Television series
Star Driver
Star Driver is a gloriously baroque mecha anime that treats giant robots like a supernatural mystery wrapped in high school melodrama. It's vivid, theatrical, and genuinely strange—all colour and velocity and earnest emotion. If you love anime that commits to its own weirdness and isn't afraid of being gorgeous and ridiculous in the same breath, this is for you.
If you liked this
Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann2007
A mecha anime that explodes with infectious energy and heart. It builds from small to genuinely cosmic in scope while keeping its earnest belief in willpower and friendship intact. Pure, unfiltered joy.
But The first few episodes are deliberately modest in scale, and the tonal shifts can feel abrupt. Some find the romantic subplot heavy-handed.
Revolutionary Girl Utena1997
The spiritual ancestor of Star Driver's theatrical melodrama and mysterious conspiracies. It's a surreal, symbolic fairy tale that constantly deconstructs itself. Absolutely singular in how it looks and thinks.
But It's wilfully obscure and symbolic to the point of opacity. Some episodes feel like they're from different shows entirely. Patience is mandatory.
Kill la Kill2013
Outrageous, kinetic, visually hypnotic. It's built on extreme contrasts—grotesque and gorgeous, silly and sincere—and commits fully to the bit. A show that knows exactly what it is and has zero shame about it.
But The sexual design of characters is deliberately provocative and won't sit right with everyone. The constant escalation can feel exhausting if you're not locked in.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Star Driver
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Little Witch Academia2017
Both center the earnest bonds between characters over plot mechanics. Both find genuine warmth in melodrama without winking. Both believe in their own world completely and make you believe too.
A gem of pure character-driven storytelling about a girl learning magic at academy. It looks beautiful, it's funny without being mean, and it builds emotional depth through small moments. Anime that trusts you to care.
But It's gentler and more whimsical than Star Driver—no giant robots or cosmic conspiracies. Some find it too earnest or 'soft' for what they want from anime.
More like this (7)
Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch2006
Mecha anime with genuine narrative momentum and high melodrama. It has conspiracies, mysteries, superpowers, and moral complexity that actually matter. Endlessly watchable even when it's being ridiculous.
But The second season loses momentum and leans too hard on anime tropes. Some character decisions feel contrived to manufacture plot. The ending divides people sharply.
Carole & Tuesday2019
Visually stunning, earnest without being cloying. Two girls sing on Mars while navigating identity and belonging. It's a love letter to music and human connection wrapped in gorgeous science-fiction aesthetics.
But If you don't care about music as a theme, the constant singing can feel indulgent. The plot sometimes takes a backseat to mood and atmosphere.
Nana2006
Surprisingly mature melodrama about two girls with the same name meeting and navigating love, ambition, and friendship. It's earnest and human in ways that feel real. Gorgeous visual storytelling.
But It's incomplete—the anime stops while the story is unresolved. The romance plots are very soap-opera-ish. Not much happens in terms of plot movement.
Michiko e Hatchin2008
A road movie anime about a escaped convict and the boy she rescues, searching for belonging. It's tender and melancholic, visually inventive, and genuinely moving without trying to manipulate you.
But The pacing is slow and contemplative. Some find the tone uneven—it shifts between whimsical and dark. There's no triumphant ending, which bothers some viewers.
Akira1988
The film that made anime a serious artform. It's cyberpunk, violent, visually revolutionary, and structurally complex. Even if you've heard of it, it hits different when you actually watch it.
But The plot is genuinely hard to follow and requires attention. It's bleak and doesn't provide easy catharsis. The 1980s aesthetic won't appeal to everyone.
Natsume's Book of Friends2008
Like Star Driver, it uses supernatural elements to explore emotional truths about isolation and the need for human connection. Both treat their worlds as mysterious and treat mystery itself as sacred.
A quiet, melancholic series about a boy who sees spirits and helps them find peace. Each episode is a small story, but together they build something profound about loneliness, connection, and home.
But Almost nothing 'happens.' It's episodic, low-stakes, and meditative. If you need narrative momentum or big reveals, you'll find it slow.
Promare2019
Both are anime that prioritize visual beauty and kinetic momentum over tight plotting. Both embrace the theatrical and the strange. Both know that sometimes the experience matters more than the narrative logic.
A visual riot. This film is pure kinetic energy—animation so fluid and expressive that you forget you're watching drawings. It's about fire fighters fighting a cult of pyromanics. It doesn't need to make perfect sense to feel incredible.
But The plot is straightforward and sometimes feels secondary to visual spectacle. Some find it shallow—all style, not much substance. The frantic pacing exhausts some viewers.
