wanna get into anime but....

[HeySeansOnline]

Well Cowboy Bebop is good, an amazing anime without any major mindfucks, a nice dose of comedy, and characters that are timeless, with great jazz to boot.

Now for something lighter the original Gundam is good, it's a bit longer then most, about fifty other then the usual twenty six, but it's a nice starting point.

And then theres Trigun, which is a very good second anime. It's a bit wacky storywise but comes off at sometimes almost like anime'd Simpsons. This was where I really got into anime.

 

[burninillusion]

I would recommend The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, I totally love that show dude it is awesome. Everything else I have is already listed so I see no reason to type it again.

 

[Azure Sky]

In defense of a lot of the meta-series stuff though, they were all MEANT to be exciting and easy to get into. The downside is that they last forever so the mangakas can keep getting paid.

Agreed, but I wish others would realize this.

 

[the lapalminator]

TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


that is all

 

[Drakmeire]

try to start with something short,
if you want some violence try highschool of the dead,
mature dark story- Elfen lied.
if you want something just plain cool go with trigun.

 

[the lapalminator]

its just not happening asides from the boondocks

what anime should i watch to get into it?

Do you want to start off hard, or ease into the experience?

 

[matrix3509]

7.Gundam The 08TH MS Team. It really stands out for me because it's one of the few Gundam series that give a general sense of fear because the action is unpredictable and the characters really endear themselves to the audiance...

I second this choice. Plus, I'll give you another reason why its the best Gundam series out of them all (and this is coming from me, a hardcore Gundam fan). The Gundams (and by association, the pilots) are way more intriguing than in other Gundam series because they don't happen to be unstoppable gods of death and destruction like in all other Gundams.

 

[crhoades]

my recommendations trigun,cowboy bebop,baccano,full metal alchemist and, soul eater

 

[Sacman]

7.Gundam The 08TH MS Team. It really stands out for me because it's one of the few Gundam series that give a general sense of fear because the action is unpredictable and the characters really endear themselves to the audiance...

I second this choice. Plus, I'll give you another reason why its the best Gundam series out of them all (and this is coming from me, a hardcore Gundam fan). The Gundams (and by association, the pilots) are way more intriguing than in other Gundam series because they don't happen to be unstoppable gods of death and destruction like in all other Gundams.

That's exactly why I liked it...

 

[Chancie]

I'm going to say Wolf's Rain. It was my first anime (minus Digimon, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Card Captors from when I was little). I absolutely loved it, and it's still my favorite.

And someone already said it, both Death Note's pretty good and easy to get into.

 

[goldenheart323]

Death Note.
Well well written. Almost no plot holes. A genius college student gets a notebook from the supernatural realm that has the power to kill people if you know their name & face. A demon "angel of death" follows the notebook to Earth for entertainment. He's bored. For entertainment, he watches how a human uses this power. He uses it to kill criminals, but the cops hunt him down for his vigilantism with the help of another genius detective.

Full Metal Alchemist. Either version is good.
I really didn't notice a difference between them. In fact, when I started Brotherhood, I jumped to the middle because I didn't even know there were 2 versions at the time. I still enjoyed it. Brotherhood is more of a saga that must be watched in order. The 1st run isn't nearly as deep, but otherwise has the same general feel. The ending of Brother hood is epic (in the literal meaning of the word, not the watered down, internet version of the word). The climax is a battle that occurs on several fronts & lasts over 10 episodes long! It was one heck of a ride.

Robotech: Macross Saga.
It's anime in art style only though. It was made for a Western audience. I couldn't get into the other Robotech shows though. I only enjoyed Macross. The others were just too different from the 1st for me.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.
Good vampire movie set in the distant future after the fall of man. (This is a movie. My other suggestions are TV shows.) Vampires took over for a while, but humans finally kicked their butts & reclaimed Earth. Now, there are only a few vampires left. It's a unique mix of left over future tech mixed with horse & buggy tech, ruins of present day bridges & sky scrapers, and some other supernatural bad guys that help out the vampires. There's even a bit of romance mixed in. Probably a good movie to watch over Halloween with a date.

Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Good sci-fi. Giant alien monsters attack Earth one at a time. Humans fight back using giant robots made from alien tech. It's an interesting story, but almost no resolution in the end. It turns into a weird existential discussion about the nature of existence. You never learn why the aliens attack, where they came from, etc.

 

[-Samurai-]

Don't bother with these brightly colored, obscure shows. Go with something simpler, and older. I'd suggest Trigun, Outlaw Star, or Cowboy Beebop to get you started, then branch out from there.

