ACrankyOldMan's avatar

ACrankyOldMan

  • Auckland, New Zealand
  • Joined Mar 14, 2018
  • 45 / M
sort

Amazing shows...

I've been around anime for more than 30 years but I've only really been binge-watching for the last few years. I normally have quite low expectations when it comes to the plot of an anime so it's normally the art and animation style that pulls me into watching it. Great animations normally mean a minimum of a 6, the great characters or plot means that a show can earn up to an 8 rather easily but anything above that just means that it's a great total package.
1 Bakemonogatari

Bakemonogatari

The whole series is just extremely consistant. Amazing dialogue, awesome characters, unique art direction, gorgeous animations... An almost perfect package.

2 FLCL

FLCL

Chaotic show, amazing characters, a fucking dope soundtrack and an insane  artstyle. If I was still a youngling I would have never understood the story but its art and characters would have still pulled me in. I want more... Specially want to see more Haruko.

3 Durarara!!

Durarara!!

What an amazing group of characters, all extremely well developed. Every character on the show has a purpose in the story with all of them being connected in one way or another.

4 Vinland Saga

Vinland Saga

Plenty of violence, bloodshed, political mind games, an intriguing story, and some excellent character developoment! A must watch...

5 Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

I love how positive the show is along with gorgeous animations and brilliant character design. 

6 Kyousougiga

Kyousougiga

An interesting story that confuses the fuck out of you in the very beginning. Some of the most amazing and unique characters around.

7 Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Teenagers struggling with being socially accepted and scared of ending up alone. Not to mention that the show has one of the best couple interactions I've ever seen.

8 Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

One of the better fantasy series out there with a pretty big, unique and awesome cast.

9 Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop

Everything about this show is amazing. Crazy in depth characters, amazing world building, solid music and a production quality that everybody will admire.

10 Baccano!

Baccano!

There haven't been many shows where I legit feel that every character you're being introduced to has something magical about them. The dialogue is sharp, the main plot is well developed and I also truly appreciate the way the story is told. The whole atmosphere is amazing, they really captured New York from the 1930's really well.

11 Kill La Kill

Kill La Kill

Would you ever recommend something that's lewd as fuck? Not really... Would you ever recommend Kill la Kill eventhough it's lewd as fuck? Fuck yes. For anybody that loves drawing this show shows some of the most insane animations around. And the cast and character development is just amazing.

12 Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai

Bad ass characters and amazing scenery with cool beats. The fight scenes are extremely well animated.

13 Akira

Akira

Akira is simply the most gorgeous and well animated movie ever created.

14 Berserk

Berserk

The Conan the Barbarian of anime. Berserker is told in a super dark way where demons and super natural creatures roam freely in the world, destroying man kind and where every human being is only in it for themselves.

15 Dororo (2019)

Dororo (2019)

Samurais and demons, you can't really go wrong. A really strong start and finish with a somewhat slow middle part but the concept is pretty solid.

16 SSSS.Gridman

SSSS.Gridman

I'm normally not a huge fan of shows that contain Kaiju monsters attacking cities that need to be defended by giant super heroes but this show does it with a twist. 

17 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I really enjoy shows that make you think and this is one of them. An overall fun what-if concept with plenty of goofy moments and over the top characters.

18 My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

First season is very much about social studies with a low key romance plot. As the show progresses its way into season 2 there is a lot more focus on the romance and the main characters growing through hardships with each other. It's a show that doesn't play all its cards in the first season, the secrecy is what makes you curious and wanting to see more. At the time of writing, the story feels like it didn't even get started yet and is left with a rather open ending. Still was a great watch but I do wish this show gets picked up again and gets a finish that it deserves.

19 your name.

your name.

A gorgeous movie about a boy and a girl from different times swapping bodies and trying to figure out why they're connected.

20 Aachi wa Ssipak

Aachi wa Ssipak

Aachi and Ssipak is a strange but well animated movie about popsicle juicybars coming from places where the sun don't shine and using them as an energy source.

21 Made in Abyss

Made in Abyss

Absolutely gorgeous anime with great world design, interesting characters and an extremely dark undertone.

22 Hyouka

Hyouka

A very cool show about 4 totally different personalities trying to solve little daily life mysteries together. Eru is a very curious girl who just wants to know everything, she keeps asking Houtarou to help her solve mysteries but he rather just wants to spend time doing absolutely nothing. Their two friends, Satoshi and Mayaka, join them on their little daily adventures.

23 Highschool of the Dead

Highschool of the Dead

Let's get the most important thing out of the way, I'm a huge zambie fan and I love me some boobies. This is one of those shows that seemed to be made for me. I feel the zombie part of the show is top-notch, the art is pretty amazing and the characters seem pretty well put together. As said, I don't mind a bit of fanservice but... this show went sadly a little overboard. Still extremely enjoyable but I just wish they had balanced it all a little better to make it an even better experience.

24 Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo

What a classy journey to find the samurai that smells like sunflowers. Trippy beats, gorgeous animations with great main characters.

25 Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Flat

Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Flat

One of the few harem shows that actually really entertained me and was put together quite impressively..

26 Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei

A dark comedy about topics that make most people feel unfomtable but presented in an entertaining way.

27 Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

It's a love letter to animation and performed with that same love.

28 Black Lagoon

Black Lagoon

The A-team of anime... I love Revy, what a dope character in a pretty cool created world full of criminals and creazy characters.

