Are there any animes or TV shows you can't stop recommending?

I RECOMMEND EVERYBODY LOVES HYPNOTOAD. IT IS A GREAT SHOW.

ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD.

I feel like I'm missing the context.... Where did this meme starALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD.
- ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD

OMG!!! I get to recommend Delicious in Dungeon!!! The show is a bit of a slow burn, but the early episodes set up the incredible world building and the basic plot points. Then as it starts churning it gets crazy. The story is strong enough on it’s own, but it’s animated by Studio Trigger so the anime is pure perfection.

I keep hearing it's amazing but I bounced off hard on the first couple episodes. I wish anime didn't need the 5 episodes rule, things should sell themselves from the start. Maybe I'll give it another go. My wife is keen to watch it.
- I powered through as I kept hearing everyone recommend this. It felt pointless because I didn't get watching a cooking show about stuff you could never eat because it isn't real.
  The comments I read said it took a tonal shift when they finally got back to the red dragon. It's about halfway through, which took me weeks to get to.
  The second half is awesome! If this is what it was like all along, it would have been amazing. The first half gives you nothing to expect what the second half is, which makes it feel more intense, but I still feel is kinda terrible pacing.
  I want more now because the characters really are good, which is probably why they used that first half the way they did, but it was tough before seeing where it was going. Frieren had a much better buildup before it really started getting serious for example.
- I was hooked by the second episode.
  I was also watching a lot of cooking shows while playing Elden Ring. So maybe it was right fit right time.

Gurren Lagan

Fucken watch it

Also,

Log Horizon is what SAO wishes it was

Just who the hell do you think we are?
Yeah absolutely clicked on this to spout my spiel about Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It’s my favorite anime ever.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is up there too, but I like TTGL more.
@Sanctus
Fuck i forgot about Gurren Lagan. What am I doing with my life
Gurren Lagan
What is so great about this? Just watched the first couple of eps. First impression is not good: It seems like the classical mindless shonen fighting anime alongside pretty childish humor and a distastefully sexualized main female character. Her outfit is literally a bikini and she's sexualized in the very first scene and in basically every scene she's in since that one, wtf?
- Watch until episode 9 at least.
- Clearly your drill is not the drill that will pierce the heavens. /s It's not for everyone, and for all the sexualization there is never any sex or nudity depicted. At least you gave it a try though!

The Good Place

Season 1 is just setting up the story

Holy motherforking shirtballs... someone stole my post idea!

Maybe not everyone cup of tea but to me Mr. Robot.

At first sight you may thinking the show is about "individual" hacker taking down corporate but once you understand it has longer lasting effect especially when you relate/something similar with Elliot. The cinematography, the score is chef kiss👌🏻, Season 2 slow burns on the first half but worth to not miss them.

The magical thing is this show on rewatch make more sense and definitely Sam Esmail planned everything from get go on writing.

Among the best TV series I have seen.

The thing that's so great about Mr. Robot is that it ends perfectly. You can tell the show writers decided exactly what story they wanted to tell and then executed on that plan. They didn't just meander about and eventually land on a half-assed ending once the show's budget dried up.
- I disagree. First season was perfect. But then it went downhill into unresolved Lost mystery boxes. The last episode of the last season itself was great but Esmail had no idea how to fill out the episodes of the last season to get there.
  He was throwing around split personalities like Ronald Moore threw around Cylons. The time machine story went nowhere despite a multi season build up.
@Crafter72
I watched a good chunk of it when it was first coming out, but I had to drop it because i was frankly not in a good enough place to hear the things that show was trying to say.
- I can see your point as I watch the show after everything released (late 2022).
I was only able to get a couple episodes in. When his surrogate gay dad said that he'd do anything for him and two scenes later you have Rami Malek going "AHH I have noone who can help me what do I do?!??", I couldn't keep watching.
Though it might also be my inability to watch a show where characters get 'worse'. I got upto the third last episode of Arcane and when a pivotal moment in a characters story went bad It took me 5 days to finish the show.

Scavengers Reign is incredible, easily the best animated sci fi show made in the past few years IMO. It’s weird and emotional and deeply sincere in a way a lot of media isn’t anymore.

If you liked Fantastic Planet you’ll probably like Scavengers Reign.

I really enjoyed this show. The characters were all good the life cycles and the weird biology were interesting and largely made sense. There were only a couple points where I went that's silly the writers clearly just wanted x to happen but x was cool enough for the silly to not bother me too much, it just took me out the moment a little. Solid recommendation, one of the best sci-fi I've watched in the last couple years.
scavengers reign knocked me on my ass, great recommendation.

Honestly, Cowboy Bebop. The universe it builds feels lived-in, and the animation style is incredibl, but the music is really the star.

Be aware, however, that while there are happy moments, it is an anime about bounty hunters, and there are very few happy endings. Beautiful endings, poetic endings, satisfying endings - but never happy.

Better call Saul - a beautiful drama with a hint of comedy and action. Better than Breaking bad and doesn't require much knowledge of it.

