I want to get into anime.

[Theta49]

well as aba1 said, there's so many different genres

To me, the best place to read about and discover Anime is at Myanimelist.net
read the reviews or find similar anime to the ones you like

as to get you started, here's my personal favourites
all of which contains a healthy dose of comedy

FLCL
as crazy as it gets


Baccano
occasionly violent with really interesting characters


Samurai Champloo
a perfet mix of samurai setting with modern references


Honey and Clover
Slice of life, the perfect balance of comedy, romance and drama



I hope you'll find something to love
Best of luck

 

[Vykrel]

Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Samurai Champloo.

these are three fantastic animes, and each of them consist of only 26 episodes, so you dont have to get really invested in watching.

 

[Macgyvercas]

While it has a very high degree of niche appeal, I'd recommend giving Spice & Wolf a shot. Another one I recommend is El-Hazard: The Magnificent World (the OVA, not the TV series. The OVA was far superior)

I actually recently watched both seasons of Spice and Wolf because I saw you mention it in another thread and I liked your avatar. I really enjoyed it, so I must say thank you.

Ahh, you're welcome. I'm glad to hear you liked it.

 

[vaderaider]

The first anime I watched was "Death note" so you may want to start there.
I also recommend "Black lagoon" It has some great action scenes and Is quite funny at someplaces.

 

[Bluemagedood]

A lot of people here are offering you up options that they
like as people already engaged in the medium. Thing is,
anime is big. Nearly as big as conventional western animation
mediums. Maybe bigger if you ignore the stuff made for under 12's.
You're going to be in for a bit of a culture shock if you've
not really watched it before.

A good slice of life to reccomend is 'Working!'. I introduced it
to a few mates around my college campus and most people got it
streight away, even those who normally don't dig slice anime.

If you're into dramatic fantasy, a good place to start would be
some of the Studio Ghibli films, in particular; Princess Mononoke.

There is so much Sci-fi anime. I wouldn't know where to start, and
a lot of it is very intimidating. However I'd reccomend 'Neon Genesis
Evangellion' and it's anti-thesis 'Gurren Lagann'. Both are giant robot
anime that develop supprisingly mature themes as the show goes on(though
give GL some time on that front, it starts out quite happy-go-luckey).

Finally, nothing is better than picking an anime YOU want to watch,
so when you've seen some of the reccomended in my post and above, make
an account on myanimelist.net and reccord what you've watched. Check out
similar anime to the ones you liked. It's a very good guide to a monsterously
large genre of animation.

 

[ChocoFace]

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.

 

[Fusioncode9]

Death Note is really good, it's and pretty and even has two live action movies. Which are even better than the actual anime.I also enjoy Naruto and Dragon Ball but both shows have hundreds of episodes and a lot of tedious filler.If your going to watch anime be prepared for a lot of filler.

 

[100tacks]

Try crunchyroll.com. I'd do a 14 day free trial first, because they spam with ads if you don't. You can browse around for a couple weeks and decide what you like and what you would like to see more of.

 

[kayisking]

I have decided that I will begin with watching the original full metal alchemist. Thanks for all your suggestions and I'll try to watch them all in due time. Have a nice day everyone.

 

[100tacks]

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.

I liked Beck too. I think the full name is Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

For an intro to anime, I'd suggest Darker Than Black ([link]http://www.hulu.com/watch/113385/darker-than-black-the-fallen-star-of-a-contract-part-1[/link] - I hope you can access that). It's not too weird, has a great story line, and a great anti-hero. It's somewhat similar to Death Note in that regard, but it doesn't do a faceplant at the start of the second season (don't bother with the second season in Death Note, it's awful; finale is pretty good though).

