[Mousen]

Not sure if anyone keeps up with my journal here, but if they do they might remember that I was the leader of the Anime Club at my college. I ran it pretty successfully this past year, and a good friend of mine is taking it over. I sorted out the stuff to watch last year mostly by myself with a bit of help from a few other friends and google, but I thought you guys might have some suggestions.

Basically any kind of anime from any genre is fine. However, it must be rated under an 18. So we don't get into trouble for traumatizing 16/17 year olds.

Mainly looking for series recommendations rather than movies since the club runs during lunch.

So yeah, does anyone have anything to suggest?

[zapdragon555]

Slides in + raises sunglasses, unfurls list. A-HEM. I have a lot :'D All descriptions in quotes are from KissAnime. These are not in any particular order!

Noragami - a god with no shrine struggles to earn money to buy himself a shrine, thus landing him status among the other gods in Japan. A great mix of silly and dramatic with great action scenes. Small amount of what I call tasteful fanservice/sfw nudity (as in nsfw areas are covered) but it exists, so if that's a no-go for your club then that's something to think about. First season has 12 eps, second season (which is more like a sequel) has 13 eps.

Akatsuki No Yona - a princess has to run away from home with her bodyguard and discovers a prophecy that she decides she wants to fulfill. This anime is interesting in that it sometimes feels like it's going to be a reverse harem, but always ends up surprising you with how it handles things. Almost no fanservice at all, and it's a little on the longer side with about 24 episodes.

Seraph of the End - violent and dramatic in the same ways Attack on Titan was, but in my opinion does a lot of things much better than AoT. Also the titans are vampires ayy. 24 episodes, 12 in each season/series.

One Punch Man - hilarious with great action and animation; occasional comical nudity where parts are covered / not visible. Really deconstructs the superhero genre nicely while never being too mean about it. 12 episodes.

Erased / Boku dake ga Inai Machi - a murder / kidnapping mystery that I deeply enjoyed; had me on the edge of my seat for the majority of the time. Time travel is included in a way that is simple enough to not hurt anyone's brains, pfft. Does contain depictions of physical abuse to children, but most often silhouetted / aftermath (bruises and the like), so it could be a little intense; that's your call. 12 episodes.

Boku No Hero Academia - one that I'm currently in the process of watching so I can't give a proper review of it but from what I've seen it's a very cute and interesting superhero-ish story! Lovable and unique characters all around. Takes place in a world where 80-something percent of the population has quirks that give them superpowers, but the protagonist doesn't have a quirk. He's always wanted to be a hero.

Death Parade - might walk the line of scarring to some; some of the human nature that's revealed is pretty jarring and intense, and death is obviously a big part of this story. "After death, humans are either sent to the void or reincarnated. But for some, at the instant of their death, they arrive at Quindecim, a bar attended by the mysterious white-haired Decim. He challenges them to the Death Game, wherein they wager their lives and reveal their true natures. Decim himself is the ultimate arbitrator of who wins and who loses, who will go to the void, and who will be reincarnated." 12 episodes.

No.6 - post apocalyptic, government secrets, parasite bees, sweet gay relationship. What more could you want honestly /shot But really No.6 is one of my absolute favorite animes, though the manga is better and the novel is even better than both combined. xD! Still, it's entertaining and dramatic. 11 episodes.

Zankyou No Terror - I constantly sing this anime's praises tbh but I'm GONNA DO IT AGAin fff. A very interesting story that many say starts strong and kind of fizzles near the end, but personally I always found it pretty cool. Main characters are terrorists, antagonist is a retired detective who's trying to figure out their motives. One of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in an anime. A surprisingly low amount of death despite the subject matter, and fanservice is almost nonexistent. Would've benefitted from being longer at only 11 episodes.

Monster - same as Death Parade, this one might be too intense; there is one particular torture scene that I remember bothering me, and there's death left and right, but I don't remember gore / blood being all that prominent / for shock value. "Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a renowned young brain surgeon of Japanese descent working in Europe. Highly lauded by his peers as one of the great young minds that will revolutionize the field, he is blessed with a beautiful fiancé and is on the cusp of a high promotion in the hospital he works at. However, all of that is about to change with one critical decision that Dr. Tenma faces one night – whether to save the life of a young child or that of the town's mayor. Despite being pressured by his superiors to perform surgery on the mayor, his morals force him to perform the surgery on the young child, saving his life and forfeiting the mayor’s. All of a sudden, Dr. Tenma’s world is turned upside down by his decision leading to the loss of everything he previously had. A doctor is taught to believe that all life is equal; however, when a series of murders occur in the vicinity of Dr. Tenma, all of the evidence pointing to the young child who he saved, Tenma’s beliefs are shaken." Longest on this list at 74 episodes.