And then once you finish it, you can watch Breaking Bad again. Then El Camino. Then loop back around the Better Call Saul again. And once you're done, you can watch Breaking Bad again...

Steins;Gate, can't believe I haven't seen anyone mention it yet. It's good, but do watch at least halfway before you judge it.

This one happened during a period when moe was more brain-dead than cute, and the sister character who is supposed to be his motivation for everything just ruins the whole show for me she acts so stupid.
- There's definitely a bit of untasteful moe stuff but it's not a big part of the show. But yea it would be better without it.
  Mayushii acting stupid I cannot recognise at all. She's just extremely genuine and she's probably way more emotionally intelligent than any other character in the show.

David Tennant deserved an award

Gurren Lagan, to second like a dozen people. Kill la Kill is A+ if you can get over it being weird Also I adored Promare.

Cyberpunk Edgerunners is another great one from Trigger. Set in Night City, same world the Cyberpunk 2077 game, a year or so beforehand (but the plots are largely independent).
Real strong warning though: There are no happy endings in Night City. The ending will fuck you up.
- Yeah someone already spoiled me on that, I find myself not enjoying stuff that has turbo-downer endings.

Scavengers Reign. One of the best pieces of sci-fi I've ever seen. They managed to create a world that feels truly alien, and the environment has such complex cause/effect relationships. Highly recommend!

I only opened this thread to make sure someone mentioned this show. My husband keeps saying "I wish we could find another like that one we watched, with the alien really alien planet, what was it called?" It is impressive.
Just finished this yesterday, totally agree, 10/10

Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell_(1995_film)

A vintage cult classic, which is the inspiration for many other cult classics

Meh, Stand alone complex is among the best media in existence, that's my can't recommend enough.
- Surprised I had to scroll down this far to see SAC mentioned
  Though I love the original film too

Delicious in Dungeon!

I recommend this to non-anime fans too! The episodes are so good and non-anime tropey.
Another one that I found gave a kinda similar feel is Dr Stone.
Though instead of diving deep into fantasy mechanics, that one is based on real world physics (well, other than some characters having super-human levels of skill) and rebuilding a modern society from scratch.
I find them similar due to their attention to detail and using their environment to build up their capabilities. The overall plot is very different and DinD has a bit more charm. Not that Dr Stone doesn't have charm.
If I could choose which one I want to see one more season of right now, I'd pick DinD. If I could choose which one gets seen through to the end, I'd pick Dr Stone.
- I just couldn't get into the groove with Dr. Stone. I felt it required a much greater degree of suspension of disbelief since the setting is rooted in our reality, but they hand-wave over a lot of infrastructure needed to create the technologies they produce. When they got to cell phones/radios I just had to stop.
This one is great. I was skeptical the first three episodes, but around ep 4 it picked up and the plot just went into overdrive. I really enjoyed it!
- Thanks for your comment, I gave it 2 episodes and stopped. I'll give it another go.

For anime, I highly suggest Serial Experiments Lain if you haven't seen it. Non-anime cartoons I'd recommend are Adventure Time and Lower Decks (its star trek and hilarious). For crude/absurd humor Rick and Morty and Human Resources. For non-animated tv I'd recommend Strange New Worlds (star trek again), Sandman, Fall of the House of Usher, Severance (I haven't seen season 2 yet but the 1st season was really good)

I had like a good month long period where I'd just randomly stop whatever I was doing and think to myself, "God DAMN Fall of the House of Usher was SO GOOD."
- Really? I'm super curious what made you feel this way. I have to say I was pretty underwhelmed by it compared to Flanagan's other series'.

Pretty much anything by Trigger is going to be worth at least a watch through at least once, usually multiple times.

The League of Legends show, Arcane, is some of the best animation I think I've ever seen and season two comes out next month.

FLCL and FLCL Alternative are both amazing, I couldn't get into Progressive.

Mob Psycho and One Punch Man are wild rides. I think OPM is better, but that's because I'm bald.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an absolute hoot if you can see the humor in all the over-explanations and goofiness

I'm about to start Dead Dead Demons Dedede Destruction tomorrow. I'm going in blind, but I really love Inio Asano's other works. Goodnight Punpun changed my life, but really, do not read it if you are already depressed.

I keep editing this because I keep remembering stuff.

Frieren is amazing and makes you feel incredibly close to these characters.

Delicious in Dungeon is Trigger, but a different Trigger than something like Kill la Kill or BNA. It's slower, comfier, and like Frieren, makes you feel SO close to these characters.

I think OPM is better, but that's because I'm bald.
Based.
For DDDD, not gonna tell you how to watch but i've seen a lot of people going both ways. You can either watch episode 0 at the start or after episode 16. Episode 0 is chronologically out of order. I watched it at the start.
I just recently finished bingeing the show and really enjoyed it. Let me know how you liked it
- Ooo, I've already read the first handful of chapters of the manga, so I'm not sure if that covers what is in episode 0. Do you think it would have been a better watch through to have it at the end?
Oooh I've been eagerly awaiting season 2 of Arcane. Hadn't seen the release date yet. Excited now. 😸

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. For me, it's the perfect anime. An amazing blend of action, narrative, great characters, and an extremely good and satisfying ending.

