Anime Beginners Guide: The Genres

Over the last year, we could say that there has been a rise in the number of anime fans – possibly due to lockdown, but there’s bound to be other factors to this as well. One common misconception is that anime is a genre of its own, rather than having multiple ones like typical shows with actual humans.

There is a previous post explaining the two main anime demographics being shounen and shoujo, so you definitely read if you haven’t already!

This post explains a few of the sub-genres within anime, along with recommendations. Hopefully this helps you all with understanding anime, and finding your desired genre.

Romance

(Anime: Ouran High School Host Club)

Romance is a very popular sub-genre for shoujo anime, but is watched by both females AND males (although, some of them try to deny it but don’t believe it). There is just something about romance that just hits the right strings in my heart.

As someone who didn’t actually experience a high school romance, watching romance anime just fills that little hole in my heart which is yearning for love.

Really and truly, every episode of a slow burn romance will leave you wanting more, screaming at your device at every almost perfect moment. They’re perfect for whenever you want to go through a rollercoaster of emotions. There is also a pretty wide range in the genre - childhood lovers, love triangles, harems, high school romance and even adult romance. I’d also like to add that not all romance anime have their main character as a female either.

My recommendations:

• Ouran High School Host Club

• My Teen Romantic Comedy

• Horimiya

• Maid Sama

• Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.

Sports

(Anime: Kuroko's Basketball)

Sports is also a popular sub-genre but for shounen anime (there are shoujo sports anime and manga as well). They really give you the same amount of thrill as watching real life sports, with the addition of slice of life and comedy. Seeing the teams growth and success along with friendships and bonds being made between the teammates will just fill you up with happiness. Additionally, the games are top tier, they might even get you invested in a sport you thought you had no interest in!

This is really a favourite genre of mine, watching/reading sports anime and manga makes me wish I had the opportunity to join a team and live the same experiences.

My recommendations:

• Haikyuu!

• Kuroko’s Basketball

• Yuri on Ice

• All Out

• Daiya no Ace.

You can also read our post on 'sports anime that aren't haikyuu' for additional recommendations.

Psychological

(Anime: Kakegurui)

This genre is one is extremely in all aspects of media. Some of the most iconic anime come under this genre. It’s always a fan favourite, because these anime and manga are always written and animated in the perfect way to get the gears in your brain turning, trying to figure out where the plot is going.

There is a vast variety of psychological anime plots to watch, from murder mysteries to just simply playing board games. There’s always the perfect amount of tension during the heart racing scenes and paired with cliffhangers - they leave the audience wanting to know what happens next.

My recommendations:

• B: The Beginning

• Death Note

• Kakegurui

• Death Parade

• Classroom of the Elite.

Additionally. read our previous post on 'psychological anime you should watch' for more psychological anime recommendations.

Slice of life

(Anime: Violet Evergarden)

Finally, the last genre I’d like to discuss is slice of life. This type of genre usually deals with more mature storylines, but generally there are ones targeted to both younger and older audiences, regardless of gender.

Slice of life themes are actually present in a lot of different anime, probably making it one of the most versatile genres out there. A lot of the most famous anime movies are excellent examples of slice of life, but there also brilliant anime series and manga as well.

They’re perfect for when you want to put yourself through emotional rollercoasters, and they totally hit different when you watch them at night. I honestly feel as though it can be a slightly underrated genre, but it is really good, and there’s no harm in trying things at least once.

My recommendations:

• ReLIFE

• Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

• Kokoro Connect

• School Babysitters

• Violet Evergarden.

Hopefully this post was helpful to new anime watchers, but also for everyone else who might not have taken the time to differentiate the wide variety of genres that there are in anime. Obviously this list is just the tip of the ice berg, there are so many more amazing genres out there which you have to explore, and maybe you’ll find a particular one which will be your all time favourite.

Which one of these anime are you looking forward to watching? Let us know on our Instagram or Twitter accounts @thejoseis.

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Disclaimer: This blog is created for entertainment purposes only. Images used are not our own, all credits go to the rightful owners.