Despite appearing to be a loser on the surface, Saitama has the biggest unintentional secret of all; he can defeat everything and anything in a single punch. Despite being what could possibly be considered the strongest hero in history, our main character is instead extremely displeased as after all the training he has done, he has become too powerful to be even remotely challenged by any creature he comes across. He begins to have an existential crisis regarding his super power until a cyborg named Genos comes along and changes his life forever. One Punch Man is a simple action and comedy anime that has one premise, he can defeat anything in one punch. There is no overarching plot that is difficult for viewers to follow nor does it provide complex fight scenes to follow. Every joke is surprising yet easy to understand and the fight scenes are fluid and exciting to watch as well. One Punch Man is an excellent anime for newcomers to anime as well as long-time fans.

Residing in the town of Asahigaoka live four children that are very special. What makes them special you ask? They’re special as they are the only children who seem to exist in the town at all. Due to the non-existent children population, the four attend the same class together, leave class together and hang out together. The cast includes first grader Renge Miyauchi, the twins Suguru and Komari, and the seventh grader Natsumi. This anime is even simpler than One Punch Man. With One Punch Man, there are still some clever quips to satire the action genre in general that can be hilarious to those used to the tropes presented. Non Non Biyori (as you should have guessed from the name already) is extremely simple to the point that it has an almost calming effect on anyone who watches it. The full package of sound, animation and pacing provides such a high level of a simple slice of life anime that all your troubles will just melt away. This anime is a must watch for long time veterans and newcomers.

In a dystopian society, everyone seems to live in a seemingly safe society that appears to be a paradise on the surface level. However, it hides a darker secret. Every single human being living in the society is being monitored 24/7 by something called the Sybil System on their criminal coefficient, which is their likelihood to cause a crime. Unfortunately, the coefficient can be based on things like stress, causing a victim to be labelled as a criminal as well. This is the story of Akane Tsunemori and her journey to discover the truth behind the criminal system. This list has just dipped into the more serious territory. There is nothing funny about Psycho-Pass. It is gritty, dark and gory at times. With its single season length, expect them to be liberal with character deaths and not provide anyone with plot armour. In exploring the moralities of the Sybil System in judging the rights of humanity as a whole, the show touches on many philosophical concepts that are sure to provide the viewers with plenty to discuss about. Good watch for anyone who can stomach gore here and there and won’t get a headache from long monologues.

The main character of the series, Otonashi, finds himself in the campus of a high school and is told be a girl holding a rifle that he is in the afterlife. She claims to lead the Afterlife Battlefront with the sole duty of battling a girl named Tenshi, who doesn’t seem that harmful to him. Deciding that he shouldn’t listen to weird girls holding rifles, he approaches Tenshi only to get stabbed to death. He awakens moments later to find that he cannot die in the afterlife. Reluctantly, he joins the Afterlife Battlefront and gets into hijinks with them over time. Angel Beats provides a very deceptive premise. It sounds almost like it’s a slice of life anime mixed with a little comedy from the fact that characters can’t seem to die, providing the perfect setting for tons of slapstick humor. And in a way, that is true, there are moments where the anime can be truly hilarious. However, there exists an underlying tone that shows that each and every character in the series has a backstory that is so tragic that caused them all to end up in the same place in the afterlife. You’ll be crying your heart out from start to finish. Perfect for anyone who has a box of tissues handy.

After the death of his mother, Kousei Arima can no longer hear the notes that he plays on the piano. Despite being so good at piano to the point that he is known as the Human Metronome, Arima can no longer play due to the crippling depression that seems to overwhelm his soul. Leaving his piano behind, he starts to live a bland and monochrome life in high school, trying to forget the pain he experienced. Everything changes when he meets the wild and beautiful Kaori Miyazono, a violinist who begins to colour his life once more. Shigatsu provides a romance story that is very relatable yet subtle. It doesn’t bang your face with all the romance tropes hoping that you’ll understand that so and so love each other. Everything happens so naturally that the romance just clicks for the viewer at some point. That’s because the show focuses on the development of its two main characters instead and how this brings them together bit by bit in the end. With an excellent use of music to convey emotions, Shigatsu is suitable for anyone who likes dark chocolate. (Bittersweet Stories)

NIchijou is the story of three high schoolers, Mio, Yuuko and Mai who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. It also follows the story of the young prodigy Hakase and her robotic caretaker Nano. Each day of their lives have the usual daily occurrences of going to school, buying groceries from the store and watching salmon fall from the sky…what? Nothing about these characters are normal at all, so join them in their everyday lives. Nothing about Nichijou makes sense. The pacing is off, there is no underlying plot and the characters all behave in such nonsensical ways that you know no one could possibly act like that in real life. And that’s what makes it work. With a high level of animation as well as a good sense of timing, Nichijou manages to create extremely funny scenes mostly based on slapstick humour that will have everyone laughing themselves to death. Recommended for anyone who still has a sense of humour.

