| Greetings, It's no strange (unfortunate) fact that a lot of people have a natural aversion to anime, and consider it childish, stupid, fake, etc. I'm actually doing a 20 minute presentation in my Public Speaking class about how anime and animation is not just a child's medium, but is in fact, quite adult. This begs the question: ***What anime would you show to someone who has NEVER had any experience with anime or serious animation?*** The main contender, for me, would be Death Note, seeing as it's set in the modern world and doesn't fling anything too fantastical or extreme at the viewer (except that creepy Ryuk bastard). What else is out there that could potentially draw someone into being an anime fan? Also, sorry if this topic has been done before, I tried the search function but a ton of unrelated garble came up. Cheers ^_^! |
| Clannad, totally. Gundam Wing, but I'd probably choose that as more of a second than a first, with all of the giant robots and such. |
| Give me that corpse please The one that tore nightly I really want it now |
Flawrance said: Gundam Wing, but I'd probably choose that as more of a second than a first, with all of the giant robots and such. I was actually surprised to find how many people, even on this site, don't like the mecha genre. It's something I've never had a problem with, I guess. I considered showing a Wing trailer for my 20 minute speech, actually; the one Toonami aired back when CN was cool. |
| For serious animation, probably Serial Experiment Lain. |
| -Fixing- |
| what about shigurui and kurozuka??those are some pretty serious stuff ... =.= |
| Check out my channel! Erzat |
| Death Note is the anime that got most of us into anime. So OP got it right. It is devilishly intelligent, cruel and mature, with imagery that won't appeal to children, it's obviously the best choice indeed. Other good choices are Baccano!, Basilisk, Black Lagoon, Boogiepop Phantom, Ghost in the Shell, Monster, Mushishi and Serial Experiments Lain among all those I've watched and would rate them definitely not childish stuff. |
| Signature? I ain't got no signature! I don't need no signature! I don't have to show you any stinkin' signature! |
| School Days & Elfen Lied |
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| Any seinen would do. It ahs to be something more serious and mature looking imo. |
| Legend of the Galactic Heores to prove that anime is not childish, although they may be discouraged at how long it is. Somehow, One Outs is pretty good too and got my friend into anime. Throw in some of the funny ones too like Gintama or School Rumble to attract them. |
Score Criteria: |
| Boku no Pico really shows mature concepts and situations. |
| If it's a dude: Black Lagoon, Samurai Champloo, stuff like that. Preferably something mature with a good mix of a decent story, cool characters and a reasonable amount of action. Definitely nothing moe or romantic, not as a first anime anyway for someone who isn't 'into it' yet. For a girl: NANA, Baccano!, etc. Anything with Bishounen and a decent story. They can always make the switch to more boyish Shounen/Seinen afterwards. Just show those to get them over the edge... Writing this from the viewpoint of an adult though who would show anime to other adults. |
"Thousands have lived without love, not one without water." -Wystan Hugh |
| Fate/stay night was one of the first anime I liked and made me watch more I think |
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InezMaria said: Death Note or Serial Experiments Lain. But honestly, it depend of person - I will ask about favorite books, and nextthink about anime for this person ^^ That is true, cant overlook subjectivity. For instance, I probably wouldn't show Gantz or Berserk (Baccano even freaks me out) to someone who doesn't like gore. Haha, and yes, its length is the only thing keeping myself from watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes, even. =P |
| Ghost in the Shell and Mushishi and NANA and Monster. /thread |
We are the United. Even in defeat we stand united. |
| I would not use Death Note, I think it will get too much shit due to the fanbase. Use Monster, Baccano!, Lain, Haibane, Aria, and maybe some Ghibli movies. |
| Samurai Champloo, Mushishi, Baccano |
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| Samurai Champloo, Baccano!, Mushishi, maybe a Ghibli film. |
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| It depends on the person. Monster and Legend of the Galactic Heroes seem good options to me. Higashi no Eden for the shiny art. |
 Waratte Oemashou Sore ha Chiisana Inori |
| Ghost in the Shell |
animechap said: Is it a high school class or a college class? Ah, sorry, it's a college class. Pretty mixed group of people, but all open-minded from what I can tell; they deal with my dirty comments in class. |
| DO NOT show mecha, that stuff is childish. Big fighting robots... Yea riiight... Kids hate 'em... NOT! Maybe something like: Aoi Bungaku <--- maybe most mature one I've seen Monster Paranoia agent Lain Mouryou no Hako |