[Mousen]

Thank you!! We don't watch the whole anime, just the first few episodes. We try to go through as many as possible over the year, that way, no-one's stuck seeing an anime they hate and people get introduced to tons of new anime. Anything they really like they can watch at home.

No.6 and Zankyou no Terror are two of my favourites. < 33 I actually showed both at anime club last year and we ended up watching about... half of Zankyou no Terror, with me hoping that no teacher was going to walk past when people were shouting about that "terrorism anime". Guys, please.

As far as the rating things go, if I either can't find a rating or find one that has a 15 on the cover, then it's fine. The issue isn't the content itself, per say, just the actual rating. No one in the college cares about clubs anymore, so a teacher hasn't asked about the club since the first couple of years it ran which was like 2011-ish?  Like, if it's got a /really/ horrible first episode like Psychopass I'm either a little wary of it or at least give people a fair warning.

[zapdragon555]

PFFT LOL ajkhfg tbh I recall back in high school we were gonna show ZNT but we found out the club sponsor teacher had been inside the World Trade Center when the 9/11 attacks had happened, so we swiftly decided to not show it. x'D It's certainly a touchy subject, so I'm always careful who I recommend it to. It helps that they refuse to let anyone die, but it's still touchy.

[ShadowStitches]

Hmmm...I can defenetly say that Monster is a good one, but quite intense, yes.

I'm not a huge anime buff to be honest, but one of the few that stuck with me is "Baccano!"
Its...quite confusing, because the timeline is all over the place, and there is several storylines taking place
and crossing over. the setting is cool, 1920's america, (well...most of it. like I said, it gets a bit odd). It is at parts quite hardcore on the gore part though.... like...most of it is just a lot of blood, but some stuff gets quite icky (torture scenes etc)
so maybe not?

right of the back of my mind I can only think of cowboy bepob, but I'm sure you already thought of that one...
sorry, not much help I'm afraid.

oh, and Stein's Gate, all though I think there are some disturbing/not safe for work scenes there too?
It has been a while since I saw that one, so not entirely sure.

[Freezair]

One anime which I rather like, which you should be able to... find... on the internet is Guggure Kokkuri-san. Do be careful, as there are a few later episodes which are probably not school safe, but the first few are pretty good. It's a dramedy anime about a little girl who lives all alone, by herself in a big house. She calls herself a "doll" and seems to have a huge inferiority complex, and she eats nothing but ramen. One day, she plays "Kokkuri-san," a divination game not unlike an Ouija Board. She summons the terrifying fox spirit Kokkuri-san... who is so saddened by what he sees of her life that he basically adopts her and starts taking care of her. There is a character named Inugami who some people find a little unsettling--he's a puppy who the little girl befriended, and when he died, he came back as a spirit madly in love with her to the point of insanity--but I actually find him kind of interesting because he reminds me of the overly-protective, totally obsessed imaginary boyfriends young teenage girls come up with. Think Edward Cullen played for comedy instead of played straight.

I also really like an anime called Hare + Guu, sometimes written as Hale nochi Guu. It's a surreal comedy series about a boy who lives in the jungle who one day meets a girl named Guu. A lot of people see her as a sweet, angelic little girl, but in reality she seems to be some kind of otherworldly being who can eat anything--up to having people cheerfully living in her stomach--change size, and kick people's butts if the threaten the people she considers her friends. Warning: Contains a cheerful drunkard and anime perverts.

And for something on the more serious side, if you can find it, there's an anime called Kure-nai that is excellent. It does involve vaguely-defined anime superpowers, but those aren't the point. It's about a young man who works for a vaguely defined "agency" who gets put in charge of taking care of a little girl who's recently been removed from an abusive household. It's got some dark subject matter, but it compliments it with a really well fleshed-out cast and it tends to treat itself with a degree of dignity.

[Thunder]

Seconding One Punch Man! And If you want something that's both really funny and really goddamn sad, I'd recommend Angel Beats (including its OVA, which is probably one of the few anime episodes to make me literally laugh out loud) c: Free! is also pretty funny, though I'd hope your club is ok with tons of gaybaiting with that one xD; Durarara!! is good; it's an interesting show about gang conflicts and urban legends and stuff but it's not too mature despite its subject matter.

