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What do you want to watch tonight?

Each title says who it's good for, and who it isn't. Tap what you want tonight, or say no to one and why.

Closest to Land of the Lustrous first

  1. After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

    The sides of Warriors of the Wind

    • A princess who flies a glider
    • A toxic jungle and giant insects
    • Kingdoms at war over an ancient weapon

    Good for you if

    • you like a heroine who glides over a toxic jungle full of giant insects.
    • you like a heroine who would rather understand the jungle than burn it.
    • you like a world after the end of the world, drawn in detail.

    Bad for you if

    • you find 1980s animation dated.
    • you don't watch anime.

    About: ecology · war · peace

    Explore its sides
  2. SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.

    The sides of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

    • An armed assault on the NERV headquarters
    • A boy who refuses to pilot
    • The end of humanity as one shared mind

    Good for you if

    • you can take the end of the world shown without mercy.
    • you like giant surreal images, live-action shots and a sea of orange liquid.
    • you like a finale you argue about for years.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand soldiers gunning down staff or Eva Unit 02 torn apart.
    • a teenager's despair and self-hatred on screen are too much for you.
    • you don't watch anime.

    About: loneliness · the end of the world · the fear of others

    Explore its sides
  3. Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.

    The sides of Children of the Sea

    • A girl spending summer at her father's aquarium
    • Two boys raised by dugongs
    • Sea creatures vanishing around the world

    Good for you if

    • you like hand-drawn oceans full of fish and light.
    • you want a film about the sea and the birth of the universe.
    • you like whales, dugongs and summer by the shore.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch animated films.
    • you want a story where everything is explained.

    About: the ocean · the origin of life · belonging

    Explore its sides
  4. In 19th-century Paris, young vampire Noé finds the Book of Vanitas in human hands. Calling himself Vanitas, this doctor wields its power and tempts Noé with a plan to “cure” all vampires. Allying with him may be dangerous, but does he have a choice?

    The sides of The Case Study of Vanitas

    • A young vampire arriving in 19th-century Paris
    • A human doctor with a book that cures vampires
    • A steampunk Paris of airships

    Good for you if

    • you like vampires hiding in a steampunk Paris.
    • you like lush, gothic images of 19th-century Paris.
    • you like a mocking, prickly duo slowly learning to trust each other.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you need every mystery solved by the last episode.

    About: curses · trust · identity

    Explore its sides
  5. Spirited Away 2001

    Anime

    On the way to their new house, a ten-year-old girl and her parents wander into the world of spirits. Her parents are turned into pigs, and she has to work in a bathhouse to save them.

    The sides of Spirited Away

    • A strange world with its own rules
    • A child finding her courage
    • Quiet moments and nature
    • Every frame drawn by hand

    Good for you if

    • you love getting lost in a world with its own strange rules.
    • you like not knowing what will walk through the door next.
    • you like films that stop to breathe, like that quiet train ride.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch animated films.
    • you want everything explained. A lot of the bathhouse never is.

    About: growing up · greed · keeping your name · work

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  6. At the turn of the century, the Angels returned to Earth, seeking to wipe out humanity in an apocalyptic fury. Devastated, mankind's last remnants moved underground to wait for the day when the Angels would come back to finish the job. Fifteen years later, that day has come... but this time, humanity is ready to fight back with terrifying bio-mechanical weapons known as the Evangelions. Watch as Shinji, Rei, Asuka and the rest of the mysterious shadow agency Nerv battle to save earth from total annihilation.

    The sides of Neon Genesis Evangelion

    • A boy ordered by his father to pilot a giant robot
    • Angels attacking Tokyo-3
    • A final two episodes inside his head

    Good for you if

    • you like a series that leaves you with more questions than answers.
    • you care more about the pilots' minds than the robot fights.
    • you like an ending that goes somewhere no one expected.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't take depression and self-loathing on screen.
    • you don't watch anime.

    About: depression · fathers and sons · loneliness

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  7. In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.

    The sides of Ghost in the Shell

    • A cyborg agent in a special police unit
    • A hacker who can rewrite people's memories
    • Long silent shots of a city in the rain

    Good for you if

    • you like asking what's left of you when your body is a machine.
    • you like a dense, rainy city drawn in every detail.
    • you like long quiet moments between short bursts of action.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you want a plot that's easy to follow. Hacked memories and rival police sections tangle fast.

