Anime for people who hate it

[HappyTauren]

Well, I've noticed that there's quite a number of people who hate anime because they hate it for its typical traits - ridiculous fights, bad chibi humor, oversized body parts, etc. However there's a lot of anime that's nothing like that, or those elements are low in supply, but otherwise they have a good story, character development, humor and general concept.

So let's start:

1) One Punch Man
Essentially parodies "fighting" animes such as DBZ.
2) Monster
More of a detective kind of an anime, very serious, dark and sinister/messed up in general
3) Steins;Gate
Time travel and stuff. Great humor. Pokes fun at the otaku culture, moe elements are plot devices and more so supposed to make you cringe.
4) Hataraku Maou-sama
Weird plot twists, great humor. Parodies the "fight the dark lord of evil" kind of anime, hilarious to watch the character development.

I have a lot more to add, but can't be bothered to write up on them.

And yes, I hate most anime elements such as chibi humor, messed up proportions and moe, shitty jpop music, so I am suggesting stuff based on my taste, since, as I said, I hate those elements personally, and hopefully somebody will suggest some nice "anti-anime" anime to me as well.

 

[Meatmuffin]

Suggestion: Code Geass, Lelouch of the Rebellion
It has some "typical traits of anime", but the plot makes up for it. Its mechanical-type fantasy fights stand out among other animes, has no weird attachments and has a GREAT storyline. It also includes astonishing tactics and mindgames by both the protagonists and the antagonists.

 

[WaterKnight]

Historic

• Versailles no Bara (The Rose of Versailles/Lady Oscar)
• Shoukoujo Sara (A Little Princess Sara)
• Romeo no Aoi Sora (Romeo and The Black Brothers)
• Akage no Anne (Anne of Green Gables)
• Master Keaton

Sports romance

• Suzuka
• Touch
• Cross Game
• Princess Nine: Kisaragi Joshikou Yakyuubu (Princess Nine)
• Chihayafuru
• Baby Steps
• Hungry Heart: Wild Striker
• Ginban Kaleidoscope

More ganbare

• Musashi no Ken
• Ginga e Kickoff!!
• Ganbarist! Shun (Ganba Fly High)
• Yawara! (Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl)
• Giant Killing
• Dia no Ace (Ace of the Diamond)
• Hikari no Densetsu (Legend of Light)

Romance comedy

• Marmalade Boy
• Kimi ni Todoke
• Nodame Cantabile
• Maison Ikkoku
• Kimagure Orange Road

Adventure

• Allison to Lillia (Allison & Lillia)
• Break Blade
• Patapata Hikousen no Bouken (Secret of Cerulean Sand)

Drama

• Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (Rumbling Hearts)
• Death Parade
• Full Moon o Sagashite (Full Moon)

Action Drama

• Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
• Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou (Basilisk)
• Angel Heart
• Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel: Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu (Legend of the Galactic Heroes)

Not all of them are without fantasy elements but I think those with real life notions and emotions really add depth. Sports can be mixed well with romance, comedy and especially coming of age. The anime Barakamon is quite inspring as latter. While most anime feature japan, historic settings display other cultures and periods. The above listed Patapata Hikousen no Bouken (Secret of Cerulean Sand) is a combination of two Jules Verne novels. The drama section often deals with basic human conflicts.

 

[PurgeandFire]

Code Geass was a little hard to get into IMO. Since it has the typical traits from the start, I'd say it is a better choice after you've gotten used to anime. I tried it earlier and didn't end up watching the rest, but now that I've seen more anime and gotten used to the clichés, I'll probably give it a better chance.

I know this is over-stated, but Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo are both great gateway anime. They really don't conform to the stereotypes you associate with anime.

For me personally, this is the road I took: I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender as a joke at first (when I was a kid). I know it isn't an anime, but as a kid I thought it was and I was instantly against it. Then I realized how amazing it was and decided I needed to find more shows like it. You really can't find that type of fantasy in western animation (since they are ALL comedies, besides Disney movies), so I looked to other mediums. I started watching Miyazaki films--particularly Princess Mononoke. That hooked me. After that, I watched Cowboy Bebop followed by Samurai Champloo.

I think it is important to look to the ones that have good dubs. Most people will be against subs at first. And even though most english dubs are awful, the Miyazaki films + Shiniciro Watanabe shows have pretty solid english dubs. After that, they can start expanding into other stuff.

If you show someone a stereotypical anime I guarantee they'll be turned off from the get-go, unless they are really young. I gave things a much better chance when I was younger, heheh. It is part of the reason why I try to keep an open mind nowadays. If I hadn't had it before, then I wouldn't have been able to experience these amazing shows!

 

[Chaosy]

Death Note?

