Got any recommendations of anime?

[AkihitoSenpai]

So guys I just about hit my 100 series completed mark and I was wondering if anyone has any good suggestions to watch? I'm looking for anime that you thought were great. I would like it if you could mainly recommend Rom Com, I'm also fine with Action, supernatural, Horror etc.

 

For a further idea of what my tastes our look for AkihitoSenpai on AniList.

Edited July 8, 2018 by AkihitoSenpai

[Koby]

*moved thread to proper board.

[awesomedude20]

Gotchu.

 

You say romcom, but it seems a ton of your favorurites are shounen, so I'm gonna do that.

 

Sit down, strap in, because I'm gonna be dragging you through like 10 minutes of shit to read and watch so have fun with that.

 

Senki Zesshou Symphogear (MAL links at the bottom)

 

Now, most people when they hear the name, have the same reaction:

 

"the fuck is that?"

 

That or they google it before I finish talking and immediately judge me into the dirt, so uh, don't do that.

 

I'll begin with what this show is about. It's an action show, simple as that. It just so happens to be one of the most hype action series we've gotten in literally a decade, and it isn't even done yet, 5th season is set to air next year in April. So what sets it apart and makes it so "awesome" you may ask? Wonderful question.

I will not lie, it's pretty generic as far as the plot goes. But what makes it special, is that it is VERY aware of this fact, and abuses that to ramp everything up to 11 out of 5 whenever possible. You got a villain? Well villains gotta be supervillains that want to blow up the Earth. That's normal. But naaah, Symphogear be like "OUR villain wants to blow up the Earth.... WITH THE MOON!"

 

Etc.

 

My point is, it's simple, but extremely effective because of how it handles its simplicity. Sheer enjoyment for ages, maximum rewatch value.

So a thing about season 1, it suffered a bit. The entire show is an anime original, meaning it has no source material, and everything the anime does is based on what the studio wanted to do with it. This meant however, for season 1, this looked like just another Madoka clone, and they got a piss-poor budget to work with. And oh boy, did they ever manage with their budget. It's easy to see that the art suffered in areas, and there are a lot of animation shortcuts, BUT, they never did any of this with the action scenes. THOSE still look wonderful, and it's where they poured the majority of their budget.

 

Example:  https://sakugabooru.com/data/d2603013bab798fe27d96c5168d09811.mp4

 

Aside from the art though, season 1 is peppered with a variety of little problems that could maybe irk you, but aren't all that bad in the grand scheme of things. It remains a very fun show, but it isn't quite SYMPHOGEAR yet.

That's where season 2 bursts through the wall, on fire, to power metal, riding a bear.

So it turns out despite its flaws, season 1 sold ridiculously well over in the land of Japan, and so they opted to make a season 2. With budget, this time. And OH LAWDY did it ever pay off. Every single flaw season 1 had was simply budgeted out the window, and is effectively a vastly superior version of the show across the board. Better villain, better art, better music, better animation, even the plot itself was a little bit less cliche. But as I've yelled about, you watch this show for the action and nothing else, because that's what it is set out to do, and hoo boy, does it hit home.

 

Season 2 example: https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/db920e7443dac5bb7d6f5d3b36545c10.webm

 

This season is also the stage where the MC gets so busted OP her punches tend to generate explosions out of actually nothing. Like, the fiery kind. It's great. For reference, that link I JUST sent, the thing she punched does not explode like that. They turn to ash.

No need to go in-depth for the later seasons, the jump is FAR smaller in quality. However season 3's visuals do improve a little bit more still, with season 4 absolutely nailing fight choreography on top of having season 3's visuals.

NOW for the elephant in the room. You may have noticed if you DID go off and google the show, they sing as they fight. Now I understand your fear after reading that sentence!

 

"Ah gad damnit it's gonna be all cute n' shit with awful idol music and blaaaargh."

 

Allow me to show you this "cute idol-y music"

 

Celtic Theme: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0eQRI-UGefYbVZQcTMzYXJFTjQ

 

Oriental Theme: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0eQRI-UGefYUnNsS0tzY1dKTXM

 

Rock Theme: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0eQRI-UGefYNlpaYnh4eHlVNUE

 

So with those hopefully having been checked, I hope that's enough to show you that the show doesn't just toss in popular random idol-y j-pop songs about happiness and love as a gimmick for the show. No, every song is made FOR the show explicitly, sung by the voice actors of the characters themselves (like 3 or 4 of which are very established musical artists + Aoi Yuuki, just google her and check her roles in things.)

 

Finally, with all that being taken into consideration, I'm sure you're wondering how the music and the action mix together.

Well. They mix together well. It's like every fight is playing the OP to make the scene super awesome, just... this show has like 15 OPs I guess, if you look at it that way. And they eventually use the actual OP anyways and it's the most hype shit, anyways, I'm getting off topic, watch this shit and experience the feel of your chair smoldering and your eyes melting out as you experience ALL OF THE ANIME.

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4l936i

(Oh yeah, I covered up any spoilers, so if a black box appears, don't question it.)

 

~~~

 

Watch Order + MAL Links:

Symphogear

Symphogear G (where you want to get to no matter what.)

 >G Specials

Symphogear GX

 >GX specials

Symphogear AXZ

 >AXZ specials

 

(The specials are entirely optional, but they are hilarious, and do answer a few interesting questions that the show never got to delve into. The AXZ ones even hint at some possible season 5 plotpoints, so keep that in mind too.)

>Looks at all the bullshit I just wrote

Man I need a hobby.

 

~~~

 

Anyways, onto other recommendations! Less time spent on these.

 

Romcom:

 

Itazura na Kiss (drags for 7ish episodes, but picks up REAL quick after that.)

 

Mysterious Girlfriend X (Extremely weird, but equally good)

Tsurezure Children

 >And if you like that one, check out Momokuri (the TV version)

 

B-Gata H-Kei

 

Kimi ni Todoke (very slow, but not uneventful. Ending is satisfying)

 

Zero no Tsukaima (Basically the only harem that has a proper satisfying ending.)

 

Clannad (Followed by Clannad After Story, the 14th most popular anime on MAL. DO NOT watch season 1 as a romance, trust me. It's a drama comedy made with the intent to set up season 2. Watch it this way, and it will not disappoint.)

 

 

Supernatural:

 

Ghost Hound (Watch wearing headphones, this is important. Has no horror tag, but is the spookiest anime I've ever seen.)

 

Shiki (try not to read the genre tags. It won't kill you if you do, but I suggest not doing it. Spoilers. It is also horror though.)

 

Horror:

 

Blood-C (Imagine Corpse Party, but WAY more gore, and much more action. It's a ride. Also has a sequel movie to finish it off if I recall.

 

Blood+ (Unrelated to Blood-C plot-wise, it's 50 episodes, much less gore, and generally less of a horror, but the story is a HELL of a lot better.