Freezing
Koibana Onsen
Rosario Vampire Season II
Good Ending
The World God Only Knows
Orange Marmalade
L-DK
Mahou Shoujo Kazumi Magica – The Innocent Malice
Minamoto-kun Monogatari
The Breaker: New Waves
To LOVE-RU Darkness
Higanjima
Nyotai-Ka
Code Breaker
Velvet Kiss
School Shock
Sora no Otoshimono
Freaks Squeele
Mysterious Girlfriend X
Deadman Wonderland
Cage Of Eden
Kimiiro Focus
Akuma to Love Song
Onidere
Zetman
Haganai
Sun-Ken Rock
Initial D
Amagami Precious Diary Kaoru
Another
Black Rock Shooter: Innocent Soul
Wrestle The Under Ground
B Gata H Kei
Idol Pretender
This Older Woman is a Fiction!?
Sword Art Online
Unbalance X Unbalance
A Fairy For The Demon Lord
Re:Birth – The Lunatic Taker
Mirai Nikki
Accel World
Defense Devil
The Breaker
Midnight Secretary
Darling wa Namamono ni Tsuki
Wolf Guy Ookami no Monshou

If you’re new to anime you must know how to identify a show based on genres,themes and style/types as they tell you what is in the show but in order to do that you have to understand the genres and sub-genres in anime, the themes in anime and lastly the types(shounen.seinen,josei and shoujo) of anime. Those three elements on the surface tell you what genres/sub-genres the series have what themes that the anime has and what kind of audience the anime is targeting. On a deeper level these elements tell you what the series is expected to be. I will give you an example:

Another
Genres: Horror,Mystery & Psychological
Themes: Death & School Life
Anime Type/Style: Seinen

On The Surface: Another is an anime that mixes horror,mystery and psychological genres with the concept of death and the experience of life at school with the intent of drawing in male teenagers and young adult males(even adult males with its dark tone).

What is Expected:The sense of fear,horror,terror and/or dread,mysteries to be solved and secrets to be revealed. A dark tone set with the animation, the music soundtrack,the way the characters act and the way the plot is laid out. All of this should be done in a way that challenges the viewers psyche.

I got the gist of what Another is about without watching the series or reading any summary and I have only seen one episode since it aired. The key thing to know is that anime tends to blend several genres with the themes and can vary depending if it is a Seinen,Josei,Shounen or Shoujo anime. Once you figure that out then you should understand what your about to watch.

Action: A very common genre in anime whose name explains itself. Anime with only Action lacks a underlying plot,character and plot development so other elements from other genres/themes are implemented to create a more complete series commonly used pairings are Action-Comedy,Action-Adventure and Action-Fantasy.

Adventure: Another commonly used genre in anime. This genre is also self explanatory as all works in the Adventure genre have traveling characters,exploration and characters with solid backgrounds. Anime in this genre usually have well formed storylines but because Adventures are slow paced it is often paired with other genres/themes to keep viewers tuned in. Almost all genres/themes can seamlessly be integrated into an Adventure anime(due to the limitless storytelling potential) the most common are Action(faster pace to balance the slow moving plot),Historical(one great storytelling genre complementing another) Drama(suspense,emotion and adds more dimension to the story) and Slice Of Life(for a sense of realism).

Bishounen: It is a sub-genre/theme basically describing anime with young male characters whose beauty exceeds gender(androgynous). It is exclusively in Shoujo and Josei anime and may contain a sense of homosexuality. It is also commonly found in slice of life anime in the Shoujo demographic.

Comedy: A common genre in anime that is almost never used on its own as it can easily be overdone. Action-Comedy,Romantic-Comedy and recently Slice Of Life-Comedy are common pairings.

Demons: An sub-genre in anime mostly used in action and adventure anime. It is related to the Supernatural genre as it has some of the same elements but demons(all that relates to demons) are the focal point.

