Anime as a medium has the power to cross physical and cultural barriers through its transformative stories and evocative art style. To this day, legacy anime like Astro Boy, Akira, and Dragon Ball Z’s inspire modern popular media through their iconic characters and genre-defining stories.
You don’t get that kind of influence without a healthy dose of plot. I’m not talking about your parent’s idea of plot, dear reader. I’m talking about that spice melange, that watch-after-dark kinda plot.
Ask an anime aficionado if they also watch those pervy shows that crop up during seasonal release line-ups they’ll likely serve you a bold-face lie to save face. But they’ve likely already binge-watched that pervy anime or bookended that plastic-wrapped manga, and they likely did it before you even realized it existed. Hard to believe, I know but like an anime Chris Angel, I stand before you as a testament to this truth. That’s right. The otaku of Kotaku is an enby of “culture.”
In the spirit of oversharing and breaking anituber Gigguk’s golden rule of never discussing or sharing the fact that I also watch anime with a bountiful amount of fanservice, I’ve assembled a list of anime and manga you should check out for “the plot.” Don’t say I never did anything nice for you.