Anime Recs - Tumblr Posts

WYSW: Love is War

*why you should watch*

*spoiler free!*

I actually already made a Love is War recommendation post ages ago, but now, 3 seasons and many manga chapters in, I have more to say about it and even more praises to shower upon it. And some convincing to do, if you haven’t watched the show yet. If you like comedy anime, romance anime, or romcom anime, and you haven’t seen Love is War yet, what are you waiting for?

If you don’t know the plot, Kaguya-sama: Love is War focuses on the student council of an exclusive high school for the children of Japan’s elite. The president, Miyuki Shirogane, and the vice president, Kaguya Shinomiya, secretly have a crush on each other but refuse to let the other person know. Instead, they’re determined to make the other confess to them first.

I’m not the first to say it, but Love is War genuinely has Death Note level mind games. The lengths these two go to in order to get in each other’s heads is truly impressive and frightening. But, there actually is a developing heartfelt story underneath all of the silliness, and despite their resistance and stubbornness you will be rooting so hard for Kaguya and Shirogane to get together.

The show has a wide variety of beloved characters, from the other members of the student council to Shirogane and Kaguya’s quirky families. Everyone is very likable and funny, with their own personal struggles that get explored as the story gets more complex.

Love is War has a lot to say about relationships, crushes, insecurity, classism, growing up, and even more, and does it all while being one of the funniest anime I’ve ever seen. If you’re looking for a lighthearted romcom with a bit of depth to it, Love is War is the show for you.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

An Alternative to a Roast

So I watched Netflix's live-action Avatar and, frankly, I didn't like it. I was considering writing an in-depth review tearing it apart. However, after taking in reactions that ranged from one-line Twitter hot takes to in-depth video essays to paid industry reviews from big name media brands, I realized there wasn't much I could add to the discourse that someone couldn't articulate better.

All that really needs to be said is that it was inferior to its source material in every aspect and incapable of standing on its own merits.

With that out of the way, I'd like to bring attention to a show that more people should watch: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, known as The Apothecary Diaries in English. To be honest, aside from being strongly inspired by Chinese culture, it's not very similar to ATLA. It's about a commoner girl named Maomao who solves mysteries within the emperor's palace with her knowledge of poisons and medicines. It's a beautifully animated and deeply empathetic series that explores the struggles of living within a rigidly hierarchical society, with special attention paid to the social complexities of being a women. If you like traditional Chinese fashion, murder mysteries, holistic medicine, well-developed characters, or class consciousness in your stories, give this series a shot!

Thank you so much for all your recs! :D I absolutely love Saiki K and TenSura, and I only just started Frieren, so it makes me really excited to know that elves in Frieren are canonically aroace. In turn, I have some recs for you (two series that I really love):

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard - a contemporary setting where the main character, Seigi, comes to work for a jeweler named Richard. There’s an aroace character named Shouko Tanimoto in the series! And while the main characters (Seigi and Richard) get told a lot by side characters that surely they’re involved romantically, their relationship can definitely be read as queerplatonic or as Seigi being demiromantic and coming to terms with that over the course of the series. (There’s a scene in the series where Tanimoto tells Seigi he can care about Richard more than what people say a friend would, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that what he feels for Richard is romantic, only he can decide that.) I’m unsure how good the anime is though, as I’ve only read the novels. There is a manga adaptation, though!

Moriarty the Patriot - the characters of William and Sherlock both read as the genius type who have no interest in romance or the like. So it’s more of a very strong head canon, though Sherlock did say at one point he just isn’t interested in women. Again, I haven’t watched the anime, but I did read the manga. It’s a shounen, but doesn’t feel like one! It can very violent and gory sometimes, so proceed with caution if you decide to check it out.

looking for manga and anime recs!

do y’all have any manga or anime recs with characters that are aromantic and/or asexual? can be anywhere on the aro or ace spectrum! doesn’t matter if it’s explicitly stated or the characters can be interpreted that way because of how they were written by the creator, I just really enjoy finding and reading about these characters in general.

