Anime I can recommend

I've watched my fair share of anime (including many I would never admit to watching), but here is a selection, in no particular order, of anime even newcomers to the medium would enjoy. 

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Some dragons decide to disguise themselves as humans and live in modern-day Japan. The most heart-warming show about lesbian dragons you’ll ever see. My personal favourite.

Konosuba

Hilarious comedy set in a fantasy world, following the misadventures of incompetent adventurers. A bit puerile at times.

Attack on Titan

Epic and bloody. The remnants of humanity are protected from man-eating Titans by gigantic walls, but the Titans are a complete mystery.

Death Note

Dark, clever, but a bit emo. A teenager finds a supernatural notebook with deadly powers. He resolves to use it to make the world a better place, but is quickly driven mad.

Psychopass

Dystopian future where the government monitors everyone’s mental health, and if it becomes too bad you are labelled a ‘latent criminal’.

Kado: the right answer

If you liked Arrival, you’ll like this. A mysterious being arrives on Earth. There’s a twist in almost every episode, which makes for gripping viewing.

Yuru camp

A show about adorable high school girls who like camping. Very relaxing to watch.

Re:Zero

Imagine Groundhog Day but set in a fantasy realm, quite bloody at times and with a fantastically insane villain. 

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Absurd but immensely enjoyable. We first meet the heroes fighting for a hole in the ground, but their battles grow bigger and bigger until they are fighting on an impossibly large scale.

Saint Young Men

The ultimate odd couple, out-going Jesus and introspective Buddha decide to go on holiday to Earth, and rent a flat together in Tokyo. Hilarity ensues.

K-on

A show about some high school girls who start a band. Simple fun with very likeable characters.

Made in Abyss

Adventure distilled. A town has built up around a mysterious hole in the ground, filled with monsters and treasures – a beautiful but very dangerous world. It’s built on the basics of any good adventure story, but it’s very distinct. Not for children.

Space brothers

In the near future, two brothers try to become astronauts. Very easy to watch, although prepare for very many flashbacks.

Karaki Jouzu no Takagi san

A boy is constantly teased by an adorable girl in his class, completely oblivious to why she’s doing it. 

Hinamatsuri

A yakuza adopts a telekinetic girl. Absurd comedy ensues.

In another world with my smartphone

With each episode, this anime outdoes itself in how terrible it is, making it strangely watchable. Generally the episodes follow this pattern: the main character encounters a problem, he solves it in two minutes with zero risk, struggle or skill, and then girls argue over who will marry him. It seems to have been made for five-year-olds who get boob jokes. 

Arslan Senki

An epic tale of the prince of a kingdom heavily based on pre-Islamic Persia.

Parasyte

A gruesome horror about an alien who takes over a teenager’s hand, but said alien’s complete lack of a conscience makes for some very funny moments.

From the New World

Set a thousand years after a minority of people gain telekinesis. An interesting concept and world, and it has a great ending.

Little Witch Academia

Essentially ‘Harry Potter The Anime’. It has very imaginative animation and Akko the main character is adorable. Watch the first two OVAs – the TV series is not as good.

Barakamon

Light-hearted and heart-warming. A grumpy calligrapher exiled to a remote island rediscovers his creativity thanks to some local children.

Interspecies Reviewers

A man, an elf and a hermaphrodite angel take it upon themselves to review as many brothels as they can, and of course each brothel is staffed by a different fantasy race. This is basically hentai, but even if that’s not your cup of tea it’s still great fun to watch.

Films

Studio Ghibli films

Especially Princess Mononoke if you consider yourself pro-environment.

Your Name 

The hype is completely deserved, but brace yourself for an emotional punch to the stomach half-way through.

Akira 

Like Matilda, except set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia on the brink of revolution and with a brilliantly nightmarish ending.

Paprika

Same basic premise as Inception, except colourful, wacky and imaginative. And whereas Inception is very rational, Paprika captures the madness of dreams.

Night is Short, Walk on Girl

A film about the joys of alcohol.