 

[Ardenian]

Ao Haru Ride for people liking romance-comedy.
The characters are surprisingly mature for an anime and
they are not stereotypical ones, though showing partly those hated traits,
but are majorly unique and complex.

Lovely Complex ( Rabu☆Kon) also features rather unique characters.
However, this romance-comedy anime has many many drama phases, crying and such, you know.
I would recommend it for people liking drama.

Angel Beats is a touching anime.
Though rather average when it comes to comedy and original characters,
the presented story touches one's heart. Genre-wise it is around comedy-action.

 

[Squiggy]

*Gintama
*Death Note
*All movies by Makoto Shinkai
*All Ghibi movies
*Shuffle!
*Sasameki Koto
*True Tears
*Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

and lastly, as with every single anime recommendation list I reply to; Clannad.

 

[HappyTauren]

^Ignore Clannad, just look at Squiggy's sig to see why.

Anyway, I'd add Shinsekai Yori.

 

[Squiggy]

^Ignore HT, he's got bad taste.

Anyways, I'd add Hellsing + Hellsing Ultimate.

 

[Roland]

Hates:

Naruto
One Punch Man
Attack on Titan
Ranma 1/2
City Hunter 1991

More to come.

 

[HappyTauren]

Did you even read what the thread is about?

 

[Ardenian]

I had a handful of prejudice towards anime stuff when I was to watch spirited away. And for me, a guy who finds anime clichés intelligence insulting, the movie really was something else and I was indeed pleasantly surprised with it.

Oh yes, basically all stand-alone ( not series-based) movies are decent.
There is only a handful though, sadly, like Spirited Away, Tonari no Totoro, Hauru no Ugoku Shiro or Brave Story.

 

[HappyTauren]

I'd add Vampire Hunter D though it's really not for everyone.

 

[Flux]

Death Note is great for people beginning to watch anime. By the way, only watch Gintama if you don't care for a story/progression. I would also suggest Prison School (for Comedy with story and a little bit ecchi). Steins;Gate is top 2 in myanimelist (last time I checked) so it's obviously good and mind blowing (but a little slow start).

 

[Wasabee]

^^ Prison School hahaha

Steins Gate the first few was confusing at first but you'll understand everything as the story progress.

 

[Meatmuffin]

Code Geass was a little hard to get into IMO. Since it has the typical traits from the start, I'd say it is a better choice after you've gotten used to anime. I tried it earlier and didn't end up watching the rest, but now that I've seen more anime and gotten used to the clichés, I'll probably give it a better chance.

That's weird, Code Geass was one of the first animes that I have watched and I watched through all 50 episodes in 3 days. But of course, by then, I have already watched through the episode count of one piece, but that anime is very similar to DBZ -- it just doesn't seem like an anime.

 

[San]

Spice and Wolf, Ajin!

 

[Almia]

Great Teacher Onizuka
- If you want comedy and too cry because of it's drama

One Punch Man
- Comedy and anime cliches

Fullmetal Alchemist
- Man, some of it's details make sense in real world.

One Piece
- Not recommended for those who haven't started or seen any episode of the series.

Escaflowne
- My brother suggested it.

Hellsing
- If you want some gore, awesome fights and some religious vs pagans stuff.

Detective Conan aka Case Closed
-When a daily crossword puzzle/brain teaser meets anime.

Trigun
-watch it.

Now for the movies:

- Grave of the Fireflies (BEST WAR FILM EVER, i mean BEST OF ALL WAR FILMS)
- The Wind Rises (if you are a person who dreams, watch this)
- Only Yesterday (romance)
- Ghost in the Shell (action and sci-fi but on a realistic side, you should watch this because the anime will have a live-action remake)
- Akira (just like Fullmetal Alchemist, some details makes sense in the real world)
- The Tale of Princess Kaguya(if you want some japanese history background)
- Sword of the Stranger

 

[Deleted member 238226]

i say another, mirai nikki, samurai champloo and gintama.

love their gruesome horror story and their death scene. samurai champloo really don't conform to the stereotypes you associate with anime. and gintama for everything :3

 

[Almia]

OH forgot something : Princess Mononoke

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Detroit Metal City.

I'll let these .gif speak for themselves:

 

[WaterKnight]

As for movies:

• Omoide no Marnie (When Marnie Was There)
• Paprika
• Tenshi no Tamago (Angel's Egg)
• Perfect Blue
• Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)
• Gedo Senki (Tales from Earthsea)
• Tokyo Godfathers
• Taiyou no Hou: El Cantare e no Michi (The Laws of the Sun)
• Toaru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku
• Mardock Scramble

 

[Rheiko]

I have many but can't remember them all so I'll just list the ones that came to my mind first. I might add more.