In a distant future, virtual reality is invented and used by the gaming industry to transport the minds of players into a virtual world where they can play the game Sword Art Online as if they were really there. At launch, 10,000 players managed to log in to begin playing. However, soon after everyone logs in, they find that they cannot log out as they have been trapped within the game by the creator. The only way for them to leave is to clear all 100 floors of the game. The catch? Anyone who dies in the game dies in real life as well. Sword Art Online is based on a light novel and is one of the few that begun to popularise light novel adaptations till they seem to receive a genre of their own. Out of all the light novel adaptations, Sword Art Online is one of the best for an introduction to the genre due to the relatively simple premise and its general lack of tension throughout the series, allowing viewers to just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Recommended for any gaming fans who like anime.

Souma has helped his father run their family eatery since he was a kid by working as a chef. His lifelong dream is to surpass his father and gain the title of head chef in their kitchen. However, one day his father closes the store and goes on a trip around the world, enrolling Souma in a cooking school in the process. At first Souma is reluctant, until he learns that the school has only a 10% pass rate due to how strict they are to their students. Thus begins his adventure into the world of cooking. Shokugeki no Souma is one of those animes that can take a very mundane task like cooking and turn it into something very exciting to watch through clever visual tricks, camera angles and emphasis on certain actions. It’s like watching a cooking competition like Master Chef, except on steroids. If you enjoy eating food with umami and excitement, this is the anime for you.

Kaoru Nishimi is a piano player who moves to a new town because of his father’s job. Sentaro Kawabuchi is a thug of a student with a bad boy attitude. Before meeting each other, Kaoru tended to keep to himself. After being influenced by Sentaro’s love of jazz, Kaoru begins to explore the genre as well as the joy that he can provide others through his music. Sakamichi no Apollon is a simple enough anime with its fair share of hardship for its characters throughout the series. It invokes emotions well through the clever usage of jazz music, something that has not really been done to a great extent before. Instead of having characters follow the pattern of falling into love triangles or squares, Sakamichi focuses more on the friendship aspect of the show. Suggested for anyone who likes friends and jazz.

Between life and death lies limbo where souls go before proceeding to heaven or hell. In Death Parade, limbo is a bar manned by a suave bartender. Every person who passes through the bar is judged before being sent to their destination after a series of trials. Through these trials, each person’s true nature is revealed before being sent to their destination, all at the whims of the bartender. It’s hard to talk about Death Parade without giving away any spoilers, because part of its brilliance lies in how it surprises you. Through the use of perspectives and visual trickery, the anime manages to fool the viewers into believing one thing and blowing their minds in the very next moment. Recommended for anyone who wants to see a screwed up version of the anime Bartender.

Eyeshield 21 is a great place to start if you’re looking for an anime similar to Katekyo Hitman Reborn!. It tells the humorous story of Sena Kobayakawa, a high school boy considered by most in his class to be quite weak, and he is regularly picked on and terrorized. However, his ability to quickly get away from his pursuers catches the eye of the captain of the American football team, who ends up recruiting Sena as a secret, mystery player for the extremely important position of running back. Sena continues to prove he’s the fastest when he is scared and running away from things, just like before when he was being bullied instead of the secret star of the team! Hilarity ensues. One might be asking the question about how an anime focused on American football can have anything in common with an anime about the Mafia, but the similarities between the main characters and the themes of the story are very strong. Both Eyeshield 21 and Katekyo Hitman Reborn! feature a main character who is changed significantly from who he is at the start of the anime, and who he is at the end. While both begin as “weak” or even pathetic characters, through their experiences and with the help of their friends (or teammates!), they become strong! The road is long and hard and full of obstacles, but both anime tell the story of an underdog that goes on to find success, and both do so in a way that is funny and meaningful at the same time.

