How do I get into anime

[thespyisdead]

i suggest start with short, dubbed anime(12-26 episodes long) then attempt to watch anime, that has been running for a long time, and then move to subbed anime

 

[Dreamer of Theaters]

Tried to get into anime once, couldn't be fucked reading more than one volume of Bleach, rofl. You need to realise that anime isn't everyone's cup of tea, and no matter how hard you try, you probabaly won't like it. As long as you give it a try first.
One thing that has always made me dislike anime in general is the way they draw the noses in anime: pointy. WHO THE FUCK HAS POINTY NOSES PEOPLE? That's why I never liked Ash's face or any of the faces from Pokemon.
Also, please don't become another weaboo. We already have enough of them in the world.

 

[Dreamer of Theaters]

It's funny because in my friends's group, it is only my friend and I who are the only ones who don't really know or care about anime. I always feel like such a black sheep. There's like 10 anime fans and 2 people who don't care.

 

[Tiger Sora]

If you like depth and things that arn't just explosion / fist feasts. I'd recommend watching Spice and Wolf. An anime about a merchant and a wolf deity in the form of a woman traveling. It's not just about them falling in love either. You lear of the merchant craft. Theres the deception, character depth. It's a good show and not horrifically long, 13 episodes in 2 seasons.

The other is .Hack Sign. An Anime as big as the world that it takes place in. 50 episodes. This is probably something you'd not want to tackle until your sure you like Anime. Again it's not just a big fight scene. Both of these shows have some fighting but it's rather minimal against their entirety. This one will leave you wondering who, what, where, when for quite some time. Its a bit slow paced but everything works out just beautifully.

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

Watch Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Problem solved.

 

[Richardplex]

If you like depth and things that arn't just explosion / fist feasts. I'd recommend watching Spice and Wolf. An anime about a merchant and a wolf deity in the form of a woman traveling. It's not just about them falling in love either. You lear of the merchant craft. Theres the deception, character depth. It's a good show and not horrifically long, 13 episodes in 2 seasons.

The other is .Hack Sign. An Anime as big as the world that it takes place in. 50 episodes. This is probably something you'd not want to tackle until your sure you like Anime. Again it's not just a big fight scene. Both of these shows have some fighting but it's rather minimal against their entirety. This one will leave you wondering who, what, where, when for quite some time. Its a bit slow paced but everything works out just beautifully.

Wait what? .Hack//Sign is 26 episodes. "A bit slow paced" is a monumental understatement. And it doesn't leave you wondering, it's fairly straight forward. It's an anime that's for people who have played an mmo seriously, and/or know the feelings of escapism. It's one of my favourite anime, but you really misrepresented it.
[sub]Also it has music by Yuki Kajiura. Worth it just for that to be honest.[/sub]

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Try out Steins;Gate.

I haven't watched the anime myself but I have read the visual novel and apparently the anime is very faithful. The story is very well done with a lot of hard sci-fi, the characters are quite enjoyable and there are no massive explosions every 5 seconds (it isn't action).

Steins;Gate is almost as good as the VN, but with some smaller changes. It's my second favourite anime, so I would also recommend it.

Black Lagoon is the first anime I watched and loved. It's the reason I'm more interested in anime these days.

 

[necromanzer52]

I would recommend Mushi-Shi as it's a personal favourite and is quite different in pace and tone to most anime. Also, it's all up on youtube with both subs and dubs so you can decide which you prefer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdhR5XZNXbs

Basically, Ginko is a doctor who travels around rural japan dealing with strange illnesses caused by little supernatural microorganisms. Each episode is an essentially self contained story, but all are beautifully told and animated, and not every one has a happy ending. Also, there are only 26 episodes, so it's not a huge track to get to the end.

Now, this is my favorite anime, and I will recommend it to anyone, but I must add that it doesn't have a continuing story or anything, all the episodes are completely self contained stories. If you're in the mood for something calm & relaxing I highly recommend it. I for one like to watch it just before going to bed.

OT: Common gateway anime include:

Death note - Literally everyone I know in real life who's into anime started out with death note. It's about this bloke who finds this book, where if he writes someone's name in it, then they die in 40 seconds.

