Looking for some good anime once again

[Marc]

Looking to see if I get any good anime suggestions. I've been looking for something new to watch that's also finished airing.

What I'm looking for:
- nice animation (I prefer "new" rather than "old" this time around)
- good/decent story.. I prefer if it gets "dark"
- no main character weakling
- no anime character who bleeds through his nose by just watching a girl lol

 

[Mr. Kream]

Had you checked out Golden Kamuy?

 

[Marc]

Had you checked out Golden Kamuy?

Nope.

 

[Mr. Kream]

Nope.

I was just watching the first episode, it seems promising. More than 5 people died in the first thirty seconds, bears, prisoners, revenge plots... MC also made a friend, lost a friend, lost the friend he made, and gained a new, new friend... and there's a treasure

 

[Alex]

Did you ever try The Rising of the Shield Hero? I only read the manga so I can't say too much about it, but it seems to fit most of your marks.

The MC starts off weak but quickly becomes stronger (typical isekai stuff).
Decent enough story with some dark elements to it.
The MC isn't a nosebleeding nerd.

 

[Marc]

Did you ever try The Rising of the Shield Hero? I only read the manga so I can't say too much about it, but it seems to fit most of your marks.

The MC starts off weak but quickly becomes stronger (typical isekai stuff).
Decent enough story with some dark elements to it.
The MC isn't a nosebleeding nerd.

The Rising of the Shield Hero started really good. I can't wait for season 2.

 

[Hibiki_Kuze]

Symphogear and Akatsuki no Yona I suppose.

 

[Marc]

Symphogear and Akatsuki no Yona I suppose.

Loved Akatsuki no Yona. I'll check out Symphogear.

 

[Samster]

Did you ever try The Rising of the Shield Hero? I only read the manga so I can't say too much about it, but it seems to fit most of your marks.

The MC starts off weak but quickly becomes stronger (typical isekai stuff).
Decent enough story with some dark elements to it.
The MC isn't a nosebleeding nerd.

I was actually about to suggest that exact same anime! Love that one, man. You‘ve got good taste <3

For my suggestion, how about Log Horizon? Decent anime, with a SAO (Sword Art Online) type plot. You know, trapped in an MMORPG, find a way to get out, etc.

And if you haven’t seen SAO yet, then that’s a really fantastic one, too. I haven’t watched the third season of it yet, but heard it gets really dark and twisted.

 

[Marc]

For my suggestion, how about Log Horizon?

I don't really like Log Horizon but I have seen SAO (not a fan of the gun version).

 

[28142]

And if you haven’t seen SAO yet, then that’s a really fantastic one, too. I haven’t watched the third season of it yet, but heard it gets really dark and twisted.

SAO is pretty terrible lol. The 3rd season isn't great either from what I've heard. it's a bit more "dark and twisted" but in a more messed up not-a-nice way.

 

[Whovian#1]

I mean.... I liked the first arc. It was a really cool concept and that was all really well done but the pacing... god the pacing. The pacing is just god awful. The pacing is what brings the story down so much. The episodes take place a while after each other and it would have been so much better had they the episodes not been spaced up so much. Let me explain

SAO spoilers ahead.

Let's look at the second episode of SAO as an example. If I have my episodes right this is the one where Kirito joins a small group of players to help explore and conquer the game. They become best friends and Kirito doesn't tell them about how much he truly knows about the game, so when they all die in a dungeon he feels guilty about it. This is why he's such a loner.

This whole thing should have been multiple episodes. Instead this is what SAO does: they meet. They cut to later to show them as best friends so we're now supposed to feel for them and like them after knowing them for like 2 minutes. They then die like 15 minutes later and we're supposed to feel sorry for them because of that great relationship with Kirito they had. So now we're to feel sorry for Kirito at having lost his best friends who we as the audience barely know. Instead what they should have done is draw this out for multiple episodes. You have them meet by like episode 3 of the show something like that. In like episode 2 Kirito realizes that he should probably join some kind of group as it would make grinding a lot easier for him and he could use his skills to help out some other players. Kirito struggles to open up to them fully but over a couple of episodes he learns to really like and appreciate them as friends. You also have the promise he made to the girl to protect her at around this point. They explore more dungeons and open up more floors (so the plot is still moving at this point) and then they all die in that dungeon. See now you built a friendship that we understand and we grow to have a liking of the characters so their death is much sadder. We can now fully understand Kirito becoming a loner much more than we do in the show right now.

