Anime

My Short List of Must Watch Comedies

I will be having a nice little block of time in a couple of weeks and I want to relax and just have some fun. And since I have this draw to comedy I thought I would make it a comedy vacation. Here is my showerlist:

  1. Golden Boy
  2. Seitokai no Ichizon
  3. Mayo Chiki!
  4. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
  5. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
  6. Morita-san ha Mukuchi
  7. Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi
  8. Detroit Metal City
  9. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
  10. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
  11. Kore ha Zombie Desuka
  12. Natsu no Arashi
  13. Hayate no Gotoku
  14. Seitokai no Ichizon
  15. Magical Witch Punie-chan
  16. Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan
  17. Ouran High School Host Club
  18. Wagnaria (I want to finish with Working! It's good but a bit silly from time to time)

Some of them I have watched a couple of times, while others will be new to me.

Anime

The Anime Movie List

You might find something that doesn't suit your taste on the list because it is pretty broad and there are some loved/hated works in there as well as a couple of older ones that have been told time and time again. If you encounter one that just doesn't work for you watch it anyway, they often change up and come at the topic from a different perspecitve when you least expect it.

Sci-fi

  • Akira (Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Military)
  • Ghost in the Shell (Mecha, Sci-Fi, Police, Psychological)
  • Redline (Action, Cars, Sci-Fi, Sports)
  • The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi)
  • Jin-Roh (Drama, Romance, Military, Police, Psychological)
  • Memories (Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Psychological)

Fantasy

  • Wolf Children (Fantasy, Slice of Life)
  • Princess Mononoke (Action, Adventure, Fantasy)
  • Howl's Moving Castle (Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance)
  • Nausicaä (Adventure, Fantasy)

Mixed

  • Paprika (Mystery, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Psychological, Thriller)
  • Castle in the Sky (Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi)

Other

  • Saint☆Young Men (Comedy, Slice of Life)
  • Spirited Away (Adventure, Drama, Romance, Supernatural)
  • Summer Wars (Comedy, Sci-Fi)
  • Sword of the Stranger (Action, Historical, Samurai)
  • Tekkon Kinkreet (Adventure, Psychological)
  • Tokyo Godfathers (Comedy, Drama)
  • Colorful (Drama, Slice of Life, Supernatural)
  • Grave of the Fireflies (Drama, Historical)
  • Kara no Kyoukai (Action, Mystery, Supernatural, Thriller)
  • Perfect Blue (Drama, Horror, Psychological)
Anime

Fun for the Whole Family

Humor is key so I picked out a couple of comedies that may make a good point of introduction for anime noobs.

Lucky Star

First we have Lucky Star which is a natural fit for this.

It's very family friendly, no bad language, no real fanservice, and is really funny. The problem is that most of the humor comes from the references to other anime, especially Haruhi and other 80s-early 00s anime.

It's still funny even without that, but many of the jokes are a lot funnier if the context is known.

Cromartie High School

Cromartie High School is very funny and has no nudity, very little violence, and a moderately low amount of swearing if I suggest you watch it first to see if it's something that would be okay for your family though.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is often overlooked as a comedy.

It has a fairly small amount of fanservice and is a great introduction to the rest of the world of anime.

I can only really think of a few problematic scenes that may make this an uncomfortable anime to watch. However, I will say that they are all extremely short and don't really show much.

My Bride is a Mermaid

My Bride is a Mermaid is a great rom-com with very light fanservice (again, just a couple of scenes that aren't very long at all) and has compelling characters and a decent dub.

I know that some people say that My Bride is a Mermaid's dub is bad, but I think that it is wonderful if not fantastic.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is a fantastic fit for this, but it isn't dubbed yet. The dub was announced not too long ago. It might be worth picking up once it does get dubbed.

And to conclude our list, anything staring Crispin Freeman. He has just enough snark to make anything really a fun, humorous option that is really well dubed. Yay, Crispin!

