I absolutely adore the sunlight in Frieren and its medieval-inspired fantasy color palette, so I’m eager to experience something like that again. Are there any other anime with beautiful artwork that could move me? (Since I’m using DeepL, the English might sound unnatural…)
I really enjoyed Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.
It’s similar in emotional tone to Frieren; there is a long-lived person who is remembering those she lost while finding small joys in the present.
I’ve only read the manga but the stills I’ve seen of the anime do match my expectations.
Judging by the vibe of the scooters and such, it’s got a retro and stylish feel! I hadn’t considered older works, but it seems like there are still plenty of great ones out there. Thanks!
A lot of the plot takes place underground, but Dungeon Meshi certainly has that same medieval vibe. And the indoor setting is used to great effect for both cozy and claustrophopic moments.
It does feature some more colorful locations, because the magic of the Dungeon can make some levels feel like the surface.
Too much more than that would spoil some things.
See if you like the vibe of the first opening. It features several locations (with the charachters as giants in them).
I thought it would be a dark anime since it’s set in a dungeon. But after watching the opening, there were bright outdoor scenes too, so it was closer to what I imagined! Thanks!
At times it is. The story has both bright and dark parts, both visually and tonally.
It depends on the level they are on, and there is also a kind of B plot that happens above ground.
That really piqued my interest! I’ll check it out on Netflix.
If you like it, you can join us over on !dungeonmeshi@ani.social.
If you’re like me, you might enjoy reading the comment threads for each episode as you watch them. Each episode got a good bit of discussion when they aired.
I also posted a bunch of extras pages from the manga that didn’t get an equivalent in the anime. You can find these by searching “Monster Tidbits”.
Thank you so much for your kind invitation! That sounds really interesting—I’d love to join! (Everyone’s illustrations are so cute!)
Many good recommendations here already.
I can also list some that have some good scenes:
- appocalypse hotel specifically episode 11
- most Makoto Shinkai works are very pretty i.e. Suzume no Tojimari
- people have already called out Kyoto Animation studios and they consistently deliver some of the most visually captivating shows
- I’ll also call out Soushimin series it’s more understated than Hyouka and Frieren but something about it is always pleasant. The aspect ratio contributes a lot.
- Chainsaw man, Reze movie specifically. The fireworks. The pool. The explosions. Much more cinematic than Frieren’s fantasy pallette but the color work is perfection.
You’re a genius! I just watched the preview for Episode 11 of Apocalypse Hotel, and this is exactly my thing! It’s not really related to the whole “light” discussion anymore, but I absolutely love that slightly chic, decayed city vibe—like in Tarkov or NieR: Automata. But there just aren’t many beautiful works set in places like that, you know? That’s what I’d been thinking! And about the light—man, it’s perfect. The scene where the sun is tilted in the evening sky, casting warm autumn-like light on the brownish trees, and the scene where someone is looking up at moonlight filtering through the branches—both are absolutely amazing! Some other people have mentioned syoushimin too, and I thought that sounded good as well. Hyouka looks promising too. I saw some images for Chainsaw Man, and it looks beautiful! It’s super popular in Japan too, so I knew the name but hadn’t watched it. I wonder if I could enjoy it even if I just watched the movie first? Either way, I think the Apocalypse Hotel is the best! Thanks!
I never imagined so many people would recommend such amazing anime to me—thank you so much! I’m Japanese and not very good at English, so I’m using DeepL here. Please excuse any unnatural English that might result.
大丈夫だよ
皆さん本当に優しくて助かってます！（Everyone is so kind and helpful!）
日本語は得意じゃないけど、ちょっと分かるから頑張ってみようと思います。
なるほど、DeepLでしたね。いまさっきRemedultさんの他のコメントを読んでいるうちに、これはAIかなと思っていました。
もう一つのアニメをすすめたいけど、「京騒戯画」と呼ばれています。どれよりも僕の気に入ったアニメなんで何回みても、色がめっちゃすぶらしい〜！と思えざるをえないんです。全くフリーレンと違っているけど、ほんの少しでもお気になったらぜひ見てください。
Your Japanese is amazing! I looked up 京騒戯画—it’s an anime with distinctive colors and artwork. Sounds interesting, I’ll give it a watch! おかしな英語でごめんなさい、僕のために日本語で教えてくれてありがとうございます！
Little Witch Academia immediately comes to mind when I hear the word colorful.
This artwork is adorable, colorful, and sophisticated! Thanks for telling me!
Ruri Rocks.
Second Ruri Rocks, it’s amazing. Also you’ll learn a bunch!
