Rayllum

Tianxi collects mementos of their past. Tianchen remembers the dead.

Shane: Let's get in there, baby! Let's get in there; let's get messy. Let's meet the German murderer! Let's meet the guy who slit his own throat! Let's meet those fucking smoke daddies, baby. [Shane points] We're gonna get in there — we're gonna meet them all! You're gonna get one of those little autograph books you get at Disneyland and you'll get all the guys to sign it. You'll be walking outta there being like, 'Look at all the ghosts I met!' It's gonna be INCREDIBLE, man. You excited? Ryan: no. Shane: okay

Thought I’d try something a little different. More anime reviews are coming, it’ll just take a bit while I work out some thoughts. 

In the meantime, I’m making a quick Top 5 anime I think you should check out this week. These are anime that have mostly a nice atmosphere, with strong bonds between the characters and are easy viewing when you’re looking for something a bit more on the smile side of anime viewing. These anime are in no particular order. 

Alright, let’s get started. 

#1) BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense.

You like VR game anime? You like cute girls? You like friends enjoying each other’s company and working together to complete challenges? This anime is the one for you. Maple is a new player who, like the title suggests, doesn’t want to get seriously hurt while playing, so she maxes out all her Defense and becomes the strongest, most broken tank in the game. Alongside her friends, they explore the game of New World Online, coming across fantastic players and dungeons and more OP power ups than the game devs can keep up with. 

A light hearted romp where you can just sit back and enjoy the shenanigans. Definitely one you should check out. 

#2) Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun

Chiyo Sakura has a crush on Umetaro Nozaki, but after a confession gone wrong, she ends up becoming one of his assistants for his popular manga ‘Let’s Fall in Love’. As Chiyo continues to try and confess her feelings to Nozaki, she meets many of his other assistants and fellow classmates, and shenanigans ensue. 

While this one is a romantic comedy with a lot of over the top slapstick and misunderstandings, the friendships in this series are amazingly solid. No matter how you pair off certain characters, you honestly feel like they like each other for the most part (looking at you Seo). They feel comfortable being themselves and that’s something I think everyone should see. 

#3) Tsuritama

Fishing, aliens, a secret agent duck named Tapioca. This anime is a trip. Yuki Sanada lives with his grandmother and, due to her work constantly having her move, has trouble making any lasting connections and self isolates due to anxiety and fear he’ll just have to leave again. When they move to Enoshima, he comes across a boy named Haru, who claims he’s an alien who was sent on a mission to save the earth from one of his own kind, and he requires Yuki’s help to do it. Along with local fishing prodigy Natsuki and secret agent Akira, Yuki ends up with more than he bargained for. 

This anime is just a whole lot of fun and watching as everyone slowly comes out of their shells to form a strong love for fishing with each other is just an absolute joy to watch. And the op for this show is an absolute bop. 

#4) Lucky Star

A classic I couldn’t leave off the list. A simple slice of life show following a group of four friends; Konata who is an eccentric otaku, the strong willed Kagami and her absentminded twin Tsukasa, and the soft spoken lady-like Miyuki, as they go through their high school years together, interacting with other characters and making tons of anime references along the way. 

Some of the jokes might not have aged well, but its a very nice show to have in the background when you need to sit down and relax. You really feel like these people could get along, and its nice seeing what they get up to. Also, the dance is an absolute treat to do. 

#5) Tanaka-kun is Always Listless

Tanaka is a young high schooler who, as the title implies, is always listless. He lacks enthusiasm and has little to no energy to do very much outside of the bare minimum, and he likes it that way. But that doesn’t stop him from getting into all kinds of interesting activities with his best friend Ohta who, along with their classmates, try to adapt to Tanaka’s listless lifestyle so that he’s still included in their activities. 

What I like about this is that they don’t really try to force him to change, but rather work with him to adapt his own lifestyle and needs with what plans they have. Some people see Tanaka’s listlessness as lazy, but for the most part they don’t try to force him into any situation he’s not comfortable with, with few exceptions (like when he needs to go to the dentist, Ohta carries him there). It’s just a soft show and definitely would be a nice one to check out. 

And that’s today’s Top 5. I hope that this list helps you find something you might enjoy in the future!

What anime with strong friendships and mostly light hearted atmospheres do you like? What anime should I check out next? Let me know on the post or in my ask box.