Anime

Baka and Test

Baka and Test is one of my favorite comedy anime, and I know that this will not be popular with some of the fans. Only in the dub. The english dub is so good, if not for only the sole reason that is the English narrator who actually has a bigger role in the anime. The narrator gag is well, awesome, the placement was spot on and it adds that little extra to the show that you might not expect from a show like this.

One thing that makes Baka and Test more appealing is that they smash the fourth wall frequently and this doesn't even take you out of the show. Acttually much the opposite, it draws you further in.

This show I honestly one of the most hilarious anime I have ever seen.

It plays with the dead horse jokes that any fan has seen and makes them fresh and letting you laugh at them from a different perspective. But as I said, if you watch this, I would definitely watch the dub. I know why people like watching it subbed, for one, the voice acting is fantastic and you can tell they really had fun recording the episodes. I read that they added some of their own great jokes and that is a good sign that they got into the roles and were able to have some great take aways from working on it.

Anime

100 Years of Anime

In celebration of 100 years of anime 30 critics voted on the top anima of all time. Each critcis was asked to vote for what they consider the best anime ever as well as the best director from the last 100 years (the complete history of anime).


The list is repritined here:

Best Anime of All Time

1st: Neon Genesis Evangelion(1995) – 14 votes

2nd: Mobile Suit Gundam(1979)– 11 votes

3rd: Space Battleship Yamato(1974) – 9 votes

4th: AKIRA(1988) – 8 votes

5th Place – 7 votes

  • Kumo to Tulip(1943)
  • Astro Boy(1963)
  • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica(2011)
  • In This Corner of the World(2016)

6th Place – 6 votes

  • Castle in the Sky(1986)
  • GHOST IN THE SHELL(1995)

7th Place – 5 votes

  • Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer(1984)
  • Grave of the Fireflies(1988)
  • Your Name(2016)

8th Place – 4 votes

  • Legend of the White Snake(1958)
  • Space Runaway Ideon(1982)
  • Revolutionary Girl Utena(1997)
  • The End of Evangelion(1997)
  • Spirited Away(2001)
  • Voices of a Distant Star(2002)

9th Place – 3 votes

  • Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji(1963)
  • The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots(1969)
  • Heidi, Girl of the Alps(1974)
  • Future Boy Conan(1978)
  • My Neighbor Totoro(1988)
  • Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)
  • Mind Game(2004)
  • The Tale of the Princess Kaguya(2013)

Best Director

1位 / 38票

  • Hayao Miyazaki(Spirited Away, Nausicaa)

2位 / 20票

  • Isao Takahata(Grave of the Fireflies
  • Yoshiyuki Tomino(Mobile Suit Gundam)
  • Hideaki Anno(Neon Genesis Evangelion)

5位 / 19票

  • Mamoru Oshii(Ghost in The Shell)

6位 / 10票

  • Kenzō Masaoka(Kumo to Tulip)
  • Leiji Matsumoto(Space Battleship Yamato )
  • Makoto Shinkai(Kimi no Na wa, Hoshi no Koe)

9位 / 9票

  • Sunao Katabuchi(In This Corner of the World)
  • Akiyuki Shinbo(Madoka)

11位 / 8票

  • Katsuhiro Otomo(AKIRA、MEMORIES)

12位 / 7票

  • Osamu Tezuka(Astro Boy、Black Jack)

13位 / 6票

  • Gisaburō Sugii
  • Masaaki Yuasa(Mind Game)

15位

  • Taiji Yabushita
  • Osamu Dezaki
  • Kunihiko Ikuhara(Revolution Girl Utena, Sailor Moon)

18位 / 3票

  • Yugo Serikawa
  • Kon Satoshi(The Perfect Blue, Paprika)
  • Kimio Yabuki
  • Mamoru Hosoda(Wolf Children, The girl who leapt through time)
  • Masaaki Ōsumi(Lupin III)
Anime

Hataraku Maou-sama!

