I've been away from anime for 2 years, what should I watch?

[iwubanime]

Hey everyone, I've been away from the anime scene, doing school and work and stuff for the past two years. I've just been watching older shows, but I'm curious what good series I've missed in the past two years (2010 - 2012).

Some of my favorites:

Full Metal Panic - strong female lead on the outside (but a bit weaker than expected). Male lead is humorous but also protects the female lead (and knows how to handle stuff when it gets rough). Likeable cast. Kaze no Stigma would be something similar.
Kaliedo Star - about someone going for their dream and you really experience their struggles with them. Any of the sports themes will have this...Hajime no Ippo.
Card Captor Sakura - simple story but still pretty interesting, small romance hook that makes you root for them. Tenshi na Konamaiki is something simlar.
Mahou Shoujo Tai

Genres I like:

Action+Comedy
(Good) Magical Girl
Romance
Sports

Genres I'm not too into:

Gore / Horror
Straight up Comedy (or wacky zany humor)
Slice of Life

(see myanimelist for things I've seen)

Really just wondering what I've missed out on the last couple of years. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

[Imako]

Watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It's a fairly recent magical girl show. Twelve episodes, each one of them amazing. Seems like exactly the kind of material you'd be into.

EDIT: myAnimeList

[iwubanime]

I'll check it out, thanks . Out of curiosity, what did you like about it so much?

[monir]

Originally Posted by iwubanime

I'll check it out, thanks . Out of curiosity, what did you like about it so much?

Allow me....

err.... it destroys the conventional wisdom known to men since the age of reasoning for all we know about Mahou Shoujo. Watch and cherish and bask in its glow! Please brace yourself. Seriously.

[mecharobot]

Originally Posted by iwubanime

I'll check it out, thanks . Out of curiosity, what did you like about it so much?

Because of shock factor. These guys are trolling you. Still worth watching, though.

I'd consider watching Glass Mask (2005). Not as franctic as Kaleido Star, having a bit more traditional shoujo heroine and pace. It is still similar at least in being about perfoming arts. Maybe also give Precure a shot. A few recent seasons (Heartcatch Precure and Smile Precure) have given it a semi-popular status. Easygoing colorful stuff with good action, animation and music. Not too great, but certainly not that bad either.

[SeijiSensei]

Madoka is a good suggestion for a Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu fan. They both have dark stories that can appeal to older viewers and unique visual styles.

You might also give Kemono no Sou-ja Erin a look. It's a complex story from the author of Seirei no Moribito. Erin is not a magical girl in the usual sense, but she has the ability to communicate with magical beasts.

Looking at your list, your ratings for shows we've watched in common are about the same as mine, though I'd score Dennou Coil a nine and on my more generous days perhaps even a ten.

The one glaring omission is Cross Game, a story about, as one of our colleagues here puts it in his signature, "life, death, love, and baseball." I'd suggest watching it even before Madoka, though it's more of a commitment at fifty episodes rather than twelve.

The other show I'd recommend is the offbeat Oh! Edo Rocket, an alternate-history satire set in 1843-44 Edo. The hero, Tamaya Seikichi, is a professional fireworks maker whose livelihood has been outlawed by the Shogun as part of an austerity campaign. Seikichi fires off the occasional rocket but grows more depressed as the repression persists. He becomes inspired once more when he meets an unusual young woman who asks him to build her a rocket to the moon.

Edit: I noticed you had Shion no Ou on your list, but not Nijuu Mensou no Musume, another "plucky girl" show that was released at about the same time. Nijuu Mensou ("Twenty Faces") appears as a character in the detective stories of Edogawa Rampo (a pun on "Edgar Allen Poe"). The anime follows an approved manga adaptation that focuses on a young orphan, Mikamo Chizuko, who becomes the "daughter" of Twenty Faces.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

The one glaring omission is Cross Game, a story about, as one of our colleagues here puts it in his signature, "life, death, love, and baseball." I'd suggest watching it even before Madoka, though it's more of a commitment at fifty episodes rather than twelve.

I'll second this by saying that if the chara design and premise feel familiar that's because it's by the same author as Touch that you have on your list.

In a similar vein I'll suggest Ano Natsu de Matteru , if its premise feels familiar that's because it's by the same author as Onegai teacher that you also have on your list

Since you have Fate/stay night on your list you might be interested in its prequel Fate/Zero

If you want action + comedy I suggest Ben-To yes the premise sounds ridiculous but that's what makes it so fun. Other action show would be Ao no exorsist, Kamisama Dolls and Katanagatari

For romance and some action there's Otome Youkai Zakuro

For sports + romance I'd suggest Chihayafuru I knew nothing about the game they were playing coming in but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying it.It is about people giving their all to achieve their dreams.

