I am a 40 yr old factory worker from the south who has never watched anime. I'm in possession of a 1 year subscription to crunchyroll mega fan. I need suggestions on what to watch!
I'm what you could call a "redneck", but don't worry! I'm not THAT sort of redneck. The only hat I wear is a Braves hat.
My interests are sci-fi, fantasy, horror, mystery, crime, action books/movies/videogames. And I love baseball.
Favorite:
Book- Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Movie- The Matrix
Game- The Witcher 3. Cyberpunk 2077 a close 2nd.
There are so many shows to choose from on crunchyroll that it's a bit overwhelming, so I'm hoping to get some help from the experts. Please suggest me some shows so I can take full advantage of this subscription service. Thank you
My interests are sci-fi, fantasy, horror, mystery, crime, action books/movies/videogames. And I love baseball.
Favorite:
Book- Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Movie- The Matrix
Game- The Witcher 3. Cyberpunk 2077 a close 2nd.
There are so many shows to choose from on crunchyroll that it's a bit overwhelming, so I'm hoping to get some help from the experts. Please suggest me some shows so I can take full advantage of this subscription service. Thank you
Commentaires
The users of this subreddit came up with [a chart of anime recommendations for newcomers and veterans](https://i.redd.it/0w1v880jtq661.png) and [an awesome longer flowchart](https://i.redd.it/vdzlkodz19c71.png). Maybe you can find something there that you'll like \^.\^
[](#bot-chan "Urban s-s-s-senpai made me do it!")
You might also find our [Recommendation Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/recommendations) or [daily thread](/r/anime/search?q=flair%3Adaily&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=week) helpful.
The following may be of interest:
* [List of legal streams and downloads](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/legal_streams)
* [A useful website where you can enter an anime and see where it's legally streaming](https://www.livechart.me/search)
* [List of currently airing anime](https://www.livechart.me)
* [A useful wiki page with watch orders for many anime.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/watch_order)
* [A list of tracking sites so others can more easily recommend shows you haven't watched.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/related_sites#wiki_tracking_sites)
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Season 2 is much more character driven. It tells a great story, but a lot of people complain about the lack of action because they were expecting more of a continuation of season 1.
I think as a whole both are fantastic. The animation is also very above average. Plus, as a manga reader I can confirm that the overall story is amazing.
I’m being picky and you’re not doing anything actually wrong or giving too much away. But if I was them I’d personally feel disappointed that the blueprint for season 2 was just told to me before even watching the show. Like I’d know at the end of season 1 to go, “welpppp. Let’s see if season 2 is any good despite being told it’s going to be a lot slower”.
I want to go into things with really no explanation. Vikings and violence? Got it. I’m in. Stop there. No more needs to be said haha.
Giving opinions or whatever like this makes it so I go, “hmm. Damn, yeah, two episodes in and this shit is slow huh”. Versus just getting into it like I did and waiting for it to progress, not knowing if it’ll pick up in a few episodes or something. It can still play out in so many different ways because I wasn’t warned that the entirety of season 2 is nothing like season 1.
To me a simple response like, “If you like Vikings, you’re gonna love it! Sadly there’s no season 3 confirmed yet but it’s also a great chance to compel you to possibly get into reading the manga too. So much happens after season 2!” is a better comment.
Now they are simply ready for the hype and can come to conclusions and thoughts on season 2 on their own without any pre-narrative explanations given.
You just set them up with a very true expectation when originally they could have gone into season 2 full of wonder, thinking it might be just as violent or maybe mid way through season 2 it catches up to season 1. Now all they can do is watch, see that you were correct, & decide if they like the pacing or not cause you just.. told them that it is in fact slow and some people hate it for that. To me that diminishes the season before they even get to it.
Or go all out and make a reaction channel so I can live vicariously through you.
I urge you, try to stick with the show for eps 1-6 so you can see it start to take off. It's one of the best seasons of anime ever made. When two of my good friends and I finished the last episode of the season, we were just... we were awestruck by how resonant it was.
As a combat veteran, I found the show to be profoundly deep in its understand of war; The key theme of Vinland Saga is how to walk away from and live after a life of violent glory. 10/10 art.
