Stellar military piece with fascinating philosophical aspects. Makes you inspect your stance on national policy, patriotism, war, social Darwinism, and capitalism.
Saga of Tanya the Evil (Youjo Senki)
Sword Art Online (Season 1)
A fantastically immersive love-letter to MMORPGs backed with strong emotion that makes a great Gateway Anime. Then it goes sideways for the second arc before picking up the pieces for its second season.
KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!
The pinnacle of well executed and clever stupid comedy. Strongly channels the vibe of if a group of stupid friends got together to play D&D, and one of those idiots is the DM.
.hack//SIGN
While it is perhaps the seminal "trapped in a game" isekai, the pacing of this was so painfully slow. While the soundtrack is a masterpiece by Yuki Kajiura, it's used so awkwardly and repetitively that it doesn't do it justice. Skip this one.
