The world of anime has something for everyone since the medium covers all literary genres and subgenres. Some series are famed for their heartfelt drama, such as Fruits Basket, while series like My Hero Academia are heavy on action. In these anime, bad things may happen, from injuries and death to heartbreak, horror, and emotional trauma.
These anime are hugely appealing, but some series take the opposite approach and work just as well. Certain anime have minimal violence, drama, or horror in them, and thus, nothing "bad" happens in them. The characters may still experience everyday mishaps and goof-ups, but nothing really bad ever happens to them and that can make for a pleasant and relaxing watch.
10 Laid-Back Camp Makes Camping Fun
Laid-Back Camp is an example of the iyashikei subgenre, a pleasant and low-intensity anime that can be therapeutic and relaxing for any viewer. Many anime with minimal drama or violence fit the iyashikei concept, in fact, so there are quite a few of them.
Laid-Back Camp is a charming and easygoing series about several high school friends who explore the great outdoors across Japan's many campsites. The girls learn a lot about camping and nature, which can be quite educational and interesting for the viewer.
9 Flying Witch Stars Benevolent, Broom-Riding Magical Girls
Flying Witch is a witch-themed anime perfect for a scare-free Halloween. This charming anime stars Makoto, a teenage witch who is almost finished with her training, and she has one goal in mind: to use her magic to benefit the people around her.
Makoto is a cute and sanitized witch, a lovable girl who only wants to make others happy with her occult gifts. She might make a few mistakes along the way, but Makoto's budding career is a pleasant one and no serious trouble befalls her.
8 Azumanga Daioh! Is High School Comedy
Many slice-of-life high school anime series minimize drama and violence in favor of comedy. Azumanga Daioh!, based on the manga of the same name, is a "cute girls doing cute things" anime where the main characters annoy each other endlessly with their clashing personalities.
These friends have their share of mishaps and misadventures, but nothing really serious happens to them, even when a weekend vacation goes sideways and everyone is mad at each other. Azumanga Daioh! is about fun and laughs, not heartbreak and tragedy.
7 Komi Can't Communicate Is Sweet & Inspiring, Not Heartbreaking
Tomohito Oda's original manga series was recently adapted into a popular anime, with another season announced for spring 2022. Komi Can't Communicate is a charming high school anime starring Shoko Komi, a shy and quiet girl who decided to make 100 friends before graduation. Her social life is about to be transformed.
Komi Can't Communicate has a cheerful and optimistic tone, featuring a large cast of friendly and likable characters who accept each other for who and what they are. Shoko is slowly coming out of her shell, and she has many new friends to welcome her.
6 Nichijou Puts Comedy Above All Else
Nichijou is a pure comedy set in high school and it has much wackier visuals and storylines than either Azumanga Daioh! or Komi Can't Communicate. There are occasional explosions and chaos, but it's all in good fun and no one gets seriously hurt. Slapstick comedy is the norm here.
Nichijou makes up the rules as it goes, and features a handful of protagonists with bizarre but amusing goals and hobbies – such as secretly drawing erotic manga or trying to cheat on tests. The series even has a talking black cat and a robot girl who just wants to be real.
5 Aria: The Masterpiece Is Set In A Futuristic Venice On Mars
Aria: the Masterpiece is a sci-fi anime, but it's nothing like Ghost in the Shell or 86 EIGHTY-SIX. Aria takes place on terraformed Mars, now known as Aqua thanks to its expansive oceans and quaint coastlines. The heroine is Akari Mizunashi, and she loves absolutely everything about Aqua.
Akari is training as an undine (or gondola rower) in Neo-Venezia, a perfect recreation of the original Venice on Earth. Akari's everyday life is filled with fun, friendship, adventure, and beauty. Her cheerful attitude is downright infectious.
4 Chi's Sweet Home Is About A Kitten
Chi's Sweet Home is a family-friendly series starring an intelligent female kitten named Chi, and Chi is delighted to be adopted into the Yamada family as their first pet. Chi explores the world through innocent and curious eyes, befriending a handful of other cats in the neighborhood. Dogs are a different story, though.
Chi's Sweet Home is a gentle and easygoing one where the conflicts are minor and quickly resolved, such as Chi getting lost a few times before her family finds her again. Aside from that, Chi's everyday life is a pleasant one, and she has many things to love about her new life as a cherished pet.
3 Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro! Is About A Sadodere
Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro! is yet another cheerful high school anime series with relatively low stakes and minimal drama and violence. The story focuses on the bizarre budding relationship between the shy Naoto Hachioji and his playful underclassman, Hayase Nagatoro.
Hayase is a "sadodere," a character who expresses their affection through teasing and mind games, and she has all kinds of fun lightly tormenting Naoto every day at school. Despite that, the two slowly grow closer and there's no serious drama to drive them apart. In fact, Hayase will go to great lengths to protect Naoto's interests.
2 My Senpai Is Annoying Takes Place In The Office
My Senpai is Annoying takes place in the office rather than high school, something that slightly older anime fans can appreciate. This is a lighthearted josei anime series starring the tiny tsundere Futaba Igasrashi, who can't easily admit to her developing crush on Harumi Takeda, her senior co-worker.
Futaba is tough and smart, and she doesn't back down easily. She's determined to prove herself as a sales rep and win Takeda's heart somehow. At the same time, there's a second budding romance between Toko Sakurai and Sota Kazama. Everyone is in for a good time.
1 The Way Of The Househusband Is True Domestic Bliss
The Way of the Househusband received some criticism for its unusual animation technique, but its source manga is a fine read and the anime still gives viewers a good idea of what this series is really about. Even though Tatsu was once a Yakuza thug, he is living a gentle and pacifistic life now, and he is the ideal spouse.
Tatsu's wife Miku is the breadwinner while Tatsu himself enjoys his everyday life of housework and errands, something he takes pride in. He may look scary to the housewives he hangs out with, but he always means well and has impressed everyone with his cooking and cleaning skills many times. He's a good friend to have.