SAO does this over and over and over again. In fact that's every episode of this show. It seems like most episodes should have been divided into multiple episodes to help develop the characters more and there should be episodes in between the current episodes to show how the characters developed in between these episodes. But I mean it's not just that. In like episode 3 or 4 they're at like floor 40, and I wanted to see their progress not just get told "oh they're here now". I wanted to see their progression from floor 1 to floor 80 or whatever the last floor they get too is. They don't need to show every floor but I want them to show more progression than just "oh they're here now".

Basically what I'm trying to say is that the first arc has some really nice ideas but the show skips around so much that they can't fully capitalize on it.

Also I want to dive into the 2nd arc a little bit... I won't do it too much though because this post is long enough already. The biggest problem from what I saw of the 2nd arc is the conflict. The problem being that there is none. The major conflict of the first one is that they're trapped in a video game and need to find a way to escape before they end up dying irl. The romantic stuff is still there but it doesn't feel as major as "if you die in the game you die in real life and the only to escape the game is to beat all 100 floors". So what is the conflict in the 2nd arc? Crazy rich guy is gonna marry Asuana and said crazy rich guy also has asuana trapped in a new SAO type game. It's dumb. And don't tell me that Kirito's sister having a crush on him is considered conflict. It's just dumb. The only redeeming part I saw of this arc is Kirito struggling to adapt to real life again after having lived in the simulation nonstop for like a year.

So yeah basically the first arc had good ideas but bad execution. And the 2nd one is just very soap opera eske and I don't like that at all.

 

[V_Weeb]

Ummm, well I'd recommend A Lull In The Sea, there is no fighting but the main character isn't too mentally weak, tho they are a little bit shonen-ish. The animation is stunning and the backgrounds are absolutely beautiful, tho It's a bit of an old anime (From 2013) so not exactly new, but it was the first one that popped into my head. - It's a romance anime

Summary from Kitsu:

Long ago, all humans lived beneath the sea. However, some people preferred the surface and abandoned living underwater permanently. As a consequence, they were stripped of their god-given protection called "Ena" which allowed them to breathe underwater. Over time, the rift between the denizens of the sea and of the surface widened, although contact between the two peoples still existed.Nagi no Asukara follows the story of Hikari Sakishima and Manaka Mukaido, along with their childhood friends Chisaki Hiradaira and Kaname Isaki, who are forced to leave the sea and attend a school on the surface. There, the group also meets Tsumugu Kihara, a fellow student and fisherman who loves the sea. Hikari and his friends' lives are bound to change as they have to deal with the deep-seated hatred and discrimination between the people of sea and of the surface, the storms in their personal lives, as well as an impending tempest which may spell doom for all who dwell on the surface.

A newer anime, that just finished airing I believe, that my friends can't stop talking about is Demon Slayer. I've watch like 2-3 episodes and the animation is nice, the story has dark themes and the main character isn't a weakling. - shonen anime.

Summary from Kitsu:

It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself. Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a “demon slayer” so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.

I mean.... I liked the first arc. It was a really cool concept and that was all really well done but the pacing... god the pacing. The pacing is just god awful. The pacing is what brings the story down so much. The episodes take place a while after each other and it would have been so much better had they the episodes not been spaced up so much. Let me explain

SAO spoilers ahead.

Let's look at the second episode of SAO as an example. If I have my episodes right this is the one where Kirito joins a small group of players to help explore and conquer the game. They become best friends and Kirito doesn't tell them about how much he truly knows about the game, so when they all die in a dungeon he feels guilty about it. This is why he's such a loner.

