Top 10 Anime List (Woohoo!)
So I was inspired by my friend @dragonclaw29 to do one of these since he does one yearly and all that so here we go!
Oh man was this anime a trip. While the ending is somewhat lackluster and rushed, the first 10 and a half episodes truly are a treat to decipher. The weirdly paced mystery feel and the odd order of events leads to the good kind of confusion where you really desperately want to be able to figure out what’s happening and how all of the small clues and hints fit together. Again, the show itself ends somewhat badly (hence why it’s not higher on my list), but if this list were a top 10 media experiences, the whole project that it belongs to, Kagerou Project, would be at the top. With a manga, light novel series, music video series, tv specials, and anime (with a second season in the making), there are plenty more secrets to uncover and better put together media regarding this storyline to consume. Definitely would recommend (plus the songs are catchy).
I uh…don’t really have much I can say about this one. No words that I could put together on this page would fully explain why I love this anime so much without me having to completely break down the entire storyline. It’s full of confusion, mystery, dark themes, terror, questions of what humanity is and what it can create…basically all the ingredients for a great but confusing anime. If you’re the type of person who likes to repeatedly have their mind blown as new information is uncovered (and be slightly creeped out in the process), then this is the anime for you.
As a change of pace from Paranoia Agent, let’s talk about Shounen Maid. And yes, I know what you’re thinking. “Shounen Maid…doesn’t that mean ‘Boy Maid’? This is gonna be some weird fetish thing, right?” And you would be WRONG! As weird as the title makes the show sound (and as weird as the premise may seem), Shounen Maid is really just 13 episodes of pure adorable bliss. It’s about finding a family in a world where you think you have none and learning to accept life as it is, even when it’s really hard. If you’re looking for a cute, funny, light anime to watch and cry about, please consider this one.
7) Sweetness and Lightning
As the title (and the gif) might suggest, this is another really cute one. Similar to the last one, this one’s also about building a family, but in this case it’s about reuniting a family broken by grief and hardship. The little girl, Tsumugi, and her father go on a journey to bring happiness back to their house by learning how to cook together, and making some great friends along the way. It’s so, so cute, and it’s thoroughly engaging even if the main tension in the episode is whether the donuts are going to burn in the oil or not. Again, if you’re looking for a cute, mellow show, give this one a shot.
I’m pretty sure this one’s reputation probably precedes it. Up until fairly recently, I was really hesitant to watch this one simply because I had heard that it was so gory, dark, and disturbing. While those descriptors are all accurate at various points (although ‘gory’ might be a bit strong of a word to use), the anime itself is much more of a “make you think” anime than anything else. The concept behind it is fascinating, the art is the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see, and the characters – even if there are new ones every episode – are so well developed that you’ll remember every single one after the fact. If anime that make you question the concepts of morals and core beliefs are your jam, this one should definitely be on your list if it isn’t already.
I absolutely LOVE this show. It was SO hard to have to put this at 5 out of 10 just because the characters and storyline are SO GOOD. This is another one of those anime where you see the title and thing “…servant vampires? Oh boy, more weird vampire porn.” And again, that is not the case. Servamp is a dark and incredibly well written action anime about war and self-discovery (kind of a weird combo, but whatever). The character arcs in this show are just so damn good, and the character design and voice acting are absolutely superb. If you’re looking for a good action anime that doesn’t just follow the same tired formula and you don’t mind vampire warzones, this one might be worth a try.
When I first started watching this show, I never would have expected that I’d like it so much. There’s weird unnecessary nudity, the pacing in the initial few episodes is wonky, and the characters are presented as if the author expects you to already know who they are. However, as you press on, the series gets more and more intriguing. Admittedly, the first season is much better than the second, but both are absolutely worth the watch. The first season is another sort of mystery to solve, as the viewer has to piece together weird clues regarding what exactly happened to the main character’s memories. The second season has no mystery to solve (too bad :/) but the character dynamics and the art, as well as the questions raised by this season’s new threat, definitely make it worth your while. Also, a word to those who are interested: don’t forget to watch the movie in between the two seasons. Nothing in season two makes any sense if you accidentally skip the movie.
3) Assassination Classroom
This is another show that I hemmed and hawed about actually starting. I mean come on, the main premise of the show is this giant yellow octopus asshole shows up to be a middle school teacher with the caveat that his students have to try and kill him. What kind of weirdo watches a show like that? But surprisingly enough, the show transcends that premise pretty quickly. Instead, it becomes an individualized self-realization and growth based show for each student in class 3-E. Yes, even the unimportant ones whose names you might not even know. It’s absolutely incredible. It’s funny, it’s got good life lessons even for adults, and it’s just a great show overall. 10/10 would recommend to literally anyone ever.
2) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
I’m gonna be honest guys gals and nonbinary pals, I had to just randomly pick a gif from this show because there’s too many fucking good gifs. This show is phenomenal. It was one of the first anime I ever watched, and man am I glad it was. it’s a great shounen anime that really packs a punch where it counts. There’s a great overarching story, great character development, and FANTASTIC representation. You’ve got the best cast of badass ladies in anime history, you’ve got multiple physically disabled characters (including the main character!), you’ve got a wartorn nation realizing the horror of what it’s done, and so so SO much more. If you haven’t seen this absolutely incredible anime, you really need to. It’s a classic foundational shounen anime that your list is simply incomplete without.
This show is literally my depression show. Whenever I’m dealing with the depressive symptoms of my mental illness, I watch this show and it has never ever failed to cheer me up. It’s a heartwarming tale of a teenage boy named Natsume and his troubles dealing with the youkai world that he just so happens to be able to see and interact with. However, it also follows his journey of (you guessed it) finding a family, learning how to make friends, and generally repairing his life after having been emotionally and verbally abused for his entire life up until now. He’s just…such a good bean guys. Please watch this show, nobody’s heard of it and it’s so, so good. I mean look at him. He bundle.
If you got all the way here, thanks for reading my list and humoring my unnecessarily long ramblings of how much I love anime. Hopefully this’ll give you guys some new shows to check out, or maybe just some cool gifs to be like “woah that’s cool” for a few seconds before moving on with your day. Whatever you do, I hope you enjoyed my dumb post :)
