What's your favorite anime series?

[Odetta]

I'm here because my son (age 14) has discovered anime and manga in the last year. He's working through the Fairy Tail series right now. I've watched some of the episodes, and they don't seem too bad. I hear some can get bad, though. He's spoken of doing Naruto after he's done with FT. Would that be age appropriate?

I have to share this. He got my other son, his older brother, hooked on FT, too. Thing is, older brother isn't watching the episodes in order (he's autistic) and it's driving my younger son crazy! He considers it a sacrilege.

 

[Ironhold]

I'm here because my son (age 14) has discovered anime and manga in the last year. He's working through the Fairy Tail series right now. I've watched some of the episodes, and they don't seem too bad. I hear some can get bad, though. He's spoken of doing Naruto after he's done with FT. Would that be age appropriate?

I have to share this. He got my other son, his older brother, hooked on FT, too. Thing is, older brother isn't watching the episodes in order (he's autistic) and it's driving my younger son crazy! He considers it a sacrilege.

The entire premise of Naruto is that it's a world where various organizations - including the main regional governments - aren't averse to using preteens and teenagers as essentially child soldiers in what are often brutal conflicts. Caught in the middle of this is the title character, who has a powerful supernatural figure sealed inside of him to keep it from rampaging, something that has left him an outcast in his own society.

Uncut episodes are currently airing on US TV with a rating of "TV-14", meaning that the average episode is generally regarded as appropriate for 14-year-olds. However, because of how serious the overall premise is, these episodes do frequently include unflinching violence (several named characters are indeed killed through the course of the series), and you do have a mix of cursing, sexually-themed content (it's a running gag that one of the adult characters has a side job writing "adult" literature. this comes to a head when he knows he's going to die in battle; he uses a coded message based on his books to send back a vital piece of intelligence), implied to mild nudity (for example, one ending sequence shows a female character's bare back as she's in the shower, implying that she's actually nude).

Most kids about 16 - 18 can handle it, and to be brutally honest if they're going to a public high school they've probably already encountered material on that level, if not worse.

 

[Ironhold]

I have to share this. He got my other son, his older brother, hooked on FT, too. Thing is, older brother isn't watching the episodes in order (he's autistic) and it's driving my younger son crazy! He considers it a sacrilege.

Breaking this into a separate bit.

Many anime series are intended to be episodic in nature, either in whole or in part. Because of this, they are indeed intended to be seen in order. This is likely why your younger son is a bit cross.



That being said - If you'd like, I can recommend a number of shows that are indeed age-appropriate.

The first one off the top of my head is "Lost Universe", a sci-fi romp about a trio of heroes for hire. The series starts comedic, but does get darker and more serious as the full story emerges (nutshell: the male lead's family sacrificed themselves in an effort to stop a powerful crime syndicate, but they merely slowed it down; the hero-for-hire bit is just him paying the bills until he's in a position to finish the job). It was actually intended as a "young adult" series, and the Latin-American dub even aired on some kid-friendly programming blocks (which is actually how I found it; in the 1990s / early 2000s, a Spanish-language broadcaster here in the US had it on Saturday mornings).

Nozomi Entertainment, the company who appears to have the current rights to the English dubbed version, has actually made all 26 episodes of the series free for viewing on their YouTube channel. Due to some of the other shows on the channel being age-inappropriate, however, you'll need to send me a message if you want the direct link to the series playlist itself. Note that Nozomi's version uses a slightly different opening credits sequence compared to the earlier English and Spanish dubs, so there might be confusion if they watch one and then the other.

 

[Lisanna]

It's a toss-up between Katanagatari and Serial Experiments Lain.

SEL is great

 

[Odetta]

Thank you, Ironhold. He starts high school next year. His middle school was very rough. In fact we pulled him out to homeschool until high school because of it. The high school we're zoned for is much better. I think he's pretty mature for his age, and he's already been exposed to more serious themes. I'll have him check out those others.

 

[Ironhold]

Thank you, Ironhold. He starts high school next year. His middle school was very rough. In fact we pulled him out to homeschool until high school because of it. The high school we're zoned for is much better. I think he's pretty mature for his age, and he's already been exposed to more serious themes. I'll have him check out those others.

One thing about YouTube is that if something's flagged as being 18+ people will be required to sign into their accounts and confirm their age. If a screen like that pops up, it's pretty clearly age-inappropriate. There's at least two titles on Nozomi's page where that happens, and I may find more as I continue to poke about.

As it is, depending upon whether you have cable or satellite there *are* a few networks that are still carrying anime.

If you have a station in your area that's owned by Sinclair Broadcasting you might have some older shows as part of their kids' block, but that's it as far as broadcast goes.

Cartoon Network has the "Toonami" block on Saturday nights (9 PM to 3 AM Central time), but individual episodes and shows can hit TV-MA so you'll need to check listings.

Disney's Disney XD channel - usually digital tier - has a handful of anime including the current Beyblade and Pokemon series.

If you get digital cable through Spectrum, there's more anime on the "Kids on Demand" channel, including the 2010 Beyblade series, a few older episodes of Pokemon (one from 2000 and ten from 2007), and a Pokemon movie. Just make sure that the description page says "free" instead of giving a price, as the brand-new movies have a token fee to watch. Also, a few months back they accidentally put a handful of episodes of an uncensored anime on the "Kids on Demand" section, so be mindful.

 

[MadotsukiInTheNexus]

In no particular order, my favorites are:

1.) Puella Magi Madoka Magica
2.) Attack on Titan
3.) Girls' Last Tour
4.) Made in Abyss
5.) Avatar: The Last Airbender (I know, right? Don't judge me)

 

[LucasWhite]

Bubblegum Crisis OVAs (2032 not 2040)

 

[Rubiks]

I don't have a favorite but I'm really enjoying Yugioh right now.