Archer is a great adult animation. I find it so goddamn funny.

Bojack Horseman is probably has the best fictional depiction of depression ever. Also has plenty of funny moments.

What did you find satisfying about the ending? While a big improvement over FMA, it didn't quite wow me
- In comparison it's wildly different, and some of the comments to make are massive spoilers. I will say the difference in "sacrifice" is much better, as the first betrays some built in concepts, treats one of the childhood friends as disposable, and doesn't really let the main character grow.
  In brotherhood they call out some of what I said, plus many more characters have much more enjoyable personalities, even some of the pieces of shit like Kimbley(at least he had principles, insane as they were). I like the homunculi better too, even if they were trying to go for a more emotional and artsy thing. Their father is also has far better reasons in Brotherhood for being absent.
  I feel like the first anime tried to tug the heartstrings and/or focus solely on the brother relationship too much. I also hated what was done to Rose for what appeared to be no reason but to make things more emotional.

ODDTAXI. The intro will pull you in. The dialogue and story will keep you hooked.

But please, use subs. I don't think the English dub is good enough.

ODDTAXI is an absolutely amazing show. It feels slow and chill, yet it’s really gripping.
The writing is phenomenal! Every detail matters, even little stuff like “what pen is that guy writing with?”

Anime:

Pluto (Dark alternative story of Astro Boy)
Banana Fish (heartbreaking, hard to forget. Don't get spoiled too much looking it up)
Heavenly Delusion (brother gets brain transplanted into dead sisters body; interesting plot and characters but only one season so far)

Cartoon:

Bojack Horseman (great mix of realistic depiction of depression and comedy)
Arcane (almost makes one want to play League)

TV:

Atlanta (surrealism and critique of society, also I just love Donald Glover)
Dark (the one German show that is not ass)
The Expanse (great sci-fi and politics, only gets weaker in the later seasons)
Severance (one big black mirror episode, I am so hyped for season 2)

I recommend watching Undone especially if you liked Bojack Horseman; it's created by the same guy.
You can stream it for free here: https://hydrahd.com/ or check out the c/piracy wiki for one that suits you.
- Oh I remember watching the first episode or so back when I still had amazon prime. Didn't know it was made by the Bojack creator.
  I have the whole *arr suite and jellyfin now, but thanks for the suggestion.

TV: Letterkenny immediately followed by Shoresy. Shoresy is a spinoff, so you really should watch Letterkenny first, although you don't necessarily have to

Seinfeld, probably no need to explain (Edit: how could I leave out Curb Your Enthusiasm here?)

Adult Cartoons: King of the Hill, Bob's Burgers, Archer, Frisky Dingo. I could go on for a while about adult animation

Anime: Samurai Champloo, Baki the Grappler, Baki, Baki Hanma, Oshi No Ko, and Zombieland Saga. Plenty more, but I'll stop here for now

Summary: I like TV way more than movies. My favorites being Comedy/Sitcoms and Dragon Ball/Z/Super

Edit: Does professional wrestling count? I fucking love me some WWE

Letterkenny is an even better anime than Corey in the House.
Letterkenny and Shoresy are SO good. Jared Keeso is a brilliant comedian and has a knack for heartfelt story.
Also, wrestling counts. I'm an AEW girl but no tribalism from me. Who's your wrestler to watch, or storyline you love?
- Oh boy, get ready
  Penta el Cero Miedo. Tony needs to shit or get off the pot. Let my Lucha Bros. go!
  Dominik Mysterio and the Judgement Day/Terror Twin storyline
  Wyatt Sick6 and pretty much anything they are doing. My guess as to who is next is either Kofi/Xavier or maybe Jey Uso
  Nia Jax. I really liked Bayley, but she honestly became boring after winning the title
  Iyo and Kairi (and Asuka, come back soon!)
  Bron Breakker
  I loved Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed's feud
  I really like NXT, but I can't think of anything particular this second (edit: how could I forget the Young OG? He's boooouuuncyyyyy. Also Cora is back! Now I'm just missing Nikkita Lyons. Sol Ruca deserves a belt)
  The BCC storyline has made me enjoy Wheeler Yuta. I like Beast Mortos too
  Komander and Dralistico (I'm a big Lucha fan)
  Yuka! I like so much about wrestling I could go on all day, but I'll stop here for now. Are you part of the squared circle community?

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Death Note
The Apothecary Diaries
Ranking of Kings

All of these animes have a fantastic story that even people who don't regularly watch anime's will love.

- This is what I did, would also recommend. I don't even think Brotherhood is better, the original has some really strong points.
- Because the ending to the original is so unsatisfactory?

Jericho: A post apocalyptic show that isn't just mohawk bejeweled raiders roaming around. It is a show very much of the GWB era, with offbrand Blackwater as major villains and heavy Dick Cheney vibes when it comes to the larger plot.