Drama:The fourth of the five most common genres(action,comedy,romance and adventure are the others) in anime with good reason. Dramas have plenty of suspense,well developed plot and characters(in good anime). Romance and Adventure are commonly paired with Drama with some exceptions.

Ecchi- A theme use in anime that targets males. It is mostly frivolous sexual innuendo and nudity and is generally used as fan service and nothing else. Used in most comedy and harem anime. I will also note that it is a fine line between ecchi and hentai add unedited X rated sex( ecchi has edited sex like an R rated film though only a few have sex in it), get rid of the storylines and you have hentai.

Fantasy- A popular genre where magic and monsters reign supreme. Fantasy anime have great character detail,great artwork and unique scenery. Despite the aforementioned things it severely lacks character background on its own so Mythology and folklore(from all over the world) are frequently used to create a backstory for the characters and as a template for the scenery. Adventure,Harem and Romance are often paired with this genre to add more depth to Fantasy anime. Science Fiction is also paired with this genre.

Game- It is a theme/sub-genre that can be use a focal point of a series(Pokemon,Bakugan) as the name suggest the characters play a game either involving cards or monsters. Since a game is the only element involved it has to be paired with a complete genre mostly Adventure and the mind bending Psychological genre.

Harem- Not a real genre(but it is in anime) more like a scenario or plot element(basically a theme) with a male or female lead is surrounded by several love interests sometimes living with them making it a template for the plot of an anime. Since this “genre” contains some elements of romance and comedy it is almost exclusively paired with those two genres in four of the five demographics with either more comedy or more romance. Please understand that some anime have an “Unwanted Harem” aspect to it but are not actually an harem as these shows have one love interest the other females are obstacles.

Historical- A genre which takes place in a particular time period where the characters are modeled after well known figures in history. It is often paired with a genre that best fits the time period’s story. The common combination is an Historical anime(Edo period) with elements of the Samurai sub-genre.

Horror- This genre is more gruesome than scary when it comes to anime. Drama,the Demon sub-genre and Psychological genres are often paired with it with good reason(watch Higarashi and Mirai Nikki).

Romance- This genre is known for its detailed creation and development of romantic relationships between characters. It can stand on its own(like the Drama genre) or it can as it has been paired with Comedy,Harem and Drama(Clannad).

Slice Of Life: This Genre depicts the everyday lives of the people,places and events. This genre is known for not having a plot when not paired with any genre since it is telling tales of real life but when a plot is visible it is usually a particular experience or subject the series is touching on. The vast majority of Slice Of Life anime are character driven and often carry the series to the point where a plot is unnecessary.

School Life- It can be classified as either a theme or a sub-genre. When paired with a Slice Of Life anime with no underlying plot(A-Channel,K-ON) it is considered a sub-genre as it provides the basis of the anime but if the anime(non Slice Of Life included) has a plot(Blue Exorcist,Usagi Drop) then it is just a theme and is not the focal point of the series other then providing the school setting for some of the scenes.

Space Opera: Space Opera is a sub-genre in the Science Fiction category that blends Sci-Fi,Drama,Action and Romance. It is not anime exclusive as most of known Space Operas are not anime(Star Wars,Farscape,Star Trek and the Mass Effect trilogy). Examples of anime Space Operas are: Macross(all related works),Gundam(all but AGE),Voltron,Dragon Ball Z & GT,Cowboy Bebop,Legend Of The Galactic Heroes,Vandread and Starship Operators.

Adaptation: any anime that is based on an original work like a video game,manga,light novel,live action series or movie. You don’t have to know the original to watch an adapted anime series which is the opposite of what my foolhardy A4I members think. Adaptations mainly raises the popularity of the original work to a degree.

Mystery: This genre by itself is either one or a series mysterious or suspenseful cases,events, or occurrences that need to be solved or resolved or secrets of a character or characters that need to be revealed it can also be a mystery involving a mission or quest. It is often paired with Sci Fi,Suspense,Horror,Supernatural,Psychological & Thriller for the simple of fact that these genres/sub-genres heightens the elements of mystery. Examples are Monster,GOSICK,Steins;Gate,Cased Close,Noir and The Skullman.

