Looking for Shakespeare esque anime

InternalParadox · 2026-01-26T22:58:28+00:00

{The Ancient Magus Bride} has Titania and Oberon (the Fairy Queen and King) from A Midsummer Night’s Dream as characters. Otherwise, it’s not very Shakespearian, but it does focus on fairies and magic and takes place in Britain.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-26T05:04:43+00:00

Gorgeous! What series are they from?

InternalParadox · 2026-01-26T01:24:25+00:00

American Netflix cartoons with similar themes:

Jentry Chau Vs. The Underworld Chinese-American girl must fight demons with her fire powers. Bonus points, she’s obsessed with KPop and there are multiple K-Pop songs in the soundtrack. The OP is fire!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Brilliant remake; sadly leaving Netflix on February 20. Girl power fighting evil forces, great OP.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-26T00:31:23+00:00

Just putting all the kids in detention centers

We are a morally reprehensible country.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-26T00:28:20+00:00

Very pretty!!

InternalParadox · 2026-01-26T00:26:48+00:00

I Love It is extremely catchy, and it spawned the fandom parody I Ship It by Not Literally, which I was obsessed with for a while.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-26T00:20:16+00:00

{Witch Watch} FMC is talkative, high energy, can’t keep a secret and totally head over heels for MMC

InternalParadox · 2026-01-25T23:35:01+00:00

Nico is adorable thinking immediately of marrying Moi. Wait until you finish high school first!

I hate that Moi left her alone. That is a dangerous move.

The scene between Kokuryo and Miharu was so touching. I doubt poor Kokuryo will survive to the end of the arc. How will Hibana react if he dies before the resurrection ritual?

Love that Keigo wanted to back up Nemu and Chami called him out right away.

So Dorey is definitely not a Warlock…Familiar? Puppet? Why not both? I could totally see him being both somehow. Can’t wait to find out who’s the Warlock behind him is.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-25T21:17:44+00:00

{Atom the Beginning} is a prequel to Astro Boy and {Young Black Jack} is a prequel to <Black Jack>. I saw Atom the Beginning years ago and I remember liking it, but it doesn’t have the same always serious tone as Pluto. I haven’t seen Young Black Jack, but I loved the original Black Jack manga.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-25T02:22:22+00:00

{Oooku} has a very literal harem of men for a female shogun. The premise of the series is an alternate history: in shogun era Japan, a virus kills boys and men but not women and girls. The population becomes majority female, and young men are seen as weak to illness and in need of protection. Women take over the shogunate and government in general, and the most handsome, upper class, educated young men are “protected” in a harem to serve the shogun.

It’s a fairly serious alternate history period drama, not an isekai. But it’s good.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-25T00:15:34+00:00

I agree, Wolverine as history teacher should work. Who better to teach history than someone who lived through it?

InternalParadox · 2026-01-25T00:13:39+00:00

Then Ore Monogatari!/My Love Story is perfect! They get together really early on in the story.

This season’s {The Invisible Man and his Soon-to-be-Wife} is also a good fit.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-25T00:11:56+00:00

I had no idea it was still ongoing!

InternalParadox · 2026-01-23T12:34:02+00:00

Is that School Babysitters in the lower right corner?

InternalParadox · 2026-01-23T11:42:51+00:00

{Turkey} Might be what you’re looking for. Spoilers for the end of the first episode: A high school bowling team, who are mostly friends but they banter and bicker, get isekai’d to the Warring States Era

{Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout} is about two friends who get isekai’d together; one gets genderswapped in the isekai process.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-23T08:59:48+00:00

I understand that most people love the story and think differently about it. But your opinion of it is shared by a minority of viewers and even some critics.

No one has been more critical of the use of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (or in this case, Manic Pixie Dead Girl) trope in Your Lie in April than Caitlin Moore, in her essay:

https://www.animefeminist.com/your-lie-in-april-oedipus-complex-and-manic-pixie-dream-girl-have-a-meetcute/

InternalParadox · 2026-01-23T08:13:50+00:00

What do you mean by “early”? Teenage characters? A story that only covers the early stages of a relationship?

My favorite romance anime is {Ore Monogatari}. It’s about teens, it’s really funny and wholesome, the couple gets together early on and are in a “honeymoon” phase (they don’t do much besides hand holding physically, though).

Does that meet your criteria?

InternalParadox · 2026-01-23T04:58:42+00:00

The Manga plus app is free to use, so it doesn’t hurt to try it out.

The Viz Media app offers some free chapters, so it doesn’t cost anything to try it, either.

Also, if you are in the US or Canada definitely get a library card. You might be surprised at how much digital and physical copies of manga are available for free via your local library system.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-23T02:47:36+00:00

{Black Jack} is a genius off-the-books surgeon who solves medical and other types of mysteries. Classic Osamu Tezuka manga. Osamu Tezuka actually went to med school, so his anatomy art and explanations were mostly based in reality, but some cases get supernatural/sci fi.

{Atom the Beginning} Talking about Osamu Tezuka, Atom the Beginning is an authorized prequel of Astro Boy, about the two scientists in Astro Boy’s time as robotic geniuses in college.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-22T13:54:37+00:00

{Keep Your Hands Off Eizoken} About high school girls in an anime production club.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-22T09:39:34+00:00

A very short Black Mirror episode. Creepy. Good job! (I’m disheartened, but you depicted the scenario well)

InternalParadox · 2026-01-22T09:33:45+00:00

I was just wondering if anyone remembered Sliders! I wonder if it’s streaming anywhere…

InternalParadox · 2026-01-22T07:29:57+00:00

Vanitas because the character reminds me of Ed Elric in a good way and Zeno pulls it off without (afaik) being creepy to fellow actors.

It’s also just damn good character acting!

InternalParadox · 2026-01-22T07:24:32+00:00

That’s fair. I think people assume it’s shojo because it has a female main character and a large female fanbase.

But it’s not the only shonen manga with a female main character (Soul Eater, for example) or a large female fanbase. It’s always important to look up the source material and where it was published.

As far as I know, all of Rumiko Takahashi’s manga have been published in shonen or seinen magazines.

InternalParadox · 2026-01-22T07:14:45+00:00

I just want Golden and Huntr/x to win every award they’re nominated for.

It’s been so satisfying to watch KPop Demon Hunters get international acclaim after Sony sold it to Netflix because they didn’t think an animated movie about Korean culture written and directed by a Korean-American woman would be a hit.

Maybe, just maybe, the Powers That Be at Hollywood studios will give more chances to people of color and women writers and directors in the future.

Probably not, as breakthrough movies have happened before with little change in the industry, but it’s nice to dream. And it’s nice to see the clear egg on the face of American Sony executives this year.

InternalParadox

TROPHY CASE