Anime

[Haywire]

Likewise, I have no idea what's on Crunchyroll, but I can always throw out some recommendations:

For Cyberpunk, try Bubblegum Crisis. I liked both the original series and the remake. AD Police is also set in the same universe, but the original is quite a bit grittier.

For Ghibli, maybe you've already seen them, but Laputa and Porco Rosso are both gems. Probably not quite up your alley, but I also quite like Whisper of the Heart (the family's house and the antique shop both speak to my childhood) and The Cat Returns, which are mildly connected. Not technically Ghibli, but Miyazaki, is The Castle of Cagliostro, which is a Lupin III movie and quite good. (Lupin III is also pretty fun)

City Hunter (particularly seasons 1 & 2, and the Shinjuku Private Eye movie) is quite good, somewhat on the pervy side, but plenty of action. Think A-Team, Magnum PI, Knight Rider, and Airwolf, but through an anime lens. Cats Eye is easier to find now and sort-of in-universe as well, because of events in Shinjuku Private Eye.

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor is also fun, lots of colorful characters, sort of an inversion of the typical Space War anime.

Finally, probably my favorite mecha series is Patlabor. Set in the near future where piloted robots (called Labors in-universe) are commonly used for construction and military purposes, the story follows the (mis-) adventures of the division of the Police tasked with handling crimes involving those robots. The original OVA and the 3 movies are set in one continuity, while the TV series and its OVA followup are a separate, slightly altered continuity, and there is a live-action sequel (that is fairly humorous).

Again, not sure which, if any, of these are on Crunchyroll, buti think they would be worth looking for.

 

[Daith]

Yeah most of those aren't on CR. If you got Prime Video some may be available there like City Hunter *EDIT Is on CR surprisingly*. Crunchyroll isn't the best for classic anime. They have some of the big names, but a good number of older titles are spread out among Freevie sites or oddball streaming platforms. Ghibli for the most part last I knew was primarily streaming on Max other than a few Netflix have.

Edit: City Hunter and Captian Tylor are on CR

 

[Caldwin]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I'll want to finish Nier first. But I'll definitely see about putting some of those on my watch list.

Haywire:
Is City Hunter the same franchise as the Jackie Chan movie? If so, that's possibly a bit too silly for me.

 

[Videomaster21XX]

I'll second Revenger. Good show.

Two others to suggest:

Buddy Daddies. It's about two hit men who end up having to adopt a little girl.

Demon Lord 2099
So basically Demon Lord was defeated, but set to reincarnate in the future. The future is just the year 2099 of this sorta cyberpunk city with a fushion of magic. Like the internet exists, streamers stream videogames. Except you can get this device on your neck that helps cast magic faster, but also can display holograms that only you see and other things.

Meanwhile our MC the Demon Lord tries to play catch up while trying to get 'followers' to regain his powers. The show is a big mix of how magic works, how immortals work, and how the tech they have in that day and age functions. It's just a unique set up and world, and the characters are pretty fun.

 

[Confuzor]

Honestly? Sounds like youd like Solo Leveling

I recently finished Megalobox (and its sequel, Nomad). Im not super into sports but the animation feels like a great 80s throwback style while being a very engaging story too.

I also find Dr Stone really fun, but not sure if thats up your alley.

Also Freiren is like SO good.

 

[Haywire]

Haywire:
Is City Hunter the same franchise as the Jackie Chan movie? If so, that's possibly a bit too silly for me.

@Caldwin While the Jackie Chan movie is loosely based on the manga and anime, it's not a very close adaptation. The anime, while silly at times, is much more serious than the movie (Honestly, the Street Fighter bit is the best part.), and the manga is even more hard-core. An even better live adaptation is the French film, Nicky Larson et le parfum de Cupidon, which is much more faithful to the original.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

My two cents on Gundam and Ghost in the Shell:
I HIGHLY recommend Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Season 1, 2, and Solid State Society. A mix of serial and stand alone episodes, the first season is just solid cyberpunk even once the big political machinations come into play. Season 2 skews a little heavier on the philosophical stuff, but as a "franchise", SAC is probably the most accessible iteration of the Ghost in the Shell series. Just ignore the compilation films (which recast a number of roles) and 2045 (which is just trash).

In terms of Gundam, my personal favorites are Wing and Unicorn. Wing is the spiritual precursor to 00, featuring a lot of the same themes and concepts (boy band pilots trying to establish peace by using advanced war machines). It's similar to how SEED is a modern "recontextualization" of the original series. In terms of SEED, the first season is fairly decent. Destiny started interesting until it became a Marty and Mary Sue circle jerk and pandering to character shippers.

I highly recommend Unicron on several fronts: as an OVA series, it looks good and is well animated. And, watching it several times, it feels like a thematic "capsule" of the franchise as a whole. The young adult soldiers, the secret societies, political machinations, evolutionary theologies, the mecha battles with an overpowered hero machine, the anti-war message and exploration of the psychological toll of war, it really does touch on key ideas across the franchise. While set in the Universal Century, it is still fairly accessible.

And then there's Build Fighters. Does it have much to do with the rest of the franchise? Besides robots, no. Is it a glorified commercial for Gunpla kits? Absolutely. But this series has NO Earthly right to be as good, well written and the music goes harder than most action anime series. On its own, I recommend watching it.

 

[Caldwin]

I think I have enough to get me started. Thanks, everyone!

 

[Daith]

And then there's Build Fighters. Does it have much to do with the rest of the franchise? Besides robots, no. Is it a glorified commercial for Gunpla kits? Absolutely. But this series has NO Earthly right to be as good, well written and the music goes harder than most action anime series. On its own, I recommend watching it.

I do recommend the Build Fighters series if you like the Gundams fighting and the interesting builds it comes up with. It's definitely the easiest to approach and while it does the kiddy toy battle tournament format of show, it does it well. Though stick to the subs. The Dub was not cast well at all. Thankfully the dub isn't on CR