Trying toget into anime for the first time, need help
My boyfriend loves anime, and I want to be able to share in it with him, but so far I haven't liked any of his recommendations. Cowboy Bebop is one of my favourite shows of all time (I also love movies like Akira, Perfect Blue, Wolf Children, Paprika, Grave of the Fireflies), but I haven't been able to get through any other series before.
I love CB for a few reasons:
1) The art style. Similar to Katsuhiro Otomo. The detail, the hand-drawn texture, and the complexity/uniqueness of the character designs
2) The tone is more mature than any other anime I've seen. I love the characters, the ennui, the shame, the dread of loving in poverty. It's so real and banal yet so fun and like, sexy.
Boyfriend recommended FMAB; loved the lore but it just felt a bit...Naruto-ey? so fast paced, so much combat and action, lots of somewhat OTT epic drama, I just couldnt get into it. He recommended ATLA and I do think I would've loved it in middle school but it just doesn't spark anything in me right now.
Kind people of Reddit, I beg you, please hear my plea. I want recomendations for anime based on the features of CB I described, as my boyfriend does not seem to hear them.
I love CB for a few reasons:
1) The art style. Similar to Katsuhiro Otomo. The detail, the hand-drawn texture, and the complexity/uniqueness of the character designs
2) The tone is more mature than any other anime I've seen. I love the characters, the ennui, the shame, the dread of loving in poverty. It's so real and banal yet so fun and like, sexy.
Boyfriend recommended FMAB; loved the lore but it just felt a bit...Naruto-ey? so fast paced, so much combat and action, lots of somewhat OTT epic drama, I just couldnt get into it. He recommended ATLA and I do think I would've loved it in middle school but it just doesn't spark anything in me right now.
Kind people of Reddit, I beg you, please hear my plea. I want recomendations for anime based on the features of CB I described, as my boyfriend does not seem to hear them.
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)
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Yosuga no Sora &
Koi Kaze
Here are the ones I've watched and loved :) haven't watched Cowboy Bepop though but these are my recommendations (not sure how similar they are)
Vinland Saga
Yona of the Dawn
Jujutsu Kaisen
Demon Slayer
Solo Leveling
Sword Art Online
Apothecary Diaries
Spy x Family
Hunter x Hunter
Wistoria Wand and Sword
(and I forgot the best one lol, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End)
As for recommendations:
Baccano!
Puella Magi Madoka Magika
Black Lagoon
Vinland Saga
There's also other Ghibli films you could watch, especially those by Isao Takahata (maker of Grave of the Fireflies).
Similarly, you could try other Makoto Shinkai films (maker of Wolf Children) and other Satoshi Kon movies (maker of Perfect Blue and Paprika).
For series, others have recommended Samurai Champloo, but I'll also add Kids on the Slope and Carole and Tuesday by the same creator. These two are not action like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.
You might also like Michiko and Hatchin and Baccano.
Maybe try some of the following:
Monster - Thriller,grounded in a real world setting.
Death Note - considered easy to get into for none anime fans, the premise is simple but really interesting.
Pluto - it’s a dark retelling of Astro Boy - I really enjoyed this.
100 Metres - just come on Netflix, haven’t watched it yet but it looks interesting.
The Summer Hikaru Died
Attack on Titan
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Outlaw Star
For a mature female viewer, I'd go with "Apothecary Diaries" (it's about a sharp female doctor/detective solving murder mysteries or attempted murders/conspiracies in the emperor's court of concubines, super-thrilly, drama, potentially too dry for a younger audience).
For follow up shows, you can try "Frieren" (contemplative 4 episode prologue might work in its favor for you, characters have a deadpan demeanor, premise is about a long lived elf reminiscing about the human hero who has now passed away due to old age).
"Dungeon Meshi". I have a feeling you'd definitely drop it in a heart beat, BUT, it is a high quality story with great characterization, story, worldbuilding, AND the best female deuteragonist (she's intelligent, adorable, and too sassy).
I'll cut it short. I don't want to be too presumptuous. And don't bother with Wistoria (you are definitely not going to like THAT, harmless but dull/formulaic).
Best of luck in finding Bebop clones. I'm sure there are some out there.
Movies I assume you've watched but just in case: Jin-Roh, Ghost in the Shell.
On je ne sais quoi: Lycoris Recoil. It has action and gunfights, sure, but mostly it has the slice of life of a colorful cast that is fun to hang out with. (So fun that it got a sequel series of animated shorts that are just slice of life.) Like Bebop, Lycoris is also an anime-original, so it goes at its own pace.
To avoid in general: shonen. If it's not your thing it's not your thing.
Psycho pass
And yeah it was made for kids on a kids tv program and does feel childish the first season but after the story picks up, it's really great. I'd say at least watch up to episode 3 if you haven't.
Samurai Champloo is the obvious next step - it’s Shinichiro Watanabe’s follow-up to Bebop, and it has a great blend of similar styles and themes but with its own flair as well. Many (including my two best friends) actually prefer it to Bebop.
Evangelion’s my number one, and though it might seem like a mech/action anime at first … you’ll find a heavy dose of existentialism and maturity in the writing - definitely an influence on Perfect Blue. The art is similarly great, but in a more expressionistic kind of way.
If you want to go further into the abstract, Serial Experiments Lain is an incredibly atmospheric, complex, disorienting piece of work that somehow feels even more relevant now than it did in ‘98.
Steins;Gate is a time-travel thriller, but with great character writing, a gripping plot and very real philosophical questions about fate and sacrifice.
If you’re curious about something newer, I’d try Sonny Boy. The name threw me off at first, but it’s a unique, ambient, thought-provoking work with fantastic animation, but not in a “boom explosions” kind of way.
If you want some hidden gems, Haibane Renmei and Kino’s Journey (2003) both offer very thoughtful, subtly complex writing with atmosphere in spades.
Hope this helps!