NaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊

It's hard to take an #anime recommendation without knowing what else the recommender likes or doesn't

what are YOUR 10 "taste calibration" anime to help someone get a feel for your tastes?

5 anime you especially like and 5 you especially don't. The ones you'd want Someone to keep in mind as you give them a recommendation, or before they give you one.

These aren't your top 5 or bottom 5. These are the ones strangers could look at a get a quick feeling of your tastes.

My likes?
* Bucchigiri?!
* Blood Blockade Battlefront
* Dead Mount Death Play
* Tomo-Chan Is A Girl!
* Pluto

My dislikes?
* Frieren
* Lycoris Recoil
* Shangri-la Frontier
* SPY x FAMILY
* Rent A Girlfriend

It's not perfect but I can constellate a lot of my other likes & dislikes from this list

So what's yours?
Boosts, Quotes, Responses welcome

#blerd #blerds

Mar 28 at 7:18amWeb
Show threadWeird Socks2d ago

@NaClKnight

Likes
*Crusher Joe
*Tokyo Godfathers
*Demon City Shinjuku
*Dagger of Kamui
*Blue No 6
*Your Name

Dislikes
*Gundam
*Trigun
*The Cat Returns
*Fullmetal Alchemist
*Ninja Scroll

Show threadWeird Socks2d ago
@NaClKnight
As you said, this is for orientation more than for accuracy. I actually kinda like Ninja Scroll. And there are many things I didn't list that I like *more* than these.
Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@ohmu I didn't anticipate someone listing an entire series (Gundam) in their dislikes. That's good to know. Does #4 include both the original FMA and the FMA:B remake?

I recognize (and enjoy) Tokyo Godfathers but the rest of your "Likes" list is unknown to me. I'm looking forward to looking those other titles up.

Show threadWeird Socks2d ago
@NaClKnight
I didn't know they remade it.
Again, these lists are less about the series/film/OVA and more about what I've observed about how well I've connected to people who are committed fans of such.
Example: I have no connection to Dragonball or Naruto but I've learned that, if I see somebody wearing a custom-made Dragonball sweater, we're probably gonna vibe.
Show threadWeird Socks2d ago
@NaClKnight
"Your Name", like all Makoto Shinkai creations, has problems. But if I run into a fan, I know I'm with somebody who is interested in how anime had continued to develop ... and what has been going on in Japan. Shinkai films are arguably bigger there than Ghibli ever was.
At the other extreme, "Crusher Joe" is niche and mostly just fun but it is old and takes a little effort to find - though it led directly (Dirty Pair) and indirectly (anything in space) to other things.
Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@ohmu Yeah FMA: Brotherhood came out a few years after the original Anime and tells a very different story, with some choices hewing closer to the manga.

https://anilist.co/anime/5114

I definitely enjoy Brotherhood more than the original, and my wife has it as one of her top two or three Anime period

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

"In order for something to be obtained, something of equal value must be lost." Alchemy is bound by this Law of Equivalent Exchange—something the young brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric only realize after attempting human transmutation: the one forbidden act of alchemy. They pay a terrible price for their transgression—Edward loses his left leg, Alphonse his physical body. It is only by the desperate sacrifice of Edward's right arm that he is able to affix Alphonse's soul to a suit of armor. Devastated and alone, it is the hope that they would both eventually return to their original bodies that gives Edward the inspiration to obtain metal limbs called "automail" and become a state alchemist, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Three years of searching later, the brothers seek the Philosopher's Stone, a mythical relic that allows an alchemist to overcome the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Even with military allies Colonel Roy Mustang, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes on their side, the brothers find themselves caught up in a nationwide conspiracy that leads them not only to the true nature of the elusive Philosopher's Stone, but their country's murky history as well. In between finding a serial killer and racing against time, Edward and Alphonse must ask themselves if what they are doing will make them human again... or take away their humanity.

