| Have a friend who asked me for an anime to watch, he's never watched anime before and I said I'd give him one but I can't come up with a good idea. He said that he's not watching a 1000 episodes of anime so I ruled out One Piece, Naruto, etc, I'm thinking of recommending Bocchi the Rock or Cells at Work but I'm interested in what you guys think. I asked him what genre he wanted but he said it didn't matter, however he is interested in music, sports, chess, educational stuff, military stuff, games, and art. I don't wanna recommend something that might be a little odd as it is his first time watching anime and I wanna set a good impression so I decided I would come here and ask you guys for recommendations. |
| Music = K-on, Bocchi the Rock, Beck. Sports = Slam Dunk, Captain tusbasa. Japanese Chess = Hikaru no Go and Shion no Ō. Educational = Cells At Work, Sound! Euphonium, Silver Spoon, Dr. Stone. Military = Youjo Senki, Blue Gender, Ghost in the Shell, Gundam Series. Games = High Score Girl, Arcade Gamer Fubuki. |
| @iThink Yeah I might just recommend him one of my favourites. |
Reply to tchitchouan
Music = K-on, Bocchi the Rock, Beck.
Sports = Slam Dunk, Captain tusbasa.
Japanese Chess = Hikaru no Go and Shion no Ō.
Educational = Cells At Work, Sound! Euphonium, Silver Spoon, Dr. Stone.
Military = Youjo Senki, Blue Gender, Ghost in the Shell, Gundam Series.
Games = High Score Girl, Arcade Gamer Fubuki.
Sports = Slam Dunk, Captain tusbasa.
Japanese Chess = Hikaru no Go and Shion no Ō.
Educational = Cells At Work, Sound! Euphonium, Silver Spoon, Dr. Stone.
Military = Youjo Senki, Blue Gender, Ghost in the Shell, Gundam Series.
Games = High Score Girl, Arcade Gamer Fubuki.
| @tchitchouan Thanks for the ideas! |
| My 3 picks: Oniimai, Wataten or Interspecies reviewer |
| :v |
| For music, I recommend Love Live! School Idol Project. It was the anime that got me addicted to anime. There are multiple Love Live! anime, they don't need to watch the other ones if they don't want to, but could if they liked the first one. |
| Gakkougurashi Redo of Healer Kiss x Sis |
| It doesn't necessarily tie into his interest because it's a supernatural crime thriller, but I highly recommend death note it's only 37 episodes and even my sister who hates anime enjoyed it. |
| Music: Beck Sports: Haikyuu Chess: Hikaru no Go (actually based on the Chinese board game Go, but close enough) Educational: Gin no Saji Military: Shoukoku no Altair Games: Chihayafuru Art: Blue Period |
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Reply to tchitchouan
Music = K-on, Bocchi the Rock, Beck.
Sports = Slam Dunk, Captain tusbasa.
Japanese Chess = Hikaru no Go and Shion no Ō.
Educational = Cells At Work, Sound! Euphonium, Silver Spoon, Dr. Stone.
Military = Youjo Senki, Blue Gender, Ghost in the Shell, Gundam Series.
Games = High Score Girl, Arcade Gamer Fubuki.
Sports = Slam Dunk, Captain tusbasa.
Japanese Chess = Hikaru no Go and Shion no Ō.
Educational = Cells At Work, Sound! Euphonium, Silver Spoon, Dr. Stone.
Military = Youjo Senki, Blue Gender, Ghost in the Shell, Gundam Series.
