The world of Japanese animation has a lot to offer fans of any literary or cinema genre, giving anime a broad appeal for any viewer. In fact, anime invented a few unofficial genres of its own, which have all grown in popularity in recent years. Anime is richer and more diverse than ever and so is its fan base.
Any TV viewer who's ready to try anime for the first time might experience choice paralysis at first, given the staggering number of anime series out there of varying quality. A good strategy for new fans is to try one or two short anime series of each major genre to get the full scope of what anime is like. New fans can narrow things down from there and discover new titles of their favorite genres.
Updated on August 25th by Sage Ashford: Anime can feel daunting for people who are just trying to get into it. However, there are tons of great series that can work for newcomers that don't require lots of outside knowledge. We've added several more recommendations to get viewers started in their anime watching journey.
20 Trigun (1998 Original)
Vash the Stampede is the $60,000,000,000 man. The rumors are he's the deadliest man on the planet, and anyone who gets in his way won't live to tell about it. As with most rumors, the truth is often left out entirely. In reality, Vash is a fun-loving goof who prefers love and peace over causing harm to anyone. When a pair of insurance agents try to track Vash down, they learn the truth about this lovable loser, including the parts he'd prefer no one else to know.
Trigun is one of the greatest anime of the '90s, and a great sci-fi anime for any era. It's a series about what it means to try to stick to one's beliefs, even when everyone and everything in the world might be forcing them to do otherwise. While there is a remake, the new story handles things completely differently, making this still a requisite watch for anyone trying to become well-versed in the media.
19 Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch From Mercury (2022)
Suletta Mercury has recently entered the Asticassica School of Technology. Though shy, she has a number of goals she aims to achieve while there, and hopes to eventually build a school on her home planet Mercury. However, not long after coming to the school her actions lead her to get involved in a mecha duel against the best pilot in the school, Guel Jeturk. With the winner becoming the fiancée of the daughter of one of the most powerful CEOs in the solar system, Suletta's actions lead her down a path that will change not only her own life, but the lives of everyone around her.
Mobile Suit Gundam can be difficult to get into, even for fans who've seen most of the great mecha anime series already. However, The Witch From Mercury is an alternate universe that doesn't require any prior knowledge of Gundam to get invested. If anything, the problem is Suletta Mercury is too likable of a protagonist, and for the most part it's downhill for Gundam main heroes from then on.
18 Samurai Champloo (2004)
Strange circumstances lead a young girl named Fuu Kasumi to save the lives of two samurai who couldn't be less alike. In exchange for saving them, Fuu hires the two to watch over her while she goes on a quest to find a samurai who smells of sunflowers. Though it seems like an easy quest, with little clues and three personalities that don't mesh at all, a long road of challenges lie ahead for all of them.
Samurai Champloo is the next major series from director Shinichirou Watanabe, creator of the classic anime Cowboy Bebop. Where Bebop combined sci-fi with jazz music, Champloo merges samurai with hip-hop to surprising effect. The series has a unique style and confidence to it that most anime can only dream of, and shows the potential of the medium even for people who don't necessarily like anime to begin with.
17 Dr. Stone (2019)
Out of nowhere, high schooler Senku Ishigami and his close friends Taiju and Yuzuriha are all turned to stone, alongside the rest of the planet. The world remains frozen in stone for several millennia, until one day Senku breaks free. Though humanity's progress has been erased by thousands of years, Senku is a master of science, and aims to raise humanity back to where it was before they were frozen. Everything is to reach his goal: leaving the Earth in a rocket he made and visiting the moon.
Doctor Stone is another shonen from Weekly Shonen Jump that surpasses most people's expectations. Rather than another hot-blooded protagonist, Senku is logical and focused, using his brains to help him survive rather than brawn. The enjoyment here is seeing how Senku's mastery of science elevates a group of humans otherwise trapped within the Stone Age.
16 Spy x Family (2022)
Loid Forger is a spy working within the country of Ostania, trying to keep the peace between it and the opposing nation of Westalis. His latest mission though is one he's not even entirely sure he's up for: establish a relationship with a well-known politician, who only shows up at his son's private school. For Loid to succeed at his mission, he's forced to adopt young Anya, an orphan he plans to enroll at the same school as his target's son, Eden Academy. Fooling Eden Academy is no easy task however, leading Loid not only to adopt a daughter, but marry a young woman, Yor. While his family is unaware he's a spy, Loid is equally unaware his wife is a secret assassin, and his daughter has the power to read minds.
