Pianoman

This is the kind of stuff you'll want to show to your older relatives or a friend / significant other who isn't into anime in particular but is open to new experiences. Not necessarily to hook them on anime but simply to share a good time together.

What helps an anime end up on this list:
* either subdued or distinctly avant-garde appearance that transcends common anime design sensibilities;
* mature, adult-life-related themes;
* well-crafted, compelling story and character interactions;
* fresh and daring ideas or their execution;
* being otherwise remarkable as an art piece;
* moderate length.

What DOESN'T help an anime end up on the list:
* referencing or pandering to otaku culture, incessant fan service, and all that crap;
* slow-burn slice-of-life narrative;
* overly random, absurdist, reference-heavy humor;
* being too long or narratively incomplete;
* being too tropey;
* not being very good in general (regrettably, this includes bad and mediocre adaptations of good manga/LNs, so no Berserk, My Home Hero, or Golden Kamuy on the list).

These aren't absolute rules but they're hard enough that I would only consider minor exceptions. There is most certainly not enough room for every single piece that fits the bill, so take this as my personal, heavily curated top-50. If there is a sequel or a side-story that also deserves attention (or, conversely, one you should skip), I will mention it in the annotations, so please watch them.

List is subject to revisions and reordering.

This is an early list that I made and quite frankly it's a mess, I decided to make a more comprehensive thematic series, check them out:

- An introduction to short animations
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29151

- Short animations getting artsy
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29178

- Short animations getting dark
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29194

- Short animations getting scientific
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29216

Experimental, surreal, abstract, trippy or just artsy.
A mixed bag of genres, most of these pieces are up for interpretation.
Beware, you are getting at non-conventional and weird grounds here.

More stacks going deeper in this world:

- An introduction to short animations
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29151

- Short animations getting dark
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29194

- Short animations getting scientific
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29216

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions for this stack :)