Hihi! it seems like you have watched quite a few animes so I was wondering what are your favs or top recs? I have been out of the game for some time now lol but I can’t seem to find any good ones 😭

omg wait i feel pressured to have good taste suddenly lol 💀 but same honestly! i stopped watching anime for like a few years but then this year i got soooooo into it again and it's all i've been watching 😅

i would love to recommend some but i fear my taste may probably be pretty generic or mainstream and idk ur taste or preference so ill just suggest a few i've liked recently:

horimiya

sooooooo chill and cute!! very safe anime again if u wanna watch something lighthearted and chill!! it's funny and theirs romance and friendships that are shown equally!! although the second season is kind of just a bunch of filler stuff that didn't make it into season 1 but i enjoyed it !!

the promised neverland

another pretty dark one - i think it's actually a horror anime but im not sure? soooo. devastating but nothing inherently traumatising or major deaths if that helps. deals with a lot of societal issues imo but defiantly not that much of a comfort show. i would say it's intense for sure 💀

fruits basket

omg a classsic a favourite changed my life 10000000% and i'm not even being dramatic lol! genuinely so good it's 3 seasons and the first two are quite fun and cute and lighthearted but it also goes really deep and i mean reeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy dark in season 3 just like nonstop heart stabbing (not to spoil it tho but she's cute with very real and dark moments)

spy x family

veryyyy cute !! has a dark side but the anime doesn't go in a lot of depth into it - also some very funny moments and love the found family trope of it! has action, humour, a lil itty bitty romance if we look closely and some angst and it's pretty quick paced and not sketchy or weird at all!! like very modest and safe yk?

fairy tail

ikkkk it's probably not the best but it's one of my favs for found family/friendship tropes !!! it's definitely very long and time consuming but it's so funny and i felt really attached to all the characters (and still do lol) one of the first anime's i watched so forever a defender lol

demon slayer/jjk

i'll crop these together because i think they're pretty similar - actions filled with emotions and drama, but of humour (more so in demon slayer tbh tho)

THIS IS SO MUCH LONGER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IM SORRY BUT I HOPED THIS HELPED 😭😭🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

ITS THAT TIME YES IT IS

soooo what will my next watch be?? YOU PICK

(so my indecisive ass doesn't have to)

Favorite Romance Anime

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought it would be nice to shout out my favorite romance animes! All of the ones I’ve listed below either have great main couples or great plot or are just plain cute so I hope you enjoy.

Blue Spring Ride / Ao Haru Ride

Fruits Basket / Furuba

Golden Time

Horimiya

Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War

Kaichou wa Maid-Sama

Kamisama Kiss / Kamisama Hajimemashita 

Ouran High School Host Club

Say I Love You

Snow White With The Red Hair / Akagami no Shirayukihime

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii / The World Is Still Beautiful

Special A

Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You

Toradora

My fav animes (in no particular order)

1) Snow White with the Red Hair (24 episodes + OVA)

2) Ouran High School Host Club (26 episodes)

3) Fruits Basket (2019)(ongoing series)

4) Blue Spring Ride (12 episodes + OVA)

5) Kimi Ni Todoke (37 episodes)

6) Kamisama Kiss (50 episodes + OVAs)

7) Sailor Moon (366 episodes)

8) Say “I Love You” (13 episodes)

9) Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (26 episodes)

10) Recovery of an MMO Junkie (11 episodes)

i’ll probs make a part two

do you have an anime watch list for beginners like the best animes of all time

Hello Nonny, thank you so much for your question. This is going to be a long post so get comfortable.

Like any anime lover, I have my own ideas of what some of the best animes for beginners might be. Unfortunatly, a lot of the "best of all time" type anime is not really the best for newer viewers. Like for so many others, my first animes were epic series like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sailor Moon and Inuyasha. These all hold special places in my heart and are all fun nostalgic or first watches.

The anime genres I tend to gravitate towards now are slice of life, comedy, drama, romance and shoujo with some sports, supernatural and mystery animes thrown in. So, keep that in mind as you read this list. If those are not your kinda things, then this is not the list for you. A lot of shows on this list are classics or highly popular in these genres. I've also choosen anime that comes in both English sub and dubbed versions because, for beginners, dubbed is sometimes easier to follow and enjoy. Subbed or dubbed, there is no judgment here as long as you are enjoying what you watch. Finally, I tried to stick to anime with mostly 1-3 seasons only. There is nothing wrong with the more epic long running series and many of these fall under "the best of all time" heading but seeing that an anime has 100+ episodes can be kinda daunting for a novice viewer. Now to the list...

First of all, if you are just wanting to try anime but, not wanting to commit to a whole series, I would recommend starting with a movie or two. Some classic films I would recommend would be Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle from Studio Ghibli. Some more contemporary films like, Your Name, Weathering With You, A Silent Voice and Wolf Children, would also be great anime starting points. These films are staples for any anime collection.

Now, as for anime series, here is just a list of 10 that I think quality animes and would be great beginner watches.