Spy x Family's unique concept turned people's expectations for a shonen series upside down. Combat is barely a second thought on this show, instead the focus is on a trio of people whose lives have been anything but normal, trying to do the most normal thing: be a family. Even newcomers to anime will find all three characters instantly lovable, and CloverWorks and Wit Studio's top-notch animation will keep viewers dazzled. Romance fans will find this is one anime couple this is actually great.
15 My Hero Academia (2016)
My Hero Academia is one of the modern "big three" of shonen anime. Although it followed the blueprints set by trailblazers like Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece, My Hero Academia's modern approach to the demographic feels both familiar and innovative. It has a dynamic ensemble cast of characters, led by its central trio of Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, and Shoto Todoroki.
In My Hero Academia, eighty percent of the world possesses a "quirk" or a supernatural power. Some individuals step up to the plate and devote their lives to becoming heroes. The protagonist, Izuku, always dreamed of being a hero despite being born without a quirk. A fateful encounter with his idol, All Might, grants him a powerful quirk and helps him get into the school of his dreams, U.A. High. There, Izuku studies to become the world's greatest hero and defeat the sinister villains in his path.
14 Haikyu!! (2014)
Sports anime is a massive subgenre. If a sport exists, there's probably an anime about it. Volleyball isn't for everybody, but Haikyu!! is enough to make anyone a fan of the sport. It combines the greatest shonen tropes with sports analogies to tell a compelling narrative about Shoyo Hinata becoming Japan's best player. Even though he's short, Shoyo's naturally agile and has unmatched jumping power.
Shoyo isn't a prodigy, but his physical feats make him the perfect partner on the court for Tobio Kageyama, dubbed the "King of the Court." Shoyo and Tobio start playing on Karasuno's team together in high school and take their team all the way to the national tournament. Haikyu!! has a large cast, but it's not overwhelming, and there are at least one or two characters for all kinds of people.
13 Fruits Basket (2019 Reboot)
Fruits Basket's original 2001 adaptation barely scratched the surface of its story, but the 2019 reboot tells the full tale of Tohru and the Sohma family. Fruits Basket is a juggernaut of the shojo demographic and essential viewing for every anime fan. Fruits Basket follows Tohru Honda after her mother's death. She's homeless and lives in a tent outside the Sohma's estate. Unfortunately, a typhoon wrecked the tent, and the Sohmas were kind enough to take her in.
However, Tohru soon learns that the Sohmas aren't a regular clan. A few members are bound by the Zodiac curse — if a member of the opposite sex hugs them, they turn into their corresponding animal from the Chinese Zodiac. Fruits Basket follows Tohru as she works to break the Sohma's Zodiac curse and help them unravel their generational trauma, all while coming to terms with her grief. Fruits Basket is equally whimsical and emotional, but it's perfect for anime newcomers.
12 Attack On Titan (2013)
Attack On Titan presents a bleak world where humanity confines itself to three walls to shield itself from man-eating Titans. Eren Yeager, the protagonist, joined the Survey Corps after the Titans broke down one of the walls and destroyed his home village, killing his mother in the process. Attack On Titan is essential viewing for every anime fan.
After its 2013 premiere, Attack On Titan changed the game for shonen anime and raised everybody's expectations for what to expect from the genre. The series presents a compelling argument that not everything is what it seems and exposes the harsh realities of war by proving everyone loses in the end. Blurring the line between hero and villain, Attack On Titan proves that anime aren't glorified children's cartoons.
11 One-Punch Man (2015)
One-Punch Man is perfect for people looking to get into anime who are already fans of superhero franchises like Marvel. It's also the perfect superhero show for those who are tired of superheroes. The series pokes fun at shonen tropes, despite falling under the seinen demographic.
Saitama is a classic overpowered protagonist, but he's nothing like Goku. In fact, Saitama kind of hates being so powerful since nobody can put up a fair fight against him. After all, he can kill people with a single punch. One-Punch Man doesn't take itself too seriously. Though it adamantly adheres to certain tropes, it tastefully deconstructs anime's most contrived aspects by telling a compelling story.
10 Demon Slayer (2019)
Anime has more than a few excellent shonen action titles to its name, from the "big three" of Bleach, One Piece, and Naruto, to more recent titles like Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen. A new anime fan, meanwhile, is probably best off with the popular series Demon Slayer.
Demon Slayer is short but sweet, which is perfect for a newcomer. The series also boasts a beloved cast of memorable characters, jaw-dropping animation, cool action scenes, and a charming early-modern Japanese setting. It's an excellent ambassador for what shonen can do.
9 Komi Can't Communicate (2021)
The world of anime has an unofficial genre of "school life" series that take place in modern high schools, a familiar setting for Japanese anime fans. These series also represent more conventional genres such as comedy, drama, and romance, and a new anime fan is encouraged to try a few high school series.
