My partner wants to get more into anime (recommendation thread)

[shintoki]

The new Castlevania series should be right up her alley. Every female friend I had whom seen it, loved it.

If she liked Berserk, Claymore & Hellsing Ultimate are safe bets. Ultimate has some fanservice, but it goes by quickly.

If she liked Bebop, just go with the common recommendations for that time frame. Outlaw Star, Trigun, Eva, Samurai Champloo, etc.

 

[AnimaRize]

Considering what she liked I'd say Gundam iron blooded orphans

 

[foxuzamaki]

Did she give any reason why she didn't like gurren lagann and ninja scroll? Too over the top?

 

[foxuzamaki]

tell her to watch to your eternity if she wants misery porn.

Click to shrink...

I watched the 1st episode of that and kinda noped out until I'm in a much better headpace

 

[Atom Heart Mother]

Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! The Adult Empire Strikes Back (ninth Shin-chan movie) is an excellent heartwarming movie.

Did she give any reason why she didn't like gurren lagann and ninja scroll? Too over the top?

Click to shrink...

I was going to recommend Gunbuster & Diebuster after seeing not liking TTGL I was hesitant.

 

[MonadL]

Watch Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress ASAP. I'd say Ghibli's stuff too but I'm sure that already has a ton of recommendations.

 

[super-famicom]

Did she give any reason why she didn't like gurren lagann and ninja scroll? Too over the top?

Click to shrink...

Gonna guess that the rape scene in Ninja Scroll was not well received.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Gonna guess that the rape scene in Ninja Scroll was not well received.

Click to shrink...

Haven't seen that movie in years (and infact seen a tv broadcast of it) but I wouldn't be surprised

 

[RandomExpletive]

Mob Psycho 100 and/or Dr. Stone seem like they might fit here.

I'm also leaning towards recommending Turn A Gundam...

 

[iAmPossum]

GTO

 

[Azerare]

Finish Cowboy Bebop for sure. Give Samurai Champloo a try too.

I agree with others saying that Mob Psycho 100 is great.
Black Lagoon is not too bad.
Durarara has nice world and character building

 

[night814]

Full metal alchemist both series. Show is super engaging

 

[RatskyWatsky]

re: Mob Psycho - is it finished or will there be more seasons?

 

[Sabot]

Ping Pong is my usual recommendation for dabblers.

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

Everyone who said Samurai Champloo is correct.

 

[Arkeband]

If she liked Berserk she'll like:

 

[petitmelon]

Two of my favorite anime to recommend to new lady watchers are Escaflowne and Noragami. Then watch Satoshi Kon's filmography. Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood as well.

 

[hyouko]

She might find The Night is Short ,Walk On Girl more approachable than The Tatami Galaxy. Same author and same creative team but in movie format.

I'll give some of my usual non-fanservice-y recommendations here:

• Haibane-Renmei is my all time favorite; it's a beautiful story about coming to terms with life after life (well, we presume). Has a lovely soundtrack, too.
• Kino's Journey is a set of almost fable-like stories about a traveler with a talking motorcycle visiting different fictional countries for 3 days at a time.
• Planetes is hard science fiction about garbage collectors in space.
• A Place Further than the Universe is a show about a group of schoolgirls who make it their mission to go to Antarctica. It actually manages to sell the premise when it could have just been fluff. Also, have tissues handy.

There are also some excellent movies out there. A Silent Voice is a powerful story about the aftermath of school bullying. I've enjoyed most things that Mamoru Hosoda has worked on, but would particularly call out Mirai and Wolf Children as being very good watches. Most everything from Ghibli is worth a watch too, obviously.

(Also: from some of what other folks have mentioned, seconding Mob Psycho 100, Paranoia Agent, Monster, and Land of the Lustrous)

 

[Jotakori]

re: Mob Psycho - is it finished or will there be more seasons?

Click to shrink...

The anime currently only goes through like maybe half of the manga's content, but there's been no news or announcements for a third season as of yet, so no idea if or when it'll continue.
Studio BONES has always treated it like a passion project, though, and they've done a lot of longer series so I'm personally hopeful there will be more eventually. >__<🤞

 

[purplemonkey111]

I recommend Legend of Galactic Hero. It's more political war epic drama, than star wars space fantasy.

 

[leder]

My partner is not an anime dork like me but loved Turn A Gundam. YMMV

 

[Primus]

Strong female leads? Distinctive art style? Characters you get invested in?

Keep Your Hands Off Of Eizouken!

Three high school girls form a school club to make their own anime. Goes super hard into how anime is actually made from all angles and our three main characters all have their own strengths and foibles, along with a very vibrant world.

 

[VISION]

Since posting this thread, we've started Serial Experiments Lain. It's one of my favorites but I figured it'd be too weird for her. Wouldn't have gave it a shot with her if not for this thread. We're almost halfway through and she's loving it.

