Anime/Manga Recommendations and Requests

Author: whiteflame

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whiteflame
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A few years back, I took a sort of scattershot approach to reviewing and recommending anime and manga series I'd liked over the past couple of years, as well as some of my all-time favorites. I had intended to keep it up after that, but honestly, I thought my approach was too wordy and not directed enough. Maybe someone got something out of reading those reviews, though I don't think many people read them.

I have since seen individual requests for recommendations, and I think making this more dedicated to that could improve on what I was originally aiming for and narrow the focus.

So, instead, I'm going to just set this here to create a space for recommendations and requests for recommendations. I'll expand on this in future posts on this thread with some entries of my own with a focus on genres, and I'll also try to include some sections for style and more unique, hard to characterize storytelling. People can feel free to add to this in an ongoing fashion. Hopefully, with the help of anyone who wants to participate, we can get a running list of recommendations (I'll try to keep up compiling them) and answer any requests that come up.
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If we ignore the shows missing Letterboxd or Serializd ratings, then the top 10 are:

1. Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood
2. Cowboy Bebop
3. Hunter x Hunter
4. Attack on Titan
5. Monster
6. Steins; Gate
7. Vinland Saga
8. Gintama
9. Berserk
10. Ping Pong The Animation
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@Savant
I mean, it's not a bad list, but it's also not very directed and just focuses on stats. Hell, I've seen the vast majority of the ones in the top 50 and I'd say there's definitely a range of quality and enjoyment that would put some of them well out of my favorites. Popular scoring doesn't necessarily equate to being a good pick for anyone.
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@whiteflame
I'm recommending to a crowd, not any individual person. Hence the aggregate rating approach.
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@Savant
Fair enough.
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@whiteflame
I for sure recommend Dandadan!

Other than that, my top anime by far is still World Conquest Zvezda Plot, even tho I have been waiting 10 years for season 2 and it never happened. Apparently, the anime which strongly insults smokers isnt very popular in Japan where there are plenty of smokers.
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There is also manga of World Conquest Zvezda Plot, but I couldnt find it anywhere in English.
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Taboo Charming mother is one I have watched over and over. Good plot. 
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@WyIted
Hentai out the gate, eh?
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@whiteflame
Not an anime fan but hentai seems like the only ethical porn. 

I will say I enjoyed death note and solo leveling and one punch man but not much into anime. 

I watch the one piece with my son because he plays Blox fruits which mimics the show and we have something to bond over. When I am too lazy to help him with animation, game design or coding anyway. 
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Taboo charming mother has won awards and is still popular 2o years after it was made. Don't sleep on it. .

I recently heard if something called humonculous. May look intonit
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@WyIted
Not an anime fan but hentai seems like the only ethical porn.
Not sure how is it ethical to promote animated incest and rape.
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@Best.Korea
Not sure how is it ethical to promote animated incest and rape.
It should be banned on Debateart.
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@Shila
It should be banned on Debateart.
I was just wondering about how hentai is ethical.
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@whiteflame
#1. Mairimashita! Iruma-kun! - You may've seen stills of the anime and been turned off by the weird, perhaps cheap art, but this is actually really good, and it's the only non-romcom I've been reading consistently for the last few years. It's like early-entry Harry Potter that doesn't get too dark, while still being serious and fresh enough to be entertaining for the adult reader.
Plus, it'll last you a heck of a long time, with 377 chapters. Don't be intimidated by this, and remember that you're free to drop any manga you find boring. But my guess is you won't be bored.

#2. Takarakuji de 40-Oku Atattandakedo Isekai ni Ijuu Suru - This is about a random dude who won the lottery in Japan, found a portal to an isekai world that he can cross into and leave at any time, and he spends his fortune helping this primitive civilization develop itself. Like, at one point he's teaching the Medieval princess how to fill out spreadsheets on Excel, though for the most part he helps them gradually move up the tech tree by their own efforts. My only warning is that the English translation basically stops around Chapter 66, leaving this story incomplete.

#3. Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - I discovered this one a few months ago, and it was weird and amazing. It did the Kara no Kyoukai "broadcast out of order" thing about a year before Panoramic View came out, and it did it well. My only regret is the lack of new content after the movie. Watch the anime for this one, and do not skip the "Endless Eight".
In a nutshell, this eccentric chick is God and doesn't consciously realize it, so aliens, time travelers, and psychics from across the universe have converged on her location to quietly monitor her and keep her from destroying/remaking the universe on an unconscious whim.

#4. Kanojo mo Kanojo - A trashy romcom but one that's fun and clever. Read the manga, not the anime.

#5. Milgram - An anime music video series that you can find on YouTube. There's a group of 10 "prisoners". Each sings a total of 3 songs, hinting at the murder they committed.

