Anime Recommendations on Crunchyroll

So, based on the conversations on this week's Bombast and based on the free month being offered at Crunchyroll I decided to sign up for the trial membership. Can you guys recommend some shows for me to check out?

Gatchaman Crowds. It's a reboot of Gatchaman/G-Force and is fantastic in pretty much every way.

My favourite thing about it is how modern it is.

I'd recommend Kill la kill but.....it's certainly not for everyone. You may die from the absurdity while watching it. Depends how into anime you are. It's excellent audio/visual stimulation with enjoyable and entertaining characters. Not to be taken seriously and amazingly ridiculous.

Depends what you want, really. Here's some of the stuff I've enjoyed.

Over the top silly action - Kill la Kill, Durarara!

Mushy emotional drama - Kokoro Connect, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Ano Natsu de Natteru, Blue Spring Ride, Toradora!, Tari Tari, Hanasaku Iroha

Charming and lighthearted - Non Bon Biyori, Usagi Drop

Comedy - Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun, Tonari no Seki-kun: Master of Killing Time

Bit of everything - Angel Beats

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Crunchyroll often doesn't have the OVA episodes, extra episodes usually on the DVD and BluRay versions. Sometimes it's just icing on the cake, but for something like Kokoro Connect you'll really want to track down those episodes elsewhere.

Because of the Bombcast I've been watching Polar Bear Cafe so...

Polar Bear Cafe. All day, every day.

If you want some low-key stuff with pretty nice visuals, check out Time of Eve and Pale Cocoon if they're still around. They are just a handful of episodes each, so it's no huge time sink. I should go back and see if anything new popped in there since I was there last. I stopped my subscription a while ago as I wasn't using it as much as I used to.

I like that there Hunter X Hunter quite a bit. It's something of a commitment though, at 148 episodes (146 if you remove the recap episodes) but you might want to consider it. I think the consensus is, however, that the first few episodes and are a bit tonally deceptive, so that's something to keep in mind (I say I think, because I watched that arc when I was like, 10).

Besides that though, of the ones mentioned above, I'd also recommend Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, and Usagi Drop (Gatchaman Crowds looks like something I'd like but haven't gotten to it). Kill la Kill is hard for me to recommend, but tons of people love it.

@roars5000: Anime is such a broad medium you need to give us some specifics of what types of anime you are looking for. If you check out the main menu they'll give you specific genres of anime like shounen, shouji, seinen, etc. give us a holler of what style or genre you're into.

You mention low-key stuff with pretty nice visuals and don't mention Mushi-Shi?

See, sometimes people ask for anime recommendations and don't bother to talk about what sort of stories they're interested in. Cyberpunk? Psycho-Pass. An epic action adventure sort of thing? Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. Thoughtful and ponderous? The aforementioned Mushi-Shi. Mind-bending? Serial Experiments Lain. Fantasy? Princess Mononoke. I don't know if any of these are on Crunchyroll because I haven't visited them much, oops.

Name some stories you really like in other mediums and I can try to point you in the right direction.

Gurren Lagann and Madoka Magica are shows that I really like. Usagi Drop, like what the people above said, is something that you should totally check out as well. I hear fantastic things about the 26 minute Little Witch Academia but I have yet to check it out myself. Gurren Lagann is the longest watch out of those, at 27 episodes but man... it's pretty good.

I recommend Rurouni Kenshi. I think its a good show for people new to anime and its available dubbed if you don't like reading.

I think CR has more show in america than over here, so I might be missing something. But from what I can see that is available I'd recommend.

