It’s time for a new general discussion thread! Hot takes, recommendations, questions, cautionary tales, all of it is welcome here.
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The thing to keep in mind about 86 is that it’s a very grimdark kind of show (themes of racism, lots of character death). It’s a good show and worth trying, but if grimdark isn’t your thing, don’t be surprised if you bounce.
Hmm . . . so what else has no one recommended yet that’s worth trying. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, of course. You might find the earlier installments in the Aquarion franchise (Genesis of Aquarion, Aquarion EVOL, and Aquarion Logos) somewhat amusing—they’re more on the silly side, but so are some of the shows you listed (the first series especially has some very silly-weird stuff, like the episode where the characters are cosplaying each other).
Older shows that you haven’t mentioned and might be worth looking at would include Patlabor and Escaflowne.
And as someone has already said, do finish Gurren Lagann—it’s worth it.
I didn’t expect one of my favorite mech anime to be a 90s shoujo isekai, but Escaflowne was just that good.
I liked Goblin Slayer. Dark doesn’t bother me, as long as the show is good and holds my attention.
Both PatLabor and Escaflowne are on my watchlist, I just didn’t mention them. Thank you for the other recommendations though, I will look into them.