    About: identity · technology · the soul

    Explore its sides
  8. Youngsters called Kildren, who are destined to live eternally in their adolescence. The Kildren are conscious that every day could be the last, because they fight a war as entertainment, organized and operated by adults. But as they embrace the reality they are faced with, they live their day-to-day lives to the full.

    The sides of The Sky Crawlers

    • Teenage pilots who never grow up
    • A war fought as a show for adults
    • Dogfights over a quiet airbase

    Good for you if

    • you like long silences, cigarettes and empty days at an airbase.
    • you can take a story about kids made to die in a war.
    • you like piecing together for yourself who the Kildren really are.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you won't read subtitles.

    About: repetition · war · youth

    Explore its sides
  9. Dorohedoro 2020

    Anime

    Amnesiac Caiman seeks to undo his lizard head curse by killing the sorcerer responsible, with his friend Nikaido's help. In the Hole, that's a threat.

    The sides of Dorohedoro

    • A man with a lizard head and no memory
    • A grimy city called the Hole
    • Sorcerers who practice magic on humans

    Good for you if

    • you like a world where a lizard man bites sorcerers' heads to find his face.
    • you like gory fights followed by a cosy plate of gyoza.
    • you like a filthy, detailed world of doors between humans and sorcerers.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand dismemberments and blood everywhere.
    • you don't watch anime, even in CGI.

    About: identity · friendship · revenge

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  10. In the year 2024, the world has collapsed. Grotesque monsters lurk amongst the ruins of Japan, while remaining people scrape together what they can to survive. Kiruko, an odd-job girl in Nakano, accepts a mysterious woman's dying wish to take a boy named Maru to a place called Heaven. Maru is convinced that there will be a boy there who looks exactly like him.

    The sides of Tengoku Daimakyo

    • A ruined Japan full of monsters
    • A girl escorting a boy to a place called Heaven
    • Children raised inside a walled facility

    Good for you if

    • you want to know what Heaven is and why Maru has a double.
    • you like two storylines you have to fit together yourself.
    • you like Kiruko and Maru scraping by across a collapsed country.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand gory monster attacks.
    • you'd rather avoid sexual content in your anime.
    • you don't watch anime.

    About: identity · growing up · the end of the world

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  11. In the year 2029, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster'.

    The sides of Ghost in the Shell 2.0

    • A cyborg major hunting a hacker
    • A program that claims to be alive
    • The 1995 film with new computer scenes

    Good for you if

    • you like long, silent shots of a rainy future city.
    • you like a question about what makes you human left open.
    • you like chants that carry whole scenes.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you need momentum and can't sit through long talks about the soul.

    About: identity · the body · technology

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  12. While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

    The sides of The Boy and the Heron

    • A boy who lost his mother in the war
    • A talking gray heron
    • A tower that leads to another world

    Good for you if

    • you like a world of parakeets, pelicans and a stone tower.
    • you love Miyazaki's hand-drawn worlds.
    • you like a boy learning to accept a new mother.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you want a story where every symbol is explained.

    About: grief · family · growing up

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  13. With demons reawakened and humanity in turmoil, a sensitive demon-boy is led into a brutal, degenerate war against evil by his mysterious friend, Ryo.

    The sides of Devilman Crybaby

    • A sensitive boy fused with a demon
    • A childhood friend with a secret
    • Humanity turning on itself

    Good for you if

    • you can take a dark story where humanity turns on itself.
    • you like a war against demons that keeps getting worse.
    • you like Masaaki Yuasa's wild, stretched animation.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't stand gore and bodies torn apart.
    • you'd rather not see sex scenes, even drawn ones.
    • you don't watch anime.

    About: friendship · cruelty · the end of the world

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  14. Lain—driven by the abrupt suicide of a classmate—logs on to the Wired and promptly loses herself in a twisted mass of hallucinations, memories, and interconnected-psyches.

    The sides of Serial Experiments Lain

    • A shy schoolgirl who logs on to the Wired
    • A classmate's suicide and the emails she sends afterwards
    • A world where the network and real life blur

    Good for you if

    • you like a quiet, eerie anime where the internet starts to feel haunted.
    • you like piecing together who Lain really is across thirteen strange episodes.
    • you're happy to finish with questions and your own theory.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • a teenage suicide at the very start is too much for you.

    About: identity · the internet · loneliness · reality

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  15. Angel's Egg 1985

    Anime

    In the ruins of a strange city, a young girl takes care of a large egg she holds carefully in her arms. She bonds with a boy who is searching for a bird he saw in a dream.