Steins;Gate - I simply love how the story develops.
Death Note - It's great with all the hypotesis and suspection as well as the tactics to remain unknown though it's kind of boring in some episodes.
Code Geass - Strategies and Tactics lelouch uses along with his special power are impressive, in my opinion.

Clannad though. <3
Nice one Squiggy.

 

[Almia]

detroit metal city.

whut

i'll let these .gif speak for themselves:

my eyes!!!

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)

Is it that really good? I should download it

 

[HappyTauren]

Nausicaa is my favorite anime-movie. Very nostalgic, beautiful and dear to me :3 Music is beautiful too. Even the dub is superb which is extremely rare in general.

 

[WaterKnight]

Is it that really good? I should download it

Why do you ask for this one specifically? It's similar to Mononoke-hime (Princess Mononoke) in the sense of a bionomics motivation. It possesses the typical Ghibli style. In my opinion, it's fairly good. But the thing is, you will come across the popular anime anyway. I want to suggest some that are less known and thereby inspire you to dig deeper and that there are a lot of faces to anime. Maybe not everything is a masterpiece but there is a lot of potential floating around.

 

[Shadow Fury]

I think it's my fault if I sparked off the idea of this thread XD
Well, to remain on-topic, I actually detest anime, but when I watched One Punch Man, I had to change my mind a little. That kind of anime (also baptized anti-anime by me and HT) is the one I only appreciate a little.

 

[HappyTauren]

(also baptized anti-anime by me and HT) is the one I only appreciate a little.

That's where it all starts. The next thing you know, you're watching the Magical Girl genre :x

Speaking of the Magical Girl genre, there's only one anime I'd suggest out of all of it, and it'd be Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, just because it spins off in a completely different direction from where it started. For this reason I'd suggest Neon Genesis Evangelion as well, they're kinda the same thing.

 

[Chaosy]

Zankyou no Terror should be pretty solid for everyone as well.

 

[Almia]

Oh yeah, Evangelion is really good.

 

[HappyTauren]

Detroit Metal City.

I'll let these .gif speak for themselves:

I just watched this, the runtime is around 2 hours. Holy fucking shit am I happy I created this thread

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I just watched this, the runtime is around 2 hours. Holy fucking shit am I happy I created this thread

 

[HappyTauren]

I mean, the anime is predictable to the bone, but that is kind of the joke as well.

 

[fladdermasken]

There are some good mentions in the thread already. e.g. TTGL, Detroit Metal City, Cowboy Bebop, and Samurai Champloo, are all good shows that are blatantly more westernized and/or tongue in cheek than your standard watch.

Gonna try and limit this to stuff that hasn't been brought up already.

Texhnolyze

A dark psychological cyberpunk-esque show that features crime syndicates, war of territorial control, futuristic attachable mecha limbs, and fucking prophecies, all set in a bleak and desolated underground settlement with cracked stark cement buildings. The pacing is pretty slow, and I don't know if everyone will like it, but it definitely doesn't fit into standard shelf anime. 22 episodes (23 min. per ep.).

Shigurui

Edo Era samurai. Veeeery graphically depicted. Underneath the raw, unadulterated gore that sets it apart from similar shows, it's actually pretty artsy too. It revolves around a recollection of lessons, thoughts and ideas, that pave way for a larger story that is shown by many short timeline snippets that takes you all over the fucking map.

FLCL

I hear it's being picked up again by [adult swim], so it's probably a good idea to watch it before. This show is all kinds of fucked up. The pacing of the story is as wild as the characters in it, and they take a lot of freaky liberal choices with the art direction. I won't go too deep into this. It's only 6 episodes long, and the only good way to describe it is Fooly Fucking Cooly. Watch it.

Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou

Never cracked as many laughs to an anime as I did with this. It takes every tough guy stereotype and slams it on its head. Throw a mild-mannered and overall well behaving student in a melting pot of yakuza-like delinquents. Then add Freddie Mercury, a gorilla, a robot, aliens, remarkably intelligent deadpan humor, and whatever shit flies by. The episodes are only 11 minutes long a piece, and the show is 26 episodes long.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

+1 for FLCL. It's basicly the acid trip of anime.

 

[Deleted member 242951]

Where's Death Note, Tokyo ghoul, One Outs, Psycho pass, code geass and such ?

 

[HappyTauren]

Most are already mentioned, sometimes several times.

 

[Gilles]

I really liked the HT's intentions with this thread. I dislike that everyone seems to be turning into yet another "good anime" thread. Also posting title without any information.

I second Steins Gate as a really good show for the non-anime fan. Really interesting story and I would argue a more Western style of writing and animation. Also, the English dub is actually better than the original! Can't stand some of the Japanese voices.

I second Samurai Champloo as well. It's humor is closer to Western humor and the action isn't over the top (looking at you Gurren Lagann). Or at least I found it pretty funny and I usual don't care for anime humor.