Kings: A sort of retelling of David versus Goliath except set in the modern day. If you liked the weird esoteric spiritual stuff on the Battlestar Galactica reboot, you'll like this.

The Unit: A fictionalized adaptation of Delta Force missions, with at least early on heavy influence by the former Delta author of Inside Delta Force. Great early seasons. Later seasons become more Hollywood nonsense, you tolerance may vary, but season 1 and 2 have some gold.

The Wire: This was a huge show when it was on, but maybe zoomers don't know about it. This is the crime show for people who hate everything about modern "procedural" crime shows. It is nuanced, thoughtful, and engaging.

Columbo: Speaking of crime shows and procedurals, Columbo is both and neither. Columbo is entertaining and keeps you invested with its unique approach to murder mysteries. It really doesn't pretend to be a proper procedural, and you're best off thinking of Detective Columbo as a supernatural embodiment of karma and guilt rather than an actual member of a police force.

Rewatching Jericho right now for the first time in a while and yeah... It's certainly a product of that decade lol. Still love it.
I second The Wire. Absolutely amazing, and I typically don't enjoy more serious shit, but I couldn't pull my eyes away from the TV

Psych

You know that's right.

I keep recommending Ancient Magus Bride. Nobody watches...

It's a seriously good anime with some slice of life and drama, an amazing magical world and SUPER GOOD SOUNDTRACK

If anyone reading this watches it, I beg of you, please tell me what you thought

Watched them all, subbed as they came out, dubbed for seconds.
Also:
Apothecary Diaries
- Cool, did you like them? Im waiting on the BD for apothecary diaries but heard its really good
Watching Ancient Magus Bride now from your recommendation! I had it on the back burner for a while. Five episodes in, it's good. Still curious what exactly will happen, there's not too much of an actual plot. But I'm fine with it even if it goes on like this.
- Hell yeah lets goooo! Finally managed to convince someone. In my case I love the contrast between the laid back chill moments and the more dramatic/action filled moments, so yeah, often plot takes the backseat. I hope it stays good for you till the end!
It's a little slow and unevenly paced, but overall I do solidly enjoy it. There are some really great characters and arcs and I especially loved Elias trying to make friends. My girlfriend absolutely loves this show as well, so it's something everyone can watch and enjoy I think.
- Thanks! Well, I actually like how it is paced, kinda keeps you guessing you know? Did you watch the extra stuff?

The original Legend of the Galactic Heroes. This is top tier sci fi, politics, and mitary drama that is more impactful today than when the original novel was written.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned The Wire. A TVshow taking place in Baltimore about intricate relationship between drug dealers, police and politics. Love every part of it!

It’s shot in 4:3 aspect ratio despite 16:9 starting to become the standard for tv at the time. It’s has since been “remastered” and adjusted to 16:9 aspect ratio. I was worried it would ruin an already perfect show but I actually liked it. It’s an HBO show.

Long episodes (60min?) and might take a few episodes to get into as there are many characters and storylines that interlace.

Thanks be later, probably.

i tried to start the wire, but every character was a shit person. couldnt buy that. i'm more cynical now. maybe i'll start it again.
- I think the creator and writer of The Wire based the characters and plot in his experience as a journalist working for Baltimore Sun. Some characters are less fictional than others, but I think he wanted to depict and emphasize how the city works. So maybe not too far from the real Baltimore.
  I think while some characters are plain shit persons, many characters have a lot of depth in them, making you feel and root for them despite being the “bad guys”.
  It also shows that doing what would be considered “right” will not always work out for you.

The Americans is the best show ive ever seen. Absolutely brilliant from the story to the acting.

My favorite show is also Haunting on Hill House. Its on Netflix. Perfect for Halloween if anyone is interested.

Haunting of Hill House. I may watch this every year in October until I die.
It’s a great horror show that can be rewatched multiple times, but it also has some amazingly written and performed drama and characterization. There’s literally a scene later in the show that portrays an outsider’s emotional breakdown better than I’ve ever seen in any medium.

My Deer Friend is amazing.

Which reminds me that there's probably a new episode out right now. 😃

I also would always recommend the staples in anime:

Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Dragonball, DBZ, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rouroni Kenshin, Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll.

- For sure! I'm sure I've missed a bunch more that I would put in that list, too.
- I should have read your comment before I replied lmao. Everybody go watch Samurai Champloo
Holy hell you killed it on the anime suggestions. May I suggest Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood over the original?
Also, have you watched Samurai Champloo? That and Baki (all of them) are the only others I can think of off the top of my head
Edit: Oshi No Ko
- Personally, I liked the original more. I just think it did the darker elements of the story way better. Brotherhood had a totally different focus, but I do appreciate it having an actual conclusion unlike the original.
  To put it another way: the original makes me cry at some parts; Brotherhood never did.

