Forum - View topicThis Week in Anime - Snuggling in with Cozy Anime
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FishLion
 Posts: 314 |
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I know some people with strange comfort shows as well. The most interesting to me is Bojack Horseman, I think the constant humor mixed with more depressing themes gave them a sense of catharsis without having to spend the whole time focusing on the tragedy. I also get a lot of comfort from Promare, there was a time I watched it every couple of weeks. I have always loved Imaishi's work and Promare distills a lot of what makes me feel like a giddy kid enjoying Gurren Lagann while being digestible enough to get through it and make dinner on a work night. It also has that revving yourself up to fight the whole world feeling that Gurren Lagann has while not having as many tragic moments. Magical Girl shows and anime that focus on a lost child being taken care of by found family also really soothe me. Dungeon Meshi is another one I really like, there are more difficult parts at some points in the story, but at the end of the day the episodes ending with sharing a meal made me feel rested after more stressful episodes. It is honestly amazing the way that Kui-sensei managed to blend dramatic fantasy plot points with a regular dose of iyashikei type content at the end so well.
To be honest I have not explored the iyashikei genre proper much, I really enjoyed Non Non Biyori as far as I watched but I don't feel a huge drive to return even though I love the characters. I have been meaning to continue and check out other iyashikei for awhile but it is hard to settle into just relaxing which I think is part of why I like stuff like Magical Girls. There is heartwarming connection but it's mixed with a more traditional story of dealing with an unexpected threat. Without some type of plot thread my attention drifts. I don't mind doing that on rewatches but it feels disrespectful on a first watch. Maybe I just need to throw one on and let my attention ebb and flow until something hooks me enough, but when my time is very limited and my brain is tired it can be challenge to give them my full attention. |
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Cryssoberyl
 Posts: 246 |
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Dirty Pair movie, very cool but not my idea of cozy. A pick of mine that I never hear anybody else talk about is "Niea_7", "Niea Under Seven", by Yoshitoshi Abe (of Lain and Haibane Renmei fame). It is a strange kind of "intentionally lame" iyashikei where a lot of the comfiness comes from bad jokes, corny music, and run-down locations (and, less fortunately, some cultural stereotypes that wouldn't fly today.) But like the other Abe works it has a lot of evocative thoughts about life, and moments of it are some of the most beautiful and reflective iyashikei sequences I've ever seen. However, as with any anime I strongly treasure, I try not to rewatch it too often, as I don't want it to lose the magic or to overwrite the memories of it I have.
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18567 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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LBC would certainly be the first title to come to mind when thinking about anime comfort food.
Beyond that, what titles I relax to have varied over the years. These days I often use trashy isekai/RPG-influenced fantasy series as a wind-down because they aren't mentally challenging. In previous decades, harem romcoms commonly served that role, especially more mellow ones like Ai Yori Aoshi and Ah! My Goddess. |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4863 |
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Hmm...this is a harder question than I first expected. I don't have much interest in traditional iyashikei series. I usually want there to be some sort of underlying stakes or narrative in a show to drive things along, which doesn't mesh well with the "just vibes" approach. Even with shows that are more in my wheelhouse, if I'm going through the effort of rewatching them, most of the time I want to be fully engaged in the experience, not just have them on as background noise. (Speaking of, thanks for reminding me that I'm waaaay overdue to watch Promare again!)
If there are any anime series like that for me, they'd have to be some of the first shows I watched on [adult swim]. Back then a lot of shows would get multiple repeat runs, sometimes in the same night, so there are a bunch of things I've rewatched enough that they'd feel nice and cozy. I'd always be down for a random Bebop or Trigun episode, or one of the goofier Inuyasha fillers. Or hey, maybe I could go through FLCL for the 30th time. Throwing on a random arc of One Piece would be perfect too given how absurdly long it is: "Hey, it's been over a decade since I watched the Skipiea arc, that was a lot of fun!" And even though I only watched it for the first time this past year, I can definitely see Sailor Moon having that same vibe for me. Honestly the things that scratch my comfort-watch itch the most tend to be old sitcom reruns. I can turn on the shambling corpse that is cable and zone out to a bunch of Seinfeld episodes I've seen a hundred times over. Or even better, my brothers and I have turned the nearly ubiquitous Harry Potter weekend marathons into a meme. None of us are even particularly big Harry Potter fans, there's just something about feeling obligated to throw them on every time we see them pop up in the guide. I guess after you've rewatched them enough you can jump in whenever and have fun with it. |
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quoss
Posts: 63 |
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On the topic of unexpected comfort TV, mine is Tarantino's Death Proof..... Probably the constantly talking cast of cool gorgeous women, warm colors, and cathartic violence.
