Fact: ninety percent of anime is trash. I spend a lot more time looking for something to watch than actually watching something. So hopefully this list will save somebody time. If you watch the entire first episode and don’t like it then you should probably just drop it because forcing yourself to watch something you don’t want to just makes you hate it more. Which is why I’ll probably never review an anime I don’t like. If I don’t like it I won’t finish it and it’s not really fair to critique a show you haven’t even fully watched. Fairy Tail was an exception because I was making fun of somebody’s trash taste. (Also I suffered through about twenty or thirty episodes of that garbage so I’m allowed to say it’s trash. I can’t believe somebody actually watched the entire thing and enjoyed it.)
Death Note – Pretty cool show about this guy who gets a book and if he writes someone’s name down in the book they die. He uses it to kill all the criminals in the world and soon he has to avoid being found by a super genius detective. The two go on a cat and mouse chase constantly outwitting each other. Very clever show but the second half isn’t as good as the first for reasons that are too long to get in to. 8/10
Erased – Excellent show. It’s about a guy who can turn back time when something bad happens. After his mom is murdered he goes all the way back in time to elementary school to save his classmates who had been murdered in the original timeline. Each episode is exciting and got me wanting to see the next. It’s not exactly a mystery because he doesn’t actively try to find out who the murderer is, but still very cool. Ending is pretty disappointing though. 9/10
ID : Invaded – It’s a mystery show, which I like. The premise is very interesting too; it’s about a brilliant detective who can dive into the minds of serial killers in order to find out who they are. Confusing at points but still enjoyable. I’ve never watched Inception but I imagine it’s similar to this. Wish they leaned in more on the mystery aspect though. You don’t get to see the detective solve much. 7/10
The Tatami Galaxy – Remember what I said about just watching the first episode to see if you like it? That does not apply to this show. As a human being it is your moral obligation to watch this show in its entirety. It’s objectively the best anime and if you disagree you are wrong. I already about it so I’ll skip reviewing it. 10/10
Bakemonogatari – Kind of a degenerate show. On the surface it’s a typical trash anime, but it’s somehow not. There’s a bunch of degenerate incel moments that kind of make me want to shoot myself. But if you look past that it’s a witty dialogue heavy tale about trauma, ghosts, and toothbrushes (if you know, you know). Probably won’t fit your taste but if you’re an intellectual like me then you’ll get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I don’t think the other seasons (nise, neko, kabuki) are as good though. The charm of a high school half-vampire exorcising ghosts is kind of lost when you add too many characters/plotlines and make it feel like an adventure rather than a strange, coincidental occurrence. Kizumonogatari is the only one that I think holds up to Bake’s greatness, although it’s split into three entire movies like The Hobbit for some reason (probably money), so you should just read the book for that one. 9/10
Mushoku Tensei – OG isekai that everyone is trying to copy nowadays. You probably already know the isekai formula so I won’t bother explaining the plot. Just know that this started it all. It looks really good for some reason. They really went all out here. It really feels like an adventure instead of a soulless harem comedy that isn’t even funny. First few episodes are kinda slow but it picks up. Main character is kind of a walking L that should be put in jail but he get more bearable later (not by much). And let me say again: this show looks really high quality. It really adds to the epic fantasy adventure feel. Still waiting for season two. 8/10
Classroom of the Elite – It’s not anything really deep at all but if I’m bored one day and don’t feel like thinking too much then this would be a pretty fun show to watch. It’s about a guy (who is literally Light from Death Note) entering an elite high school. The students are split into four classes and from then on must ruthlessly compete against the other classes in tests and whatnot to finish first and graduate or whatever. There’s a fun points system and the school life aspect is pretty chill. Literally Light spends a lot of the time outsmarting/manipulating other people to finish top of his class and I’m pretty sure he’s a sociopath. The other characters aren’t as cool as him but that’s to be expected. Fun show to turn off your brain to. 7/10
Kaiba – Another weird show like Bakemonogatari and The Tatami Galaxy. No, actually, it’s the weirdest one out of the bunch (and Bakemonogatari is wild). It has a cutesy, childlike art style but don’t be fooled. It’s super depressing. Very few anime I can call sad. This is one of them. About a guy who wakes up with no memories in a strange world. It’s a world where you can transport your memories to a new body, effectively making you immortal. You can buy bodies, memories, stuff like that. People are kidnapped, their memories are sold off, their bodies are sold off. The setting is super cool. It’s like in space sort of but there’s a lot of cool set pieces. Like there’s a sky of lost memories. When you die your memories, these little orange bubbles, fly up into the sky and when the main character gets on a space ship they sail through this beautiful memory field. It’s kind of gross and pretty at the same time. I could probably spend a whole blog talking about this because there’s so much to discuss and I’ve left out a lot of stuff but I want to keep it brief. The second half isn’t as good, but the first half is just heart-wrenching. Give it at least three episodes. 9/10
