Yu Yu Hakusho. The old school battle shounen that the author of hunterXhunter first major success. Starts with some interesting ghost stuff and then veers more into a more traditional battle shounen including one of the best tournament arcs ever.
A guy gets sucked into an Isekai (what he thinks is a typical otherworld fantasy that he's read about) but despite being genre savy he painfully learns that it's not exactly like that. He doesn't get cheat codes to make him powerful and beloved like in those wish fulfilment books/anime he consumed. If he wants a better life then the one he gladly left behind he will have to put in effort and improve himself. Luckily (or unluckily) he will get multiple chances as he has received power of time looping after his (usually extremely painful) deaths.
Loneliness/body horror, Adventure, fun time
A Place further then the Universe. An incredibly inspirational story of four teen girls who decide to go to Antarctica. Other then dealing with grief this doesn't have anything upsetting. Just the ultimate feel good motivation show.
It's all a conspiracy. Sato is a college dropout neet/hikomori (not in education employment or training due/acute social withdrawal. Also easily addicted and very conspiratorial in part due to an old HS crush). A mysterious high school girl appears one day and declares she wants to save him from his lifestyle for her own selfish and mysterious reasons. That is the start to a very dark journey as he attempts to recover but on the way stumbles into a lot of troubling japanese social trends.
Monster. The actions of a well meaning Japanese surgeon unleash a monster on the world, the doctor travels around post communist Germany and Czechoslovakia going deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Monster and looking for a way to stop him. But can he do what is necessary even if it breaks the Hippocratic oath?
Patlabor, specifically "Patlabor ON TELEVISION" and "Patlabor New Files" (sometimes called New OVA) are takes place in a very comfy near-future environment and is about a group of policemembers who are under the division for dealing with any mech incidents, meaning giant robot fights will happen in a very down-to-earth setting
I also recommend the movies if you enjoy the GITS movie as it's the same director and he likes exploring a various amount of social commentary, from criticism of institutional inefficiency to existential reflections, (just dont watch the 3rd movie, it has nothing to do with anyone who made the original Patlabor)
There's also the original Patlabor OVA, but I personally didn't enjoy that nearly as much as the tv anime, and some of the characters act a little different, so it might be jarring if you watch that before the tv anime despite it being chronologically made first
I would say watching the things made before the movie gives you a better grasp of who the characters are and feel more attached to what's going on, though the movies are very different from the OVA and tv show in terms of vibe, the characters act a lot more like how you would expect having watched the tv show. And I should also warn, the movies have very minimal mech fighting!
If you liked Cyberpunk 2077, you might also like Psycho-Pass. It depicts a sci-fi future where they attempt to prevent crime by measuring peoples mental state to varying degrees of success. It's widely considered a great show and a quintessential Sci-Fi Anime.
While the 1999 version has the old aesthetic that you say you like, I would recommend the 2011 version due to a lot of times just presenting individual scenes so well, the team really came together to make dramatic when it counted, and it also goes further into one of the best arcs of HxH
Nippon Animation did 1999, while MADHOUSE did 2011 if that says anything to you
One thing I had heard is that the Manga has been on a really long hiatus. Does 2011 end in a way that feels pretty conclusive as opposed to like a cliff hanger?
Anime does end on a really good note. The good news regarding the manga is that the writer has started again, so fingers crossed for more anime one day ... And best of luck to his continued health.
It ends in a way where I would say theres no conflict that hasnt had its end tied, though according to manga readers I've talked with, the manga goes on to finish Gon's story, and the story has well moved on from him to cover other people in the universe
Cool it's good to know that if I stick to the anime I'll be able to avoid the pain of very slow release drip that the Manga readers are experiencing. Had heard how amazing hxh is, but hesitated getting into it because of that.
Has anyone recommended Gundam yet? No? Good, I'm recommending Gundam.
Now, the whole thing might confuse you, and there are a ton of separate Gundam shows each one in it's own continuity. So, to make things simple, I'm going to just suggest two of them. The currently airing Gundam: Witch From Mercury, and the classic that started everything, Mobile Suit Gundam.
The 3 compilation movies of the classic Gundam are on the Gundam.info Youtube channel for free right now, by the way! There's several other shows in that channel and you might even be able to watch G-Witch depending on your location.
Gundam is awesome. I got into it after I got into Gunpla and wanted to find out about the series. Zakus got the best design. I've seen the first movie trilogy, but not the rest yet. Was the oldest anime I've seen and it held up well.
Gwitch is great. And I have been watching through the entire backlog over the past few months. finally done with UC!
It's well worth the investment, much of the story and art is so amazing!
Big fan of GWitch. It's a really strong story, and the art is beautiful.
Mob Psycho 100 is a completed action series that makes me think of slice of life coming of age story meets DBZ meets urban fantasy. The story is very strong and the art is used in a fairly clever way.
If you want dark/horror, then Psycho Pass was a fairly popular thriller.
Have you watched much of anything before? Likes? Dislikes?
My absolute favorite has always been Samarai Champloo. Same creator, also fantastic Coyboy Bebop.
Others I enjoyed: Mob Psycho 100 & One Punch Man (same creator behind both) Berserk (I've only seen the 3 movies for Golden Age on Netflix) Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin Trigun (I loved the original, but the recent remake was decent) Dorohedoro (Incomplete, not sure if getting 2nd season) Deathnote Fullmetal Alchemist
Other than what was listed I've watched some of the older animes that were recommended like Cowboy bebop, Samurai Champloo, Jorumond, and Black Lagoon which I all really liked. And the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy. Started trying out some of the newer stuff with newest thing being Bocchi which was funny and I liked the animation gags in it.
I don't think I'd get into those really super long anime with hundreds and hundreds of episode that go on. Those seem like too much for one series for me. At least for now.
Yeah agreed. One Piece sorta interests me, but that is a long anime at this point. I barely have enough time to keep up with Demon Slayer on the weekly so I'm not about to start a saga like that.
Don't look anything up about it and just watch the first episode if you have a spare 1.5 hrs to spend. If you don't like it then it's easy to find out.
It's an exploration of the entertainment industry that does not shy away from the darker side of it. It's still airing, so maybe keep it in your back pocket, but it's pretty darn good. Same creator as Kaguya-sama.
On that note, I would also recommend Kaguya-sama. A romance/comedy where two people are trying to get the other to confess their feelings first.
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