I need to watch it again!
Been watching everything I avoided growing up because I didn't wanna get bullied lol
They're works of art.
I am so jealous. I wish I could watch it for the first time again. Gods that anime is what got me into cyberpunk.
Fantasy humor: Campfire cooking in another world
Sci-fi: Cowboy Bebop (classic), Cyberpunk edgerunner, Psychopass
Fantasy: Frieren (new season dropping soon!), Mushishi (but not in an elves and magic way)
Video game and psychological: Solo Leveling
If you want some horror vibes, I just got through Re:Zero, not sure if I really liked it. I find the MC annoying, but it’s an interesting story.
Most of the recommendations in this thread so far are fantastic, and I wholeheartedly second them.
If you like Cyberpunk as a genre, and 2077 in particular, here are some for you, all of which I recommend from personally watching them:
Cyberpunk Edgerunners- but that's Netflix
Akudama Drive - on Hulu
For CR we have:
Psycho-Pass
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
Ergo Proxy
Cowboy Bebop
Jin-Roh
For your *Witcher* type shows:
Goblin Slayer
Castlevania- again, Netflix but worth it
Attack on Titan
Berserk (1997)
For shows like *Swan Song* try:
Devilman Crybaby
Jujutsu Kaisen
Parasyte
Perfect Blue - just because its fantastic, not because its apocalyptic and might be right up your alley as far as the psychological aspects.
Have fun.
It is a good place to start, but we also have to remember newbies probably aren't used to animation depicting things like that, and giving them a content warning is not an unreasonable ask.
I came to anime for all adventure and fantasy stories. Magic, dragons and stuff. Anime has there specific tropes they go off of. Hero, fantasy, demon lord, isekai (MC died and goes to fantasy world with magic) so you may have to try a few and see if you like them. If you ever watched the TV show House. You might like “apothecary diaries” if I think of any more I will add to this comment.
Steins Gate
Erased
Code Geass
Cyberpunk (but I think that's only on Netflix)
Dimension W
Cowboy Bebop
Tokyo Ghoul
The Elusive Samurai
Enjoy!!!
If you have a Netflix subscription as well, you'll probably love [Cyberpunk Edgerunners](https://myanimelist.net/anime/42310).
As far as stuff on Crunchyroll goes though, look up any of the following and try them out if you think they sound interesting:
- [86 EIGHTY-SIX](https://myanimelist.net/anime/41457/86)
- [Astra Lost in Space](https://myanimelist.net/anime/39198/Kanata_no_Astra)
- [Deca-Dence](https://myanimelist.net/anime/40056/Deca-Dence)
- [Ergo Proxy](https://myanimelist.net/anime/790/Ergo_Proxy)
- [ID:INVADED](https://myanimelist.net/anime/40046/Id_Invaded)
- [NieR:Automata Ver1.1a](https://myanimelist.net/anime/51105/NieR_Automata_Ver11a) (this is great regardless of whether or not you've played the game)
- [Steins;Gate](https://myanimelist.net/anime/9253/Steins_Gate)
- [Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song](https://myanimelist.net/anime/46095/Vivy__Fluorite_Eyes_Song)
A lot of great recommendations here.
86 is another very good pick as it has a damn-near perfect first half, but unfortunately I do feel like the second half falls off a bit (precisely because it includes some of that "anime shit" as a focus) that at least manages to end strong.
That's not to say that some of these other options aren't also fantastic - in fact I think all of the ones listed here that I've seen are great, but EP and 86 are the strongest out of the gate for an older viewer who might not be accustomed to as many anime tropes or anime-style humor.
Solo levelling
Bleach
Psycho-pass
Ghost Story Dub
Chainsaw man
Cowboy Bebop
Ghost in the Shell
Cyberpunk edgerunners.
Code geass.
Hunter X hunter.
My hero academia.
welcome to the fold my man hope you enjoy it.
Its on the shorter side of series length.
Also don't be afraid to try Japanese audio with English subtitles if the English audio doesn't do it for you.
