3 Anime To Cozy Up Your Evenings

I have watched my fair share of anime. Even though I had watched anime before, I became a regular during the Covid lockdowns and since then I have sampled from a great many genres.

Be it post-apocalyptic, mystery-thrillers, or fantasy, I have watched at least one from each of these brackets.

During my explorations of the anime universe, one day I found myself looking at a sphere of anime which made me feel cozy. They hooked me in without any promise of high-paced action or dark mystery lurking at the end.

These anime were slow, sweet, steady, and oddly comforting.

So, without further ado, let’s get talking about my top three cozy anime series.

Violet Evergarden

I adore this anime. I have rewatched it multiple times now.

The anime is about a young girl who knows nothing but war because that’s how she has been raised. To no one’s surprise, post-war, she faces difficulties in assimilating with the world. This is when she takes on the challenge to become an “Auto-Memory Doll” and learns to write letters for others. How she fares in this challenge is the rest of the story.

This anime packed the holy trinity — a captivating story, amazing characters, and incredible music.

I loved all three aspects. There were some amazing side characters with their battles. The anime creates and executes some amazing character arcs (even for the side characters) in just 14 episodes. The crispness with which each episode contains a story while furthering an overarching plot was commendable.

The story-telling is very compelling and it did leave teary-eyed more than once.

I do hope you give this anime a try. It will leave you wanting for more. And luckily, you can get some more. The anime has a couple of specials and you’ll get to spend some extra time in this world.

Komi Can’t Communicate

This anime packed a punch that I never saw coming. The anime highlights the struggles of a school-going girl who has social anxiety. A girl who can’t seem to string two words together to save her life is our linchpin. She is beautiful, intelligent, and in dire need of friends.

In a world where everyone thinks she is prim and proper, a new guy in the class sees her for what she is and begins to understand her conflict. She begins to take baby steps with his help and starts to explore ways to express herself. And most importantly, she pledges to make 100 friends.

It was soothing to follow our main character’s journey of making 100 friends. The main character was easy to root for and her efforts felt genuine. Side characters did not have elaborate backstories, but were there to help our main character climb through her social anxiety.

I was amazed by how nonchalantly the anime portrayed social anxiety, without ever making it just a comic relief. The main characters' actions were never ridiculed. The friends she made along the way always supported her and the anime showcased how important these small blessings are.

The story has a good amount of humor and it keeps everything light and fluffy. As expected in a story where there are high school kids, a pinch of romance is added to spice things up. It wasn’t required, but it was pleasant nonetheless.

The family of our main character is also in the scene every once in a while and I adored them. Each interacted with our “socially awkward” main character in their own way, and again, nothing looked unpolished or crude.

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this anime and I hope that if you decide to look it up, you’ll have a great time as well.

Teasing Master Takagi-san

When I watched the first episode of this series, I didn’t think it was anything special. I felt it was ok. It was about two school kids — Nishikata and Tagaki — who sat next to each other in class and the story followed them having one banter after another.

Believe me, even after watching the first couple of episodes I didn’t have any strong feelings. Yet I came back for more. It was quite farther down the line when I realized that the story and the characters had grown on me.

The anime had slowly made room in my head and I didn’t even realize it was there. I started looking forward to witnessing the banter between the main characters and seeing where it led them.

The story revolves around these two main characters and does not have many (or say any) side characters. You see how friendship blooms between the naughty Takagi and the shy Nishikata. Through all the episodes, you see how Tagaki grows on Nishikata and how they become friends. It's just day-to-day of their lives and you’ll end up eating all of it.

Again, there is a hint of romance between the main characters which is adorable.

Before watching this anime, I had a hard time understanding why would anyone spend hours watching two kids tease each other. But now that I have been converted, I see the charm in those small and sweet snippets of lives that this anime provided. The most I can say is that you’d have to see it to believe it.

I am reiterating myself when I say that this anime grew on me slowly. So, I suggest that you watch at least a couple of episodes before giving up on this amazing piece.

So, here we are! These were the three anime that made a lasting impression on me. Please let me know if you have watched any of these and what were your thoughts.

My hunt for new anime continues and if you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

Disclaimer: This article was originally published here.