Lusternian Anime+Manga 5 second reviews

Siam

Hi all! I know we already have a what are you watching thread, but I figured an anime thread would be helpful for those wanting an anime fix without having to go through movies/series/etc. So...

I'm currently watching(with shortdescs pulled from myanimelist.net:

• Ajin - Ajin is a supernatural anime full of complex ideas about life and death, as well as the dark side of human nature. What does it mean to truly be human?

I am a big fan of Horror/Psychological anime and I find Ajin to be superbly done. Comparisons have been made between Ajin and Tokyo Ghoul, and I can see why(mutations: check, pariahs: check, young leads: check), but their approach towards similar themes are different! I highly recommend this show.

• Musaigen no Phantom World - In Musaigen no Phantom World, Phantoms, beings that blur the line between illusion and reality, wander around right under the noses of unsuspecting humans. Their origins are mysterious and few can see themーthat is, until a research facility bombing spreads a virus that grants the ability to. Humans with special powers are given the task of sealing the troublemaking Phantoms.

I watch this mainly because the entire show is eyecandy incarnate. The plot has a lot of potential, but it hasn't been used much. It lightly touches on great themes but withdraws from fully exploring the possibilities. I recommend watching this if you're looking for a show that's easy on the eyes and light on the heart(while some anime can be too depressing - damn you, Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso).

• Erased - When tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma finds himself sent back several minutes before the accident occurs. The detached, 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon, which he calls "Revival," to save many lives. Boku dake ga Inai Machi follows Satoru in his mission to uncover what truly transpired 18 years ago and prevent the death of his classmate while protecting those he cares about in the present. 

I accidentally found this anime and found it pretty compelling! I was even more pleased when I found out that it's one of the more popular animes this season. This is a mix of time travel, detective story, and psychological thriller which is very tastefully done! I even cringed at one episode because I got drawn into the story without noticing it. Highly recommended.

• Nijiiro Days - The series details the lives of four main characters named Natsuki, Tomoya, Keiichi, and Tsuyoshi. They spend their days trying to have fun by finishing their studies and debating about romance. Natsuki, one of the main characters, has a crush on a girl named Anna at school, while others often get involved in their relationship.

This was another surprise as well! It's a shojou romance story told from the POV of the male characters. It's very light and enjoyable. I find the pacing quite good - nothing too drawn out or too quick. It's just right. Also a must-see for the feels and the laughs.

Lerad

Why is this tagged "very viravain"?

Because you mentioned shoujo, it reminded me of a show I'd like to recommend: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun.

5 second review: It is funny. It is cute.

Best heroine in this show:

Watch it. :-bd

Cyndarin

I've only rabidly watched Bleach and Attack on Titan.  :-??

Sylandra

Death Parade:
-You will have strong feelings and/or an existential crisis.

-If you like episode 1, you will like the whole thing, give or take episodes 6-7.
-The theme song is misleading.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica:

-You will become progressively more depressed, and strangely enough, more and more invested as the series goes on.

-Get to episode 3 before you make a judgment call.

-The theme song is very very misleading.

Higurashi When They Cry:

-Prepare for genre whiplash between super cute and super creepy/gorey/disturbing/oh god why am I still watching this.

-If you like the movie Groundhog Day, body horror, the creepy girl trope, and getting mindfucked, this show is for you. 

-Try to watch at least two story arcs to get an idea of the show format. (Unless you are squeamish.)

Rurouni Kenshin:

-The Shishio arc is all you really need to care about.

-No seriously.

Sailor Moon:

-Nostalgia purposes only.

-Dat dub. For why.

One-Punch Man

-I have no idea but my boyfriend is obsessed with it and insists everyone should watch it so here we are.

Dylara

I second the Higuarshi. It's pretty awesomely creepy.

Tarkenton

I enjoyed seven deadly sins. Over the top powers, some nice fights (the tournament is great), and enough anime boob on display without being displayed to stay tastefully sleazy.

Kalaneya

Polar Bear Cafe

-follow the every day lives of a group of animals with human traits mingling at a cafe run by a pun-loving polar bear

-If you like cute animals, look no further.

Daraius

Damn son sign me up.

Nienla

Not an anime person for the most part, but I'm always down for the relatively mature and gritty ones that aren't just a crappy gimmick at selling sex.

Finished Berserk just recently and enjoyed it massively. Ending of the trilogy felt a bit incomplete, but it was still good.

Favorite might be fate/zero for grittiness and decent story. Also enjoyed it because I'm a history person. Avoid fate/stay night if you like grittiness. It's just a harem story. Fate/Unlimited Blade Works was still good though.