Cowboy bebop - About a group of bounty hunters in the future, who fly around the solar system looking for bounties to collect. With this the story is interesting because of the characters rather than having an ongoing story.

Baccano - Which is basically about a train robbery. There's way more to it, but I wouldn't want to spoil anything.

And a couple more of my favorites:

Beck:Mongolian chop squad - About a group of musicians trying to get famous.

Kino's journey - About this girl who travels around the world, staying in every city she reaches for 3 days, no more, no less. And each episode is basically about her experiences in each individual city.

Those should be enough to get you started.

 

[Lilani]

Just going into the collective wisdom of the escapist community give me some intelligent and epic anime's want to hopefully get into it before Avcon so give me what you've got

Try a whole bunch of different kinds. You'll discover that there are different types of anime, geared toward different audiences. So just take a look at the recommendations you see in this thread and try and find what works for you. You won't like everything you see, and never let anyone feel like you should. I think that's a problem a lot of people have trouble when getting into anime--the people they ask for recommendations from make it seem as though if they don't like EXACTLY the same things anime just isn't for them. And that just isn't true. So here are my recommendations, take them as you will:

Awesome characters and story: Cowboy Bebop, Baccano (Baccano is on Funimation's web site in full, all you have to do is make an account and be over 18. I recommend the dub, it is a fantastic one [http://www.funimation.com/baccano/episodes])

Awesome action/characters: Gurren Lagaan, Durarara (both available to watch on Hulu for free)

Awesome character exploration and development: Welcome to the NHK (also on Funimation, but again you have to be 18, and note this one might be a bit hard to get into if you aren't already familiar with a few common Japanese and anime tropes).

You won't see a lot of slice of life/romance animes recommended here, because like 99% of them are utter crap and pander to a very specific audience. However, I HIGHLY recommend Toradora. It is by far the best slice of life anime I have ever seen, and I think really shows the genre can be done right. Unlike most anime love stories, the characters are vibrant and real. They aren't stereotypes, they are unique and have an incredible dynamic. Definitely a great character study, if you're into that sort of thing. Other people might recommend Clanaad, but I feel like the characters in it are just so flat and unreal. They've got no chemistry and no business even being together, other than some weird paranormal storyline that keeps popping up. But then again it might be worth a look if you don't like Toradora. I hear it has a sad ending, though.

 

[teknoarcanist]

Gonna go ahead and recommend some "good period, not just good for anime" series.

Cowboy Bebop - Bounty hunters in space. Universally regarded as the best anime series ever. Good characters, unique setting, smooth flow and tone, top-tier pacing, beautiful animation, episodes stand well alone like Western animation.

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex / Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig - Future cops with robot parts. Universally regarded as also the best anime series ever. Paints an extremely realistic version of the future while spinning a corporate conspiracy wrapped in a tight police procedural that rivals even prime-time American cop shows like The Shield or Law and Order. Ghosts on the internet, talking robot tanks, paramilitary action, you name it.

Fullmetal Alchemist - Fantasy sci-fi about a pair of brothers who dabble in science/magic that Treads Where Man Was Not Meant To Tread. One loses his arm, the other has his soul bound into a suit of armor, and now they're searching for the legendary Philosopher's Stone that will allow them to fix it.

Death Note - Another police procedural...sort of. Guy gets a magical book which, by writing someone's name inside, causes them to immediately suffer a heart attack and die. He uses this to kill criminals, convicts, and the detectives pursuing him, gradually transforming from the series' protagonist to its antagonist as he strives to outwit everyone and create utopia with a deadly power he shouldn't possess. Writing is bloated and a little heavy on exposition at times, but the plotting is excellent. Just stop at the end of the second season.

Trigun - Sci-fi western. In the world of Gunsmoke, two insurance agents track and monitor the activities of a deadly gunslinger called Vash "The Stampede", as he wanders from place to place: righting wrongs, causing wanton destruction, and trying to escape his past. Veers from tragic to hilarious to tense at a breakneck speed. Excellent characters, skilled writing. Episodes stand well alone, like Western animation.