But back to anime. Reasons to watch Dirty Pair never end!! Still haven't!! Have had a Right Stuf! catalog featuring the dirty pair on display since 2010 but still..... need to watch. Laid-Back Camp I have a prejudice against because their style of camping appears--and am basing this off of screenshots, never seen so much as two moving frames--way too... like they're camping in an REI diorama. As a dispersed camping, eats nothing but bread and jerky, in the desert surrounded by tarantulas, not another soul for miles, poop in a hole you dig aggressively through hard earth with a trowel, kind of camper... ehhh. I camp to escape and can't afford hotels; guess am just salty that other people can afford the fancy stuff, wow need to work on my personality. Had the same problem with Encouragement of Climb; imagining how much all their shining gear cost was a turn-off. And if I'm wrong about LBC's camping style, I'd like to know. And of course I imagine the super-geared-up, park-at-a-shining-campground style may be just pretty Japanese; not a lot of space to get away in the wild. (And times like these, we recommend the series, Otherside Picnic, the sci-fi yuri where we camp in a horrifying other world haunted by some unknown principles mimicking modern ghost stories. Light novels best.) Throwing on anime for comfort isn't something I've ever really done because am the type who takes it too seriously. Very recently have had some excursions out of this with replaying favorite scenes... Gone back to episode 14 of Frieren like eight times to watch the second half (Skipping some Stark bits, honestly.) because I love the flashback with Frieren and Himmel and Frieren's whole existence so much (The elf, not the series.) And this is odd because Himmel became pretty unbearable to me in the anime... but that scene... Compare it to the manga and it really is a gorgeous adaptation. Also like to replay Ubel vs. Ubel in episode 24; the way the bodies are drawn and animated is soooo beautiful. Important to note that Frieren only feels possible to jump in a replay bits like this to me because it isn't a big favorite of mine; big favorites feel too precious to pull up casually lul. Yeah even something I adore that seems like it should be a contender for a comfort show, say Lucky Star, totally isn't because I only watch it sitting straight up, razor attention, this is a big deal, Lucky star rewatch time. edits: i kept adding stuff. Last edited by quoss on Tue Jan 28, 2025 4:43 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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akitainu
 Posts: 124 Location: SATX |
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Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou (Girl's Last Tour) does it for me. It's very funny, very sad and can take me right out of whatever real life funk I've gotten myself mired in.
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sourpatchthekid
Posts: 72 |
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Love the bandori pico mention. They could get so creative with only like 2:30 second episodes.
I slowly watched through Cardcaptor Sakura/Clear Card in Winter 2018 and it was truly comfy |
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invalidname
 Contributor Posts: 2496 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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When I’ve had a really bad day, my mental shutdown anime is the BanG Dream! FILM LIVE concert movies. There’s not even a plot to follow, it’s just a concert by the franchise’s various girl groups, five in the first outing, seven in the second. I prefer the second because it has better animation and somewhat better stage banter (particularly for Pastel*Palettes, the only band backed by a legit talent agency, nevertheless f**king up as only they can), along with a few favorite songs. And I’m convinced that Sanzigen figuring out how to make all this concert footage visually interesting over the course of a solid hour is why the performance scenes in MyGO!!!!! and Ave Mujica are so good.
Still wish we could get the actual IRL Bandori lives over here, streaming or physical (god, there’s a Discotek announcement I’d love to see someday); I drove across the state in a snowstorm to see the “Rausch and Craziness” delayed live outside Detroit, and would do so again if they were still a thing. |
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PsychedelicCharmingShrimp
Posts: 1 |
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My comfort watches lean towards nostalgia: Cowboy Bebop, FLCL, Trigun and anything from Studio Ghibli -- the anime that made me love anime.
Also anime that's more episodic or with 80's/90's/early 2000's vibes: Ranma 1/2, Dirty Pair, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Record of Lodoss War |
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Puchu
Posts: 23 |
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Agreed on Trigun, that's my nostalgia comfort anime. For comfort anime in a more traditional sense, it's gonna be shows like Campfire Cooking, Recovery of an MMO Junkie and My New Boss Is Goofy.
My strangest comfort picks are probably Dead Mount Death Play and Eminence in shadow. I dunno, they've got this nice mix of action and whacky comedy and generally look good, what can I say, it works. Natsume Yuujinchou gets an honourable mention because it's definitely a comfort anime, but I have to be in the right mindset for it, or it's too emotionally raw. |
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Piglet the Grate
 Posts: 929 Location: North America |
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Yuru CampΔ is standard bearer for quality in anime 
Sadly for every iyashikei show we get these days there are seemingly a dozen Narou-kei isekai, another dozen shows centered on blood and gore combat, and another dozen shounen competition shows. 
I think Yuru CampΔ works because watching the girls do cute things is fun. 
How could there not be a mention of Is the Order a Rabbit?/Gochūmon wa Usagi desu ka? in a discussion of comfy anime 
Pretty much any Manga Time Kiara adaptation should also be on the list of comfy anime. And for something completely different, there is Pui Pui Molcar (but that depends on how one feels about guinea pig squeaking). |
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milkyy
 Posts: 185 |
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Smile Pretty Cure has been my comfort show as of late. I've also grown fond of replaying The World God Only Knows as a popcorn flick. But yes... Yuru Camp. Sooo good.
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11678 |
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I find Mushi-Shi to be excellent comfort food. I like its somber melancholy coupled with the whimsical mushi designs and atmospheric soundtrack all very soothing. Natsume's Book of Friends has many of the same attributes, but lighter in tone. I also enjoy rewatching Weiß Kreuz, which I find suitably angsty while being simultaneously hilarious.
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omnistry
 Posts: 1021 |
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I’d add Non Non Biyori to the comfy anime lists. Three seasons and surprisingly fun movie, all filled with slow goodness, a cute sense of humor, and a lovable cast of characters. (Renge is forever Best Daughter.)
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Beltane70
 Posts: 4010 |
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If there is any complaint that I have about Non Non Biyori it’s the fact that Shiori didn’t get introduced earlier. I would have loved to see at least a couple of episodes with her in school with the others. I thought she was absolutely adorable! |
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