IDexApr 2, 2010 2:22 PM
| Baccano! 5cm/s Mushishi Cowboy Bebop (I personally haven't watched it, but it certainly is one to change people's minds about anime being stupid and purile) |
Brockemsockem said: I can't say I'm much of a mecha fan either, but the series itself is great, and, in my opinion, one of the best anime around.Flawrance said: Gundam Wing, but I'd probably choose that as more of a second than a first, with all of the giant robots and such. I was actually surprised to find how many people, even on this site, don't like the mecha genre. It's something I've never had a problem with, I guess. I considered showing a Wing trailer for my 20 minute speech, actually; the one Toonami aired back when CN was cool. @KIttenia -- A Ghibli film is a great idea. |
| Give me that corpse please The one that tore nightly I really want it now |
| Monster of course! Baccano is also possible |
| There Is A Light That Never Goes Out |
kodial said: Death Note is the anime that got most of us into anime. So OP got it right. It is devilishly intelligent, cruel and mature, with imagery that won't appeal to children, it's obviously the best choice indeed. Other good choices are Baccano!, Basilisk, Black Lagoon, Boogiepop Phantom, Ghost in the Shell, Monster, Mushishi and Serial Experiments Lain among all those I've watched and would rate them definitely not childish stuff. I think a lot of us got into anime before Death Note was released. Like me, for one. That said, OP, my usual answer would be one of the Ghibli films (perhaps Only Yesterday since you're trying to make the case that anime is for grown-ups). And I think you'd be better off arguing that animation is a medium like any other, than that it is an adult medium, because there IS a lot of kid stuff. And for a first show, something short is usually better. |
| school days - first anime that got me into anime Death note - The best thing ive watched in my life |
 Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/TeaAnyOne91 |
| Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo for sure. My mum loved it, and she doesn't like anime. |
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| Geeze guys, even in college do you think you can get away with showing things like Gantz and Baccano!? It's not like either one would make a good first impression either. One is hated by a lot of people and the other is confusing as hell. And both are exceedingly violent of course. You'll just end up confirming a buttload of anime geek stereotypes. |
| This is a serious post. You're not allowed to delete it. |
| I'm literally facepalming at some of the choices here. School Days? WTF I'd pick one of these: Legend of the Galactic Heroes Monster Cowboy Bebop |
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animechap said: Second that. Persepolis is great, and watches like any other live action movie. Definitely not childish.(and if we are assuming this is about animation in general and not just anime from Japan, I would suggest the French animated film Persepolis, because it's a great mature anime about the Iran war and a girl who escaped it and lived a wild life in Austria) A lot of people have recommended Baccano!, but honestly I think that's a pretty risky choice. It could be a hit, but could very easily be a miss. (I haven't seen the whole thing though, just the first 5 or so episodes..) I'd say Cowboy Bebop. Has some "cliche" elements of Anime (sci-fi, space ships, etc), but pretty tame compared to others. And very popular too, so a lot of your classmates might enjoy the story/characters/etc. Samurai Champloo..for the very open-minded. Pretty risky, but if they have the ambition to really get into anime they'd probably like it. And I think Toradora! would be a good recommendation to anyone wanting to start with a romance. It's a pretty good series, if they like that kind of thing. Not too ridiculous, and could easily be compared to some live action sitcoms/dramas. |
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| To show them that it's not only for children: Higurashi |
 http://b.bngi-channel.jp/psp-haruhi/swf/haruhi_swf_sample/haruhi512/haruhi512.swf ^ She's watching you! |
| FMA got me into anime. But that might not be lacking in the more adult themes you're trying to portray. |
<img src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e297/kitsu_ayame/Untitled-6.png" /> |
ladyxzeus said: It depends on the person. Monster and Legend of the Galactic Heroes seem good options to me. Higashi no Eden for the shiny art. nah, wouldn't say that. They are quite slow shows (and LoGH FILLED with dialogue) I'd recommend: series: Natsume Yuujinchou Higashi no Eden BECK Mushishi Death Note Movies: Ninja Scroll Sword of the Stranger Princess Mononoke Spirited Away Akira Only Yesterday My Neighbour Totoro |
| Ga Rei -Zero- and Neon Genesis Evangelion are the shows that got me interested with anime, so I would recommend those. But like what allot of people have said, Death Note, Higashi no Eden, Cowboy Bebop and Mushishi are also great recommendations. |
