Anime that I would recommend *for anyone* is a very different list from my personal favorites, actually. I tend to gravitate toward some of the slower and more depressing shows with little action. So, here's two top 3's: Top 3 anime series I recommend for anyone: DennÅ Coil: Covers the adventures of a bunch of kids in a near-future city that has a lot of augmented reality programs integrated into sections of it. It finally got a dub in 2016, ten years after its initial 2007 release. This thing is so good, I'm really not sure why it isn't more popular or better-known. Ridiculously high production values, too. Haikyuu!!: It's about a high school volleyball team. Sports anime usually aren't my thing, but man, this one is amazing. Great characters, great story, loved every minute of it. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise coming from Production I.G., a studio that has been behind an awful lot of great shows over the years. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit: And speaking of Production I.G., I just keep going back to Moribito, which is a fantasy adventure based on light novels, directed by the same guy who did both seasons of Ghost in the Shell: SAC (which is also amazing and highly recommended, BTW). There's simply nothing that this show doesn't do well. The art is top-notch, the voice acting is great (including the dub), the story is wonderful. It's one of those series that I could watch over and over again and never get bored. My personal top 3 anime series, for those who like their anime slower-paced and "thinky" Texhnolyze: Slow, violent, depressing, and often incomprehensible, Texhnolyze has nonetheless hooked me in a way that no other anime ever has. My favorite ever, despite the fact that I after watching it five times I still don't understand parts of what's going on. Paranoia Agent: All of Satoshi Kon's movies are excellent (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika), but Paranoia Agent is even better. Kon was famous for blurring the lines between imagination, dreams, and reality, and this series is no different. It's a major head trip. Also darkly comedic. There's an episode about three people who have made a suicide pact and spend the whole time trying to kill themselves... and it manages to be the funniest episode of the whole series. That's Satoshi Kon for you. Mushi-Shi: Episodic series of fantastical stories involving elemental nature spirits called "mushi." This one at least has its uplifting episodes, in relation to the other two shows I've just listed, and is one that I more easily recommend to people generally, although it's still a slower-paced sort of show. It has some of the most gorgeous visuals I've ever seen in an anime, and the stories are really amazing, and often thought-provoking as well. Mushi-Shi AMV: "One-Eyed Fish" (Youtube)
I was wondering if anyone would post about this series. I remember watching it back in college when it was first released (in the states anyway). I wasn't much for anime then (and that hasn't really changed) but I remember looking forward to that show every week because it was so trippy and I was fascinated by where it was going. It's been so long now I honestly can't remember where it left things. Maybe I need to go back and watch it. Also, I remember my oldest son watching Full Metal Alchemist when he was younger and being pretty intrigued by it as well. I may pull that one back ou to watch with my younger boys. I bet they would dig it.
Paranoia Agent is only 13 episodes, so you can knock it out in a day or two. Certainly worth revisiting. I remember watching the original 51-episode run of Fullmetal Alchemist years ago. Shounen generally isn't my bag (never cared for Bleach, Naruto, Dragonball), but it was among the best of the lot. FWIW, you may or may not know that they re-did the whole series. The original run was produced about five years before the manga was finished, so they made up a lot of original story. The 64-episode Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, in contrast, follows the source material quite closely through to the end. I hear it's good, but haven't watch it myself. Might be kinda fun to watch another version that's kinda the same, but different.
Iron Blooded Orphans - Man They Ruthless!! Hunter x Hunter - D*MN They ruthless and hard Neither are for kids at all Rocket River