Translated it actually means "The Devil is a Part-Timer" which makes sense when you learn about the shows gag:

The Demon Lord Satan Jacob seeks to conquer the world of Ente Isla by annexing its four continents with the help of his demon generals Alciel, Lucifer, Malacoda, and Adramelech.

After being confronted by the hero Emilia Justina and her companions after they killed Malacoda and Adramelech, Satan Jacob and Alciel escape the world of Ente Isla through a gate to modern Tokyo, Japan. However, due to the lack of magic in the modern contemporary world, both Satan Jacob and Alciel change into forms representing what they would look like if they were human. In order to survive, Satan Jacob takes a part-time job in a fast food restaurant named MgRonald while Alciel serves as his houseman.

One day, Satan Jacob, who now goes by Sadao Maō, meets a girl who is actually Emilia in the form of Emi Yusa. The story then unfolds and explores the personalities of each of the characters and their moral values. More characters show up from Ente Isla and they too face the new world dilemmas, often comically.

When you actually sit down and watch the show you will see that it tends to read more like a sitcom – great play on fantasy-meets-real-world cliche, and such dry, situational humor.

Anime, Manga

From the Start: Made in Abyss

I will be honest, Made in Abyss hooked me from the very first episode. I mean, the worldbuilding, the music, the gorgeous scenery, everything about it was wonderfully directed and it really draws the viewer in and puts them on the edge of their seat.

One reason is is so good is because it takes every effort to draw you in with a show don't tell approach that I feel a lot of shows just ignore. Everything about it makes you want to know more. No matter if it is a tidbit abot their world or finding out how the protagonist continues their adventures.

I would really like to say that this is "the" new series, but it is still new. It will be hard to say if Made in Abyss will continue on, but it definitely has an amazing first episode.

Anime

The Best Character Development

1.) The Twelve Kingdoms

When I watched it years and years ago it was the first time an anime blew me away with its character development and it will always have a special place in my heart.

Youko's growth is wonderful.

2.) Anohana

And I actually didn't realize how good the development of the characters were in Anohana until recently, because it happens so seamlessly.

But then, in preparation for the dub's release, I went back and rewatched the first episode, and realized just how good they were. I honestly want more episodes!

The series felt so short and I didn't feel like I got to fully understand the characters.

3.) My Hero Academia

It was incredible watching Izuku grow from a very insecure guy to the madman that he has become was captivating. Then there is Todoroki, who has good character development as well, and if the anime keeps adapting the manga I can say that many more get developments that will rock the story to its core.

Avatar the Last Airbender

Avatar the Last Airbender is on the line between anime and western animation but I think it has some of the absolute best an animated series has to offer. No matter what you look for in a series you will find it in ALA and this includes character development.

Anime

English Dub!

My favorite English dub is for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya but there have to be mor, right? Sure:

  1. Death Note
  2. Fate/Zero
  3. Code Geass (except for Nunnaly)
  4. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
  5. Cromartie High School

But seriously, check out Haruhi Suzumiya if you are looking for a great watch! Also you might want to start the list off with a re-watch of Ghost in the Shell the English dub for the movie is not as good as the other's that I have listed, but it will help you move into Stand Alone Complex, which is much better.

Anime

Three Anime for New Viewers

Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate is set in the summer of 2010, approximately one year after the events that took place in Chaos;Head, in Akihabara. Rintarō Okabe attends a conference on time machines when he discovers the bloody remains of Kurisu Makise, a renowned researcher whom he met earlier.

Following this incident, Rintarō experiences various unusual events, leading up to his urge to test a machine he created to — apparently — travel back in time.

I will say this first, this is the best time travel story I’ve ever seen.

Despite all of the alternate timelines and sci-fi pronouns Steins;Gate keeps its story relatively easy to follow and stays true to its world’s rules without making any plotholes.