Flawrance said: Clannad, totally. I think not. In my opinion, Clannad should not be shown to a newbie. It's so overfilled with "moé" that a lot of non-anime fans would not get/appreciate and would probably just cuss the hell out of it. Brockemsockem said: The main contender, for me, would be Death Note, seeing as it's set in the modern world and doesn't fling anything too fantastical or extreme at the viewer (except that creepy Ryuk bastard). I have to agree. It was the anime that got me into animanga, and since you would be showing them to anime noobs it would be all the more greater as they have not been exposed to the fan hype (which had ruined it to a lot of people, thankfully I wasn't aware of the fan base/hype either). Baccano! may also be another option, since the opening is just pure genius alone. But, it can be rather confusing and may not be appreciated by a non-anime fan. |
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Yammin said: Possibly. I was thinking more of the B'AWWWW aspect of it, though.Flawrance said: Clannad, totally. I think not. In my opinion, Clannad should not be shown to a newbie. It's so overfilled with "moé" that a lot of non-anime fans would not get/appreciate and would probably just cuss the hell out of it. |
| Give me that corpse please The one that tore nightly I really want it now |
| Whatever it is, it has to have some kind of grounding and be relatable to the foreign audience with a very minimal amount of obscurity and inside references, and most importantly, if unfamiliar with foreign entertainment, it has to be dubbed and dubbed well. Cowboy Bebop Black Lagoon BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex |
| My first novel, Kardia has been published! Click here to read! |
Splitter said: Whatever it is, it has to have some kind of grounding and be relatable to the foreign audience with a very minimal amount of obscurity and inside references Absolutely this. I would never show someone unfamiliar with the medium something related to the moe niche (Clannad, Kanon, take your pick) or a hit-or-miss otaku comedy type show (Lucky Star, Gintama, that mermaid one, Hayate the Combat Butler). Nor would I show them something too far on the fantasy/magic side. Instead I would go with something like: Ghost in the Shell Haibane Renmei Black Lagoon Beck Michiko to Hatchin Tokyo Godfathers Mushishi And maybe some other Satoshi Kon stuff as well. |
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| NANA, end off. |
| Death Note. It's the *official* anime that got me into anime. |
| Monster Haibane Renmei Aria These would show that they can have adult themes, and aren't all about chopping people's heads off in every episode or fanservice. |
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| First thing I showed to my friends was Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Might as well start them out with a couple of the best of the best that only take a couple of hours to watch. Then I moved them up to a shorter, cutesy anime. Honestly, I can't remember what that was. >_> Then I gave them Death Note. Finally, I gave them a streaming website and told them to explore. |
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| Definitely Death Note. I don't know of one person who didn't get hooked into it after the first episode. It's also good because it has no fan service or perverted ecchi moments (could be a total anime turn-off for some new watchers). I think for first timers, deeply psychological and symbolic animes like Haibane Renmei and Serial Experiments Lain might seem boring at first, so they might get a bad impression of anime in general. |
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| I don't agree with Gundam Wing at all. I've liked mecha for a long time, and to be honest that's the only reason I watched it. For someone looking for a reason to scrutinize anime, Gundam Wing is littered with problems. The logic of the entire show is pretty poor, and they may feel as though a 5-man team is nothing more than the Power Rangers in space. Death Note is fine, although I prefer the manga. Baccano! is also excellent. |
minglong said: Death Note is fine, although I prefer the manga. Personally, I never finished the manga. It seemed to drag on. |
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| Let's not forget the show that everyone loves, the one that can get anyone into the anime scene: Boku No Pico, everybody! I didn't even think about Cowboy Bebop for some reason, thanks! But yeah, I'm guessing unless I'm sure the ENTIRE class loves porn and violence put together that Gantz would be a really bad choice. Buddies who like messed up stuff, yes, a classroom or anyone even mildly conversative, uh, no. =D ycart59 said: minglong said: Death Note is fine, although I prefer the manga. Personally, I never finished the manga. It seemed to drag on. When I saw the manga for Death Note it seemed like it was frame-for-frame carbon copy in the anime, but I admit to only looking at it briefly, so I could be wrong. |
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