Here's the trouble I always have with the situation of someone saying, "I haven't really liked any of the anime I've seen (except Cowboy Bebop because, come on, really), what would you suggest I try to win me over?"
The thing is, I'm not interested in winning people over and, really, no one should be. Art and media just don't work that way.
Consider: I don't like country music in general, and I'm aware of this. Various reasons, not going to get into it. Now, I have heard country songs that I do enjoy! But I'm not going to suddenly dive into the world of country music just because I came across a few songs from that style that I liked; they're the exceptions, not the rule.
Recommending anime to someone who has seen and does not like most anime is a fool's errand. I don't mean that in a "he just can't be saved" way, I just mean that, hey, it's not for everyone, and that's cool. You don't like anime, no worries! Not everyone does, and not everyone has to.
Beyond that point, even if someone's really genuinely trying to get into anime for some reason and just can't find series they like, I never know what to recommend since, well, it can be very hard to point out the upsides of a good series when its trappings (exaggerated expressions and emotional outbursts, cartoony art style, etc.) are too offputting for the intended audience to enjoy the story behind them. It just tends to feel like a lost cause all around.
With all that on the table? If I still had to make suggestions?
Both series do run very slowly, but not in the "lots of action for five minutes followed by five episodes of a single conversation" way a la DBZ. They're both just telling longer stories and have a lot of quiet periods more focused on character development and social movement than action, so if you want a pure action series neither is likely to deliver. For context: Moribito is, in short, about a bodyguard protecting a prince in large part by hiding the fact that he's a prince, so they understandably want to avoid attracting much attention - thus, often very little action happening. Last Exile's action mostly involves large-scale airship combat, a kind of combat which, like actual naval affairs, is as much about movement and timing as actual violence; combine that with a lot of politics and secretive conspiracy shenanigans (not my favorite aspect of the show) and you end up with a lot of back room deals, double crosses and periods of idleness between the bouts of madness. It's negative space, so to speak.
Edited addendum: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a tentative third suggestion. Tentative because, while I know I like the series a great deal, I've also had a lot of people tell me they just couldn't get into it, so despite the quality of the series in my mind I know it can be more of a hit-or-miss series when it comes to recommendations. I'd definitely recommend it more than the movies, however, if only because it's more accessible. The way the movies are made (and given their relatively shorter run time) it can be hard to get into the atmosphere if you're not already comfortable with it.
If you're going to drive yourself to follow up on these suggestions despite apparently not really enjoying the medium, well, I hope it works out for you.
The thing is, I'm not interested in winning people over and, really, no one should be. Art and media just don't work that way.
Consider: I don't like country music in general, and I'm aware of this. Various reasons, not going to get into it. Now, I have heard country songs that I do enjoy! But I'm not going to suddenly dive into the world of country music just because I came across a few songs from that style that I liked; they're the exceptions, not the rule.
Recommending anime to someone who has seen and does not like most anime is a fool's errand. I don't mean that in a "he just can't be saved" way, I just mean that, hey, it's not for everyone, and that's cool. You don't like anime, no worries! Not everyone does, and not everyone has to.
Beyond that point, even if someone's really genuinely trying to get into anime for some reason and just can't find series they like, I never know what to recommend since, well, it can be very hard to point out the upsides of a good series when its trappings (exaggerated expressions and emotional outbursts, cartoony art style, etc.) are too offputting for the intended audience to enjoy the story behind them. It just tends to feel like a lost cause all around.
With all that on the table? If I still had to make suggestions?
^ This. Moribito more so than Last Exile, if only because Last Exile has Dio and his sister in it, and those two are...how to put it...they're basically as anime as characters can get, at least to the degree that series' level of realism allows, which is probably going to do harm to Dan's psyche.commasplice said:
Both series do run very slowly, but not in the "lots of action for five minutes followed by five episodes of a single conversation" way a la DBZ. They're both just telling longer stories and have a lot of quiet periods more focused on character development and social movement than action, so if you want a pure action series neither is likely to deliver. For context: Moribito is, in short, about a bodyguard protecting a prince in large part by hiding the fact that he's a prince, so they understandably want to avoid attracting much attention - thus, often very little action happening. Last Exile's action mostly involves large-scale airship combat, a kind of combat which, like actual naval affairs, is as much about movement and timing as actual violence; combine that with a lot of politics and secretive conspiracy shenanigans (not my favorite aspect of the show) and you end up with a lot of back room deals, double crosses and periods of idleness between the bouts of madness. It's negative space, so to speak.
Edited addendum: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a tentative third suggestion. Tentative because, while I know I like the series a great deal, I've also had a lot of people tell me they just couldn't get into it, so despite the quality of the series in my mind I know it can be more of a hit-or-miss series when it comes to recommendations. I'd definitely recommend it more than the movies, however, if only because it's more accessible. The way the movies are made (and given their relatively shorter run time) it can be hard to get into the atmosphere if you're not already comfortable with it.
If you're going to drive yourself to follow up on these suggestions despite apparently not really enjoying the medium, well, I hope it works out for you.