Madoka Magica, despite SEEMINGLY being cutesy and annoying at the beginning, gets dark as hell three episodes in. Highly recommend. Was pleasantly surprised by this one.

Also enjoyed Psycho-Pass. Good crime thriller. Similar to the movie Minority Report in a lot of ways.

Also enjoyed Hellsing Ultimate and the subsequent abridged parody to it.

Attack on Titan is pretty known and widespread by now. I liked it.

Essentially, if we're dealing with Gen Urobuchi (who did a vast majority of the above that I mentioned), I'll generally like it because he avoids perversion and does good characters with dark, mature stories.

Chirbo

I watched Avatar the Last Air Bender, does that count

Shuyin

Watch Gurren Lagann and have your life changed. 

Then watch White Album 2 to have your heart crushed. 

Fit in Code Glass somewhere there too for entertainment value. 

 Of the current season, other than Erased, Grimgar and Schwarzesmarken are great too.

Arix

Sekirei: Boob pokemon

Daraius

Kalaneya said:

Polar Bear Cafe

-follow the every day lives of a group of animals with human traits mingling at a cafe run by a pun-loving polar bear

-If you like cute animals, look no further.

So uh, this is actually really amusing, but I can't help but wonder... Am I watching a little kids' show? Is this the Japanese equivalent of Nick Jr? Where penguins get blackout drunk and recite love poems?

Kalaneya

Daraius said:

Kalaneya said:

Polar Bear Cafe

-follow the every day lives of a group of animals with human traits mingling at a cafe run by a pun-loving polar bear

-If you like cute animals, look no further.

So uh, this is actually really amusing, but I can't help but wonder... Am I watching a little kids' show? Is this the Japanese equivalent of Nick Jr? Where penguins get blackout drunk and recite love poems?

It's based on a josei manga, so the target audience is young adult to adult women. If you decide to not finish it, at least check out episode 21.

Saran

Symphogear

Singing magical girls with vague lesbian tones. It's ridiculous, it's over the top. Their magical powers come from their songs. The random victims die as opposed to being magic'ed away or having their energy sucked out.

The first season is all about the power of songs, second is the power of holding hands, and I think the third is about the power of punching things. It's one of those ones where you either love it or hate it.

Lavinya

Chirbo said:

I watched Avatar the Last Air Bender, does that count

I watched astro boy when I was a kid. That's gotta count.

Lerad

Astro Boy was created by the official "Father of Manga". It can't not count, because it's... literally the Manga.

Siam

Shuyin said:

Watch Gurren Lagann and have your life changed. 

I cannot stress how much truth there is in Shuyin's words. Gurren Lagann is a mecha anime but it is more than that! Watch it!

I also suggest watching Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso(Your Lie in April). WATCH IT. Prepare lotsa buckets though!

Also, @Lerad, I tagged it as Very Viravain because loli. 

:-bd

Shedrin

Gurren Lagann is very good. Probably my favorite anime.

Another favorite of mine is Monster. It's a psychological thriller/crime drama, about a Japanese doctor that saves a kid who ends up growing to be a serial killer, and the doctor getting framed for several murders, and having to run from the law and catch the bad guy.

Recently I've been reading Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. I watched the anime adaptation a few months ago, and got hooked, then decided I wasn't patient enough to wait to see more of it. It's a show of high manliness, cool powers and fights, and fabulous poses. Split into different parts, so far 3 of 8 have been animated, and each part having significant differences from the others. Spawner of many memes and influenced a lot of other manga and anime.

Enyalida

Shinsekai Yori is good, if dark after the toneshift. It's like Madoka in that respect.

Bokurano is pretty dark right off the bat. It's yet another mecha anime that isn't about giant robots at all, in the grand tradition of Evangelion and company. Roughly speaking, it's actually about the dark impulses of human nature.

Rolsand

One Piece

Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Bleach

Divine Gate

Owari no Seraph 

Fairy Tail - They're currently going back to the start of the first guldmaster

World Trigger

Korogane no Peacemaker

Koruko no Basket ball 

 

I can probably name about ten more animes

Sylandra

Enyalida said:

Shinsekai Yori is good, if dark after the toneshift. It's like Madoka in that respect.

+9,000 to this. One of my favorite animes ever, if not my absolute favorite.

Chirbo

I am anime master okay

Avatar last airbender

pokemon

the orignal yu-gi-oh 

Cory in the House

the good ones

Alary

No. 6: Tastefully gay, adorable, and you need about seven and a half boxes of tissues. We've made people cry with it. You will hate me for even telling you about this series. Also less than 30 episodes.

