I wanted to write about my favorite anime, so I did. I made this list to both give you guys a look into my personal taste and to hopefully encourage some people to check out some of these shows. If you want to a full list of all the anime I have seen and my rankings of them you can check out my list here: https://myanimelist.net/animelist/SethBalser
10) Domestic Girlfriend
Guys, this is a one for me. I love this show. This show is perfect for those of us who want that Grade A spice deluxe in our anime. Honestly sometimes I think about how Kei Sasuga got into my head to create this absolute banger of a premise. Natsuo loves Hina, Hina is his teacher, he meets Rui and she brings him to her place for a one night stand, Natsuo’s dad is getting remarried, his new wife has two daughters who will be coming to live with them, and you guessed it her daughters are Hina and Rui. I don’t want to get into it too much here because I plan on writing a lot about this show and manga, but best believe that IT IS SPICY. Through that premise alone you might think that this show is just messy, but I promise you that there is a lot of heart and all of the characters are fantastic. I highly recommend watching this show, but just know that to get the entire story you will have to read the manga, which is also great. (There is also an ending, but I’m gonna need all the space for that.)
9) Inuyasha
Is Inuyasha one of the 10 best shows I’ve ever seen? No. But it makes this list because I’ve spent more time watching it than I can remember. For a 10 year stretch this was my show. Built around a love triangle between a half-demon dog man, an undead priestess, and her future reincarnation (yes I absolutely love a love triangle) this show grabbed both my action and romance loving sides. Yes it’s more of a procedural type show than my other picks and the original run doesn’t really have an ending, but when this show hits, it absolutely slaps.
8) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
We’ve all heard of FMA. For most of us it was our bridge from childhood shounen to teenage shounen. I love the original Fullmetal Alchemist, but I can’t in good conscience put it over Brotherhood. In this show we get not only the struggles of Ed and Al, but also a deeper more textured story of loss, war, and redemption. Depravity and beauty are explored in equal measure as we journey through Amestris meeting people from all over who have been disenfranchised and trampled by a fascistic, military government run by self interested goons. While the ultimate conflict with Father may not be all that deep the show around is. However I’m still team Rose no matter how little she’s in this version.
7) March Comes in Like a Lion
I love a show about a prodigy. Our protagonist Rei Kiriyama is a depressed, 17 year-old Shogi prodigy living on his own in Tokyo. He has become disillusioned with life as a pro Shogi player and is just searching for meaning in an empty world. Fortunately for him he meets three sisters who bring him into their lives and bring back some of the humanity into his life. In 2 seasons we see Rei begin to restart his life, going back to school, making friends, and rediscovering his love of Shogi. The show is visually stunning as the animation uses visuals to get us into the moods of its characters. Please watch this show and let your emotions wash over you.
6) A Silent Voice
Just watching this trailer again has put me in the feels cycle. From its first moments this movie has you. We meet our main character Shouya Ishida, on a day when he has something he has to do. That something; die. That’s right if you thought you were going to be eased in you were wrong. Of course he doesn’t kill himself, but after some flashbacks into his past where you see him bully Shouka Nishimiya, a deaf girl in his elementary class, you kind of wish he had. When we jump back to the present we see Shouya try and o make amends for the pain he has caused as the movie reckons with how everyone was affected. The question this movie asks is whether redemption is even possible from such a vile act and whether even if it is, does Shouya even want that. This is a truly beautiful movie that I recommend to anyone still rocking with their humanity.
5) Beastars
Beastars begs the question; why aren’t we all furries? Yeah I don’t mean to simplify what is a great and truly human story about a world of anthropomorphic animals, but hot damn these animals can get it and they do. These mammals fuck. Following Legishi, a wolf uncomfortable with his size and strength, we are brought into this world of herbivores and carnivores as they try and sometimes don’t, to coexist. This show also continues the lineage of Lola Bunny with a sexy lady rabbit named Haru who has been isolated from the rest of the school because of her popularity with boys. Legoshi falls for her, but can a predator and prey be together? Also there’s a chain smoking panda with a crossbow. Also, and I truly mean this, Legoshi could eat me for lunch any day. I mean DAMN! I also advise not to hit the skip intro on this one as it has one of the greatest Op’s you’ll ever see.
4) Digimon Adventure (season 1)
Story time; twas the fall of 2000 and young buck wanted just one thing from his mother, to see the Digimon movie. After what must have been a relentless onslaught from the child his mother relented. And after sitting through an Angela Anaconda skit, was the greatest experience of my life. What I’m sayin is this is my childhood. From the first moment I saw this show I was completely in. When I was a kid I had a whole bunch of Digimon toys and me and a friend used to play with them all the time. The only thing I’ve ever bought on eBay were some janky burned dvds of the first 2 seasons of the show. I cannot separate my love of this show from who I am, that is how foundational this show is to me. Also the first season didn’t do my guy Tai dirty yet, I still believe in you and Sora.
3) Your Lie in April
I know this will sound obvious as this is my 3rd favorite anime, but hot damn I love this show. Remember when I said I love a show about a prodigy? Well here’s another one as we follow Kousei Arima, a piano prodigy who lost the ability to hear the notes after the death of his mother. Everything changes when he meets Kaori, a violinist. She brings color back into his world. We follow Kousei as he struggles to rediscover the piano and also to open himself back up to the world. I will warn you to prepare yourself for maximum feels with this one. I’d be remiss not to mention my favorite character from the show, Tsubaki. She is Kousei’s neighbor and longtime friend and her emotional journey was the highlight of the show for me. Guys I’m begging, please watch this show.
2) Fruits Basket (2019)
My god I love this show. Nothing else is able to just control my emotions like this show. I do want to specify that I am talking about the remake and not the original. Tohru Honda is the purest character of all time and any word against her means fisticuffs. While there is a supernatural element to the show it is at its core incredibly human. Dealing mostly with depression and loneliness (I really have a type huh) this show can get you at any moment and with any character. If you haven’t seen this show then you’re hurting me and you don’t want to hurt me. You don’t want to hurt me right?
1) Code Geass
Ah yes my number one. There was never going to be a different choice. For those not in the know the show follows Lelouch Lamperouge as he sets out to change the world with the power of Geass that was given to him by the mysterious C.C. This show is part mecha action, part political thriller, and part human suffering as it explores how far is too far to go to achieve your goals even if they are noble. This show is like a 50 episode long thought exercise on the half measures speech from Breaking Bad. Another draw for newcomers is that you will never find a show with a better ending. The real draw of the show is Lelouch as we follow him on his journey. I don’t want to write too much about here because I will be devoting an entire article to him later, but be aware that he is my favorite character from fiction. For the others I’ve been begging you to check it out, but honestly if you don’t check this one out you’re just punishing yourself.
Thanks for reading this article. Please comment if you have seen or want to see one of these shows. Thanks for reading.