Love Lab is one of those anime which are either great or terrible, and I think that its clumsy poke at exploring queer themes through a cis male gaze didn’t help it at all. YMMV.
You might also like Haikyu!!
It’s a fun “slice of life” that revolves around volleyball team.
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Ghost Stories with the English dub.
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Ah! I can’t believe I forgot Eyeshield 21!
It’s an (American) football anime and mange with the character designs done by the same guy who did the updated character designed for One-punch Man when it was serialized as a manga instead of a webcomic. The over the top style and pure shonen action make it entertaining enough, but having it be about football gives an extra boost to someone from the US seeing it. It’s an excellent sports anime, and one of the reasons modern sports anime are so good (though it’s not the origin of many of the tropes, that is the also fun to watch Hajime no Ippo).
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I stumbled on season 1 of Space Dandy at the library. From the same director that made Cowboy BeBop.
This one is a gonzo comedy about a none too smart hunter of new alien species.
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I really loved how space dandy begins as a sort of silly space romp but slowly increases the feels and then the ending I won’t spoil. Really fun watch.
ETA: Re-watched One Punch Man this weekend. Fun as always. Also watched the latest episode of Attack on Titan season 2.
Another great show not mentioned yet is Assassination Classroom. An alien blows a hole in the moon and says it will destroy the Earth in one year if no one can kill it first. To help in the effort it teaches a class of students on how to kill it. Along the way there is great action and comedy and eventually the increase the drama to add some depth to the story.
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Seconding the Totoro and Evangelion suggestions above.
But, as yet unmentioned…Ranma 1/2 and Tenchi Muyo.
They’re both martial arts harem comedies, based around a teenage male (kinda…it gets a bit complicated in Ranma) protagonist and a large assortment of mostly female allies and antagonists. They’re light cheesy fun on the surface, but with more serious storylines bubbling away underneath.
Ranma is the more cheerful and accessible of the two, but Tenchi is worth checking out for the visuals alone. Spectacular watercolour art features heavily.
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One Punch Man was the only answer necessary.
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I just finished Kill La Kill. Kick ass female protagonist. I enjoyed the somewhat bizarre premise which I won’t spoil.
I will warn that there is some skimpy outfits at times. For what it’s worth the characters themselves comment on how ridiculous some of the outfit are. The explanation: the clothes are alive, have powers and transform as they want to. Of course that is just an excuse the writers used to get T/A in. So take that as you like.
Skimpy outfits aside, Kill La Kill is matriarchal story about girl seeking the murderer of her father. Along the way she meets multiple woman in power she must fight or align with. There are strong male characters as well but they always have a female they support formally or informally. The action gets bigger and more crazy as the story progresses.
In the end it’s a great story exploring mothers, daughters, sisters, friends and self. And while there is a bit of T/A, action and comedy, underneath that is a sense of deeper emotions that gives the story some much needed grounding.
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So many great recs in this thread!
I am Naruto trash - but I came to it very late (as an adult, watching subs online). It’s the longest anime I’ve watched and while it’s very much an action/design kind of show, there’s a lot of thematic elements about love and morality that I enjoy.
I love most things that Leiji Matsumoto has had a hand in, since Starblazers was my introduction to “japanimation.” I’d recommend Captain Harlock or Interstella 5555 (collaboration w/Daft Punk). It’s gorgeous and influential stuff.
I love the first Fullmetal Alchemist series. I didn’t like Brotherhood. Same studio, but the first series just had more mystery? Emotional weight?
Mushishi, Azumanga Daio, Eureka Seven, and Wolf’s Rain are also well done, too.
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Just saw Little Witch Academia has a series on Netflix now, looking forward to it
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Added to my watch list. Thank you.
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GUTS!
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There is a Studio Ghibli series happening. We saw Totoro at our local AMC Lowes on Monday. Was interesting to see it in Japanese with subtitles. The pace was even sweeter and quieter than it is with the American dub.
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Gut’s deserves their own show.
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So does Mako…
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Absolutely. Her character has so much more story we need to see.
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Here’s the link to the Studio Ghibli Fest going on at AMC theaters everywhere.
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So after listening to the current GME Anime Funtime podcast I binged through all 12 episodes of Kemono Friends and it was actually quite fun and a better story than I would have expected for the type of anime that it is.
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The Red Turtle is utterly gorgeous and incredibly well put together.
It’s published by Studio Ghibli but co-written and directed by a Dutch-British animator, and has no dialogue but manages to be incredibly touching.
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