Ouran High School Host Club:

Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student at the elite Ouran High School. One day, Haruhi becomes accidentally indebted to the school host club. Now she must work off her debt by playing the role of a male host to the female student clientele. Hilarity ensues.

This reverse harem show is a much loved modern classic for a reason. It's full of fun characters and lighthearted comedy moments with just enough drama and romance to keep you coming back for more.

Maid Sama:

Misaki Ayuzawathe is the first female student council president for a previously all boys school. Now, her life is busy with maintaining top grades, keeping the male students in line, recruiting more girls to the school and keeping her part-time job at a maid cafe a secret. When one day Takumi Usui, the most popular boy in school, discovers her secret job, Misaki finds herself doing everything she can to keep him from revealing the truth to the whole school.

This shoujo has enough of comedy, romance and drama to satisfy anyone's appetite.

Fruits Basket:

After finding herself orphaned and homeless, high schooler Tohru Honda makes a new home with classmates Yuki and Kyo Sohma along with there guardian Shigure Sohma. But the Sohma's have a dark secret, they are under a curse that causes them to change into animals from the Chinese zodiac when hugged by members of the opposite sex. Now, Tohru must keep their secret as she learns more about this family and their curse.

There are actually 2 different versions of this show. Many people would recommend that you start with the completed classic 2001 version but, I'm going to say it's okay to skip that for later and dive into the 2019 reboot and ongoing series. The newer series is so beautifully animated and has a more detailed version of the story than its predecessor. This shoujo is full of drama, comedy, romance, supernatural mysteries and inspirational moments. You'll definitely need a kleenex box when watch this one.

Kamisama Kiss:

One day high school student Nanami Momozono finds herself abandoned by her father, penniless and homeless. After she saves a mysterious man in the park, he offers to help her by giving his home to her. She soon discovers that this gift home is really a rundown shrine and she has magically become local land god. Now, she must learn to juggle her school life and her new position as a land god. Luckily for her, a reluctant fox familiar named Tomoe comes with the shine and has to give her assistance with it all.

This classic is part shoujo comedy and part supernatural adventure. I definitely recommend this in the English dub if for no other reason than to enjoy J. Michael Tatum's voice work as Tomoe.

The Morose Mononokean:

Hanae Ashiya spends his first week of high school with a mystery illness that has left him feeling increasingly weak. He eventually discovers that the cause of his illness is a large fluffy creature that has attached itself to his back. When Hanae comes across a flyer advertising an exorcist who expels youkai, he decides that exorcism might be just the thing to remove the creature. The flyer leads him to the Mononokean and a magical tea room which suddenly appears. The Mononokean turns out to be a fellow classmate, Haruitsuki Abeno, who reluctantly helps Hanae but, demands that Hanae work as his assistant to repay him for the exorcism. Now, Hanae spends his free time working to learn about yokai spirits and how to best help the yokai that live in the mundane world.

This supernatural comedy is just fun to watch, with enough drama to keep you interested. It really has that classic Saturday morning anime adventure feel but, for a slightly older audience.

The Devil is a Part-Timer:

Just as Demon Lord Satan, a.k.a the Devil has nearly conquered the world of Ente Isla and destroyed his enemies, a hero named Emilia corners him and forces him and his top general to escape through a portal to modern day Earth. Emilia, of course, follows him determined to finally defeat the Devil. But now they all find themselves on Earth with no powers, they must discover how to survive even if that means the Devil must get a part-time job at Mc Ronald's just to pay the rent.

What can I say about this show... It starts out with an almost stereotypical supernatural action/adventure anime feel only to turn into a comedic slice of life with a little romance and the ocational fight sequence thrown in. This show is one of the best examples of how versatile anime can be and a great way to get a little taste of a lot of genres.

Death Note:

High school student Light Yagami stumbles upon a supernatural notebook that allows its owner to kill by simply writing someone's name down. Light soon sees the death notebook as a way to reform society's ills by killing criminals and undesirables to create world without crime. Once the police discover that a mysterious serial killer is targeting criminals, they bring in the worlds greatest detective, L, to find and capture this serial killer. This begins a epic battle of witts between Light and L.

This classic anime is a lot darker than anything else on the list but, it's definitely worth mentioning. It was one of the earlier animes I watched and I'm still a fan to this day. It falls mostly into the categories of thriller, supernatural, mystery, horror and crime drama. It is also another one that I'd strongly recommend the English dub over the subbed version. So, if you want to take little walk on the anime dark side, this is a good place to start.