FLCL - "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" if it were a balls-out-crazy punk-rock coming-of-age story with giant robots. Makes little sense but has a lot to say, and is an extremely solid piece of work. Very hyper-kinetic and "anime-ish". Not for the feint of heart. Rewards multiple viewings and altered states of consciousness.

Mushi-shi - Anime X-files, but instead of paranormal cover-ups, the investigations are into creatures called "Mushi," and the mysterious folk-tale-style effects they have on the world around them. Slow pacing (think hour-long HBO drama) but the writing is STELLAR.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - People will argue it's not really an anime because it's American-made, but fuck 'em. Excellent all-ages fantasy in an Asian-inspired setting, with some of the best fight scenes you'll ever see in animation. Gets bonus points for multiracial protagonists and presenting Buddhist philosophies in a way that's palatable to kids.

Honorary mentions: Noein (time-travel), Last Exile (airships), Eden of the East (The Bourne Anime), Tiger and Bunny (superheroes-as-reality-TV), and Wolf's Rain (post-apocalyptic fantasy about wolves)

 

[rob_simple]

Disregard everything, watch Dragon Ball Z.. Nothing else can compare

We're trying to help him get into anime, if he thought Naruto was a chore then DBZ will probably kill him stone dead with boredom.

OT: As others have mentioned, Cowboy Bebop is pretty much your required reading for getting into anime, but if that's not your bag then Samurai Champloo is pretty much the same thing but with samurai instead of...space cowboys.

Depending on how much violence you can stomach, both the Samurai X and Hellsing OVA's are fantastic to watch, the animation in the latter being some of the best I've ever seen.

If you're into comedy, GTO and Azumanga Daioh are pretty amusing, as is Excel Saga but it's has it's tongue punched right through it's cheek so if you don't like random stuff blowing up you might hate it.

Oh, and I know it'll all ready have been said, but I'd advise avoiding Neon Genesis Evangelion because it's not nearly as clever as it thinks it is and towards the end it descends into a complete clusterfuck.

Quick Edit: I'd highly recommend watching Ghost Hunt, if not the whole series then the Bloodstained Labyrinth arc. It's only four episodes long but it's freaky as all hell.

 

[geK0]

Find an anime you like on a free streaming site such as crunchyroll and just sit down and watch; If you get bored of one show try another that has been suggested to you, or just pick one at random.

 

[ccggenius12]

Disregard everything, watch Dragon Ball Z.. Nothing else can compare

Did you even read the op? He said he didn't want a series in which everything ended with an explosion... I could see an argument for Dragon ball, and maybe Z up through the Frieza Arc, but the majority of Z after that is grunting, explosions and The Great Saiyaman.

Also, the obligatory anime guide I post every time one of these threads shows up.

That list lacks Lupin III, I are disappoint. >30 years and it's still chugging along, must be doing something right.

Most people seem to like at least one of the big three shonen. Those are naruto, one piece and bleach with fairy tail arguably being a fourth. One piece supposedly gets a lot better as it goes on (haven't got past episode 12 yet), bleach is the opposite.

Also find out which arcs are filler's and don't bother watching them. Almost all filler's are awful.

