The 10 Best Anime For Newbies

Sailor Moon vs. everybody.

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Complex Original

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The greatest anime series of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion, is a bigger, better, more ambitious TV drama than even The Wire. Never mind Evangelion's ostensible competition among cartoons produced in the U.S., which is a hellscape of deliberately crude (or else bland) character design, warmed-over mythology, and sitcom concept. Futurama ain't got shit on Space Dandy.

Among kids in the U.S., anime is a somewhat popular cartoon niche, a medium that's more varied and ambitious than the homegrown U.S. sense of "cartoons" would typically suggest. Within anime, there's martial arts shows and combat-driven sagas. There's coming-of-age stories and intergalactic adventures. There's psychodramas. There's giant robots. If you're newly curious about anime, but you're intimidated by its abundance of subgenres and stylistic variety, where should you start?

We've put our heads together and devised a diverse, well-rounded list of essential recommendations for newbies in search of a great anime series to get them hooked. (By "diverse," I mean that our recommendations aren't all action series targeted at teen boys.) Here we present not just our ten favorite anime, or the ten greatest anime of all time, but rather, specifically—​The 10 Best Anime For Beginners. 

Dragon Ball

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Domestic debut: February 26, 1986

Yes, Dragon Ball Z is a very compact storyline, and it's unique in that it can exist all on its own. Dragon Ball is better, however, because the stakes are smaller in scale yet feel so much bigger. As someone who started by watching Dragon Ball Z, and then went back to study Dragon Ball, I can say with confidence that it's far more exciting to experience Goku and Krillin as sparring equals; see Goku struggle to keep up with Master Roshi (posing as Jackie Chun) at the World Martial Arts Tournament; and watch the team (consisting roughly of Goku, Bulma, Krillin, and Yamcha) explore Earth to take down foes that would seem inconsequential in DBZ. Whether you're a super fan looking to explore Dragon Ball franchise creator Akira Toriyama's universe, or witnessing Goku for the first time, you'll want to begin your search for the Dragon Balls right here. —Gregory Babcock

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon

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Domestic debut: March 7, 1992

Sailor Moon isn't the original "magical girl" anime, but in the U.S., Sailor Moon is the definitive example of that whole transformational steez—deservedly so. Middle school student Usagi Tsukino​, the titular Sailor Moon, is the heart of the magical clique, one of the best to ever collaboratively transform and vanquish evil in the name of love and whatnot. As an afterschool series that first aired in the U.S. in  1995 and then ran more successfully on Cartoon Network in 1998, the original, 46-episode run of Sailor Moon was a surprising triumph of excellent direction, strong character dynamics, compelling stakes, and a masterful management of tone. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cringe. It's odd that so much of our audience insists that Dragon Ball Z is the most influential anime of all time when, really, contemporary anime—with all its slice-of-life friendships, its elemental magic, and its miniskirt aeronautics—looks more like Sailor Moon than it resembles any other anime of the 1990s.

My only warning: do not start by watching Crystal, the latest Sailor Moon season that's currently simulcasting to the U.S. via Hulu. Sailor Moon Crystal is insufferable. —Justin Charity

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

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Domestic debut: April 7, 1995

Like geopolitics, the Gundam universe is almost beautiful in its complicated nature. Gundam is far more than just giant robots in space. What's made the franchise timeless is how each series thoughtfully grapples with topics like the human cost of war, diplomacy, and interstellar relations. Yes, you'll see beautiful Gundam designs both as over-the-top weapons and as graceful harbingers of destruction or peace, depending on where your allegiances lie. Just know that if you're picking up Gundam Wing, you're in for far more than major space explosions. While it can get slightly murky—which I would blame more on translation teams, plus some preexisting convolution of the Gundam timelines—expect to see warfare from 360 degrees; from the front lines to clandestine diplomacy. —Gregory Babcock

Neon Genesis Evangelion

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Domestic debut: October 4, 1995

Neon Genesis Evangelion​ is a complicated series. There's the original, 26-episode run, then there's two companion films, and now there's a four-part series reboot that's due to wrap up this year. The original series, which is what we're specifically recommending here, is cut from the fairly simple "giant robot" template: a humble boy stumbles into a role in which the fate of the world rests on his shoulders—through the cockpit of a giant, mysteriously powerful mecha. After finishing about a quarter of the series, however, the show becomes a larger commentary on depression, faith, self-doubt, parent-child relationships, and a slew of complex social interactions. With the series' being so enigmatic—what, with all the ambiguous psuedo-science and religious iconography—it's easy to see why a single run through of the series is going to leave viewers with more questions than answers. Unlike any other series, it's given me plenty to speculate, dissect, and enjoy regardless of its occasionally perplexing nature. —Gregory Babcock

Revolutionary Girl Utena

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Domestic debut: April 2, 1997

The premise is simple enough: a girl becomes a prince. As with Hideaki Anno's Evangelion, however, director Kunihiko Ikuhara's Revolutionary Girl Utena is a fantastically heady series that (like all of Ikuhara's popular works) examines adolescence, girlhood, romance, spiritual corruption, and loss. With 39 episodes and a feature-length film, Utena is Ikuhara's most sprawling work, though it's helpfully sorted into four distinct arcs that track teenager Utena Tenjou​'s integration into Ohtori Academy, where Utena makes one friend, the quaint Anthy Himemiya​, for every one hundred rivals that hound her throughout the series.