Yuri On Ice:

After a disastrous performance and coming in last place at the Grand Prix, ice skater Yuri Katsuki is thinking about retiring. That is until his skating idol and living legend Victor Nikiforov shows up to his home offering to be his coach. Now, with Victor's help Yuri works to rebuild his career and fight his way to a gold medal at the Grand Prix Final.

Yuri On Ice is my all time favorite anime so, of course it's going to make the list. So much about the struggles and perseverance of the characters in this sports anime is inspiring. Then, when you add in a little romance, flashy skating routines to a great original soundtrack and the drama of competition, everything about this show gets a gold medal.

Free!-Iwatobi Swim Club:

Haruka Nanase has always had a strong connection to the water and a passion for swimming. As he starts high school, Haruka is reunited with childhood friends from a youth swim team, Nagisa Hazuki and Makoto Tachibana. The three decide to start a school swim team. Now, they must recruit a fourth member and train to be able compete in their first swim meet. Watch to see these guys bond as a team and friends and as they pursue their goal to compete at Nationals.

There are a lot of great sports anime out there but, this one is a good one to start with. Free! exemplifies so many standard tropes within this genre and does in an engaging way with an easy to understand sport. There are multiple seasons and movies for this series but, the first season, Free! -Iwatobi Swim Club, is satisfying enough as a stand alone.

My Roommate is a Cat:

Subaru Mikazuki, an introvert writer with social anxiety, adopts a stray cat after a chance encounter. Together they both learn they are not as alone as each of them believed.

This slice of life anime is sooooo relatable, cute and funny. If you're looking for something that's low key and will make you feel all warm inside, than this is the show you should start with.

Here are some honorable mention animes to also consider: Toradora, ReLife, Princess Jellyfish (I just love this show and think everyone should watch it), Black Butler (if you're willing to sort out the correct viewing order it can be worth it), the classic Avatar: The Last Airbender (yeah, yeah, yeah is it anime or isn't, doesn't matter it's a great gateway) and Kakuriyo- Bed and Breakfast for Spirits

So here are some of my top favorite anime for beginners recommendations. A nice mix of classic standards and a few newer shows that really show off specific genres. These are just my opinions, I'm sure there are many other animes that should probably make this list. As always, if anyone wants to add to this list or make some different suggestions please feel welcome to add your own favorites in the comments or as a reblog. Thank you Nonny for the ask and I hope you find this list helpful.

Top 10 Best Romance Anime's To Watch With Your Special Someone

1. Snow White With The Red Hair: Bypassing Their Status And Finally Admitting Their True Feelings For Each Other

2. Kimi Ni Todoke: Discovering A New World With The One Person Who Supported You On Day One

3. Cardcaptor Sakura: Once Rivals In The Past Now Understanding What True Love Really Means

4. Yona Of The Dawn: A Shocking Experience In Life Only To Discover Something New Ahead As Well As New Feelings

5. Yuri On Ice: One Routine, One Skater, Two Hearts Becoming One

6. Maid Sama: Breaking The Rules Just To Be With The One You Love

7. Ao Haru Ride: A Lost Love Being Reawaken

8. Kamisama Kiss: Never Wanting To Fall In Love Again But They Realized That It Was Too Late

9. Fruits Basket: Zodiac Animals Surpassing Their Curse For Love

10. Ouran High School Host Club: A Sudden Debt Helps You Find Your Future Lover 

11. Skip Beat: What Happened In The Past Will Forever Be A Memory But Finding A New Love Will Never Make You Forget

12. Your Name: Different Times, Different Bodies But The Same Heart

13. Orange: Sending Messages To The Past Just To Discover New Feelings

14. Special A: Challenging A Childhood Friend Finally Discovering Their Feeling For Each Other

15. Your Lie In April: A Sudden Wave Of Music Can Lead You To A New Road Of Love

Top 15 Anime Ships

15. Yuu x Nao [Charlotte]

14. Tomoe x Nanami [Kamisama Kiss]

13. Madoka x Homura [Puella Magi Madoka Magica]

12. Nagisa x Rei [Free! :Eternal Summer]

11. Rin x Sheimi [Blue Exorcist]

10. Kyo x Tohru [Fruits Basket]

9. Zen x Shirayuki [Snow White with the Red Hair]

8. Kobayashi x Tohru [Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid]

7. Yato x Hiyori [Noragami]

6. Livius x Nike [The World is Still Beautiful]

5. Soul x Maka [Soul Eater]

4. Shinichi x Ran [Detective Conan]

3. Oreki x Chitanda [Hyouka]

2. Natsu x Lucy [Fairy Tail]

1. Meliodas x Elizabeth [Nanatsu no Taizai]

I love it when my favorite shoujo couples go off model and become the most adorable little dorks ever

