Anime

haruhi, hyouka, angel beats, puella magi madoka magica, frieren

your name along with other shinkai makoto films are also great

i guess some of these are too weeb-ish tho, lol

I like to be sadistic and recommend getting into Gundam

One Piece or no balls

Odd Taxi

Maybe the show that you could make the most references to while watching other anime? So JoJo’s.

My non weeb friends liked Frieren, Cyberpunk Edge Runners, and Deathnote. I'd also recommend Serial Experiments Lain if you want something that forces you to think about it to understand it.

"Vash the Stampede".

Can’t go wrong with just about any Studio Ghibli film.

I'd recommend things based on stuff they like to read/watch in other media, so I don't have a single must-watch.

That said my initial picks would be Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Spy x Family, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Nichijou. Perhaps Log Horizon? EDIT: Uzumaki for people who are into suspense/horror.

I liked Kimi Ni Todoke (apparently translates as from me to you) and think everyone should watch or read it.

I find that SpyXFamily and the Ghibli movies are what most people best relate to though, so if it's a question of getting someone hooked start with *Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service or Howl's Moving Castle. *

Honestly, everything that isn't a (battle) shounen should be great. The most important thing is to firmly establish that anime is a "medium" and not a "genre". And since almost every outsider thinks every anime is a battle shounen, it's important to correct that misconception early on.

AnoHana would be my recommendation. It's short for a series, it doesn't take any Japanese cultural knowledge to enjoy it, and the themes are universal regardless of personal background, age or gender.

I wouldn't recommend it as a first anime to most, but I introduced a friend to anime with Spice & Wolf

Frankly speaking I expected a lot of Boku no Pico recommendations. Where are they?

Throw them into the deep end: Golden Boy.

• Now and Then, Here and There
• The Night is Short, Walk on Girl
• Uchouten Kazoku
• Madoka Magica
• Serial Experiments Lain

All would be solid choices I think, mature and not what one might expect anime to be.

Your Name is always a good choice.

It's a movie so newcomers don't need to invest a lot of time to finish it. It's visually stunning, the soundtrack sticks with you, the narrative starts simple but becomes increasingly complex and memorable. It fits into most age brackets and its not marketed toward one gender only.

I think it's still widely available for streaming too so it should still be pretty accessible.

It can't be anything long, has to be something they can reasonably finish. No One Piece, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z. Ideally one season, no longer than two.

It also shouldn't be anything that's still ongoing, has to be something they can literally finish. I'd really like to say Frieren, I think it hits a lot of the right beats to appeal to someone who has never watched anime before, but I wouldn't want to leave them hanging. And we don't even know how long it's going to be in the end, I already said no longer than two seasons anyway.

Has to have a dub. Someone who does not watch anime is not going to read subs. I'm so close to wanting to recommend Apocalypse Hotel as a short and sweet 12 episode masterpiece, but the lack of a dub will be a dealbreaker to your non-weeb friends.

With how much I'm emphasizing that it has to be short, movies would be better than television shows. Which leads us to the extremely obvious answer of Ghibli, anything Ghibli. But maybe Ghibli is too obvious an answer, I know plenty of people who watch Ghibli but have never seen anything else, so maybe we'll say Ghibli doesn't count.

So then I'd say my next answer would be A Silent Voice. Not just because it's my favorite movie, but it's a good example to show that there's so much more to anime than just battle shonen. I imagine most people who don't watch anime may have only ever heard of popular shonen and might not know what else is out there.

For me, it's gotta be none other than Cowboy Bebop!

• It's a fantastic sci-fi series that's gritty and realistic without taking itself too seriously.
• The world-building is top notch, the cast of characters are extremely likeable, and the dialogue is memorable.
• It's truly got something for everyone--kung fu, gunplay, ship battles, western, noir, comedic moments, drama, supernatural elements, immaculate vibes, etc.
• One of the best soundtracks of any show ever, famous for "jazz" but actually mixing a wide variety of genres and styles.
• Some of the best cel animation and painted backgrounds from the legendary studio Sunrise, with tasteful uses of early CG.
• Only 26 half-hour episodes, plus one optional film and one optional bonus episode.
• Mixes stand-alone episodes with a extremely satisfying longer story arc that will certainly leave you feeling something.
• Good performances in both the native Japanese, as well as the stellar English dub that was ahead of its time.

Cowboy Bebop seems to be the anime that transcends the genre more than almost anything else, and appeals to people even if they don't typically gel with more tropey anime. I really think that Bebop is a triumph of the medium and one of the best television shows period, so I really can't recommend it enough to everyone!

If I get to force them watch whatever I want, and my goal is to introduce them to the medium as a whole, I'd be tempted to show them Code Geass. It's one of the MOST anime anime shows, if you know what I mean. It's got:

• high school students!
• magic powers!
• giant robots!
• a mysterious girl who immediately moves in with the main character!
• political intrigue!
• an evil empire!
• frenemies!
• scenes you'd be embarrassed to watch in front of your parents!
• taking philosophy too literally!

If my goal was to show them something that I think they'd like, I'd probably pick Frieren. Partially because it's one of the best recent animes, and partially because it doesn't have any scenes that are going to make them ask "What the hell are you making me watch?"

Your favorite slice of life anime, since this is a genre an anime newbie is unlikely to be used to. I'd personally nominate City: The Animation, but I understand Nichijou would also be a popular recommendation.

I think Death Note is the most recommended entry point because it’s not too long, the plot isn’t hard to follow, and it happens in a “realistic” world.

I'm gonna say Frieren (woa big surprise). It appeals to a lot of people, doesn't have odd anime tropes, and has a great dub. It also has some action scenes so someone can see if they want to watch more action animes.