Thanks for all the recommendations yall, and keep em coming

 

[hyouko]

Specifically for someone looking for strong female leads, I really do want to push A Place Further than the Universe. Honestly, it's one of the easier anime out there to recommend to just about anybody.

Here's a great short scene from early in the show as a taste (context: the trio running away were trying to infiltrate a meeting for an Antarctica expedition and got caught)

 

[Uncivilized Elk]

Geez I really wanted to like "The Night is Short, Walk On Girl" but the sexual assault stuff played off so lightly and stereotypically as if it was Roshi in Dragonball (and then how the ending treats that character, yikes) just fucking destroyed my ability to enjoy all the other fun whimsy going on. Like WOW did that just kill all the momentum and goodwill the film was building and fail to ever recover from it.

I had been meaning to watch Tatami Galaxy for ages and now I feel apprehensive because I don't want a repeat of that.

 

[DrForester]

I asked her what she wants out of an anime: immersive with characters that can be invested in, psychological themes, distinctive art style
What she doesn't want: Shonen, fanservice

She also placed an emphasis on wanting strong female characters.

Click to shrink...

Utena, Utena, Utena.




39 episodes. Enter series is available on youtube. Subbed or dubbed.
Dubbed: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrrh84y760v9xDNuOiG6x1DsCG70LVQi7
Subbed: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrrh84y760v-hDEulas0Tp_wiQy0FcjLl


There's also a movie, which is a pretty thorough re-imagining of the story, but you should watch the series first.

 

[Rackham]

Jujutsu Kaisen has some really great female characters, awesome animation, great story and totally rewatchable.

oh, and she's definitely gotta watch Miyazaki films

I'd start with Nausicaa, followed by Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, then Spirited Away

 

[KtotheRoc]

Angelic Layer is an older anime (it's from 2001) about a young girl who gets really into a game involving battle toys, but it's really about her making friends and her search for her mother. It's from CLAMP.

 

[Elandyll]

tell her to watch the 12 kingdoms as well.

Click to shrink...

This x100. It's included with Prime afaik.

Also recommended in more recent fares: 86 Heighty Six (available on crunchy roll). It's hella dark in many ways, but if she might like sci fi with heavy themes (war, discrimination of minorities, utilitarianism...) she might like it.

 

[Aaron]

Your Lie in April and Your Name both destroyed me.

Also really highly recommend Yuri on Ice and Carole & Tuesday.

 

[Freezasaurus]

Your Lie in April and Your Name both destroyed me.

Click to shrink...

Personally I didn't find Your Name to be that impactful. I won't say it wasn't good, though. It was.

 

[guacamole party]

Cant believe no one has recommended Avatar: Last Airbender. Its fantastic and definitely has strong female characters. HIGHLY recommend.

 

[Darkspellmaster]

Berserk, Space Dandy, Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Kaiba.

I asked her what she wants out of an anime: immersive with characters that can be invested in, psychological themes, distinctive art style
What she doesn't want: Shonen, fanservice

She also placed an emphasis on wanting strong female characters.

Click to shrink...

For Berserk: Record of Lodos War, Baccano, Vampire Hunter D
For Space Dandy: Samurai Champloo, Red Line
For Cowboy Bebop: Outlaws Star, Black Lagoon,
For Akira:Steam Boy
For Kaiba: Full Metal Alchemist, Scrapped Princess.

Invested in Characters:
Chihayafuru -female lead lots of drama
Master Keaton, Erased, Anohana, HAL, Boy and his Beast, Wolf's children, Summer Wars, Black Jack (go with the newer series), Moriarty series, Brand new animal, Legend of the Galactic Heroes,
Decadence, Black Lagoon, recent conman anime

Psychological themes:
Spice and Wolf, Monster, Parasite, Blood series, Black Butler (Season 1, Book of Circus, Book of the Atlantic), Shiki

Art Style:
Akayashi, Lupin, The world ends with you, Paradise Kiss, Escaflowne, Shiki,

Female leads:
Sailor Moon Crystal, Escaflowne, Rose of Versailles, Pat Labor, Gintama,

If your looking for the above go after Joseph titles, that would be series for older women.

Also want a laugh, old dub of Ghost stories
I'd also Recommend Avatar the last air bender.

 

[Hoa]

Click to shrink...

Wow surprised to see Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun make one of the lists (Fantasy, should also make Comedy list too honestly). Absolutely fucking love it, every character from the students to the teachers are likeable and it's funny as hell. Seeing Iruma grow and in turn help everyone at the school grow just gives you a warm feeling. It might not have the best animation in comparison to a lot of other good shows nowadays but it's easily one of my recent favorites.

 

[Archaic]

I'll try to recommend a few series that haven't already suggested.