Games = High Score Girl, Arcade Gamer Fubuki.
| @tchitchouan Silver Spoon is educational? I'd only heard it's a hidden gem of sorts, but I guess it makes sense given it's about farming (I think). Think I'd get much out of it being a green thumb as it is? |
 My 2024 MALoween Candies:        |
Reply to KingOfPneumos
@tchitchouan Silver Spoon is educational? I'd only heard it's a hidden gem of sorts, but I guess it makes sense given it's about farming (I think). Think I'd get much out of it being a green thumb as it is?
| @KingOfPneumos Yeah, it's very good for learning the basics of agriculture. |
| It might be useful to know what kind of stories your friend enjoys, i.e. books/comics/TV shows/movies, and pick something similar to those. Personally, I think Bocchi might be a little too bizarre and cutesy for some people, but you know best. My personal "safe" choices: Kids on the Slope (music) Megalo Box 2 (note I've only seen Season 2) (sports) Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (art, somewhat educational) Spy x Family (N/A, just a plain good time) Regardless of what you pick, I think you should know and like the anime that you recommend. |
| I think I would recommend some of the first anime I watched and liked when I got into it: Sword Art Online (Action, Romance, Isekai) Your Lie in April (Romance, Drama, Comedy, Music) Non Non Biyori (Slice of Life) Restaurant to Another World (Slice of Life, Fantasy) Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (Romance, Comedy, Drama) Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! (Comedy, Drama, Romance) Yuru Yuri (Slice of Life, CGDCT) Nisekoi: False Love (Comedy, Romance, Harem) |
| Death Note. It's a normy magnet. Almost everybody likes a good detective story. FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Same as the above in the sense that it's a crowd pleaser. Unlike other shounen, it's not a meandering mess. On the contrary, it's intelligent, knows where it wants to go and its lenght is not intimidating. If that person is into comedy: Daily Lives of Highschool Boys. Gintama and Saiki Kusuo are both great, but I don't think a new comer wants to see 300+ episodes. As for the recommendations given so far, I can vouch for Bocchi, Beck, Hikaru no Go, maybe Gin no Saji (I'm not sure if the general audience wants to get educated on agriculture, but if they're into that another one to check out would be Moyashimon), and definitely Kids of the Slope. I don't particularly like Spy x Family, but many people do and that's fine. Kingdom, I'm not so sure. It's my favorite manga and the last three seasons have been great, but the first one is just hard to watch. |
 The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. |
| 3gatsu no Lion, Shirobako, Haikyuu. |
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| Attack on Titan would be my choice. It's already great blind pick to recommend anyone who don't know anime. It's have a very strong hook, it's somewhat mature and don't really have that much anime bullshit going on. And specifically if someone have interest in military and have pretty good politics. It's also a very safe pick. And it's actually really good. I wouldn't recommend Bocchi the Rock, as much as how much I like it. Unless he's pretty ok with Moe typa thing. Maybe Your Lie in April might be better choice, it's also pretty safe choice. Cell at Work! and Haikyuu are pretty good one but I haven't watch it yet so I can't really tell. Also if he's fine with gore and nudity, Cyberpunk Edgerunner is also a good choice. Death Note, Mob Psycho 100 and Baccano are also pretty good blind pick imo. |
Natsume Yuujinchou and Yuru Camp△. |
SerafosFeb 11, 2024 9:33 PM
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| For sports? Hajime no Ippo, no question about that. It is amazing |
| Go check out my latest review: https://myanimelist.net/profile/YeeYeeAss/reviews |
| Since he likes military I suggest Attack on Titan, probably the best choice to get him hooked. |
| Music - Hibike! Euphonium, Bocchi the Rock Sports - Blue Lock, Yuri!! On Ice, Sangatsu no Lion Educational - Do It Yourself!, Yuru Camp, Sora yori mo Tooi Basho Military - 86, Jin-Rou, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Notes: Jin-Rou is a movie but can be a good start to introducing anime movies I know Sangatsu no Lion is primarily a drama/emotionally moving anime but it has shogi ( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑ |
 "You fought to the end. You survived. That's why you're here now. I think that's something you should be more proud of." - Vladilena Milizé |
| Code Geass and Haikyuu seem like some fast paced anme that would fit his genres. |
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| I think a good introduction would be something like kodomo no jikan It's kind of like the best way to teach somebody how to swim is to push them into deep water u know |