    The sides of Angel's Egg

    • A girl guarding a giant egg
    • A drowned city of shadows
    • A soldier who barely speaks

    Good for you if

    • you like Yoshitaka Amano's designs in dark, flooded streets.
    • you like a film that leaves you to decide what the egg means.
    • you like a dream with almost no words.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you need momentum, and this is long silences and slow walks.

    About: faith · hope · emptiness

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  16. Blue Exorcist 2011

    Anime

    Humans live in the world of Assiah, demons in Gehenna. The two dimensions are not meant to interfere with each other, but demons still possess creatures in Assiah in spite of this. The humans who can fight these demons are known as exorcists. Rin Okumura is a boy who bears the curse of being Satan's illegitimate son. His foster father sacrificed himself to save him from demons. To avenge his foster father's death as well as to prove himself, Rin decides to follow the path of an exorcist and defeat his own father, Satan. To hone his raw skills, Rin enters True Cross Academy to train with other exorcist candidates.

    The sides of Blue Exorcist

    • Satan's son training as an exorcist
    • A school for demon hunters
    • Twin brothers on opposite paths

    Good for you if

    • you like blue flames and sword fights against demons.
    • you like a world of demons, exorcists and a hidden academy.
    • you like the bond between Rin and his twin brother Yukio.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you won't read subtitles.

    About: identity · family · revenge

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  17. An immortal being takes on the form of a human boy, wandering the earth and experiencing the pains and joys of life throughout his story without end.

    The sides of To Your Eternity

    • An immortal orb that takes the shape of what it meets
    • A wolf and a boy alone in the snow
    • Companions lost one after another

    Good for you if

    • you like being wrecked by the people Fushi loses.
    • you like watching a being learn what it means to be human.
    • you like a lonely being who finds friends in every place he travels.

    Bad for you if

    • you can't take death and grief in almost every arc.
    • you don't watch anime.

    About: grief · immortality · what makes us human

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  18. Gachiakuta 2025

    Anime

    Accused of murder and thrown into the Pit, a young orphan joins a group of monster fighters with special powers to uncover the truth and seek vengeance.

    The sides of Gachiakuta

    • An orphan wrongly accused of murder
    • A world below built from garbage
    • Fighters whose powers live in objects

    Good for you if

    • you like monster fights with weapons made from junk.
    • you like a city of trash with its own rules and monsters.
    • you like graffiti-style drawing and bold colors.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you can't stand bloody fights and monsters.

    About: injustice · social class · vengeance

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  19. It is 300 years into the future. Earth's environment had been devastated by mankind's own foolish plans and humankind is beleaguered by the sentient forests which they have awoken. The world balance is tipped when a young boy named Agito stumbles across a machine that glowed in a strange blue hue inside a forbidden sanctuary.

    The sides of Origin: Spirits of the Past

    • A future Earth ruled by living forests
    • A boy who finds a girl asleep for 300 years
    • Humans fighting over the forest's power

    Good for you if

    • you like a ruined future where the forest fights back.
    • you care about stories where people must learn to live with nature.
    • you like lush, detailed animated forests.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you won't read subtitles for a Japanese film.

    About: nature · war · balance

    Explore its sides
  20. Wolf's Rain 2003

    Anime

    Paradise—a legend, a myth, and a hopeless dream in a world that has become a wasteland. It is not meant for everyone, only the wolves thought to be extinct yet still roam the lands. When the Flower Maiden awakens, the path to the end will open. Kiba, a lone white wolf, wanders into a poverty stricken city on a quest. The scent of Lunar Flowers and the will to find Paradise is all he has. Along the way, he runs into other outcast wolves—Tsume, Hige, and Toboe, each with their own story and troubles. Fate bringing them together, they seek out the Flower Maiden, Cheza, and their way to Paradise. But, doing so is no simple matter. Up against a world that fears them and a man with mysterious abilities, their journey is overrun with challenges and worse—sacrifices. With limited time, they must fight to protect Cheza against everyone who seeks her and discover the hidden path to their destiny.

    The sides of Wolf's Rain

    • Wolves hiding in human form
    • A girl born from a flower
    • A search for Paradise across a wasteland

    Good for you if

    • you can take a dark road trip across a dying, frozen wasteland.
    • you like Yoko Kanno's score carrying a wandering story.
    • you like four lone wolves slowly becoming a pack.

    Bad for you if

    • you don't watch anime.
    • you need momentum, and the journey takes its time.

    About: hope · sacrifice · belonging

    Explore its sides