If you want to go Retro, maybe Black Jack would work? It's a medical drama by Osamu Tezuka, but from what I've seen it's not too squeamish during the surgery scenes and whatnot.

It's a shame you can't show Psychopass, cause that's one of my favorite animes ;w;

[Atoli01]

Ohoho, I heard my name called. B)

First off, let me put in a good word for some of the other recommendations people made: Noragami, Akatsuki no Yona, Seraph of the End, Boku no Hero Academia (I LOVE this one with all my heart), Death Parade, Baccano, Guggure Kokkuri-san, Angel Beats, and Durarara!! (DEFINITELY recommend).

Now, to add to the already amazing list of anime... I'll go with Zap's route in just adding the descriptions from KissAnime, for the ease of things. I'll try to make most of these PG-13.

Romance:

Inu x Boku SS: Aaaaa, I got grab-bag posters of this anime when I went to Japan, and they're adorable. The main couple is adorable. Scratch that, everyone is adorable. The show is HILARIOUS. "The Shirakiin house's daughter, Shirakiin Ririchiyo, who has a complex about being unable to live independently and unprotected, feels the need to move out and live on her own under the condition of residing in the mansion named "Ayakashi Kan." In this mansion, only those who have cleared a very strict examination could reside in it, and for each resident, they are accompanied with one agent of the Secret Service (S.S.). Although Riricho has rejected the company of the S.S., while residing in the mansion she finds out that the agent dedicated to protecting her is actually the Fox Spirit whom she previously rescued."

Brother's Conflict: Really cute reverse-harem romance anime! I've watched all but the last three episodes. It was based on a visual novel which is due to be getting a translation soon. "When Chii’s father remarried, she gained more than just a stepmother - she also became the stepsister to thirteen brothers! And as if her now massively-sized family isn’t enough to handle, the girl also learns that they’ll be moving in together! Chii’s new brothers are eager to help her feel welcome, but with everyone living together without parental supervision, the arrangement might lead to more than just new friendships..."

OzMafia!!: Hmm, this actually a new one. I found it as I was looking for other anime to recommend actually, haha! It's another reverse-harem romance anime. I haven't watched the anime, but I played the game (a visual novel) and it was definitely towards the top of my list. There was some violence in the game, but noting excessive enough to render it 18+, I don't think. There was only one route (Manboy and Dorian Grey) where it got... umm... not... appropriate, so I'm not sure how they handle that in the anime. "Fuuka is an amnesiac. As she wanders through the unfamiliar town, she realizes that she's being chased. It's one of the mafia families running the town -- the Oz family -- that saves her. In a town where friendship and fighting exist together, Fuuka must decide who's hand to accept. And then there's the question: why doesn't she remember anything?"

Kamigami no Asobi: ...You'd think I'd get sick of reverse-harems, but nope! "The story revolves around heroine Yui Kusanagi, who is ordered by Zeus, a god and the headmaster of a school he created, to teach the meaning of love to young and handsome gods. The reason he has for doing this is to cancel the negative effects of the weakening bond between the world of the divine and the world of the humans." Loki is my love. There's also a visual novel, but it's only in Japanese.

Romeo x Juliet: This unique take on Romeo and Juliet was my first run-in with Shakespeare, so my love for the playwright probably stems from this. I don't think there's much need to post a description. It's Romeo and Juliet, with pegasi and a crossdressing Juliet.


Action:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: This show is about cute magical girls and it will rip your heart out of your chest and tear it to pieces. It's also incredibly trippy and totally my style. "After experiencing a bizarre dream, Madoka Kaname, a kind 14-year-old girl, encounters a magical creature named Kyube. Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki are offered the opportunity of gaining magical powers if they agree to make a contract with the strange little being. He will also grant them one wish, but in exchange they shall risk their lives by accepting the responsibility of fighting witches. Invisible to human eyes, witches are catalysts of despair in the areas they inhabit. An ally of Kyube, a magical girl named Mami Tomoe, befriends and encourages the two girls to accept the contract. For an unknown reason, another magical girl named Homura Akemi is determined to prevent Madoka from accepting the deal." Here's a video of the first labyrinth if you still aren't convinced about how awesome the animation is, haha.

