Anime Recommendations Thread

[Kaori]

Hi ShenValleyLewis,

Welcome to CAA.

I have to confess that not a ton of titles come to mind for me from looking at the list of shows you like, but I thought I would give it a shot since no one else has given you any recommendations yet. (They don't have to be 2019 anime, do they?)

Yotsuba&! - I haven't actually watched this (I read a bit of the manga, and it wasn't quite my thing), but if you like Usagi Drop, you may like this, because it's a similar story about an adult man raising a young girl as his daughter.
Princess Jellyfish - I haven't watched the anime but read quite a bit of the manga, which was very good. It's about a bunch of college-age NEET women and a cross-dressing (straight) man who meets and starts hanging out with them as they try to keep the building they live in from being sold. I've heard good things about the anime, and from the summaries I've read, it leaves off in a very logical place with good closure.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou - Another one for which I've read the manga but haven't seen the anime (there's an OVA series). The manga is a mild, relaxing slice-of-life with a bit of a bittersweet tone set in a world where ocean levels have risen dramatically.

If you're interested in anime movies, not just series, then I would definitely recommend most of the Studio Ghibli catalog if you haven't seen those films (Princess Mononoke may be too violent for your taste, and Grave of the Fireflies is tragic, but others should be fine), the movie Wolf Children, and pretty much anything directed by Makoto Shinkai (just be warned that 5cm/s is pretty heartbreaking).

[Dazaifan91]

I am new here but I am a Baptist Christian anime fan and have seen all kinds of different anime shows good and bad. So my question is what are some good mecha anime to watch with more mature and darker themes that are not gundam, bokurano, or full metal panic.

[Kaori]

Hi, welcome to CAA!

I haven't watched tons of mecha anime (though I do like the genre), but I'll give it a shot.

Do you have any familiarity with the Patlabor series? I've only watched the TV series, which is mostly pretty lighthearted, but I've heard that some of the other Patlabor media got darker. (I think some of the later stuff, movies maybe?) Unfortunately I can't personally vouch for that, since I haven't seen them. The TV series was, like I said, *mostly* lighthearted, though it did have some episodes that dug into some more serious psychological things, and is well worth watching. It also has characters who are adults, not teenagers, and they do have to face adult concerns like "I got offered a promising new job, should I leave the one I have now and take this new job, or stay where I am?" So there's that at least.

Martian Successor Nadesico is a series that is comedy at the outset, so I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, since it has that slapstick romcom surface. But despite the comedy premise, it deals with some very serious things like death and SPOILER: Highlight text to read: suicide and has characters grappling with really serious doubts about what they are doing, and sometimes voicing really cynical or disillusioned viewpoints. It's deceptively deep if you can get past the comedic premise.

Then there's Evangelion. Classic, and certainly deals with "mature and darker themes," but it has a lot of content that's rather disturbing from a religious viewpoint and is also on CAA's "do not discuss" list for having stirred up excessive controversy in the past. (Not sure how that's being enforced nowadays, but maybe Shooraijin can weigh in.)

A bit further afield, Gasaraki was a nice underrated mecha anime which I recall liking but don't have much of a clear memory of. I wouldn't say its themes came across as particularly "mature" or "dark." "Subtle" maybe. But it had a more restrained and understated feel than, say, a shonen-like anime with a hot-blooded hero running around shouting and winning battles through his determination and guts, so I guess it is more mature in the sense of being "not child-like," but not in the sense of having "adult content."

I feel like none of these is really spot-on for what you're looking for, so I'm sorry I can't think of anything that fits what you're asking for more precisely, but maybe at least this can help you decide whether you think the above shows would interest you.

[shooraijin]

There's so little discussion I'm not really enforcing the DnD much. But I'll put a vote in for Nadesico for all the reasons you said. The OST is great too, one of my road trip albums.

[Davidizer13]

Giant robot stuff, huh? Give these a try:

Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of the gold standards. The backstory behind it is wild: in the early '90s, someone wanted to do an animated version of a classic manga called Giant Robo. While the manga author's estate allowed this, they added the condition that certain characters from the manga couldn't be used. What the anime's director did, however, was to take basically every other character the author had made up for other series - magical girls, sharp-suited spies, martial artists from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and one colossal nuclear-powered sentient robot - and jammed them together into a big happy dieselpunk wuxia heartfelt action extravaganza. It pushes around the concept of a world based on a colossal coverup revealed and re-revealed over seven extra-large episodes, centered around the question: Can happiness be achieved without sacrifice? Despite an initial appearance as just another kid's show, it grows well beyond that in scope. If you want to see a mecha story done as an opera, here it is, driven as it is by a symphony orchestra score. And if you're worried about fanservice or other content, this one keeps it clean. (Just, for your own sake, skip the Ginrei Specials.)

