Anime is an absolutely incredible medium. Its distinct sense of storytelling and visuals have inspired various innovations across the media industry. Its long history and various Japanese influences have also cultivated an entire culture of its own. Best of all, its strange style has managed to bring different communities across the world together.
Anime is a growing medium that is always welcome to new members. However, given its expansive library, where to start is always going to be a tough decision. As such, for any readers interested in getting into anime or life long fans who want to find a way to bring in their friends, this list will be breaking down a few key anime for newcomers to start with (and a few that would definitely scare them off).
10 Scare Them Off: One Piece
When bringing someone into a new interest, it's always a good idea to nurture the idea that it is a hobby/interest. In other words, don't make it into homework. A mistake that long time fans have always made is thinking that their decades-spanning obsession is going to be a good start for new anime fans. It's not.
One Piece in particular has been going on for more than 20 years, and its own anime is prone to the same animation issues and filler content that scares off even veteran Shounen fans. That isn't to say the classic pirate adventure isn't good or worth anyone's time, but that its sheer length is a lot to ask out of someone who just wants to shake up their weekends.
9 Has To Watch: My Hero Academia
With that being said, for those wanting to get into classic Shounen action without the hassle of having to change their entire schedules, My Hero Academia may be a good start. It has the same lovable characters, cool powers, and high octane fights that have made anime iconic, as well as a unique yet detailed superhero aesthetic to complement the current era of superhero films.
Heads up, though: My Hero Academia is an ongoing series, but there isn't too much content out there to intimidate newcomers. Its current fanbase is actually growing, so newbies even have the chance to join an entire anime phenomenon. With Deku's rise to become the world's #1 Hero only getting more exciting by the day, now is the perfect chance to join Class 1-A.
8 Scare Them Off: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion may seem like a go-to given its reputation as one of the most influential and critically acclaimed anime of all time. That doesn't mean, however, that it's exactly the most digestible piece of media. A huge part of Evangelion's identity is its surreal and cerebral nature.
Telling the story of Shinji Ikari's reluctant fight against the mysterious Angels plaguing Japan, Evangelion is an artistic series that builds on the long history of the mecha genre and strongly comments on religion, Japanese industry, and Japanese family life. Without that context or the patience to put up with all of its weird imagery and complex writing, Evangelion may not be the definitive experience for anime as a whole.
7 Has To Watch: Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion
While it is a series that has taken huge inspiration from Evangelion's legacy and that of the entire mecha genre, Code Geass is its own beast, and one of the best examples of incredible writing and pacing within television as a whole. Its story focuses on the defiant Lelouch vi Brittania, a world noble who has been shunned by his father and now seeks redemption for himself, his sister, and the mysterious death of his mother.
Having been gifted with a new power, he now launches an entire revolution to free all of Japan. Lelouch's story is a political thriller that utilizes war, morality, twists, and betrayal to constantly grab the viewer's attention and give them one of the most exciting rides in all of anime.
6 Scare Them Off: Shimoneta
A curse of its cultural background, there are more than a few tropes that have given pause to new and old viewers alike, and a lot of those tropes kind of involve Japan's cultural relationship with intimacy.
As such, Shimoneta is not going to be the most understood or even likable experience for people without that context. Its story focuses on an entire revolution among oppressed Japanese students that isn't so much a complex dialogue as it is just a series of immature pranks and perverted jokes. Shimoneta is an acquired taste that will just be sour to new anime fans.
5 Has To Watch: Ouran High School Host Club
With that being said, Ouran High School Host Club is the perfect introduction for newcomers to anime's wonderful world of comedy, romance, and everything Shoujo. Though Ouran itself is a parody of Shoujo tropes, it does so tastefully and with a loving celebration of the genre's classic archetypes and story beats.
It focuses on the everyday adventures of one club within an elite private school that dedicates its time to acting as "Hosts," gentlemen within Japanese cafes and bars whose entire job is to entertain and woo its customers. The absurdity of its situation is good for a lot of clean laughs, and its lovable characters are more than enough to get people attached to its underlying story and even more so for its romantic entanglements.
4 Scare Them Off: Kill La Kill
While Ouran is a tasteful love letter to cultural tropes, Kill la Kill is a bit odd in comparison. It is the Trigger project that dedicated itself to being fan service in the most indulgent way possible, showing various themes, incredibly animated action, and on-the-nose homages to Japanese revenge thrillers.
As fun as it is for long time fans, Kill la Kill just so happens to be every strange and offensive stereotype that non-anime fans only joke that anime is. It is an exaggerated caricature of everything to love within anime, and it will only send mixed messages for the uninitiated.
3 Has To Watch: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
If one wants to catch one of the best examples of anime visuals without the constant barrage of skimpy clothing, Gurren Lagann is the other project of Kill la Kill's director that garnered him mass acclaim.
A prime example of the decadent animation that made Gainax (and later Trigger) a standard-bearer for all of anime, Gurren Lagann is a space opera that utilizes its sincere characters, grand scope, and epic fights to tell a compelling and exhilarating hero's journey. With brilliantly designed robots, space ships, and characters, Gurren Lagann is there to prove that not every anime looks the same.
2 Scare Them Off: Gintama
Gintama is often considered one of the best examples of anime comedy out there, utilizing animation and weird settings to create jokes that live television just can't match. However, a huge element to its humor is its obscene level of pop culture references.
Rivaling Western contemporaries like Family Guy or Robot Chicken, Gintama is prone to referencing a lot of Japanese television as well as its brethren in Shounen anime. With long time fans already frequenting Wikipedia just to keep up with this show, it's best not to make someone new feel like they're left out of the joke.
1 Has To Watch: Cowboy Bebop
When casual anime fans talk about how great and artistic anime is, they typically refer to Cowboy Bebop. A non-linear, neo-noir adventure in space, Cowboy Bebop provides compelling character stories and incredible action all at about half-an-hour a pop. It also helps that the series takes huge inspiration from Western influences, often utilizing Western settings, music, and themes to define its world.
That's not to mention that this series also has one of the best English dubs of all time. With wonderful writing, style, and acting, Cowboy Bebop is a must for every anime fan, new and old.