AniList
Show threadWeird Socks1d ago
@NaClKnight
I will look for it!
Show threadEd2d ago

@NaClKnight I’m not sure what I’d put in the dislike pile, but the like pile would probably be something to the effect of:
1.) Dorohedoro
2.) Neon Genesis Evangelion
3.) Golden Kamuy
4.) Ranking of Kings
5.) Devilman Crybaby

I likely wouldn’t recommend that last one without a “hear me out”, but it definitely does a good job of conveying a lot of shit that the Ed loves.

Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@arcticEdge I like this list a lot. I REALLY enjoyed Dorohedoro, Ranking of Kings, and Golden Kamuy. Your list inspires confidence that i will likely enjoy recs you provide,which is the point.

Yeah, i would DEFINITELY be interested in your "actually i didn't like these" picks as well

Show threadNagaram2d ago

@NaClKnight

Crazy that I like half your dislikes. Might have to check out those other dislikes just in case lol

Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@Nagaram EXACTLY. That's the point; if you like my dislikes, i become a "reverse recommendation" and you should avoid my likes and pursue my dislikes. I have at least one friend who serves that purpose for me lol.

The list is doing its job already lmao.

I gotta ask tho; which three dislikes did you enjoy?

Show threadNagaram2d ago

@NaClKnight

I love Frieren, Spy X Family, and from what I've seen of Shangri-La I'm a fan.

I'm not a huge anime fan though. So its funny that the few I have seen are your dislikes!

Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@Nagaram No worries if you're not a big anime fan. If anything, that makes it more useful to determine who to listen to if you're looking for something new.

SLF was a good distillation of everything I dislike about the VR MMO genre (he's an MMO vet who hates teamwork? The game gives him and him alone an exploit on the server? a woman is inexplicably in love with him for reasons unclear to the viewer) but I'm not gonna fault anyone for enjoying what it offers.

Frieren is definitely my most controversial negative pick, but as someone who came to fantasy first by way of gaming and then by books, Frieren's 200 year old, elf, loli, pigtails, emotionally distant, OP wizard MC is a near perfect distillation of what I don't want. The show's world building where magic is paramount and demons are purely and only evil and the first few fights aren't actually tense. The show only took a few episodes to convince me it had nothing on offer that I wanted to experience.

Like I said though, I'm not here to say that a given show is good or bad, but that if you like this or that thing, my recs may be very useful or even counterproductive haha.

Show threadNagaram2d ago

@NaClKnight

SLF was appealing to me for the humor in the few bits I had seen. My fiance is really into JJK right now because it's ending (we both fear getting into a One Piece situation). But your listed reasons is why I hate Sword Art Online, but I love to hate SAO. It's bad but in a so bad I'm inspired to find good stuff kinda way. I have interesting ideas on bad media and why they're fun

https://thinkstoomuch.net/post/indefenceofbadbooks/

Frieren I was worried was going to be "OP Elf loli mary sue is badass and sexy" and I'm so glad it's not that. Your observation is almost right, but I'll push back only a little. It's fine that the demons aren't super nuanced and the magic system isn't complicated because the story is about Frieren becoming less emotionally distant and I'm a massive sucker for these slow, introspective, nostalgic stories.

I was trying to find an equivalent of a "coming of age" story but for adults and I'm not sure that's a trope, but Frieren is certainly what I'm imagining.

In Defence of Bad Books | Thinks Too Much

Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@Nagaram

Ok, i definitely have to check out that blog post.

For Frieren, i think the "it's fine... because the story is about Frieren" is exactly why i check out. I don't care about her or her story enough to wanna see her change or grow.

She is the kind of character i would merely tolerate in a show i already enjoy. Making her the main character kills the show for me. I don't wanna watch Violet Evergarden learn to be a civilian and a person in the aftermath of a war. I don't wanna watch the Ancient Magus' Bride learn to interact and take up space and embrace her own agency. It's fine that those shows exist but keep them away from me. I don't need gentle introspective anime to cleanse or heal my soul or whatever.

