10 Anime Recommendations You Must Watch
If anime is constantly recommended around you and you haven’t taken the first step to watch it, if you are interested in Far East and Japanese culture but you don’t know anime, or if you just don’t know where to start watching anime, this list is for you. The most impressive and beautiful anime for those who will watch anime for the first time. Be careful; if you watch one from this list, you may have to watch them all. Animes of different genres are waiting for you, lovers of all genres.
Table of Contents
1) Death Note
Classic, cult, and impressive. It is the first anime for 50% of people who watch anime. The story begins when the main character, Light Yagami, finds the notebook and starts using it when he is an ordinary student. The death note causes the person whose name is written to die within 48 hours. Using this notebook, Light decides to cleanse the world of criminals involved in murders. Light, who nicknames himself “Kira,” devises a very clever and complex plan for the murders.
However, as deaths increase all over the world, this situation attracts the attention of the police in Tokyo, one of the cities in Japan. Realizing this, a detective named L devotes his life to solving the case and finding out who is responsible for Kira. A game of wits ensues between two super-intelligent characters, and the story focuses throughout on Kira’s identity and L’s efforts to stop her.
Death Note deals with deep issues such as human nature, freedom, justice, and abuse of power. It also shows the main character, Light, being dragged into an increasingly dark and psychopathic journey throughout the story. The anime includes elements of suspense and action, along with this brainteaser and discussion of ethical questions.
2) Ao Haru Ride
For those who are incorrigible romantics and still feel young,. Ao Haru Ride is an anime series based on a manga series written and illustrated by Io Sakisaka. Its plot tells the complex relationship of high school girl Futaba Yoshioka.
While Futaba tries to be popular in middle school, she has many boyfriends. However, she is ostracized by her boyfriend’s friends, who are interested in their popularity, leaving her heartbroken. After this incident, Futaba avoids and fears popularity in her high school life. But one day, he runs into his primary school friend, Kou Tanaka. Kou was the first guy Futaba liked.
Although Futaba and Kou love each other, their relationship ends when Kou suddenly leaves school. Three years later, while Futaba is losing hope of seeing Kou again, when she starts high school, she learns that Kou has transferred to her school. However, Kou is very different from his old self, and Futaba has difficulty recognizing Kou.
Ao Haru Ride deals with themes such as adolescence, friendship, love, and youth, along with the developing relationship between Futaba and Kou. While the duo tries to erase the traces of their past and rediscover each other, they experience the excitement and difficulties of their youth.
3) Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is an anime series about players’ struggles to survive in a virtual reality world, a game called Aincrad. Players can enter the game with the help of a device called “NerveGear” and move in a way that makes them feel like they are in the real world. However, the creator of the game announces that the only way out is to complete the game and that those who try to quit the game will kill their brains.
Kirito, the main character, joins the game as a “Warrior” class character and tries to survive in the 100-story Aincrad tower with other players. However, as the rules of the game change, the struggle for survival in the real world continues in the game world.
Sword Art Online deals with the adventures and relationships of Kirito, who meets Asuna, who is also an actress, in both the real world and the game world. The series contains elements of action, adventure, drama, and romance.
4) Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood
The story takes place in a world called Amestris. In this world, alchemy is used as a science that works with natural laws. After losing their mother, Edward and Alphonse Elric, the main characters of the series, try to bring her back to life using alchemy. However, this experience causes Edward to lose an arm and Alphonse to lose his entire body.
After this incident, Edward and Alphonse become alchemists known as the Elric Brothers to regain their lost limbs and bodies. They join the government of Amestris and, along the way, encounter the Homunculus, an organization dealing with the Gems.
As Edward and Alphonse fight against the Homunculus and the dark plans in Amestris, a complex story emerges with a unique expression of true power, values, and reflections on humanity. It also deals with the fine lines between good and evil and some moral issues.
This anime stands out for its richness of world and characters, complex story, and emotional depth. Alchemy includes many unforgettable characters and events while delving into themes such as friendship, family, loss, redemption, and human nature.
5) Steins Gate
Attention! This is my personal favorite anime; I recommend it especially. Steins Gate is a science fiction anime series that begins with a group of college students discovering that a microwave oven developed has the ability to time travel. This discovery leads to the discovery of a time travel device that gives students the opportunity to change their thoughts and actions in the past and influence the future.
