Anime/Manga Not a Typical Anime Fan. Where should I start?

Hey, guys! Before you guys get mad at me, let me start by saying I really like anime! However, the only anime I've really ever watched has been the obvious Dragonball Z and Naruto. Stuff like that.

I have, however, seen videos of different anime on Facebook and I've really liked what I've seen. There was one AMV a guy made about an anime where this guy and girl were sitting in a classroom and the guy would set up these elaborate scenarios on his desk, like a bunch of dominos lined up or a little toy bear "mountain climbing" on someone's back. That was great :P

The only anime I have seen that hasn't been Dragonball Z and Naruto was Lucky Star and I actually liked it but I just stopped watching it. I guess it just bored me after a while. What anime would any of you recommend I start to watch?

What sort of show interests you? Are you looking for something more realistic, or something set in a futuristic/fantasy world? Would you like it to have a well-structured, meaningful plot, or are you not bothered by this? Do you want a long-running show, or something shorter than you can watch quickly? You could start with literally any show, but they wouldn't necessarily be the right show for you.

Where you start should depend on your existing interests, I think. Find something that appeals to you, that you can relate to already, and then branch out from there.

Although one thing I would say is not to start with any show based on an ongoing manga or light novel, if you have no intention of reading those after seeing it - they often have incomplete stories and end on a frustratingly inconclusive note. Start with an experience that is complete in and of itself before you start watching stuff that doesn't have a proper ending.

Really, I don't have any particular interests. I mean, I like fighting shows, obviously, but for some reason I liked Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time. So, I really can't reliably say 100% what I'm into. As far as realism, I guess that doesn't matter either. There can be underground mole monsters with wings that eat people or it can just be about a guy playing tennis.

Fighting shows, hm...I'd suggest giving Gundam a look-in. 00 is probably the easiest one to start with, although story-wise it'd be better to watch 0079, Stardust Memory, and then Zeta, skipping ZZ and Char's Counterattack, and only looking into Unicorn if you feel like it. They're mostly solid mecha anime with pretty grounded stories. They're a bit on the long side though, and the Universal Century works (the later ones I mentioned) are sequential, which is why I suggest starting with the self-contained 00 first. Reconguista is...an acquired taste, and Iron-Blooded Orphans is a bit slow at times in my opinion...although it's still better than Reconguista. But I digress.

For a little less story and a lot more explosions, Gurren Lagann would be a good show to go with. For more fanservice and over-the-top stupidity than that, Code Geass is the best way to go. If you don't mind fanservice at all and are willing to sit through a shaky start, Cross Ange all the way, it has the greatest female protagonist in any anime, ever. Want your mind screwed with? Evangelion might be a good place to start. Want something a little weirder, but still flashy as hell? Try Star Driver. Avoid Captain Earth; it doesn't go anywhere, and Eureka Seven is, in my opinion, equally tiresome. Then there are the shows that just have mecha in them that prioritise the plot, like Gargantia, that you might like instead if you get tired of explosions.

The mecha genre is pretty varied in how much it offers in terms of story content and giant robots blowing up other giant robots; you can usually find the right balance between the two in at least one show and, even though most lean towards the longer side of things, there isn't a huge amount of filler in them. Might be a good place to start?

Another thing you could do, if you're not sure where to start, is just read a few summaries of what is currently airing and see if anything catches your eye...I used to do that a lot, and I picked up some of my favourite shows that way. Or pick a genre and roll with it and see where it takes you.

In case you're interested, there are a fair few anime in the vein of Tonari no Seki-kun- the anime from the AMV you saw. Seki's one of the few that's pretty wholeheartedly pure, though, other shortform comedies like Teekyu, Ahogirl, or Plastic Neesan generally have raunchier comedy though never to a point where it's accessive (well, Ahogirl's debatable).

But in that case, I'd recommend Sakamoto Desu ga, which is easily one of my favorite comedy anime. I think the only other anime I've laughed so consistently at is my personal favorite, Gintama, another show I would recommend to anyone if I didn't think the length would steer them away.

Kakumeiki Valvrave
Guilty Crown
Cross Ange

I'd forgotten all about Valvrave. Although I deliberately forgot about Guilty Crown.

I'd suggest staying away from the MMO-anime genre initially; they're a bit of a mixed bag, and the best ones (Overlord) are incomplete, which is very off-putting if you get invested in the story.

Hellsing Ultimate (dubbed) is good if you want some senseless violence with the absolute best in voice talent. It's relatively short as well, and still holds up pretty well visually despite being several years old now. Although if animation style matters to you, there are going to be a lot of older shows you're going to want to avoid...and a lot of newer ones too!

machomuu said:

In case you're interested, there are a fair few anime in the vein of Tonari no Seki-kun- the anime from the AMV you saw. Seki's one of the few that's pretty wholeheartedly pure, though, other shortform comedies like Teekyu, Ahogirl, or Plastic Neesan generally have raunchier comedy though never to a point where it's accessive (well, Ahogirl's debatable).

But in that case, I'd recommend Sakamoto Desu ga, which is easily one of my favorite comedy anime. I think the only other anime I've laughed so consistently at is my personal favorite, Gintama, another show I would recommend to anyone if I didn't think the length would steer them away.

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Yeah, I definitely enjoyed Tonari no Seki-kun. I watched the entire series as soon as I found out the name.

Meyneth said:

I'd forgotten all about Valvrave. Although I deliberately forgot about Guilty Crown.

