The 7 best anime to binge this Thanksgiving

With the turkey in the oven, and the mashed potatoes steaming up in the pot, why not put on some anime, and cozy up with your loved ones this Thanksgiving?

As Thanksgiving approaches, friends and family will gather together to share their gratitude. For anime fans, it’s a great time to binge on a couple of favorites – whether it’s by salivating at the delicious meals on Food Wars!, or appreciating the essence of found family on A Place Further Than the Universe.  No matter your pick, these entries will make you more appreciative of the ones around you.

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma

Thanksgiving might be all about family and gratitude, but everyone knows that one of the best parts of the holiday is the amazing food. Food Wars! follows Soma Yukihura, an extremely talented teenage chef who works at his father’s local diner. Soma’s life changes when he enrolls at a prestigious culinary academy and has to go up against the most elite young chefs in the world. Though his opponents have formal training and prestige, Soma possesses raw talent and endless creativity, which can be seen in the amazing meals he prepares. Overall, this anime will have your mouth watering as you prepare your Thanksgiving dinner, and might even give you some ideas for meals to share with your family.

Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family

The Fate/Stay Night franchise is known for its many spin-offs and sequels. For a fun Thanksgiving watch, instead of diving right into the nitty gritty universe, you can enjoy this cute, slice-of-life spin-off show. Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family

It’s a lovely anime that chronicles the young Shiro Emiya after the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War. There are no stakes or battles, just good meals and fun times with family and friends. Each episode finds Shiro cooking a new meal (often traditional Japanese cuisine) and is sure to fill you with comfort and warmth.

Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits

Kakuriyo is all about the power of a warm meal, friendship, and seeing the best in people- the perfect themes for a Thanksgiving binge. Aoi Tsubaki is a college student with the ability to see spirits. One day, she stumbles upon an ogre spirit who asks her for food. After preparing an amazing meal for him, he kidnaps her to the Hidden Realm and demands that she marry him. Aoi refuses and instead agrees to run his inn, which leads to her meeting all kinds of characters, both human and spirit. The anime is incredibly heartwarming and, of course, features some pretty yummy food!

Sweetness and Lightning

Sweetness and Lightning includes two of the most important parts of any Thanksgiving celebration- family and food. It follows Kohei Inuzuka, a high-school teacher and single father who is struggling to take care of his young daughter, Tsumugi. Since the death of his wife, the two rarely ever eat homemade meals anymore, which makes Tsumugi very sad. All this changes when one of Kohei’s students, Kotiri, decides to teach him how to cook to make his daughter happy. The three eventually prepare and share meals, while bonding and healing. And isn’t that what makes Thanksgiving worth it?

Attack On Titan

As crazy as it sounds, Thanksgiving is actually a wonderful time to enjoy the thrilling Attack On Titan. Why? Because at the heart of it, AOT is all about friends-turned-families and sacrifice. All the heartwarming or delicious entries on this list are great, but for a Thanksgiving twist, why not venture into AOT’s world of love and loss? It’ll definitely have you grateful for the ones around you, flaws and all.

A Place Further Than the Universe

For lovers of the found-family trope, this anime is the perfect pick for a Thanksgiving binge. A Place Further Than the Universe follows a young high school girl named Mira, who craves adventure in her life. She befriends Shirase, a classmate of hers, who has been planning an expedition to Antarctica to find her missing mother. They meet Hinata, who, despite being their age, is already preparing for college, and Yuzuki, a child star who never had friends growing up. Together, the four begin their expedition and journey to the frigid expanse. The landscape may be freezing, but the themes of friendship, family, and adventure between the girls make this anime warm and cozy. 

Silver Spoon 

If you like to include gratitude for nature alongside your family celebrations this Thanksgiving, Silver Spoon is a great pick. It follows a young boy named Yuugo who, enrolls in an agricultural school after failing his high school entrance examinations. Though he starts out disregarding the value of nature and crops, we watch him grow to deeply appreciate and care for the environment through farming and rural life. Yuugo’s character development throughout the series is its biggest highlight as he repairs his relationship with his family and grows to become more caring and compassionate to others at school.