When Mob Psycho 100 first came out, I only watched the first episode, and then pushed it aside for future viewing, which never came. While he strives for a regular life, his powers threatened to explode sooner or later as he encounters other espers. To learn to control his power, he has gone to work as an assistant for Reigen Arataka, a con-man who fraudulently claims to himself have psychic abilities and exploits Mob’s powers for money. Aware of his destructive ability, he lives in constant fear of losing control. Shigeo Kageyama, nicknamed Mob (background character in Japanese slang), is an average, unnoticeable middle school student with immense psychic powers. So here are must watch Japanese anime, loosely grouped by genre! If you’re new to the anime genre, or know someone you’re trying to get to like anime, this is a good reference, as I pinpoint what good “introduction” anime there are. I’ve selected those whose quality I can vouch for, of different genres, so you know what to watch. Decades later, I’ve seen hundreds, some good, some bad. However, I’ve been watching anime since childhood, and religiously since early middle school.
There’s no way you can know all of them, and I probably missed some that I don’t know myself. Some anime, out of all the countless anime out there, are must watch. Here, I’m trying to make your life easier. On top of that, while every season has a gem or two, many anime are of terrible quality, and usually are just another Isekai. And every season, Japanese anime studio bless us with more anime that we can afford to watch. New anime come out every season, Fall anime in October, Winter anime in January, Spring in April, and Summer in July. However, the current anime hype, while amazing in terms of accessibility, means that an obscene number of anime are release every quarter. There has never been a better time to be an anime fan. It’s available in masse through services like Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Anime is recognized as one of the most exportable Japanese products, and as such, is distributed, and licensed overseas. In 2017, the Japanese anime market surpassed 2 trillion yen ($18.8 million), and distributors have opened up to the rest of the world. Anime is a serious industry, and makes serious money. Gone are the days when accessing them was painful, and you had to use illegal means to watch your favorite animated series. Long gone are the days when anime was a niche thing that few had the privilege of enjoying. Worldwide, of all animated works, 60% are Japanese anime.