Manga

My favorite manga of all time is Dungeon Meshi. The anime adaptation of its first half has just finished airing, but both anime and manga are worth experiencing, and imo you can do so in either order.

It's about a group of adventurers who lose a comrade, and out of money resort to cooking and eating the monsters in the dungeon in order to get to their friend and revive her in time.

I also run a community over on [email protected], though the content is very spoilery up to halfway of the story if you're new.

Some other favorites of mine, and series that fit your your requests:

Claymore - mostly beefy women, art starts off rough but improves massively over the series, and I love the characters and story, anime is not worth watching

Akame ga Kill - "typical" battle manga, except there is no such thing as plot armor, fights are brutal, people die, anime is not worth watching imo

Voynich Hotel - slice of life set in a hotel staffed by immortal supernatural people, considered a must read by most manga fans

The Breaker - technically a manhua, but lots off buff dudes, hence worth mentioning, if you like it "New Waves" is the sequel

Helck - a comedy that turns serious, buff dude MC, anime is not worth watching if you read the manga

Demi-chan - slice of life set in a world where demi-humans exist, centers more on the adult teachers rather than the underage high-school girls, buff dude MC, anime is absolutely worth watching

Kengan Ashura - set in a world where corporate conflicts are settled by representatives in one on one mortal combat, tons and tons of buff dudes, anime is not worth watching