I want to get into anime.

[w00tage]

Anime frightens me some times due to the fact what it can turn into... and what fans can become... just be aware...

If you think anime has a bad effect on people, look at sports. Fans destroying friggin' cities, omg.

 

[Asti]

The great four: Death Note, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun

My personal favourites are

Katanagatari (Almost western flash-style aesthetics)
Bakemonogatari (Based on a novel and awesome style of animation)
Toradora! (Awesome if somewhat weird story about friendship and romance)
Durarara!! (Simply... great. The characters are awesome.)
Kimi ni Todoke (Super sweet and gentle romance)
Wallflower - Perfect Girl Evolution (Pure comedy GOLD and everything you need to know about how the Japanese ideal man is different from western expectations. XD)

I watch on otakucenter.com

 

[Comando96]

Anime frightens me some times due to the fact what it can turn into... and what fans can become... just be aware...

If you think anime has a bad effect on people, look at sports. Fans destroying friggin' cities, omg.

Key word, can [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever]. Its not it has a bad effect on people... people have a bad affect on it... and personally... I don't want it shared :s

Also if I had my way I'd have a Russian scale anti-fan police methods to maintain order. They brought 2000 riot police "just in-case" to a match with English fans. Well it stopped any possible riots xD No one did a thing.

 

[Pinkamena]

I never liked anime, but a friend of mine who are really, REALLY into anime, got me watching Death Note. Now I watch anime every now and then, but it still haven't grown on me completely Also watching Cowboy Bebop, but that's the only animes I've ever watched.

 

[Ascarus]

Well, first of all: I don't watch anime. So no worries about the sequel thingiemagicker.

I'd recommend Death Note. One of the two animes I've watched, it's a series that has been finished and it's great.

relevant:

not sure why, but that empty grocery isle is quite unnerving.

 

[Racecarlock]

Battletech. Not only is it a giant robot anime with politics and such, but it ties in with the mechwarrior games on the PC. It's only 12 episodes, but that's because the games took most of the narrative I guess.

 

[Matt Dellar]

There are just too many animes out there with too many target audiences to suggest one be-all, end-all. Like non-Japanese shows, anime is split into different categories, and among those categories, a thousand sub-categories. I'd recommend doing a Google search on whichever genre you prefer (action, romance, comedy, all three, etc), and then typing the word "anime" after that. You'll get plenty of results.

Personally, the show that got me into anime was Naruto (action), when I was around 13. By now, it's probably too long to commit to unless you already know the story, and I don't even watch it anymore (I quit after the main storyline ended).

My current favorite is Higurashi, a bloody, psychological horror anime with a pretty art style and good, flawed characters. Of course, they're all completely beautiful, but that's a given in anime.

I warn you now, though, that there is a ton of anime out there that just isn't all that great, from a critical standpoint. Even Higurashi has one gigantic flaw and is sometimes hated on for its art style and characters, and Death Note (actually quite good) gets extremely over-dramatic at times (I'll take a potato chip . . . AND EAT IT!!).

 

[Aptspire]

I'd like to recommend something of a drama-ish anime that is hardly known by anyone, yet is a masterpiece:

Beck.

It's fairly short(26 or so episodes, if i remember correctly).
On the upside it's got original music written by professional japanese bands and even a Beatles' cover, all done remarkably well.
This goes out to everyone. If you haven't seen Beck, please do.

agreed, I liked that one quite a bit
also, it all depends on your favorite genre, like everyone said here

 

[DannyJBeckett]

I'm not much of an Anime fan, but some you really should watch are:

DragonBall Z
Cowboy Bebop
Bleach
and
Ghost in the Shell

 

[hazabaza1]

I've recently been watching Cowboy Bebop, that's a pretty pimpin' show.
Though I watch it in Japanese, I can't imagine Steve Blum being Spike.

 

[Silvianoshei]

The great four: Death Note, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun

My personal favourites are

Katanagatari (Almost western flash-style aesthetics)
Bakemonogatari (Based on a novel and awesome style of animation)
Toradora! (Awesome if somewhat weird story about friendship and romance)
Durarara!! (Simply... great. The characters are awesome.)
Kimi ni Todoke (Super sweet and gentle romance)
Wallflower - Perfect Girl Evolution (Pure comedy GOLD and everything you need to know about how the Japanese ideal man is different from western expectations. XD)

I watch on otakucenter.com

^this - minus Kimi ni Todoke. Also consider Akira (classic), Hayao Miyazaki movies (generally solid) and OF COURSE:

ESCAFLOWNE.

Practice watching subbed stuff, dubbed voice acting is anywhere from irritating to downright unbearable.

 

[kjh242]

Well nao, let's see here...
I read mangas, usually, but here's what i can recommend, after having seen them;
-Lucky Star
-Aria
-Code Geass
-anything by Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away = favourite)
-Bleach was okay, and so was One Piece. The filler in Naruto got to be too much for me. I read those three now, though.
-Hayate no Gotoku / Hayate the Combat Butler

 

[Arsen]

Just watch Ninja Scroll, Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Iria, Vampire Hunter D, and DBZ movies 5-8.

There. You have officially seen the best Japanese Animation has to offer.

Oh...and Cool Devices.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I haven't watched much, but out of what I have, I must recommend Gurren Lagann. It is phenomenal, if a bit over-the-top sometimes. If you're into comedy more, I'd go with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. In addition, Neon Genesis Evangelion is pretty good. It's bit old, but it's pretty popular and worth looking up.

I've watched Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh, as well, and they're not bad. I'd recommend watching if you like the "Slice of Life" genre.

 

[luvva]

I'd go with what the majority of people are saying: Death Note's a fantastic place to start. Once I started watching, I was totally hooked

Definitely go for a bit of bebop- fantastically well-done, and also great to watch dubbed if you dont want to read subtitles too much.

those two are quite adult titles.

If you're into vampires, hellsing's a good watch, but it can run out of steam a bit at points.

full metal alchemist is a bit slow for my taste, but it's got some bits which are fantastic.

It depends what type of films you watch really:

if you like thrillers, go for death note, or full metal alchemist for something a little less twisty.
if you like sci fi, definitely go for bebop, or ghost in the shell.
if you're looking for something light-hearted (but not 'cute') go for one piece or naruto.
if you're looking for something more resembling a romcom, i loved chobits.

if you like the idea of overpowered things beating up other things, go for hellsing for a short burst, bleach for a longer burst.

 

[Sonicron]

-EDIT-
I know this comes down to personal preference, but I recommend watching the English dubs.

He's not English native speaker, so he should be used to read subtitles.

Not sure that argument holds water. I'm not a native speaker of English either, and I've always found it a lot easier to simply listen to spoken English rather than simultaneously read and absorb written English (at a demanding pace) while also trying to follow the on-screen action.

 

[blankedboy]

If you're after comedy, you might wanna try Azumanga Daioh or K-On first, then move into FLCL and Excel Saga once you come to grips with anime. Abenobashi's worth a look too, albeit a bit gimmicky.