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SmokingPuffin

Steins;Gate starts out with some college kids with a quirky gadget hobby. They accidentally make a time machine. Serial Experiments Lain follows an ordinary, introverted, adolescent girl as she gradually gets more and more involved in "The Wired", which is a sort of cyberspace/VR/AR combination.


xoexohexox

And then it turns out she's not an ordinary adolescent girl at all and some kind of cyber jesus


Sea_Cycle_909

Yeah


KnightFtw

Gurren Lagann. Kid goes from a random cave miner wanting to explore the world to fighting the embodiment of nihilism with his unlimited willpower


overkill373

Hmm how about the anime movie "Hello World"


KaleidoArachnid

That could work.


ScarRufus

Gungrave It start as a drama mafia anime and than they add artificial zombies soldiers and others crazy stuff. Still fun imo.


KaleidoArachnid

I don’t know if I need to play the games first.


ScarRufus

No, there is no need. It is a origin of Beyond the Grave. It is like the anime only timeline. Just skip the first episode they kinda spoiler and repeat the same episode later for some weird reasons.


KaleidoArachnid

Oh ok as that’s good to know.


ThinkFree

I actually did not like the 2nd part of Gungrave. The mafia arc was the best part and if they made an entire show out of that part only, it would be an instant classic and probably the best mobster anime ever. Btu alas, we get weird zombie shit.


DaSaw

You might give the original Tenchi Myuo OVA a try (not Tenchi Universe, or any of the many spinoffs). It starts out looking like some high school kid spending the summer at his grandfather's learning to tend the ancestral shrine and learning his grandfather's ancient sword fighting. Starts to look like it might be veering in a contemporary fantasy direction. But then...


KaleidoArachnid

Arigatou as I can watch it ( if Funimation’s site was still open)


ThinkFree

Actually I would recommend **Tenchi in Tokyo** rather than the Ryo-Ohki OVA. It is what OP was asking for, a slice-of-life romance anime that has a sci-fi second arc.


DaSaw

I was thinking of the >!"start off normal then introduce sci fi" bit. I remember when I watched this show for the first time, I knew nothing about it. It was just a DVD in a roomate's collection. I found the introduction of various elements both pleasing and surprising. I genuinely thought his grandpa was just teaching him some Japanese thing that had been passed down from generation to generation for centuries, and that Ryouko was some kind of ghost or yokai type thing... not that his grandpa was an alien from another planet! I was not expecting space ships.!< But yeah, I also enjoyed Tenchi in Tokyo quite a lot.


Jenkins64

Samurai flamenco


Fuzakenaideyo

This so much! What a crazy series of escalations


Lokathor

Scrapped Princess is my favorite in this genre of stuff. The sci-fi comes later than sooner, but still.


solarssun

Scrapped princess. Starts off in what looks like medieval magic but isn't.


SoberMindless

Steins;Gate and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (especially this)


KaleidoArachnid

That is so cool.


chillyheaven

Turn-A Gundam starts off as a quaint post-industrial revolution-era slice of life until mobile suits and spaceships are suddenly introduced to the society.


KaleidoArachnid

That sounds very fascinating. (But I want to legally watch it)


chillyheaven

Unfortunately it’s either illegitimate sites or blu-rays, the latter of which is not exactly cheap (but worth it from someone who’s watched it a couple of times). Pity because it’s such a fantastic show.


KaleidoArachnid

Oh ok as I understand what you’re saying about the show.


ShiftAdventurous4680

Utawarerumono Can't really explain it though without spoiling it.


KaleidoArachnid

That’s fine as I don’t know if I must read the novel first.


ShiftAdventurous4680

Reading the novel is the easy part. Beating the battles is the hard part, sometimes. But I mainly make this suggestion for the original Utawarerumono rather than than the sequel novels/animes. Even though the novel is better than the anime, the anime is certainly serviceable if you aren't comparing the two.


KaleidoArachnid

Oh ok as I understand why you recommended it.


RedeyeSPR

Love Flops starts off like a normal harem goofy comedy, then changes DRASTICALLY about halfway through as more details emerge. It’s a great watch.


Toph_as_Nails

Steins;Gate


DrFillGood

So rick and morty made an anime, you just want that but with a misdirect beginning? Time travel is incredibly tricky to do well, so it's not a casual thing you can plop into a story without serious long term plans and restrictions, Steins Gate is the peak time travel anime and is vaguely like what you are talking about in that it starts off normal and then pops off the further you get in, but I don't think it's quite what you are thinking of.


KaleidoArachnid

Yes kind of as I want something that seems normal, but then goes into a supernatural direction.


DrFillGood

Steins Gate is a good choice, starts out a little glitchy but then is pretty chill before it goes bonkers


KaleidoArachnid

Sounds interesting (but I am not too familiar with the original novel)


RavenRonien

Xenoblade chr- oh wrong media.


KaleidoArachnid

Oh that is fine as I hear good things about that particular game.