As I understand it, Bleach was pushed out of the Big 3 in Japan. Who knew degenerating into a formulaic series where nothing happens would do that? Also, I have never actually seen anyone anywhere complain about the filler in One Piece. In fact, I've seen several people praise it as being better that the actual content in Bleach. I haven't viewed enough of either to make that call, but I can say this about One piece. Even when 4kids ripped One Piece in half and used the bits that fell out of the chest cavity to make a Frankenshow, I still found it to be watchable, though I guess not watching the real show first might have helped.
OT: It seems your problem is that you're watching the equivalent of Saturday morning cartoons. It used to be that that's all there was in America, but now we have options. Without knowing more of your interests, I'd say Durarara and Baccano fit your demand for character development. They takes the Game of Thrones style of storytelling, so every episode focuses on events from one character's perspective, and you gradually see how it all weaves together.
I'd also like to second The Big O. It's what you'd get if Batman piloted a giant robot in a noire-esque setting. The last episode is kinda wonky, but if you follow the advice of these people and can get through Evangelion, then it shouldn't be too bad.
(Seriously, due to fan complaints, the ending of EVA was changed, TWICE. I watched the series with the non-rewrite endings, and found it to be nothing special. My friends say that the movie that changes the ending totally makes it an awesome series, but I'm more inclined to judge the series based on the artists original vision, not something that was made to get fans to STFU. It's not a bad series, but my god, every character in that show was either a whiny ***** or a douchebag. I don't see how we're supposed to relate to any of them.)
All this being said, "character driven story" isn't exactly a sub-genre, could we get more specific demands? If you want to start with Giant Robots, let us know. If you want something more classic fantasy, tell us. (Escaflowne fits both of those genres and is a classic BTW). The point is, there is a metric shit-ton of good stuff out there, and narrowing the search would be helpful for you and us. (Us being the people who don't just see the thread asking about anime and drop their favorites in a post. They say the same things regardless of what the OP is asking for...)

 

[teknoarcanist]

snip

Second Big O. "Batman, if he had a Gundam." Excellent writing, excellent animation, great setting and characters, and most episodes stand well alone.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

I got into anime with Death Note. Then I got recommended FLCL, then that moved onto Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, and so on.

It really just depends on what you're looking for. Aside from the writing, do you want high action, romance, Slice-of-life, etc. We really need more details before we can recommend something to your tastes.

Also, the obligatory anime guide I post every time one of these threads shows up.

Spoiler: Anime guide

No Tenchi Muyo in that list?

 

[Kragg]

Okay so i'm not the greatest anime fan I used to occasionally watch pokemon and Naruto but watching them felt like a chore.
Just need some advice on how I can truly get into the genre I can see the attraction but I have never felt any real connection to any sort of characters in tv anime.
For me most of the situations seem to simplistic and for me it's hard to get around the juxtaposition where nearly every situation causes a massive explosion.
Personally I like the more in depth storyline I am a massive fan of the mass effect style of writing where you develop a relationship with the characters.

Just going into the collective wisdom of the escapist community give me some intelligent and epic anime's want to hopefully get into it before Avcon so give me what you've got

.... what?

had to check your profile to see your age, and saw you're in uni. ok ... well ...

Why? You "need advice how to get into the genre" ?
Most of these posts are going to be lists of anime stuff which you can find everywhere, and some will be actual help to ease you in, but again ... why

You don't like something but feel some kind of urge anyway, it feels like a "chore"?
If you don't like it, don't watch it, simple, don't feel a need to please a community or be a stereotype ... you're an individual, not an archetype "nerd/geek whatever ! you are you, you don't like anime, which is an artstyle btw, not a narrative ... that is all there is

 

[Pickles]

I know these two have both been mentioned to death in this thread, but its for a reason. Death Note and Code Geass are definitely two really good ones to start with.
Another that comes to mind is Full Metal Alchemist. They had a second version called brotherhood but I haven't watched it so I can't really comment. The original anime however has a great story and is a decent length without dragging on (I think its about 55-65 episodes)

I've also got a few friends who love Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu but don't like any other anime. It's one of the most hilarious shows I've seen. Definitely give that a try if you have trouble getting into anime.

 

[Gwright9001]

SO far only one person has recommended Full metal Alchemist. That is shameful.
As someone entering anime i think it will be quite easy to pick up the story and setting without any turn off.

Also, its a american show, and not even considered anime (I've never understood why, it employs a ton of the same art styles that any anime show would use) but Avatar: the Last Airbender is a fantastic show, not just for kids. The earlier episodes are a bit formulaic of making a episode with tacked on morals at the end with not that much progress in the plot, but all in all when the show starts to get moving you can really start to care about it.
Its not the most mature show, as its geared to kids for it, and there will be some parts that will make you roll your eyes and say "Damn kids, ruining my shows!" but its the easiest start, if its the art styles that make you ignore anime.

Also, using martial arts to control elements? BAD ASS.

EDIT: as soon as i post a few more people suggested FMA (full metal alchemist)