 

[ecoho]

Bleach is a good one if you really want to get into it. Inuyasha is a classic if your looking for something a bit older.

IGNORE THIS MAN.

Bleach is far from the thing you want to start off on (or watch, full stop) and InuYasha will just disappoint you.

Cowboy Bebop or Death Note are my recommendations. If you want to get into eastern stuff you'll want to ease in with western concepts.

Hellsing's all right as well (watch the OVA) if you want something awesome. And can handle gratuitous amounts of gore and then some.

EDIT: Or anything by Studio Ghibli. Spirited Away's a great place to start.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a touchy one; it's an excellent series but it's just too western in design to be considered a gateway anime. Art and mythos-wise, fine, but otherwise go with my prior recommendations.

IGNORE THIS MAN (to an extent, he has quite a few good suggestions)
Bleach is a great beginner anime if you can stand the lengthiness. Just skip the fillers and you're set! All the crap parts are taken out and the lengthiness is halved!
Bleach, unfortunately, cops a lot of crap because it's a popular multi-arc shonen. But it isn't bad!!
I definitely wouldn't say it's as bad as the other popular shonen jumps (naruto and one piece)! One piece is bearable, but naruto is the most overrated piece of turd that ever shouldn't have existed.

But I digress, watch Bleach.
And as I have also recommended and Lord Krunk also suggests, watch bebop and Death Note.
oh, also as Lord Krunk mentions, don't watch Avatar. At least not under the mask of 'anime'.


...and yeah. Inuyasha will only disappoint you...


Oh, and as I forgot to mention in my earlier post, ignore anyone that mentions the words 'English Dub'.
Dubbed 'anime' (i use quotation marks because in my opinion dubs erase all japanese-ness from anime, essentially making it a cartoon), is the most disgusting thing that ever happened to anything ever. There are VERY few bearable dubs, and I assure you, despite what people may say, Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop are not among them.
Unless we're talking DBZ or Pokemon, the 'D' word should not be uttered.

this is not always true man in most main stream anime like naruto if you watch the first season in english you will HATE the main character but Outlaw star and Cowboy bebop are handled rather well i think.

BTW some of us dont like reading subs or haveent learnd japinesse yet

OT: outlaw star my avatars is the main character and there are parts that just make you say HOLY S%^T did tthat just happen?

 

[the lapalminator]

its just not happening asides from the boondocks

what anime should i watch to get into it?

good beginning animes are full metal alchemist and deathnote.

anyway, here are the animes i watched with there ratings i gave them, in the order i watched them.

Deathnote- Mystery, Psychologica/supernatural/police thriller-8/10
Code Geass- Drama, Mecha, Alternate History (with a little comedy and romance)-10/10
Fullmetal Alchemist- Adventure, Science Fantasy (alchemy, you know?)-8/10
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood- Same as above, but crap-5/10
Sayanora Zetsubou Sensei: Comedy, parody, mindfuck-7/10
Makai Senki Disgaea-Fantasy, Comedy (this is based off of the first Disgaea game)-7/10
Eureka 7-Adventure, romance, comedy (lame ending)-9/10
Soul Eater-Action, Adventure, Supernatural, Comedy(stupid ending)-9/10
Fullmetal Panic! (main series)-Mechs, Comedy, Romance, Action-10/10
Fullmetal Panic: Fumoffu-Comedy, romance, parody (you will get so many perverted laughs from this it will blow your mind)-10/10

 

[the lapalminator]

Code Geass, easy to get into, good characters, decent plot, and NO FILLER!

You have good tastes :3

Just like that BUNEE!!!!

 

[Agayek]

its just not happening asides from the boondocks

what anime should i watch to get into it?

I'd recommend Outlaw Star or Trigun to start, they're both excellent series that aren't overly complex, but are highly entertaining and have enough of a deeper meaning to keep it interesting.

Others I'd recommend at some point:
1) Neon Genesis Evangelion
2) Code Geass
3) Cowboy Bebop

You might also want to check out the longass big ones, namely Naruto (for your own sanity, don't watch past episode 150 or so of the first series, the end of the big Naruto/Sasuke fight), Bleach and One Piece. I'm not a big fan of any of them, but they have their moments and if you can deal with hundreds of filler episodes, it's not a bad show.

