Doorslammer wrote:Hmmm, distinct lack of Haruhi Suzumiya in that list. I'm pretty surprised.
Actually, it IS there.
Both seasons and the latest movie.
The name is just written in the correct order.
So, then just as promised, some of the recommendations for comedy (and action) series'. There's also some with deep stories included. Now, let's go!
Angel Beats - Based on people who have died and are now living in "another dimension". There is some action, mostly gunfights. But the main point for this series being as special as it is is the story. It is very deep and touching. It is one of those definite tear jerkers, especially during the final episodes. And for the people who have followed the scene a bit more, it includes a huge seiyuu lineup and an amazing soundtrack. The animating is nice and colourful.
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu - One of the funniest series' I have seen. It's just full of slapstick comedy. It's so funny that you will easily die of lack of oxygen, since you can't breath during the episodes. Based into a school, where the quality of the classroom depends on which class they are on. So the different classes will fight for better rooms. Nice amount of graphical differencing in episodes. A must watch for the fans of comedy!!
Clannad - You will cry during this series. There is such a depth in the story. It follows the normal lives of a few people, so no action here. Still, well worth watching at some point.
Doki Doki School Hours - Another great comedy. Just don't watch the special episodes or you'll be greatly disappointed. Has a cute teacher character and the some weird students. Quite like Azumanga Daioh (A comedy defining series), but better.
Genshiken - Anime fans, seriously... You MUST watch this! It follows a bunch of japanese otakus who run their otaku-club. Has a HUGE bunch of references to old series', which makes it even better. The series itself is a bit melancholic and the colors are a bit gray, but on the other side the series is very funny and realistic. This is also a nice way of studying more into the scene. After this you should know what Comiket REALLY means.
Ginga Nagareboshi Gin (Hopeanuoli for finns) - If you haven't seen this... Welp... I'd say you are truly a newbie to the scene.
Nice action, good story with some heart breaking moments. Expect to cry a little. Just watch the uncencored version, since the cencored version skips almost 3 episodes worth of stuff and misses everything. This also shows what bad animating and drawing can really be. That's what happens when you run out of money. It's a shame, and I hope they would re-draw the series some year.
High School of the Dead - A nice action series with many references to old and new zombie movies, games and series'. There is some stuff you will laugh at once you just realize where they are copied from, for example those magical unpassable walls, although the fence really has holes which would fit 2 people at the same time. And which other show shows how "the woman parts" jiggle in bullet time and the bullet passes between "the woman parts" with no problem. Has a lot of ecchi stuff and blood, so it is a K18 series.
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (When Cicadas Cry) - You will be left mouth open after every episode. You will most likely be like "what the ----" just happened?! It is a horror, gore, slasher, mystery series with some very insane plot twists and mind breaking scenes. Especially the first 4 episodes are a must watch. I also have to say I LOVE how the series has been drawn. They have managed to capture the sadness of the situation ah so well in the characters.
Kaichou Wa Maid-sama - Most of you will propably hate this series, since it is more meant towards women, but it has a story like no other. It is almost like an inverted version of the normal series' which are meant for men. A good series to try and see what the series' for women are like. Funny stuff, romance, cute characters.
Kannagi - A funny series about some gods who have been formed from old trees in the area. Pretty much a basic series, nothing too special, but the character design and drawing is pretty nice and the characters are quite cute.
Karin - Another decent, funny romance series. This time about a vampire that instead of sucking the blood spills a lot of it in form of nosebleed when she sees the person she loves. Again, the story gets a bit deeper once the series goes on, but... Yeah. (The only manga I own is the first book from this series)
K-On - Well, another must see, anime scene defining series'. I'd dare to say this series is the reason for the others to develop their drawing so rapidly. It also has officially the most cutest characters in the world (proved by many opinion polls). Mio-Chan, Azunyan, Mugi-chan, Yui-Chan and Ritsu-chan are names you should always recognize. You just... Must..
Kore wa Zombie desu Ka? - Another extremely funny series, this time about a man who is now a zombie and then... Some funny stuff happening around him. Some ecchi stuff, but not too much.
Lucky Star - Doorslammer can prove this one as a must watch. I have watched it 3 times through personally. An extremely funny series with some amazing ways of striking a "low blow" comedy-wise. The is another series which has a set of characters you just have to know. Konata, Tsugasa, Hiiragi and Miyuki.. Add these to the list.
Macademi Wasshoi - A surprisingly good and funny series, especially for the fans of catgirls (like me...
) There's some ecchi stuff and generally it is a bit of loli based, which might turn some people away. Some weird characters, overall a weird series (in a good way).
Mitsudomoe - This is another series, which will very likely kill you since you fall off your chair too many times for laughing so hard. Just don't watch it during the night or you will wake the whole house up. A great series with not much of storyline. (So you can watch it anytime you want)
Seto no Hanayome - Oh man, another extremely funny series! The episodes starting from something like EP20 are a must watch, those will just take the bar of comedy veeeery high.
Spice & Wolf - Again, a nice story, especially in the first season. A cute wolf character, based in the middle age. I loved the series and am waiting for the next to begin.
Ore no Imouto... - Comedy about a girl who just seems to manage to get everything done right in her life. But she has a "little" secret. This series includes the character that has melted the hearts of sooo many people, including me. And that is Kuroneko. Expect this character to rise into the top 5 of the moe-list.
Paniponi Dash! - Read the description of Doki Doki Schoolhours and paste it here. The only difference is, that this is just sooooo much better with some amazingly witty ideas.
Renkin San-kyuu Magical? Pokaan - A nice comedy series and more of animal ear fanservice. I liked the series a lot and have stored them for a rewatch.
Serial Experiments Lain - A mind twister. You just don't know what's going on after a while.
An extremely good cyberpunk themed mystery series. A must watch.
Shinryaku! Ika musume - Another great comedy with just on sense. A squid girl (with a cute way of ending the senteces to -geso
) tries to invade the earth, but it just doesn't go as planned. The series is more of a set of short strips, so not much of story here.
Suzumiya Haruhi no ... - A must watch. Here comes another set of must know characters: Haruhi, Mikuru, Kyon, Yuki... Again, an EPIC lineup of seiyuus and music, along with boundary pushing drawing quality (at that time at least)
The World God Only Knows - A dating game god (a normal nerd) gets a message from... hell telling that he must help releasing some bad spirits from people, so he must put his galge skills to real life test. A great comedy with a nice story, accompanied by some epic episodes. This also has the best male seiyuu ever for the main character. (You can hear him in many of the other series' listed here, but in here his skills just shine)
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun / Index - Nice action packed series well worth watching. A science side has a fight against the catholic religion, and the guy with the most misfortune ever gets dragged in. Expect some epic fights and epic discussions.
Utawarerumono - Welp, if you like these -mimi series', you will like this. Set in the middle age, has a pretty generic development of story, but still, it is a nice series with an surprising ending. It has some nice action too.
Welcome to the N.H.K! - Another must see series for the fans of anime, manga and galges. Another extremely melancholic series with a great story. It has a good set of comedy to balance the general sadness. It shows the gray life of a NEET. And... Puru puru pururin, pururin. Puru puru pururin, puru pururin! You will love that tune!
So yeah... There's so many series' worth watching, you should just try them out. If you don't like the first 5 episodes, you might want to drop them. Most often the first two episodes are the worst ones, so don't drop them after just one episode.