10 anime that matter to me

During the Christmas holidays I met up again, after quite a few years, with a lot of my high school classmates (great friends of mine, both guys and girls, whom I hold in high esteem). Those years were truly incredible, and I carry them in my heart. Tearjerker talk aside, while chatting with a friend of mine I noticed a huge cognitive bias that has been plaguing me for quite a few years: I'm convinced that everyone around me has watched all the anime and TV series I've watched.

Put like that it sounds really stupid: Giovanni, obviously everyone has a different "load" of works they've watched in their life! You can't expect everyone to have watched that work X that only you and a handful of nerds like you know about!! You're absolutely right, but cognitive biases (of any kind) are just like that: weak and stupid.

So it was suggested to me to collect somewhere the works (a term I use for everything: anime, TV series, novels, visual novels, etc...) I recommend the most, and what better place than my blog? Let's start with anime, in the future I'll write some more posts for video games, TV series and more.

These are the 10 anime I warmly suggest watching at least once in your life. I decided to list 10 even though there would be many more, oh well, anyway you can get an idea by visiting my Anilist profile.

DISCLAIMER: My taste in anime and manga is pretty normie, so if you're into the scene don't expect great depth. That said, let's begin!

1. Hunter x Hunter

Monstrous beasts and exotic species... fabulous hidden treasures... a world of demons and unexplored lands... the word "mystery" seems magical... and the men who are drawn to this force... are called 'Hunters'!

This work needs no introduction: created by Yoshiro Togashi (also known for Yu Yu Hakusho), it's originally a shonen manga (meaning "for boys") adapted into a series of OVAs first in '99 (where it was adapted up to the Phantom Troupe Arc) and later in 2011.

Hunter x Hunter (pronounced "Hunter Hunter", skipping the x) is definitely my favorite anime of all time, and it's pretty much my first watch suggestion on any occasion.

I recommend watching the 2011 anime, you can find all of it on Netflix (or dubbed in Italian on Prime Video, if you prefer). Or you can put on your pirate hat.

Just watch it, you won't regret it. Careful though, it's long! The story is split into fairly big narrative arcs (a bit like One Piece), so it flows pretty well anyway. My favorite arcs are Greed Island and Chimera Ant (it's incredible to think how Greed Island works exclusively as a "warm-up" for Chimera Ant).

WATCH IT! NOW!

2. Cowboy Bebop

You don't have to fear death, it's a sleepless companion that never betrays you. The moment it comes near, when your blood freezes in your veins in its presence, know that all it does is gently protect you.

Do I need to say anything else??? If you don't know it already, catch up on it RIGHT NOW!!! Short, high impact, kino. One of my favorite anime ever, and I've watched a lot of them! Along the same lines, I also recommend watching Samurai Champloo.

3. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Apparently I had to come all the way to Italy to be reminded of something I heard a couple of years ago... It's the law of fate: Stand users, sooner or later, are destined to meet.

JoJo is really, really peculiar: it's split into 8 parts (part 9 is still ongoing, and only parts 1 through 6 have been animated), and each part is completely detached from the others, except for a few recurring characters and references to the previous parts.

All the imagination and creativity of Hirohiko Araki (the author of the work) is expressed in the super weird encounters and Stand powers the characters of the various stories run into.

You can catch up on it on Netflix, so you can finally answer the question "What's your favorite JoJo part?". I always answer that part 3 is my favorite (because it's the part that introduces Stand powers, plus I love "on the road" stories), but I have to admit that part 4 has its undeniable charm too, and part 5 is simply incredible. I read the whole of part 6 in physical form long before it got animated, and I think it's good, even though at that point I was pretty sure Araki was on some heavy drugs.

Part 7 (Steel Ball Run) only exists as a manga, but I still recommend reading it! It's basically a standalone work, you can read it even if you've never watched JoJo, and it's a fucking masterpiece.

4. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Of course, all the lights in the sky are stars. Yes, that's right, they're the stars where our Spiral friends are waiting for us!

I don't even know how to explain this anime. Watch it NOW. Period. Beautiful. Peak. Kino.

And after watching it, go watch every work by Studio TRIGGER (the animators of the series), they're incredibly good and deserve every possible kind of support. I'm talking about: Kill la Kill (kino), Little Witch Academia (insane), Promare (incredible peak), Cyberpunk Edgerunners (indescribable, beautiful). And obviously Inferno Cop and Ninja Slayer too.

5. Kaiji - Ultimate Survivor

Normally, those people would never wake up from their fantasy worlds. They live meaningless lives. They waste their precious days on nothing. No matter how old they get, they'll keep saying: 'My real life hasn't started yet. The real me is still asleep, that's why my life is such garbage.' They keep telling themselves that. And they grow old. And on their deathbed, they'll finally understand: the life they lived was real. People don't live provisional lives, nor do they die provisional deaths. This is a fact! The problem... is whether they realize this simple fact.

