Usagi-tei

Comedy travels badly across languages, so here are ten anime that actually land — picked by a fan in Japan, with current US streaming info for each.

Ten Japanese war films and anime picked by a fan in Japan: Hiroshima five years on, a private starving in the Philippines, a home front held together by one mother, and a galactic war about political philosophy. Honest reasons and US streaming info.

Ten violent Japanese films and anime picked by a fan in Japan: Kitano's flat, sudden cruelty, Miike at his most confrontational, a class ordered to kill each other, and a boy who can see what he is inheriting. Honest reasons and US streaming info.

Ten Japanese stories built to flatten you, picked by a fan in Japan, from Grave of the Fireflies to Takopi's Original Sin. Content warnings included, plus current US streaming info.

Fifteen Japanese true-story films, series and documentaries picked by a fan in Japan: Kore-eda's Nobody Knows, Miyazaki's only biopic, the Fukushima plant workers, the sarin attack, and the radical left eating itself. Honest reasons and US streaming for each.

Ten Japanese stories that refuse to settle, picked by a fan in Japan: Death Note, Monster, PLUTO, Tokyo Story, Rashomon and more, with current US streaming info for each.

Ten Japanese stories built around the release, picked by a fan in Japan, from Shin Godzilla to Rurouni Kenshin. Why the setup matters more than the payoff, with current US streaming info.

Ten sports anime picked by a fan in Japan for what they get right about the body doing the work, from Haikyu!! to Ping Pong, plus a sumo drama and a 1964 documentary. With US streaming info.

Ten Japanese stories that pull the floor out, picked by a fan in Japan. No spoilers, just where the turn happens and how far in. From Odd Taxi to Madoka Magica, with US streaming info.

Ten Japanese science fiction picks from a fan in Japan: Steins;Gate, Akira, PLUTO, Shin Godzilla and more. Why Japanese SF is about the morning after, plus current US streaming info.