Recommend Snake an Anime

[Tev]

Originally Posted by Overcast

I have the same problem with touch screens, and had the same problem with Food Wars but the series kinda warms up to you over time. I wouldn't suggest it to Snake though because of his sensitivities. Even if it shifts from beautiful food making and equal opportunity foodgasming you have to kinda have a willingness to put up with that aspect or find it amusing. It is good if you keep it up though. Doesn't really start to flow until like episode 5 though.

Yeah, I do have to coach people through the first few minutes. But my wife and I found the equal opportunity fan service refreshing, once we accepted that there was going to be fan service. That and it's framed as an interesting take on the experiences of food, which was different.

But yeah, we were in the "found it amusing" camp. I can get were some people might rather just not.

[Bum Bill Bee]

My recommendation: Jormungand.

[walkertexasdruid]

Martian Successor Nadesico: The most powerful spaceship in the galaxy run by morons.

Trigun: Incredibly goofy and incredibly serious at the same time. Plus Vash the Stampede is just awesome!

Hellsing: Alucard is the most frightening hero you will ever meet.

[Marc v4.0]

Make sure it's Ultimate Hellsing or you're just wasting your time with inferior product.

[Gregness]

Okay, given your criterion, I think I can comfortably recommend these:

1. Space Dandy

This is a comedy following the exploits of three characters who the narrator at one point describes as "Pinhead, bonehead, and blockhead", but for all the goofy upbeat banter, it has its share of serious moments as well. Also, the soundtrack is amazing, and visually speaking, it's gorgeous. Nearly every episode was done by a different director, so the art style covers quite a lot of range over the show's run. I know you said you preferred subs, but the dub here is seriously good, so I'd say to give it a shot.

Also, Dandy has what is hands down the best solution to doppleganger impersonation I've ever seen.

2. Toradora

This may fall too much on the 'tropes about kids growing up' side you were talking about, but it's a romantic comedy so it's more about growing up in the context of relationships rather than shonen battles. One of the main characters is Tsundere, but her characterization is a major plot point and not just for the normal gags.

3. Panty and Stocking

This is a show about two not very angelic angels trying to earn their way back into heaven by destroying ghosts and demons. If you enjoy or can tolerate low brow humor (In the first episode the two main characters get covered in shit from their city's backed-up sewers, and that's one of the tame jokes), there's very little that will make you laugh harder than this. It's studio Gainax, aping the art style of Powerpuff girls who were, in turn, inspired by anime styles so it's all come full circle. You say all other things being equal, you prefer subs. All other things are not equal here. You want to watch the dub. It is sublime.

Priest: "You lyin' sacks of angel shit! You're supposed to be emmisaries of God not selfish chicken-headed hoes!"
Angel 1: "Motherfucker needs to motherfuckin' chillax before he has a motherfuckin' stroke!"
Angel 2: "Which would rock, 'cause then he could only use half his face to yell at us."

4. Kill la Kill

This show has a lot of fanservice, but it turns out to be a plot point, very little of it is played for titillation and like Food Wars, it is surprisingly equal opportunity. The sis-mance between Mako and Ryuko is one of the best things about this show. This show was very obviously done on a budget, but makes up for it by oozing with goddamn style.

5. Spice and Wolf

This show is one part sexually charged, witty banter, and one part economics course. It's about Lawrence, a travelling merchant in vaguely renaissance Europe, finding Holo the Wise Wolf, a local harvest diety who has been all but forgotten by her village. Holo wants to return to her homeland in the north, so she accompanies Lawrence on her way. This show is phenomenal, but can be kind of a pain to watch legally as, last I checked, the first season was on Hulu, but not the second and the second season was on Netflix, but not the first. If you've got both though (or are fine with more grog-soaked methods), it's hard to do better in the strong female characters department.

6. Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry (Chivalry of a Failed Knight)

Although I enjoyed it while it was on, this would be my most borderline recommendation for you of the list. It seems to play to a lot of the tropes you mentioned disliking, but ends up avoiding or subverting them eventually. Notably, the token gay character in the cast not only doesn't have his sexuality made a big deal of at all, but he's a total boss, and ends up being a supportive emotional rock to a large portion of the cast. What looks like the 'normal' tsundere stuff in the first few episodes gets ducked when the main couple officially starts dating ~episode 3 or 4. It's 'completed' in the sense that it ran for 12 episodes and then ended, but it's based off a light novel series that is still ongoing. So, while the stopping place was good enough to end a season, there was some minor 'end of series proper' closure missing.

[phil_]

Dandy: Much like Johnny Bravo, his awfulness towards women is presented as a flaw, not a boon. Also the English dub really is good.

Panty and Stocking: Doesn't get good until the demon sisters show up. I haven't watched the English dub.

Kill La Kill: I disagree that the stripper outfits aren't there for titillation. It's a pretty good, funny fighting show, regardless.

Spice and Wolf: I watched the first half. It was good, but I had notes to help me with the economics stuff. I still listen to the soundtrack.

I didn't watch the other shows.

[pochercoaster]

Any show that has stripper outfits as a plot point in a plot that doesn't involve strippers has it for titillation and the creators and fans should just be honest about that.

[Gregness]

Originally Posted by phil_

Kill La Kill: I disagree that the stripper outfits aren't there for titillation. It's a pretty good, funny fighting show, regardless.

Originally Posted by pochercoaster

Any show that has stripper outfits as a plot point in a plot that doesn't involve strippers has it for titillation and the creators and fans should just be honest about that.

Points. I should have said 'very little of it is just for titillation'.

Originally Posted by phil_

Spice and Wolf: I watched the first half. It was good, but I had notes to help me with the economics stuff. I still listen to the soundtrack.

The first opening is fucking gorgeous. To the point where I went on the Itunes store, bought it, and it's on my playlist for ballroom waltzes.

[pochercoaster]

Do movies count? 'Cause I've been working through Miyazaki's repertoire and while everybody knows he's great and you may have seen it already, I strongly recommend Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. It's about the Insectpocalypse that humans brought from polluting the earth, and the heroine is basically (good) Batman. She's a princess-pilot-biologist-leader-pacifist. And it's fantastic.

Also, Kiki's Delivery Service is a about 13 year old girl entrepreneur.* It's also awesome.

Insert rant here about how it's sad that there aren't more cool female heroines like the ones in these movies.

Also I second Trigun.

*I mean that's not what it's actually about, but I just love that Miyazaki made a movie where the plot starts out with "Well I'm 13 and a witch so it's time for me to go to the city and start a business."

[phil_]

Movies?

To-y. Watch To-y. It is MTV back when they played music videos, but in the best way. It's about being rock and not selling out to the man and being eighties fabulous. It's based on a manga that they assume you've read, so it's a little sparse on exposition, but you're a smart guy (and NPFers are smart people) so you'll figure it out.

Social justice issues are rather minor. There is an ambiguous cat girl who's mostly just there to be cute, but she's not bad and fits in with the other weirdo punks the cartoon is about. It's been a few years since the last time I watched it, so that's all that comes to mind. Maybe the song lyrics? I don't remember anything creepy. I think To-y's pretty alright on the SJ angle. I would consider showing it to my mom, if that's any indication of it not being gross.

Really, I think this fits every criteria. There's a little not-comedic drama, but the overall story is upbeat. The manga was published in Weekly Shonen Sunday, so it's technically "Boys' Anime," and as such follows the mantra of "effort, friendship, and victory;" but it's not about yelling attack names and powering up, which is what I believe you were trying to avoid with rule 3.

This is something I can recommend to anyone with no reservations. The rest of you should watch it, too. I'm pretty sure I've recommended it before, not sure why it took your comment, poch, to remember it needed a plug here.