I'd suggest staying away from the MMO-anime genre initially; they're a bit of a mixed bag, and the best ones (Overlord) are incomplete, which is very off-putting if you get invested in the story.

Hellsing Ultimate (dubbed) is good if you want some senseless violence with the absolute best in voice talent. It's relatively short as well, and still holds up pretty well visually despite being several years old now. Although if animation style matters to you, there are going to be a lot of older shows you're going to want to avoid...and a lot of newer ones too!

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You guys have definitely given me some good places to start. I'm going to check a lot of these out!

you should watch death note and hunter x hunter

Hi, I guess i'll post in this thread.

My anime suggestions might not be the kind one will typically agree to, since I mostly like cutesy/girly anime. But when it comes to those, I think an anime I like that might appeal to a wider crowd and i'm watching right now is Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card Hen. It's not just 'girly'; its kind of slice of life, a little, it has a good amount of action and 'scary' parts, theres cute romance between some of the main characters, and lots of refs on ancient magic and stuff.

I also like Pokemon and Beyblade Burst when it comes to less 'girly' anime too.

So one of those 3 may be a good pick for you :3

Others I like, I duno if a typical male will relate to them as much.....

(honestly i really hate that this world shuns the things i like so much so i look at pictures of korrina to calm my frusteration. it helps...)

I'd say start with the staples and then investigate more according to what you find you like or dislike. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Death Note, Code Geass, Clannad, AnoHana, K-On, Angel Beats etc etc. Stuff that's typically very popular or highly regarded.

My personal favourite is Higurashi which I'd highly recommend but I'll stop there or I'll still be listing things a year from now.

gimmepie said:

I'd say start with the staples and then investigate more according to what you find you like or dislike. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Death Note, Code Geass, Clannad, AnoHana, K-On, Angel Beats etc etc. Stuff that's typically very popular or highly regarded.

My personal favourite is Higurashi which I'd highly recommend but I'll stop there or I'll still be listing things a year from now.

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I liked K-On :) (my favorite character was Yui ^_^)

I'm curious about this Higurashi anime you like a lot! I'll look it up right now. I have no idea if its the type of anime i'd like, but i'm still curious ;3

EDIT: Yeah, murder mysteries aren't really my 'thing'. BUT the girls in this anime look very cute and moe! ;3

My hero academia! It is great. And with season 3 that started laately, it is a good excuse to bingewatch

People usually start with death note or naruto. I would recommend starting from Steins;gate

Welcome to the right place! Here's my list of suggestions for a few different genres:

For strategic mech battles with drama - "Code Geass" and "Code Geass R2"
For a fighting series with a multi-arc storyline - "Yu Yu Hakusho" and "S-cry-Ed"
For a deadly thriller, keep-you-guessing mystery series - "Death Note"
For a modern popular hero series - "My Hero Academia"
For a bloody survival action-drama storyline - "Attack on Titan" / "Parasyte"

Those are "Best-Taste" for the genre they are in. All 30 to 60 episodes overall---not endless like Naruto, DBZ, Bleach and One Piece. They're all binge-watch worthy.

BellBlitzKing said:

Welcome to the right place! Here's my list of suggestions for a few different genres:

For strategic mech battles with drama - "Code Geass" and "Code Geass R2"
For a fighting series with non-linear storyline - "Yu Yu Hakusho" and "S-cry-Ed"
For a deadly thriller, keep-you-guessing mystery series - "Death Note"
For a modern popular hero series - "My Hero Academia"
For a bloody survival action-drama storyline - "Attack on Titan" / "Parasyte"

Those are "Best-Taste" for the genre they are in. All 30 to 60 episodes overall---not endless like Naruto, DBZ, Bleach and One Piece. They're all binge-watch worthy.

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Nonlinear YYH and S-cry-ed...? What?

Enpatsu Shakugan said:

Nonlinear YYH and S-cry-ed...? What?

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Yes, they're more non-linear than Dragonball Z, in my opinion. DBZ was super predictable (linear).

Frieza was a multi-form alien---Cell was a multi-form bio-android, and Majin Buu....well a multi-form evil bubble-gum wad with superpowers. In each case, one villain with multiple forms, each stronger than the last, as our heroes find adjacent miracles to win / avoid death.

YYH and S-cry-ed had a higher level of unpredictability from my aspect, with philosophical debates thrown in as well. In those cases, evil doesn't always win too----people die, suffer and didn't have Dragon balls to wish people back. Especially in S-cry-ed's case, good guys and bad guys switch ideals at certain points.

BellBlitzKing said:

Yes, they're more non-linear than Dragonball Z, in my opinion. DBZ was super predictable (linear).

Frieza was a multi-form alien---Cell was a multi-form bio-android, and Majin Buu....well a multi-form evil bubble-gum wad with superpowers. In each case, one villain with multiple forms, each stronger than the last, as our heroes find adjacent miracles to win / avoid death.

YYH and S-cry-ed had a higher level of unpredictability from my aspect, with philosophical debates thrown in as well. In those cases, evil doesn't always win too----people die, suffer and didn't have Dragon balls to wish people back. Especially in S-cry-ed's case, good guys and bad guys switch ideals at certain points.

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Okay, I'll agree to that, but "linear" I feel isn't the right word. Not by any definition I know, anyway. Hence my confusion.

Yeah, that is some weird wording. YYH was way more linear than Dragon Ball which essentially went in cycles. Dragon Ball also introduced other universes and time travel stuff so it's even further from linear.

I was in the same position as you years ago. I just got in Crunchyroll and started picking shows based on whether I liked the cover. Find a lot that I liked this way.