Anime That Can Even Get Your Skeptic Piss-Baby Friends Hooked
February 10, 2019
THE CLASSIC
Cowboy Bebop (1998-1999)
A favorite across the board, Cowboy Bebop is a must-watch if you're only just dipping you toes into adult animation. If you're into films like The Fifth Element, The Matrix, and Blade Runner especially, you'll find the cyberpunk (social class disparity x high-tech futurism) genre to be your perfect fit. The story follows Spike, an unsuccessful bounty hunter and his ex-cop partner Jet as they go on the hunt for cash and pick up some friends and old enemies along the way.
Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996)
Probably shouldn't have watched this as a kid given the psychological mess of which it entails, you should definitely put it on your watchlist before I give away spoilers. Shinji is inducted (more like dragged) into Nerv, a military agency dealing with bio-tech to fight off these giant angel monsters set on destroying humanity. It takes one a lot of religious elements but overall it's pretty dark, possibly in part because of the director going through depression at the time.
GIRL POWER
Nana (2006-2007)
Two seemingly opposite girls with the same name board a train to Tokyo one day and are inseparable from then on. Although there are several moments of romance, it strays from being cheesy and the bond between the two girls paired with the very realistic hardships they face make it that much more enjoyable to watch. Plus, you're gonna have a huge crush on Osaki by the end.
Michiko to Hatchin (2008-2009)
The Afro-Latina legend escapes prison for the fourth time in search of answers from the past and links up with an abused foster kid, Hannah, whom she later names "Hatchin". Their lives intersect thanks to Hiroshi Moreno, Michiko's ex-lover and supposedly Hatchin's father. On their quest for freedom, the anime highlights child exploitation, poverty, and gang wars making for a story unlike anything you'd know animation to portray.
TO EASE YOUR MIND
Kimi ni Todoke (2009-2010)
Get ready to hit the biggest UWU of your life. Sawako is completely misunderstood by her classmates because of her social anxiety and resemblance to the girl from The Ring. It isn't until she meets Kazehaya, the social butterfly, that you see her begin to make friends and truly blossom as a person. The relationships between her and her newfound friends along with a focus on self-actualization is truly heart-warming to see.
Blue Spring Ride (2014)
Yeah, anime love-lines totally screw you in real life but, on with masochism! Futaba and Kou are definitely the childhood friends to lovers trope but it's definitely not that simple. Looking at when they first met in middle school versus meeting again in high school, everything about their mindsets changed but that doesn't stop Futaba's spunky ass from going for broke and getting as close to her man as possible.
STAND-OUTS
Samurai Champloo (2004-2005)
This one is such a trip. Fuu is waitressing at a local teahouse but unintentionally spills tea all over a customer who of course happens a raging samurai who needed a Xanax but instead, gets the attention of Mugen, crazy fighting machine. When Mugen makes minced meat outta that guy's crew he ends of picking on this dude Jin who happens to be a ronin (lone wolf kinda samurai) and they basically tear the shop to pieces and accidentally kill a government official's son. Flash forward Fuu busts them out of jail before they're executed and demands they become her bodyguards (girl is nuts) while she goes in search for her mystery sunflower man.
Psycho-Pass (2012-2013)
It's sort of like if you took Cold Case (Japanese crime drama) and made it cyberpunk. In a futuristic world, citizens have to go through a tests to examine their mental health in terms of whether or not they're a threat to society. But of course, this system is ridiculously corrupted and you're dead if you even twitch your eye. Akane is intent on finding true justice in this f---ed up world and teams up with Shinya, a veteran inspector, the dig deep and save the innocent.
Kakegurui (2017-)
Saved for last because I wasn't sure whether or not to even include it, but hey, maybe unhinged is your cup of tea. Picture this: you send your kid to a private academy full of the richest and most elite students in the country, but they're actually put into a social pyramid based on sadistic gambling stakes. Yumeko enrolls in the academy to shake the table and not because she cares about human rights or anything no she's just mad, madder than the hatter level mad.
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