Natsume Yuujinchou: Cute, cute, drunk cat, cute, ohgodsads, more sads, more drunk cat, some other sads, and cute.

Gundam Wing: the biggest case of nostalgia googles, dear god, I can't even rewatch it. It's so 90s.

Ghost Stories: FIND THE ORIGINAL ADV DUB. If you've ever watched videos of an anime with a talking black cat and crazy weird dialogue going on, this is what it was. They took a boring kids anime, told VAs to go to town, and ended up with the least kid friendly thing possible. Also known as what happens when you let voice actors loose without a script. Also do not turn this into a drinking game, you will die. 3 episodes in of "take a shot every time one girl mentions Christianity" turned the three of us so drunk we had to stop or we would have died. But definitely worth it for the hilarity's sake.

Serious time!

Ghost in the Shell(Stand Alone Complex 1 & 2, all the movies, and the other miniseries): SAC 1 & 2 are like ... some of my all-time favorites. It's really heavy though, not a really happy-feel good anime. There are cute parts, but mainly it makes you think and honestly ponder a lot of heavy topics.

Tokyo Babylon / X-1999: Watch Tokyo Babylon first, then the X series. Do not watch the X movie, it is time you will never get back to yourself. Much like GitS and No.6, this is a very serious show. TB has a lot of cute parts, and if you want the whole story there, read the manga as well(if you can't find it I can provide it). You don't need to watch Tokyo Babylon to watch X, but it gives insight to some people that makes their actions make a heck of a lot more sense. X is not a happy show, and it will rip your heart out, stomp on, and then shove it through a blender. Oh, also, don't look for happy endings here. Period. For anyone.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Good stuff, even if it's an anime from the 90s, it still holds it. It's great.

These two hinge on actually being able to find them, and I've been searching for years and only have parts of these series.

Knights of the Zodiac/Saint Seiya: There's like 4 series, and order is certainly key here. I don't remember the order to watch, but googling it will tell you. Good, solid, heart-wrenching show.

Bt'X: If you manage to find this entire series with English subs, I will like .. reward you somehow. This I've been looking for ... well, for years. I have the entire manga. But that was an incredibly lucky find. 

That's all I can think of for now.

Oh wait. Chii's Sweet Home. It's a kid's anime, so if you have little ones under like age 7 or 8, this is perfect. It's an adorable little show with like 10 minute episodes, and it follows a kitten as she finds a home and a family. When I need happy, I watch this

Eldanien

Though it's been a while since I've watched new anime, I tend to make sure I watch all of the ones which earned Animereactor awards.  For the most part, I haven't been disappointed - though keep in mind that many different genres are represented.  If you're looking for new anime and need recommendations, I'd suggest you check out that list.

Mysrai

Utena anime best anime.

Daraius

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugg these forums.

Daraius

Kalaneya said:

Daraius said:

Kalaneya said:

Polar Bear Cafe

-follow the every day lives of a group of animals with human traits mingling at a cafe run by a pun-loving polar bear

-If you like cute animals, look no further.

So uh, this is actually really amusing, but I can't help but wonder... Am I watching a little kids' show? Is this the Japanese equivalent of Nick Jr? Where penguins get blackout drunk and recite love poems?

It's based on a josei manga, so the target audience is young adult to adult women. If you decide to not finish it, at least check out episode 21.

Listen everybody. It's actually so good. You don't have to be a furry or a young adult woman to appreciate it. My money's on the latter halves of episodes 25 and 26 as high water marks. :x

Also paging @Thul because I suspect he'd ship Polar Bear and Grizzly as heavily as I do.

Sakaki

Irresponsible Captain Tylor - If you enjoy space opera style animes, you will love this - it is a little on the slower side of pacing, but keeps the story flowing, the protagonist is an enigma in every sense of the word (don't try actually explaining to him what an enigma IS, he'd probably fall asleep).  Named Justy Ueki Tylor (Just Awake Tylor), he could simultaneously be considered the biggest idiot in the universe plus the most brilliant tactician - pretty much an idiot savant.

Also pretty much anything by CLAMP - Angelic Layer, Chobits, Magic Knights Rayearth, Cardcaptor Sakura - CLAMP is renowned for making quality anime and manga, even if they ARE a bunch of pervs (Chobits and certain scenes in MKR can't really be considered child friendly by any stretch of the imagination - Chobits mainly because some of the in-jokes would go right over the child's head.  While MKR is very much a shoujo manga/anime, in contrast Chobits could easily be considered a seinen (young adult male) manga. ) 

Lerad

Ooh. A fellow CLAMP fan.

Siam

CLAMP FOLKS, PAWS UP!