Introducing someone else to Anime

[Bells]

In your opinion, what is the best way to introduce someone to anime in general?

I have a friend who has next to none knowledge at all about anime. But he seems interested in seeing some stuff. Some other friends of his started telling him that Evangelion was the best anime of all time and it was bar none...

That's when i decided to step in...

So, since i'm starting to catch up some animes old and new that i like very much, i told him that as i was getting them i would pass them on to him. I decided to offer him a mixed bag of offering, instead of pushing any one single story or pop product.

So, i'm mixing some OVA's with some short series and a few old ones with a few new ones, from comedy to drama to let him find his own taste... what you guys suggest?

The current list looks like this:

Evangelion (the original TV run)
00 Gundam
Gundam Wing
W Gundam Endless Waltz (3 Ovas)
Macross Frontier
Macross Plus ( 1 OVA)
Macross Zero (1 Ova)
Saint Seiya Hades : Sanctuary Chapter (13 Ovas)
Azumanga Daioh
Persona Trinity Soul
Death Note Compilation ( 2 Ovas )
Street Fighter IV (1 Ova)
Blassreiter
Disgaea
Valkyria Chronicles
Devil May Cry

Anything i should add or remove? What would you guys compile to Introduce someone to Animes in general?

[Premonitions]

There's a disturbing lack of FMA and Gurren lagann in that list
Edit: also, it's best to figure out what he actually likes in non-anime anything, books tv shows, movies, and start with things in that vein instead of just giving him all your favorite stuff. Go for the more "realistic" and "mature"(not "adultXXXXXX") stuff in those genres to begin with, since it should have less sweatdropping and whatnot, then go from there into the more typical "anime: type of thing, the basic message you want to convey is that "anime" actually encompasses a vast variety of different programs and is almost certain to hold Something he/she likes.

[Mirai Gen]

The Street Fighter II movie as well.

[NonCon]

Cowboy Bebop should be the first thing he watches, hands down. It's absolutely amazing, and can be easily enjoyed even if you aren't into anime that much. Maybe do Black Lagoon after he finishes Cowboy Bebop.

Also, Trigun is pretty great for the most part.

FLCL, but only after he's watched a bit of anime.

Excel Saga.

His super robot experience should be Gunbuster, Evangelion, Eureka Seven, Diebuster, and Gurren Lagann, in that order.

Maybe some Chobits. Definitely some Haruhi. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei for sure. Hellsing. Afro Samurai. Toss in some Yakitate Japan. Keep in mind that with a lot of these timing and how much he is used to the medium is crucial.

[The Wandering God]

Are you only interested in television series?

Because if movies can be included too, I suggest Hayao Miyazaki. Show them Spirited Away first since you can say it won an Academy Award.

Or Lupin the 3rd since it's such a cool series of movies or a television run.

The Wandering God

[Rymramoch]

Samurai Champloo, what? How about Ghost in the Shell? I liked the TV series the most but the movies were decent too. I also enjoyed the original Tenchi Muyo series, but any of the spinoffs were pretty bad. For starting a person on anime I would go with Cowboy Bebop as well. Hands down the best overall series without too much of the "anime" feel. Stick with shows that aren't too horribly over the top insane (FLCL or Excel Saga).

As an aside: God Damn I hated Death Note. It just could not hold my attention and after the first dozen episodes I just did not give a damn about anyone in the show. I would not show it to anybody really.

[Tev]

I've gotten a lot of friends into anime just by finding anime about topics they enjoy. It may be a little hard but ask your friend what kind of shows he likes to watch and find an anime that fits the bill. I stand by my position that there is literally at least one anime out there for every kind of viewer. Hell I even managed to find a show about high school basketball (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2467) for my friend who's into sports.

Anyway, I'd not really suggest making an extensive list of "anime classics." That can come later after you've got them hooked. Noncon is right though in that pretty much everyone can sit back and enjoy Cowboy Bebop for a number of reasons.

[01d55]

Cowboy Bebop should be the first thing he watches, hands down. It's absolutely amazing, and can be easily enjoyed even if you aren't into anime that much. Maybe do Black Lagoon after he finishes Cowboy Bebop.