Another romance show I'd suggest is Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

[Kirito]

Here Some Suggestions:

Oreimo
Dog Days
To Aru Majutsu no Index
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Code Geass
Air
Darker than Black

[Elegance]

For Sports:
Major-one of my fav sports
Cross Game-involves romance
Romance:
Bakemonogatari
Katanagatari
Spice and Wolf
Amagami SS
Nodame Cantabile
Clannad

[MisaoFan]

Here's my recommendations :
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Senki Zesshou Symphogear (a physical battle-oriented science-fiction filled with dark atmosphere of magical girls)
Angel Beats!

[Eragon]

Seconding Fate Zero. Its animation quality is seriously good. Also if you think Fullmetal Alchemist had a unsatisfying ending then check out Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Actually check it out anyway its too good.

[Kimidori]

Magical Girl:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: There are many thing to love about it, and don't search for any more info about the anime and start watching it now, you maybe spoiled with one of it's most shocking twist that have become a widespread internet joke now.

Romance:
Amagami SS
Clannad After Story
The World God Only Knows
Nodame Cantabile

Slice of Life:
Ano Hana
Hanasaku Iroha
Hourou Musuko
Usagi Drop
K-on!
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

[MisaoFan]

Considering you have watched the two Negima! series, try Magikano : the 2006 13-episode supernatural romantic comedy is focused on a highschool guy named Haruo who doesn't know why his three sisters are witches but are there to protect him of his latent powers. One day, a mysterious witch named Ayumi suddenly lose her powers and must wake up Haruo's magic talents to save herself.

[HasuMasu]

Has Angel Beats been mentioned? If it has then I second it.

Same goes for Tiger&Bunny.

[Supah Em]

amagami ss is where it's at

[Sackett]

Madoka Magica, go watch it before you get spoiled. Best anime of the year. Amazing music too.

Spoiler for Mami's Battle Theme:

If you like Sports and Romance and haven't seen Cross Game yet then that's a big one to watch.

Since you like the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime I suggest you watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. At first it seems there are only small differences but about a third into the show they become very different and Brotherhood has a much, much better ending.

You might like Tiger & Bunny, two superheros team up to fight crime together. Sort of like a Buddy Cop show- but with superpowers. Action/Comedy.

Both Shana and Familiar of Zero have their final seasons currently airing.

To Aru Majutsu no Index II came out as well as the spin-off A Certain Scientific Railgun.

Might want to check out The World God Only Knows for some romance/comedy.

Ano Hana would be another romance you might like.

The Anime Suki Choice Awards for 2011 might also help. But don't go there until you watch Madoka Magica, as there are spoilers.

Some notable older anime missing from your list:

Crest of the Stars
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (good time to watch to since the movie covering the Disappearance of Haruhi came out and that's the best section of the Light Novels.)
Ranma 1/2
Tenchi Muyo
Neon Genesis Evangelion

[iwubanime]

Oh my gawd. I wake up and see all these suggestions. Thanks everyone

I think a general consensus is I need to see Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I hope I don't set my expectations too high now..

I've always thought of Cross Game, I almost put it in my post, I just was a little underwhelmed with Touch!. I liked it, but I remember while it started off great for like the first 20 - 30 episodes, the rival character(s?) [I don't remember it that well] annoyed me..


I'll have a more detailed response later, but for now I'm running out the door. Thanks again for all the suggestions, you all rock!!!

[xxanimefan4_ever]

akazukin chacha
kodomo no omocha
gakuen alice
gunslinger girl, nanaa
slayers next - comedy, story, characters
Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu - action & comedy

[Stealther]

Touch has higher peaks and a better story concept, but as you say is uneven and even underwhelming in some parts. Cross Game is overall a lot more solid and consistent, which makes it easier to watch (well, and half the episode count). Quality-wise I'd say they are even, although Touch makes more emotional, both positive and negative.

You definitely need to watch Madoka Magica. In my opinion also the best anime of the year.

Another similar request http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=110761

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Stealther

You definitely need to watch Madoka Magica. In my opinion also the best anime of the year.

I'd put it right behind the remarkable Hyouge Mono, but the limited number of fansubbed episodes makes it difficult to recommend that show. I wish I could speak Japanese.

The OP said he wasn't too interested in slice-of-life shows, so I didn't recommend my next two favorites from last year, Usagi Drop or Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. My other top choice from 2011 is Level E, though the "super-sentai" arc is not up to the same standard of hilarity as the rest of the show.

Honorable mentions for Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san and Moshidora. Actually, given his interest in sports anime, I should have recommended Moshidora in my original post.