Looking for positive/hopeful anime series

[Leg End]

When I say binge watching I mean 5~15ish episodes per one sitting. So usually it wouldn't even take a week.

We did around 4-5 each sitting when time allowed, or more for the S2 finale.

Kaiji made me stop about every 3 episodes.

...Well damn.

 

[Kyle Winston]

Ushio to Tora is a recent anime at 39 episodes. It is a shounen whose strength lies in it's cast.

 

[wulfy42]

How about RWBY? I just watched it recently and like the series over all. It's also free/easy to watch (think the first 2 seasons are on netflix and the 3rd on the main site (or you could watch them all on the main site). Tri-Gun isn't bad either (has some good humor here and there). I think there is like 12...episodes of RWBY per season and 3 seasons so far....so thats not a ton, but it'll be a good weekend of watching for you probably.

I'm guessing you already watched most of the big well known ones like Sword Art Online etc....not sure if RWBY is well known or not but it was something I just found recently.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Fuck it. It's only two short OVAs, with a combined running time of about 75 minutes, but Little Witch Academia is too damn good to not recommend here. No anime outside of Studio Ghibli films has filled me with such warmth and joy. Really cute without being cutesy and uplifting and joyful without feeling forced or annoying, it's perfect for injecting some energetic fun into your day.

Also I have no idea how good it is, but I watched an anime called Pita-Ten as a kid with my friend who introduced me to anime. It's about a grade school kid who has an angel move in as his next door neighbor. I remember it being quite cutesy and upbeat, with occasional tugs on the heartstrings, but it definitely fits into your parameters.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Fuck it. It's only two short OVAs, with a combined running time of about 75 minutes, but Little Witch Academia is too damn good to not recommend here. No anime outside of Studio Ghibli films has filled me with such warmth and joy. Really cute without being cutesy and uplifting and joyful without feeling forced or annoying, it's perfect for injecting some energetic fun into your day.

snip

They're turning it into a full series, I can't wait.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Oh yes, if you like the style and don't mind the age, Ranma 1/2 is sort of the prototypical hyper-positive anime. Nothing really bad ever happens to anyone, that isn't "Hey we all love each other too much!". (But it is VERY much longer than 50 eps)

I second Ranma, it really is a just a fun lighthearted anime and is hilarious at that. Don't expect much in the way of character development or plot, though, it's not that kind of show. It's just a lot of fun and you should watch it!

Also, I'd recommend Dr. Slump as a fun anime with no deep thoughts or bad feelings, but there hasn't ever been an official translation and fan subs only go to around episode 30 >_>

 

[FPLOON]

Based on my DVD/Blu-Ray collection, I'd say the English dub of Shin Chan and Excel Saga...

Other than that, I'd also say IGPX as a whole... because sometimes, you need to be reminded that there really is no "I" in team...

 

[ManutheBloodedge]

Hmmmm... "Kenichi the mightiest Diciple" may be what you are looking for. Around 50 episodes, and a good mix of humor and action. Basic story is about a bullied kid who starts training under almost superhuman martial arts masters and has to fight off a whole organisation of punks. It has a bit of romance, the fights are realistic for anime standards (most of the time) and the humor is on point, if a bit simple at times. The animation is a bit crap, and there is one tragic backstory where a child dies if i remember correctly, but other than that it is perfect if you look for feel-good with a lot of action as well.

 

[Roguebubble]

Here's some more sport anime recommendation. I know it's not a popular genre but you should give it a go if you want positive anime.

Anyway Haikyuu is an excellent sports anime about volleyball. Hard work and intense passion of a likable casts, both the protagonists and their opponents, creates tense games that'll leave on the edge of your seat. Even when the main guys lose they learn from defeat and constantly look to improve themselves. It's an awesome anime that'll get you really pumped

Chihayafuru I would also recommend as being the show sort of half way between Ore Monogatari and Haikyuu although the sport for this anime is Karuta which is a poetry card game that you need to see to understand but pulls you in and is surprisingly intense.

Those are two I can recommend having watch them although I've good things regarding Slam Dunk, Kuroko no Basket, Diamond no Ace, Prince of Tennis and One Outs if you want to watch a sport your more familiar with.

If you don't want sport then I'll second TTGL, Azumanga Daioh, Boku no Hero Academia, Nichijou, Little Witch Academia and Ushio to Tora.
I also recommend Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (parody of romance anime), Usagi Drop (so sweet it'll give you diabetes), The Devil is a Part-timer (another excellent comedy), Hibike! Euphonium (beautiful school band anime), Yamato 2199 (space anime that's like the cross between Battlestar Galatica, Star Trek and Mass Effect but is ultimately optimistic) and Shirobako (an anime about making anime).

 

[chysamere]

I want to watch new, relatively short (25-50 episodes) anime series.

I am willing to give a try to any genre, be it sci-fi, slice of life, whatever.

I only ask you to NOT recommend series where humanity is evil/ humanity doesn't deserve to live/evil wins, etc. I mean, I like Berserk, but right now I want something different.

Basically, I want a story where main character/characters are good people and they get a good ending. Or something like that.

For example, Ore Monogatari was a cute and funny series that I liked for just how lovey-dovey main characters are.

