I'll go ahead and knock out the 'normie that watched anime on TV twenty years ago' list.
I've got a handful of others I've seen and liked, plus some older and newer ones I plan to watch. But I need to really branch it out a little.
In no particular order, I think...
Love to see FLCL up there
One of my all time favorites.
I verge on calling it my favorite, but I feel like Bebop or Eva could also take that spot pretty easily.
(edit: I hate to feel the need to clarify that I mean the ORIGINAL 6-episode show FLCL, and not the 4 extra seasons of tacked-on bullshit that Adult Swim cooked up.)
I see you grew up in the 90s
You got me! 😅 Well... Was there really a better time for anime?
I am quite fond of some of the 80s (Gunbuster and Z Gundam are cool!) and 70s (Lupin the 3rd and Galaxy Express 999) shows.
Other honorable mentions from my favorites: Ghost in the Shell SAC+2nd gig, Diebuster, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Tatami Galaxy, Ping Pong, Kaiba, Trigun, Trava First Planet, Space Patrol Luluco... too many more to name.
Last year was pretty great too, with GQuuuuuuX, New Panty and Stocking, and CITY!
I think I've got some unconventional choices there but if you're looking for something new I would recommend any of the above. Space Battleship Yamoto 2199 in particular is spectacular.
Mushishi is a great one. Love the calmness of that show.
Mushishi is my favorite show to watch when I'm sad or bleh. I have the intro song favorited on my playlist too. It's called the Sore Feet Song and it's weird and wonderful
The whole soundtrack is another piece of art at the level of the anime. And indeed, Sore Feet Song is wonderful!
Oh shit I forgot about Mushishi this one calms the soul
1 - Redline
2 - Cowboy Bebop
3 - Clevatess (so far)
4 - Gungrave
5 - Yu Yu Hakusho
Runners up:
Dragon Ball (not Z at all), Akudama Overdrive, Summertime Rendering
Teenager me liked way different list but idk if I could say if any aged well from my PoV like Trigun, Outlaw Star, Blood+, Kill La Kill, Gurren Lagann, Armor Hunter Mellowlink... many more. Not that I mind if it's cheesy. I started watching One Piece at 35 years old lmao.
Red-liiiiiiine, red-liiiiiiine, directed by Takeshi Koike wiki-wikiwiki-wiki.
Technically a movie and not a show, but also one of my all-time favorites. :)
I love Trigun, and I think the characters and world-building hold up today, but the show definitely gets a little shoddy just before the end. Tsuneo Imahori's soundtrack for Trigun is incredible.
I think Gurren Lagann also holds up. There's a couple lulls in the show for sure, but overall it's got great action and drama and some amazing animation set-pieces. (I never liked Kill La KIll that much.)
Going back to Outlaw Star is tough, imo, it's waaaay cheesier than I remembered it being.
I pretty much never rewatch anything but I've rewatched steins gate and steins gate 0 about 3 or 4 times because it's such a good show and they tie in so well despite being in alternate realities to each other. Edgerunners was what got me into cyberpunk and now I'm obsessed with it. Initial D is what got me into car culture, it's a bit dated and I've never rewatched it but eurobeat paired with 90s JDM cars battling down a mountain is amazing. Dimension W is a good story but the only reason I chose it over something like Dr Stone or Rising of the Shield Hero is because I really like the 2000GT that the main character drives.---
Ohh cool to see Dimension W mentioned, it surprised me with how enjoyable it was -- of course the car helped!
I am copying down some of the animes listed here. Thanks.
Wait. Does Castlevania count? If so I put that as my last entry instead.
Recency bias go!
Hard to decide, but trying to put some variety into it, no particular order:
Do you recommend The Eccentric Family? You can see what animes are my favs, also I commented them here.
From your list, I've only watched Inuyashiki, which I do like, but it's pretty different. That said, it's a series I'd recommend to most people. It has a little bit of everything: Drama, comedy, slice of life, action and above all, a ton of well-written, interesting and, well, eccentric characters. Definitely helps if you like Japanese folklore and mythical creatures as well.
If you've watched "The Tatami Galaxy", that's by the same author and kind of has the same feel and philosophy. But The Eccentric Family has a more coherent narrative and is a bit more down to earth.
Sailor Moon
Apothecary diaries
Dragon Ball
Reincarnated as a slime
Dan da dan
Obviously the first of those is a have to, rest is to be changed as it comes and goes :D
In no order.
Disclaimer: I've only watched like 10-20 so I can't exactly say it's the best of all animes
Steins Gate
Spy x Family
Death Note
Code Geass
I don't think I really watch enough to fill out all "top 5"
Honorable mentions:
I get very picky about watching stuff, so if the premise reads slightly boring, I don't watch it. Which is precisely why I only have about a dozen or so Animes watched.
No order:
Also I would add One Piece, but particularly, I'm not a fan of the anime series. I'm a constant reader of its manga, making theories and so on.
These are ones I end up rewatching with pretty regular frequency. I don't claim they are the best, but they are what I enjoy the most.
In no particular order (subject to change):
While it wouldn't make my top 5 probably Shangri-La Frontier is top 20 for me, it's way better than it should be given the premise!
Tbh SLF came to mind probably due to some recency bias, I could list something else. However it pushed a nostalgia button for me -- bygone carefree days of playing WoW for too long, as well it felt refreshing to have a fun series with mystery and stellar animation that didn't have world ending stakes.
(subject to change)
~~Future Gadget~~ Lemmy Comment 204 "Top Anime List" - List subject to edit
Im ready for the hate, but I content myself that I've gotten through these before having kids:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Hellsing
Voltron (80s, I think I saw them all)
Serial Experiments: Lain
And since having kids:
Neon Genesis Evangelion
One Punch Man
In no particular order:
Inuyasha
Cowboy Bebop
Trigun
FLCL
Fullmetal Alchemist (OG, not Brotherhood)
Lemmy! Give me your power to overwrite everyone's tier 0 choice!
Madoka
Frieren
NGE
Ghost in the Shell: SAC
Haibane Renmei and/or Serial Experiments: Lain
Cowboy Bebop, FME:Brotherhood, Steins:Gate are good too. 5 is not enough.
In this thread, people reveal their high school graduation year.
Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Gundam Wing, Dragon Ball Z, Ghost in the Shell.
Any guesses?
2001-2005
Honourable mention: Kemono Friends (a show based on a bad mobile game, kids oriented, does not deserve to be that good, but it is)
In no particular order
And if the rest of the season is as good as the pilot episode, Journal with Witch. I've been waiting for the episode to comes out so I can hear what Asa was singing before the Bieber joke. It was delightful.
Eh, I'll throw Sword of the Demon Hunter there aswell. I'm in my mid 30s so I don't really care about battle scene as much, though I wish it got better animations. You could say the story is similar to Frieren, though not as tight.
Yugioh, Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, Devil May Cry (2025), nichijou, Noragami
Devil Man Crybaby
Berserk '97
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Hamtaro
Ninja Scroll
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