Music: anime that centers around music(singers/idols and musicians). Known Music anime are in the Slice Of Life(K-ON) and Romance(La Corda D’oro) genre but can be in other genres(Macross Frontier).

Cars: This theme is mostly in line with action anime where these shows are centered around car racing and/or car chases. Speed Racer is the most well known anime with a car theme.

Detective: This is a sub-genre of Mystery as it centers around cases to be solved by the detective who is either a pro or amateur or even a genius. It can easily become a comedy by making the detective a bumbling fool who takes credit for solving the case or manages to solve the case by accident.

Magic: A sub-genre of Fantasy that focuses on magic and usually set in the real world or alternates between worlds with some exceptions.

Parody: A Comedy sub-genre that uses stories or other forms of media for laughs.

Martial Arts: A Action sub-genre which pretty much involves all forms of hand to hand combat even boxing(MMA pretty much made boxing officially an martial art).

School: A theme that pretty much speaks for itself but if you from some reason don’t know what it is its anime that takes place in a school environment.

Science Fiction: This genre to clarify DOES NOT have to be set in future for it to be Sci-Fi it does however have to be in a setting with advanced science & technology with futuristic themes so an anime set in the present can be science fiction(Steins;Gate). If the anime does takes place in the future in order for it to be Sci-Fi it has to have the elements to make it Sci-Fi as there are anime that are set in the future but are from different genres. Lastly any place imaginable can be the setting in this genre.

Psychological: This genre explores the human psyche with intense often traumatic events and unconventional plots and storylines that challenges the viewers own psyche and morality. Often paired with thriller,horror,drama,supernatural and mystery genres for maximum effect.

Hentai: Anime centered around explicit sex(basically animated porn). It has little to no storyline much like pornography and explores different fetishes and perversions(again like porn). At least the acting is better then a porn star’s acting.

Supernatural: Anime in this genre always takes place in the real world as it incorporates folklore(demons,vampires,werewolves etc…) that has been around for centuries. Horror,thriller,psychological,mystery and drama all seem to complement the supernatural genre as well as action and adventure works with it.

Thriller: This genre is a glorified game of cat and mouse where the hero is racing against time to stop the villain and often appears to be outclassed. There is always a sense of urgency and suspense which is why psychological themes are added(Psychological Thriller) and mystery to further develop an well rounded anime.

Tournament: anime that centers around a tournament and the protagonist seeks to get stronger/better. Sports anime is often paired with this sub-genre along with action related anime.

Sports: anime centered around sports and is usually associated with drama and comedy.

Space: a Science Fiction sub-genre that takes place exclusively in outer space.

Samurai: Anime that involves samurai warriors of feudal japan as the focal point of the anime. This is usually associated with the Historical-Action type anime but there has been anime that incorporates samurai elements to other genres(Samurai Girls,Gintama and Samurai Harem).

Magical Girlfriend- Magical Girlfriend or Mahou Kanojo is a anime genre where the hero usually unlucky at love meets a magical young woman who isn’t human. The quintessential example of the genre is Ah! My Goddess. This genre can be paired with harem(Sekirei) and comedy also tends to have fan-service but it is not always a dominant factor.

Bishoujo: this means “pretty girl” Bishoujo can be a theme or a fan-service series which plays into the otaku stereotype.

Gag Series: Gag series is a comedy sub-genre in which it focuses on comedy and experimentation like a sketch comedy series. This genre doesn’t need a plot to be good as it is not meant to be a story. Since the creators don’t take themselves seriously pretty much anything goes in a gag series. Examples are Sket Dance,Seitokai no Ichizon,FLCL(the creators said half was nonsense),Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo,Cromartie High School among others.

Death: This theme is for any series that deals with the concept of death and the afterlife.

Here is the link to anime types: Shounen,Shoujo,Seinen and Josei Anime