I have a small confession to make: I watch Anime. I don't go to conventions or cosplay. But, I love browsing the selections on Netflix and Crunchyroll. I wasn't allowed to watch Pokemon or Yu Gi Oh when I was younger because my parents thought they were too violent. Now, I'm just not into shows like that. I like watching Anime because they're a lot of fun to binge watch and I love getting a glimpse into what life is like in Japan. If you don't watch anime because you're not interested in shows like Naruto or One Piece, you should really check these out because it could change how you perceive anime.

1. Ouran High School Host Club

This one is probably my favorite. It's about a girl named Haruhi who gets accepted to a prestigious Ouran Academy on an Honors Scholarship. One day. she accidentally wanders to the lair of the school's unofficial host club, a group of boys who spend their time pandering to the romantic fantasies of the female student body. She breaks an expensive vase and has to pay back her debt by cross-dressing as a male host. The story follows her as she tries to hide her true identity and find her place in the upper echelons of society. I really like this one because the animation is really slapstick and the humor is over the top. The tragedy is that there isn't a second season.

2. The Irregular At Magic High School

Known at "Mahouka koukou no rettousei" in Japan, it is the highest selling light novel of all time standing at 5.3 million copies. It takes place in the year 2095. Magic is a form of computer science that has been weaponized and integrated into modern society. Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba are starting their first years at a high school that specializes in training young people to be the next generation of magic wielders. There is a social rift between first and second-course students, aka "blooms" or "weeds". Even though Tatsuya is accepted as a "weed", he balances his time as a student studying magic theory and working for his father in a top-secret research facility where he assumes the identity "Lord Silver" and creates new, advanced magic spells that only the best magicians can use. My favorite part is the "Nine Schools competition" arc because it shows you what normal school life is like at this point in time.The series does have a hard time explaining how magic actually works.

3. Silver Spoon

Silver Spoon is a Comedy about a boy named Hachiken, who decides to escape the competitiveness of prep school life and go to an agricultural school. He has trouble adjusting because he doesn't really know what he wants to do with his life ad he surrounded by people who are on set paths. He struggles with the coursework. But, he gets involved with the equestrian team and raises a pig named pork bowl. I relate to Hachiken because I go to a university program with a slew of different emphases and I don't really know where I fit in. This show helped me realize that it's going to be ok even if I don't really know where I belong.

4. Attack on Titan

This one is really dark. It's about an alternate universe where humanity is on its last legs because giant monsters called titans eat humans for the sake of eating humans. A boy named Eren Jaeger and his friend Armin enlist in the military to increase their personal food rations. Eren wants to stop the titans once and for all to avenge his mother's death and Armin wants to see the world outside the walls of their gated city. There is so much blood. It literally flows like cherry blossoms on a spring morning in the scene where Eren's mother get eaten in the first episode. But, it's still insanely popular in both Asia and the US.