Just watched it based on this comment. This anime is seriously good, definitely in my top 5s.
Have you watched Steins;Gate? It definitely has some parallels.

anime

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You - One of the zaniest, wackiest anime in recent history to turn your brain off to. (genre: comedy, romance)

86 - Too good for me to put into words. Just watch it. (genre: action, drama)

TV shows

Silicon Valley (HBO series) - As someone pointed out: it's not a satire; it's a documentary - for programmers at least. (genre: comedy)

The Night Manager - The showmakers made it look like either side could win till the very last few minutes, keeping me on the edge of my seat for the entire show. (genre: thriller)

@Endmaker @Shkshkshk Hugh Laurie was absolutely fantastic in The Night Manager

Andor, best piece of SW since the 80s

Yeah like... Why did it take that long to make the content andor has, it's cray
It's amazing how much Star Wars gets to stretch its legs once it's allowed to break away from the fucking Skywalker family.

Patriot, on Amazon streaming. I’ve been telling people for years—it’s the BEST show that NO ONE watched.

A depressed deep-cover operative sings bleak folk songs about his job at open mics. Stylistic elements (both visual and writing) from the Cohen brothers and Wes Anderson. Incredible cast. Funny. Sad. Two seasons, and both are great. 10/10

I have recommended this show more than anything else in recent years.
it is absolutely a 10 out of 10.
the comedy, the obligations, drama, creativity, every element is heightened by every other element of the show.
I think you are the first other person I've heard of who has watched it, and that is a crime.
- There are dozens of us. Dozens!

Psycho pass.

Lots of philosophy on topics such as free will, determinism and AI mixed with action, in cyberpunk setting. Also nice end to end story in the first season.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho-Pass

Arcane. It’s always Arcane. Arcane.

That show had absolutely no reason to be so good for such a really toxic game.

Gate

Stargate SG1

I will never stop recommending Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Madoka Magika.

saw this comment and thought "this sounds exactly like gabi" then i read the username lmao
Gushing over magical girls is a good spiritual sequel to madoka

I never watched any anime but then watched one punch man. It's really clever and very approachable for new and casual viewers.

Thanks for the rec, I love an old anime.
Edit: still gonna check it out but an anime released in 2007 referred to as “old?” Oof. here I was thinking c. 1993. :D
I never found anything which scratches the same itch Claymore does.

The Terror (First season only)
Atlanta
Mob Psycho
Devilman Crybaby
Mononoke (the show)
Prison School
High school of the dead (I went into this expecting to be offended, but I left impressed)

Disnt think I would see prison school recommended here xD
- That anime is hilarious. I would consider myself an oversensitive prude, but that anime still had me doubled over.
  Shoot, I may watch it again. 👀

Dirk gently's holistic detective agency.

My only issue with Dirk Gently is that it got canned. I can't recommend shows that get canceled without a proper ending.
- Yeah the shows creator is a rapist I think, so not too fussed it wasn't finished. Good show though.

Angel, Hannibal, Evil, Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul.

So many great shows out there. I’m currently watching The Wire and it’s amazing too.

Season 4 of The Wire is brutal.
I watched The Wire way too late in life. I watched it last year and my wife couldn't get into it because of the old technology, but fuuuuuck was it good.

Frieren — fantasy, drama about an elf dealing with feelings she didn’t think she had
Delicious in Dungeon — Fantasy, comedy/light drama about rescuing a party member and eating monsters along the way.
Kaguya Sama — rom-com about not losing the love war
Konosuba — Isekai comedy about… nothing really
That Time I was Reincarnated as a Slime — Isekai about being reincarnated as a slime monster, then building a wonderful found family community of monsters.

They’re all pretty light hearted but all are well made and fun.

—edited for formatting

My only problem with Delicious in Dungeon is that later episodes don't have as much cooking. I'd love for them to get into food preservation now that they're deeper in the dungeon and food is getting scarce. Pickling, salting, smoking, etc.
Just a few off the top of me head.
Because of the way you formatted that, it all showed up one word after the others and it tells something about the genre that I couldn't recognise how many you mentioned. Thought it was like a single name for an anime show. Which imo wouldn't be unheard of
- yeah sorry about that, I had paragraph returns but didn’t come through—mobile app glitch.

Monster

74 episodes. Psychological thriller. Serial murder mystery, but instead of "whodunit?" it's "whydunit?". Dramatic as an opera. No weird tropes. Superb character development. I love Magnificent Steiner.

The Last Ship: The crew of a US Navy destroyer is faced with a new reality as a deadly plague wipes out nearly all of humanity.

Basically, mix together the good parts of Battlestar Galactica and The Walking Dead, and distill it down to 5 seasons with no filler. It's one of my favorite binge-watches.

- I stand by my opinion, which is what it is. An opinion.
  That being said, only 2 seasons of The Last Ship had 13 episodes, the rest only had 10 each.
  So 56 total epsodes, versus Battlestar's 76 episodes + 4-hour pilot miniseries + 2 TV films.
  Or The Walking Dead's 177 episodes, just for the original series. Which blows up to 336 episodes and counting, if you include sequels and spinoff shows.
  Opinions may vary, but at least from a numbers standpoint, The Last Ship has less potential for filler episodes. If you really wanted to, you could stop watching the show after season 3, and get a complete-enough story. But the show's main selling point is the action, and it delivers on that front all the way through.