Full Metal Alchemist is a fantastic anime for someone new to the genre. Really good dub (better imo) and a much more Western style of show imo.

 

[Daffa]

Full Metal Alchemist is a fantastic anime for someone new to the genre. Really good dub (better imo) and a much more Western style of show imo.

Though the story might be a little heavy for some, but it's good one
I prefer the Brotherhood one though, the original kinda screw up.

 

[Almia]

Though the story might be a little heavy for some, but it's good one
I prefer the Brotherhood one though, the original kinda screw up.

Brotherhood is perfect. The old (let me rephrase that : fake and non-canon) series wasn't even on the author's knowledge that the director have made a different story.

 

[Gilles]

I like both. I think I liked Brotherhood more, but honestly I don't remember them that well; it's been so long.

 

[Xonok]

Am I the only one that dislikes Death Note? It starts off good, but after a certain point it just breaks down. I too liked it for the mindgames, but the end was simply so stupid that there was no point and

Spoiler

no one won.

 

[Almia]

Death Note doesn't attract me that much. I am impressed as to how the play mind games but some scenes are a bit dull for me.

 

[Rheiko]

Where's Death Note, Tokyo ghoul, One Outs, Psycho pass, code geass and such ?

I clearly forgot about Tokyo Ghoul. It's awesome how Kaneki changed his character, becoming a badass character in the series. <3
Waiting for the next season!

 

[HappyTauren]

Please don't watch Steins;Gate with the american (rather than english, let's call it american) dub, it loses so much character it isn't even funny. And this is not sub elitism or anything, it's just that a lot of hilarity comes from engrish and/or Okabe's (mostly) mad scientist character, which really translates poorly in the dub.

As for Death Note, it's okay I guess... I just found it pretty dumb because you're really following two omniscient characters who are tailing each other so really it doesn't do much. The premise is good, the execution is pretty bad. But it's watchable if you want to ignore what it actually is.

 

[WaterKnight]

I really liked the HT's intentions with this thread. I dislike that everyone seems to be turning into yet another "good anime" thread. Also posting title without any information.

The first post specifically asks for anime suggestions that fit the criteria and HappyTauren displayed this as well. We could however discuss if the mentions are valid in meeting the criteria.

 

[InfernalTater]

Avatar The Last Airbender is pretty cool, I don't know if it's been mentioned already or not.

 

[fladdermasken]

Cleaned out the thread a bit from posts that weren't on topic and posts that just contained spoilers.

The forums and the chatroom are not the same type of element, guys. If you don't have anything to add to the topic, don't add anything to it.

All "I don't like anime" posts will henceforth be deleted.

 

[Celaquil]

I find the notion of "non-anime anime fans" rather ridiculous and ironic, quite frankly.
It's sort of like saying "I'm a non-racist racist" because I only don't like Philipinos.

Anime is an art style, certainly derived from a culture very different from the American
or even European culture, but it's still only an art style. You can't really say you hate
anime if you watch anime, even if you don't like most animes. It would be like me
saying I hate movies, because I only watch some movies, which is true. Most movies
are shitty as fuck, even most books are, I don't hate either for that matter.

Anyway, enough ranting. I've heard "Fullmetal Alchemist" is supposed to be really good.
I don't really know if it falls in under this... "Category" of yours, but I'm going to find out.

 

[HappyTauren]

I find the notion of "non-anime anime fans" rather ridiculous and ironic, quite frankly.
It's sort of like saying "I'm a non-racist racist" because I only don't like Philipinos.

Anime is an art style, certainly derived from a culture very different from the American
or even European culture, but it's still only an art style. You can't really say you hate
anime if you watch anime, even if you don't like most animes. It would be like me
saying I hate movies, because I only watch some movies, which is true. Most movies
are shitty as fuck, even most books are, I don't hate either for that matter.

Well, the thing is, there are some anime-specific characteristics that put off people. Like the ones I have mentioned in the first post, so people who do not like anime because of those things will naturally skip the anime that's abundant with them, but can still watch a ton of other anime that either makes up for it by being ridiculous (like One Punch Man or Gintama) or simply doesn't have any of them (Monster/Ghibli films). I only started this thread because I often the elements I've outlined in the first post, while I still like some anime series in general. So while it truly is an art style in general, there's a lot of internal variation.

Anyway, enough ranting. I've heard "Fullmetal Alchemist" is supposed to be really good.
I don't really know if it falls in under this... "Category" of yours, but I'm going to find out.

Brotherhood at least should be pretty good. But it has a lot of silly chibi humor that's majorly misplaced, and I was about to give it 10/10 but that made me give it 9/10. Misplaced anime elements are really bad, if they attempt comedy through a situation that is really not funny at all.