I've never watched an Anime, where do I start?

As the title suggests. I have no fucking clue what to start watching. My friend recommended; Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note, and Attack On Titan. Are they decent recommendations?

Are movies considered anime ?

If so, anything by Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress, Paprika) or watch Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

... Grave of the Fireflies if you wanna cry.

Boku no Pico.

Bible Black.

Firstly you should decide what genres you like the most in books, movies, games etc. Then pick your anime accordingly. Otherwise you may not like it at all and fuck anime for life.

Also, don't listen to Demoskinos' recommendation.

Those three are pretty good to start with, a touch on the darker, grittier end of things, but it'll do for a start.

I'll recommend Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.

Also, ShockD's right on target.

I fell out of watching them regularly a long time ago, but I still remember Death Note very fondly, it's not a long show compared to other series, and has a mature plot that isn't bogged down with hours of unrelated activities. So it should be one of the first ones on your list.

@demoskinos: I said Anime, not Hentai.

Either Akira or Cowboy Bebop are the best places to start, as both are required viewing if you enjoy television and movies regardless of your opinion on anime. Anyway, I don't like a whole lot of anime but my favorites are as follows:

Series: Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Death Note

Movies: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, The Castle of Cagliostro, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies

There's a difference?

If you have Netflix, just do a search on Anime where there are plenty of good things in there. I recommend most of the movies in there especially stuff like Tokyo Godfathers.

On the TV side, your mileage may vary. I feel shows like Death Note are utter nonsense.

cowboy bebop is real good. also ghost in the shell (the movie and also stand alone complex, the series).

Also Redline, the movie.

also, never forget

I'd say if you don't wanna watch a dragged on 26 episode series might consider watching some anime films. Like most can't say enough about Miyazaki films. I know when I began watching anime I started with the obvious classics like Cowboy Bebop. Also if you're just looking to browse sign up for a trial account on Crunchyroll or Hulu Plus.

@dacnomaniac: I've watched perhaps 3-4 anime series in my life. Clearly I'm no expert on the subject, but I'd say, as with any form of media, that it'd do us really well if you could elaborate a little bit on your interests as well as your overall movie/tv-series taste. What is it you're looking for in a show?

I've watched Fullmetal Alchemist and Death Note both, and in my opinion, those two are absolutely terrific by any standards. They're both quite down to earth in their own way, requiring none of the usual japanophile knowlege, ia why lolis make the world go round. Additionally, they feature great stories, a fantastic set of characters and some really enjoyable art, making 'em a pleasure to watch. That said, they're two very different shows. Fullmetal Alchemist is a very character-driven show set up in a pretty flashy way, with a great mix of comedy and tragedy. Death Note is certainly more intended for the pseudo-intellectual, featuring ridiculously elaborate plans that bordering upon the impossible, but it does it with such style that it's hard not to appreciate. It's also quite daring in what it tries to do.

Personally, however, I'd say wait with both of those shows until you've seen "Bakemonogatari" (There are also a number of sequals / prequels that go by different variations of the name -monogatari. Nisemonogatari is the sequal for example); it's the best thing, period. Completely dialogue driven drama that's also the most gorgeous thing you're like to ever see. It's also just very, very different from anything else out there, making it a very fresh experience no matter where it is you're coming from. It's got incredibly clever writing, among the best I've seen, and I'm currently majoring in English Literature.

Now Imma' pretend I was never in this thread, because anime, ugh!

Bible Black: Boku no Pico

Don't do it man, just turn yourself in to the authorities before shit gets out of control .

Samurai Champloo and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood are the top two for me.

Telling someone new to Anime to watch Bakemonogatari is like telling someone who wants to start watch movies to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Most (90%) anime are complete trash, so please pick your battle.

My personal recommendation would be the classics; Cowboy Bebob, Samurai Champloo, the new Berserk movies(very mature, containing scenes of rape, mass murder, it is pretty much anime game of throne), FMA: Brotherhood, Darker Than Black, Ghost in the Shell and of cause Evangelian.

I haven't seen anything new for years but I have heard good things about Attack of the Titan.

Sturgeon's Law, son.

I'm not seeing enough Death Note or Attack on Titan in here. Yeah, yeah, AoT is this year's hotness, so people are quick to dismiss it because everyone's watching it, but it's pretty accessible for newcomers and is very good.

Death Note on the other hand is an oldie but a goodie. If you like the Cat & Mouse aspect of Sherlock Holmes, or basically any kind of thriller, I highly recommend Death Note.

Anime is more of a style and less of a genre, you gonna have to tell us what kind of tv/movies/games you like to get a good answer. Your friend gave you some good recommendations though. Full Metal Alchemist:Brotherhood is a decent place to start, I'd say better than the older FMA , but that's really just opinion. Good story, great action and nice animation. It's also finished already, in case you wanna binge. Attack on Titan started this year and has been reaaally good so far, might as well add that to the list too. Death Note is really more "cerebral" for the lack of a better word. Probably not the one I'd start with but certainly one of the great ones(well, the ending is sort of meh. but i enjoyed it.)

Also, don't use dubs. Seriously. Unless you are one of those people who just can't stand reading text while watching something: subs>dubs 98.86% of the time.

There are some good movies out there. I enjoyed "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle" a lot.

I watched "Bleach" up until the conclusion with Aizen, really enjoyed that. Skipped all the filler episodes though as I thought they were trash.

Currently watching "Attack On Titan" and loving it. I'm even reading the manga - a first for me. I can't get enough "Attack on Titan" right now.

I did that once.

@noval: @do_the_manta_ray: @shockd: I have no idea how dark Anime actually gets, but these are the current shows I've been watching; Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Spartacus, and Homeland. With that said I just started watching FMA: Brotherhood on Netflix and I like it so far...