That alone is impressive but it wouldn’t matter so much if you didn’t care about these characters. Though I do like the second half more than the first, the slower first half needed to be there in order to get you attached to all these people so that the dramatic second half would have the necessary weight and emotional impact.

Okabe makes for an entertaining protagonist who can have you on the floor laughing one second and in tears due to his suffering the next. Like many others on this list Steins;Gate covers a wide range of tones.

This series offers a number of iconic moments I will not soon forget.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood adapts all 27 volumes of the manga, unlike the first television series. Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric are raised by their mother Trisha Elric in the remote village of Resembool in the country of Amestris. Their father Hohenheim, a noted and very gifted alchemist, abandoned his family while the boys were still young, and while in Trisha's care they began to show an affinity for alchemy.

However, when Trisha died of a lingering illness, they were cared for by their best friend Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako. The boys traveled the world to advance their alchemic training under Izumi Curtis. Upon returning home, the two decide to try to bring their mother back to life with alchemy. However, human transmutation is a taboo, as it is impossible to do so properly.

In the failed transmutation that results, Al's body is completely obliterated and Ed loses his left leg. In a last ditch attempt to keep his brother alive, Ed sacrifices his right arm to bring Al's soul back and houses it in a nearby suit of armor. After Edward receives automail prosthetics from Winry and Pinako, the brothers decide to burn their childhood home down (symbolizing their determination and decision of "no turning back") and head to the capital city to become government sanctioned State Alchemists. After passing the exam, Edward is dubbed the "Fullmetal Alchemist" by the State Military, and the brothers begin their quest to discover the nature of the fabled Philosopher's Stone, under the direction of Colonel Roy Mustang.

Along the way, they discover a deep government conspiracy to hide the true nature of the Philosopher's Stone that involves the homunculi, the alchemists of the neighboring nation of Xing, the scarred man from the war-torn nation of Ishval, and their own father's past.

The first couple of episodes of the Brootherhood series are what got me into anime in the first place though I didn’t finish the whole show until years later. What I did instead was begin reading the manga before subsequently discovering Brotherhood, which showed me how good shonen adaptations could be.

They don’t have to be drawn out and full of filler, you can take the Brotherhood route and adapt the full manga with gorgeous animation and solid pacing that communicates the scale of the story without being needlessly lengthy.

Brotherhood has a bit of everything, good action, characters, romance, mystery, voice acting, adventure, darkness, inspiration, comedy, music, and epic moments galore.

Gurren Lagann

Gurren Lagann takes place in a future where Earth is ruled by the Spiral King, Lordgenome, who forces mankind to live in isolated subterranean villages. These villages have no contact with the surface world or other villages and are under constant threat of earthquakes.

Selected villagers called diggers are conscripted to expand their homes deeper underground. Simon, a meek young digger ostracized by his peers, finds solace in his best friend and older brother figure, an eccentric delinquent named Kamina. Kamina encourages Simon to join his gang, Team Gurren, to help him achieve his dream of visiting the surface world. One day, Simon unearths a drill-shaped key called a Core Drill, followed by a small mecha resembling a face called a Gunmen.

Shortly thereafter, a huge Gunmen crashes through the ceiling and begins attacking the village, followed by a girl named Yoko, who attempts to repel the Gunmen. Simon uses his Core Drill to activate the smaller Gunmen (which Kamina names Lagann), and it is used to destroy the larger Gunmen and break through to the surface world.
Read the rest of the plot

The most inspirational piece of media I’ve ever encountered.

I remember watching the two recap movies back to back with friends and the palpable excitement and energy in the room after it was over. The show rises to such ridiculous heights yet it stays focused on that core theme “believe in the you that believes in yourself.” Simon is utterly confident that humanity can constantly evolve little by little and surpass any obstacle in their path.

The hype is off the charts, the action is amazing, the characters are likeable, and the show has a strong thematic core.

Add that all up and it is hard to beat.