#6. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War - A video game released for the Super Nintendo in 1996. An old-school Japanese RPG with incredibly deep lore, albeit constrained by the low memory and storage of the SNES.
You can play it online by downloading a SNES emulator, such as Snes9x, and then a ROM for this game with an English translation patch. Trust me, I'm a complete blathering idiot with zero computer literacy skills but I figured it out by myself in one evening, and you can too. I played it on a laptop, but reportedly you can set it up on mobile if that's more up your alley.
The game took me about 2 months to finish (I mainly played it at night), and then it had a 99 chapter manga by Mitsuki Oosawa, which is a deep dive into the events of the game. The manga does get a little freaky at times, as it's done in the style of a 1990s shoujo and the game itself does have some weird plot points which the manga heavily emphasizes, but if you can stomach that, then it's a pretty good read up until the end of the game's first act (c. Chapter 60). The chapters are pretty long, so don't let the whole "60 chapters" bit fool you. This will take you a little while.

#7. Silver Plan to Redo from JK - A story about a woman who wasted her life, and entered her 50s in a state of homelessness. She dies and reverts to her teenage self, back when her family was still rich (the 1990s economic crash bankrupted them). Her original self was a heartless spoiled brat but she resolves to be better and live frugally. Basically a real-world take on "reformed villainess" storylines. I enjoyed this manga quite a bit, and it hasn't ended yet.

#8. No, Miyahara, Not You - An innocent fluff-piece about some kids. An enjoyable read, though there's not a lot of chapters.

#9. Ascendance of a Bookworm - Just try it. It was different and fun.
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@Best.Korea
I was just wondering about how hentai is ethical.
Learning Japanese will help you make better judgement.
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@Shila
Kento shite
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@Best.Korea
Kento shite
Can you complete your sentence.
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@Shila
Can you complete your sentence.
I am  just combining words and hoping it makes some sense.

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@Best.Korea
Can you complete your sentence.
I am  just combining words and hoping it makes some sense.
So even your Japanese in incomplete.
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@Shila
So even your Japanese in incomplete
Its one of the hardest languages to learn and I have a learning disability.
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@Best.Korea
So even your Japanese in incomplete
It’s one of the hardest languages to learn and I have a learning disability.
How did you rate your IQ above  120 with a learning disability?
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@Shila
How did you rate your IQ above  120 with a learning disability?
Its a memory issue. I forget things easily, and have difficulty remembering, which is why I write down a lot.

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@Best.Korea
How did you rate your IQ above  120 with a learning disability?
It’s a memory issue. I forget things easily, and have difficulty remembering, which is why I write down a lot.
Just writing down a lot to help you remember doesn’t increase your IQ.
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My IQ is significantly above 120 and I have a documented learning disability.  Not sure how I am simultaneously retarded and a genius or maybe I am so retarded that I think My IQ is high but really 160 is low or something. 

I think it depends on the day as to whether I am a retard or not
Shila
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My IQ is significantly above 120 and I have a documented learning disability.  Not sure how I am simultaneously retarded and a genius or maybe I am so retarded that I think My IQ is high but really 160 is low or something. 

I think it depends on the day as to whether I am a retard or not
We still have yet to see the genius side of you. But we agree about how you see the other side of you.
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@Swagnarok
Haven't seen many of these - got a couple I'm planning to get to - so I appreciate the recs! I have loved Bookworm, a great and different take on isekai.
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Alright, I think I'll start this off basic and go for just genre interests. This won't be the general "fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, etc.", but some more specific genres.

Noir: 91 Days (2016)

At a brief 12 episodes with a single episode OVA, this one's a quick watch. It's a revenge mob story and one that really revels in its time period (in the 30's during prohibition in the US) while taking you on some dramatic twists and turns. There's no supernatural elements and the story is told chronologically, so unlike Baccano!, I found myself getting really into this story as it sent me hurtling down numerous twists and turns.

Psychological Thriller: Perfect Blue (1997)

More of a classic pick here. This movie is a trip, and while other anime have portrayed the life of idols very well, this one might have done the best job making the experience horrifying. The animation still holds up, it's creepy and eerie in all the right ways, and it caught me off guard multiple times.

Heist/Caper: Great Pretender (2020)

I was tempted to put Lupin III in this spot, but it's hard to know where to onboard someone for that series. Great Pretender, by contrast, is a much more recent series with a set of characters who mesh together pretty poorly, but that's part of the point. As with the Oceans series, I was always fascinated to see their plots play out and there's some pretty exceptional character development to boot.

Western: Outlaw Star (1998)

There are more obvious choices for this slot like Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, which are both excellent in their own right, but this one needs a shout out. Outlaw Star is just a joy to watch with a lovable band of misfits flying through space on a ship with arms for some reason. The lead fires magical bullets from his gun and their enemies are often straight up wizards. This weird mix of sci-fi and fantasy hooked me back when it aired on Toonami and it's still one of my favorites.
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Bakugan and Beyblade
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Bakugan and Beyblade
Trump would pick Canada and Greenland instead.