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

if you want to try a full range of stuff to see what you would be into i would say give these shows a try

• cowboy bebop
• ah my goddess
• lucky star
• melancholy of haruhi suzumiya
• death note
• i haven't seen it but i understand attack on titan is a really good action show

if you liked dragon ball z when you were younger (over the top action melodrama ect) maybe give some of the big shonen shows a try such as bleach, one piece, naruto, toriko however if you try bleach watch past the first season as it changes its show type afterwards.

i wouldn't watch akira straight away as some people feel its only as popular because of a mix of there being less translated anime at the time and nostalgia. if you watch it after other shows/movies then you can probably make a fair assessment on your own terms.

gainax shows have been consistently good my personal favorite being flcl (its short and shows off there signature shift in tone in a smaller time frame) but gurren lagann and neon genesis evangelion are good popular choices with good reason.

stuff to avoid: bible black, eiken, angel cop and urotsukidoji (better known as legend of the overfiend)

and i will end this post with why i said never watch angel cop

What's with the dub hate? Are they really that bad? Or should I just google the ones that need subs...for example I watched the first episode of FMA: Brotherhood, and it brought back memories of the old Yu Gi Oh days when I was a kid. But with something like Death Note a lot of people are saying subbed is better...

subbed is always better because they put way more emotion and feelings in these voices. Also don't watch Death note. It is really falling apart in the end and you will regret watching it.

I think some people don't like dubs because the English voices tend to be too different from the characters' original voices. Also dubs can sometimes be more censored than subs, but I could be wrong about both. I don't pay much attention to that whole debate.

But yeah I'd probably have to say my top 5 recommendations are:

-JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (the recent version by David Production, they've made parts 1 and 2 so far, just under 30 episodes in total)

-Paranoia Agent

-Cowboy Bebop

-Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

-Big O

I haven't seen Attack on Titan but I hear it's real good too.

it really depends on the series. I speak Japanese personally but certain series actually sounds better in English. Example of dubs that are better or as good as original; Black Lagoon, Ghost in the Shell(this one is a toss up), Cowboy Bebob and FMA(equal imo).

@dacnomaniac: those all sound like good shows to start with, your friend has good taste even if they are relatively depressing... in a good way.

the anime community has its reasons for disliking dubs but they all seem to boil down to they want to keep intact the Japanese nature of the show such as pronunciation of names and some jokes don't work when translated and they need to be changed when they get dubbed. to be honest the majority of dubs after say 2005 are not that horrible and most poles taken of anime fans the split is normally 50/50 on what they watch but sub people tend to watch shows earlier (via fan subs) and are vocal when it isn't the same when it gets taken into English.

Has anyone suggested Darker Than Black yet? because that show is fucking awesome. Definitely in my top 10.

Samurai Champloo

D.Gray.Man

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex

FMA: Brotherhood (Both are good I hear but I've only seen the entirety of Brotherhood)

If you're into weird shows I would also give Serial Experiments Lain, Higurashi no naku koro ni and paranoia agent a shot.

See if you can reverse engineer the ages of the posters in this thread based on what era of anime they suggest! Hint: you probably can, because most people will suggest whatever the good anime were at the time they first got into anime (which I assume to occur between ages 6-16).

By this process, @soothsayergb is probably the oldest person in this thread.

Now just to buck my own trend, I'm going to suggest you watch original Speed Racer. Or better yet, original Astro Boy.

Yeah what this dude said. Anime is like any other media, it has all sorts of genres and sub themes. It has romance, comedy, action, drama, you name it. Give us some details and I will give you a real recommendation.

Miyazaki films have some damn good animation, stories and dubs, and clearly exist within the culture without the esoteric nonsense you normally find in anime. So yeah, that's a good starting point.

@karkarov said:

Anything that isn't too kid-ee, based on sport, domestic drama (Something like Desperate Housewives, or Eastenders) or romantic. Fuck that noise. Everything else I'm cool with. (E.G. Action, Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Crime).

Speaking of dubs, I actually preferred the Cowboy Bebop dub over the sub, and I know there's quite a few people that agree (and disagree I suppose). Just make sure you watch Cowboy Bebop no matter what you decide you prefer. Also I can throw in another confirmation that Attack on Titan is great.

• Darker than Black (First Season ONLY!)
• The Lupin movies / TV series (wasn't there one in... 2011?)
• Cowboy Bebop
• Black Lagoon
• Durarara!!! or Baccano! by the same author
• Un-Go
• Gunslinger Girl
• Night Raid 1931
• Samurai Champloo
• Witch Hunter Robin
• Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry)

Man, I've been out of the game for a while...

No matter what anyone says, it all boils down to taste or preference.

@dacnomaniac: Just watch Cowboy Bebop. To this day it is probably one of the best, if not the best, anime series.

Also recommended, if you're into fantasy at all, Berserk.

Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell would be my starting points. As others have suggested, you should look at what genres you like and find animes that suit that. Hulu is a fantastic source of anime, and new ones seem to come over from Japan in relatively short order.

