With most of the world practicing social distancing, it can be hard to find ways to spend your time.
If you have Hulu and are looking for something to watch, here is a small list of anime series that can help ease that itch.
Assassination Classroom
What do you do when your new teacher is a tentacle alien, blows up 70% of the moon, and has a ¥10 billion bounty on his head?
Meet Koro-sensei, the teacher to the students of 3-E. Not only does he teach his students the generic school subjects, he also teaches them how to be assassins. Why? So they can assassinate him before the school year is up.
Throughout the series, the students of 3-E develop a wholesome relationship with their teacher while they simultaneously try to kill him. At the end of the day, the students show how hesitant they are to kill the only teacher that’s believed in them. Filled with intense fight scenes, gags only a tentacle alien teacher can produce, and jaw-dropping twists, Assassination Classroom proves to be one of the most exciting animes to watch in recent years.
Blood Blockade Battlefront
Leonardo Watch is an aspiring photographer who moves to Hellsalem’s Lot after he obtained the coveted “The All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods’’ at the cost of his sister’s eyesight.
It is a melting pot filled with monsters, magic, and terrorists chaotically living together. Leo joins Libra, an organization that fights these monsters and terrorists with a little magic of their own.
Leo’s adventures with Libra have him taking down underground fight clubs, vampire lairs, and crime syndicates.
Blood Blockade has a wild cast of characters, each with their own quirks that will have your interest within a second. The nature of the series allows for extreme levels of chaos. It may sound like they’re overdoing it, but when you live in a town filled with different alien species, vampires, and magic, anything goes.
If you’re a fan of sci-fi and crazy action, this is the show to watch.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
The Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse were young when their mother died. The boys took it upon themselves to learn alchemy in order to resurrect her. However, resurrecting the dead is one of alchemy’s cardinal rules.
The boys did it anyway. As a result of their sin, Alphonse lost his body; Edward lost an arm and a leg, and their mother was nowhere to be found.
Now, the brothers are on a journey to find the Philosopher’s Stone, a stone that can grant immortality, in order to bring Alphonse’s body back. This journey leads them to join the military, learn about its deepest, darkest secrets, and how it all relates to them.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has a fully fleshed out story with characters that are all important and as equally as fleshed out as the story. It transports you to their world and it invests you in each part of the story with its plot and execution. Through the journey of the Elric brothers, we get to see the good and the evil in the world and it shows that the world is not as black and white.
This show is a must watch no matter what you’re into.
Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun
Kamome Academy is a school that is rumored to be filled with supernatural beings such as the Seven Wonders.
Nene Yashiro is a hopeless romantic who wants her crush to like her back. This leads her to go to the third floor bathroom to summon one of her schools’ seven wonders, Hanako. However, instead of getting her wish granted, she becomes Hanako’s assistant.
As Hanako’s assistant, she now has to help Hanako keep the balance between the spirit world and human world.
Despite the grim undertones of the series, it is a comedy series. A lot of the time, Nene is getting herself into trouble due to her gullible nature. Since it also is a supernatural series, there are also interesting encounters with ghosts, mermaids, and a humanoid spider.
This is a show to watch if you’re into supernatural hijinks and want to laugh.
Hunter x Hunter
Gon Freecss is a young boy who wants to become a Hunter, so he can become an amazing Hunter and meet his father, Ging, who abandoned him at birth. On his journey, Gon meets Killua, a young boy raised by assassins who left home; Kurapika, who wants revenge against the group who murdered his entire clan; and Leorio, a young man who wants to become a hunter to pay his medical school fees.
Once they become hunters, the four go on their own arduous journeys to achieve their goals.
Their journeys lead them through an intense fighting tournament, groups of assassins, a video game, and a deadly island overrun by chimeras who want to take over the world.
On the surface, it may look like your typical lighthearted shonen anime, but the show is pretty dense with information, plot, and blood. Yes, blood. The fight scenes are out of this world and have viewers on the edge of their seats.
While the main focus is on Gon, the other main characters develop throughout the series, and you get to see them grow as they face the harsh realities of the world. On top of that, the long arcs allow for the viewer to become fully immersed in the world.
If you’re interested in fighting anime with a thick plot then check out Hunter x Hunter.
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War
Kaguya Shinomiya comes from an elite family. She is proud, cold, and intimidating. Miyuki Shirogane comes from an underprivileged family. He is hardworking, supportive, and kind.
What do they have in common? They’re both members in their school’s student council. They’re also in love with each other, but they’re too proud to admit their feelings. As a result, they’re constantly coming up with elaborate schemes to make the other confess, that usually backfire due to outside forces beyond their control or their own egos.
This show’s your typical romcom, but instead of seeing two lovesick teens pine over each other, we see two lovesick teens going through mental gymnastics to make sure the other messes up. It’s funny watching them just go through their insane thought process to try to regain control of the situation.
It’s also funny to watch the supporting cast unknowingly throw in wrenches in their plans. It’s a modern romance filled with funny skits, lovable characters, and a very, very catchy opening song.
