Manga & Anime Recommendations

Since the few series that I followed ended/aren't likely to air soon, I wanted to get some recommendations on current or future anime to look for - shonen or seinen. At first I prepared a long post, but eventually I decided to settle for something simpler.

I would like an anime on par with Hiromu Arakawa when it comes to characters. As in, well-written and multi-layered, who throughly avoids cliches (especially the sexist ones). I have already seen both Fullmetal Alchemist and Gin no Saji (both series are among my personal pantheon), and don't want to watch Arslan because I am reading it first.

So, any suggestions? Aside from those two shows, my "best list" includes Nodame Cantabile, Ghost in the Shell S.A.C, and slightly lower Full Metal Panic!, Baccano! or Black Lagoon.

edited 18th Feb '16 1:41:20 PM by Julep

If you like Baccano, then Durarara is probably worth a look, as it's by the same guy. (I haven't actually seen either, though both are on my to-watch list.) For the sort of stylized ultraviolence combined with some good plotlines based on factional politics like Stand Alone Complex and Black Lagoon, I'd recommend Mobile Suit Gundam 00 or Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.

Gundam 00 is unabashedly Super Robot (the main plot has a grand total of four Gundams posing a legitimate threat to the entire world, dominated by three global superpowers), but it's not at all campy and has good character drama and interesting political plots in addition to some great fight scenes. The second season drops much of the political element in favor of kicking the action into overdrive. It's a significant shift, but both seasons are very good at what they do.

Iron-Blooded Orphans is much more down to earth, focusing on small, intimate skirmishes rather than grand battles, but is far more brutal (the total bodycount is certainly lower, but instead of a mecha vaporizing in a fairly sanitary beam blast or explosion, they show you pilots being mangled when their mecha is smashed to pieces by an enormous warhammer or they're skewered by a pneumatic stake designed precisely for piercing cockpit armor). The plot revolves around a group of mercenary Child Soldiers being forced to strike out on their own, and forced to maneuver (both politically and militarily) between rival mercenaries, out-and-out criminal organizations, the government military forces, and their own backers.

Durarara is available on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll. Gundam 00 is available for free on Gundam's official YouTube channel. Iron-Blooded Orphans is currently still airing, but has a variety of viewing options, which are summarized in the first post in our thread about it. (Unmarked spoilers in that thread, so use caution if you start browsing.)

edited 19th Feb '16 5:45:27 AM by NativeJovian

Thanks, I have never watched any Gundam show, I will give that a look!

Although my Netflix does not have Durarara!! due to probably coming from another country than yours. I'll find a way.

If you've never watched a Gundam before, I'd recommend 00—while it admittedly doesn't excel in any one area, it's just a generally very good show. Decent writing and great production values mean it's generally incredibly solid, and it's very intentionally constructed to work well as an introduction to Gundam as a whole.

Durarara should be on Crunchyroll for free in both sub and english dub versions, so that should also work for you.

Anyone knows some high fantasy anime?I watched Record of Lodoss War 3-4 times,and I didn't like Berserk,so something other then those? -About Gundam recommendations,I would suggest people to start with 08th MS team or War in the pocket just to get a feel for the franchise.Or alternatively After War Gundam X is also great for beginners.Thou they will miss some of the shout outs to UC shows.

edited 22nd Feb '16 12:01:31 AM by 8Kids

High fantasy... maybe Grimgar? This is actually very rare in anime for some reason

For the Gundam thing, I think the fastest way to get a feel for the franchise would be the SEED movies

I know its rare... Grimgar im not really sure about.its more RPG then high fantasy.And thats just not my thing.

edited 22nd Feb '16 2:25:44 AM by 8Kids

If folks are looking for a recommendation about Gundam specifically, I'd suggest asking in our Gundam thread. There's 20+ different entries in the Gundam franchise, the Gundam thread is probably a better venue for discussing where to start than this thread is.

I liked Ouran High School Host Club, Kyo Kara Maoh, and Kamigami No Asobi primarily because of the pretty boy male harem (whether it be one girl surrounded by guys or one guy surrounded by guys that are romantically interested is fine). Also, non annoying main character is a must so definitely not Diabolik Lovers or Amnesia.

edited 22nd Feb '16 1:18:52 PM by WriterGirl2015

If by "high fantasy" you mean fantasy that takes place in another world, features magic in some form, and has a plot with an epic scope and an adventure element... go watch Fullmetal Alchemist if you haven't already. Watch the 2003 version first, however: The first ten episodes of the remake glaze over most of what happens over the course of thirty-five in the first series, and not in a good way.