If you like Evangelion, or the first Pacific Rim movie, give Gunbuster a try. It starts as a parody of a tennis show, but then jumps straight into Ender's Game territory - an interplanetary war, time dilation played for tragedy, child soldiers sent to fight unknown enemies. It ladles on the teenage girl angst on top of some great action sequences. If nudity bothers you, this might be one to skip, or at least the blatant fanservice segment in one of the episodes - you'll know it when you see it. But if it doesn't, this one is a treat.

I know you said no Gundam, but if you haven't seen Zeta Gundam, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, or G Gundam, you're missing out - to me, those are the highlights of the franchise. G is so radically different from the rest of the other shows, it's worth a try, especially if you end up trying and liking Giant Robo.

I personally didn't like FLAG that much, but it's got a great concept: set in near-modern times, a war photographer in Not-Afghanistan is attached to a unit fighting insurgents with an experimental mecha-like weapons platform. The focus isn't really on the robot itself, but the relationships between the photographer, her mentor, and the unit running the robot. If you're looking for more mature, this one fits the bill.

[Rose Faerie]

Hello. I decided to ask for some recommendations. Not for me, but for my brother, because he's been constantly been asking me if every show in the universe is appropriate for him (he's only twelve).

He's seen all of Naruto (currently watching Shippuden) and My Hero Academia, and he's seen some of One Piece, InuYasha, and Yona of the Dawn. He liked all of them.
He didn't like Haikyuu. I know a lot of the shows are really long, but he goes through TV shows really fast, so I want to have some backup plans, especially since his friends like stuff that even I'm not allowed to watch. *Cough* Attack on Titan *Cough*

He likes action and adventure shows, primarily. Non anime stuff he's into include Fortnite, the Simpsons, and football.

In terms of objectionable content, nothing worse than he'd see in the above shows. For stuff I won't let him watch: Demon Slayer (too bloody), Fullmetal Alchemist (lacks the maturity to understand it), and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (both). I also won't let him watch Noragami or Kaguya-sama: Love is War because of the amount of partial nudity and dirty jokes respectively. He can handle a little, but it makes him uncomfortable.

I hope you guys can help me out!

[Rose Faerie]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, he only likes dubs. I highly doubt he'd watch anything subbed.

[Rose Faerie]

Also anyone know any shows like Fruits Basket (similar themes)?

I'm also looking for vampire shows that aren't romance. Nothing like Twilight please.

[Rose Faerie]

Hi! I'm back to spamming this thread. One of my sisters decided she wants to watch an anime, and I seriously need help. She hates reading and is a slow reader in general, so I can't do subs.

She really liked Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun and the first season of the Fruits Basket reboot. I would show her Kaguya-sama: Love is War, but we only have access to the subbed version. I know she would love it, though. She wants a comedy, I just don't know any that look good and are dubbed.

Let me know what your thoughts are, oh wise companions.

[ClaecElric4God]

Also anyone know any shows like Fruits Basket (similar themes)?

I'm also looking for vampire shows that aren't romance. Nothing like Twilight please.

I am so so so sorry I didn't see this sooner. If you haven't seen Servamp, you need to watch it NOW. Best vampire show I've ever seen. And it's not vampires, but I also highly recommend Zombie Loan. Has a lot of the same vibes.

I'm running a blank on your other requests, though I'm assuming it's too late anyways haha.

[Rose Faerie]

Thank you so much!

[ClaecElric4God]

I'm not sure if you're still looking for vampire shows, but I thought of a couple more. Seraph of the End and Sirius the Jaegar are pretty good, and Hakuoki is fantastic if you can find it.

Did you find good stuff for your brother? I wonder if he would enjoy HunterXHunter or One Punch Man? Tiger & Bunny, Hamatora, and Kekkaishi are also great. These are a few I recall being kid friendly. Hope this helps!

