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[jonjonaug]

Monster, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Psycho Pass, Black Lagoon, Ghost in the Shell (TV series, not the films), Madoka Magica (yes, really), Dennou Coil, Ping Pong, Space Dandy...

There's tons more but I'm too tired to think. Those are all great tho.

EDIT: Lot's have people in this thread have mentioned Steins;Gate and that's also really good but all the characters are superdorks. Not sure if it's what you're looking for based on your posts.

 

[Einchy]

Just watch Kill la Kill already and be turned into a weeaboo like the rest of us.

 

[ss-hikaru]

Already mentioned but I will re-mention! Erased and Baccano!!

 

[sycam0re]

any good anime with decent dubbing? primarily watch tv while I work, i'd like a new show that I don't have to look at every 2 seconds

I'll check out monster when I have time. Read Pluto and loved it

 

[GhostWriter24]

Hajime no Ippo. It's the greatest ever!!

 

[jonjonaug]

any good anime with decent dubbing? primarily watch tv while I work, i'd like a new show that I don't have to look at every 2 seconds

I'll check out monster when I have time. Read Pluto and loved it

Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy are the big three IMO. But the main attraction of Space Dandy is visual eye candy so not looking at it kinda defeats the point.

EDIT: Dead Leaves and Panty and Stocking both have good dubs too but you don't want to watch those at work.

 

[the_batman]

Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy are the big three IMO.

he'd be missing out if he just casually listened to those instead of sitting down and watching them.

 

[Line_HTX]

Can't go wrong with Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

 

[turmoil]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is GOAT. After that, Monster.

 

[kess]

I'm not a massive anime fan, but I adored The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Ranma 1/2 is wonderful frivolity. Cromartie High School is this fabulously awkward hilarious thing.

 

[Crimson-Death]

One Punch Man is the most fun and the one many non anime people enjoy. Great animation.

Steins;Gate is at or near the top of many lists for a reason. Many say the first episodes are very slow, but it's bullshit. If you are paying attention, it all pays off in the insanity of the second half of the anime, even the intentional cringe moments pay off, you will see what I mean you watch it and remember back to the earlier episodes. The emotional moments are intense, the time travel set up and rules are interesting, and the characters are what push the show into greatness.

Monster is a must-watch as well.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one that you have to watch. Don't be fooled by the artstyle, this is not for children, it's smart, subversive, disturbing and it pays off big time. The unique designs, the atmosphere, the music. Pay attention to the little details of the show, even the intros and outros are worth analyzing to appreciate it even more.

 

[SynthFetish]

La Blue Girl
Legend Of The Overfiend
Bible Black
Night Shift Nurses

 

[WhateverItTakes]

I've been watching Baccano! recently on a recommendation from a friend, and have been having a good time with it. It's got the coolness of Bebop with a curious ongoing storyline. Miria and Isaac are also the best.

 

[Seraph_Nicholas]

Ghost in the Shell was interesting but didn't really light my fire. I did LOVE Perfect Blue.

I should also put out there that End of Evangellion is my favorite animated thing and one of my favorite things (ever) across the board.

If you didn't like the movie, you can safely ignore the entire Ghost in the Shell franchise. It's all downhill.

 

[1upsuper]

"normal person"

?

"While I do appreciate stuff like Studio Ghibli, I'd prefer something more mature."

???

C'mon, man. Ghibli tackles some pretty heavy shit. I kinda get the feeling from your post that by "mature" you basically mean dark and gritty, right? Because Ghibli films are pretty mature in the themes they tackle, the depth of their characters, et cetera. Anyhow, check out Trigun and Champloo. Given that you like Bebop you'll more than likely enjoy those, they're really good.

 

[Vilix]

Kill La Kill is great too.

 

[HitchcockInTheZiplock]

There's a lot, I think. I'd enjoyed Initial D, Beck for regular slice of life type stuff.

Kenshin, Sword of the Stranger, and Samurai 7 are all high quality samurai tales imo.

Echoing those who said Now and Here, Then and There, and Baccano. Pretty normal with cool scifi plot drivers. Jin-Roh and Ghost in the Shell can be a bit slow at times, but they're worth seeing.

