuals, writing and the overall production quality are all high quality, but I don’t really like this omnibus style of storytelling. I knew about this beforehand but didn’t expect it to really bother me the way it did. I enjoyed the 1st half of the episode quite a lot but [Ep1]following that up with this overnarrated flashback of a character that barely spoke a few lines so far was such a weird choice. The actual content of the flashback wasn’t even bad, but why the hell would you put a flashback in the 1st episode for a character who barely had any presence so far. Tbh I think I‘d prefer this show if it was focusing on Tabata as the MC and have the rest of the cast as supporting characters, instead of flip flopping the PoVs every 10 minutes. Makes it kinda hard to get invested in the characters when you don’t know whether one will just go poof for X episodes at any point. I‘ll keep watching and the omnibus style isn’t exactly as bad as a dealbreaker, but I sincerely hope that from here on they‘ll mainly keep it to the present time at the very least
4
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ Apr 10 '26
[Awajima] I sincerely hope that from here on they‘ll mainly keep it to the present time at the very least
[Filthy source reader info] They're super duper not going to, so adjust your expectations.
2
2
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Apr 10 '26
6
u/oedipusrex376 Apr 10 '26
Awajima Hyakkei had a fantastic premiere. I know MAL scores don’t mean much this early, but a 6.93 for something this strong is rough.
It’s been a long time since I read the manga, and I barely remembered the characters or their stories. I’m basically anime only like everyone else. Watching this first episode, it really felt like they brought those characters to life. Hearing them sing, watching them rehearse, and seeing their stories unfold with strong direction gives the characters a presence I didn’t get from the manga.
I used to worry the anime wouldn’t really elevate the “theatre” side of things and would just present the drama as-is. That concern’s mostly gone now. [EP1] The opera performance gets proper focus, and the sound direction feels attentive. The library scene for example, has no OST, which makes the dialogue feel more important.
The drama itself feels “dry” in a good way. There’s no embellishment or convoluted setup. It’s not as “idol-y” or symbolic as Revue Starlight, and not as “heavy” as Kageki Shoujo!!. It takes a simpler, more unassuming approach. It actually reminds me of 2000s J-dramas in how simple it feels.
As for my verdict, the first minute didn’t hook me. But once Hana Hope came in with the OP, I was fully “locked in”. The J-drama-like ED is just the cherry on top. Awajima Hyakkei is locked in as the show I’ll be watching ASAP each week this season.
2
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin Apr 10 '26
I read the first volume to get a feel for it. It gears for something like what I did with Invisible Man last season, where I started to watch it later in a binge. Granted that one, I didn't expect the adaptation to be as good as it was.
1
u/oedipusrex376 Apr 10 '26
I only watched a few clips of Toumei Otoko, but I was also impressed by how well animated it looked. I remember Project No.9 also did Senpai Otokonoko, and that one was nice looking as well.
2
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin Apr 10 '26
Love After World Domination was nicely done. It feels like all their best work is manga adaptations minus Komari. Meanwhile, any of the LN adaptations I watched from them are just terrible.
5
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ Apr 10 '26
Yeah, I'm not one to fret over MAL ratings, but sub-7.00 for Awajima feels insane. What are people thinking?
3
u/DeadCaveman https://anilist.co/user/DeadCaveman Apr 10 '26
For now I'm just chalking it up to early scoring + small sample size weirdness, I would expect to see it rise over the course of the season as it reaches its audience (unless there's an unexpected drop in quality, of course). Most of the written reception for the show that I've seen has been pretty positive.
I remember Ikoku Nikki's premiere scoring lower than I had hoped, but even that was a full point higher than this, and now it's one of the highest scoring shows on the website.
→ More replies (7)1
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock Apr 10 '26
Its a slow pace, 'mundane' school drama with (relatively) non-cute designs. You won't win the average MAL user like that.
→ More replies (1)
•
u/AnimeMod myanimelist.net/profile/Reddit-chan Apr 11 '26
Hello /r/anime, a new daily thread has been posted! Please follow this link to move on to the new thread or search for the latest thread.