[jinsakai]

Hello, I just joined CAA today and I'm hoping you all can help me find some anime to watch! I am very new to anime, but I've done some research (mostly twitter and reddit) and have come to find there is a lot of anime out there I definitely don't want to watch. A lot of recommendations from those sites sounded very dark, demented, perverted, and overtly sexual. As I'm sure many of you can relate to, with being a Christian, I want to be selective and careful about what I watch!

The most anime I've watched is Studio Ghibli movies and a few episodes of Naruto, which I lost interest in pretty quickly (I know, that's not much...).

I loved Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle. I am a bit of a hopeless romantic so yes, I do love romance. However, I also love adventure, action, and drama as well. I'm not too keen on horror or thrillers, I'm a bit of a wimp.

If you have any recommendations, I would be so, so thankful! Please help this anime newbie

[Rose Faerie]

Yes! I am going to be watch Seraph of the End soon, and I think I've heard of Hakuoki...

Thank you for the recommendations for my brother. He's been watching HunterXHunter and enjoys it. I'll let him know about these!

[shooraijin]

Hello, I just joined CAA today and I'm hoping you all can help me find some anime to watch! I am very new to anime, but I've done some research (mostly twitter and reddit) and have come to find there is a lot of anime out there I definitely don't want to watch. A lot of recommendations from those sites sounded very dark, demented, perverted, and overtly sexual. As I'm sure many of you can relate to, with being a Christian, I want to be selective and careful about what I watch!

The most anime I've watched is Studio Ghibli movies and a few episodes of Naruto, which I lost interest in pretty quickly (I know, that's not much...).

I loved Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle. I am a bit of a hopeless romantic so yes, I do love romance. However, I also love adventure, action, and drama as well. I'm not too keen on horror or thrillers, I'm a bit of a wimp.

If you have any recommendations, I would be so, so thankful! Please help this anime newbie

Welcome, jinsakai. Feel free to make an introduction thread in Who's Who if you like. This site exists exactly to offer some positive recommendations, so we're glad you're here.

[Rose Faerie]

Hello, Jinsakai! It's nice to have you here!

Actually, from what I'm currently watching, Kimi ni Todoke could be a good romance anime recommendation for you. It's very clean and wholesome. Honestly, it's one of the cutest things I've seen in a while. I've heard good things about My Love Story, as well.

I love Ghibli, but I haven't seen any shows that resemble Ghibli yet. If you'd be interested in reading manga, Witch Hat Atelier gives off similar vibes.

For adventure, I would recommend the Twelve Kingdoms. I thought that was a great fantasy adventure series. The character development the main character goes through is spectacular. If you end up liking that, Yona of the Dawn is similar. They're both some of my favorites.

I'll recommend xxxHolic, which is a nice take on superstitions and folklore. It has a weird charm to it. Kobato is pretty cute, too. It's about a girl who comes to earth to heal broken hearts.

Sorry that my recommendations aren't a bit more personalized. I hope you can find something you like!

[Rose Faerie]

Feel free to check our reviews as well, if you hear about something you find interesting. We might have a content review up. If we don't you could request it, or see if one of us has any information on it. You could also use Imdb as a source. That's what I used to use.

Good luck!

[Kaori]

Hi jinsakai, welcome; we're happy to have you here! Like Shooraijin said, recommending positive anime (and talking about it) is pretty much what CAA's all about, so I'm glad you found us!

For other wholesome movies outside the Studio Ghibli catalogue, I'd recommend anything by Makoto Shinkai, and also anything by Mamoru Hosoda. A good starting place is Your Name for Shinkai and Wolf Children for Hosoda.

There are also a couple of clean and wholesome movies by Satoshi Kon: Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress. I recommend both of those, but just be aware that some of his other movies can be a bit more bizarre and dark, so outside of those two, just check out the content before watching.

I was also going to recommend Twelve Kingdoms, but I see Rose Faerie beat me to it, so I heartily second it. It's a nice fantasy adventure with good growth in the female main character throughout her story arc.

Haibane Renmei is another one I'd definitely recommend, very clean and spiritually oriented.

Finally, depending on how much violence you are okay with, you may also be interested in Demon Slayer. You mentioned Naruto, and Demon Slayer reminds me of Naruto slightly but is better in every way. One of the big ways it stands out is having a really clear sense of progression instead of dragging things out--with every event that happens in the story, you can sense the characters getting closer to their goal. I also find that Demon Slayer has a strong sense of values that overlap strongly with religious teachings (this is not saying the show is written from a religious POV, though, just that it shares similar values). However, it can be quite violent, so if you're not sure if the content would be too much for you, feel free to check out the content ratings in the review section--Rose Faerie and I have both written up reviews for Season 1.

