I’ve been enjoying Paranoia Agent on Adult Swim lately and it’s gotten me to thinking about how I’d introduce someone to anime. I can think of a number of series I’d recommend to someone new to the medium, but it occurred to me that there are some series that I’d actually recommend they avoid until they got into it, especially if they weren’t all that enthusiastic about anime to begin with. I don’t mean to say that any particular series/movies are bad and should be avoided altogether, but that one should stay away until they’ve developed an appreciation for it.
I’m not sure if I’d suggest that anyone steer clear of Paranoia Agent. I think it’s a real solid show, but there are some weirder aspects to it that might turn a newcomer off. Perhaps Akira or Ghost in the Shell might be good to have in one’s background, along with some of Kon’s more “benign” stuff like Millenium Actress.
For all it’s references to other famous shows, I’d suggest staying away from Excel Saga for a while too. Since it goes after conventional anime memes along with specific series, it’d woosh anyone who wasn’t already a fan, much less familiar with it.
I’ve seen a lot of anime, but for some reason those are the only two examples I can come up with right now. What else would you suggest someone wait to see until they’ve developed more of a taste for anime?
Legend of the Overfiend. There, I win. What do I get?
Oh, fine. I’ll think of some more…hmmm…
•Samurai Champloo is the kind of thing that could either win you over instantly, or put you off anime for years.
•Probabaly Angel Santuary. (Haven’t seen it myself, yet, though.)
Bah, someone already mentioned Lain. It’s a wonderful series and I’ll never get tired of watching it, but showing it to a newcomer is like introducing someone to classic literature by giving them a copy of Ulysses.
Oh God yes, the Utena movie. I’ve had many people come to me and ask me ‘WTF was that.’ I know the director of it personally and can attest to the fact that he does do drugs, if that helps to explain the ending of it at all.
The whole series of Utena has some pretty ‘out-there’ moments, but the movie was beyond normal people comprehension. It’s one of my favorite movies.
Neko Jiru (cat soup) I wouldn’t even suggest this for most anime fans… it’s so out there.
KIMERA. I am KIMERA’s only fan. It helps that I’ve read the manga and know what the story is actually about because the anime is poorly planned and executed jibberish.
Kaze to Ki no Uta. One of MY personal favorites, but I can see why most people don’t like. It’s very old and stylized and appeals to only a small fan base.
Boku no Sexual Harassment/Legend of Three Wolves. Gay anime male rape. While a small fan base enjoys this, I doubt the average viewer would be pleased.
Some of the Evangelion movies are very WTF.
Excel Saga is particuarly crackish and best enjoyed while drunk or stoned.
The main problem with the Utena movie is that it’s a paired down redo of the TV series, replacing a lot of actual events with symbolism. And essentially if you haven’t seen the series, it would have to end up as a big WTF.
But anyhow, the #1 don’t show for me would probably be something like Tenamonya Voyagers, Burnup Excess, or Jungle de Ikou. While hilarious, even I have to give myself the hairy fish eye for having watched them (…though the Okama/Evangelion scene in Burnup was a thing of beauty.)
I might add that I tried to use the Utena movie as a cheap way to decide whether or not I should look into the series itself a bit more. Believe me, by the end there, that question was answered rather definitively (of course, I changed my mind a few years later, and bought the series, which quickly became my favorite anime of all time). This is what happens when creative control gets out of hand.
I might add that the manga version of that story works far better in my opinion, while retaining many of the same themes. They should have based the movie on that.
I also vote for the Excel Saga, or that Poemy anime. Anything that is really designed as a parody for those not familiar with the genre is probably a bad idea in fact. Di Gi Charat might also be a bad choice.
I’d stick with the more mainstream movies in this discussion. I think Ninja Scroll is probably a bad movie to show to a first time anime viewer. Most of it’s ok but the near rape early in the movie and the actual penetration of the female lead later in the movie was a bit over the top.
It’s weird, but I have to agree with all of the above (with the possible exceptions of Samurai Champloo), despite the fact that it means not recommending some of my favorite series.
Anyway, my most recent discovery and addition to this list is Cromartie High School. While not exactly bad, this show is basically the Japanese equivalent of Adult Swim shows like ATHF, Sealab 2021, and the like. You know, where the creators go for the most over-the-top, non-sequitorish, “we were high when we wrote this, and it helps if you are too” storylines and jokes they can find. Quite fun, and pretty well done if you that’s your medicine of choice, but probably not really that good for newcomers.
In a similar vein is Jubei-chan, the Ninja Girl which, while it cracks me up (not the hardest thing to do), can be very silly, and enjoys its non-sequitors quite a bit as well. It also helps that the company that translated it did a good job with translating some of the visual gags, such as the guy whose t-shirt always has a kanji that symbolizes what’s going on in his head (oftentimes confusion, occasionally it’s blank).
And then you have more niche titles like Cosplay Complex, Arcade Gamer Fubuki, Kekko Kamen that are kinda fun but never really go anywhere.
Other than that, though, it really comes down to what pre/misconceptions your hypothetical (or not) newcomer has about anime and how strongly you want to downplay those aspects. I mean, Tenjo Tenge is entertaining enough, but it’s not something you want to show someone who’s down on anime because s/he thinks it’s all T&A. (Mmm…T&A…)
Yeah, that’s a good idea. It’s good to start with something well known or popular, but that doesn’t mean that it’d necessarily be accessible to someone who’s trying to form an opinion of the medium. That said, Ninja Scroll really would be a good one to save for later.
I also agree that Samurai Champloo isn’t such a good addition to the list. I could actually see that being a good one to start with. The characters might be archetypes, but that’d just make their counterparts in other anime more familiar.
And Milk Chan just sucks, period.
More generally, though, I would say that anything with a lot of cultural references or that takes place in the present day without a heavy fantasy or scifi element might not be a good thing to start with. Mecha and Monsters are easier to enjoy than social commentary (but that’s assuming that I know more than jack about Japanese culture, which I probably don’t. Heh.).
Hey, that’s why I said it could “win you over instantly.” On the other hand, it has the episodes with—
The 7 foot tall homosexual dutchman trying to pass as Japanese; or the the torching of a field of ganja that makes several hundred people wildly hallucinate; or all the times one of the main characters gets sold into sex slavery…
Again, that kind of stuff is what makes the show so dear to me, and probably countless others. But for a newcomer to anime, it might be a little much…or, it might be what completely hooks you on it. It’s not like it’s anime David Lynch or George Romero, but it’s still kinda “strong medicine” in it’s own way, and might not be the best thing to try any ol’ anime newbie on.
Perfect Blue was one of the first anime I ever saw, and I loved it! (Legend of the Overfiend was also an early view for me - I think my anime mentor had it out for me…)
Yeah, I was going to say La Blue Girl, and/or tentacles.
I also don’t think you should start with Ghost in the Shell. It is *not * the end-all be-all so many people think it is. It’s actually pretty boring at some times, moves terribly slow, and is a bit esoteric and hard to understand.
I would probably go totally the opposite direction and start with something completely candy.
I’m not sure I would even start someone with Akira, even though it’s kind of the canonical anime around here, even still. I know some people who would be freaked out by the later parts of it.
I’d start them with Millennium Actress for adult material, or Spirited Away for older kids, or Kiki’s for the younger.