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| Attack on Titan because it was one of my first anime. |
| I always go with either the promised neverland, death note, or a studio ghibli movie. The promised neverland and death note are extremely interesting and they don’t have any weird tropes or fanservice, and studio ghibli movies always hit hard and are classics. |
| I think that everybody should start with the classics, such as Boku no Pico. |
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| Really, or I should say it entirely depends on his taste to be honest. Some of the suggestions that I regularly go to are: Death parade, Death note, a silent voice, Vinland saga, Redline, Attack on titan, Love is war or a modern battle shounen that matches the vibe of the person. If we're talking about some hardcore movie buff who is already super into media, and just hasn't gotten into anime, you could also go for something like perfect blue or monster. Ghibli movies are also super safe bets, but I don't think they really work for getting people into anime due to how different they are. |
| Also available at: YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK8spdL1M_J-z0vO2C7jPLw Second Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AshPolygonsDo/videos Why You Should Watch Akudama Drive: https://youtu.be/Yw0r52wRjgA A Love Letter To Anime「AMV」: https://youtu.be/YQyqxFM2m9Q My referral code to a website/app that gives you free money (a few cents a day) by using a few megabytes of your internet for file sharing. We both get a bonus if you use my link: https://r.honeygain.me/ARSHIA7942 |
| I once recommended Sound! Euphonium to an anime newbie studying music and they loved it. Honey and Clover is an exceptional anime featuring artists. Irodzuku has a nice subplot about art as well as being a piece of artwork itself because it looks so good. Chihayafuru can cover sports and a liking of chess since it's more about tactical and strategic plays in a match than physical ability. |
 Latest reviews: Train to the the End of the World and Wonder Egg Priority |
Reply to yuri_pig
@Cronosmu
I think death note and fmab are pretty good for beginners (I watched them when I was lol)
but I'm not sure either saiki or gintama your comedy suggestions will be as funny for beginners as it is to a veteran watchers (not that they're not funny I'm in no way dissing)
Like, saiki relies heavily on parody humor, like making fun of certain tropes of big popular anime (the chuunibyou, the perv, the siscon etc)
and I admit that I didn't watch gintama but from what I know about it, it has like, very Japanese humor with refrences to other anime as well and if you're having a beginner watch it they might not recognize most of the refrences and won't enjoy it as much
(again no hate :P)
I think death note and fmab are pretty good for beginners (I watched them when I was lol)
but I'm not sure either saiki or gintama your comedy suggestions will be as funny for beginners as it is to a veteran watchers (not that they're not funny I'm in no way dissing)
Like, saiki relies heavily on parody humor, like making fun of certain tropes of big popular anime (the chuunibyou, the perv, the siscon etc)
and I admit that I didn't watch gintama but from what I know about it, it has like, very Japanese humor with refrences to other anime as well and if you're having a beginner watch it they might not recognize most of the refrences and won't enjoy it as much
(again no hate :P)
| @yuri_pig Yes. That's why I said those are not for beginners. Maybe I didn't clarify very well what I meant. I mentioned them because over the years - and I'm no spring chicken (actually a boomer)-, I've seen many people recommed Gintama to new viewers, which doesn't make sense if you're not well acquainted with Japanese media. On the other hand, Daily Lives of Highschool Boys is general public friendly. Just dudes being dudes. I was tempted to mention Asobi Asobase, but I'm not so sure. You have to like absurd comedy. Someone joked here about Gakkō Gurashi!, but I remember recomending that one and also Madoka to some newby, just to show him that suffering can be kawaii. He got immediately hooked. |
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. |
| Girls und Panzer combines sports and military in a good way. Blue Giant is a great anime about music. Konobi is a good one about art. Houkago Saikoro Club is an interesting one about board games, although if it's video games he's into you could probably just give him any isekai. |
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| Depends entirely on their tastes in other media like films and series. For example, if they're into sophisticated, tightly written crime thrillers like Breaking Bad, I'd recommend Death Note or Monster without a second's hesitation. Regardless, Ghibli movies and Cowboy Bebop are often safe bets because of how broad their appeal is. |
Take care of yourself |
Reply to SobbleBoy27
@MichaelJackson lol what?! 🤣 You're trolling.