• Log Horizon: An interesting take on what life would be in an MMO, it does a good job subverting the expectation of the universe by distinctly making it feel like a game more than life. While mostly avoiding unneccessary contrivance. I like it a fair bit.
• Gintama: Long as hell (280 episodes), and the early goings of the show aren't the best. But as you get to know the characters and the type of humor it employs, Gintama gradually turns into one of the funniest things I've ever seen. There are arcs here and there, but most of the episodes work as standalones.
• Toradora: Solid romance story, many good characters, good drama. Taiga's early behavior can be a turnoff for some, but the show is worth sticking with.
• Durarara: This is anime. Anime as hell. Many crazy characters, many different perspectives. Stuff happens, it's pretty cool.
• Tonari no Seki-Kun: Short hilarious sketches about a guy fucking around in class. 7min of greatness per episode.
• Polar Bear Cafe: It's actually really enjoyable. Very aimless though. It's kind of not comedy, and it's not drama or action. It's just kind of there and is pretty cool.
• Usagi Drop: The cutest and most amazong goddamn story of a young man and a small child experiencing life and growing up together as parent/child. It's great.
• Humanity has declined: Quirky thing with a cool artstyle. I cant really describe it well, but it's weird.
• Kill la Kill: Niche as hell, nothing I say matters. If you like the first 1 or 2 episodes you will probably like the rest. If not you definitely won't.
• Akame ga Killl: Dumb generic action. Blood and silly characters. Guilty pleasure of mine.

I wish CR had more stuff I like. :/

Fist of the North Star is always the answer to anime.

@roars5000:

I just got done with watching Attack on Titan, and it's actually really good if you just wanna watch some insanely violent action. The pace is really slow at times, but since you can just watch episodes back to back it's not that big of a deal.

Clannad is the best romance anime out there. I don't know if it's on Crunchyroll, but I HIGHLY recommend it regardless.

No Game No Life is probably my favorite anime I've seen this year. It has a VERY colorful and fun art style, though the fanservice can unfortunately get ridiculous at times, especially since it's depressingly played straight most of the time.

Kill La Kill is VERY weird, but if you wanna watch something nuts go for it. I don't even know if I like it, because it's so freaking weird.

Oh if you've played Persona 4, the Golden animation is on crunchyroll. not that it's very good...but yeah.

If you got netflix, just watch Gurren Lagann on there. Last I saw, the quality of CR's streaming for that specific show was terrible. Seemed heavily interlaced, and upscaled poorly (could've been windowboxed) from a sub-480i source. So best not waste your free month on it. Haven't had any other problems though, pretty good service.

Hajime No Ippo is a pretty fun series, easy to get into despite being so long running and CR only having the most recent season.

Gankutsuou

Mushishi

Fate Zero

Natsume Yujin-cho

Usagi Drop

Fist Of The North Star

A few I'd recommend. All stellar stuff.

Durarara! and Angel Beats are probably the coolest shows on there. Bakemonogatari is also pretty good but I feel like that's an anime that's mostly enjoyed by people who are already into anime. Usagi Drop and AnoHana are amazing but mushy as all hell.

Mushishi

Gargantia

No Game No Life

Fate Zero

Kawai Complex

Golden Time

The Eccentric Family

My Mental Choices

Ano Natsu de Matteru

Nozaki-kun

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a cool anime for cool dudes. Season one is done, and season 2 is on break! It's great! It gets good at like episode 10 Season 1

American crunchy has Fate Zero, Bakemono, Madoka and TTGL? T.T

In that case update!

Fate/Zero is great. A morbid show dealing in very gray characters. Not many good people to be found at all, but it creates a very interesting feel and dynamic for the show. I like it A LOT.

Bakemonogatari is a really stylish take on relationships and some supernatural elements. Weird camera angles, surreal imagery and mindbending conversations is what you have to look forward to.

Madoka Magia is a really twisted take on the magical girl genre. Kind of like a show dedicated to killing fairies in candyland. Definitely more than it seems at a glance. It tries to get decently "cerebral" as it goes on, your appreciation of that may vary.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: It's Asuras Wrath with mechs. It begins in a ridiclous but kind of small scale way. Then it rapidly escalates for 26 episodes to heights you would never imagine. Highly recommended.

Thanks, everyone! I'm looking for the weird, far out, strange stuff. I stumbled upon Occult Academy and I'm giving that a whirl. Anything bizarre - please send those recommendations my way.

