Apothecary Diaries might be up your alley. Main character definitely has some Frieren vibes.
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So you want an adventure anime with chill travel vibes and maybe some action, but not focused on action.
- Fullmetal Alchemist is the original GOAT of Adventure anime if you've not seen it already. Watch Brotherhood, not the original.
- Spice and Wolf gives similar chill vibes following a merchant and wolf god companion. Watch the 2024 remake.
I think FMA is better than Brotherhood for the first part. I believe you're supposed to switch at the episode titled "All Is One, One Is All" because it has the same title in both series. So you watch 27 episodes of FMA, and then start Brotherhood with episode 12 (just looking at the episode numbers, Brotherhood definitely speedran up to this episode)
for slowburn action/drama might I second
- cowboy bebop
- samurai champloo
Cowboy Bebop is a masterpiece 💗 I have yet to watch Samurai Champloo
same person created them, Shinichirō Watanabe.
his other works are supposedly in the same universe.
- Cowboy Bebop
- Samurai Champloo
- Space Dandy
- Terror in Resonance
- Carole & Tuesday
can't say anything for the last three as I haven't seen them though.
His wiki page also warned not to confuse him with Shinichi Watanabe, which created Excel Saga. I can confirm it's absurdly funny and remember getting drunk watching it with friends in the early 2000s.
if that's your jam, I'd also recommend Colorful by Torajirō Kishi. it's a sex comedy centered around perverts objectifying women and their panties.
For spice & wolf, the original is still great too
The original is going to remain unfinished though, while the remake plans to continue the story... at least for now.
Watch Brotherhood, not the original.
Wrong - watch the original up until they get to Rush Valley (around ep26 or so IIRC) and then switch over to Brotherhood. Or just watch all of the original and then Brotherhood.
Brotherhood tries to rush the first half of the original into 3 episodes which ruins the pacing.
True, but its more complicated to recommend like that. And I found the pacing of the original to be too slow for my liking. I agree that Brotherhood rushes through those first stories too fast, and skips two arcs that matter for no reason, but the original was slow and boring, even if it told the stories properly.
I mean, if you can enjoy the pacing of Frieren, you can enjoy the pacing of the original FMA.
I obviously don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen it but the rush in Brotherhood robs some crucial plot points of any emotional impact and is lesser for it.
I think Frieren does the slow pacing much better than the original FMA, but that's a fair take.
If you're talking about the Tucker family that whole thing actually gets even less time in the original original FMA - that is to say, the manga. I think it's all over in 2 pages or something crazy like that.
I'm talking more about (huge spoilers)
spoiler
Hughes; there's far less of him in Brotherhood and his discovery of the conspiracy leading to his death all takes place in one episode in Brotherhood where I think it's something like 3 or 4 in the original. Much more tension to play with that way rather than it being a flash in the pan.
Brotherhood tries to rush the first half of the original into 3 episodes which ruins the pacing.
I was curious so I took a quick look and it's actually about 28 or 29 episodes.
If you're wanting to be pedantic, it squeezes the first half of the original into 10 episodes; Brotherhood hits Rush Valley at episode 10 whereas they arrive in the original at episode 26 (almost exactly halfway of the original 51 episode run).
Again, you're calling the 2003 anime the original. Rush Valley isn't the halfway point of the manga; they arrive there at the start of volume 5 (out of 27).
edit: a lot of the stuff you're accusing them of skipping was actually just filler, like the train thing at the beginning.
If I'm talking about "episodes" on an anime instance, it's pretty obvious that I'm not talking about the manga.
Right, but the implication that Brotherhood is supposed to inject the same filler the 2003 anime did is silly.
I have watched both FMA series already, and I love both for different reasons. I know Spice and Wolf, but never got my attention, is the remake finished or ongoing?
Remake is ongoing. The main story is 17 volumes and the remake season 1 covers the first 5. Season 2 is scheduled for next year.
The original series wrote itself into a corner by skipping volume 4 which included events crucial to later in the story, and it also covered up to volume 5, so you don't have to watch it.
Watch Brotherhood, not the original.
Watch the 2024 remake.
I see someone woke up today and chose violence lol.
I kid, of course -- as a lover of both versions of FMA, I understand how the slight change in tone & story appeals to different people; and I've yet to see the Spice & Wolf remake, I've just only heard about the criticisms people had with the things it changed.
If you enjoyed Dungeon Meshi and Frieren, definitely watch Witch Hat Atelier.
