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I have a terrible take about a specifc anime I found positive and uplifting despite it having gooner elements.
I feel like lots of romance stuff falls in this category though and usually doesn’t get brought up cause so much romance stuff is usually mellodrama.
well go on, name it
The first one that came to mind was My Dress up Darling. I thought of a few others but Interspecies Reviewers stuck me as an oddly wholesome show about guys being dudes with their bros and respecting women. Like, I can’t defend that second one in good faith but it really made me revaluate my thoughts on fujoshi culture
Nichijou is an all timer slice of life with great jokes
Best show ever, anime or not
I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Accidentally Maxed Out My Level - slice of life isekai about an overworked office worker who got reincarnated as an immortal witch in a sleepy fantasy world where she just took it easy for several centuries before learning that she’s become a godlike being just from farming trash mobs for pocket change, which means she has to suddenly start working very hard to keep just living in a cabin doing nothing and having no responsibilities while gradually accumulating an ever growing circle of friends and found family. There is no tension and the story never really goes anywhere, it’s just light fluffy episodic slice of life stuff with a steadily growing cast.
BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt So I’ll Max Out My Defense - VRMMO series about a girl accidentally stumbling into a broken build in a horribly balanced MMO in a world where no one knows what “minmaxing” or “skill synergy” is, who just keeps winning and getting more broken by complete accident. There are no stakes and no tension, it’s just fluffy power-progression-slop adventures with a cast that just likes hanging out and playing a game they enjoy together.
In this vein is also I Parry Everything which I found to be quite funny. It’s a one trick pony, but an amusing one imo. Mom passes in the beginning and there’s an abused slave, but it’s all happy endings.
my wife loved watching Bofuri with me
Seconding slimes, but especially the first season. Also, bofuri’s nuts, lmao gotter
A place further than the universe is good vibes distilled
Mitsuboshi Colors and Do It Yourself!!, I want to say. These are both pretty short (12 episodes-ish), but I’m being cautious about what is meant by lighthearted/feelgood and trying to avoid anything with even trace amounts of Anime Bullshit in it. Depending on your tolerance levels I could recommend a buuuunch more things, since cute/fluffy anime has basically been my niche ever since I got into anime. Some good keywords to learn are iyashikei (healing-type anime) and CGDCT (Cute Girls Doing Cute Things).
Anyways, Mitsuboshi Colors (2018) is about these three little girls who call themselves “the Colors” and pretend to be heroes defending the peace in their little slice of Tokyo (which is really just an excuse for them to play games, goof off, and explore). They have a pet cat called Colonel Monochrome and get into frequent spats with the neighborhood cop Saitou. If you end up liking Mitsuboshi Colors, consider trying Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu (2019), about a socially anxious middle school girl trying to befriend her whole class. It’s an adaptation of another manga by the same author as Mitsuboshi Colors, and is also pretty lighthearted/feelgood, just with some extremely trace amount of Anime Bullshit and a bit more crying.
Do It Yourself!! (2022) is basically about these girls at two neighboring high schools who start a DIY club in a disused shed together, and it’s really sweet to see them working together to do all their projects, how characters who might not have cared for DIY at first gradually get into it, how it brings different kinds of people together and all that. It has a nice depiction of elderly people being active and helping the younger characters out, too, that you don’t see very much of in anime, if anywhere. And if you liked Do It Yourself!!, consider checking out Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (2020), which is about three high school girls making an animated short film together. I think it has a similar vibe to Do It Yourself!!, but is maybe a bit more conflict-driven.
I’m okay with some problematic stuff. I know an anime can be otherwise pretty good as long as it’s not too much. Inuyasha/Ranma and attack on titan were fine despite having plenty of questionable elements
Seconding Non Non Biyori, which I didnt realize until now got seasons beyond the first
The Japanese refuse, for reasons I can’t Comprehend, to simply name seasons of TV among chronologically.
