The best anime to watch when you're sad

Are you existentially exhausted? Does this almost never-ending winter saddle you? Has a medical professional told you your anime is dangerously low? If so, don't worry, they're the best anime guaranteed to turn your frown upside-down.

On today's Explainiac, we'll showcase anime to water your crops, clear your head, and cure your depression. Ok, maybe not all these things, but they're the best feel-good anime you can enjoy. If your favorite feel-good anime is not on this list, yes, it's a personal attack, and I'm sorry you've come this way.

A Place Further Than the Universe

If the cold weather gets you down, just watch this fun anime about a group of high school girls to join an Antarctic expedition. This relentlessly upbeat show has its fair share of emotional moments, but the other side will always feel better and packed with a sense of adventure to boot. So make a nice mug of hot chocolate and settle in for the best series most people slept on.

Haikyuu

If you've heard me talk about anime before, you know I'm a sucker for any sport / competition show. There's just something about how anime treats intense sporting moments–complete with lengthy inner monologs as the game progresses in bullet time–that totally kicks ass and puts me in great mood, and that's double for Haikyuu's volleyball play. "But Dan, a volleyball anime sounds stupid," you might say. Yeah, you're wrong. Seeing Shoyo Hinata and his teammates facing crushing defeats, personal rivalries, and unforeseen obstacles is a good, extremely bingeable treat. That's how I feel about Extra Toasty Cheez-Its, minus the healthy part.

K-On!

Have you ever formed a band with your younger friends? Didn't you know how to play your instrument, but didn't stop you anyway? So K-On's in good company!That's Yui's story, a carefree high school student who joins the music club of her school despite having absolutely zero experience. Sometimes the music can take a backseat to the shenanigans of Yui and her friends, but this slice of life story is a great way to change the world for a while, and watch as they strive to make their own songs. If your inner band geek yearns for a more 1:1 comparison, you should watch Music! Then, euphonium.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

If you're having a bad day, just sit on your sofa, put on an episode of Jojo's Insane Adventure — any episode really — and laugh your entire ass as the muscle-bound mayhem unfolds before your very eyes. Whether you're trying to decipher his nonsensical musical references like Robert E.O. Speedwagon, losing your mind about the non-Euclidean geometry behind their signature poses, or cackling gleefully because you're expecting something else, but it's been Dio all along, Jojo's Bizzare Adventure is a guaranteed serotonin shot.

Usagi Drop

How many times has this happened? Have you ever been a 30-year-old man with no direction in life who suddenly discovered that your grandfather had another hidden daughter? You might be Daikichi Kawachi, Drop's star. When nobody in Daikichi's family wants to take care of Rin, the aforementioned hidden daughter, Daikichi takes it upon himself to become Dadkichi. What follows is a truly heart-warming tale of an unlikely family that perfectly captures all the little moments in life in a way that will make you feel warm and fluffy inside.

Yakitate Japan

If Food Wars is too horny for you, then the doctor ordered Yakitate Japan. It's all about an aspiring young baker named Azuma with unnaturally hot hands. Again, it's not sex. It's some weird prophesied thing called "Sun's hands." Since anime. Anyway, Azuma brings "let's get the bread" to another level. He's had a lifelong bread obsession and his vision is to create a unique Japanese bread that can stand up to the world's iconic breads. So, if you love carbs as much as I do, this delightfully stupid culinary comedy is a crust-see.

Barakamon

Sure, guys, calligraphy anime! There's an anime for everything. In this scenario, Seishuu Handa's story follows, an arrogant, narcissistic young calligrapher who loses his temper so badly that his dad sends him to the countryside to cool off and analyze his conduct. This slow-paced story of a young man coming to terms with himself and community simple joys is a breath of fresh air in a medium that can so often be frenetic, fast-paced, and frenzied. The expert heart-humor balance makes this show about the unlikeliest subjects a surefire way to put a smile on your face.

Aria: The Animation

When the moon hits the eye like a pizza pie, it's anime. I'm sorry some Italian watching literally. Aria happens in the far-flung future of the 24th century, when humanity colonized Mars, now known as Aqua. Set in the city of Neo Venezia, Venice's recreation, Aria tells the story of a group of young women employed as gondola tour guides because, as I said, this takes place in Venice's recreation and they're really dedicated to it. Anyway, if I had to describe this series in a phrase, it would be "peaceful." Watching this legally counts as a practice of mindfulness because its calm pace and the soothing way it unfolds is the best way to relax after a stressful day.

Nichijou (My Ordinary Life)

What's missing most slice-of-life anime? If you said "robotic caretakers" and "talking animals," I have good news for you: Nichijou has all those and more. This slapstick comedy series holds the Azumanga Daioh torch with its lighthearted, dumb storytelling that follows a group of people in Tokisadame's daily life. Relentlessly charming and amusing, Nichijou's madcap sensibility will banish the blues to another level.

Silver Spoon

Imagine if someone could turn the sudden zen of farming games like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon into an anime. That's what Silver Spoon does. Follow-up show of Fullmetal Alchemist author Hiromu Arakawa is pure bliss. It's the story of a studious city-slicker who wants to enroll in a farm school, anticipating a lighter academic workload. But in the countryside, he gets more than he has bargained for and knows the value of hard work, natural life, coping with uncertainty about one's future. Coming out of water comedy for the fish, but stay for insightful life lessons and this cute pig named Pork-Bowl.

And you've got it, folks: some of the best feel-good anime you can put in your eyeballs so you can cheer up and carpe the diem's ever-loving hell. What's your favorite? What's on your list? Let me know in the remarks below.

Remember — it can't explain everything in life. It's this series for everything else.