@roars5000: Durarara is pretty bizarre. I don't want to say anything more because I'll either spoil it or I won't make any sense.

Aldnoah.Zero is fantastic

Other fantastic options is Kill la Kill, Akame ga Kill, Chaika the Coffin Princess, and No Game No Life

Holy shit, people have posted a lot of stuff in here already. Well, my list is sure to repeat some of what people have already said, but I'll try to put mine into two categories; a main watch and some lighter ancillary material to watch when you need a break from the main show. Perhaps a third category of things to check out if you exhaust the first two.

Primary:

• Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor(Intense! The full range of human emotions and the furthest depths of human depravity.)
• Jojo's Bizarre Adventure(Ridiculous! Manly ridiculousness and goofiness.)
• Bakemonogatari(A very stylish and quirky show with a lot of talking and colorful interludes. It's weird stuff, man.)
• Madoka Magica(Christopher Nolan's Sailor Moon.)
• Gurren Lagann(One of the steepest gutter to the stars craziness curves in anime. After you watch it, you'll think back on where it started and be like, 'damn, son!')

Secondary:

• Natsume Yujin-Cho(One of the chillest shows ever made, next to Mushi-Shi. I would suggest Mushi-Shi too, but they don't have the first season on CR.)
• Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun(Light, fast-paced funny stuff. A fun ensemble show.)
• Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions(Same description as above, but with LARPing.)
• Free! Iwatobi Swim Club(A light heartwarming sort of underdog drama story.)

Tertiary:

• Sword Art Online
• Beyond The Boundary
• No Game No Life
• Kill La Kill
• Another
• The Kawai Complex
• Sabagebu! Survival Game Club
• Angel Beats!
• Tonari No Seki-Kun

I've excluded any shows that are currently airing, so you can start and complete everything listed here.

I think that would be a pretty good run through some of the stuff that's available on Crunchyroll.

OP, I'm really happy that you made this thread because it reminded me to sign up for Crunchyroll using the Bombcast trial thing which then led to me ordering a Chie Satonaka keychain from Anime Expo 2014 that they were selling in the store.

So yeah, thanks.

If they have it, I always recommend outlaw star because it's my all time favorite.

Edit: I checked and they don't have the show so I can't recommend using the site.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Samurai Flamenco, Gatchaman Crowds, and Fist of the North Star. Samuraj Flamenco and Gatchaman Crowds are both so good.

@insidioustuna: Thanks for telling me about Samurai Flamenco, it looks super cool and I will watch it as soon as I can.

EDIT: Man that was disappointing. It starts SO GREAT and then throws away everything that makes it good.

Kids on the Slope is my top recommendation for sure. It's about a kid who moves to a new school and inadvertently forms a jazz band. Hardships are overcome with the power of jazz. It's only 12 episodes and the music is all jazz standards covered by Yoko Kanno (of Cowboy Bebop fame). If you like jazz even a little, give it a look. The story is fantastic, too. It really breaks through a lot of traditional anime tropes and keeps a really engaging pace. One of my favourite pieces of media ever.

For a slightly more out-there one, maybe try Wandering Son. It's about a transgendered male-born middle school kid who wishes to be a girl. It's all about the obstacles they face during this time and their relationships with friends, family and love interests. As a trans woman, I found this exceptionally relatable. It's not terribly cheery but it's an amazing watch and did something completely unique for anime (as far as I know).

I used to watch anime a lot, but stopped around 2009. So whatever I'm recommending is gonna be slightly older and I have no idea if they even have it.

• Detroit Metal City. This was complete absurdity but totally worthwile, basically about a really nice kid who happens to be in a death metal band.
• Samurai Champloo. Stylish, funny, great music, great action, cool story...all around probably one of best anime out there.
• Seirei no Moribito. My favorite anime. If Kurosawa had directed an anime, this would be it.
• Paranoia Agent. A series that stuck with me for a very long time. Really kinda messed up.
• Monster. REALLY slow, too slow really, this could have been nothing short of astounding if they had condensed it a bit. Still totally recommended.
• Mushi-shi. Mentioned before, totally recommended

Plenty of other stuff, but these are some off the top of my head. I'm also gonna add what is in my opinion the greatest anime opening ever, it immediately sets the tone.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni if you don't mind stuff like people getting their fingernails ripped off, beheaded, etc.