The greatest shonen of all time is One Piece and you should give it a shot. It's about pirates. It starts really slow so I always recommend skipping ahead in the series to Water 7/Enes Lobby arcs (they're really kind of one arc tbh) and then going back later to watch everything before and after that. OP fans will absolutely hate me for recommending this route, but it makes it much easier to get into the series and it really is a fantastic story.
Thunder in Paradise but with actual mercenaries and mobsters instead of Hulk Hogan. Good show.
Ninja Scroll 90s
Castlevania on Nflx
Start with those brethren
But. Frieren makes silly anime faces in the background at key moments. Stark is entirely a trope. Fern has chibi moments. There’s a decent focus on dungeons. The whole show takes a completely different stance on elf characters.
I think it’s just BETTER if you can appreciate these subtitles.
Not sure if it's on Crunchyroll but my favorite anime of all time is Clannad. Not saying anything else, but like how I commented to one post: Absolute Cinema
I was fortunate enough to get to watch it at 3 stages of life - as a young, single man. As a husband. And lastly as a father. It hit hard for different reasons all 3 times. I knew what was coming and it still took me out.
https://pluto.tv/us/on-demand/series/62d72960677eae00138782ab/season/1?utm_medium=textsearch&utm_source=google
It is about a technophobic 14 year old girl named Lain, who, at the beginning, receives an email from a classmate, Chisa, after she appeared to have died. She claims that she has not actually died, but has instead left the real world for the Wired, which is an immersive internet.
Then Lain asks for a new Navi (a computer) to enter the Wired, and the show takes a trippy and symbolic turn, where everything is a metaphorical prediction (it came out in 1998!) of the bad the modern internet is causing to society.
But be warned, the show does not have an A-B plot. It is more of an art gallery of scenes, where various impacts caused by the Wired are being shown to you, with the plot being Lain's ever increasing obsession with it until the events in the ending occur, which I will not spoil.
Planetes
Awesome underrated anime, 1 season 26 episodes highly bingable.
In the mix of fantasy/horror Demon Slayer, Hellsing Ultimate, Attack on Titan, Clevantes, Psycho Pass
As for sports ones, I haven’t watched any baseball ones but Ace of the Diamond is highly rated. Blue Lock and Haikyu are two favorites
Stein’s Gate - sci-fi thriller based on time travel
Attack on Titan - might check your boxes for fantasy, horror, mystery
It was Cyberpunk 2077, when even Cyberpunk 2077 couldn't be Cyberpunk 2077.
My first recommendation, especially since you like Cyberpunk 2077
Cowboy Bebop
Record of Lodoss Wars
Solo Leveling
Grimgar
of anime where not each episode relates to the story, but i definitely recommend FMA brotherhood
Erased. Im a big fan of this anime. Adult mystery with a supernatural element and personal story arc.
Gundam is a big universe but there are some manageable smaller entries.
The movies by Makoto Shinkai have been great. And theres a lot of fantastic Anime films in general.
Psycho-Pass (only season 1, imo)
Attack on Titan
Death Note
Space Dandy
Erased
Code Geass
This one is sort of a hear me out, but… Apothecary Diaries. It’s an intricate story and involves crime.
Frieren
Solo Leveling
86
This is on Netflix, but… Cyberpunk Edgerunners
Excellent crime theme here, Mao Mao is kind of like Sherlock Holmes. 👍🏼
S3, providence, first inspector, the first movie, sinners of the system 2,3 are all great though (basically everything aside from s2)
first off if you have netflix there is a spinoff cyberpunk anime called **cyberpunk edgerunners** that is REALLY good and animated by (my opinion) the best studio on the planet
sci-fi: **psycho pass**
fantasy: **ranking of kings**
horror: ( i dont really think anyone has nailed "horror" yet aside from like perfect blue but that is a movie and not on crunchyroll so i will say for light horror): **kabaneri of the iron fortress**
i am gonna lump mystery and crime into one here: **odd taxi** (please do not let the art fool you)
action: **black lagoon, cowboy bebop, durarara** (anime is REALLY good at action)
and if you love baseball: **ace of diamond** is the one to watch
and for a light mix of baseball and action **tribe nine** (this one is *REALLY* anime though)
Pretty much anything that has banished,, or kicked out is pretty much a fucked over one.