Comedy: What we do in the shadows;

Action: Black Sails;

Anime: Monster;

Depression: Bojack Horseman.

Here are a couple that I didn't see mentioned here.

The Bear
Ted Lasso
Solo Levelling
Dirk Gently holistic detective
The Office
Attack on Titan
Code Geass Lelouch Rebellion
Severance
Bojack Horseman

I just finished Good Omens also, it's great but the first episode is not because it's all setup. It's a Terry Pratchett story that I think I'll recommend that one for a long time.

Lots of great recommendations but I have not seen anyone mention the anime Made In Abyss or Dr. Stone.

Made In Abyss has some taboo content early in season 1, but it and season 2 story arcs are the best I've seen of any anime to date. You will also need to watch the third movie Dawn of the Deep Soul before season 2. Movies 1 and 2 are recaps of season 1.

Dr. Stone is also great as a zany "what if" modern civilization was sent back to the stone age. Similar to made in abyss, you need to watch the OVA between seasons 2 and 3.

Call out to Goblin Slayer season 1 as well. The series visuals and story deeply fall off after season 1.

Highly recommend Dr. Stone. It gets too anime sometimes if you're not into that. But the talk and approach of science is really good. My non-anime watching wife enjoyed parts of it. But then left the room during the anime trope-y parts.

Hajime No Ippo!

It's a boxing anime based on a manga (that's still going after decades!) where a school kid is beat up and rescued by a passing boxer, who takes him in to a boxing gym to fix his wounds. It turns out he's got some solid power from his family background in fishing, so he becomes a boxer and learns what it means to be strong.

If you like DBZ, you'll probably love this. Alongside this, it's refreshing in that it's an anime that praises hard work, rather than being "the chosen one" or being gifted power. What I love about it is that several characters go through huge growth in ways that are truly unexpected.

Bojack Horseman and Violet Evergarden. If someone is a bit deeper into anime, Tatami Galaxy as well, since the subs go pretty fast. Ping Pong the Animation gets a nod if folks aren't super hung up on aesthetic.

I'm always trying to get people watching Konosuba it's just funny but yeah I liked it so much I read the novels and spinoff.

I liked it so much I read the novels and spinoff.
Same. In my case, it got me to read my first light novel.

Made in Abyss - really good but definitely not for the faint hearted and I only recommend this to people who ask me for dark anime with a disclaimer on the more questionable content. The version I watched was the heavily censored one. I was surprised to find out that the creator is Akihito Tsukushi, the same person who did the designs for the Elebits games! Of course, I'm separating the art from the artist here, but his name popping up made me nostalgic in a way.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - If you like biblically accurate angels, this is the anime for you!

Cowboy Bebop - has a very likeable main cast, an artstyle that I find very appealing, and it touches on themes that a lot of people can relate to despite the sci-fi setting!

Scavengers Reign - this one's pretty trippy and has some great creature designs! It only has one season so far (curse ye, Max!)

Pantheon

This is a good one that I don't think ever really got advertised at all. Caught me by surprise.
Such a tragedy that this didn’t/doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Mr. Robot for live-action. definitely avoid looking anything up about it, there are spoilers everywhere and it's better to go in fresh. there's no good trailers for it really but if you watch the first six-minute opening scene... by the end of it you'll know whether or not the show is for you. and if you like it you will probably REALLY wanna keep watching. they go out of their way to get the tech stuff accurate and it's pretty much a cyberpunk story set in the present day. but also so much more deeper and psychological than you'd expect. my favorite show of all time, no contest. the whole thing was planned in advance and it SHOWS. it's more like one long very good movie than a television series quality-wise

and Bojack Horseman for animation. i'd also recommend avoiding spoilers for this. thematically, it gets off to a slow start pretending to be just another standard adult animation Family Guy-esque clone before it slowly morphs over the course of season 1 into a meta deconstruction of those sorts of shows and goes off the rails to truly hit its dramatic stride. and once it starts going it never lets up. it similarly hits very hard and gets pretty dark

Anime - Cromartie High

Hell yes.

Eh, screw it. I'm gonna watch Eureka again.

Mushishi. Very slow & contemplative, but I still think about it decades later.

Mushishi is fantastic.
Excellent anime!

Deep Space 9; Adventure Time, and Gravity Falls

Afterlife

I think nobody mentioned it yet. It's about someone who lost the love of his life, so the show is about those emotions and the struggle to continue. It's quite sad sometimes, but the show also has a lot of humour and I laughed my ass off multiple times.

Why watch a show about such a sad circumstance? I think we all lost someone or will lose very important persons / friends someday and it's important to learn how to deal with that and how it's important to continue. I can't emphasize that enough

Is that the one with Ricky Gervais? Couldn't take it seriously because he's such a prick irl (and in the show I guess)
- Hahaha, I can respect that! Too bad though, he's a fine actor, with many faces.

