Recommended Anime, Manga, Prose and Live Action Cinema

This page was originally intended to supplement my Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga and Teachers Companion to the Anime Companion.
The entries of special note for the Teachers Companion have a note on Cultural Details, entries that may contain content that parents may consider problematic are noted with Cautions. These lists also can be used as guides for people looking for titles to obtain.

My criteria for choosing titles?

I avoid using popularity in making my choices. Instead I look at story quality, the level of cultural details and other creative elements. For this reason I have many titles which newer fans have never heard of, all titles I think fans should know about and hopefully have seen.

These pages are never "up to date"

I only post titles I have seen and feel are worth viewing. This means I may not get to a particular title until it has been out for some time. For titles that are ongoing I wait until they are finished, or (rarely) nearly so. There are times that a title starts out good but loses strength and disappoints as the series continues.

Note on buying items:

If you are interested in buying items I strongly urge you to check local dealers first. Buying from local dealers encourages them to stock more anime, manga and Japanese cinema; something that is good for everyone.

 

If you are unable to get items from a local dealer you can use the links on these pages.
Note that I am writing these recommendations for US fans , you may have to go to sources in your country for some titles.
When a title is available in the U.S I will link to I am an associate with, CDJapan and iTunes. I have linked to appropriate title locations on the their sites, or in some cases with other vendors outside the US, such as the Sheffield Space Center in the U.K., for titles that are not available here.

 

 

Recommended Titles - Anime

 

Recommended Titles - Manga

 

Recommended Titles - Japanese Live Action Cinema

 

Recommended Titles - Prose Translated from Japanese and on Japan

 

Creators - Those Behind the Works I Recommend

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