[ShenValleyLewis]

Hello, I just joined CAA today and I'm hoping you all can help me find some anime to watch! I am very new to anime, but I've done some research (mostly twitter and reddit) and have come to find there is a lot of anime out there I definitely don't want to watch. A lot of recommendations from those sites sounded very dark, demented, perverted, and overtly sexual. As I'm sure many of you can relate to, with being a Christian, I want to be selective and careful about what I watch!

Welcome to the forums. There is definitely a lot of trash out there, but there are also some great shows if you know where to look. Here are some titles that I find wholesome and also creatively successful:

Non Non Biyori - follows the lives of four schoolgirls in a remote rural area. This might seem like a limited premise, but the show does wonders with it. The animation is very good (especially the backgrounds), the characterizations are detailed and believable, the storylines always fresh and creative. It's not a tear-jerker, and the tone is usually one of wry humor, but there are some heart-warming moments here and there. Note, there is one moment in the first season that made me a bit uncomfortable - the girls go to the beach and one of them seems envious of the way her classmate looks in her bathing suit. Otherwise the show is completely unobjectionable.

Aria the Animation - in the future, Mars has been made suitable for human habitation, and renamed Aqua since it is now largely covered with water. The story concerns three young women in the city of Neo-Venezia who are striving to become expert undines (gondoliers). The premise may sound strange, but the show totally makes it work. Every aspect of the production is classy - the character designs, the animation, the storylines, the music. If I've had a difficult day, I sometimes watch an episode of this show before going to bed - it's so comforting and relaxing.

Usagi Drop - an unmarried man encounters a young girl at a funeral, the deceased was her caregiver and she has nobody to take her in. Although he has never been interested in children, he takes a liking to her and is disturbed by the fact that everyone else treats her as a problem to be solved; so he decides to adopt her. I can't find words to describe how much I love this show. It's heart-warming without being emotionally manipulative; the situation is treated realistically, but with an appropriate amount of humor. My only complaint is that it's fairly short - I wish there were more episodes. Note: I have not read the manga which this series is based on, but I've heard serious criticisms of it. My comments apply to the anime only.

Sweetness & Lightning - a young teacher, who has recently become widowed, decides to learn how to cook so that he can feed his adorable young daughter better food than instant microwave meals. He gets help from an unexpected source - a female student in his class, who is also inexperienced in cooking but has detailed recipes provided by her mother who owns a restaurant. The student is shy and a bit awkward around her teacher, and in the first couple of episodes I started wondering if there was going to be a romance between them, but fortunately the show doesn't go there at all. The show does go into detail showing the two of them working on preparing various dishes, so if you are not interested in cooking it might get dull for you.

Laid-Back Camp - about a group of school-age children who like to go camping. I've only seen one episode but it really charmed me. The landscapes are lovely.

Sketchbook Full Colors - about a shy girl who never goes anywhere without her sketchbook, and the other students in her art club. The character designs are distinctive and it's cute and charming.

HaNaYaMaTa - a group of school girls learn the traditional Japanese dance form called Yosakoi. To be honest I haven't watched this, but it sounds cute and I've seen rave reviews.

If you like music you might enjoy Sound Euphonium, about a group of girls who join the concert band in their new high school. It's noted for the accurate depictions of musical instruments and performance; it also has very appealing animation. I have to say there is a surprising amount of bad language (at least in the first episode which is the only one I've seen). I also found the plot a bit confusing, there seems to be some jumping around in time, and I found the relationships between the characters not very clear; but that problem might resolve itself in later episodes.

[Rose Faerie]

Hey, jinsakai!
I recently got back into a romance anime I started a while ago, but dropped. Snow White with the Red Hair has a fairy tale setting, with the theme of following your dreams and forging a path in life. I thought it was very cute, and it seems to fit the bill of what you're looking for, so I figured I'd throw this one out there, too.

[Rose Faerie]

Hello!

So, my sister's been into anime lately, and I need some recommendations. She LOVES the Ouran High School Host Club, so something like that would be helpful. (She's probably seen it like 5 times by now.)

