Anime Virgins

[Cade the Imperfect]

FMA: BrotherHood worked well enough for me, to get me into and get other into anime.

Samurai Champloo has worked well to snag peoples interest.

I personally wouldn't Cowboy Bebop, it seems to be loved by its fans but me and my friends never really got into it

 

[Seijaku]

My first proper amine series was Elfen Lied. I loved it but it depends on how open you are really. Spirited Away would be a good movie to start with.

 

[Seagoon]

HELLSING! MY FIRST ANIME! EPIC AS SHIIIT!

 

[Katana314]

Love Hina, as a LIGHThearted thing to get him interested?? That kind of thing scares me off and weirds me out.

Like others have said, it depends on what he's interested in. If he's stayed away from anime based off general impressions thus far, I think something like Naruto or Bleach would be a bad bet. I stay away from those because they tend to fall into so many common stereotypes anime seems to fall into. Mainly, you could ask him what he DOESN'T want to see in anime (ie, "Whiny 15-year-old girls") and work away from that.

 

[Jonluw]

Death note can get anyone who is unfamiliar with the medium hooked.
The problem is getting them to watch other anime after Death note.

 

[Sindre1]

I have only ever watched Love Hina.
And I loved it <3
So there.

 

[AyreonMaiden]

Ha yes, you're absolutely right. It all depends on the person being introduced, since no one anime will please everyone.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels that way about Cowboy Bebop. I don't know if it was just me or if the fans made my expectations too high, but it's obvious I missed something. The soundtrack was the best I've ever heard, though.

And Black Lagoon. I was really into the first few episodes, having never seen an anime with so much action that kept me on the edge of my seat. Once the novelty wore off by the end of the season, I realized that there wasn't much behind it. The characters were unlikeable, the story was so uninteresting it might as well have been nonexistent, the soundtrack was bland, and the show went on for far too long, not having enough substance to justify the length. I also watched the dub, which I think was a mistake (the actors were fine, but they overused swearing more than Elfen Lied overused nudity, to the point of being ridiculous). This was all IMO, of course, and I hope that somewhat clears it up for you.

I felt about Cowboy Bebop something akin to what you felt about Black Lagoon. Perhaps not that the characters were unlikable, but that they had no chemistry together at all, and I'm huge on partnerships and camaraderie. The episodic nature of the show pretty much ensured that the show was all filler save for maybe 6-8 episodes and if you didn't like the characters then you're just SOL. And for every awesome "show don't tell" moment there was a pretentious verbiage to counter it. Sometimes it served the noir nature of the show but other times..."Cat that died a million deaths"...Ugh, so thick with cheese.

It's just as understandable that you hated Black Lagoon. I felt that combination of the dubbing (the swearing was very novel for me cause I'd never heard it done to such a wonderfully HBO-styled excess in anime) the artistry, the action, and the characters (That episode where Rock and Revy argue was what sold me on the characters for the rest of the show.) came together really well. It was like Cowboy Bebop but with scoundrels, odd camaraderie, and without the pretentious noir-speak.

 

[The Random One]

Yeah, I'm on your side. A serious work (but not DEEEENSE) that doesn't overly use anime conventions. I'm sure the Fullmetal Alchemist manga is one of the best works to introduce a manga virgin, and the anime would do a fair job at it too.

Although a feature film of the same vibe would probably be even better, due to its smaller time requirement.

 

[tris4992]

trigun ... all the arguments for FMA apply but 15 episodes doesn't require quite as much dedication as the 40+ that compose the full FMA storyline (original).

 

[Motakikurushi]

Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing, Death Note, Evangelion, GITS. Saw quite a recent anime called Durarara, which I thought was easy to get into and fun, if a bit stupid. I would steer clear of insanely long anime. Bleach is a good one to start off with but don't continue it. Same with One Piece, which is arguably better, and the anime that got me into the stuff, but is ridiculously long. Once the initial hurdle is overcome, they can move on to the animes with inside references that parody the culture, like NHK, Lucky Star. Then when they've lost all sanity from repeated exposure to anime it's time to watch Gurren Lagan.

 

[JackandTom]

I gotta go with Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, but Death Note was the first one I watched and I loved it.

Also, my brother keeps telling me how good Black Lagoon is as well.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

The only Anime I've ever watched was Full Metal Alchemist. I watched the english version, though, so I don't know if it counts. But yeah, I loved it. T'was brilliant.

That didn't get me into other Animes however. But that was probably just bad timing...

 

[OldAccount]

I'm not into anime but a friend got me to watch Death Note and I ate that shit up. I haven't gotten into any other animes yet since but it did give me a whole lot of respect for the medium.

 

[Julianking93]

After watching it finally for the first time a few days ago, Cowboy Bebop is definitely something I'd suggest for a new comer to anime.
Or really to anyone at all, it's just a great show.

Though.... Tenchi Muyo was actually the first anime I ever watched so I have to mention that even if most people probably won't like it.

Either way, get Clannad in there sometime. Perhaps wait until this person has seen enough anime, but sometime it must happen. It's amazing.

Look, the main thing about this is to tailor it to your friend's tastes. Choose an anime that is in line with what they like. Simple as that.

Pretty much that last bit too but as for Clannad, I haven't actually seen it yet. Though, as far as funny/romantic goes, Fruits Basket and the Clamp anime were always my favourites :3

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

Do you two like Quintin Tarintino or Robert Rodriguez movies? Start with Black Lagoon.

 

[CarrieWhitaker]

Wow, with some of the stuff mentioned, I'm surprised that Haruhidom haven't spoken up in the thread yet. But it's still only 3 pages, so... hehehe.

Though personally I don't recommend Melancholy as an initial foray, and if it's early, I'd suggest chronological order over anchronic order.

But then, maybe not, since the light novels are the original, and have more content. And are further along in the plot

 

[SckizoBoy]

Though personally I don't recommend Melancholy as an initial foray.

Probably why no-one else has... and SHnY/MoHS has received a lot of hate from Anime Escapists recently...

Besides, because of the endless eight, I don't really intend to watch it ever again...

 

[Jonesy911]

Cowboy Bebop is perfect for situations like these or maybe some movies like Akira. Try to stay away from the "OMG KAWAII DESUU!" and the pure fan service (Highschool of the dead) at first.

 

[Devil's Due]

This is not what I had in mind when I read "Anime Virgins". Not at all.

Same for me. Glad I'm not the only one that read the thread title with slight confusion and/or possible interest.

As for the thread: Everyone has seen Anime sooner or later in their life, they're not "virgins" for it, but most likely they just don't give a damn about it. I saw DBZ when younger, Cowboy Bebop and the like, but honestly the newer stuff is just personally boring as hell and I refuse to watch or acknowledge it. Opinions are a pain in the ass, eh?

 

[Jonesy911]

I'd show them none. The vast vast majority of anime is terrible, and to encourage them to watch it is doing them a disservice.

90% of everything is terrible. It's up to the individual to find the things worth their time.