My list of non-depressing anime to start with, that shouldn't make you sad to be alive.

• Naruto - super easy to get in to
• Dragon Ball Z - Another easy one, as long as you don't mind a whole lot of grunting
• Outlaw Star - Best anime ever
• Gun X Sword (Personally I think it's Gun Sword and the X is just decoration)
• Cowboy Bebop - Right there with Outlaw Star, same sort of atmosphere
• Death Note - Completely psychological instead of guys pounding each other in the face
• Wakfu - French anime, be prepared to read fast though (the only one I watch subbed as it isn't dubbed yet)

Also, I prefer dubs, as I like to watch anime while playing on the computer as a good source of background noise. And even when I am just watching the show I like to see the art that goes into it, not be stuck reading words at the bottom.

Movies

Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Lupin III "Castle of Cagliostro", Vampire Hunter D "Blood Lust", Galaxy Express 999

OVAs

Darkstalkers - Vampire Hunters, R.O.D. (Read or Die), Gun Smith Cats, Record of Lodoss War

TV Series

Escaflowne, Ah! My Goddess, Wagnaria!! (Working!!), Witch Hunter Robin, Bubblegum Crisis, Fruits Basket, Outlaw Star, xxxHOLiC

Sword Art Online is a great anime to start out with I know many of my freinds who don't watch anime have watched that then after I recommend watching Code Geass as it is hailed to be one the best anime's from my point of view.

Am I too late for this one?

I highly recommend Attack on Titan. It's a good anime to start with, but also is one of the more popular ones at the moment. It has a very interesting story so far and it makes you care about the characters.

You generally want subs instead of dubs. The only exception to that rule is: 'saw it when I was young'. To this day I can't watch Dragonball Z without dubs because the japanese voice over sounds ridiculous to me. I know people disagree with me on that; it's just how I got to know that series and I think also partially because 60% of the dialogue is screaming, it sounds better with English voice actors instead of the squeaky Japanese voice overs they had.

cowboy bebop and ghost in the shell

Only watch Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, the first series is decent, but it diverts from the manga early on and has an unsatisfying and weird ending. If you're interested in Death Note, read the manga. The ending to the anime wasn't anywhere close to as good as it was in the manga. I haven't seen Attack on Titan, so I can't comment on it.

If you're into romance at all, then I recommend Clannad. The first season isn't that bad, but holy hell, the second season is hands down the best anime I have ever seen. Hell, even if you're NOT into romance, you ought to check it out.

Edit:

As for the whole dub vs sub thing, I recommend going with the dubs for shows made pass 2006~. More often than not, they are of a good quality, and don't detract from the show at all. If it's an older show though, then definitely go with the subtitles, because the English voice acting can sometimes be very painful to listen to. For instance, someone mentioned Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya earlier, and in my opinion, the dub is FAR superior to the original Japanese.

Cowboy Bebop is also another show where I highly prefer the dub, same with Samurai Champloo.

I disagree with this, every time I see it. There's a movie that caps off the original and it sucks, but the ending to the original anime is really, really good. It's not exactly happy, which is why I think a lot of people dislike it, but it's certainly good.

EDIT: On the topic of subs vs dubs: watch whatever you prefer. I usually watch dubs, most of them aren't anywhere near as bad as people make them out to be past 2000 or so. 90's and back dubs are a lot more questionable, though.

Voice acting anime is taken much more seriously in Japan. There're even specific anime voice acting schools that people attend and generally there's a much larger talent pool to pick and choose from. English dubs are more limited. The same few companies dub everything and generally use the same people over and over since their talent pool is so small and dependent on their location. (I believe Funimation for example only employ people based in Texas)

Some dubs arguably suit the atmosphere more, but I'd say they're few and far between. Shows aimed at younger kids, like the ones you'll probably have nostalgia for, often suffer from cuts and cultural changes. It's not much of a problem for most shows especially nowadays but older shows like Yugioh, Digimon, Cardcaptor Sakura, One Piece (Early episodes) and so on are pretty different.

If there're subs available I'll personally try and watch everything in it's original language (Not limited to anime), but it's all down to personal preference.

I'd say: Anime = 35 year old woman that sounds like a teenager. Dub = 35 year old woman trying to sound like a teenager

The difference is that he's seen all the Hentai.

I would always recommend Trigun and Cowboy Bebop for new anime watchers those are some of the more recent classics and easy to get into. One Piece is GREAT but very long and still ruining highly recommended.

For comedy anime I highly recommend Great Teacher Onizuka, Azumanga Daioh, Golden Boy watch dubbed, Tenchi Muyo and Desert Punk watch dubbed way better.

If Mecha anime is something you want to check out then Gundam is the way to go. It is a very long running franchise but the UC gundams are great if you do not mind lower quality animation due to age. I would recommend starting with Zeta Gundam. Other good mecha animes are Escaflowne, technically Evangelion, aura battler dunbine, Full metal panic, and rahxephon.