Mawaru Penguindrum is bizarre in a more savoury way.

Mirai Nikki is weird but again kinda fucked up in spots.

Anyone have any good horror or sci-fi recommendations? Thanks for all the shows you guys have named. I've been adding many of them to my queue.

Berserk! Read the manga after you're done with the show.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni & Another are loved by quite a few people though I despise both shows. Another is essentially an anime Final Destination if you are interested in that sort of thing.

UN-GO isn't horror, but I did find it to be a pretty great mystery show.

Every time I see someone recommend Berserk, I am compelled to mention that there is a baby on a spear on page 60 of the first chapter. And it only get's worse from there. Much, much worse.

It is not a series for the squeamish, but anyone who like anime and manga is pretty much obligated to at least dip their toe in it once. It is easily one of the most important and influential series out there.

I'm not an anime man, but I started watching Gurren Lagann last week and I'm trying to understand what I'm doing now.

Pssst! We have a thread for this kind of thing!

Might as well use this thread to drop a few Crunchyroll guest passes I've got taking up space: First come first serve.

Pass 1

Pass 2

Pass 3

As for actual shows you can watch on CR, check out Level E, Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun, and Aldnoah.Zero to get you started.

@dochaus: the Anime thread isn't particularly inviting to newcomers and can seem daunting.

My top 5 on crunchyroll. I enjoy Akame Ga Kill, Bakemonogatari, Chaika, Fate/Zero/Night and Toradora.

@corevi: Really? There's an anime-thread learning curve now? Where do I put the slider to reduce the difficulty?

I took one of the passes. It's the one with "BKVDUBX3MHM" code. Thanks a bunch!

Kill la Kill (Competed, Comdey Action)

Gurren Lagann (Completed, Comedy Action)

The Monogatari series which goes in this order Bakemonogatari (you will have to find the last 3 episodes elsewhere sadly since they are not on Crunchyroll), Nisemonogatari, Monogatari Series Second Season and Hanamonogatari. (All Completed, Comedy)

Aldnoah.Zero (Completed with the second series coming soon, Mech Action)

Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun (Completed, Comedy)

Your lie in April (Airing, Slice of life music anime, it is hard to explain)

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (Airing, Comedy)

Parasyte -the maxim- (Airing, Action)

Gugure! Kokkuri-san (Airing, Comedy)

Fate/Zero (Completed, Action)

Fate/stay night (Airing, Action)

Ok there are some places to start. All of them are good and I recommend them a bunch. A good place to look is also to look at what the popular shows are under the shows tab. Also the action/comedy bit is really oversimplifying things but will help a bit if you are looking to laugh or for something serious.

Psycho Pass

It's a bit like Minority Report with hints of Blade Runner (not in setting though).

Best I've seen in many years, really well written.

@voidprod: Sadly that is on Funimation's streaming service (and Netflix) and not Cruncyroll. Still a great show though.

I bet that he has Netflix because pretty much everyone with a credit card and fast enough internet to stream video has netflix.

Fate/Zero.

@ajayraz: HI AJAY!

@corevi: You never know. That does open a whole other can of worms. Though a lot of shows that are on Funimation/Crunchyroll are on Netflix.

@daveyo520: HI DAVE!! I hope the onion rings you had the other day were yummy.

@dochaus said:

Hey, Here's another guest pass!

Not to draw focus from the thread or anything, but since there are so many anime-heads in here I might as well ask.

Can't remember the name of the anime, but it's about a kid who has a robot he buys from a store, I think? The robot fights other robots, and I think the color of the robot was yellow? It also had machine guns placed on its arms. I know the description is very vague, but if anybody knows what I'm talking about, it would very much be appreciated.