Show threadyelling jackal2d ago
@NaClKnight eeeish this is hard!

I'm not sure I'd be able to come up with a list easy? I read and watch way too many things, my tastes are now more along the lines of "this thing needs to say something and have a point" and not much else.

Like, if I'd just look at your list, both. Both lists work for me.

If I think about stuff I dislike, it's going to be extremely particular:
- Trigun, because the premise is great and then it goes into what I label "sad Christian noises" and goes nowhere
- That one camping isekai, because it's obvious "forget about your modern life and all its problematic things, shh, shhhhh"
- loads of the generic high school romance animes, because they're often sexist, slut-shaming, conservative garbage that maintain and strengthen gender roles in patriarchy. I like the good ones though. There's loads of good ones among the garbage.
- Scissor Seven, because it smells of "we can't have any female presenting characters because that's not done, and if we do it will absolutely be a mine of sexist jokes", like so many Chinese animations.
- I like a lot about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but it. It's so boring. It's SO BORING. I can only watch it if I'm sick.

For stuff I like:
- My Uncle From Another World is an example of an isekai I like, even though it's got a lot of the stuff I dislike in isekai's, too. It does enough unique and good with heart.
- Spy X Family specifically for slice of life with a plot that scratches a 70s itch I'd forgotten I had.
- Cannon Busters is one I'm watching atm that feels fun, has great animation, knows what it's about and feels a lot like OVAs from the 80s and 90s I like
- That one freaking adorable cute high school love story between tiny tiny cute girl and very large and tall good boy, I love it so much but cannot remember the name
- Samurai Champloo, for the music, animation, story, characters, everything

I might have to find a pattern, hmm. 'Cause atm I'm not seeing one, just that I really like stories and fun action stuff and art, and don't like things that either push -isms or don't have a heart. Or don't know what pacing is (JoJo).
Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@len Thanks! Yeah, I struggled with my pics as well. It was hard to pick one series to stand for several similar series that I like.

I listed BBB but that have easily been Kaiju No 8 or Fire Force or Undead Unluck or Black Clover. Each of those has different implications though, so which to pick?

More difficult still was when I like an anime but not its near peers, like liking Samurai Champloo but not Bebop, or From Me To You and Kaguya-Sama Love Is War but not most other high school romances. The latter was on my original list before I traded it for Tomo-chan.

I think I have a 50% hit rate across your lists but split among your likes and dislikes. I have enjoyed most of the JoJos for instance, and I already mentioned liking SC.

Rather than debate anyone's likes or dislikes, I love the idea of "do we like the same things for different reasons? Or different things for the same reasons?" that can make or break recommendations and bonding over shows.

Thanks for playing along

Show threadyelling jackal2d ago
@NaClKnight yeah, the questions you have are the questions I love having! Because for a lot of things the like/dislike reason can just come down to "ah, yeah, I get that". Some things bother other people more than others, and some things weigh more as pros for different people. And since I read so many things I'm interested in seeing what things matter to people, that way I can recommend stuff more accurately!

I'm interested in why you have the Cowboy Bebop aversion, because honestly even though I like a lot about it, and see why others like it a ton, there's something that scratches me in the wrong way (which I still haven't figured out, it might be the sorta slice of life it has that doesn't quite click right? Or that the multicultural society really isn't all that multicultural, it's been a while, I'm basing it off my residual feelings). I like Samurai Champloo way more.

Fire Force could have made its way onto my like list, same as Black Clover or even Black Lagoon. Maybe instead of Cannon Busters. They all kinda fall into the committing hard to a thing and revelling in it category. Wondering if I should sub Spy X Family for Mushishi or Natsume's Book of Friends instead - I think I want that slot to convey I like slice of life with something extra to it, as well as a focus on figuring out how family works. And I don't think I have anything on there conveying that I actually really love supernatural things, too... Hunter X Hunter could easily make it on there, too.

I might revisit this after talking about it with my spouse, haha.
Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊2d ago

@len Exactly this.