If you like NGE you might like Rahxephon. If you like Bebop, def check Champloo, but also check out Macross Plus, Trigun, Gungrave (the 2nd half might just make you cringe, but the first half is really good stuff), and Blood Blockade Battlefront.

There's some good "traditional" horror anime too, that's pretty normal by anime standards. I really enjoyed Shiki, and Another probably because they are entertaining, but not too wacky.

Also Ergo Proxy, Serial Experiments Lain, and Texhnolyze. All grounded scifi weird.

 

[VAD]

Welcome to NHK if you want a funny and sad coming of age story.
Baccano for an interesting tale full of charming characters
Eureka7 (not the terrible movie) if you want a Gundam story with hippies
Bokurano: a group of children take turn piloting a giant robot to protect earth. What happens next will obliterate your poor heart.
And of course the legendary Gunbuster.

 

[Giolon]

There's a lot of good recommendations in here, but I'm going to offer one I am surprised hasn't come up yet: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. The dub is decent too (don't get me wrong, there are some awkward line reads, but overall it's pretty good). It's about a 30 year old female bodyguard who takes on a job to guard a prince believed to be possed by a water demon. This will be her 8th bodyguarding job meant to repay the lives of 8 people who gave their lives for her. The setting is a feudal tooootally-not-Japan (It's basically Japan).

It's super good, and done by Production I.G. (The Ghost in the Shell studio).

And of course, if you want to turn the anime up to 12, watch Kill La Kill.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Kaiji is a surprisingly dramatic show about gambling that gets crushingly depressing and real at times

 

[Ratrat]

Everything Satoshi Kon and Mamoru Hosoda would be a good start.

Not sure why you think Ghibli is immature. Have you seen Porco Rosso, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Kaguya, The Wind Rises and really...most of their movies?

 

[toastyToast]

Champloo is one of my favorite shows in general and I can't get into most anime.

 

[Prototype Viktor]

Paranoia Agent

 

[Theanine3D]

This, and Erased are both great.

I rarely watch anime anymore, but both of these had me glued to the screen.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

Erased. Short (12 episodes). Mystery thriller. The hook is really intriguing (pizza delivery man randomly finds himself warped moments into the past. He knows these moments of deja vu mean something catastrophic is about to happen, and he must seek out and prevent it before they unfold, if he so chooses)

 

[Poison_Idea]

Isn't the thread title some sort of oxymoron?

Spoiler

/s

Edit: I'm not really into anime but i must say that i love Princess Mononoke, dunno if it fits your criteria though as its Studio Ghibli

 

[McBryBry]

Steins;Gate and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are my favorites by far. Fate Zero was pretty neat as well.

Quick shout out to Your Lie in April. Its a romance series with some comedy, which is something I've never sat down and watched. Enjoyed it quite a bit. Definitely dug into some emotional topics that don't get tackled too often.

 

[kurahador]

For heavy and serious shit;

For comedy;

For something that goes both ways;

 

[Stereogatari]

Anime isn't fucking weird. It's a veey diverse medium.

I recommend Planetes.

 

[Fallout-NL]

Anime is fucking weird. With that said, I do love NGE and Cowboy Bebop; I just can't find any other good series. I'm looking for stuff that's smart and entertaining without making me cringe unless it's on purpose. I've already seen Death Note and thought it was decent, and I'll get around to seeing Samurai Champloo eventually. While I do appreciate stuff like Studio Ghibli, I'd prefer something more mature.

There you go.

Also uhm, Full Metal Alchemist is pretty great.

 

[TokiDoki]

Psycho Pass 1 - Matured , kinda dark , brilliant criminal idea

Shirobako - Intentional cringe if there is , anime about the process of making anime , light hearted , charming characters and very enjoyable

Steins; Gate - Might be cringy at first , but "shits got real" moment comes real fast if you're patient

Funny how you guys introducing Kill la kill or even Evangelion to OP . Both are great anime but KLK is the king of cringe while Evangelion can get super weird for some .

 

[Hazaro]

Sounds like you want Legend of the Galactic Heroes bud

 

[breakfuss]

Bookmarking thread, great idea OP. I want to fit in with my weird friends and co-workers as well.