I’ve actually seen this a few times at bookstores. The background art is truly beautiful!
Ruri Rocks… rocks.
Watch out for Made In Abyss. It starts off really cheery and gets super fuckin dark. I couldn’t make it past the first season.
Ah, I figured. I’ve heard about it a lot since it’s famous in Japan too, but I hesitated because I thought it might be scary if it was a grotesque story. But I guess I’m still curious.
to say it’s absolutely amazing! And I’d totally written off Abyss as just another dark anime set in the depths—turns out I was wrong. As for Miyazaki’s work, I’ve seen plenty of Ghibli films, so I get it—his handling of light is incredible, like I felt watching Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. I didn’t know he made anime too, but I’ll check them out. Thanks!
Future Boy Conan is from my favorite era of Miyazaki’s work. You’ll see ideas that he would later use in Lupin III: Cagliostro’s Castle and Nausicaa
Anything by director Naoko Yamada is amazing.
Apothecary Diaries has gorgeous looking moments too.
I watched the first season of this anime! This artist’s work really does have an amazing art style. Thanks!
None of these are the same genre, but for “beautiful depictions of light and color” I don’t think KyoAni can be beat, first one of theirs that comes to mind is Hibike Euphonium. Violet Evergarden would probably be the closest to Frieren.
Some off the top of my head other than KyoAni: Shoshimin Series, Yofukashi no Uta. These are decidedly darker color palettes though.
This one is “muddier”, but if you like Frieren, maybe Mushishi is worth a shot.
Violet Evergarden was the first thing that came to my mind, but I don’t have a strong enough recollection of the art detail to recommend it on my own. I’m glad someone with a better memory was able to give it its due.
Hibike Euphonium. Violet Evergarden
I can second both of these.
I didn’t recommend them earlier because I remember them best not for beautiful scenery, but for peak animation and story. However, I won’t be surprised if they are extremely good-looking when it comes to background art too.
Thanks so much for telling me all about it! From what little I’ve seen, Violet Evergarden looks absolutely beautiful. I actually picked up Mushishi at a bookstore once, but since I didn’t know what it was about, I ended up passing on it. It definitely is an anime that piques my interest!
I can really recommend よふかしのうた (Yofukashi no Uta), the night sky in that anime is striking.
I’d been curious about it because the artwork was so lovely. Thank you!
I wasn’t a huge fan of the story, but Garden of Words is worth watching just for the scenery art.
Shinkai’s work is truly beautiful! Thank you!
Completely different Genre, but Dusk Maiden of Amnesia has beautiful artwork and a very moving story
The lighting is great, of course, but the way the shadows are drawn is what really makes this piece stand out. The shading is unique and really cool. Thanks!
Grimgar of fantasy and ash
Thank you. This looks like a watercolor painting, and the light is beautiful too!
I really wish another season will be made, such a refreshing and mature take on isekai.
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Kimi No Na Wa
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Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso
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Mahoutsukai No Yome
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Sora Yori Mo Tooi Basho
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Tanaka-kun Wa Itsumo Kedaruge
Igirisu kara konnichiwa!
Thanks for taking the trouble to introduce five of them in Japanese! The lighting effects in Mahoutsukai No Yome (The Ancient Magus’ Bride) are hard to put into words, but they’re close to what I imagined and really great. Also, personally, I was really drawn to the atmosphere of Tanaka-kun Wa Itsumo Kedaruge (Tanaka-kun Is Always Listless). I’ll definitely watch it! ありがとうございます！（Arigatou gozaimasu!）
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Houseki no Kuni. It’s the best 3D I’ve seen in an anime and each character is colourful and light is done super well too, give it a chance and watch one episode!
I read the comic, where does the anime end in relation to the comic? 12 chapters for a 100+ story seems short.
I only read the manga but the anime covers just a tiny bit of the story, then the studio moved on to make Beastar which was a huge success so no S2
What a vivid and beautiful anime world! I’ve heard the story gets a bit heavy, so I’m hesitant, but I think I’ll give it a try! Thanks!
It does get sad, but you did ask for anime that could move you haha
Also, the anime never got a S2 and S1 is only a small part of the story, just a headsup. Looks amazing tho, just watch the OP, its one of the GOATs.
Even if it’s a sad story, my inner self says this stylish design is worth checking out lol. Thanks!
Hell yeah, let me know what you think!
Violet Evergarden.
It is absolutely lovely both in terms of animation and story.
After looking into it, I found out the theme is love and emotions, which made me even more interested!
