Seeing frequent posts in threads asking for suggestions so I thought I'd make a list. These aren't guaranteed to be leftist in their politics, or even politically driven, but these are anime that always get suggested whenever anyone asks a leftist what anime they should watch. Feel free to add to it.
The following anime I have seen and also recommend:
- Ghost in the Shell 1995 film
- Ghost in the Shell Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex (2002) & 2nd Gig (2004)
- Jin Roh
- Patlabor films 1 & 2
- Angel's Egg
- Cowboy Bebop (series & film)
- Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988-1997 OVAs)
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Haibane Renmei
- Texhnolyze
- Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
- Berserk (1997)
- Mushishi (all series & films)
- Evangelion (all series & films)
- Death Note
- Satoshi Kon films (Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika)
- Paranoia Agent
- Planetes
- Kino's Journey (2003)
- All the famous Studio Ghibli films
- FLCL (2000)
- Akira
- Steins; Gate (2011)
- Little Witch Academia
- Kaiba (not Yu-gi-oh)
These are anime that I have seen and personally would not recommend, but they frequently come up as suggestions and are very popular:
- Madoka Magica
- Gurren Lagann
- Psycho Pass (except season 2)
- Shinsekai Yori
- Monster
- Trigun
- Ergo Proxy
- Code Geass
The following are anime that I have not seen but are also frequently suggested:
- Gundam (I haven't seen any so I can't say which series or films are recommended)
- Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
- Revolutionary Girl Utena
- Hunter x Hunter
- The Rose of Versailles
- Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor
- Ranma 1/2
- Sailor Moon
- Mob Psycho 100
That's about as far as it goes for anime that leftists regularly recommend for others to watch from my experience, but I'm sure I'm forgetting some, especially older anime.
I'm happy to suggest anime that I would recommend that don't fall in this list as well, especially for romance/comedy since they rarely get talked about in leftist groups.
Couldn't get through GitS SAC when I tried years ago.
Cowboy Bebop, FMA:B, and Akira are all fine/10, nothing special, but definitely good gateways.
Evangelion good.
Steins;gate good but the viewer has to be willing to accept a certain amount of "anime bullshit", so not a good gateway. Also, it gets kinda weird with the trans character, good portrayal for 2011 I guess.
Gurren Lagann's core concept is fun but the execution is definitely lacking in parts, particularly early on. Also :libertarian-alert:, given Yoko's fucking 14.
Hunter x Hunter bad.
Let's hear some of those personal recs!