Eureka Seven: To sum it up: air surfing mechs. This was one of my favorite shows to watch on Adult Swim as a kid. I've started rewatching it with my boyfriend recently, and it's even better than I remember, haha. The main girl, Eureka, is an angel. <3 "Renton Thurston is a 14-year-old boy who lived with his mechanic grandfather in a backwater town. Every day he dreamed of being with the mercenary "Light Finding Operation (LFO)" aircraft pilot group "Gekkostate" and riding "Trapar" particle waves-- a sport called "reffing"-- with their charismatic leader Holland, especially when faced with his father's acclaimed past or his grandfather's desire to protect him. When a young girl named Eureka riding the original LFO, the "Nirvash typeZERO", asks his grandfather for a tune-up, she inadvertently brings the attention of the military to the garage; as a result, the garage is destroyed and Renton is forced to deliver a new type of interface-- the "Amita Drive"-- to the Nirvash. After a heated fight in which the Nirvash destroys the military LFOs by unleashing an immense amount of power, Renton is invited into Gekkostate. However, he quickly realizes that behind the facade of a traveling group of mercenaries is a very bitter reality."

Kiznaiver: "The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city's population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: "You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver." The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers." Watch it. <3

Bungou Stray Dogs: Detectiiiives. You get me, Mousen. ; v ; This show actually uses famous Japanese authors as inspiration for the characters, which becomes a pretty big driving point for the plot. I haven't finished watching it, but there is a fair bit of violence. Nothing downright extreme, so it's probably on the 17+/18+ border? There's also some suggestive themes, but it still falls in the 13+ category there. "For weeks, Atsushi Nakajima's orphanage has been plagued by a mystical tiger that only he seems to be aware of. Suspected to be behind the strange incidents, the 18-year-old is abruptly kicked out of the orphanage and left hungry, homeless, and wandering through the city. While starving on a riverbank, Atsushi saves a rather eccentric man named Osamu Dazai from drowning. Whimsical suicide enthusiast and supernatural detective, Dazai has been investigating the same tiger that has been terrorizing the boy. Together with Dazai's partner Doppo Kunikida, they solve the mystery, but its resolution leaves Atsushi in a tight spot. As various odd events take place, Atsushi is coerced into joining their firm of supernatural investigators, taking on unusual cases the police cannot handle, alongside his numerous enigmatic co-workers."

Ranpo Kitan: A Game of Laplace: ...Shamelessly adding another detective anime because this is the one that gave me the idea to make Verniy. ; v ; This anime was actually made to commemorate... some anniversary of the novels of Ranpo Edogawa, a famous Japanese mystery writer. Akechi is pretty much the Japanese Sherlock Holmes. I believe it's... the first three novels of his that have gotten an English translation (I'm going to looking into ordering them from Amazon with Christmas money, when it comes time). "The story takes place at a certain middle school where several murder cases take place. Kobayashi, a boy who goes to this school, meets genius detective Akechi, who comes to the school to investigate. Kobayashi takes an interest in Akechi and, in spite of his friend Hashiba's worries, he volunteers to be Akechi's assistant."

.hack//Roots: I will forever promote this entire series because it's um, sort of where my username comes from. I always tell people is the way better version of Sword Art Online, because it most definitely is. I've only watched some of the anime, but I've read the entire manga and finished all the games in the series, haha. This is the prequel to the .hack//G.U. games, but there's a movie out that covers game's story (or there's always let's plays). "Years after the events of the first .hack installment, the popular but dangerous online game "The World" has been resurrected. As Haseo the Terror of Death, players are thrown into his quest for revenge in his search for the mysterious PK (Player Killer) Tri-Edge. .hack//Roots covers the time Haseo spent with Shino and Ovan in the guild known as the Twilight Brigade, before the .hack//G.U. PS2 games." There's a ton of "hacking" into the video game, people falling into comas, and just general craziness surrounding the crew's quest to "fix" the game/save players, I'd say?

Macross 7/Frontier/Delta: It's a pretty old series (I'd almost say a classic) that just got a new season recently. Space, mechs, and cute singing girls, what more can you ask for? There's also some subtle romance in there, but I wouldn't say it's the focus. The order is Macross 7 --> Frontier --> Delta. Frontier is the best in my opinion, but Delta is my guilty pleasure because it has disgustingly catchy songs and I want to squeeze the heroine's cheeks. It's all the rage in Japan right now.

