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rinjaI'm so glad I have writing ideas again, but honestly my brain has turned into a 'must edit everything I say/do' machine so nothing ever comes of it except lots of moaning lmao. I know it's because of my job and where I work, but idk.
So to deal with some kind of creative outlet that involves writing things, and because I've been a source of recommendations for some of my friends/family of late, here are 10 (semi-)recent anime titles I've recommended out since I plowed through or rewatched a bunch while still at home. Just in case anyone happens to stumble across this. Might do a few more rounds of these in the future since this is kinda fun idk.
Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba)
studio: Ufotable
shounen, action, historical, drama
Yeah, I'm one of the many people who got sucked into this one last year. Totally fell in love with this series. It's not so much that it's anything unique or particularly new, but it's a really well-told story with super compelling characters and relationships, and the animation is drop-dead gorgeous. It prompted me to actually buy and read the entire manga series (ughh MY HEART), which means I'm gonna need tissues for the movie when I finally get to see it in a few weeks. Can't wait for Season 2 as well. Highly recommend this one.
Jujutsu Kaisen
studio: MAPPA
seinen, action, supernatural
This is a hot new series standout too, I know everyone's super up in this business right now but really it's for a good reason. Think if Naruto was aimed at a much older audience, in a modern setting, and was darker, grittier, gorier, and weirder? Maybe? I don't know how to describe this one, but the characters were the real draw for me. Gorgeous animation, too. Plus, it's only one season in so far, so y'all have time to catch up.
Horimiya
studio: CloverWorks
romance, slice of life, high school
("And now for something completely different...") Okay so I'm probably way too old to be watching high school romance series, but this was so gosh darned cute and (mostly) wholesome. I'm not sure if this is a completed short series or if it's getting additional seasons later, but I absolutely loved it. Super sweet.
Yona of the Dawn (Akatsuki no Yona)
studio: Pierrot
fantasy, romance, action, drama, pseudo-historical, reverse harem
Yeah yeah so this one is many years older but you know what? I didn't see it until lockdown. It took a few episodes for me to really get into it, but once I did, I absolutely loved it to the point that I am actively buying the manga as it's released in the US. Really wish they'd continued the anime because the story just gets better and better in the manga. Yona is probably one of my favorite recent female leads because of her character growth, and Hak is just... so great, okay? He's great and I love him. Definitely has a reverse-harem thing going on to some extent, and I knew that going in, but I surprisingly didn't find it annoying because I ended up liking all of the characters. Really enjoyed this one.
Promare
studio: Trigger
action, sci-fi/fantasy, mecha
If you've ever seen Gurren-Lagann, it's the same studio, and it shows lmao. I saw this in theaters twice, back before COVID, and the experience was such a blast! This movie is just tons of ridiculous fun, though they cover some really interesting subtopics while it's at it. Really fun soundtrack, lots of bright and wild colors, really distinctive style, great characters, and really just a rompin' good time. Also, Galo is best himbo and you can't convince me otherwise. #GaloLio4Life
Tsurune
studio: Kyoto Animation
sports, slice of life, high school
Well, I guess this classifies as a sports series. If you've seen any sports series, this really does hit on a lot of the themes that most sports series do: team building, interpersonal relationships, perseverance, etc. Basically, the stuff that reminds me of my own experience playing team sports and it makes me all nostalgic, even if I never did the sport in question. It's a series about a high school archery (kyūdō, specifically) club, and it's sooo pretty. Really love the character-building, and some of the general rivalry that tends to come with doing something competitive feels really genuine. I know this is a few years old too, but have to recommend it. I really hope they continue this one with additional seasons.
given
studio: Lerche
slice of life, music, romance, drama
I don't even remember how I stumbled across this one, but I got sucked in really fast. Beautiful, sweet, and melancholy bl romance centering around music. There's a follow-up movie that's also very much worth a watch. For a bl series, the relationships feel a little more natural with a lot less of the tropey 'seme/uke' dynamic that was much more common back in the day (though there's one incident in the movie that definitely took me back there, except I liked how they handled the fallout). I hope this one gets continued too, I feel like the actual storyline is just getting started, and there's so much that's still left unresolved between some of the major characters. Super refreshing and a good watch.