And, yeah, I cam co-sign on Psycho Pass and Ping Pong even as someone with limited anime viewing. Akira, of course...

Guess I really need to check out Monster once and for all.

 

[Loona]

Look into Silver Spoon - it's by the author of Full Metal Achemist and made after that series, but its setting is a lot more grounded (a city kid moves to a farming school), with plenty of fun and interesting moments and maybe a thing or two to be learned along the way.

 

[jetsetnickradio]

Kids on the Slope
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
Flowers of Evil
Serial Experiments Lain
Ghost in the Shell
Erased
Usagi Drop
Bakemonogatari
Princess Jellyfish

You can't really go wrong with any of those. They're all really great and mostly "normal" by anime standards (except Bakemonogatari).

Also, you seriously need to watch Samurai Champloo.

 

[speedwagon_]

Ok, Here we go.

Fate/Zero, Baccano, Hajime no Ippo, Serial Experiments Lain, Ping Pong, Tatami Galaxy, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, and Parasyte

https://hummingbird.me/anime/fate-zero, https://hummingbird.me/anime/baccano, https://hummingbird.me/anime/hajime-no-ippo, https://hummingbird.me/anime/serial-experiments-lain,
https://hummingbird.me/anime/ping-pong-the-animation, https://hummingbird.me/anime/the-tatami-galaxy, https://hummingbird.me/anime/seirei-no-moribito, https://hummingbird.me/anime/kiseijuu

 

[Langdon Alger]

The Tatami Galaxy

Outing myself as an idiot, but the subtitles in that show were straight up too fast for me to comfortably read. I wish someone would dub it.

 

[NEO0MJ]

kenya boy

Just looked it up and...what?

 

[Spuck-uk]

OP

Anything by Satoshi Kon. Thoughtful, interesting films made for adults.

Monster, though its a few years old now.

Ghost in the Shell, pretty much the best cyberpunk anything

Baccano, though the first episode is pretty confusing, it resolves into an incredible story.

 

[Clefargle]

normal person

Lol not at this rate

 

[Discotheque]

space battleship yamato 2199. Got a very battlestar galactica (reboot) vibe to it. not so heavy on the moe and shit.

and yeah you should be getting on that samurai champloo right now.

while i do really like kill la kill and gurren lagann that's gonna scare you away.

 

[Blade30]

Most were already mentioned, but I'll throw Xam'd: Lost Memories in there. It has some strong Ghibli vibes.

space battleship yamato 2199. Got a very battlestar galactica (reboot) vibe to it. not so heavy on the moe and shit.

Good thing there is a sequel coming :3

 

[Jisgsaw]

If you are intelligent and have refined tastes, then you may watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

.
The real Star Wars.

 

[rothgar]

I'll add One Outs.

 

[True Savior]

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a nice entry point.

Something more action/fantasy friendly, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood is also good.

 

[Systolique]

Lots of good anime names have already been given to you OP

My top 5 goes like this :

1. Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex
2. Cowboy Bebop
3. NGE
4. Michiko to Hatchin
5. Kids on the Slope

I don't think Michiko to Hatchin has been mentioned already, but it's one of those well written and well shot anime that I'm sure you could enjoy

 

[Mr_Moogle]

Oh man you sound exactly like me. You stumbled on NGE and Cowboy Bebop and thought "hey I should give this anime thing a go" only to discover shows like that are few and far between.

 

[BGBW]

So basically anything bar Sword Art Online and ecchi stuff like Seikon no Qwaser?

 

[Einchy]

Psycho Pass 1 - Matured , kinda dark , brilliant criminal idea



Shirobako - Intentional cringe if there is , anime about the process of making anime , light hearted , charming characters and very enjoyable



Steins; Gate - Might be cringy at first , but "shits got real" moment comes real fast if you're patient

Funny how you guys introducing Kill la kill or even Evangelion to OP . Both are great anime but KLK is the king of cringe while Evangelion can get super weird for some .

Your use of cringe confuses me.

 

[kurahador]

Oh yeah, seeing you like NGE (which I assume you love due to the unpredictable/wtf nature of the series) try watching Madoka, Digimon Tamers, Fate/Zero and Perfect Blue.