Thinking more traditionally, the new revival of the Arslan series is, I have been informed, quite good but flawed. Spice And Wolf is also interesting, although it's not so much about the fantasy element as, well, economics and the two main characters just being people.

Oh, and I almost forgot...

Yona Of The Dawn is apparently excellent, and curiously satisfies the requirements of being both a well-written high fantasy series and a relatively subtle reverse harem. Same goes for Snow White With The Red Hair, to a lesser extent.

I don't know about High Fantasy, (aside from Lodoss of course,) but if you're a bit open, there's Mobito: Guardian of the Spirit, and The Twelve Kingdoms. Both are Low Fantasy in the sense that neither deals with extradimensional embodiments of evil and the like, but at the same time, they still take place in highly fantastical settings and have plenty of action and adventure. Well, somewhat, because the focus in both of these shows is more on Character Development and political intruigue, but if you like fantasy, then I think you'll get a kick out of both of these shows.

Oh yeah; I forgot about {{Slayers.}} Admiditally, that one's more of an action comedy, but it's still got plenty of fantasy tropes, and it's a blast. It's definitally one to check out if you're a fantasy fan, so long as you don't take it completly seriously.

I watched FMA,I found Brotherhood better IMO.And first few seasons of Slayers.I guess I exhausted the genre.Thanks for all the recommendations anyway.

I actually mentioned four other series, but of all of them The Heroic Legend Of Arslan and perhaps Yona Of The Dawn seem most up your alley.

Hey, looking for a 25-50 episode long shonen/seinen. Don't really care what, just something new that I haven't watched. Maybe something along the lines of FMA/Brotherhood. I've watched a lot of the well-known popular stuff, so try not to recommend the triple A anime, probably because I've seen it already.

edited 26th Feb '16 10:37:20 PM by chcoman123

^Get Backers maybe?Thou second season is just filler,be warned.

I dunno what constitutes Triple A anime. Is Blood Plus included? Wolf's Rain?

edited 26th Feb '16 11:30:19 PM by Elfhunter

Triple A, as in the stuff everyone has heard of. Like FMA, Attack On Titan, Gurren Lagann, basically anything you see pop up within the first 50 (just an estimate) or so results of the "popular" section of hulu.

edited 27th Feb '16 11:05:00 AM by chcoman123

I started Heroic legend of Arslan.Its okay.Just okay.

Yeah? I heard that it's a remake created by the same person who made FMA, so I was considering watching it.

Sorry to hear that, but I don't blame you. I've never seen it myself, but I have seen Legend Of Galactic Heroes, which is based off a book series written by the same guy who wrote the original Arslan novels, Yoshiki Tanaka. Tanaka's speciality is war stories with a historical flair; that is to say, rather than being historical fiction, they're instead inspired by the general flow of history itself. With Tanaka, you can expect big epic sagas with Gray-and-Gray Morality and political intriuge at the center, and the same probally applies for the Arslan series. I love that kind of stuff myself, but it's not for everyone.

EDIT: ...And after just seeing the first two episodes for myself, yeah, it's exactly as I thought it would be. Again, I love it, but it's not for everyone.

edited 27th Feb '16 1:11:24 PM by kkhohoho

@chcoman123: Well, we don't get Hulu here, so I don't know if my suggestions are on the top 50 (I guess Wolf's Rain might be). I'd like to know if they are.

edited 27th Feb '16 10:54:22 PM by Elfhunter

Hey guys, I'm looking for a good romance show. Preferably something where the people involved start out antagonistic towards each other. For reference, I ship Haruma X Eiri from School Rumble.

edited 2nd Mar '16 8:43:05 AM by CDRW

I would like something that 1) is lighthearted, 2) has enough twists to be interesting and 3) is long enough to hold my interest for at least a month.

Hmm, I don't have any idea what kind of genres you like, so I'm going to recommend Nodame Cantabile.

edited 7th Mar '16 4:34:47 PM by CDRW

Like how long we talking about? 13, 26, 52 episodes? Something like Gundam Build Fighters might work.