Our main character, Rintarou Okabe, is a strange personality who describes himself as a “mad scientist” and takes the name “Hououin Kyouma” after the discovery of the device. Okabe is accompanied by Mayuri Shiina, who works in the laboratory, and a computer genius friend named Daru.
However, time travel will yield more complex and dangerous results than expected. Okabe and his friends struggle to deal with the repercussions of their discovery, correct the consequences of changing the past by traveling through time, and save the world from disaster.
Steins Gate is an anime series with a complex story combining time travel, science fiction, love, friendship, and tragic events. It attracts attention with its original story, deep character developments, and surprise-filled narrative.
6) Clannad and Clannad After Story
If you are bored and want to cry these days, but the tears cannot flow from your eyes, this anime is for you. The first season prepares you to embrace the characters and what will happen next season. In After Story, an unstoppable sadness prevails. You will watch the 18th episode of Crying from the beginning to the end. Clannad tells the story of a high school student named Okazaki Tomoya. Tomoya has experienced many pains and disappointments in his life. Abandoned by his father and no longer in contact with his mother, Tomoya is constantly slacking off at school and struggling with problems. One day, he meets two friends named Fujibayashi Kyou and Sunohara Youhei, and his life changes a little.
Tomoya meets a fragile, quiet, and friendless girl named Nagisa Furukawa. Nagisa has difficulty in his social relationships because he moved away from school a year ago. Tomoya starts helping Nagisa and they start a drama club together. Many other characters also appear in the drama club, and their stories are also an important part of the series.
Clannad deals with topics such as teenage problems, family relationships, friendship, love, and loss. The series follows the emotional and personal development of the characters while providing the audience with a deep emotional experience. Clannad is known as an anime that leaves a huge impact on viewers with its warm and touching story.
7) Sukitte Ii Na Yo
“Sukitte Ii na yo” is an anime series adapted from the manga series of the same name written by Takaya Kagami. The plot revolves around our 16-year-old main character, Mei Tachibana. Mei reacts to her past bad experiences by avoiding relationships with people and living a solitary life. One day, she is rescued by the popular and handsome Yamato Kurosawa, and her life changes.
With Yamato’s help, Mei gradually regains her faith in humans and discovers the concepts of friendship, love, and trust. A romantic relationship begins between the two, and as Mei’s walls break, they become involved in this universe with both its beauty and difficulties.
“Sukitte Ii na yo” is a romantic-drama anime series that deals with themes such as friendship, love, trust, and personal growth.
8) Kimi ni Todoke
The Kimi ni Todoke anime is a romantic comedy-drama series that follows the life of a high school student named Karadayama Sawako. Sawako is known for having an intimidating appearance with her long black hair and naive personality. For this reason, most people stay away from Sawako and avoid contacting her.
However, Sawako’s life changes after she meets a popular student named Kazehaya Shouta. Kazehaya notices that Sawako is friendly and well-intentioned towards people and befriends her. Over time, Sawako also begins to form relationships with other classmates, and her self-confidence increases.
However, while trying to form new relationships, Sawako has difficulty expressing her romantic feelings. She has difficulty mustering up the courage to reveal her romantic feelings for Kazehaya. On the other hand, it becomes clear that Kazehaya also has feelings for Sawako, and a relationship develops between them.
Kimi ni Todoke is about Sawako improving her social skills and building her
9) Anohana
The anime Anohana (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) is a drama anime that tells the story of a group of friends who are dispersed by the death of a friend in their childhood. Ten years later, a teenager named Jintan sees the ghost of his deceased friend Menma and discovers that only she can communicate with him. Menma asks Jintan to help her complete her desires, which reunites her other friends. Together, they confront the regrets of their past while helping their friends learn to survive and return to the lives their elders led. In this process, themes such as post-death acceptance, friendship, family, and depression are also discussed in depth.
10) Bokura Ga Ita
This anime is my favorite romantic anime. The sequels were shot in live-action. If you finish this, you can continue to the end that way. The story begins when Nanami Takahashi, a young girl, is entering high school. Nanami falls in love with the handsome and popular Motoharu Yano, but secrets from Yano’s past complicate their relationship.
The anime deals with themes such as love, friendship, betrayal, loss, and pain while dealing with the realities of life and the difficulties of adolescence. While Nanami’s love for Yano brings them closer over time, Yano’s dark past and the loss of a former relationship create obstacles between them.
Bokura ga Ita is a romantic-drama anime series that deals with the emotional experiences of young people, depicting complex emotional relationships and the difficulties of adolescence.