This whole thing should have been multiple episodes. Instead this is what SAO does: they meet. They cut to later to show them as best friends so we're now supposed to feel for them and like them after knowing them for like 2 minutes. They then die like 15 minutes later and we're supposed to feel sorry for them because of that great relationship with Kirito they had. So now we're to feel sorry for Kirito at having lost his best friends who we as the audience barely know. Instead what they should have done is draw this out for multiple episodes. You have them meet by like episode 3 of the show something like that. In like episode 2 Kirito realizes that he should probably join some kind of group as it would make grinding a lot easier for him and he could use his skills to help out some other players. Kirito struggles to open up to them fully but over a couple of episodes he learns to really like and appreciate them as friends. You also have the promise he made to the girl to protect her at around this point. They explore more dungeons and open up more floors (so the plot is still moving at this point) and then they all die in that dungeon. See now you built a friendship that we understand and we grow to have a liking of the characters so their death is much sadder. We can now fully understand Kirito becoming a loner much more than we do in the show right now.

SAO does this over and over and over again. In fact that's every episode of this show. It seems like most episodes should have been divided into multiple episodes to help develop the characters more and there should be episodes in between the current episodes to show how the characters developed in between these episodes. But I mean it's not just that. In like episode 3 or 4 they're at like floor 40, and I wanted to see their progress not just get told "oh they're here now". I wanted to see their progression from floor 1 to floor 80 or whatever the last floor they get too is. They don't need to show every floor but I want them to show more progression than just "oh they're here now".

Basically what I'm trying to say is that the first arc has some really nice ideas but the show skips around so much that they can't fully capitalize on it.

Also I want to dive into the 2nd arc a little bit... I won't do it too much though because this post is long enough already. The biggest problem from what I saw of the 2nd arc is the conflict. The problem being that there is none. The major conflict of the first one is that they're trapped in a video game and need to find a way to escape before they end up dying irl. The romantic stuff is still there but it doesn't feel as major as "if you die in the game you die in real life and the only to escape the game is to beat all 100 floors". So what is the conflict in the 2nd arc? Crazy rich guy is gonna marry Asuana and said crazy rich guy also has asuana trapped in a new SAO type game. It's dumb. And don't tell me that Kirito's sister having a crush on him is considered conflict. It's just dumb. The only redeeming part I saw of this arc is Kirito struggling to adapt to real life again after having lived in the simulation nonstop for like a year.

So yeah basically the first arc had good ideas but bad execution. And the 2nd one is just very soap opera eske and I don't like that at all.

Also the characters, the other episodes of arc one that weren't episode 1, 2 or 3. (and even those had their moments) (like what is Kirito's personality even) (these characters are all addicts I'm pretty sure, why do they continue playing VR games knowing what just happened) (really though these characters should be traumatised from the first arc.)

 

[Marc]

A newer anime, that just finished airing I believe, that my friends can't stop talking about is Demon Slayer. I've watch like 2-3 episodes and the animation is nice, the story has dark themes and the main character isn't a weakling. - shonen anime.

Seen it. Can't wait for the movie next year

 

[V_Weeb]

Seen it. Can't wait for the movie next year

I really need to start watching the show FOR REAL.

 

[Mizunil]

Currently if you're still looking I'd recommend:
- Rezero (second season is coming soon
- Tower of God (just ended in 2020)
- The Promised Neverland (One of my favorite animes)
And if you watched SAO a new season is coming July 11!

From your criteria you would definitely like Promised Neverland! I reccomend
not looking at what its about and just watching the 1st ep instead

 

[Crowing]

First that came to mind was Parasyte: the Maxim. That's got pretty decent modern-looking animation and the story gets pretty dark. Well, everything I watch is dark, so you can guarantee anything I recommend won't be particularly lighthearted or cheerful at all. Plus, it's already a horror anime.

A little more... normal and not horror would be Fate/Zero, which is pretty much a classic, though I'd recommend starting with the slightly more lighthearted Unlimited Blade Works if you wish you watch the whole series. The story is great and gets pretty dark. The animation is perfect, perhaps the best I have ever seen; the main character (Emiya Kiritsugi) is about as far from weak as you could get.

Parasyte may possibly cross the lines a little on some of the things you're looking to avoid but Fate/Zero is dark, has wonderful animation and nothing at all of the main character flaws you mentioned.