I have watched a lot of the studio Ghibli stuff but not sure what series to start on, looking for recommendations
You’ve got some good suggestions already. Here are a couple that I think are good for somebody that is fairly new to the deep rabbit hole of anime tropes/conventions:
- Mushishi - My personal favorite anime of all time. Very contemplative and melancholy. Don’t binge this, just watch an episode before bed or something like that, and let it sit in your brain.
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End - This just recently finished airing its first season and was excellent in every respect. Classic high fantasy story (think Lord of the Rings) which follows the near-immortal elf Frieren in her travels. Very approachable for previously non-anime watchers.
- Cowboy Bebop - An all-time classic space western following some bounty hunters.
- One Punch Man - A humorous take on the superhero genre. If you are looking for something more comedy oriented, this is a decent starting point.
The problem with recommending opm as a starter is that it parodies a bunch of shows and Manga that OP probably won’t have the references for. I would worry that OP might miss most if not all of the jokes without the context.
I’ve been wanting to get into OPM myself. What would you recommend to watch first to understand at least 80 % of the references?
Just watch it, you really don’t need to know much about the stuff its parodying
- Full metal alchemist
- Steins;Gate
- Violet Evergarden
- Legends of the galactic heros
- Initial D
- Dragon Ball
- Code Geass
- Death Note
- Planetes
- Dororo
- Cowboy Bebop
- Black Lagoon
- Vinland Saga
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
It’s an anime that I recommend to people who already dislike anime, and it’s a great starting point
Do you like fantasy? Check out Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End; it’s what recently got me to watch anime. It tells a great story with compelling characters, has some awesome action scenes, and keeps all of the things I hate about anime (excessive melodrama and fanservice) to a minimum.
It’s just a great show, and not merely a great anime.
Another fantastic fantasy being produced right now is Dungeon Meshi aka Delicious in Dungeon.
15 episode are out on Netflix.
It’s a bit more on the comedic side than Frieren, but also keeps the weirdness typical in a lot of anime to a minimum. It also comes with fantastic characters and gorgeous animation.
People who like Frieren are likely to enjoy Dungeons Meshi and vice versa. I certainly do.
And also !dungeonmeshi@ani.social
My all time favourite anime is Steins;Gate. It’s a really cool take on a time travel story and it’s an emotional rollercoaster. I just finished rewatching it recently and it has some cringy scenes but I still love it :D
