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Not sure on the exact flavor of "weird af" that Nokotan or Gintama get into since I haven't seen them, but here's some of the weirder shows I've watched:
Thinking along a different style of weirdness, there's also shows like Serial Experiments Lain -- but I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for.
be forewarned that if you watch lain (made in 1998) you’ll be like “how the fuck did they know this would happen”
Seconding Penguindrum as "built different". It's a classic imo, but it isn't discussed enough, probably because everyone (like me) is convinced it isn't a real anime but a fever dream they had after watching too much anime.
Akiba Maid War had me laughing and saying "what the fucking is going on?" out loud a lot.
I like watching anime that's build different:
Sonny Boy - Execution: S tier Weirdness: S tier
Kyousougiga - Execution: S tier Weirdness: S tier
Id: Invaded - Execution: A tier Weirdness: B tier
Flip Flappers - Execution: A tier Weirdness: B tier
Junk Head - Execution: A tier Weirdness: SS tier
Olympia Kyklos - Execution: C tier Weirdness: A tier
Train to the End of the World - Execution: B tier Weirdness: A tier
Some that haven't been mentioned yet (I think):
Kuuchuu Buranko: This one uses rotoscope animation. It's a "trippy" anime that deals with various mental health problems (mostly OCD). I think this is one of those anime that almost nobody really knows about. It's very obscure.
Aku no Hana: This also uses rotoscope animation. I actually never watched the anime and only read the manga. It's one of those psychological types but it's well-grounded in reality. The animation itself is weird however. Probably because rotoscoping at this level is uncommon in anime.
Monogatari Series: The notoriously "immoral" anime series (and one of my all-time favorites). Generally speaking, anything by SHAFT have really unique visual storytelling which includes Madoka Magica and Sangatsu no Lion.
Dorohedoro is fantastically weird but solid world building and funny as fuck too.
Sokushi Cheat..., aka My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered... sounds like a lousy isekai, but was surprisingly meta and funny.
Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction was really hard to watch, but it's really good. It's difficult to explain the appeal.
Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku/Where Does the Doomsday Train Go? - Also a little difficult to watch, but really fun world building.
Elusive Samurai/Nige Jouzu No Wakagimi - A fun show that has style and is focused on meta instead of developing characters.
Samurai Flamenco - Both a tribute and parody of tokusatsu shows, that is entertainingly weird.
Hands Off Eizouken!/Eizouken Ni Wa Te Wo Dasu na - A beautiful tribute to the spirit of animators, but meta and funny at the same time. Better than this season's Zenshuu.
Hands Off Eizouken! Is my favorite anime of all time but not that weird compared to others.
Yeah, Eizouken's one of my faves too.
I was specifically thinking of the parts where the girls "go into" their drawings to develop their ideas, as being different from your standard manga/anime narrative story.
IIRC, the town that they live in is strange too...
Shuumatsu Train isn't difficult to watch! It is the most classic of classic plots: a band of heroes sets off to save their village and faces all kinds of trials along the way, making them stronger as individuals and as a group, before defeating the Great Evil and saving the princess. It also has trains.
It sounds like when you say "weird" you mean absurdist, so I'll not recommend things like "Ping Pong the Animation" even though it's both excellent and weird.
With that said, the absurdist anime I've seen in roughly descending order of preference are:
asobi asobase is, imo, one of the funniest weird anime ever made
aho girl (be forewarned the anime ends on the creepiest fucking part of the manga)
azumanga daioh (be forewarned there is anime bullshit here as well, different time)
hinamatsuri (definitely well worth it to read the manga, which is one of the funniest I’ve ever read. It’s so good. The anime is great but it only got 1 cour which is an abridged version of the first 9 volumes. There’s 10 more and the story just keeps getting better), I felt like it was a bit of a spiritual successor to ranma which is also a good suggestion
Imo nichijou isn’t very good, though the animation is excellent. City was a much better manga and I’m excited to watch the anime for that. People love it though so it’s worth checking out
I genuinely enjoyed nokotan but the above picks all destroy it imo
Nichijou has a pretty safe spot in my top 10. It very much depends what your sense of humour is like.
I’m not saying it’s bad, clearly many many people like it. It’s exactly what you say. For some people it clicks and for them it seems to be a borderline masterpiece, but for me I was just bored
I get it because there’s so many people right now that endlessly shit on nokotan, and when asobi asobase aired there was a similar contingency of people who loudly moaned about how stupid it was and how stupid people were for liking it and I just thought those people were dumb. I still think those people are dumb because I can understand why someone would like nichijou, I just didn’t
Absolutely, differing tastes exist. Just wanted to share an alternative perspective for anyone wondering whether nichijou is worth a try :)
So, OP wants weird anime. "Anime" anime.
Depending on which flavor of weird one is going for, not all of these are going to scratch that itch.
Pop Team Epic. It was so weird I couldn't get anything at all and dropped it in first 10 minutes, but I'm planning to give it another try someday 😅
I think we got through two episodes. Not planning on picking it back up lol.
One anime that really is built differently, in structure, art style and themes:
Tatami Galaxy
Every episode is the main character making a different choice to try and fulfill his dream. It's like Groundhog Day, but where Mr Groundhog eventually manages a perfect day, Mr Tatami learns to accept the imperfection of life.
Y'all are all sleeping on Sarazanmai. Weird, but lives rent free in my head
Spirited Away
Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Howl's Moving Castle
One Piece
One Punch Man
Chainsaw Man
Steins;Gate
Evangelion
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
Mob Psycho
Bocchi the Rock
If you can get past the part where it is pure, unabashedly crass, Panty + Stocking & Garterbelt oozes style. Actually, it oozes multiple styles, as it's more than willing to switch from a 'chibi' style, to an overly 'high-res' style, and even to real world paper mâché within a single episode. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, and certainly "built different."
It's also getting a second season after a decade, so there'll be more of it soon.
Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan
FLCL
Scissor 7
Dead Leaves
Not really anime (but imo the anime version is worse): The way of the househusband.
Basically a Yakuza retires as a househusband.
Quite enjoyable
I read manga. There is a tv series?
Yep. Both Anime and live action