There’s so much anime that exists it can be hard to sift through them to find some you will actually enjoy watching. Trust me, I know: I’ve spent so much time searching through titles to find one I would actually enjoy. When it comes to anime I am very, very picky and I often can’t find anything to watch despite having friends giving me tons of recommendations. I know there are a ton of anime out there I will love, it’s just a matter of finding them. Here are a few anime I did happen upon that I enjoy and maybe you can enjoy them, too! Even if you don’t really watch anime or think everything is just big boobs and tiny clothing, maybe I can change your mind about anime and give you a great experience through the anime I recommend.
Shinsekai Yori (From The New World)
I’m not entirely sure how I came to watch Shinsekai Yori; I was probably searching through Crunchyroll for something to watch and landed on Shinsekai Yori and chose it out of boredom. That’s normally the process I go through to find anime to watch, but this time I struck gold. Shinsekai Yori follows the life of a girl named Saki who lives in Japan 1,000 years after the modern era. Saki lives in a town called Kamisu 66, and all humans have access to powerful psychic abilities. Children are monitored very closely through the schools and (without their knowledge) have to pass tests on the development of their abilities, and those who are deemed flawed are silently removed and disappear forever. Humans aren’t the only intelligent beings that reside on Earth: There are colonies of large monster mole rats who see humans as gods and worship them. Over 25 episodes, the story follows Saki from her young age up until the age of 26. You will watch as Saki and her friends uncover gruesome secrets about the world they once saw as being perfect. They will fight for their lives, suffer through hardships, and experience love, loss, and sorrow.
After watching, I was left with so may questions and an unfillable void in my chest. Coming out of my extreme binge session, I couldn’t bring myself to watch or do anything else. I sat for a while just thinking deeply about everything I had just watched. Shinsekai Yori creates a dark and alluring atmosphere with an incredibly deep narrative that won’t let you pull away. Ever since I finished this show, I have embarked on a fruitless endeavor to find another show that can invoke these same feelings, with such a dark and mysterious world and a narrative that will leave you wondering forever. (Maybe you guys can leave some suggestions for me in the comments!) Shinsekai Yori is my number one choice and I hope it can provide the same overwhelming emotional experience that it gave me. Honestly, there’s no summary that can give justice to the story, just go watch it right now on Crunchyroll!
Noragami
I’m really glad I came across Noragami; not only do I love the art style and music, but it also has a fun and interesting story. Noragami follows a minor God of Calamity named Yato. Since Yato is such a minor, unknown god, he has no followers or shrines dedicated to him. In an effort to gain popularity, he advertises himself as a delivery god and charges five yen to do tasks for people that call him also hoping to earn enough money to build a shrine. During his lonesome efforts, he meets a girl named Hiyori Iki and a boy named Yukine. Hiyori Iki’s soul continues to slip out of her body, she hires Yato to help her before she leaves her body forever. Yukine was once a young boy who died and turned into a wandering spirit. Yato saves Yukine from turning into a corrupted spirit (phantom) and turns him into his regalia, which is a godly weapon. They face off against evil spirits, other gods, and many other challenges in hopes of fixing Hiyori and gaining fame for Yato.
If you haven’t watched Noragami, I highly recommend you do. I wish I could find more anime with such a great art style and awesome music like what Noragami has. You really start to connect with the characters pretty quickly, and even though Noragami can be light-hearted and fun, there are also a lot of darker and sometimes sad moments. There are two seasons and 25 episodes available on Funimation for you to watch right now! If you don’t have Funimation you can subscribe for $5.99 a month!
Parasyte
I found out about Parasyte by reading some of the manga first; I actually didn’t know there was an anime for it. Both the manga and the anime are fantastic. Parasyte offers a whole new experience from the normal anime you may stumble upon: It’s a science fiction horror series about an alien invasion of worm-like creatures called parasites. The main character in this story is named Shinichi Izumi who lives in Tokyo, Japan. One night, the invasion takes place and the parasitic creatures search for human hosts; they enter through their ears and noses to take over the human brain and control the whole body. Luckily, Shinichi was wearing headphones while he went to sleep so when the parasite tried entering his brain he failed and instead entered his arm. Since the parasite failed to take Shinichi’s brain, he has control over his arm meaning they both are fully intelligent beings that now have to share a body. Due to the invasion from the parasites, gruesome murders start turning up all over from the parasites feeding on humans. Other parasites who discover that Migi (the name of the parasite in Shinichi’s arm) is not in control of Shinichi’s brain try to destroy both of them, so Migi and Shinichi need to work together in order to survive. Even though Migi doesn’t really care about Shinichi, he cannot survive without being attached to his arm. Shinichi works together with Migi to try and stop other parasites from devouring other humans and trying to take over the world.
I really do wish there was more from Parasyte, I felt like what I watched wasn’t enough. Alien parasitic creatures taking over the world is just the absolute coolest. Parasyte isn’t really scary, but there is lots of blood and gore and some really cool visuals of faces splitting open and bodies distorting into crazy forms. If you were like me and didn’t know this show existed, well I am informing you right now and you should add it to your Crunchyroll queue!
Honorable Mentions
I feel like it’s my duty to mention some other anime I’ve watched that are fantastic, and anime that I haven’t watched yet but people on the internet are just absolutely in love with. If you’re a person trying to find some amazing anime and you don’t really know that much about anime to begin with or have absolutely no clue where or what to look for, I’m going to list a few more you should check out.
Your Lie In April: Slice of life anime about a pianist who lost his mother at a young age and meets an outgoing violinist named Kaori who changes his life forever. (Warning: this may cause you to experience a ton of emotions.) http://www.crunchyroll.com/your-lie-in-april
Re:Zero: About an ordinary high-school boy who gets randomly transported to another world while on his way home from the store. Everywhere I turn people are talking about this show, and my friend has told me to watch it like 20 times so it must be really good. Go ahead and check it out! I know I will be! http://www.crunchyroll.com/rezero-starting-life-in-another-world-
Yuri!!! On Ice: A show about an ice skater who suffers a terrible defeat and can’t decide if he wants to retire or keep skating. People are obsessed with this show and I’m probably going to start watching this as soon as I’m finished with this article. http://www.crunchyroll.com/yuri-on-ice
March Comes in Like a Lion: About a boy who lost his family at a young age and is plagued with a life of loneliness. He lives alone in Tokyo and meets three sisters who slowly start to change his life. http://www.crunchyroll.com/march-comes-in-like-a-lion
Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name.): Two teenagers who are strangers to each other yearn lives different from what they have. One day they wake up and have mysteriously swapped bodies. They set out to find each other and to discover why this strange phenomenon has happened to them. It is currently ranked #1 on MyAnimeList if that tells you anything about how much people love this anime. (I actually couldn’t find a link where to officially watch this movie, so if anyone could let me know that would be great!)
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: A lot different from everything else I’ve listed but it’s a super dramatic and very intense cooking show that is extremely entertaining and funny to watch. http://www.crunchyroll.com/food-wars-shokugeki-no-soma
I hope you guys enjoy all of the anime watching you have ahead of you! Don’t forget to eat food and drink water during your anime binging!
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