Fire Force is a really difficult one cause I LOVE it UNTIL Tamaki shows up. It feesl like she only exists to fall on her ass and flash her panties or otherwise end up nude. The show also leans a bit too hard into "Maki is buff and that's gross for women." Those keep it in my problematic fave category lol.

Dead Mount Death Play feels more neutral in its portrayal. Almost everyone woman in the series is extremely, viciously curvy, and no one cares. It's not regularly remarked on. No one gets heart eyes and starts drooling immediately. They're just.. like that™. It feels better.

Bebop missed me because I watched it too late for Spike to be cool. He feels laser focused on being everything a 15 year old would idolize, but I didn't watch the show until I was like 25. I just didn't click with the dynamic he, Faye, and Jet have. Surprisingly, the cast of Champloo is younger but the show feels less apologetic about their flaws. Yes, it works out for them, and they overcome the situations those flaws lead them into, but Mugen feels less like he's intended to be just cool.

SPY x FAMILY is one where I think you liked it for the reason I don't. A slice of life with something extra is a great description but I was hoping for an action show with heart. There's far too much Anya and her hijinks in the show for me to stay interested. The show knows what it wants to be and after S1 I could no longer pretend that it was going to be what I wanted to watch. Yor and Lloyd's dayjobs were the only parts I wanted.

Having 5+5 slots to convey tastes and maybe nuance is hard, but I feel like expanding it to a Top 10 would be waaaay overkill. At most, maybe a 7+7.

Show threadyelling jackal2d ago
@NaClKnight That is exactly my problem with Fire Force, too!! It'll stay in my problematic faves for the same reason. The only reason it's not in Scissor Seven's category for me is that the positives in it outweigh the negatives for me (I would have liked Scissor Seven so much if I hadn't already come across that kinda story-telling and gotten the immediate ick from it ), and it does have women in it that get to have characters.

Dead Mount Death Play is one I have not read yet but after a quick look I think I should, seems like something I'd like a lot.

Aaaah yeah. I watched it when I was... 20? I think? Spike was a sad character to me, not really a cool one. Whole thing was soaked in sadness, lots of connections that didn't connect all the way and led to the end that it had. Def agree with Champloo being less apologetic about flaws, it's something I like a lot about it. Might be something to that comparison, too - you gotta face your flaws to overcome them.

Oof yeah, going into Spy X Family for action only would lead to disappointment! It's great if you're there for slice of life but you also like action, not that great the other way around.

Top Ten would be too much! The low amount makes it hard but more useful, makes you think more about what you want to communicate. I wonder what I could pick to also convey my love of silly earnestness, Toei Spiderman comes to mind but I can't choose that if we're only sticking to anime!
Show threadCheetah Fluff2d ago
@len @NaClKnight Aw geez, what a topic. Len's spouse here! I really like the idea of the top and bottom 5, because I have several anime that are very similar but I love some and hate the others. Fantastic idea! (And fully agreed on Fire Force, too, it's so good, when it isn't being stupid :'3)

I think my 5 likes would be:
One Piece
Hunter x Hunter
Mod Psycho 100
Ranma 1/2
And heaven help me but I think I need to put Spice and Wolf as #5, lmao  

And my 5 dislikes would be:
Naruto
Jojo's
Devilman Crybaby
Most Isekai, but very specifically a second, dedicated slot for:
Re:Zero. I despise this show; it is everything it should not be.

But yeah, if I only have the first list, someone would think "Oh, you like shonen action series like One Piece and Hunter x Hunter, so I'll recommend Naruto and Bleach!" Like. No. Yes, I like shonen action series, but only Hunter x Hunter falls into that, for me. And Hunter x Hunter is doing interesting things and constantly developing its characters. One Piece is great because it's queer and punk and I like these little goobers and their pirate ship, and they're all very good people, and they build up community and trust wherever they go. Mob is similar, honestly. You're telling me you think I should watch generic, unplanned mush like Bleach? No! It has no character work!