A good starter series for this genre is Komi Can't Communicate, a wholesome and cheerful series that features the quiet heroine Shoko Komi, who is determined to make 100 friends. After watching Komi, a new anime fan can move on to the likes of Toradora!, Nisekoi, and Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro!
8 That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (2021)
While isekai isn't a formal literary or cinematic genre, it is a popular subgenre of the anime industry, with a handful of rules and conventions to make isekai a coherent concept and not just a onetime novelty. Some isekai series are pretty experimental or meta, such as Konosuba, but not others.
If a new anime fan doesn't mind having a large cast of characters to juggle, they should try That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, an optimistic and inspiring isekai fantasy series starring the overpowered protagonist Rimuru Tempest. It embodies all that makes isekai great and avoids some of the genre's most worn-out or problematic elements.
7 Horimiya (2021)
The anime industry has a staggering variety of romance anime series to try, but some of them are best for more experienced anime fans who are more familiar with how the industry works, such as Maid-Sama! For new anime fans, Horimiya is a great pick.
Horimiya is a wholesome and cheerful romance series with minimal drama or heartbreak, which makes for some easy viewing. It largely sticks to the genre's tried-and-true conventions, making it a good control group for more experimental or unusual romance series a fan can watch later.
6 Another (2009)
To dedicated horror fans, the anime industry might feel a bit lackluster since animated series have clean, cartoony visuals that don't work well for visceral horror. Still, a horror fan looking for something new might try a few horror anime series for the novelty and they may be in for a pleasant surprise.
While the Junji Ito Collection compares poorly to Mr. Ito's original manga works, Another is a perfectly fine horror series with a moody atmosphere, eerie music, chilling characters, and brutal death scenes to make any horror fan happy.
5 Cowboy Bebop (2001)
Cowboy Bebop is a short but beloved sci-fi anime series from the 1990s; anyone who loves TV shows such as Firefly is bound to find plenty to love about the adventures of the gunslinger Spike Spiegel and his gang of misfits aboard the Bebop. Even casual fans have likely heard of this series, but don't be fooled by the subpar Netflix adaptation, Cowboy Bebop is one of the greatest anime of all time.
Cowboy Bebop features excellent animation, moody jazz music, exciting fight scenes, colorful set pieces, and more for any new anime fan to enjoy. Once the series is complete, a fan might move on to more series like Steins;Gate or Ghost in the Shell for more anime sci-fi.
4 Vinland Saga (2019)
Not all anime series are isekai or take place in modern Japan. Series such as the medieval anime Vinland Saga take place in a setting much more familiar to Western TV fans who are getting into anime; Vinland Saga should appeal to anyone who enjoyed the Vikings live-action TV show.
Vinland Saga is a short but fascinating Middle Ages-era adventure starring the tough antihero Thorfinn Karlsefni, who is determined to avenge his father Thors and slay the Viking commander Askeladd. However, Thorfinn has a lot to learn — revenge is not always sweet.
3 Death Note (2006)
A TV fan looking for an exciting crime story should give Death Note a try. Death Note follows the genius but twisted high schooler Light Yagami and his quest to use a supernatural murder notebook to change the world.
Light's rampage attracts the attention of the world's greatest detective L, who is determined to take down the mysterious "Kira" killer however he can. The ensuing battle of wits is on par with any mystery novel a Western fan could get their hands on.
2 Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann (2007)
The popular series Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann, or simply Gurren Lagann for short, is a fine choice for any new anime fan who likes giant robots and space adventures in their sci-fi. Gurren Lagann is a shonen tale starring Simon, the boy who will break free of the underground world and see the Earth's surface no matter what.
Simon has a mighty giant robot and some friends on his side, and he will need all that sci-fi firepower for the battles ahead. In Gurren Lagann's second half, a brand-new enemy emerges from beyond known space, a terrifying threat that no sci-fi fan will see coming.
1 Grand Blue (2018)
It's not easy to find the seinen comedy series Grand Blue, since it's only available on Amazon Prime Video, but for Amazon Prime users, it's worth it. Fans of college stories or lighthearted humor are bound to find plenty to love about Grand Blue, which focuses on Iori Kitahara and his college adventures in the diving club.
Grand Blue has it all — wild, beer-soaked parties, wacky humor, charming and expressive characters, and gorgeous underwater vistas. There's even some token educational value where diving and the ocean are concerned. But mostly, it's just one of the best comedy anime series ever, and the first place fans looking for laughs should check.