Here are some others I've found quite enjoyable:
Full Metal Alchemist (both Brotherhood and the original series - different story lines for each!)
Neon Genesis Evangelion - It's weird, confusing, has a shitty ending, but it's one of the first great animes
Paranoia Agent - Dark, fun, psychotic. A bit like a Kafka story...
Bleach/Naruto - Both start out great, but get boring rather quickly. Furthermore, Naruto has a serious problem with filler arcs, upwards of 100 episodes in one case

 

[wolf92]

Some good ones I like are Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, Black Cat, Ruruouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Death Note

 

[BottleOfAwesome]

Depends what you like really, but I'd recommend:
Clannad (Romance/Slice of life)
Evangelion 1.11 and 2.22 (They're movie versions of the series, they're easier to get and look amazing since they were recently made)
Code Geass (Action)
Hellsing Ultimate (If you would like to see the most bad-ass character ever created)
Nyan Koi!(Romance/Comedy)
Chaos; Head (If you enjoy Mindf*cks)

 

[freaper]

Your English actually isn't that bad. It's much easier to understand than some of the people I've seen post.

On topic though, I recommend Code Geass. It has two seasons, but neither is particularly long. Black Lagoon, also two seasons. Claymore, which is one season. Berserk, also one season. Gantz, also one season.

Death Note was my first anime, followed by the ones you mentioned, except for Berserk, which I read in manga, and Gantz, which I haven't seen yet. I can vouch for all of them OP, they're a must-see.

Also, Samurai Champloo, Spice and Wolf, Angel Beats, Ghost in the Shell... And screw the big 3, they're only worth watching after you've gotten into anime, and even then, you might not even like em.

EDIT: I'm content that almost everyone suggests Death Note as a first :3

 

[ironduke88]

I have decided that I will begin with watching the original full metal alchemist. Thanks for all your suggestions and I'll try to watch them all in due time. Have a nice day everyone.

That was the series that got me into anime, although it still has quite a lot of 'anime conventions' in it that can be confusing to newcomers.

If afterwards you are still looking for some of the better ones to watch that will ease you into the style of the medium, I would suggest:

Avatar: the last airbender - ok, I know it is not technically an anime, but it is very good. It borrows a lot of its style and story from 'traditional' japanese anime, and makes an entertaining and emotional introduction to anime on the whole.

and as have already been suggested

Cowboy Bebop & Samurai Champloo - two fantastic shows that will really determine whether anime is somethig that you can get into. Distinct lack of the more confusing things that are commonly found in animes and a more westernised animation style, but still strongly recognisable as 'anime'. Both are short and typically appear on everyones top 10 (if not top 5) anime lists.

Good luck.

ps. please wait until you have watched a couple of series (preferably all the ones on the what anime to watch threads) before deciding to jump in and watch something you have never heard of. There is some really wierd crap out there, and it would be a shame to colour your fledgling interest with some pseudo-hentai giving you nightmares.

 

[Steven Biehler]

Two Words
Studio Ghibli
but beware it is know that there is no human who will not cry watching "Grave of the Fireflies"
Princess Mononoke is one of my favorites.

 

[Watchmacallit]

Depends...Do you like serious? Funny? Action?

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. (Great Story, deep, emotional, action)
Full Metal Panic. (Nothing to do with the above. Funny and serious.)
Soul Eater. (Just a generally good anime)
Kenshin (About a Samurai)
The Melcancholy of Harui Suzumiya
Highschool of the Dead

 

[CMDR Zero C]

I must warn you. Before you start watching any anime there are at least two things you want to know. A) how long is it? and B) how easy is it to find.

Thanks to the powers of the internet B) is taken care of pretty easily. As for A), if your going to start getting into anime i recommend picking pretty short ones to start. Between 12-30 episodes. That way you can figure out what type of genera you like. Also when you pick a show at random give it 4 or 5 episodes to figure out if you like it or not, been watching anime for a while and have found some real crap out there.

Personally I like Yu Yu hakusho for fighting (151 episodes), Gundam Wing (51 episodes i think), Gunslinger Girl (13 episodes and its on netflix). Netflix has some good stuff and a lot of types to find what you like.