Other recommendations that are no specific category Hajime no Ippo (way better than it seems), Gankutsuou, Berserk, Gungrave, Haibane Renmei, Rurouni Kenshin

For anime movies anything Satoshi Kon : Perfect Blue, Millenium actress, ect and anything Miyazaki plus Akira and Jin Roh

Lastly I always have to recommend Legend of the Galactic Heroes to everyone, it is the best space opera tv show ever!!

As you can see I have watched a lot of anime and there should be something in there that you should like.

Everyones recommending all the really good heavy hitters of anime.

What about the shit? Just watch some DBZ its shitty, theres a BILLION episodes, and every anime trope cliche is in it i guess.

Ghibli stuff, Ghost in the Shell, Akira.

@green_incarnate: Zing!

Cowboy Bebop, motherfucker.

Yeah, I'll admit that the ending isn't that bad if you take the movie out of the equation.

Ninja Scroll, then promptly stop because you will never find anything that awesome ever again

This thread blew up really fucking fast! Thanks guys! So far, I managed to get Cowboy Bebop, and Death Note. I'll probably watch FMA: Brotherhood after them too...I might as well watch them in order.

Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.

There's no real easy entry or go to for starting Anime. But there are essentials like Akira or Ninja Scroll which are movies (pick a studio Ghibli at random). Series like Cowboy Bebop or Escaflowne are good for beginners too.

Anime is weird, no one series is representative of the entire "Art" form

I say just pick at random from all the suggestions.

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine was 2012 i think, telling Fujiko's past and Lupin's first meeting

No one suggest Baccano! yet? This is a travesty that must be remedied!

@dacnomaniac: :-) Serious recommendation though is Panty and Stocking with Garter Belt. In short imagine the powerpuff girls with South Park's style of crass vulgar humor. That is PSG in a nutshell. Its amazing and has an equally amazing soundtrack.

Redline is dope as hell!

@otogi said:

Fuck yeah. I'm actually watching it right now, just because you reminded me of it.

Yo, how come people haven't been mentioning Gurren Lagaan? C'mon! There is absolutely no bullshit in that show, it's so sincere, so full of heart. You can't not like, I don't think. And it's a reasonable length, too.

I've been watching Ghost Hunt recently, which is like Japanese Paranormal Activity, so I'm liking it, at least. Polar Bear Cafe and Planetes are also personal favourites of mine. Polar Bear Cafe is without a doubt the funniest, more charming show I've ever seen, and Planetes is just a great idea that's executed nicely. They're space garbage men, cleaning up the debris that's floating around the ozone layer.

Magentic Rose and Baby Blue are both great too.

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend...is a classic. Watching this will show you what Anime is all about.

TRIGUN, Stand Alone Complex (very dialogue heavy though) and Voices of a Distant Star. Also another vote for Redline.

Cowboy Bebop and Ninja Scroll (movie) are an absolute must.

@believer258: Since you mentioned it in this thread anyways, I'm enjoying OG Fullmetal Alchemist's more methodical pace thus far (also the english dub is pretty decent)... but I haven't gotten to the part where it goes off the rails yet. It's sort of crazy how different certain events are portrayed, even while it's ostensibly taking influence from the same source material as brotherhood.

On topic: Neon Genesis Evangelion. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Attack on Titan - (Really fucking depressing action anime)

Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East (Good story, got some dog people, if you're into that sort of thing)

Dog and Scissors - (If you're into self-referential anime humor)

Worlds Greatest First Love - (If you like dudes dating ((not porn)))

Gurren Lagann - (Upbeat comedic action, my personal favorite. Really great)

I mostly stopped watching anime 10 years ago, so I don't know a lot about the newer stuff but here's the stuff I liked enough to watch entire seasons of:

Cowboy Bebop, great music and style story can be a mixed bag, some very funny stuff that works well, some serious drama that is ok but nothing to write home about.

Neon Genesis Evangelion; starts out amazing, gets really insane towards the end, it's all worth watching though.

El Hazard; a good fantasy adventure leans towards the comedic end.

Record of Lodoss War; there are 2 seasons of this and they are completely unrelated, watch season 2, it's much better, high fantasy.

Ranma 1/2; it's very old and it's a very weird teen romance/comedy, I only watched the first few seasons, it's good but once you get the premise you've got it.

Crest of the Stars: interesting Scifi, Earth is diplomatically taken over by an alien federation, romance / action / adventure fairly serious.

Trigun; this series starts out extremely stupid and gets better the further in you get.

Martian Successor Nadesico; scifi anime, it's a bit of a parody so I wouldn't make it the first thing you watch, but it's one of my favorites

Perfect Blue: great crime movie about pop culture, I would recommend this to people that didn't like anime, it's just a good movie.

Castle of Cagliostro: a great heist film in anime form.

Samurai Champloo; I watched this recently, it's really just alot of action but it's fun and I thought it ended very well which is fairly rare in anime.

I don't really watch anime but I have really enjoyed Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Attack on Titan.

Angel Beats, its a little of everything. Only 13 episodes too. Sword Art Online is also pretty awesome.

Angel Beats, its a little of everything. Only 13 episodes too. Sword Art Online is also pretty awesome.