As anime gains increasing popularity among Western audiences, a growing number of people are intrigued by this medium and eager to enjoy it. However, accessing anime easily can pose challenges due to its distinction from Western animation and the cultural and language barriers often involved. Anime is highly-stylized and uses very different tropes than Western audiences are used to. Changing from one to the other can result in a rapid learning curve. Here in this blog post, we are going to tell you the best anime for beginners.
This list serves the best anime shows for newbies looking to discover their new favorite shows in this captivating genre. Moreover, if you’re already an anime enthusiast, you can confidently recommend any of these shows to a non-anime friend! No matter what genre you enjoy, you’re likely to find something you like on this list.
13 Best Anime for Beginners To Start With
1. Watch Death Note For Paranormal Suspense
What would you do if you had the power to kill anyone, anywhere, just on the basis of name and face? This question is asked by high school student Light Yagami (Mamoru Miyano). his answer? Become Japan’s most prolific serial killer. However, this behavior is bound to attract attention, and Prakash is soon hunted by a supernatural detective, L. The events that unfold next are akin to a supernatural cat-and-mouse game, to the extent that even munching on a bag of chips feels like the most epic moment ever.
If you’re a fan of mysteries, dark supernatural shades, and battles of wits, this is a great anime for beginners to start with. Some scenes may be too dramatic in the typical anime style, but the melodrama fits the tone and theme of the story. For your first foray into anime, Death Note is a tried-and-true classic worth starting with. Also with a live-action series on Netflix being developed by the Duffer Brothers, now is the time to catch up on the original anime.
2. Watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood For Fantasy Adventure
When brothers Edward (Romi Park) and Alphonse (Ray Kugimiya) lose their mother, they do anything to bring her back to life, including a strong protest. The brothers must now embark on a year-long journey to retrieve the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary artifact that can restore their bodies. Their adventure leads them to a dangerous conspiracy among the forces of Amestris, leading to all sorts of magical trouble.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the holy grail of anime for adventurers. Each character, no matter how small their role, gets a fitting ending, giving Brotherhood a sense of hard work and hope that leaves you satisfied and wanting more.
3. Watch Stein’s; Gate For Time Travel Story
If anyone can understand the intricacies of time travel, it’s self-proclaimed mad scientist Okabe (Mamoru Miyano). But as Okabe gets closer to achieving the impossible, he and his assistants face more than they bargained for and are completely unprepared for the butterfly effect that a small change can cause.
For any fans of time travel, Stains; The Gate offers an endless sci-fi adventure laced with lovable characters and plenty of twists. Your lab coat and Dr. Grab a pepper and get ready to microwave your bananas in the future!
4. Kaguya-sama: Love Is War For Romantic-Comedy
Romantic comedies are one of the most popular anime genres, not only in Japan but all over the world, and Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is the perfect romantic comedy for beginners. From 2019 to 2022, three seasons consisting of 37 episodes have been aired, with the next part being “Kaguya-sama: Love is War”. The First Kiss That Never Ends” was first released in late 2022. This is a great anime for beginners who likes romantic comedies.
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War presents the peaceful and funny story of Shuchin Academy’s student council. Its President Miyuki Shirogane and Vice President Kaguya Shinomiya love each other but are too proud to confess their love. They play various mind games in an attempt to make each other confess their love.
5. Watch Cowboy Bebop For Sci-Fi and Western
It is 2071 outside. The crew of the unassuming cowboy spaceship Bebop makes a living by turning in wanted criminals to the Inter solar system police. Times are hard and income is hard to come by, so ex-hitman Spike (Koichi Yamadera), ex-ISSP officer Jet (Ansho Ishizuka), fugitive and con artist Fei (Megumi Hayashibara), kid hacker Ed (Aoi Tada) and their corgi Ains live in danger every day.
The combination of a spacewalk and the occasional Western makes Cowboy Bebop the perfect transition show for Western audiences. As one of the most popular “first-time” series, even if you don’t like Netflix’s live-action version, the original anime is a very popular and critically acclaimed series. Join the Bebop team if you have what it takes to survive as a bounty hunter. Applause!
6. Watch Komi Can’t Communicate For Teen Comedy
Komi (Aoi Koga), suffering from social anxiety, wants to make friends but cannot communicate. But when her classmate Tadano (Gakuto Kajiwara) learns to communicate with her through the written word, he promises to help her make 100 friends. Komi tries to overcome his social anxiety and gradually makes new connections with the help of Tadano; The more people Comey has friends with, the more they learn from each other.
With a clear purpose and a simple plot, Komi Can’t Communicate is a simple teenage comedy anime for beginners with plenty of heartwarming moments (and the occasional anime idiosyncrasy thrown in).
7. Watch Violet Evergarden For War Drama with Steampunk
After the war in the Leidenschaftlich ends, girl soldier Violet (Toshiko Sawada) struggles to adjust to normal life. She enters civilian life as an auto-memory doll, a person who writes letters for those who cannot. Faced with the challenge of connecting with the emotions of others and her own, Violet learns how to find the truth behind the words her clients speak. Hopefully, this will aid her in comprehending the meaning behind her mentor Gilbert’s (voiced by Daisuke Namikawa) words when he said, “I love you.”
