Oh, but it depends so much on the person!  My gateway drug was Boogiepop Phantom, which I would never call a "starter anime."  What are his favorite movies?

Hellsing. It has intense action, and its relatively short. Its also one of my all time favs.

My first anime [though I didn't know it as an anime, just a cartoon that was on after school] was Sailor Moon. I think the characters I looooved were Rini and Ami [I had to look Ami up, I haven't seen it in so long]. Technically, Sailor Moon was also my first manga, though I didn't know it as such. I thought I'd bought a book, and I didn't bother to look inside. When I got home, I was surprised to see that there were pictures inside.

I was eleven. Shut up.

And then, two years later, I found the Utena manga because I was obsessed with roses at the time, and I thought, "OOH ROSES" and I bought it. It was the best purchase of my life.

Echoing what others said. It depends. I have two friends who's starter anime was SKU.

The first appreciated it because she probably couldn't like anything more ordinary or shallow (which explains why it was her only anime). And the second wanted to see what was I yapping about and pretty much accepts any of my anime suggestions. It's a pity I don't have much more to give her, other than Noir, Rose of Versailles and Simoun. But I'm not sure how much of starter animes those are.

If it's someone who dislikes anime in that 'all of it is stupid and sucks' try giving something more unusual and contrasting to the anime that convinced them that all are like that. Which would mean no Sailormoon, probably. And if it's someone who could easily get into some simple, but intense story about love, friendship and stopping world domination... Well, you see where I'm going with this. Whether they like same-sex couple stories can help, too.

My gateways were Ronin Warriors Sailor Moon and DBZ in the morning and Pokemon and Digimon after school

Last edited by AnjitheArtist (12-19-2008 06:27:39 AM)

Back in the day Trigun worked very well as gateway anime.  It's silly and action-packed, so everyone would watch it, and then suddenly it's hugely serious and tragic, so people would get hooked.  These days, though, I'm not sure how easy it would be to hook friends of mine with silly action, so this may have to be re-evaulated.

Iris wrote:

My starter anime was Gundam Wing, which was perfect for me.  It had enough political intrigue, decent english VAs to get me intrigued.  I adored Zechs so much, and Duo, and I hate to admit it... I kinda liked Releena. 

Outlaw Star seems to be a good starter anime too, similar to Cowboy Bebop but with a bit more spontinaity if I remember correctly.  It's been a while.

All of those are good starters, I think.  Sailor Moon was my gateway, but Gundam Wing is what hooked me.  I've always wondered what was up with Relena's safari photoshoot in the ED though. It just seems so... random.

I'd also recommend Tenchi Muyo, either the OVA or first TV series (Tenchi Universe) as good starters.

Last edited by Imaginary Bad Bug (12-19-2008 08:54:19 PM)

My first anime was also Sailor Moon, though I didn't know at the time.

My first anime that I knew was anime was Magic Knight Rayearth. Shush.

The anime that got me hooked on anime was Utena. At first, I thought, "Nothing can compare to this greatness!", but I eventually gave in and realized that it's okay to enjoy watching other things, too.

But, er, seconding everyone else in the matter of preferance. There is a lot of anime out there, and no one is going to like all of it. Also, is your friend male or female? If it's the former, I don't have much of an eye for that, as I greatly prefer either shoujo anime or psychological anime. (With SKU, I got both. :3)

Last edited by dollface (12-20-2008 09:19:28 AM)

I started my ex on Hellsing and Tenchi Muyo. We thought both shows hilarious, so....

I got my cousin hooked with two shows: Real Ghost Stories and Princess Tutu. I watched it in the original Japanese and I figured it was an interesting little show... until I put on the dub, which is all sorts of hilarious but a bit more adult than I would have liked for showing to a twelve year old.

...it was one of my two collection DVDs of first episodes. The other notable animes on them? Gankutsuo and Irresponsible Captain Tyler. She also loved my DVD of Sailormoon uncut. Damn you, Geneon...

I have a friend who I'll be introducing to Utena by way of "Tracing a Path" as soon as I can get into my old apartment. It'll be her first anime, but my friends have a lot of reasons to like and be touched by it.

For the older guys, you gotta put on Crayon Shin-Chan. That show has gawdawful arts but it fecking HILARIOUS. Perfect especially for lovers of Family Guy.

Ranma 1/2 cause it's so funny all the time, and I don't know anyone who hated it nor never enjoyed it!
(Just not the Movies!)

The first animes I've watched were Yu Yu Hakusho and Sailor Moon, but what REALLY got me into watching anime was Rurouni Kenshin. Back then I thought anime were just for kids, but watching this anime greatly proved me wrong


EDIT: If he/she wants action, try Claymore, Black Lagoon, Samurai Champloo, Hellsing, etc.

Mellow animes are Emma: Victorian Romance, Lady Oscar??

Last edited by Stephanie (12-20-2008 11:44:10 AM)

You shouldn't watch "starter" animes; that implies that somehow all anime is the same and you just need a gateway to the thing, and you're hooked to it all - a bit like some people imagine about drugs.
I would suggest thinking what kind of movies, TV shows and books you like, and seeking a genre fitting to that taste, and going from there. The people who think that anime sucks are the ones who watched one or two examples they didn't like, and decided that it's all the same - don't let that happen to anyone you know.

My first anime experience were Porco Rosso and dubbed Ghost in the Shell, neither which I could appreciate at the time, but thankfully didn't completely turn me off from the Japanese pop culture.

Lightice wrote:

You shouldn't watch "starter" animes; that implies that somehow all anime is the same and you just need a gateway to the thing, and you're hooked to it all

Actually, the way I interpret a "starter" title is one that is, for whatever reason, easily accessible for someone to get their feet wet as far as the medium, as it were.  It doesn't need to imply something that is of 'lesser' value or that everything is the same. Just like any other medium, what we enjoy is based on our own interests.

I imagine the intent of this thread was to recommend good accessible shows for someone who is unfamiliar with the medium and to dispel the "all anime is pokemon, dbz, or hentai" myth.  I don't think it has anything to do with implying that all anime is the same.

Everyone's first series is different, but lots of people in the same age bracket share a first title.  I hear lots of people around my age say that Gundam Wing is what made them start to pay attention.  That's the one that got me too.  Do I think that every single show out there is a carbon copy of Gundam Wing?  Of course not.  There are many shows that I think are better, and there are some that aren't as good either.

I don't see the harm in recommending titles that have a general appeal.