I started with the original Full Metal Alchemist. It's a great place to start!

Also fuck subs. Yeah, I said it!

(I don't actually care, but it's kind of weird how some people defend subs like they're always better done when you don't understand the language and can't really tell.)

Why hate on dubs? I've seen 30+ years of Anime and can tell you that all too often the original Japanese dialog is pretty far from Shakespearean and is stilted as well.

watch the miyazaki movies

the series "MUSHI-SHI" is the only anime show ive enjoyed.

Watch Cowboy Bebop and then be sad that no other anime is as good as it.

Oh, and if you're into something dark, maybe go for Death Note. That's one of those anti-hero ones. In general, start with shows that only went on for a season or two, and avoid ones that went for 8-9 or are still running. The latter can often be full of a lot of padding that'll bore you to tears if you're not into it.

Monster is a pretty dark anime.

Incidentally, Bakemonogatari was the first Japanese novel I read

I'd suggest Great Teacher Onizuka
Evangelion - if you're into mechs
Berserk - Anime + Films and Manga
Mononoke Hime
If you're into more serious stuff try Monster
The Hellsing OVAs are cool
If you like pirates and long ass stuff One Piece is cool
Tenjou Tenge is a nice fighting anime, aswell as History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi
Claymore is cool

I used to watch lots of animes, liked lots of the older stuff, cuz if you ask me the new is mostly crap, the Romance/School Life/Slice of Life and such shit are so generic.

Once you figure out what kind of stuff you like, you can visit sites like AniDB or MyAnimeList and browse for animes.

@dacnomaniac: You'll definitely like Berserk then. The comparison to Breaking Bad is very apt. Otherwise, check out any action anime that was aired from the 90's to mid 2000's on Toonami/Adult Swim. Cowboy Bebop, Lupin III, or Trigun, for example. I also liked the Cyborg 009 reboot and G Gundam. I actually never got around to FMA myself. I've heard many people recommend Brotherhood over the original because it's closer to the manga, but not having read the manga, I don't know if that makes it "better" per se, as its own product.

Also, don't watch Boku no Pico. It's incestual pedo fodder and common newbie shock bait.

@noval: For me, it depends on the quality of the dub and the pacing of the series. Definitely some fantastic dubs out there, while others have abysmal dubs, and for some, both kind of suck. But I definitely agree on the rest of your post. I've watched anime ranging from slice-of-life, to comedy, to drama, shounen, shoujo, mecha, gag series...many of which have nothing in common other than the fact that they're from Japan and they're animated.

Neon Genesis Evangelion.

@extomar: Yeah, for serious. Dubs get a bad rap.

@dacnomaniac: those are all poor recommendations.

Instead watch: Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, FLCL and "Now and Then, Here and There"

For starters, you can't ever go too awfully wrong with trying anything that comes from Studio Ghibli, as there is a Disney-like quality to many of the movies. If you want something more violent, then most of what the crowd here recommended to you will suit the purpose. Cowboy Bebop is definitely worth a try, and a very natural recommendation from those who have watched and enjoyed the series. Even if you're not a big anime fan, Cowboy Bebop is still worth your time. I can say that because it was worth my time, and I'm not a huge anime fan... though there are definitely a few anime that I do like.

Good luck, and I hope you can find something that you will enjoy.

Digimon

Attack on Titan is incredible - it's easily one of the best anime series in a decade.

Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and Evangelion are sort of required watching when getting into anime.

Anything from Studio Ghibli (Totoro, Nausicaa, Spirtied Away) is top notch.

Above all of these, Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still is my all time favorite anime series.

You start by getting drunk and/or high.

Death Note, Attack On Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist and Cowboy Bebop are all superb. Right now i'm watching Dangan Ronpa and that's pretty cool too.

I highly recommend watching Attack on Titan because it just continues to ramp up the hype from episode 1 all the way to episode 7. After that it goes up and down every other episode as it increases and decreases the tension.

I've watched a lot of anime and that is the only show that comes to mind that you can jump into without knowing about any anime tropes.

If you want dark anime you can get it as dark as you want (murder, rape, torture, all sorts of sexual stuff) but the best anime stories sprinkle that stuff in. You'll notice that FMA: Brotherhood throws some stuff at you right from the first few episodes.

I've attached the first trailer for Attack on Titan. I would not recommend searching out info for Attack on Titan since everyone is discussing the various spoilers that have happened. Watching that is enough to know if you'll get hyped about it.

I'm not really an anime enthusiast but some things I've enjoyed:

Akira, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in Shell, Record of Lodoss War, Macross Saga

Battle Angel. Ninja scroll. MD Geist. Fist of the North Star. Ghost in the Shell.

Generally speaking, English subtitles are best, English dubbed for laughs. Though some of the more popular movies/series are well translated and OK to watch dubbed because they had a big enough budget to hire decent voice actors. See Below.

The good stuff has massive amounts of gore, blood, rape, sex, demons, language and could be considered porno for Quinton Tarantino.

WARNING!!! Do not watch Akira first. Akira is best enjoyed after many others have been consumed and you mind has been prepared.

@soothsayergb: Alita ahh yes. Another forgotten classic. Anime has gotten pretty bad these days but we still have the classics to aid us.

Full Metal Alchemist or Attack on Titan. Maybe season 1 of Sword Art Online.

How about you tell us first what kind of genre you normally like in movies or shows? mystery? Horror Romance? Comedy? Crime? Maybe you like sport? There are tons of great stuff out there especially if you are new but to give you the best ones for you we need to know what you like or dislike^^