5 Anime I Recommend: Natsume, Spy x Family, Frieren and More

My anime watchlist is not built around one genre. Sometimes I want something warm and quiet; sometimes I want a comedy that goes completely off the rails; and sometimes I want a fantasy story that makes me sit back and think about time, grief, or what it means to live well. These five series show those different sides of my taste.

This is a recommendation guide rather than a ranking. Each show offers a different mood, so the best one to start with depends on what you feel like watching.

1. Natsume’s Book of Friends — for a gentle, thoughtful mood

Best for: viewers who enjoy quiet supernatural stories, compassion, and small emotional moments.

Natsume’s Book of Friends follows Takashi Natsume, a teenager who can see spirits and inherits a book connected to his grandmother’s dealings with them. The premise could easily become a monster-of-the-week adventure, but what makes the series special is its gentleness. Many encounters are really about loneliness, memory, promises, and the difficulty of being understood.

I recommend it when I want an anime that does not need to shout to make an impact. It has a reflective pace, and the emotional payoff often comes from a brief conversation or a small act of kindness rather than a huge battle. It is a good choice for a calm evening or for anyone who likes supernatural stories with a soft heart.

Go in expecting: episodic storytelling, folklore-inspired spirits, and a quietly emotional atmosphere. If you need constant action, its slower rhythm may take some adjustment.

2. Spy x Family — comedy with a surprisingly warm centre

Best for: new anime viewers, family-friendly comedy fans, and anyone who likes found-family stories.

A spy has to build a pretend family for a mission, but the arrangement becomes complicated because each member has a secret of their own. That setup gives Spy x Family a reliable source of comedy, misunderstandings, and action. The fun is not only in the spy plot; it is in watching these people slowly care about one another while pretending that nothing personal is happening.

This is one of the easiest recommendations on my list because it balances several things without becoming difficult to follow. There are funny reactions, little emotional beats, and enough action to keep the story moving. You can watch it for the jokes and gradually find yourself invested in the family dynamic.

Start here if: you want something light, charming, and accessible without giving up a story that has a clear direction.

3. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You — maximum absurdity

Best for: viewers who enjoy exaggerated comedy, parody, rapid-fire jokes, and deliberately ridiculous situations.

The title tells you that subtlety is not the main goal. The series takes the romantic-comedy and harem formula and pushes it into absurd territory. It knows how outrageous its premise is and uses that self-awareness as fuel for its jokes. The humour can be loud, exaggerated, and very much not for everyone.

I would recommend it to someone who wants a comedy that commits fully to the bit. It is not the pick I would make for a serious romance or a realistic relationship story. Instead, it is for the viewer who enjoys seeing a familiar anime formula turned up to eleven and then pushed a little further.

A quick heads-up: the show uses suggestive humour and exaggerated romantic situations. If that is not your style, another recommendation here will probably suit you better.

4. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End — fantasy that thinks about time

Best for: fantasy fans, patient storytellers, and viewers who like emotional themes beneath the adventure.

Many fantasy stories are about the journey to defeat a great enemy. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End begins after a heroic party has already completed its great quest. Frieren, an elf who lives far longer than humans, gradually begins to understand what the time she spent with her former companions meant. The result is a fantasy adventure that often feels like a reflection on memory, regret, friendship, and the way ordinary moments become important later.

What I like about this kind of story is that it lets quiet scenes matter. A spell, a conversation, or a small detour can reveal more about a character than a dramatic speech. The action is there, but the emotional centre is the question of how we understand people before time moves on.

Choose it when: you want beautiful fantasy world-building with a thoughtful pace and characters who grow through reflection as well as adventure.

5. Quality Assurance in Another World — fantasy with a debugging twist

Best for: viewers who like isekai adventures, unusual world mechanics, and the idea of finding flaws in a seemingly ordinary fantasy world.

Quality Assurance in Another World—also known by its Japanese title Kono Sekai wa Fukanzen Sugiru—builds its adventure around a clever premise: the world has the feel of a game that still contains bugs, and the people investigating those problems have to deal with the consequences. That gives the series a different angle from the usual “transported to another world and become overpowered” formula.

The quality-assurance idea is the hook. Testing, glitches, and unfinished systems become part of the fantasy rather than just a joke for people who play games. If you enjoy stories where the rules of the world matter and the characters have to work around those rules, this is a distinctive option for your watchlist.

Try it if: you want an isekai with a technical concept at its centre. It has a different tone from the warmth of Natsume or the polished emotional storytelling of Frieren, so I would treat it as a change of pace.

Which one should you watch first?

My final pick

If I were recommending just one to someone who is unsure where to begin, I would choose Spy x Family for its easy mix of comedy, action, and warmth. If the person wanted something slower and more reflective, I would point them toward Frieren or Natsume’s Book of Friends. For a completely different kind of evening, the other two can fill the comedy or fantasy niche.

The best thing about having different favourites is that there is no need to force every show into the same category. Sometimes I want a story that comforts me; sometimes I want to laugh at something ridiculous; sometimes I want a fantasy that stays in my mind after the episode ends.