Little Witch Academia: a passion project and it shows, a witch school with a colorful cast of character and an even more colorful cast of villains, alternative name: lesbian hogwarts

Girls und panzer and its movie, while it does fall into the cute girls doing cute thing type of genre, GuP is one of the ones who really popularized it, its a series thats just plain old fun to watch how they fight their tank battles, especially the movie

Ben-to, another series thats just plain ol fun, people beat the snot out of each other for the privilege to buy price reduced food, animated by the people who went on to do jojo

that just be my top 3 to show everyone

Fucking DEADWOOD.

I can't get anybody in my life to watch it and it is literally in the running for best show of all-time.

This thread is case-in-point!

One of my favorite short scenes.

You’re getting a recency bias, but I watched Akudama Drive about a month ago and really loved it.

Foyles war is underrated, haven't seen the rest.
Deadloch too, new season should be great.

I can stop recommending Bad Sisters, but I won't. It's fantastic, through and through.

Monogatari series. I must have watched that entire series like a dozen times already. I absolutely love the VA's performance. Finally reading through the Light Novels now.

Hajime No Ippo. Manga is still a blast and the anime was incredible too.

I had a good time with Blue Lock as well.

have you heard about Ajin?

Tower of God is my absolute favorite anime and comic right now. Can't recommend it enough. Deeply interesting systems, amazing supporting cast, unique twists on old tropes.

I got half way through season 2 and just gave up on it. All of it felt pointless, both seasons.

I slept on Supernatural for a long time and now I can't stop, I'm on like season 13 and it still keeps getting better

Extraordinary Attorney Woo - A Netflix K-drama about an autistic savant lawyer. It's charming, funny, and has a really beautiful story overall.

Bofuri: I Don't Want To Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense - a cute and fun anime about Maple, who doesn't want to get hurt in a VR MMO so she maxes her defense and becomes a hero.

I like light-hearted shows, so I'll be checking out a few of the ones in this thread 🙂

Terminator Zero was great.

Station Eleven is the best tv show ever made.

Undone, it's created by the same guy who made Bojack Horseman.

I think most people haven't seen/heard of it because it's an amazon streaming exclusive, but you can watch it (and most other things) for free here: https://hydrahd.com/

I second this. I started watching "Undone" randomly while scrolling through the catalog, and I'm so glad I did. Absolutely loved it! The art style is nice, and I think Rosa Salazar is a great actress (she gives me huge Aubrey Plaza vibes too, which is cool).

Lately Slow Horses on apple+

Very good UK agent/crime show.

For shows: My name is Earl was a very funny one that never got a proper ending before being cancelled.

For anime: Serial Experiments Lain.

Dai-guard, a somewhat obscure mecha anime. It's a comedy about what would realistically happen if you had a giant mecha fighting monsters from another dimension: bureaucracy, lawsuits, government interference, and physics.

Bloom into you, the only anime that existed in my head

Monster. One of the best anime series I've ever seen.

I go it recommended and watched it all. I kept waiting for it to become good. 🤷
I go it recommended and watched it all. I kept waiting for it to become good. 🤷

Higurashi no naku koro ni

Moe-Psycho galore only drip feeding you the real story.

Babylon 5

Yes! I've been rewatching Babylon 5 and it's as amazing as I remember!

Alchemy of Souls on Netflix. A mix of Kung Fu Theater, a comedy, a love story, and a horror all rolled into one great story. It ran two seasons and each episode is over an hour long. 10/10

Nichijou, Higurashi, Oregairu, Steins;Gate, SAO (season 1), Clannad, Naruto, Fruits Basket (?), Death Note, A Silent Voice, Ghibli Studio animes,

I like watching Trigun, Clannad, Blood+ but I also really reccomend people read some Manga:

Tank Chair by Yashiro Manabu
Elfen Leid by Okamoto Lynn (also has an anime, but different endings)
Moto Shogun no Undead Knight by Shuko and Necoco
Dandadan by Yukinobu Tatsu (manga announced)
You Will Hear the Voice of the Dead by Uguiso Sachiko
Dai Dark by Q Hayashida

For anime, Ghost in the Shell. My favorite is the Stand Alone Complex series.

For TV show, Fringe. It's a sci-fi show taking place in the modern world.

For movie, Red Lights. It's about a group that disproves paranormal/super natural events. I recommend it because it's not well known.

Everybody kind of slept on it but I really like AppleTV's See. Really unfortunate name for a pretty interesting premise, and the fight scenes are brutal and very well shot.

Looked pretty cool but it'd feel like cheating if I didn't finish Frontier first
- Both are good Momoa vehicles but the worldbuilding and battle sequences from See are next level. The fact that they had to figure out how to do warfare with a completely blind army is a great example of how embracing constraints can result in amazing work.

