What's a good anime to break into anime?

[ChocoFace]

Finally, I would say the original Full Metal Alchemist.

I'm with believer on this one. The original FMA is very accessable to a new watcher of anime... it's where I started, and it eases people into the medium with a pretty understandable story... as anime goes, anyway.

Be careful not to start them with FMA:Brotherhood... I also like that story arc and find it to be superior in some ways, but at times it seems to assume you've seen the original... it only shows still from several of the original beginning episodes, probably because they felt they had been done perfectly the first time and it would be difficult to add to them. However, the skipping of key plot points could be odd for a new watcher, I know it was for me even having watched the old content.

I'd personally say Brotherhood made much more sense all throughout it's length. They actually explained a lot more and it felt complete, unlike the original. Brotherhood was also really well done, in the sense that each episode ended with a cliffhanger, keeping me hooked. This is just my opinion, though.

OT: yeah, Full Metal Alchemist can be a great start, as can be Cowboy Bebop, Avatar, Death Note, etc.
If some of them are into drama, i highly recommend Beck. Highly.

 

[walrusaurus]

*Ahem* as someone who's been on the receiving end of this scenario. I'm going to recommend you steer clear of anything that has significant magical elements. My anime loving friend tried to get us into it, he showed us spirited away, and some thing with a name i don't remember that had a massively fat witch transform some girl into an old woman because she ran into a random wizard, who i think was a fugitive.... Put simply they didn't go over well. 'too weird' But i remember liking Gundam wing as a kid. SO i feel like something a bit more sci fi oriented will be easier for your friend to swallow.

 

[HimochiIsAwesome]

i would say, don't go with anything too long or too mainstream. The long ones will probably put them off, and the most popular ones tend to have spoilers everywhere.
I mean, half of the world know what happens in Shippuden, so Naruto is out right off the bat. Even if they didn't know, they could accidentaly find out, what with all the fans.

If they are into history or want some comedy, Hetalia: Axis Powers? The episodes are only around 5 minutes long, so it can be loaded up quickly and if you don't have a lot of time, you can still watch.
It's also subbed by FUNimation on Youtube, but you do need an account because they have age ratings.
(It's TVMA, but most of the episodes are actually kid friendly. Only a few are a bit weird, and that's nothing compared to the manga.)

TL;DR - Hetalia: Axis Powers.

 

[LilithSlave]

U might like "Soul Eater". Some people do, but others hate it. It combines a semi serious tone, with off the wall goofy humor.

The ending was pretty terrible, though. The manga is a lot better than the anime.

I do consider it an important anime, though. Because it is one of the greatest examples of strong women/females in anime, particularly the shounen genre. I wouldn't recommend it as a starter anime, however.