I honestly don't know if jumping right into Akira is the best option at this point. Its been blow up and hyped so much as the general go to anime for starters that it may have the same effect on some people as top gun had on me. People told me top gun was amazing and by the time I realized I had never saw it it was blow up so much in my mind that theres no way that movie could ever reach the standards people had set.
Redline is great even for people that don't like Anime because it's just fricken weird and nuts. I stopped watching Anime TV around 2004 or so, it just doesn't seem like there's anything out there that could match the stuff like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Berserk, Escaflowne, etc. Anime movies are still pretty good though.
@brackstone: I used to watch a lot of Anime and I think most Anime TV is bad. I got into One Piece for a little bit and it has it's charms but it's too damn long and suffers from the DBZ effect of a lot of still pictures with mouths moving for 95% of an episode followed by a couple minutes of action.
What about the people that don't enjoy the Studio Ghibli style that much. I always find it fascinating how those movies are always so highly recommended as a person that used to watch a lot of anime in my younger days I can hardly stand the look of them.
I know its not a film, but Steins Gate is an awesome (short) anime series. It has some really awesome concepts around time travel and as its only around 15 episodes or so its a lot less intimidating than some of the 600 episode behemoths.
@humanity: I'm curious if by Ghibli you mean all Ghibli or Miyazaki specifically? Isao Takahata's films are very different both from an art and a story standpoint. Outside of both directors making excellent films they don't really share much outside of general themes involving ecological conservation and peaceful solutions to conflict. I didn't include a single Miyazaki film in the main list. If it is the art you dislike then I maybe wouldn't recommend Arrietty as the director is also a lead artist for most of Miyazaki's films. But the others I mentioned are all visually distinct and don't have any of the fantastical backdrops that most of Miyazaki's films have. I can't think of anything else that all Ghibli films share.
I saw this thread and had the immediate impulse to suggest From Up on Poppy Hill and Whisper of the Heart but I see I have been wholly anticipated in that respect. I'm not one to watch very much anime at all, but those two films are easily some of my favorites in any context. Beyond that I can only offer classic suggestions which I cannot imagine have not been already mentioned: Ghost in the Shell and Akira, which together with Blade Runner form something of a holy trinity of cyberpunk for me. I'm not one for science fiction in almost any medium, but those films always manage to grab me with their atmosphere and aesthetic.
I've been wanting to see Only Yesterday for ages, but unfortunately it doesn't look like it's coming out here anytime soon.
In order to show anime to people that "hate" anime you have to know what they like. I was successful in showing an entire anime series to my cousin and friend because I knew that they liked T&A, killing, and zombies. The perfect solution was the Highschool of the Dead dub (dub because normal people don't want to read subtitles and can't read subtitles at the required speed for enjoyment).
Both of them wanted to the see a 2nd season (currently doesn't exist) and have asked me on several occasions if the 2nd season had been made yet.
You guys are coming at this problem from a flawed perspective. It doesn't matter what you like or what introduced you to anime. Find out what your friend likes. Ask if they want to have fun, see sexy stuff, cry, get scared, get traumatized, think deeply, etc. and you'll have more success.
I'm not going to bust a Madoka on someone just because it's a top tier anime.
EDIT: For guys you generally can't go wrong with violence, sex and lots of action.
But yeah, I'm with you. If people tell me they hate anime, I'm not going to suggest they watch it.
If they're looking for a recommendation to get into it though, I'll point them towards stuff I know they'll enjoy specifically. Or End of Evangelion for a laugh.
I think in recommending anime, I stick to films and short series. But you have to be careful. As above, Madoka is a great show...but a lot of what it does is counting on the viewer to have previously seen 'magical girl' shows. But then, if they're into dark storylines and lots of action, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest Attack on Titan.
One of the greatest strengths of anime (over western animation and TV in general) is that many shows are planned from the start with a 12 or 26 episode run. It's nice to have a story with a defined pace, instead of the "lets keep going until they cancel us" you find in western TV, which tends to force writers to tack on a rushed ending when the inevitable cancellation happens.
That said, the adage of 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink' applies here. It's pointless (and annoying) to try and make someone interested in something if they don't make the first move. A lot of people can't get past the stigma of watching anything animated as an adult, and it's not worth trying to change their minds.
Awesome list. I actually just watched the 1985 anime film Angel's Egg and it is definitely a film ahead of its time. It feels more like a Tarkovsky film or at least influenced by European art house cinema (which makes sense, since Oshii was fond of those films). I would consider it to be pretty inaccessible due to the lack of dialogue and extremely slow pace, but I would urge any fan of the medium to at least give it a chance.
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