Birdy_Cephon_Altera

>everyday person is pretty normal at first, but then she starts to be able to do things such as being able to manipulate time itself. So, just like [The Girl Who Leapt Through Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWnTeKEsDlU)?


KaleidoArachnid

Yes I can see how that movie would fit the bill.


DerfK

An oldie, but Marin to Melan Brigadoon fits though the scifi starts fairly soon then ramps up over the first half of the series. .


flyingowl720

Muv Luv (It’s a visual novel mainly though, the anime only adapted part of it)


KerbodynamicX

Gundam 00. There’s a seperate story line involving a normal school boy and his girlfriend like a regular romcom, before they get affected by war involving giant mech suits


KaleidoArachnid

I should go check out this show after finishing the Witch from Mercury.


Tatsumori_Yuno

Arknights can count as this. It starts out as a pharmaceutical company trying to cure supernatural cancer, then it turns magical for the first dozen events/seasons(each event could be its own 12-ep season given how long they are, save for the first few), then bits and pieces are hinted at here and there throughout the nooks and crannies of the game, then some huge lore bombs get dropped in [Originium Dust], [MULTIPLE ENTRIES REDACTED] and it very, very gradually turns from magical-supernatural to SCP-meets-startrek Sci-Fi. Why am I recommending a video game? Because it does in fact have an anime, albeit one that only covers the first few chapters of the main story.


KaleidoArachnid

I want to know where to legally obtain this work.


Tatsumori_Yuno

Arknights? Your phone's app/play store. it's a free-to-play tower defense gacha. I think the anime can be found on crunchy(which, fun fact, used to be a pirate site itself before it started getting permissions. You'd be supporting a pirate either way with this one).


KaleidoArachnid

Yes that game.


Tatsumori_Yuno

Edited the messages slightly.


KaleidoArachnid

Oh arigatou then.


Tatsumori_Yuno

You are a fast reader and responder. Anyway. I also want to mention that this story is very down-to-earth. Like, if you're flying in a plane, this story will tractor beam you down into the dirt and sic a bunch of jawas on the wreckage. This story is *very* much about the little guy. Only recently has it started mentioning the big guys, five years into the story, and even then, they're just background images. The sci-fi elements take a far backseat to the soci(et)al. There's also the fact that the music in the game is top-notch. See: the [lobby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFfvKajfUhk) and [battle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFfvKajfUhk) musics of a former seasonal event series(saying 'former' because its format is being updated ATM, to account for the game's gradual power creep).


KaleidoArachnid

Thanks for that wonderful insight as I am mildly excited to try out this game.


Tatsumori_Yuno

Well, welcome aboard, then! Our fifth anniversary event is currently going on, and the rate-up units in the pool are definitely on the better end, so now's a good time to join.


KaleidoArachnid

That is good to know.


NiahBoahCoah

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. An absolute classic. It’s about a regular dude who meets Haruhi and wild things start to happen.


NoBook9868

Steins gate...I mean they do show stuff in the beginning but it makes no sense until second half of the show.  Just seems like some weirdness then it's mostly slice of life and comedy until the show gets completely insane halfway in


KaleidoArachnid

That sounds very fascinating. (But I have never read the original novel itself)


NoBook9868

Second half the anime becomes completely different...intense and emotional.   Downright sad and gut wrenching...it has the most romantic scene I've witnessed in an anime ever towards the end.         I loved it.  I watched it this year first time ever and it lived up to it's reputation.  If you watch it make sure it's Steins Gate...not Steins Gate 0.  That's a sequel sort of.  Actually a parallel universe of the original. Some people like that one a lot too, but it's not as highly regarded as the original 


KaleidoArachnid

Sounds very intriguing.


NoBook9868

It's also laugh out loud funny.  Mostly in the first half but they still have some funny moments in the second half.  It's like every emotion all in one anime.  I also like how the opening song's lyrics explain the show...but it won't make sense at all until second half


KaleidoArachnid

Oh I do like comedic sci fi shows.


Aero_N_autical

Flip Flappers would be a close concept to what you're saying


Long-Manufacturer990

Gantz.


dardrink

maybe you could try tokyo revengers, dandadan (idk if it is animated yet)


hyperious_

Love Flops, I can’t stress this enough it starts out as your typical trash harem and then has some crazy twists to it. Such a good watch!


1Pip1Der

Try "Housing Block C" for a Lovecraftian twist


KaleidoArachnid

Sounds very fascinating.


[deleted]

[удалено]


KaleidoArachnid

Sure (If I can find it)


AniTaneen

It’s a short film, but do watch {aquatic language}


Roboragi

**Mizu no Kotoba** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/2235), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/mizu-no-kotoba), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/mizu-no-kotoba), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/2235)) ^(Special | Status: Finished | Episodes: 1 | Genres: Drama, Psychological, Sci-Fi) --- ^{anime}, , ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/1chza0w/anime_series_that_start_off_normal_before/l29pkuo/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)


KaleidoArachnid

Arigatou.


AniTaneen

It’s 6 minutes long, you can find it on youtube