Salary man recruited by a demon lord is.pretty good and relatesble
The 2020 anime Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni: Gou (Higurashi When They Cry: New), is a sequel to the original story, not a remake. **Don't accidentally start with Gou**, as it's full of spoilers.
(_Note: in most (if not all) regions, the only Higurashi anime on Crunchyroll, is Gou. Also, the original Visual Novel is currently available on Steam, under the title"Higurashi When They Cry: Hou", with the first arc being free to download._).
As for baseball... Ookiku Furikabutte (Big Windup).
Cowboy bebop- its a sci-fi show that basically follows a group bounty hunters in space.
(There is a kind of spiritual successor called space dandy but its a little more lewd and artsy)
This one is more niche but it's a fun baseball one: Gurazeni: money pitch. It follows this older, mid inning relief pitcher and his journey over a compelling seasons.
And of course one piece. The pirate saga is finally after 25 years slowly approaching and end
Attack on Titan - Great Entry level Fantasy anime that has a great mystery box element that pays off almost every mystery with a satisfying answer
A Place Further Than the Universe - Counter Programming Coming of Age/Adventure Anime about 4 High School girls who go to Antarctica (Also my Personal favorite)
Hunter x Hunter - Best Shonen Battle Anime with the best magic system in anime
Ghost in the Shell, Psycho Pass, and Cyber Punk Edgerunners - Top Cyberpunk anime
Frieren and Dungeon Meshi - Your more classical dungeons and dragons type fantasy with a twist. Frieren takes place after the main adventure and in Dungeon Meshi...they eat the monsters
Beware though, it is a lot more gruesome and heavy than most anime. But I think it handles it with a lot of maturity and is way more adult feeling.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (you don't need to watch the original FMA, Brotherhood is the superior version)
If you want something weird, but for some reason I can't help but like it... Assassination Classroom
Other mainstream, I enjoyed Sword Art Online and more recently Overlord. I do like the stuck in a computer game concept though.
Oh another one I liked was Delicious in Dungeon. It got advertised so much I eventually just watched it and liked it a lot more than I thought!
One Punch Man is quite funny, but I think you need to watch other anime first
Ranma 1/2 was my introduction to anime over 20 years ago, I liked it at the time, but I'd probably start with something else.
Attack on Titan is intense and definitely not boring.
Basically there's a lot as anime isn't really a genre in itself imo, it's got some conventions, but saying that anime is a genre is like saying movies is a genre. It's so varied!
The first two I mentioned before rambling are musts though. (I'm 41, so maybe it's good advice, no idea! I'm getting recommendations from this thread too)
These ding-dongs are mostly only going to recommend you action shows. That's fine if you just want fights, and there are some superb, smart action shows that a lot of other commenters have already mentioned, but be sure to give some other genres a try, too. I'll give you a few that you might otherwise overlook.
Okay, first, an action show I haven't seen mentioned: **Golden Kamuy**. It's... almost a western? Set in about the right era and with the right vibe but in Hokkaido. Beautiful scenery, hilarious characters, great pacing, tense gunfights, classic "everybody's after the mysterious map" plot with some wild twists.
Next, a mystery/intrigue that you'd probably overlook because it seems "girly": **The Apothecary Diaries**. Absolutely gorgeous show, set in the rear palace of I Can't Believe It's Not China. Young apothecary's apprentice girl who is an absolute menace solves mysteries and murders and accidentally upsets imperial politics. Some romance but it's mostly funny. Some characters are courtesans or prostitutes but it's not pervy or explicit in any way. Maybe a little outside your tastes but it's superb.