Other stuff she's liked:
-Death Note (I was surprised that she liked it so much, since she's usually sensitive to violence and death.)
-Durarara!! (She loves the characters.)
-The Way of the Househusband
-Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
-Fruits Basket
-Ghost Stories (Yes, I know... It's THAT Ghost Stories.)

She doesn't like Toradora and My Hero Academia.

In general, rom-coms and straight-up comedies would be preferable. Action comedies are fine as long as they aren't particularly bloody or violent. (I accidentally traumatized her with Demon Slayer.) Dirty jokes are fine, though fan service is something we aren't too fond of.

I hope you guys can help! Thank you!

[Rose Faerie]

Whoops! Forgot to mention that dubs would be preferable. She has a hard time reading. Thank you!

[Kaori]

Unfortunately, none of my favorite romcom (or drama + humor) manga titles have gotten anime adaptations.

If you sister doesn't mind comedy set in space, try Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

If she likes Irresponsible Captain Tylor, you can consider Martian Successor Nadesico, but tread cautiously because although there's not a lot of bloody violence, there are some deceptively heavy topics mixed into this comedic space opera SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a couple of murders, a suicide (not shown in an explicit way), and characters being shocked and grieved by the deaths caused by war.

The Patlabor TV series is also good if she is willing to give a mecha show a try. It's very clean and though the show isn't primarily comedy, there's quite a lot of humor. I can't vouch for the other Patlabor media (movies and OVAs) because I haven't seen them yet, so I don't know how the content level is.

Also, I confess I have no idea if dubs are available for any of these if you're planning to use online streaming. I'm pretty sure the DVDs do, though, so a dub should exist for all of them.

Also: It's just a movie, not a series, but Howl's Moving Castle. Can't recall if you've seen it already or not. If not, definitely check it out!

[Rose Faerie]

Yes, Howl's Moving Castle is great! I need to try to get her to watch it. I know she'd love it. I'll look at the other ones to see if she'd like them. Thank you so much, Kaori!

[Rose Faerie]

Just curious, but what are your favorite rom-com manga? I could always use recommendations, just in case.

[shooraijin]

Not Kaori, but I'm partial to Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road, myself. But I'm old.

[Kaori]

Glad you asked!

I also wanted to pop back in here and add that you should check out the movies by Mamoru Hosoda if you haven't yet. Excellent movies, (usually) humorous, with some good messages, and clean; these would definitely be OK to show your little sister.

Also Makoto Shinkai's movies (again, if you haven't yet), though his tend to be on the sad or bittersweet side.

Manga:

High School Debut - Probably my #1 favorite straight-up romcom manga. You can also check out the same author's short collection Ai no Tame Ni (Everything for the Sake of Love).

Aozora Yell - more drama than romcom, with some humor, but extremely heartwarming. The two leads mutually encourage each other as they strive to excel in their respective extracurricular activities. I have only read the first 3 volumes (of over 20?) but I really liked them a lot.

Detarame Mousouryoku Opera - just one volume, by the same author of Ouran High School Host Club. Fantasy romcom, really enjoyed the interesting mix of the female lead's incredible spacial ability (something that on average males are better at) with the male lead's incredible imagination and complete lack of spatial sense.

Love so Life - I think this was also a bit more drama than romcom, but it was also very heartwarming. It's about a teenage girl who babysits a couple of young children for their single uncle. They do not date officially until she is legally an adult. Very, VERY clean.

Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai ("Please Love the Useless Me") - This one is josei (marketed at adult women, not girls). This comes through mostly in that the characters are working adults; it is mostly pretty clean. Of what I read, I don't recall anything more sexual than the main character speculating about things like SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "[calling someone's name without an honorific] is like what you call someone in a bedroom situation" or having a love rival and wondering "What kind of underwear does she wear?" This manga made me laugh a lot, but YMMV, I remember that for someone else on here the humor didn't really click. On the other hand, if you like Way of the House Husband, there's a bit of a similar plot element here with the male lead having a past as some sort of delinquent, but he is now running a cafe, and he gets some of his friends who look like gangsters to do silly things like advertise for his cafe while wearing sunflower outfits.

[Rose Faerie]

Thank you for the recommendations! These sound great! I've definitely heard of High School Debut (I feel like she would love it) and Love so Life. This is really helpful, especially since my sister is looking to start collecting manga! Thank you so much!