The story of Nurarihyon no Mago revolves around the main character Nura, who is no ordinary boy. In fact, while he is ¾ human, the last ¼ is Youkai (a Japanese supernatural monster). He lives in a house full of Youkai, and with a grandfather that hopes Nura will succeed him as head of the Nura Clan. However, Nura himself doesn’t want any of this at the start, and instead spends his time trying to help humans and doing good deeds in hopes that he will not become a full Youkai someday. As the anime progresses, Nura slowly begins to come to terms with his heritage, and starts to accept that he can indeed fulfil his grandfather’s dream even when initially he had no desire to. Tsuna is presented with a similar situation in Katekyo Hitman Reborn! when he is presented with the fate of taking over as head of Vongola Family. At first, he too rejects the idea, but as the story goes on he learns to accept it and to step into the shoes of those before him. Both anime tell the story of a boy who has to deal with a future that has been determined for him because of his heritage, and the path that they must take to grow from ordinary boys into powerful leaders.

Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi is the story of Kenichi Shirahama, a high school student who goes from being the constant victim of bullying, to vanquishing the bullies himself. As one can imagine, it is quite a turn-around to go from one end of the food chain to the other, and Kenichi doesn’t do it overnight through any superpowers or miracles. This anime focuses a lot on Kenichi’s training in martial arts at the dojo, Ryouzanpaku, alongside a girl named Miu, the granddaughter of the dojo master. Kenichi turns the tables on the bullies and delinquents, training hard to defeat and disband them and keeping them from making anyone else their victims. Much like Tsuna in Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Kenichi is at first a very unassuming and physically weak character. But also like Tsuna, Kenichi works hard at his training to develop into a much stronger fighter that can not only handle himself, but can really take care of business. Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi is another anime for someone who was really interested in the underdog story of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and wants to see the serious development of the main character from zero to hero. If you liked seeing that development in the form of fights and action sequences, then Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi is something you’ll definitely want to check out!

If you even like the concept of anime, then you have certainly heard your share of opinions on our next suggestion – One Piece. One of the most popular animes in Japan and abroad, One Piece is a story about adventure, excitement, humour, and friendship on the high seas! That’s right, it’s about pirates. The main character, Monkey D. Luffy, and his crew, The Straw Hat Pirates, search for the fabled “one piece” and the title of King of the Pirates. Of course, finding it isn’t simple, as over 700 episodes (and a new one still, every week) certainly prove! The cast of One Piece is absolutely massive, and full of original and unique protagonists and antagonists both. While not as big, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! also consists of many different characters, all of whom are very critical towards shaping who Tsuna becomes. In both anime, the main characters are developed a lot by their cast of both friends and enemies, and the influence of these other people is very important to the story. So if you are looking for not just a strong main character, but a strong supporting cast like in Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, maybe now is as good a time as any to sign on to the commitment of watching One Piece!

Beelzebub follows the story of Tatsumi Oga, and the strange “baby” Beel that he finds one day when he is in high school. However, Beel is no ordinary baby of course – in fact, he is the son of the demon king, and it is Tatsumi’s job to raise him! Throughout the anime, Tatsumi is faced with the challenges of raising a demon, albeit begrudgingly, as he finds himself in an official contract with Beel against his will. At first, Tatsumi does all he can to fight it, but slowly he begins to use the powers granted to him as Beel’s “father” to become a powerful fighter against gangs and other classmates. Beelzebub and Katekyo Hitman Reborn! have a very unique thing in common – the presence of a powerful figure in the form of a baby that becomes, in some way, the responsibility of the main character. In Beelzebub, the baby is the son of the demon king, as described in the aforementioned paragraph. In Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, the baby is a Mafia leader. Both pack a surprising character in an unsuspecting package to give the anime a unique twist, and both of these “babies” are able to grant the main character some level of supernatural power to help them in fights. So if supernaturally powerful babies – or at least unexpected and different characters than simply the norm – that make an anime truly stand out are your thing, then be sure to check out Beelzebub!

Arcana Famiglia is an anime about an organization of the same name that is written to be similar to the Mafia. However, with a special twist to the normal sort of Mafia story, in this anime the people in the organization all have the special trait of having bonded with an Arcana card that grants them special abilities. In the story, the current head of the organization, Mondo, has decided it is time for a new leader, and that the leader – and husband for his daughter, Felicita – should be determined through a tournament. However, Felicitia has other ideas about who can decide her fate, and that of the whole family! If the Mafia sort of feel to Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is what really captivated your interest, then be sure to check out Arcana Famiglia. The story may be a bit different, but the setting is similar and can give you another taste of a Mafia-driven anime. Both also follow a lead character who is fighting to determine who will be the head of the family. Tsuna fights for himself, while Felicita fights to keep her father as the head. Both anime also have good friends to the main characters that help them achieve their goals, and thus help determine what happens to the organizations in the end.