Approved Anime

This is a list of /tg/ approved anime, organized loosely into genres.

Add important details (e.g. tv series or OVA, number of episodes or movies) in brackets.

Science Fiction

• Cowboy Bebop: Animu fans will argue forever if this is the best anime or not, but it is probably one of the best space-westerns anybody has made ever. An astounding look into one of the best parties an RPG could ever have. [tv series: season 1 - 26 episodes; 1 movie]

Related games: Traveller, GURPS Space, Diaspora

• Ghost in the Shell: /k/ makes a show about cyborgs and politics. The two movies and TV series take place in different continuities, and have very different feels. You may love one but hate the other. [2 movies; tv series: season 1 - 26 episodes, season 2 - 26 episodes, 1 made-for-TV movie]

Related games: Eclipse Phase and Shadowrun

• Serial Experiments Lain: The trippiest philosophy class you will ever take. A near-future set around 2020 or so, diverging around 1990. A must-watch for cyberpunk and conspiracy fans, as well as existentialists.

Related games:Shadowrun, Eclipse Phase, and maybe Paranoia.

• The Big O: Batman meets Gigantor meets Japanese monster movies in a post-apocalyptic world where nobody remembers anything prior to forty years ago and advanced androids walk the streets of an otherwise 1920s-era city dominated by glass domes. One of the biggest contenders for "Most Confusing Ending" award, it is otherwise well-regarded by the anime community and it's lack of a third season to answer all the questions is much-lamented. That said, the director had originally been given two seasons to plot out his story, had it cut to one, then had a second season greenlit thanks to it's performance in the US, only to give us another season of questions.

Related games: Mekton, Dungeons & Dragons: Eberron, Spirit of the Century

• Trigun: An impossibly skilled and improbably young outlaw (Arbitrator) roams a barren Wild West planet helping people out with his skill at shooting people, aided by a somewhat faithful party of well-armed priests (Clerics) and insurance agents (Adepts). Replete with pseudo-religious symbolism and Metal Gear-worthy antagonists.

Related games:Dark Heresy, Deadlands

Action

• Attack On Titan: Humanity is all but exterminated by the Titans, a race of tall creepy looking humanoids who eat humans for fun. Extremely graphic in the many and often undignified deaths throughout the series to almost 40k amounts levels of death per episode. Running themes are self-sacrifice for the greater good, the cheapness of life of the individual and Humanity Fuck Yeah. Main character is a short angry dude who wants to kill all Titans because they tore his mother in half and ate her. Is very well known for its kickass intro song.

Related games: Steve Jackson's O.G.R.E.

• Fist of the North Star: The singular manliest show ever made.

Related games: Street Fighter the RPG (by White Wolf)

• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan: The singular Orkiest show ever made. [TV Series: 30 episodes; 2 movies]

Related games: Battletech, Toon

Gaming anime

• Girls und Panzer: Just what it says on the title. WWII Tank warfare for sport, done by schoolgirls. You will make a Ōarai Girls' Academy themed Leman Russ tank company after watching it. The anime is now officially associated with World of Tanks.

Related games: hexmap historical war simulations

Horror, Grimdark & Mindfuckery

• Neon Genesis Evangelion: A philosophical character drama and Lovecraftian Horror Mindrape that pretends to be a mecha anime for its first half. Either one the greatest anime ever produced, or an overrated piece of tripe that collapsed under the weight of its own pretentiousness, depending on who you ask; there is no middle ground. Inspiration for Adeptus Evangelion. Obviously. [TV series: 26 episodes; 5 and counting movies]

Related games: Adeptus Evangelion, CthulhuTech

• Puella Magi Madoka Magica: A series about cute magical girls and psychological horror, courtesy of Gen Urobuchi. Quickly goes grimdark around episode 3. Quite possibly the only anime series to explore the connection between aliens, little girls, and liches. [TV series: 12 episodes; 3 movies, the first two being a distillation of the series]

Related games: Princess The Hopeful

Fantasy

• Berserk: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: The Anime. Guts, a brutal and unstoppable swordsman, walks the land of grimdark as he recounts his impossibly bad-assed past. Noted for being GUTS HUEG because HUEG GUTS has HUEG GUTS.

Related games: Warhammer Fantasy

• Record of Loads of War: Some anime producers made a cartoon out of their D&D campaign.

Related games: Dungeons & Dragons

• Slayers: AD&D 2nd edition: The Anime.

Related games: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

• Strike Witches: (Little Girls in Panties): WWII flying aces redrawn as loli airplane machines which zap aliens while flying around without pants. Not really beloved by /tg/, but someone thought something about it would make a good homebrew.

Related games: Axis & Allies, Axis and Allies Angels 20, Ace of Aces, the aforementioned homebrew

• Spice and Wolf: The anime that brought us Horo, the wolf-girl pagan goddess of the harvest (Often mistaken for Leman Russ) that /tg/ fell in love with once upon a season. And also economics. The anime warrants space on this list for giving /tg/ it's favorite furry, and proving that not all medieval fantasy has to be sword-and-sorcery to be interesting.

Related games: Settlers of Catan, GURPS Fantasy Setting

• Maoyuu Maou Yuusha: (Geopolitical Economic Theories in My D&D?): An anime in which the brave Hero (named Hero coincidentally) enters the Demon Realm in an attempt to kill the evil Demon Lord. In retaliation the Demon Lord (named Demon Queen/Lord) diplomances him into submission, explains how the economy works, then proceeds to dominate the southern human realm with basic human rights, intelligent farming methods and smart business strategies. Spiritual successor to Spice and Wolf, and created by 2chan.

Related games: Settlers of Catan, /tg/ Civilization Quests

Comedy

• Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: It's one of those wacky highschool comedy bits that Japan shits out every season, except starring Nyarlathotep. Yes seriously. Pop culture references, /d/eviance, Sanity loss (complete with Call of Cthulhu character sheets), and gratuitous canon rape ensue. "She's an Eldritch Abomination, not your waifu!"

Related games: Call of Cthulhu (barely)

Racing

• Redline is basically F-Zero: the Anime.

Things Which Aren't Anime, But People Think Are

• Homestuck: Despite being a webcomic, people often claim Homestuck is their favorite anime. Strangely, the Homestuck fandom has countered with an attempt at creating an actual Homestuck Anime; the fandom is known for their ability to get shit done, and quickly, but only time will tell if the project goes anywhere.

Related games: /v/ stuff, maybe the surreal text-adventure puzzles like Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide

• Touhou, which is not actually an anime or manga but is frequently confused as such by those unfamiliar with it. It has however, received several official manga spinoffs.

Related games: /v/ stuff, shmups, D&D 4th edition (that's a joke, a joke someone made terrifyingly real)

• Wakfu: A French cartoon about a kid named Yugo who discovers he is part of a long-lost race of people with the ability to create portals. A fun world with fun characters and a surprisingly deep Big Bad. Not to be confused with your waifu.

Related games: /v/ stuff, generic mid-Europe fantasy setting

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: we argued about it

Related games: Exalted