Trigun I think counts as relatively positive series too. I mean, yes, one of the more important good guys dies, but overall this series is filled with positivety, about good guys winning, about how being a good person is ultimately rewarding, etc.

Thank you very much for your recommendations.

I live in Japan and I spend a /lot/ of time watching anime, and I have to tell you, most of the recommendations in this thread you should avoid. People are just throwing out their favourite anime and not paying much attention to what you are looking for.

I have a few recommendations on what I call "feel good" anime. Whenever I watch these anime, I feel relaxed, they relieve stress, and I think that's what you are looking for. They are all recent anime too, which is a plus in my opinion.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime (2015, 2016)(Snow White with the Red Hair)is a beautiful romance/adventure anime with two seasons about a girl with rare red hair who is just trying to find her place in the world. I don't want to spoil it too much for you, but I came away from every episode grinning.

Flying Witch (2016) from last season is a story about a witch living in a local community. Nothing happens in this anime. There's no real plot. It's just the daily life of a modern witch living in rural Japan. Very relaxing and peaceful.

ReLIFE (2016) is a story about a guy who is given a pill to go back to his 17 year old self and re-do high school for one year. Very wish-fulfillment based and full of painful embarrassing misunderstandings which are swiftly cleared up and all the people in the show are genuinely likeable.

REC is quite an old anime (2006), short, based on two normal people. One has their house burn down, and they move in together and discover more about each other.

There's plenty more feel good anime out there, but these are the ones that sprung to mind. Hope you find what you are looking for!

 

[BrawlMan]

Space Dandy, it's about a dandy guy, in space. Space Dandy is one the best anime comedies to come out in a long time and is made by the same guy who did Cowboy Bebop. This anime is filled with surprisingly great moments of heartwarming and tear jerking scenes. If you can do all of that well in a comedy, then you know you're doing. The show is only 26 episodes, so you will be fine. Enjoy the show.

 

[Fox12]

This is all based on hearsay, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Toradora I've heard good things about. It seems really positive, since it's slice of life and a romcom.

MY love STORY has some pretty decent early episodes and, from I've seen, it's pretty cheerful as well.

Monster Musume literally revolves around the main character being good and good things happening to him. At least, everyone I've talked to says that they want to be in his position. That's all up to you.

I was going to reccomend these. Toradora is probably the single funniest anime I've ever seen. It actually reminds me a lot of haruhi, only better. It also has one of my favorite anime casts. Toradora is also one of the few good things to come out of this whole slice of life high school rut that anime is in. It can't reccomend it enough.

 

[DoPo]

One Outs if you want to watch a sport your more familiar with.

Ooh, I loved that. I think it's a solid recommendation for OP. In short, it's about a gambler who goes into professional baseball and then wins by outwitting his opponents. It sounds boring but it was rather awesome. And I don't even know anything about baseball aside from what I've seen in movies from the USA. It's not really about the game itself, but about how Tokuchi single-handedly exploits everything and everyone in order to make his team win.

I only ask you to NOT recommend series where humanity is evil/ humanity doesn't deserve to live/evil wins, etc.

I can also recommend FLCL. I can only tell you it satisfies that criteria. I can't really tell you what the fuck was going on, though. And no, that's not due to spoilers. Somewhere there was a quote about the show and I agree with it

If you wish to understand Fooly Cooly, watch the series from beginning to end. The desire will pass.

It's still fun to watch.

 

[The Philistine]

I'll second Flying Witch. It's a big warm fuzzy blanket of a slice-of-life show, where everyone is mellow and likable. Just don't plan on binge watching it, it's so relaxing I nearly passed out after watching two episodes in a row.

From the current season, the first impressions of Sweetness and Lightning looks positively adorable. A widower high-school teacher learning to cook for his kindergarten age daughter. With lots of love and support thrown all over the place in the first episode. Something to keep an eye on if you're looking for warm-fuzzy shows.

Not sure if I'd recommend Toradora as a strictly positive anime. Yes, the characters turn out alright in the end, but they wade through alot of drama bombs and childhood issues to get there. Kind of like Your Lie in April, great show, but they'll both take you through alot of emotional ups and downs.

 

[PapaGreg096]

There a little sour moments here in there but its a pretty great "feel good" anime about Ping Pong, its your standard sports anime of hard work vs natural talent but its 11 episodes and its worth your time.

 

[KenAri]

Lucky Star was one I'd always turn to when I needed something joyous and light-hearted. Cracks the care-free humour without resorting to outward silliness.

Or then there's the anime adaption of Arashi No Yoru Ni, which literally made me cry with its optimism. But that one is much more of a commitment; the episode quality isn't amazing, and it plays a lot like a children's cartoon for everything but the opening and ending.

 

[Bobular]

To mess with the question a bit I put forward 'Humanity has declined'.

Yeah its post apocalyptic, yeah humanity doesn't deserve to live (mostly because they are stupid) but humanity are dying out and being replaced with:

Spoiler

Fairies!

Who are attracted to sweets and happy things and fun seems to be what makes them multiply.

 

[Oinodaemon]

Space Dandy! Cause it's the dandy way to live, baby!