 

[abandonentropy]

My favorite series is probably Berserk. I'm a huge fan of medieval fantasy and Berserk is pretty much the best representation of it in the medium I've found so far. The characters are amazingly written, and it touches on many deep themes like friendship, sacrifice, revenge, regret, and dreams. It's not for everyone and the extreme violence might put some off, but I'd recommend it to anyone who can handle it. I just wish it would finish one day and I hope Miura doesn't pass away before it does. The 2016 adaptation is trash by the way, you'd best avoid it.

 

[The-Doctor]

My favorite anime series are Naruto, Attack on Titan, Erased and Noragami. I have wayyy more favorites then this but I really love Naruto because it has to do with someone who was doubted on by everyone and had a lot of people discouraging him, but he was able to reach the top from his own confidence and strength and went on to be admired by everyone in the shinobi world and right now in my life I feel like Im at the part where everyone looks down on me and I feel like Im not good enough so I one day hope to admired by many and have the respect that Naruto earned.

I loved erased...the live action version was okay but cut a lot from the anime story

 

[Drifter Kybe Scythe Kane]

Dbz and gundam wing. If I had to choose between the two, dbz.

 

[TruthInLight]

Dragon Ball Z/Super and Clannad.

I like a lot of series but when I think about them, I realize how many anime fall short and narrow them down.

 

[Srom]

Naruto simply because I grew up with it. I remember when I was in 4th grade watching that and it just sent chills down my spine and that show taught me a lot even from a Christian perspective, but since Naruto is over I'm enjoying My Hero Academia.

 

[Ironhold]

Naruto simply because I grew up with it. I remember when I was in 4th grade watching that and it just sent chills down my spine and that show taught me a lot even from a Christian perspective, but since Naruto is over I'm enjoying My Hero Academia.

The sequel series, Boruto, is already airing. Cartoon Network aired the first episode last Saturday, and in Japan it's up to episode 75 IIRC.

 

[Srom]

The sequel series, Boruto, is already airing. Cartoon Network aired the first episode last Saturday, and in Japan it's up to episode 75 IIRC.

I am already aware of Boruto. I haven't been invested much into it and I have like 48 episodes.

 

[Arielle Hernandez]

It's hard to pick a favorite, I honestly love every anime I have seen so far, but if I had to pick one...

I'd probably say Your Lie in April because it's a show I can relate to (me being a violinist myself) I could really feel the pain and frustration and anxiety of the characters as they pursued musical goals. I also cried very much at the end of the series and I had never cried at any anime prior, so it really touched me and opened my heart to the emotion in this show and all similar.

I also just started watching My Hero Academia (I know I'm a bit late) and I love it so far. One Punch Man and Mob Psyco 100 are also pretty up there on my list.

 

[Lightstar54]

My favorite anime so far is probably Violet Evergarden. Basically, it's about a girl who was used as a tool of war in the military in a place called Leidenschaftlich. Because of her environment, she never understood emotions or feelings.

There was one man who took care of her, Major Gilbert Bougainvillea. Gilbert's older brother, Dietfred, gave Violet to him as a "gift" upon his returning from the military. However, during the Battle of Intense, the enemy abandoned their own base after it was stormed by Gilbert and Violet's comrades. When the enemy base exploaded Violet lost her left arm. (A few moments before, she had lost her right arm after being shot by an enemy soldier.) As of Major Gilbert's whereabouts... I won't spoil it for you.

When the show starts we are met with Violet writing a letter. We later see that she now has metal arms in the first episode. She then is hired by Gilbert's friend Lieutenant Colonel Claudia Hodgins as an Automemories Doll (Someone who writes letters for people. There aren't many poeple that know how to write as stated by Claudia in the first episode. Also it seems that this show was set in the early 1900's sooo... yeah.)

After that she is sent around Leidenschaft to write letters for people. She also begins to have an understanding of feelings and emotions. (One more thing. Before the enemy base exploded in Intense, Gilbert told Violet that he loved her before pushing her to safety from the explosion.)

Overall, Violet Evergarden is a really good anime in my opinion. The animation is beautiful, the music is breathtaking, and the story line is super emotional. As you probably can tell, I'm a fan. I'm in the process of making a fan game in Unity for the anime.

Fair warning though. There are somewhat large amounts of blood in some scenes (i.e. When Violet loses her arms) and there is one character in the show that has THE most ANNOYING character design. (Annoying = inappropriate. She shows up for about a few seconds in about half the episodes so, yeah. Be careful.) If you decide to watch it, let me know what your thoughts are.

 

[Mallory-san]

What's your favorite anime series and why?

Me, personally, I don't know. But Dragon Ball Z and Death Note would likely be on top...

I honestly can't decide which ones are my favorites. lol

My favorite anime are fruits basket, hunter x hunter, chihayafuru because of the storyline and growth in character. I seem to be pulled by the ones that pull on heartstrings.

 

[muichimotsu]

My favorite anime are fruits basket, hunter x hunter, chihayafuru because of the storyline and growth in character. I seem to be pulled by the ones that pull on heartstrings.

Have you been watching the remake they're doing? Season 2 comes out in April, excited to see content I read in the manga (which I still haven't completed) and beyond that. We'll probably have...1 or 2 more seasons of 26~ episodes after this one, way better than the one Akitaro Daichi directed and is still infamous for, especially since Natsuki Takaya-sensei even berated that adaptation