91 Days
studio: Shuka
historical, mafia, drama, revenge
Not to be confused with the much more recent '19 Days' Chinese manga series, haha. I watched this one a while back, and it's several years old now, but honestly I don't see anyone talking about this series like ever. Basically, it's a revenge story set in a fictitious US town during the Prohibition. Definitely strong Count of Monte Cristo vibes here, though it's not a direct adaptation of that story. Super melancholy and dark, and the animation is drop-dead gorgeous. It's a fairly quick watch since it's a fully contained story in one season.
Fruits Basket (remake)
studio: TMS/8PAN
drama, slice of life, supernatural, romance
Okay, so I loved the original Furuba, and I'm not quite all the way caught up on the remake just yet but it's definitely reminding me of why I originally fell in love with the series. They freshened up the look & feel a bunch and it's still a great series. Wonderful characters, and it covers some surprisingly heavy themes (like abusive relationships, perseverance through tragedy, etc.) with a lot of heart. Also, it's a fun approach to the Zodiac concept. If you never watched it before, the remake is a good entry point.
Run with the Wind
studio: Production I.G.
sports, drama, slice of life
Yeah, this one is a few years old now, and I watched it quite a while back, but I still love it. It's a rare sports series that takes place at a university instead of a high school, and follows a university track club that's basically being rebuilt from the ground up (and includes a bunch of guys who unknowingly got bamboozled into joining by signing a dorm rental agreement). Lots of fun, great relationships and characters, and honestly who thought a series about running would be at all compelling?
And in my queue to watch super soon... here are 5 that I haven't started watching yet but am v. excited to dive into:
- SK8 the Infinity
- To Your Eternity
- Blue Spring Ride
- Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood
- Violet Evergarden
So to deal with some kind of creative outlet that involves writing things, and because I've been a source of recommendations for some of my friends/family of late, here are 10 (semi-)recent anime titles I've recommended out since I plowed through or rewatched a bunch while still at home. Just in case anyone happens to stumble across this. Might do a few more rounds of these in the future since this is kinda fun idk.
Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba)
studio: Ufotable
shounen, action, historical, drama
Yeah, I'm one of the many people who got sucked into this one last year. Totally fell in love with this series. It's not so much that it's anything unique or particularly new, but it's a really well-told story with super compelling characters and relationships, and the animation is drop-dead gorgeous. It prompted me to actually buy and read the entire manga series (ughh MY HEART), which means I'm gonna need tissues for the movie when I finally get to see it in a few weeks. Can't wait for Season 2 as well. Highly recommend this one.
Jujutsu Kaisen
studio: MAPPA
seinen, action, supernatural
This is a hot new series standout too, I know everyone's super up in this business right now but really it's for a good reason. Think if Naruto was aimed at a much older audience, in a modern setting, and was darker, grittier, gorier, and weirder? Maybe? I don't know how to describe this one, but the characters were the real draw for me. Gorgeous animation, too. Plus, it's only one season in so far, so y'all have time to catch up.
Horimiya
studio: CloverWorks
romance, slice of life, high school
("And now for something completely different...") Okay so I'm probably way too old to be watching high school romance series, but this was so gosh darned cute and (mostly) wholesome. I'm not sure if this is a completed short series or if it's getting additional seasons later, but I absolutely loved it. Super sweet.