"Kaiji" was my introduction to the universe of works by master Nobuyuki Fukumoto.

It's a psychological deep dive into the protagonist (Itou Kaiji), a guy with no future, lost in the whirlpool of gambling addiction. When he's offered the chance to clear all his debts with a single night of gambling on a huge cruise ship, he jumps at the opportunity! However, he doesn't know he's about to sink into a deep abyss...

The manga is still ongoing, unfortunately the latest chapters haven't been released physically in English yet, so I have to settle for the scans. Fukumoto has a truly unique and peculiar style, both in writing and in drawing. I've caught up on a ton of his works (Akagi, Ten, Gin to Kin, Zero, Kurosawa) and he's one of my favorite authors.

Fukumoto is a big Mahjong fan, in fact many of his works can't even be read unless you know the rules of this game.

6. Kaguya-sama: Love is War

The one who falls in love loses!

It couldn't be missing from this list! Suggested by a friend of mine, and watched together with him, it hooked me immediately. A delightful and hilarious romantic comedy that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and makes you damn invested in its whole colorful cast of characters.

This work also made me discover the whole "romantic comedy" genre, meaning the romantic comedy where the protagonists are almost always a couple of high schoolers in love. Dunno, incredible.

7. Code Geass

The only ones who should shoot... are those who are prepared to be shot!

Code Geass was truly memorable for me. The story and its themes are so well written they leave you breathless. Plus, it flows really well. The political fiction genre definitely counts this kino among its ranks. Highly recommended, and I won't explain any further because it would all be spoilers.

8. Made in Abyss

More than 1,900 years ago, on a lonely island in the southern sea of Beoruska, a gigantic pit was discovered. With a diameter of 1,000 meters and a depth unknown to this day, the mysterious chasm has bewitched people. Precious and dangerous ancestral creatures and mysterious relics beyond all comprehension have drawn adventurers hungry for riches, who then built the city on the edge of the gigantic chasm. Over the years, drawn by the aura of mystery and the countless legends, many have been swallowed by the chasm, the last unexplored cave in the world. Its name... is the Abyss.

The world-building of this work is endless. Do yourself a favor and watch this anime. Beautiful.

9. Konosuba

I want true gender equality. I have no patience for people who talk about female privilege when it suits them, and then complain about someone "not being a man" when it suits them.

When people ask me "What's REALLY your favorite anime?" I find myself having to answer "Konosuba". Usually whoever asks me this question figured out that when I answered "Hunter x Hunter" I only did it because I owe that work a lot and it's a pillar of the shonen genre.

However, verily I say unto you, Konosuba is my favorite anime. There, I said it. Happy now?

Konosuba (short for the original title, "Kono subarashii sekai ni shukufuku wo!", which translates to "God's blessing on this wonderful world!") is a parody of the isekai genre (lit. "transported to another world"), meaning that strand of works whose premise is always being transferred to another world through reincarnation after death or other means.

The protagonist (Kazuma) is a NEET hikikomori who dies in a truly ridiculous way, and finds himself in front of the goddess Aqua, who promptly makes fun of him for the way he died. He's told that he can come back to life by reincarnating in a fantasy world and defeating the demon king, and that he can bring any magical artifact or overpowered skill with him. He chooses to bring Aqua herself, to get revenge for the mockery. However, Aqua turns out to be completely useless and stupid.

Konosuba is a comedy (it started as a light novel) and it's fucking hilarious to watch. The episodes go down smooth as butter. I must have rewatched it like 5 times, movie included. Highly recommended.

10. Mob Psycho 100

The one who can live their life the way they want is a strong person.

"One Punch Man" is definitely more famous (and I love that one too), but I suggest you don't miss this work by ONE. It explores interesting themes like autism and personal growth in a way that isn't too heavy and is beautiful to watch. Animated like a god, obviously.

Special mentions

I left out some anime that are too popular, so I'm sure you've already watched them, but I'll leave them down here anyway. Watch them all!

• Dragon Ball
• Serial Experiments Lain
• Jujutsu Kaisen
• Psycho Pass
• Vinland Saga
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,
• My Hero Academia
• Death Note
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Attack on Titan
• Parasyte (Kiseiju)

More special mentions:

• Madoka Magica
• Initial D
• Baccano!
• Megalobox
• Youjo Senki
• Kengan Ashura
• Baki
• Hellsing Ultimate
• Goblin Slayer
• Gunbuster

I've never watched One Piece or Naruto, and not Bleach either.

Now, when you don't know what to watch in the evening, you have no more excuses! I dropped on you enough anime to keep you busy for months and months!

See you next time and enjoy watching!