Interest Stacks

In spite of the objectively horrible plot writing and unlikable characters, Evangelion connected with me on a very intrinsic, personal, human level. The characters felt like creator Hideaki Anno was baring the worst parts of himself and yet I saw so many pieces of MYSELF reflected in them (ik how cringe this sounds but it's real). This is the magnum opus of a mentally unstable auteur creating the animated equivalent of screaming into the abyss. This is a depressed and lonely man pouring every ounce of that into a single piece of art. If you've ever been at the brink, there will be something in this show that resonates with you.

Depending on the day, this or Violet Evergarden is my favourite anime.

I wrote like 3 paragraphs trying to describe what this show is and failed, so I deleted it and wrote another 2 and didn't like those either and now here we are. Screw it. I have no clue how to describe Monogatari. It's filled with weird shit. It's the "I'm-not-like-the-other-anime" anime. 90% of this show is dialogue, but it's snappy, clever, and feels like a verbal chess match. The other 10% is an ADHD art style that isn't afraid to mix it up and go abstract or experiment with super fast cuts, snippets of live action, wonky camera angles, or whatever tickles their fancy. Monogatari's method of storytelling consists of being led in twists and turns having no clue whats going on until a reveal makes the whole mystery fall into place. Goddammit, I haven't even said what it's actually about. It's really good though.

From the New World is one of the coolest dystopian stories out there, with one most peculiar dystopian worlds I've ever seen. This is one of those anime that sucks you in because of how it gradually fleshes out the world and its inhabitants. The show uses its setting and characters to ask some really cool questions but not really shoving the answers down your throat. If you're a fan of shows with morally grey characters or looking for something "deep" (ew that word is cringe), I highly recommend giving this a shot.

Spice and Wolf hit a niche I didn't know I needed with its perfect blend of adventure and romance. Holo has one of the most captivating personalities put to screen, and the male lead, Lawrence, is also very smart and charming (unlike most anime protagonists). They bounce off of each other effortlessly and organically; it's clear that Lawrence and Holo have amazing chemistry, both as friends and potential partners. The cherry on top is that the show has an actual plot. A wolf goddess and a medieval era merchant travelling around getting into microeconomics related hijinks might seem boring, but because the show draws from the business world of all things, the conflicts are unique and resolved using cunning and knowledge rather than punching people really hard.

Violet Evergarden does not require 400 IQ to understand. It's the simple, straightforward story of an ex-child soldier with deeply ingrained trauma and stunted emotional intelligence trying to figure out what love is. It's a show about the human side of being human. Themes of loss, love (of varying types, not just romantic), grief, change, self acceptance, forgiveness, and moving on are ever-present. Matching the superb character writing is some of the most stellar animation and music in anime. Even if you think the story is boring, you could probably watch the show just for the pretty pictures.

This is the anime that got me into anime
Depending on the day, this or Evangelion is my favourite anime

It's fucking epic. The action is badass and gritty and full of weird body horror with the titans. The mysteries the show sets up and the drip feed of new information about the world the characters inhabit kept me on the edge of my seat for seasons on end. Attack on Titan is a show that knows to let things marinate for a bit before hitting you with satisfying reveals. This is one of the shows that gets better and better the more you watch. There is a chance this show falls apart if you think too hard, but I watch this to get swept away by the sheer spectacle of it all.

This show literally has it all:
- Banger OP
- Banger romance (I wish Kurisu were real)
- Banger time travel story with no plotholes that I noticed
- A fun cast of characters who are lovable dweebs and weebs
- Developing those characters into people you actually care for
- One of the most gripping and suspenseful emotional roller coasters that slowly, slowly builds up before dropping you off a cliff
- Severe emotional trauma as those characters you care for are put through the ringer again and again and again
I watched this in 2 days and was reduced to an empty husk in a puddle of tears. It was beautiful.

This is the hottest ecchi show
Holy fuck, the lipstick scene is gonna stay with me for a long time
It's also actually kinda funny at times

Makoto Shinkai knows how to make the perfect teen romance movie:
- Visuals that look more beautiful than real life
- Radwimps soundtrack that goes hard
- Plot that values sheer emotional impact over anything else
- The characters overcoming all odds to be together
This isn't a thinking movie, this is a feeling movie. And boy, did I feel. Watch this in the dark on the biggest screen possible and fully immerse yourself. This is the definition of cinema.

Fruits Basket is so much more than its common labels as a shoujo anime, a romance, or a reverse harem (which it isn't even). It's about love, acceptance, kindness, and the role these three play in overcoming trauma. Every character is multifaceted. They are all struggling with something internally. They feel like human beings. I am drawn to stories with person vs self conflict and character based storytelling; Fruits Basket has both in spades. If you want a show that preaches compassion over all else, you need to watch this. This is the type of show that has the capacity to hit deep in your soul and stay there. There's a stigma around guys watching shoujo anime and it saddens me knowing that there will be tons of guys who won't watch this because "it's made for girls".

Liz is not a movie for those looking for a high octane cinematic experience. Liz is for people who want to examine every little subtlety in the character movements. Liz is for people who think metaphors are actually kinda cool (tbh the metaphors are not subtle). Liz is for the 1% of film weirdos who see the word arthouse and their ears perk up. Liz is for people who like uber slow burn movies where nothing happens, but once you read between the lines just a teeny, tiny bit, you get hit with a gut punch of so many things happening. If I had watched this during a transition period in my life (especially high school graduation), I may have given this an 11/10.

Devilman: Crybaby is strange, visceral, and gross. The art is kinda wonky, there was a deliberate decision made to not care about keeping animation consistent or on model, there's titties literally everywhere, an equal amount of obscene gore and body horror, characters will routinely run on all fours, random rappers will show up sometimes just to spit some bars, and there's a scene where a guy has a wet dream and drenches his ceiling in semen. But beneath the edgy, bizarre surface is a tale about the nature of humanity. Maybe, just maybe, the real devil is man. Crybaby.

This is a tale told after the end of the world. The austere, grey ruins that run endlessly onwards. The sheer scale of the decaying mega-structures contrasting with the smallness and insignificance of the main characters. The silence, only broken by the quiet sputtering of a vehicle engine. The hauntingly ethereal soundtrack hammering in that the world is lonely, cold, and dead.

From episode 1, the show masterfully builds this atmosphere of despair and emptiness. Once upon a time, humanity reached heights we could only ever imagine of. But those days are over, and the awe-inspiring human race has gone out not with a glorious bang, but with a whimper.

Anyway, Girls' Last Tour is a slice of life where two girls talk about random bullshit while driving through an aesthetic apocalypse-core city backdrop. That's the whole show. Sometimes they eat food. Trust me, it's deep.

A Silent Voice is about a boy who used to relentlessly bully a deaf girl and grows to regret it years later. He then makes it his mission to make things right. Forgiveness, atonement, self hatred and self love, reconciliation, and empathy are the driving forces of this movie. Using these themes, A Silent Voice manages to craft some of the most sympathetic and realistic main characters I've seen in any medium. I didn't know it would be possible to make me care for a guy who bullied a disabled person, but they did.

A Place Further Than The Universe is a show about 4 moe girls going to Antarctica. But it's really a show about self actualization, realizing your dreams, and having no regrets. The journey that these girls go on, while impossible for most people to relate to, will resonate with you if you feel like you're in a rut. This show taught me that it's about the journey, not the destination. So get out there and go on one.

Of course, they went to fucking Antarctica and I was watching cartoons in my basement at 4am but