Yona of the Dawn (Akatsuki no Yona)
studio: Pierrot
fantasy, romance, action, drama, pseudo-historical, reverse harem
Yeah yeah so this one is many years older but you know what? I didn't see it until lockdown. It took a few episodes for me to really get into it, but once I did, I absolutely loved it to the point that I am actively buying the manga as it's released in the US. Really wish they'd continued the anime because the story just gets better and better in the manga. Yona is probably one of my favorite recent female leads because of her character growth, and Hak is just... so great, okay? He's great and I love him. Definitely has a reverse-harem thing going on to some extent, and I knew that going in, but I surprisingly didn't find it annoying because I ended up liking all of the characters. Really enjoyed this one.
Promare
studio: Trigger
action, sci-fi/fantasy, mecha
If you've ever seen Gurren-Lagann, it's the same studio, and it shows lmao. I saw this in theaters twice, back before COVID, and the experience was such a blast! This movie is just tons of ridiculous fun, though they cover some really interesting subtopics while it's at it. Really fun soundtrack, lots of bright and wild colors, really distinctive style, great characters, and really just a rompin' good time. Also, Galo is best himbo and you can't convince me otherwise. #GaloLio4Life
Tsurune
studio: Kyoto Animation
sports, slice of life, high school
Well, I guess this classifies as a sports series. If you've seen any sports series, this really does hit on a lot of the themes that most sports series do: team building, interpersonal relationships, perseverance, etc. Basically, the stuff that reminds me of my own experience playing team sports and it makes me all nostalgic, even if I never did the sport in question. It's a series about a high school archery (kyūdō, specifically) club, and it's sooo pretty. Really love the character-building, and some of the general rivalry that tends to come with doing something competitive feels really genuine. I know this is a few years old too, but have to recommend it. I really hope they continue this one with additional seasons.
given
studio: Lerche
slice of life, music, romance, drama
I don't even remember how I stumbled across this one, but I got sucked in really fast. Beautiful, sweet, and melancholy bl romance centering around music. There's a follow-up movie that's also very much worth a watch. For a bl series, the relationships feel a little more natural with a lot less of the tropey 'seme/uke' dynamic that was much more common back in the day (though there's one incident in the movie that definitely took me back there, except I liked how they handled the fallout). I hope this one gets continued too, I feel like the actual storyline is just getting started, and there's so much that's still left unresolved between some of the major characters. Super refreshing and a good watch.
91 Days
studio: Shuka
historical, mafia, drama, revenge
Not to be confused with the much more recent '19 Days' Chinese manga series, haha. I watched this one a while back, and it's several years old now, but honestly I don't see anyone talking about this series like ever. Basically, it's a revenge story set in a fictitious US town during the Prohibition. Definitely strong Count of Monte Cristo vibes here, though it's not a direct adaptation of that story. Super melancholy and dark, and the animation is drop-dead gorgeous. It's a fairly quick watch since it's a fully contained story in one season.
Fruits Basket (remake)
studio: TMS/8PAN
drama, slice of life, supernatural, romance
Okay, so I loved the original Furuba, and I'm not quite all the way caught up on the remake just yet but it's definitely reminding me of why I originally fell in love with the series. They freshened up the look & feel a bunch and it's still a great series. Wonderful characters, and it covers some surprisingly heavy themes (like abusive relationships, perseverance through tragedy, etc.) with a lot of heart. Also, it's a fun approach to the Zodiac concept. If you never watched it before, the remake is a good entry point.
Run with the Wind
studio: Production I.G.
sports, drama, slice of life
Yeah, this one is a few years old now, and I watched it quite a while back, but I still love it. It's a rare sports series that takes place at a university instead of a high school, and follows a university track club that's basically being rebuilt from the ground up (and includes a bunch of guys who unknowingly got bamboozled into joining by signing a dorm rental agreement). Lots of fun, great relationships and characters, and honestly who thought a series about running would be at all compelling?
And in my queue to watch super soon... here are 5 that I haven't started watching yet but am v. excited to dive into:
- SK8 the Infinity
- To Your Eternity
- Blue Spring Ride
- Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood
- Violet Evergarden