| @SobbleBoy27 oK, fine, my new 3 picks: Oniimai, Wataten or Monster |
| :v |
| The anime of your forum pfp is perfect hehe. I can't think of anything better |
   The Perfect Duo - has one who thinks and one who do's. To have a party, there's at least two When the world is dark, and you feel near to end. Just remember there's hope, in the form of a friend. |
Reply to BigBoyAdvance
Gakkougurashi
Redo of Healer
Kiss x Sis
Redo of Healer
Kiss x Sis
| @BigBoyAdvance You missed 'Boku no Pico' |
| Depends what type of person they are Death Note, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer Spy x Family sum like that |
Also I can recommend to watch Happy Sugar Life. Sweet story about love. |
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| I feel like "Attack on Titan" and "Cowboy Bebop" are always the go-to answers when it comes to this, but I would never recommend "Attack on Titan" although I do acknowledge that it has a much broader appeal than "Cowboy Bebop" does, but "Cowboy Bebop" all the way. Personally - and depending on the taste of the person I'm recommending anime to, of course - I'd recommend "Seirei no Moribito," "March Comes In like a Lion," "Megalo Box" (both seasons), the 1995 "Ghost in the Shell" movie, "Mushi-Shi" and "Legend of the Galactic Heroes." For those who I know would be more open to anime-like anime, I'd recommend "Space Dandy" (both seasons), "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust," "Shounan Bakusouzoku," and "Sonny Boy." |
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| I wouldnt recommend something too childish, or too complex and tiring to understand. I would recommend something with good story so the first time anime watcher can understand anime isnt just a cartoon for 7 year olds with a basic story. Like cowboy bebop, steins gate, code geass. |
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| I think Death Note and AoT are great to start off with. I might add Frieren, if they're into fantasy a bit. I've had watch parties for both of those where non-anime watchers were present and they had a blast each time. When I tried to think on why these ones work so well to introduce people to anime, I realized it's not just because they have good stories you can follow along with (the more evident answer), but more importantly aren't filled to the brim with anime tropes that anime fans are used to (frieren has some, but they can mostly be appreciated as recurring jokes unrelying on a trope anyway). If we sat down and watched an anime, say Kaguya-Sama, we'd have a blast (well, I'd have a blast. to each their own). A non-anime fan is far more likely to question why there's such rapid, extreme changes of emotion and facial expression from one moment to the next, where all these weird random plot points are coming from, and why are they so obsessed with the school festival all the time? It would be a huge culture shock, which is something that a good early recommendation doesn't do. A lot of these issues share similarities with Western cartoons, which is why I think anime gets called cartoons all the time by non-fans. Instead, a good starter show introduces them to a story they can understand, and conveys it in a way that doesn't feel foreign or off-putting to the viewer. Then, if they like that, you can try again with a similar show, and once they've gotten used to it, maybe try a new genre or something. |
My 2024 MALoween Candies: |
| Music: Beck Sports: Hajime no Ippo Chess: Chess Player Educational: Spice and Wolf Military: Zipang Games: .hack//Sign Art: Sketchbook: Full Color's |
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| In my experience it's easier to catch interest with movies than with long running shows. It's important to get used to the esthetics and differences in narrative style, only then one can embrace more "advanced" material and sink long hours. Within movies, I usually go with popular and outstanding ones. When you know little, just go with what most people like: Your Name and A Silent Voice. If your friend is into action, the Ghost in a Shell movie from the 1990s is still unsurpassed. If your friend prefers art-house and sophisticated ones, anything from Satoshi Kon will do, e.g. Perfect Blue. And then there is of course Ghibli, where the outstanding ones are Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Princess Kaguya (in my taste). |
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