Mawaru-Penguindrum is, arguably, Ikuhara's most ambitious anime, and Yurikuma Arashi is his simplest; whereas Revolutionary Girl Utena strikes that perfect balance of simple lore told through uncanny and wonderful execution. My only warning is that you should watch Utena with Japanese audio and English subtitles. The English voice dub of Utena is famously awful. —Justin Charity

Cowboy Bebop

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Domestic debut: April 3, 1998

A group of bounty hunters navigate the untamed universe in search of wanted criminals. The crew is cool guy Spike Spiegel, cynical ex-cop Jet Black, impulsive finesser Faye Valentine, and the androgynous hacker prodigy Edward Wong. Unlike other anime dramas, Cowboy Bebop isn't just one singular plot; there's no 26-episode arc with a major pay off at the finale. For the most part, each episode is its own open-and-shut storyline driven by incremental character development. Yet there's a consistent feeling of suspense and mystery surrounding each member of Bebop's quartet, and these characters each receive enough of a backstory and conclusion to leave the fans clamoring for more. If you're picking this one up, it's best not to overthink it. Like the ragtag crew steering the Bebop from one disastrous payday to the next, you ought to kick back and simply enjoy the ride. —Gregory Babcock

Digimon Tamers

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Domestic debut: April 1, 2001 

It's tempting to dismiss all the big '-mon' franchises as cash-grab marketing for toys, especially considering how gutless and pointless Pokémon is—but hear me out. While Pokémon is the bigger franchise, for sure, Digimon is a different beast that's generally better respected as a strong anime drama with real plot development, emotional resonance, and character depth. As far as cartoons for preteen audiences go, Digimon is as good as it gets.

Digimon Tamers is season three of the overall Digimon franchise. Following the international success of Digimon's original, two-season Adventure arc from 1999 through 2000, Toei Animation recruited screenwriter Chiaki J. Konaka, who'd previously worked on Serial Experiments Lain—an anime series about existentialism, techno-utopianism, and preteen suicide—to work as the lead writer for series sequel Digimon Tamers. It's a divisive season, to say the least. Tamers replaces the original series' lead characters with Digimon trainers Takato, Rika, and Henry, who struggle to defend the dissolving barrier between the Digital World and the Real World. Digimon's original Adventure arc is mostly confined to just the Digital World. In Tamers, the stakes are higher, more interesting, and more in line with the dramatic elements that you'd find in other monster-fueled anime beyond the Fox Kids lineup. —Justin Charity

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

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Domestic debut: October 4, 2003

One of the great, irreconcilable debates of contemporary anime fandom is whether Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, a popular series that debuted in 2009, trumps the original Fullmetal Alchemist series that aired just six years earlier. I've only watched the original FMA, which happens to have been the last, true, international anime megahit when it took off in 2003. In both versions, Fullmetal Alchemist is the story of Ed and Al, two brothers in pursuit of a philosopher's stone that's key to resurrecting their mother and repairing their own disfigured bodies. From what I understand, FMA's Brotherhood reboot simplifies the series' antagonists, complicates the rules of alchemy, streamlines much of the earlier plot—all in deference to the original manga, which the original anime series outpaced and, eventually, eclipsed. —Justin Charity

Paprika

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Domestic debut: November 25, 2006

The only film in this list, and also the most "mature" entry, if only because I can't conscionably offer up a menu of essential anime without putting you on to the late, great animator Satoshi Kon. (You could similarly note the lack of retired Hayao Miyazaki and his famous Studio Ghibli among our recommendations, but in that case I feel like Kunihiko Ikuhara's two inclusions, Sailor Moon and Utena, are holding it down for the fairy tale sagas.) As an entry point for U.S. audiences, Paprika will ring familiar and especially accessible to fans of Christopher Nolan's Inception, which derives much of its premise and a few of its visuals from Kon's Paprika. In the latter film, the titular Paprika is a mysterious (and nimble!) young woman who assists a team of ambitious neuroscientists in their investigation of a corrupted dreamscape. Like most of Satoshi Kon's works, Paprika gets trippy and terrifying. But then it's also wonderfully dazzling and colorful beyond belief.

See Kon's only television series, Paranoia Agent, and Ryūtarō Nakamura's Serial Experiments Lain for any further dread you might require. —Justin Charity

Kill La Kill

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Domestic debut: October 4, 2013

Kill La Kill is one of the most exciting anime of the past couple years, with its gorgeous artwork, its eminently gif-able fight scenes, and an admirably hell-bent protagonist. Ryuko Matoi, a 17-year-old transfer student, challenges the conspiratorial council leadership of Honnouji Academy, sparking a power struggle that pits pupils against teachers and nudists against the fashion industrial complex. Kill La Kill is a balls-out melee series that concurrently subverts so many seinen tropes, especially with regard to fanservice and finales. While its plot gets a bit convoluted, Kill La Kill's main draw is its fantastic energy and unyielding action, unlike anything I've seen since zany cult favorite Excel SagaKill La Kill is ideal chaos. After you've let it wear you out, check out Blood Blockade Battlefront, from the creator of Trigun; I highly recommend both shows. —Justin Charity

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