@Shkshkshk @asklemmy
There's a ton of anime that I might recommend to different people, depending on individual preferences and tastes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JZR7jtU3q-LTqoWaGY-7YurPpvLpTIY0ybScvA1L0GQ/edit?usp=drivesdk

But the one that I come closest to recommending everyone, without qualification, would be:

"Keep Your Hands off Eizouken"

It's basically a love letter to:

joys and challenges in the process of creative collaboration
how each success begets further goals
how reflecting on details and oddities of the world adds to art

Anime

Pantheon.

Really thoughtful and smart sci-fi animation. Don't want to spoil it so I'll be vague, it has the most realistic depiction of modern tech and how people interact with it than any other show I've seen. Really great commentary on big tech corporations and even a bit of geopolitics. Super ambitious yet it somehow pulls it off.

There is also a scene that still gives me nightmares (not even joking, I still dream about that shit) which is more than any horror movies or shows have done for me. Anyone who has watched it knows exactly what scene I'm talking about.

Jellyfish can't swim at night

Hazbin Hotel!

Frieren for anime - It has everything I love about anime.
MASH for TV show (version without laugh tracks) - Kind of old, but even now, the humor is not outdated.

"everything I love about anime" is a suspicious recommendation from a stranger on the internet!
It's been a few years that I've learned that MASH had laugh track. It's so weird. I never saw mash with laugh track and not even a morbid curiosity makes me want to try that.

I'll throw in my most recent guilty pleasure is Space Battleship Yamato. I didn't grow up with the original so I'm currently re-watching the 2012 remake. But for fun at the start I watched episode one of the original Yamato, Star Blazers (70s American localization) and the remake in the same day just to compare, which was a cooler experience than I expected it to be.

Great show if you think One Punch Man would be better if Saitama was a spaceship

So i always recommend Mugen no Ryvius/Infinite Ryvius. Think of blue lagoon in space, but with a whole space ship of kids.

Berserk 1997. Berserk is my favorite thing of all time, but it is deff not for the faint hearted.

Highly recommend the manga too. Its a bit different, but same atmosphere and general story. It has more context as 1997 was only designed for one season, so it cut out a lot of things that would have become important later on.

https://anilist.co/anime/105228

The Leftovers. Still think of some scenes all the time.

Higurashi when they cry. Not the new stuff but the old stuff.

Just visited the village it's based off of IRL and man was it a sight to behold. Simply a beautiful area.

Apothecary Diaries

I cannot stress this enough. Apothecary Diaries

Light hearted and fun (low stress):

Kuma Kuma Kuma bear
Mashle
Raising kids while adventuring
I parry everything
Killing slimes for 300 years
By the grace of the gods
Fluffy paradise

Used to also recommend Bofuri but the last episode of season 2 implies heavily that season 3 is going to head way off in a completely different feel from 1+2

Lighter and did not end on a hard cliffhanger

Aristocrat's otherworldly adventures
Banished former hero lives as he pleases
Campfire cooking in another world
Level 2 super cheat powers
Reincarnated as the 7th prince
Parallel world pharmacy
Sleepy princess in the demon castle
Villainess level 99
The wrong way to use healing magic

Other suggestions offered based on the person's preferences:

Dungeon Meshi
Goblin Slayer
So I'm a spider, so what?
Solo leveling
That time I got reincarnated as a slime
Dan da Dan
The vexations of a shut-in vampire princess
Ya boy Kongming
Standalone complex
One punch man
Kill la kill

Dan da Dan is just coming out now. First episode animation looked really good and it is off the walls insane.

link click

The Leftovers

Yes many. Probably more than I will ever watch :P

If I did not recommend them yet I also can't stop doing that.

I did too much math today....

I watched a bit of in another world with my smartphone and it was peak garbage. I also downloaded the wrong 7 deadly sins once, unforgivably awful. I think I slogged through dog days while in my depressive always drunk phase.

actual recommendations: bna and little witch academia are my fav trigger (after infern cop obv.)

I dunno aku no hana for some weird rotoscoped shit thats kinda disturbing and stressful. The character visuals are more convincing than the manga version.

suisei no gargantia is probably the most any audience friendly mecha anime, apart from the breasty pirate literally named rackage being maybe a bit much.

knights of sidonia was probably the first all 3d anime I actually liked. I ended up watching a bunch of other stuff by the same studio and they have a distinct animation style and facial expressions that are easy to recognize as being the same studio.

the promised neverland for some dark shit, but I only saw season 1 and don't know if there even were more seasons. The manga version became a slog for me after that point in the story but I was also working full time++ when the anime ended.

attack on titan also became a chore for me after season 1 but it was a novel experience watching it for the first time.

Can confirm that there's no season 2 of The Promised Neverland. It ended at season 1. They really didn't do anything more, don't go looking for it. Trust me.
Sad we didn't get to see some of the later arcs animated, but at least we didn't get a half-assed failure of an adaptation like it might have be, right?

Cowboy Bebop, trigun and hajime no ippo

Have you watched one piece? Already complete with one season of 24 episodes.