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu: ...Or Re:Zero for short. This one can actually get very violent (especially in the recent episodes; it's still airing now) so I'm really not sure if it's 17+ or 18+, but if you can get past that, the plot is simply stunning. "Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, is on his way home from the convenience store when he finds himself transported to another world. As he's lost and confused in a new world where he doesn't even know left from right, the only person to reach out to him was a beautiful girl with silver hair. Determined to repay her somehow for saving him from his own despair, Subaru agrees to help the girl find something she's looking for..." I'll give a slight spoiler here, but only because it's the show's main mechanic and major selling point: whenever Subaru dies, he "resets" and continues on from a previous point, almost like a save. As he manages to trump each plot arc, the "save point" moves up. The characterization and background in this is just to die for, and it's hard to truly hate any one character (with the exception of the big bads).

Tokyo Ghoul: Hesitant to mention this here since I'd definitely label it at 18+, but it's my favorite series and I couldn't just not mention it. They give sense to the violence in the series, which I think made me more open to seeing acts of violence in anime in general. Definitely 18+, but I love seeing characters I love suffer and they do that wonderfully. There's not a "good" or a "bad" side in this, and that's what I love. The ghouls are killing just to survive, and the police, rightfully so, are doing their best to control the ghouls and keep civilians safe. "The suspense horror/dark fantasy story is set in Tokyo, which is haunted by mysterious "ghouls" who are devouring humans. People are gripped by the fear of these ghouls whose identities are masked in mystery. An ordinary college student named Kaneki encounters Rize, a girl who is an avid reader like him, at the café he frequents. Little does he realize that his fate will change overnight."

Fate Series (Zero, Stay Night, Unlimited Bladeworks): Pretty sure the violence makes this 17+, but I don't think it crosses the border. My boyfriend's favorite series and my current obsession, oh gosh. "Shirou Emiya lost his parents in a fire when he was young and was later adopted by a sorceror by the name of Kiritsugu Emiya. Although he was full of admiration for his adopted father and yearns to become an ally of justice, Shirou has limited powers and was unable to become a strong sorceror like his father. That is until one fateful day, he was drawn into the Holy Grail War and had to summon a female "Servant" known as Saber in order to protect himself. It turns out that the Holy Grail War involves a series of battles among powerful sorcerors to fight for the possession of a relic that will grant one's wishes, the Holy Grail. There are altogether seven "Masters" who can summon their respective "Servants" from different classes known as Saber, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Lancer, Caster and Assasin. These "Servants" have to hide their names in order not to reveal their weaknesses to the enemies. The story revolves around Shirou and his entanglement in the Holy Grail War." The order is Zero (prologue) --> Stay Night --> Unlimited Bladeworks. There's also a spin-off where one of the characters becomes a magical girl.

...I watch a lot of anime, haha. I think I went a little overboard, but there's more to add to your pool. <3

[crow]

Seconding .hack//ROOTS though I will warn you that it's meant to be a prequel to the video game series (.hack//GU), which is the main storyline. Also it's weird, just like all .hack stuff. Still good though! Watch Haseo go from more or less just a dude to a perpetual angstbucket :')

Now some of my own:

Darker than Black: Not... sure if this fits the age rating; it does have one depiction of (fictious) drug use and a bit of nudity in places but it's my favorite anime of all time. It takes superheroes and basically deconstructs them, along with some rumination on what it means to be human. The protagonist's daylight persona is also adorable. ;v; It's got a fairly episodic nature, especially at first, with the protag dealing with individual cases with a myth arc sort of running in the background... I'd place it as action/sci-fi? The animation is gorgeous. And Hei is gorgeous.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THOUGH DO NOT WATCH PAST SEASON 1 SEASON 1 WAS MEANT TO BE A STANDALONE AND SEASON 2 WAS TRASH

Tiger & Bunny: Now to plug for my OTHER favorite people-with-powers show. T&B is actually almost the flipside of the DtB coin? It's still deconstructing superheroes but instead of having them treated as human weapons, the world of T&B has commercialized them into a superstar/pro-athlete hybrid sorta deal. It follows a middle-aged dad, past his prime, and feels almost like a buddy cop show in terms of the dynamics between the two protagonists? That's what people say, anyway. It's hilarious, the action scenes are great, the follow-up movie The Rising has... one of the most respectful depictions of a non-straight character that I've seen in Japanese media where queer issues haven't been the focus of the show itself (though I'll freely admit I haven't been deep into anime for a while now). It was crazy popular during its run but the hype's died down, which makes me sad, because it's a REALLY solid show.

Other than that... I used to watch a lot of anime but I can't remember/feel strongly enough about anything else to recommend it so these are really my all-time faves here. (That and Ouran, I guess, but everyone already knows Ouran)