I mean

1. Yona of the Dawn

2. Kaichou wa Maid-sama

3. Kamisama Hajimemashita

4. Special A

5. My Little Monster

6. Say I Love You

7. Kimi ni Todoke

8. Ouran High School Host Club

It's pretty cute

10 Good Romances I Watched in 2018

10) Kamisama Kiss

Kamisama Kiss is an interesting shoujo. I found it to be fairly unique compared to other shoujos and yet also found it to be a shoujo that held many of the tropes the genre normally has. I know charm is something that is typically subjective, but I found Kamisama Kiss to be a very charming show. From what I’ve seen, a lot of people have a similar opinion, so watch it if you like shoujos.

9) Asagao to Kase-san

I love how normal and teenage Asagao to Kase-san is. It’s really sweet to see the beginning of a relationship along with the awkward fumbling that comes from it, especially in a wlw romance. It’s cute and the movie is only an hour long. The manga is a little longer.

8) End of the Fucking World

End of the Fucking World is a good example of doing edgy, shitty teenagers right. I found myself rooting for them to get out of their…situation successfully and happily, even though it’s obvious that’s not going to happen. Watching the two of them slowly soften and care about the other was extremely satisfying. The series is pretty short. I watched it in about a day. So next time you get some free time this show might be a good idea.

7) (500) Days of Summer

It was really good. The story was told in a unique way and the characters were likable and their relationship was endearing. You could understand why they ended up together and why they liked each other while also seeing how they were ultimately not good for each other without making the characters look stupid. It’s a really good romantic comedy. I would recommend it.

6) Wotaku ni Koi Wa Muzukashii

Writing good. Pacing bad. That’s the base of the show. It’s an office romance! Those are normally pretty fun, and this one is! The opening and ending sequence are incredibly fun. I don’t have much to say about this one in all honesty. It’s a romantic comedy with dry humor and romance viewed through a mature lens. It’s good. Check it out.

5) Bloom into You

Yeahhhh Bloom into You is probably the most somber romance on this list. I gotta say, I was surprised by how psychological Bloom into You was considering how popular it seemed to be as well as the art design appearing very flowery at first sight (though once I started to watch the show the designs seemed more solemn). This show deals with trying to understand what being in love even is, the reasons people fall in love with others, and if those specific reasons will affect how the person reciprocates their feelings. It’s extremely good, just don’t watch it if you’re in the mood for a light romance.

4) Our Relationship is…

I’ve already written most of my thoughts on this manhwa in a different blog post of mine. It’s a really good romance with strong main and side characters. If you like the friends to lovers trope then this manhwa is the one for you. I could really sense their care for one another. The manhwa was also good at differentiating between what made them like each other as friends and what made them like each other romantically. Their relationship evolved nicely. I’d recommend it, for sure.

3) Doukyuusei

Definitely the healthiest yaoi I’ve seen. Though I haven’t seen many. I’m kind of sucker for romances that put an emphasis on the seasons so Doukyuusei kind of easily became a beloved romance of mine. The direction and water-color design was beautiful. Sadly, I don’t think the movie is purchasable in the west as well as being very hard to stream. Seriously. I’m surprised my computer didn’t get a virus after watching this.

2) Fruits Basket

I’m mad it took me until 2018 to watch this. If you’re into the found family trope (like me) then Fruits Basket is a must watch. The themes of finding a place to belong are done so beautifully and the characters are so likable that when they find that place it just…you really feel that shit. The romance is also really sweet, though not as developed compared to the manga- but hey! Fruits Basket is getting a reboot in April that is supposed to follow the manga a lot better than the original anime adaptation so PLEASE look forward to that.

1) His and Her Circumstances

I really like this one. The two main characters are likable and the comedy is done really well and this show serves a lot of good advice and insight on growing up and relationships and it’s just really good okay. It’s one of the few romances I’ve seen that shows that people make mistakes in relationships that are often unintentional- sometimes those mistakes are even things we think we’re doing right. His and Her Circumstances just really knows how to portray common and realistic relationship problems and blunders in an interesting, endearing way. Watch it if you can find it.

currently watching or planning to watch

fruits basket

the millionaire detective, balance: unlimited 

kamisama kiss

number24

ID: invaded

cells at work (s2)

been binge watching assasination classroom for two days now, and i just can’t seem to stop

im so sad cause i only have a few episodes left…