Magi
This series is based on the stories from 1001 Arabian Nights featuring Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba. In this version, Aladdin is a young Magi who travels the world with his djinn, Ugo, looking for the other vessels that house the other djinns that are hidden inside dungeons. He meets Alibaba, who is looking to claim the treasure inside a dungeon, and the two quickly become friends.
They learn that as a Magi, Aladdin has to pick someone to turn into a King. He picks Alibaba, and the duo’s journeys intertwine to make Alibaba a King. In their journeys, they face off against evil magis, destroy corrupt monarchies, attend a magic school, and try to prevent the world from falling into chaos.
Magi is a story that focuses more on the journey rather than the result. The journey is a fun one as you get to see distant lands and creatures. It also takes the viewer through perilous situations such as overcoming deadly dungeons and wars.
A lot of Magi’s charm also comes from the cast. Aladdin is very kind and always gives people the benefit of the doubt. Throughout the series, we see him learn about the cruel realities of the world and watch him grow, but his kindness never fades out. Alibaba is a bit more skeptical, but overall he too shares that kindness.
If you’re a fan of world-building, magic, and Disney’s Aladdin, this is a show to check out.
Stars Align
As a warning, this show does depict scenes of child abuse, so if that is not your cup of tea, feel free to skip the show.
Maki Katsuragi just transferred to a new school. Toma Shinjo’s soft tennis club is in desperate need of members. Maki does not want to join any clubs. However, Toma is insistent, and Maki ends up joining.
Maki is a natural talent and quickly becomes friends with Toma and the team. However, Maki and the team have bigger issues to worry about besides getting good at soft tennis. Most members of the team are dealing with their own forms of trauma stemming from their lives at home, mental illness, gender identity, and outside pressures.
This show may not have the over the top action that many sports animes have, but it touches on deeper issues such as trauma, abuse, exploring your gender identity, and cyber bullying. It does a good job at showing the effects of these issues on the teens and how they use soft tennis to channel their frustrations. The team becomes a much needed support system for each of the members which is the reality for a lot of teens.
It’s a show that should be watched because it is refreshing to see a show so rooted in reality; however, due to its nature, it can be hard to watch. However, if you skip through the abuse and focus on the tennis scenes, it is a wholesome show that focuses on playing the game to have fun.
Noragami
Hiyori Iki isn’t your average girl. She loves martial arts, and she’s also a half-phantom. Hiyori used to be a full human, but she was hit by a bus after she pushed someone out of the way. That someone was Yato, whose life was never in danger since he is an obscure god.
As a result of Hiyori’s vain efforts to save Yato, Hiyori becomes a half-phantom and wishes for Yato to make her a full human again. This proves to be quite the dilemma for him since Hiyori is the first half-phantom. As a result, Hiyori and Yato go on a journey to make Yato a true god and Hiyori human again. They meet Yukine along the way, and the trio goes on a journey filled with existential angst, friendship, and shenanigans.
Noragami itself is an anime filled with great comedy, characters and plot. Since it does deal with ghosts, there are morbid undertones that aren’t really discussed in the anime. However, since most of the cast are based on actual gods, it doesn’t take long to realize that each of them have their own share of issues that they are trying to run from.
When serious, the storyline pulls sympathy for the cast. It doesn’t matter if they’re opposing or supporting Yato. Each of the characters will leave some sort of an impression on you that could make you question your own morals.
When funny, the characters will have you in fits of giggles at Yato’s overdramatic self, Hiyori’s random wrestling references, or the ridiculous situations they sometimes find themselves in.
Overall, it’s a very versatile series that is worth watching.
World Trigger
Four years prior to the start of the series, monsters invaded Mikado City and easily abducted hundreds of people. Now in Mikado City, there is an organization known as Border that protects citizens from these monsters known as “Neighbors” using weapons known as “Triggers”.
Osamu Mikumo is a Border trainee who meets transfer student Yuma Kuga when he transfers into his class. Everything seems to be normal, until a Neighbor appears and wreaks havoc. This forces Yuma to reveal himself as a Neighbor and destroy the opposing Neighbor.
Through a series of events, Yuma ends up joining Border and is placed in a squad with Osamu and Chika Amatori, a sweet girl who is a Neighbor magnet and whose brother was abducted four years ago. Together, the trio train to become strong enough to take down Neighbors and maybe one day rescue the people from the Neighbor’s world.
This anime goes at a very slow pace and is loaded with information and action.
However, what makes this show interesting is Osamu. Osamu does not have shonen protagonist powers, and he has to work from the bottom and develop his skills. He’s very easy to relate to, and he’s very down to earth which is a nice break from the usual loud or stoic shonen protagonists.
The world Osamu lives in is anything but ordinary. He’s friends with a literal alien and fights with alien tech to prevent aliens from taking over. It makes you wonder how an ordinary guy can be the protagonist for this show, but it works.
The battles in the show are very fun to watch. Every character has their own fighting style, and they’re constantly trying to adapt to whatever comes their way. The show has a huge cast, but the camaraderie between the cast reminds me of the camaraderie between Naruto and the Hidden Leaf Village.