I could honestly suggest a dozen more off the top of my head. **March Comes in Like a Lion** is one of the best things I've ever watched, *ever,* it's sort of a sports anime about a depressed young man who plays shogi, which is a Japanese game similar to chess. **Vivy - Fluorite Eyes Song** is about an android theme park diva turned apocalyptic revolutionary. But I'll leave off by pointing out that lots of people have mentioned several shows created by the same guy, Shinichiro Watanabe, who tells incredibly stylish stories with a musical theme, and it's a pretty good bet that at least one of them will blow your mind. **Cowboy Bebop** is a gritty space opera with jazz; **Samurai Champloo** is a hip-hop samurai revenge story/bromance; and **Space Dandy** is a funk-centric comedic sci-fi adventure about an idiot in space that features some episodes and sequences so surprisingly beautiful and moving it's hard to describe them.
u/branteen this man knows his stuff
So there's this zombie horror series called **Zombie Land Saga**. No matter what you think you're going to see, I promise you it will defy your expectations. I'm not usually interested in any of the genres you might classify this one as, but it remains one of my all time favorites. Even if you only watch a couple episodes, I promise you will at least get some laughs out of it.
One Piece
Mushoku Tensei
Solo Leveling
Monster
If you like a show with a dark twist: Madoka Magica (also, yes it is technically a magical girl anime. But trust me, it's a REALLLY good show❤️)
Also, I simply MUST recommend One Punch Man. But not the third season. The animators completely fucked it up in the third season.
And Record Of Ragnarok too. Mythological figures and historical figures having a brawl. Good show.
Edit: forget record of Ragnarok.
Also on Netflix is **Pluto**. It's like a sci-fi murder mystery.
Back on Crunchyroll:
**Black Lagoon** is one of the defacto best action animes. It's about a group of mercenaries riding around south east asia in a PT boat doing odd jobs for criminal organizations like the Triads and Russian Mafia.
**Ace of the Diamond** is definitely good for your baseball fix.
For a fantasy you can't go wrong with **Frieren**, it's a slow burn but really incredible. And if you do enjoy the slower paced story telling of Frieren then **Spice and Wolf** is also a good one that's less action focused and more mature.
If you like sci-fi political dramas then **Legend of the Galactic Heroes** is really good.
And no anime recommendation would be complete without some sci-fi that includes killer robots and war crimes: **Eighty Six** and **Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans** are really good entry points for the Mecha genre.
Also I know you said you like baseball but trust me “Haikyuu” will get you HOOKED on Volleyball. For me it’s the best current sports anime out there!
Gritty Dark Stuff:
1. Berserk - this one's a doozie... an actual pillar of the medium... this is partially what inspired the Dark Souls franchise.
2. Claymore - actual female witchers... it's kinda comical how much it has parallels to witchers.
Sci Fi:
1. Ghost in the Shell - the 1995 movie
2. Evangelion - another pillar of the medium, likely my most favorite work of fiction.
Random stuff I thought up:
1. Legend of the galactic heroes
2. DeDeDeDe - yes it's a real name
3. Rakugo Showa and Genruko Era
4. Kino's Journey
5. Serial Experiments Lain
If you like games, you'd probably like *Shangri-La Frontier* as well. Basically a guy that usually only plays terrible games finally decides to play what is touted as 'the best game of all time' and his journey with it. Unlike other 'character playing game' anime, the character doesn't just spend all his time in one game, every so often he switches what he's playing for a short while before going back.
If you're a sports guy, I'd go with *Hinomaru Sumo* (not baseball, I know, but all the baseball anime have probably been recommended already lol). Based around a high school sumo club as they grow from just a couple of kids. I like it because it got me into watching actual sumo and it stays fairly realistic in its showings unlike some other sport anime. The most unrealistic thing is the corny names for some of the moves they use.
Another mystery that's more entangled with romance that I like is *Kowloon Generic Romance*. Reiko is just a normal real estate agent who is catching feelings for a coworker, but then comes across a photo of his that makes her realize that she has no memory of her past.
Last one I'd recommend is a fantasy story. *The Faraway Paladin* is an isekai story (reincarnated in another world) but after an episode or two you'll basically forget that because it's almost never brought up. I really enjoy all the characters in the story and there is a good mix of action and downtime sequences so it's not just all in on one or the other.
For mystery/crime I like to recommend Oddtaxi for an overarching story.
Black Clover, One Piece and if you like romance, Kaguya-sama love is war are also great