Looking for anime recommendations - for hobby purposes.

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When I was in middle/high school, I was an intensely fanatic anime otaku. I was buying anime VHS tapes every week with the cash I got from my after-school PT job. I had built up a decent collection of anime laserdiscs that I got imported from Japan. I had a large collection of anime OST CDs - half of them were Taiwanese (SonMay label, mostly) bootlegs, but when I finally figured that much out, I became willing to spend the whole $30 on the original product.

I lost interest when I became 21. At that time, unhealthy addictions started taking over my life.

Now, I am 33. 12 years later, and I have rediscovered anime.

Currently, I have been making my way through Blast of Tempest, Sword Art Online, Beelzebub, Is it a Zombie?, Black Blood Brothers, Bleach and The Slayers (yes, the last one is a series that came out when I was 17 - nostalgia does have its place in my life). I gotta love having both Hulu and Crunchyroll on my 360.

I intend to write reviews of entire seasons of anime series, for my upcoming criticism website..... Yeah, that's the hobby I am talking about. Critical writing. But enough of that brief self-advertising message.

I want anime recommendations. A lot has come out in the last decade, and I don't have time to watch everything. Just fill me in on what's popular, maybe direct me to some websites that can bring me up-to-date, and I'll be cool with that.

My first anime review was of the Kekko Kamen OVA series - and that turned out to be a lot more offensive than I remembered it being. Heh.

Try Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto or something. They're always popular..

There is a lot I can recomend, I currently stand at 324 seasons watched in full. I am currently a member on a website Anime News Network, it can be useful for staying up to date on news, and helpfull encyclopedia, though you are not allowed to ask for recomendations in its forums.

As for recomendations to watch:

I noticed that you watched Sword Art Online, so I would recomend perhaps watching Accel World, it is handled by a different animation company, but comes from the same auther's work, and is apparently set in the same universe (just years later).

Just comming back you have to watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, it is very popular and one of the most talked about series. By some token I would recomend something else by their animation studio with either Air, Kanon, or Clannad, they have some good drama and humor. Their have also been quite popular with K-ON!, which is probably the perfect example of something refred to as "moe".

A couple other good pieces are some work done by studio SHAFT, their Monogatari series starting with Bakemonogatari is an incredibly intelligent work and popular. And the Puella Magi Madoka Magica is probably the best show from 2011 and lit up the more english fans last year when it came out, good work if you are familiar with the magical girl genre, though you don;t have to be a fan of it.

A pretty popular comedy series to come out is Azumanga Daioh, a good work of character based humor. The same animation company also has some rather popular gems like Toradora which is a highly regarded romance anime which stars a tsundere, probably something to know with recent anime tropes. They are currently doing the anime Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo which has been a good work of going against what people expected from the series and actually being rather good (the girl may be an autistic savant too). though they have also been doing Little Busters which has been pretty aweful.

Let's see, relatively newer animes, I don't watch much new anime.

I liked Kino's Journey and Syonara Zetsubo Sensei. Death Note was good, too, but it got much too drawn out and huge.

Let's see, if you like racing animes (I sure do!) Wangan Midnight is recent as an anime, but the manga is from 1991, and it's had like 7 or so straight to video live action movies before the anime came out. Also has a live action movie out, too. Initial D came out in the 90s, but they have a new season, 5th Stage, coming out right now. Another good racing anime.

I'd be much better if you wanted recommendations for older animes and Gundam.

Not sure about Naruto... but I'd definitely back up Fullmetal Alchemist. (And Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Brotherhood sticks to the manga better than the original.) The first one was produced in 2003, and the second in 2009, so both are still relatively recent.

Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica

Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero

I'll second FMA, also the first season and parts of the second of Code Geass and the first season of Deathnote are both good.

All three shows a fairly short runs (unlike Bleach and Naruto which will consume years of your life).

If you like weird/cryptic shows I liked Paranoia Agent a lot although some people don't.

I just started watching Bottom Biting Bugs last night on Crunchyroll.

I think a part of my soul has died.

I saw a few episodes of FMA - Brotherhood when I used to have cable television. I think I'll watch both series in the near future, and have reviews of them within the next couple of months.

Code Geass is awesome, I will admit.

I own a Death Note T-shirt, but I have never read the manga or watched the anime. It's available on Hulu, so I guess it's time for me to check it out.

Hulu is not really the best source for anime, I have discovered - if it's licensed by Funimation, chances are Hulu is not going to have the final episodes available for streaming. That is sad.

Thanks for all of the recommendations!

If you want to kill your soul for good try "When they cry" after that nothing is dark...

There is Future Boy Conan. a serie directed by Miyazaki, but you need to pirate it if you want to see it in english sub. (Of course there is no english dub.)

Eureka Seven is pretty good too, if you don't mind giant air surfing robots.

Vision of Escaflowne is a old classic.

Moribito Guardian of the spirit is a hidden gem, particulary if you like movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, available on Crunchyroll.

Beastmaster Erin, adapted from a book of the same author as Moribito, another hidden gem, also available on Crunchyroll.

Shin Sekai Yori (From the new world), a interesting serie (Too intelligent to be popular. ) in a post-apocaliptic far away future dominated by societies of psychic peoples, that I'm watching right now, also on Crunchyroll.

The snow queen, if you like to cry, another serie that you need to pirate if you want the translation.

Galaxy Express 999, a old classic of philosophical science-fiction, available on Crunchyroll.

Dennou Coil, a tale of childrens playing with glass of augmented reality, things get dangerous in the second half. Available for iPhone, but it's said to be of bad quality on it, may need to pirate it if you want it in glorious 720p.

That mostly what I can think of right now.

Funimation has their own YouTube channel, it's a good resource for watching many of the shorter animes listed. Most of them are in their original Japanese dub, unless you're someone who doesn't mind it.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNARUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! !! !! !! !! !!

Seriously, it's a very good anime series.

I agree with everyone who has recommended Puella Magi Madoka Magica so far. One of the best anime I have ever seen.

I'd also like to recommend Steins;Gate and Black Rock Shooter, which are similar in tone to Madoka Magica (though minus the magical girl premise).

I had heard about this anime on Crunchyroll but overlooked it, thinking that it was just going to be another run-of-the-mill fanservice anime. I may have to check it out now, especially since I love shows with characters who have autistic traits.

It makes everyone think that it is just going to be a run-of-the-mill fanservice anime, but it is actually much deeper than that with lessons of doing what you want and difficulties around geniuses. The name of the series sounds somewhat sexist, but the girls in the show are arguably the most capable, the title refering to how the female lead is a little troubled in domestic areas.

If you like shows with characters with autistic traits there was also My Little Monster, the two main characters arguably also have traists, with a couple side characters with similar social problems.

You also mentioned Black Rock Shooter, which was one of my favourite shows last year, I like to gloat about owning it on DVD here in aus.

Glad you liked it. I liked it too; I thought it was very emotionally intense. I also liked the fact that the Japanese VA who did Mato Kuroi also voiced Mayuri in Steins;Gate and Shiemi in Blue Exorcist.