Non Non Biyori
Non Non Biyori Repeat
Non Non Biyori Nonstop
And the movie, Non Non Biyori Vacation
These names tell me so little as to be useless! At least K-on! Had the courtesy of designating its second season with two exclamation points instead of one
In that case, Non Non Biyori (2013-2022) is something I’ve long listed as my favorite anime of all time, and it’s quite a bit longer (39 episodes + 1 movie). There is a problematic occasional recurring bit, but if you’re reading the official subs and not thinking too hard about it you might not even register that it’s there. It has a few quiet/somber moments and it tugs at your heartstrings sometimes but for the most part it’s just a really pleasant show about a group of kids of different ages growing up in the countryside.
I’d also like to mention Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles (2018) and Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater (2020), depending on how you feel about the idea of watching shows about fishing and eating ramen. Breakwater also comes recommended from my friend @AernaLingus@hexbear.net, and Koizumi is one of very few anime I’ve seen three times. I’ve also seen K-On! (2009-2011) three times, for that matter — both me and my friend are very fond of it — and I’d say that show is broadly lighthearted/feelgood, too. It’s about as long as Non Non Biyori and like it is occasionally problematic and occasionally tugs at your heartstrings, especially towards the end. It’s about girls in a high school light music club.
Well, if I’m talking about shows that occasionally tug at your heartstrings, I might as well mention the incredibly long Ojamajo Doremi (1999-2003). It has like 216 episodes and is very clearly a kids’ show, but it’s still a blast. I’ve only seen the first season myself, but yeah, it’s a cute show about some witch apprentices in elementary school casting magic to help people, it’s seen as a bit of a magical girl classic alongside the likes of Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Tokyo Mew Mew, and PreCure, complete with a butchered 2000s English dub. But format-wise Ojamajo Doremi differs significantly from its contemporary magical girl shows by being almost completely devoid of action. Nevertheless, Ojamajo Doremi does still have some problematic content, and it’s also surprisingly and uniquely real about topics like divorce and the impact it can have on kids.
Hidamari sketch
Hidamari Sketch rocks. It has a very distinctive style. I ended up watching the seasons out of order so if you don’t quite vibe with the first season you might like the second. It’s about these girls who live in the same apartments and go to the same art school.
Yeah, it’s “Shinbo Style”, btw, he’s the director at SHAFT who did Zetsubou Sensei, bakemonogatari, Madoka, among others.
Ume-sensei is the artist for the manga, and she also designed Madoka
Yeah, and the Shinbo style originally at least sort of came about due to budget limitations, right? Or rather that Shinbo already had a distinctive style that happened to interact in interesting ways and played nicely with Shaft’s originally limited budget. That’s how I remember it, at least. Maria Holic and Pani Poni Dash are some other Shinbo-directed anime, but I didn’t care much for the latter, and the former I can only really recommend to a specific type of person.
But yeah, I’m working on my own no-budget “fanime” right now, I finished storyboarding the first episode a few days ago, and I’m planning on copying some aspects of the Shinbo style basically just to cut down on the amount of work I have to do.
“My Boyfriend and I are Complete Opposites” is a nice lil romance that gets to the point. Very light, likable ensemble cast. I don’t usually watch romances, so I found it a nice changeup from my usual.
really not an anime guy but I did really enjoy Kids on the Slope which might fit the bill. immaculate art and vibes.
Princess Jellyfish is wonderful
Carole and Tuesday is about a couple girls from different sides of the track that start a band.
Delicious in Dungeon is generally low stakes and even when there’s shit going down it goes back to being a DnD cooking show pretty quick.
The Way of the House Husband is very funny, has a former yakuza boss give up the life and learns to become a stay at home husband. There’s also a live action adaption that is solid.
Hakumei and Mikochi tiny little life in the woods is amazing and so cute low stakes and cozy af
Seconding this one! Though, I prefer the manga a bit more than the anime. The anime is short, it only got one season, and the chapters it chose to adapt felt a bit discordant with one another tonally, I thought. That said, It’s still worth a watch, and the manga is up to about 14 volumes now, so there’s lots to dive into.
Kamiina Botan is really good, like just cute boring adult stuff like drinking together and sharing experiences.
Zatsu Tabi is similar but less yuri and it’s about traveling.
Asobi Asobase and KonoSuba are good comedy animes