Due to its old European-style setting, Violet Evergarden is an effective introductory anime for beginners, who prefer historical dramas, with enough steampunk elements to give it a distinct tone and feel.
8. Watch Erased For Mysteries
Struggling comic book artist Satoru Fujinuma (Shinnosuke Mitsushima) experiences a strange phenomenon called “rebirth”: before something catastrophic happens around him, time is removed so he can prevent it. But when he becomes the prime suspect in a murder, the revival sends him back nearly 20 years. Now in his 10-year-old body, Satoru works to solve the murder of his classmate Kayo before it is solved.
Satoru’s status as an outsider is erased, especially when he tries to solve crimes in the body of a 10-year-old boy. A touch of time travel takes the mystery element to a different level, and the danger and tragedy that pervades the series make the moments of hope brighter.
9. Watch My Hero Academia For Superhero Fans
Living in a world where everyone has a superpower (weirdness) is every fan’s dream. Unless, like Deku (Daiki Yamashita), you’re the only one who never gets weird. Deku wants to be a hero, but without power, his dreams will never come true. So, when he meets his idol All Might (Kent Miaka) and gets a chance to fulfill his dream of enrolling in the prestigious UA Hero High School, he doesn’t pass up the opportunity.
With a large cast and plenty of time to get to know them, My Hero Academia is an ambitious story of hard work, friendship, and heroism. Like most Western superhero stories, the series presents heroism as a paid career, and the weird stuff is nothing short of… well, weird. My Hero Academia is unique enough to stand out while being familiar to lovers of the superhero genre, doing the extra work. Plus Ultra! Since the series is now on, it’s time to watch season 6 with other fans.
Read More | The Best Anime Movies on Netflix
10. Watch Attack on Titan For Action and Horror Fans
Humanity is on the verge of extinction. After witnessing his mother’s brutal death, Eren Jaeger (Yuki Kaji) vows revenge against the giant man-eating monsters known as the Titans and joins the scouts to save humanity with his friends Mikasa (Yui Ishikawa) and Armin (Marina Inoue). But the brutal world inhabited by the Titans is more unforgiving than Eren realizes. Each victory over their enemies leads to a more crushing defeat, and as dark secrets are revealed, it becomes unclear who the true enemy is.
Attack on Titan is known for its stellar action scenes, unique world design, and twisted mysteries, and has been referred to as a Game of Thrones anime. Each answer leads to more questions and mysteries.
11. Watch One Punch Man For Comedy and Superhero Fans
Saitama (Makoto Furukawa), the “hero for fun,” has a problem: he can defeat any opponent with just one punch. While such power may seem ideal, Saitama no longer feels fit in battle. There is no more passion for heroism, and the most exciting thing for Saitama is selling in the local market. Everything changes when the cyborg hero Genos (Kaito Ishikawa) discovers Saitama’s power and seeks his refuge. Together, they join the Hero Association and begin to rise through the ranks as Saitama searches for the only opponent who can give him a real fight.
It’s not often that a superhero with superpowers gets such quality stats, and despite his immense strength, Saitama is incredibly likable and human. One Punch Man can be gory at times, but its comedy is great and the action is good.
12. Watch The Promised Neverland For Horror and Suspense
Emma (Sumire Morohoshi), Norman (Maya Uchida), and Rei (Maria Ise) are brilliant children living at Grace Field, an orphanage run by their kind “mother” Isabella (Yuko Kaida). Until Emma and Norman discover the orphanage’s dark secret that changes everything. Suddenly, the children are thrown into an unnatural world of deception and danger on a monstrous scale. As the cracks in their ideal lives widen, they must use their wits and quick wits to find a way out of danger before their time runs out.
The Promised Neverland is a skillfully designed suspenseful anime that incorporates numerous horror elements to help you confront and overcome the sense of fear it presents. Additionally, the series discards anime’s most distracting tropes for new viewers, trimming all internal monologues in favor of a more realistic and mystical tone. (Just a warning: Season 2 is significantly lower in quality, so it’s best to call it a day after Season 1.)
13. Watch Great Pretender For Heist Lovers
Young Japanese artist Makoto Edamura (Chiaki Kobayashi) considers himself a genius; Until he meets con man Laurent (Jun’ichi Suwabe), who recruits Edmura for a series of high-profile robberies. From the colorful beachfront mansions of Los Angeles to the glittering heights of the Singapore air race, Laurent’s team, including athletic right-hand Abby (Natsumi Fujiwara) and talented actress Cynthia (Mi Sonozaki), is meticulously planned and chosen as the lowest-paid player. How to play with odds.
The Grand Challenger is divided into five “cases”, each filled with plot twists that will make you think. The show also has a quality English dub that includes all the required pronunciations of the characters, so if reading the subtitles is too distracting, look no further. You will be mesmerized and tricked into having a good time.
