Want to cry? Good. To Your Eternity starts with a mysterious orb that can shapeshift into anything that gives it stimulus. It turns into a boy, then a wolf, and learns what it means to be human through loss. The first episode alone is considered a masterpiece of silent storytelling.

For pure, joyful manga, nothing beats Yotsuba&! . It follows a green-haired alien-like toddler as she discovers escalators, air conditioners, and cicadas. There is no plot, no villain, just pure, unadulterated happiness. It is the antidote to dark, gritty storytelling. Anime: Made in Abyss Manga: Witch Hat Atelier

On the manga side, Chainsaw Man is pure chaos turned into art. Denji, a boy merged with a "chainsaw devil," just wants to touch some boobs and eat toast, but he ends up in a psychedelic, gory, and surprisingly heartbreaking battle for survival. Read this if you like Evil Dead or Quentin Tarantino movies. Anime: To Your Eternity Manga: Orange

You cannot make a list like this without Death Note . It is the perfect entry point. A genius student finds a notebook that kills anyone whose name he writes in it. What follows is a ten-dimensional chess match between him and the world’s greatest detective. It’s gripping from episode one.