The world of anime, if you’re just venturing out, is a big, scary looking mess of animation. There’s all these colourful looking cover arts and genres named in an – often – unfamiliar language.
This is Part 4 of my Anime For All segment – the part of my blog where I recommend anime series that are suitable for newbies, but also ones that are also sometimes overlooked by veterans! It is, as the name says – anime suitable for everyone!
This week’s post is focusing on the drama genre – a genre full of endless possibilities. Whether it’s relationship drama, personal dramas or drama between two countries at war…Whatever drama you want, there’s probably an anime that has it. This week, the shows I’m recommending are Ano Hana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo and 5 Centimetres Per Second.
These shows can be streamed on the following sites:
- Crunchyroll
- HiDive
- Hulu
- Yahoo!
- AnimeLab
Please note that there are some regional differences, however. (AnoHana isn’t currently available to stream in the UK, for example). Please also note that because 5 Centimeters Per Second is a movie, it is not available to be streamed, but can be bought here.
EDIT: 5 Centimeters Per Second is actually streaming on Crunchyroll in the US. Thanks to Derek for pointing this mistake out!
These shows are just three shows that show off how good the drama genre can be. Each of them show off a different kind of drama within them and all of them are beginner-friendly. There are shows from other genres that could also fit in this post, but I’m saving them for another week, so stay tuned! Without further ado, let’s begin!
anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (sic) tells us the story of Jintan Yadomi – a recluse that would rather play video games all day than go to school. One day, his childhood friend Menma appears and pesters him to grant her a forgotten wish. Despite ignoring her, and therefore annyoing her, Jintan soon realises that he and his childhood friends could soon reunite and rebuild their friendships and sets off on a mission to ensure Menma’s wish is granted so she can rest. Approximate time to complete: 4 hours
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is another recommendation from illintelligence, who previously recommended Daily Lives of High School Boys in last week’s comedy recommendations. After finding lost kittens, Sorata Kanda is forced to move into Suimei High School’s Sakura Hall – its eccentric and misfit students turning his life upside down. Sorata finds it diffciult to fit in with such a variety of characters. Aspiring voice actress Nanami pushes Sorata to find a home for these kittens so he is able to move back to the regular dorms but this is quickly made more difficult when the pet-like Mashiro Shiina, a new transfer student, latches onto him. Approximate time to complete: 9.2 hours
And now for the third and final recommendation for this week! 5 Centimeters Per Second is a short film divided into three parts. It tells the story of best friends Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara who, despite being seperated when Akari’s family have to move away, continue to be dedicated to one another as they send letters to each other. As time goes on, they continue to go down their own paths, the distance between them becoming wider and wider and the contact between the two of them fading. However, they both remember the times they spent together and both wonder if they will ever meet again… Approximate time to complete: 1.1 hours
There you have it – three recommendations from the drama genre! It was incredibly hard to pick just three out, as the drama genre is full of great shows, so maybe I’ll just have to do another post one day about my favourite dramas?
Let me know in the comment section below what you think of these shows if you’ve seen them and let me know what you would recommend too! (Personally, I’m always looking for a good drama!)
Until next time!
– Amelia xo
*5 Centimeters per Second” is currently streaming (sub and dub) in the US on Crunchyroll. Personally, I never recommend it because the third act is such a mess.
Ah, that must have slipped under my radar when I was checking the streams. o: Thanks for pointing that out, though – I’ll amend the post!
I loved 5 centimers per second. The only misgivings I have for it was that I wished it lasted longer. I haven’t seen the other two recommendations, so thanks for those! Another two to add to that ever increasing to watch list 😂😂
Our instructor actually made us watch 5 centimeters per second (world culture class) and I still don’t know if I like it or not. Something about the last part …