 

[Falcon_Punch]

Changed to top 10 thread!
I won't mention any of the ones above me for obvious reasons...but EVERYONE should watch Cowboy Bebop!
In no particular order:

1) Aim For The Top! Gunbuster!
6 episode OVA about mecha, determination and saving the world from evil space monsters. One of Gainax's better anime (better than Eva IMO).

2) Battle Programmer Shirase
A short comedy series about a hacker who gets hired to do some crazy computer related jobs. Very easy to get in to.

3) Goldenboy
Another comedy series that will make you roar with laughter on account of each character being incredibly wacky. Lots of sexual jokes but not in bad taste.

4) The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Also comedy. Tylor is an out of work bum that decides to join the military because he thinks it will be an easy life.

5) Full Metal Panic!
Action comedy that balances the two incredibly well. Some mecha action mixed with highschool comedy.

6) Zoids
I don't think anyone will agree with me on this one but I've always loved Zoids. Whats not to love about giant mecha animals piloted by spiky haired youths and eccentric bounty hunter.

7) Samurai Champloo
Incredible story telling. Two swordsmen accompany a young girl through Japan looking for the man that smells like sunflowers set in the Edo period. nice blend of action and comedy again.

8) One Piece
Once again I don't think anyone will agree with me on this but if you like long story arcs and absolutely INSANE plotlines then give it a try. Also PIRATES!

9) Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
This anime is so uplifting. About a down trodden boy in an underground society who decided to go to the surface to make a new life for himself and his friends.

10) Scrapped Princess
Set in a fantasy world where magic and swords are the norm...at first. The story sucks you into its world and keeps you there.

I'm not a literary genius so my descriptions are a little lame I'll admit but each of these series is near and dear to my heart.

Honorable Mentions:
Mobile Suit Gundam
Azumanga Daioh (the only reason this isn't in my top 10 is because very few people find it amusing for some reason...I love it!)
Dragonball (NOT DBZ!)
Trigun
Goku Midnight Eye

 

[ccggenius12]

Did I really just register on a forum for the express purpose of posting in 1 thread instead of studying for exams? Why I believe I did.

That being said, I recommend Lupin III as a starter. Not so much the TV series as the ovas/movies, although, either way, it's a bunch of one shots with little continuity. The Castle of Caligostro was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who is basically the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney. Remember a video game called Cliffhanger? Before americans redubbed it that, it was a game based on Castle, and features clips from that movie.
To my recollection, there aren't any heavy anime tropes in these, exempting the loose physics you'll get with any cartoon. A while back Funimation put out 2 sets of 4 OVAs+1 movie, and those are what I'd recommend to check out with this series. Higher animation quality, and a full hour to develop a coherent plot.

Another recommendation, The Big O. 26 episodes, I don't remember there being much that you need to be an anime fan to get, and in essence it's Batman. Roger Smith is Batman piloting a giant robot.

I was going to recommend subscribing to an anime magazine, because it helped ease me in, giving a few culture terms a month, plus some views and recommendations based on what you'd already seen, (featured items had lists of the pedigrees of those involved, so if X directed Y series you liked, give Z new series a shot.) but apparently the one i subscribed to is now dead. Still, if you can find a stack of back issues of Anime Insider or Newtype(I have no experience with this one, but I heard good things... prior to its demise.) , I would recommend checking them out. Since you're new to the genre, the recommendations will still be fresh to you, and I don't think terms and tropes have changed too much.

One final recommendation, not as a first, but as an intermediary, Outlaw Star. If you find you like Bebop, Outlaw Star is more of the same, though a bit more stylized. (ships have arms and fight it out giant robot style... yeah, it's from Sunrise, makers of gundam.)

And now to hide on my side of my GREAT WALL OF TEXT. Additional posts may come if the siege breaks.

 

[Chainsaws_of_War_2]

TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


that is all

See, not only is this anime barely mentioned in this thread, when you mention it like this with no explanation no one is going to take you seriously.

This was my first anime and to be honest I couldn't have had a better one laid out for me. Really easy to get into, simple but emotionally impacting plot, and I think one filler episode.

Oh, and it's around 25 episodes long, which for me is about the perfect number before an anime becomes stale (looking at you Death Note).


Epic. Pure and simple.

 

[the lapalminator]

Bleach is a good one if you really want to get into it. Inuyasha is a classic if your looking for something a bit older.

Bleach? Bleach is utter rubbish mate.

3. Elfen Lied, What this show does is hard to explain. It's gory and bloody and filled with tasteless nudity but I loved it. Elfen Lied just got me so attachedto the characters that come the end I cried...

Seriously? You're going to recommend THIS to a newcomer?