Ranma and Isekai/Re:Zero are also kind of opposites. They both have kind of a harem thing going on, but. Good happy gender shenanigans vs. self-important misogynist boys who are somehow still the heroes. Fun action that leads to understanding vs. hateful selfish violence. There's a world of difference. So this like and dislike list helps clarify a lot of potential misunderstandings. I like it, lol. Great stuff.
Show thread四2d ago

@NaClKnight Our taste are so different sometimes :)

I generally don’t have a list of anime I don’t like. I’m pretty good at knowing my own taste so it’s usually ”was it a good or bad execution”.

A few times I’ve genuinely disliked an anime. Like the I want to commit suicide isekai. That was a complete fail. I got in because of the elf ears but stopped after I think 3 episodes.

So if someone would ask, I think I’d more try to figure out what genres they like otherwise and what interests they have. Because I’m kinda likely to suggest either something very common or something I haven’t seen myself.

The lesser known gems probably build on tropes you need to learn about first. Especially something lampooning them. 100 girlfriends is insane as a first anime for instance.

Being a snob isn’t helpful.

Show threadHelga1d ago

@NaClKnight I'd like some suggestions! So far the only anime I've really liked is Cowboy Bebop (is it actually 'anime' or just 'animation?'). I also watched a Japanese animated series about an art student (Blue Period, I think?) and some shorts about a retired hitman chef. (oh I probably watched Kimba when I was quite young).

I'm not fond of things with giant robots and lots of shouting. Also teenaged/school stuff, not my bag.

Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊1d ago

@bluetea

ok! @AllKeysGDS and I conferred in our kitchen about what to recommend and we came up with the following:

These 3 shows are easy recommendations after Bebop and don't require tooooo much familiarity with anime tropes:

Samurai Champloo (same creator, slightly different dynamic, samurai instead of space cowboys (https://anilist.co/anime/205/Samurai-Champloo/)

[Monster](https://anilist.co/anime/19/Monster/) is a fantastic slowburn about a doctor pursuing an evil patient whose life he saved

Black Lagoon is a gritty story about a paramilitary org taking on shady jobs for questionable clients https://anilist.co/anime/889/Black-Lagoon/

These ones are good but a little more fiction/sci-fi feeling:

No Guns Life is about a hard-boiled detective haunted by the war he escaped and its toll on his body and mind. (https://anilist.co/anime/108478/No-Guns-Life/)

Pluto is a fantastic detective drama about a mysterious killer hunting famous androids. (https://anilist.co/anime/99088/PLUTO/)

Psycho Pass imagines a world where law enforcement is carried out by humans but controlled by an AI that can predict crime (https://anilist.co/anime/13601/PSYCHOPASS/)

All of these feature some kind of violence, with Monster being the least violent. Most are about the same level of action as Cowboy Bebop.

If you want something totally different within the parameters you sent, lemme know, but these all feel like safe-ish picks to go try out next (that wife & I also personally enjoyed).

Samurai Champloo

Let's break it down. Mugen's a reckless sword-slinger with a style that's more b-boy than Shaolin. He's got a nasty streak that makes people want to stick a knife in his throat. Then there's Jin, a deadbeat ronin who speaks softly but carries a big blade. He runs game old-school style, but he can make your blood spray with the quickness. When these roughnecks bring the ruckus, it ain't good for anybody, especially them. Enter Fuu, the ditzy waitress who springs her new friends from a deadly jam. All she wants in return is help solving a riddle from her past. She and the boys are tracking the scent, but there's 99 ways to die between them and the sunflower samurai.

AniList
Show threadHelga1d ago
@NaClKnight @AllKeysGDS oh splendid, thank you so much! These sound really interesting. I don't mind a bit of action / military as well as spy and detective things.
Show threadNaClKnight 🧂⚔️🥊1d ago

@bluetea @AllKeysGDS

I'm glad! if you end up watching any of those, I'd love to hear your feedback or thoughts