• Boogiepop & Others - 2019, streaming on Crunchyroll - Trailer - 2000's Boogiepop Phantom (streaming on Funimation - Subbed Original Trailer, Dubbed HD Trailer), which someone already mentioned, is actually an anime original sidestory to this franchise, with content not in the original novels. Best watching order is probably to watch the first arc (eps 1-3) of this series, then all of Boogiepop Phantom, then the rest of this series.
• Princess Tutu - 2002, streaming on HIDIVE - (Fansubbed, very old) Trailer
• Shadows House - 2021, streaming on Funimation - Trailer, OP, ED
• Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song - 2021, streaming on Funimation - Trailer 1, Trailer 2, OP

 

[Nakenorm]

While Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood sure as hell had many of the shonen trappings, I'd say it's worth a watch anyway. It's definitely not your usual shonen series and the world, characters and mysteries are all fantastic. Easily my favorite anime of all time. Other than that it does sound like she might enjoy Monster or Psycho-Pass.

 

[wwm0nkey]

FMA Brotherhood is always a solid choice

 

[Zan]

How old are you willing to go? Because there's a bunch of stuff from before the 90's that's worth searching out, I feel.

 

[Dark Knight]

Devilman Crybaby. It's incredible but very dark.

 

[Modu5]

Samurai Champloo
Elfen Lied
Planetes
Re:Zero S1 (haven't started S2)
Gundam Iron blooded Orphans
Beck

 

[chaostrophy]

A stunning film. So many scenes that bring chills to my spine. It's one of the movies that I recommend to everyone.

 

[Annubis]

She says she best liked: Berserk

She also placed an emphasis on wanting strong female characters.

Click to shrink...

Sounds like Claymore is up her alley if she liked Berserk and she wants kickass female leads.

 

[TheSaddestSort]

Watch Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress ASAP. I'd say Ghibli's stuff too but I'm sure that already has a ton of recommendations.

Click to shrink...

Yup, anything from Satoshi Kon is worth a watch imo.

 

[Kung Fucius]

One Punch Man (first season) and Mob Psycho 100% are almost universally beloved.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

The anime currently only goes through like maybe half of the manga's content, but there's been no news or announcements for a third season as of yet, so no idea if or when it'll continue.
Studio BONES has always treated it like a passion project, though, and they've done a lot of longer series so I'm personally hopeful there will be more eventually. >__<🤞

Click to shrink...

Would I be better off just waiting a few years to see if it gets a proper ending? Is there a big cliffhanger that S2 ends on?

 

[Xils]

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song has been pretty good from what I've seen. Interesting premise, great art and strong female lead character.

A Place Further Than The Universe and Chihayafuru may not really fit with what your partner wants aside from immersive and strong female characters (both shows are female-led) but they are just damn good and I'd recommend them any chance I get. They can also be a nice break from the more intense stuffs you're currently watching.

Would I be better off just waiting a few years to see if it gets a proper ending? Is there a big cliffhanger that S2 ends on?

Click to shrink...

Both seasons wrap themselves up nicely and you'll be perfectly fine and content when a season end. The only reason you will want more is because it's just that good, not because the story feels unfinished.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

Monster

Monster

Monster

Currently watching now, and it's such a well written psychological thriller. It follows a genius surgeon falsely accused of murder while he unravels a twisted past connected to one of his patients. Very mature, very grounded, very suspenseful. It's fully available on youtube dubbed/subbed.

I'll also throw in Erased, another great and short thriller about a man thrown back into his childhood attempting to prevent the unsolved murder of a classmate.

I recommend discontinuing Promised Neverland. That show collapses in on itself in an absolutely unreal way after setting an incredibly high bar with its first season.

Click to shrink...

I'd say the first season is so fantastic and works well enough as a self-contained story that I'd still recommend it. It's so worth the ride. Just pretend the last episode is the "final" vague ending. It's what I'm doing.

Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! The Adult Empire Strikes Back (ninth Shin-chan movie) is an excellent heartwarming movie.

Click to shrink...

Wow! Never thought I'd see someone else recommend this film. Even though it's based on a long running show, it's an easy enough one to jump into and just simply fantastic. One of my favorite anime films honestly.

 

[Sander VF]

She also placed an emphasis on wanting strong female characters.

Click to shrink...

Moribito?

 

[Master Milk]

not a single rec of Psycho Pass? surprising

anyway, watch the first season (22 eps) and then call it there

if she's looking for "immersive with characters that can be invested in, psychological themes, distinctive art style" then Psycho Pass should be a perfect fit

 

[Atom Heart Mother]

Wow! Never thought I'd see someone else recommend this film. Even though it's based on a long running show, it's an easy enough one to jump into and just simply fantastic. One of my favorite anime films honestly.

Click to shrink...

I actually watched it for the first time last week. I've seen Shin-chan on adult swim when I was younger. Always had a fascination with the series. Recently I started reading about the top animated movies in Japan and that Shin-chan movie was on the lists, like near Akira.

Such a great, heartwarming film. I'm going to watch the 10th movie very soon. I hear it's good as the previous.