Katanagatari

Fuji TV's noitaminA (ノイタミナ) late night programming block which currently broadcasts on Fridays from 00:45 to 1:45.

Anime where the story takes place mostly in rural areas or far from urban cities. (In construction)

Next (Part 2): https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9968

A small collection of visually distinct anime to feast your eyes on.

Real bangers that will leave you on the edge of your seat, your mind blown or your eyes tearing up.

Series that range around 11 episodes to 26 episodes and have already reached their finale. Taking into account 2nd parts for the 26 ones.

We've all experienced that frustrated feeling of enjoying an anime, only to find out that the rest of the show will never be fully animated or it has a horrible, rushed, incomplete, unsatisfying ending. Here is a list of anime with endings that are so fulfilling and complete that they will leave you with nothing but a heart full of contentment and/or bittersweetness. List was created through collective data from multiple websites of people's answers as to what shows are considered to have satisfying endings.

Most adaptations are, at best, on par with the original. Some aspects are better, some worse, so it's down to preference as to how to enjoy a story. There are, of course, many, *many* outright stinkers that make one think the original was far worse than it actually was. But sometimes there comes an adaptation made with such outstanding effort, it elevates the source material onto a completely new level of experience: either through masterful editing or reimagining of the original narrative, or visionary direction, or incredible sound design, or career-topping performance from animators and/or voice actors.

This list covers anime adaptations that I consider far and away superior to their printed source materials. To the point where there isn't any need at all to read the original as long as the adaptation exists because everything is just better in the latter.

Do note that I don't necessarily consider all of these shows great per se; the only condition for them to be here is to be much superior to the original work across the board. A notable example of a horribad manga somewhat saved by outstanding adaptation effort is Erased. Similarly, while Devilman: Crybaby is contentious by itself, almost all of its faults lie with Go Nagai's original, and Masaaki Yuasa's version still manages to mitigate many of them.

Also note that I'm omitting sequels, subsequent seasons, etc., to avoid clutter, and in MOST (but not all!) cases they would also apply. Notable exceptions exist, e.g. One-Punch Man season 2. In all other cases I'll either use the first installment in the series or the one I consider the best-made (for example, if it's a movie with greater production values than the rest of the series).

See also the opposite of this list: Outstanding manga with incredibly disappointing adaptations: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/2346

More entries will be added in the future. Existing entries are subject to revision.

This list constitutes my personal views and stances. If something isn't on it, it likely means I haven't watched it or am not familiar enough with the original to have a qualified opinion. Feel free to shoot me suggestions via DMs, but make sure you have a convincing argument if it's not something that's already on my main manga/anime list. I don't promise it'll end up here, but I will consider all suggestions.

This is the kind of stuff you'll want to show to your older relatives or a friend / significant other who isn't into anime in particular but is open to new experiences. Not necessarily to hook them on anime but simply to share a good time together.

What helps an anime end up on this list:
* either subdued or distinctly avant-garde appearance that transcends common anime design sensibilities;
* mature, adult-life-related themes;
* well-crafted, compelling story and character interactions;
* fresh and daring ideas or their execution;
* being otherwise remarkable as an art piece;
* moderate length.

What DOESN'T help an anime end up on the list:
* referencing or pandering to otaku culture, incessant fan service, and all that crap;
* slow-burn slice-of-life narrative;
* overly random, absurdist, reference-heavy humor;
* being too long or narratively incomplete;
* being too tropey;
* not being very good in general (regrettably, this includes bad and mediocre adaptations of good manga/LNs, so no Berserk, My Home Hero, or Golden Kamuy on the list).

These aren't absolute rules but they're hard enough that I would only consider minor exceptions. There is most certainly not enough room for every single piece that fits the bill, so take this as my personal, heavily curated top-50. If there is a sequel or a side-story that also deserves attention (or, conversely, one you should skip), I will mention it in the annotations, so please watch them.

List is subject to revisions and reordering.

Anime that just hit different. Certifiably fresh vibes.

Animes heavily featuring samurai

Anime with unique art-style/premise and or surreal/dreamlike sequences

Get out of my way, idiot.

Surreal anime that have an upbeat tone!

Anything with visually appealing art that makes you go stunned and will make you never want to look away from that scenery, and can be used as your background wallpaper.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is basically a list of all my favorite anime. Anything I give a 9 automatically gets on this list, but only the entry from each franchise I liked the most. Feel free to try and watch every single anime on this list.

Associated words: Light (Visually and/or Thematically), Character-centric, Dialogue-heavy, Personal, Artsy, Trippy, Existential, AND/OR Satiric
(Emphasis on AND/OR)



Do check out the other 'half': https://myanimelist.net/stacks/4922 (Some shows could also fit here)

Anime series that are great and underrated.