29 Mekakucity Actors

Mekakucity Actors

Colorful characters with a street style look and feel to it. It feels like a love child by the Monogatari and Durarara series, which are 2 of my favourite series on the list. Not of the same quality, the show has a lot of issues, but there is a certain charm to Jin's work. I wouldn't normally recommend this series to people, unless I know what art and animation style they're into.

30 FLIP FLAPPERS

FLIP FLAPPERS

A gorgeous show that feels like a Studio Trigger style show but isn't. Filled with amazing action and an excellent story.

31 A Silent Voice

A Silent Voice

A story that will hit you right in the feels. A depressed teenage boy regrets bullying a deaf girl, who then tries his best to make up for all the pain he caused, resulting in the deaf girl feeling that it was all her fault instead. This movie is just an emotional rollercoaster with some excellent characters, some of those will absolutely make your blood boil...

32 Occultic;Nine

Occultic;Nine

Supernatural conspiracies with great animations and a great cast.

33 Space Patrol Luluco

Space Patrol Luluco

This show caught me by surprise but I was all in from the start and I really want more of it.

34 Sarazanmai

Sarazanmai

An extremely well-animated show with tons of interesting plot twists that doesn't mind playing with your heartstrings either.

35 Kokoro Connect

Kokoro Connect

This show doesn't fuck around and jumps straight into it. 5 friends who think they know each other are forced to go through supernatural events, resulting in learning about each other's secrets.

36 Deca-Dence

Deca-Dence

A very unique show with an interesting take on the whole 'living in a different' world' concept. It's goody but it can get extremely dark at times too. And I really loved its bright characters!

37 Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

World building wise it's pretty awesome and it's got some excellent animations to go with it.

38 Dorohedoro

Dorohedoro

Not the most interesting story but the cast itself is absolutely amazing. Dark humour, a bit of gore... and a baseball episode, and you've got a dope show.

39 Wonder Egg Priority

Wonder Egg Priority

A modern take on the magical girl genre where young girls go out of their way to save young girls who have experienced something traumatic in their lives. A lot of people didn't like the very last episode of the series, feeling that it ruined the whole experience, but I personally didn't feel that way myself. 

40 Sonny Boy

Sonny Boy

Animation wise it might not be the best series on this list, but this is such a unique package that it deserves to be mentioned.

41 Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion

It took me a bit to really appreciate the characters to their fullest since I couldn't relate to the characters at all during my first viewing, but I have always appreciated the show for its animation style so Evangelion was already a great watch from the start. There is something about Evangelion that keeps pulling you back in and you really want to understand everything that's going on, which results in you just appreciating the franchise more and more.

42 Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

A Cartoon Network style animation that was extremely popular in the early 2000s, but a lot raunchier.

43 My Dress-Up Darling

My Dress-Up Darling

Everything about this show is fun. From the relationship that forms between our two main protagonists, along with the stuff we learn about the cosplay world.

44 Call of the Night

Call of the Night

What are vampires? And, how do I become one?

Comments

You must be logged in to leave comments. or

ramomnf Oct 31, 2023

Gonna put some of these shows in my to watch list

captivus Nov 18, 2018

Hm ... It's hard to pinpoint what you like and dislike based on the list ... based on anime watched section I'd suggest checking up:

<h5> </h5>

Arakawa Under the Bridge

One of the weirdest things I've ever seen. A classic story: a boy is ambitious, he starts a company, gets stranded on a bridge losing his pants and gets saved by a homeless insane girl who thinks she's from another planet. The boy gets smitten. His rival in love is a guitar playing guy who dresses like a flower. He is one of saner of the new neighbors of the pants-loosing boy. A must see.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Suicidal teacher and his weird class. The show starts pretty strange (in a good way) and from episode to episode and season to season gets more abstract and meta. Funny as hell though and a great watch.

Welcome to NHK!

This is an anime about a guy who is seriously insane. Based on the animation I think he has schizophrenia. Every one of the main characters is bizarre in his or her own way. What's fun the show takes the 'everyone is a weirdo' premise quite seriously even though the series does have lots of comedy elements to them.

Youjo Senki: Saga of Tanya the Evil

Evil corporate guy dies killed by a guy he just fired, denounces God when he asks him if he believes in him and as a sentence gets turned into insane evil loli captain girl commanding semi-German troops during semi-World War I. So .... you know ..... same old, same old. I really liked the animation, and the protagonist is pretty interesting so if you have time to spare this series will not disappoint

Welcome to the Ballroom

This is one of my favorite anime series ever - and I'm speaking as a person with no interest in dancing whatsoever.

First, the story is great. It's structured perfectly in over twenty episodes during which the main protagonist (and the viewer) gradually meet quite a group of well-developed characters. Competitive dancing is the core of the storyline but it's shown through several tournaments which creates tension and excitement even if someone (once again - like me) isn't all that interested in dancing.

Second, the characters are interesting and every single one of them has an arc that he or she complete by the end of the season. The main protagonist is very talented and learns how to dance very fast but his progress is realistic and doesn't break suspension of disbelief. The show pulls off a difficult task of introducing several characters right in the middle of the story in a way that doesn't make them one dimensional or just plain boring. 

What's more: the animation is just plain stunning.

All in all: it's a great series and one should definitely check it out even if You're doing it just for the animation and the tournaments.