WHA is great, but the first season ends in such an awkward spot I feel bad recommending it to people when we still don't have a date for Season 2.
It was pretty successful, wasn't it? And the manga has enough material? Is there any reason to think it won't be coming back within the next few years?
I agree, I wish we could have had enough episodes to finish the trial arc but alas.
The anime is still ongoing, or is over?
If it's less important that the recommendation be the same type of show, but more of the same quality level, I can recommend Apothecary Diaries.
Didn't see Mushishi mentioned yet. One of my absolute favorites. Interesting stories and an intriguing universe. So good.
It's more poetic with short independent stories, but a great anime indeed.
I am surprised seeing Mushishi here. First time I heard of it was in middle school. I have been wanting to watch it for a while, actually, but for some reason never did ┐(シ)┌ Maybe its the moment!
I'm not sure about recommendations, but we have a !frieren@ani.social community
If you're fine with something a bit nasty (gore, rape), Goblin Slayer. The very first episode is particularly eeky, it feels like they tried to make it as shocking as possible, but it does stabilize from episode 2 and those nasty moments become occasional rather than main focus. Overall it's a decent fantasy adventure anime.
If you're okay with really old anime, there are tons of nice fantasy from 80s and 90s. For example, Record of Lodoss War for a serious one. Or, for an easygoing fantasy comedy with great style, The Slayers; there are many seasons, movies, OVAs, etc; I personally watched them all and don't regret it, just keep in mind it's way more silly and unserious than something like Dungeon Meshi, for example, even though it's also a comedy.
There's an old saying that every DM wants their D&D campaign to be Record of Lodoss War (serious, dramatic high fantasy), but it always turns out to be Slayers (selfish PCs causing chaos wherever they go, but saving the world when the chips are down).
Haha I hadn't heard of this but it's so true! Although personally I love to see a campaign go full Excel Saga ^.^
Its surprising, but while Goblin Slayer wasn't on my watchlist, my interest on the series has grown as time has passed, so, maybe I'll give it a watch at last. Both Slayers and Record of Lodoss War are on my watchlist! Love the OSR vibe of both.
If you are okay with gore (that slowly ramps up over time) Golden Kamuy is a great balance version gory action and documentary about Hokkaido culture in the 1800s. Disclaimer: I only read the manga
Made in Abyss for that adventure feeling. Girls Last Tour for that chill journeying vibe.
I personally never recommend Made in Abyss without a strong disclaimer. Don't mind the torture and gore, but the pedo stuff is just too much to bare. Apart from that it's a pure masterpiece (characters, story, art, soundtrack).
I watched the first season and the movie that followed. I wanna return to it, but don't know from what point x__x
There are plenty of recommendations already I can vouch for so instead of repeating them I'll mention Land of the Lustrous. Don't be fooled by the CGI, this is the anime that convinced me that CGI in anime often being bad is a budget/animation issue and it can look absolutely stunning when done well. It's a story about Phosphophyllite, or Phos as they are known to friends, a young and very fragile Gem who dreams of helping their friends in the war effort against the Lunarians and their journey of self-discovery. Sadly the anime does not wrap up the whole story so you would have to read the manga to see the end (the manga is finished!) but it's still a great watch, the animation and especially the colors add a lot to the story.
Edit: Fixed the pronouns, my dumb brain forgot all the Gems are non-binary.
I so wish for a new season of Land of the Lustrous. It's so good and so pretty
My only issue with Land of the Lustrous is the fact we have not yet news of a new season, despite the manga being over already :( I may finish it anyway, so thanks for reminding me of this "gem" lol (Get it?) (Also, don't worry about pronouns, this isn't reddit)
Record Of Lodoss War OVA (1990), 13 chapters
It's supposedly based on the writer's fantasy role playing campaign
Confusingly, there's a sequel TV series from 1998, but it's not as good.
I do plan to watch both, eventually, so thanks for the rec 👍
Apothecary diaries Witch hat atelier Original Full Metal Alchemist (and brotherhood because that’s the only one that exists on streaming now, apparently)
https://myanimelist.net/anime/56009/Yuusha-kei_ni_Shosu__Choubatsu_Yuusha_9004-tai_Keimu_Kiroku
Sentenced to Be a Hero
It isn’t the most chill anime but it has a lot action and isn’t an isekai.
Fullmetal Alchemist
The Apothecary Diaries
Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Jujutsu Kaisen
Vinland Saga
Dandadan
One Piece
Mob Psycho
Bocchi the Rock
Spy x Family
Made in Abyss
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