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – Part 1 is doo doo, part 2 is meh, part 3 is good, part 4 is the best, part 5 is alright. Skip parts one and two if you want but just know there’s some fans who will lop off your head for doing things like that. If you want a plot synopsis: adopted child turns into gay vampire and then kills his brother and attaches his head to his dead brother’s body and then in part 2 an American guy gets a gun and shoots a vampire and then fights off three strippers to save his mom and then in part 3 teenager must save his mom by killing the gay vampire who has just come back to life so to do that he teams up with his JoBros and heads to egypt where he plays video games and then in part 4 American guy’s illegitimate son has to stop David Bowie from cutting off women’s hands and licking them except for the first half of the show he just eats spaghetti and then in part 5 gay vampire’s son at the age of 15 joins the mafia and then the JoBro from part 3 turns into a cyborg and then he turns into a turtle called Mr. President and they go inside the turtle like it’s a car and use it to get around yes that is real. Just turn your brain off and watch buff teenager punch ghosts, okay? 8/10
Fairy Tail – jk lol
Love is War – Pretty fun rom com. Not really a deep thinking show, but it’s fun and very simple. The two protagonists play mind games with each other and try to get each other to confess, sort of like Death Note. Not much to talk about. 8/10
Mob Psycho 100 – Have a lot of nostalgia for this one because it’s the one that got me to actually give subbed anime a shot. Ended up loving it. About a kid called Mob with psychic powers who exorcises ghost. His trainer is not a psychic and is actually a con man who uses Mob to exorcise his client’s ghosts. It’s one of the very few shows that is actually funny. Art style is a little strange but if it had the normal generic style it wouldn’t be as entertaining. Despite its comedic nature there’s some really heartfelt moments and at its core its about a boy learning to socialize with others. The fight scenes are gorgeously animated as well and look cool as hell. This show is so good, even the filler episodes are good. Also, it’s by the guy who wrote One Punch Man and if you know how good that show is, then I don’t even need to say anything. In fact, this show is better than One Punch (although you should check out that show too if you haven’t already). 10/10
Occultic;Nine – I remember watching this and thinking it was amazing. Then I went online and it seemed like a lot of people didn’t like it, so maybe I’m wrong. Still think it’s a good show though and I don’t agree with the reasons as to why people don’t like it. Wacky show about nine people drawn into a strange supernatural mystery in town: a mass suicide of people drowning themselves in a lake, the disappearance of one of the protagonist’s friends, the murder of a professor, and a massive organization looking into life after death (ghosts). It’s super crazy and interesting. The ending is a little confusing. First episode is mostly introducing the nine main characters but it picks up after that. Some of the main characters get no screen time compared to the others and one of them is super annoying. There’s a huge crazy plot twist about halfway that I thought was epic. Very good show. 9/10
Re:ZERO – Rare good isekai. The gimmick of this one is that he can turn back time when he dies, so it’s an endless loop of trying to find a way to survive. Not much else to say though. Most characters are likable, setting is pretty cool, looks pretty cool, MC is a total loser at points. Haven’t watched season two but I will eventually. 8/10
Tanaka-kun is Always Listless – Great show to watch on a rainy day and you want to watch something chill. Slice of life about a dude who probably has narcolepsy and his chill school life. There’s no drama or action, but the art style is cute, the episodes are pretty fun, and the characters are pretty likable. Again, not much to discuss here, since it’s a simple show. 8/10
Tower of God – This is the show that got me into Webtoon. I already talked about it though so I won’t go over it again. Also, don’t watch season two if a season two comes out. I’ve read a lot of the web comic and it’s pretty bad after the first season. 8/10
Tsuredure Children – Again, another simple show. There’s twelve episodes but each of them are shorts that are only twelve minutes long. A romance show that follows several different relationships. Watch as they fall in love, break up, or watch as the show forgets about their existence and never shows them again. Ending sucked, a lot of characters didn’t get closure and I don’t see a second season coming anytime soon. 8/10
WWW.WAGNARIA!! – Weird title, still don’t know what it means. It’s another simple slice of life show. I’m recommending a lot of these because after I thought about it these kind of “turn off your brain” shows are probably what you’re into. I think the title translates into “working” or something like that but I don’t remember. It’s about… working. At a cafe. Pretty chill though. 7/10
That’s about it. There’s a lot of other shows I left out because I thought they were just alright, but maybe you’ll like them better than I did. Also, watch Chainsaw Man when it comes out. I’m pretty excited for that one.