Pleasant anime television series

[mtbc]

Quite a lot of anime follows some band of characters as they dramatically navigate various adversarial situations wherein much is at stake. Instead I often prefer the quieter, slower shows.

Your Lie in April (2014) was okay: it carefully told a fairly self-contained story. But, goodness, it did make some drama out of the piano performances yet with flashbacks was so slow that a single piano piece could take a whole episode, so not quite what I look for.

An early favorite for me is Kino's Journey (2003). There is some action but it is still generally calm and thoughtful. It is also agreeably varied: each episode finds us in a different place that explores a new, often strange, situation.

Tonight we watched some Mushi-Shi (2005): for me that hits a similar spot in that each episode finds us in a different place facing something new and strange. It proceeds at a gentle pace with simple animation and fitting music, just the right kind of thing to watch a little of before bed.