Jesus Christ, NonCon, are you trying to kill him? I ain't saying that stuff isn't good, but it sure as hell isn't bright. Man could kill himself watching too much grimdark in a row, even if it IS really good grimdark. Like getting alcohol poisoning from Scottish Whiskey.

Before I offer my opinion, I'd like to hear more about your goals here: Are you acting as an educator, or an evangelist? If you're trying to sell him on this stuff, you're gonna make different choices than if you want to be honest and informative.

[bluestarultor]

Kyo Kara Maou is a good comedy series. It's about a normal guy who gets flushed down a toilet and finds out he's really the demon king of an alternate world where the demons are the good guys. Actually, the entire world is hilariously ass-backwards, with pandas being vicious killers, wonky customs that end him up engaged to another guy (he's straight) and all sorts of other stuff. It's a delightful romp that's sure to have you laughing, but I wouldn't start him on it if you want to expand his horizons.

Also, no FMA? I've never SEEN FMA (well, I caught an episode or two), but even I know it's great.

[Bells]

He has a bit of fascination with RPG's and Religion, but he is totally the "Shonen" type that woes for the "cool" factor in things and can get easily excited about weird premises.... thus, Evangelion.

But he also seems very excited about interesting stories (he liked Baldur's Gate, even though he can't follow the story completely), So i decided to push Gundam and Macross into his way, as those have a decent balance... i guess i would have to add Gurren Lagan there too!

He also found King of Fighters: Another Day to be really cool... also liked Rurouni Kenshin (even though never watched it all)

I'm really trying to give him an open experience that dosen't rely on Main Stream factor nor requires that much of an attention spam (Thus why no Gintama, Bleach, Needless or Naruto or most Jump stuff... even though those ARE big hitters)

I'm also avoiding at first to hit him with unfinished series mostly because i don't want to become a supplier.

I was thinking about being really cruel and giving him Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, Black lagoon in that order and finishing off with Higurashi no Naku Koro ni... but i have a honest feeling that he (or any sane human being) would stop talking to me after that.

[NonCon]

Jesus Christ, NonCon, are you trying to kill him? I ain't saying that stuff isn't good, but it sure as hell isn't bright. Man could kill himself watching too much grimdark in a row, even if it IS really good grimdark. Like getting alcohol poisoning from Scottish Whiskey.

To be fair, Black Lagoon is an entirely different kind of grimdark than Cowboy Bebop, and I'd go so far as to say CB can be downright upbeat at times.

Before I offer my opinion, I'd like to hear more about your goals here: Are you acting as an educator, or an evangelist? If you're trying to sell him on this stuff, you're gonna make different choices than if you want to be honest and informative.

Well, yeah, explain to him that the vast majority of anime is pure shit, just like with any entertainment medium ever, and that he has to be choosey about what he decides to watch.

[krogothwolf]

Don't forget Akira! Akira is amazing, and Jin-Roh is pretty good too.

[Krylo]

Cowboy Bebop should be the first thing he watches, hands down. It's absolutely amazing, and can be easily enjoyed even if you aren't into anime that much.
This.

If you want to get someone watching anime you have to open them in with something that's accessible, AND amazing--Bebop is both. There are no sweat drops. There are no chibis. It takes no former knowledge of anime to enjoy. While at the same time the production values are amazing, and it's totally not 'grimdark'. Like Noncon said, it can be downright upbeat at times, and most of the time isn't really dark at all.

Just because the main character dies at the end, that doesn't make it terrible and dark, people. Jesus.

Don't forget Akira! Akira is amazing

No it's not.

Akira is terrible, confusing, and stupid.

[NonCon]

No it's not.

Akira is terrible, confusing, and stupid.

Just like Evangelion! *Rimshot*

From what I gather Akira would have been good if it hadn't been trying to compress the entire manga into movie length, but whatevs.

[krogothwolf]

Pssha, you all just don't know whats amazing thats all. Not liking Akira.... tsk tsk tsk.

Another good one if they like Mecha is Dunbine. It's pretty decent. So is Escaflowne

[Magni]

Bebop. Always start with Bebop. S-CRY-ed is a good follow up.

I shied away from mech animes, mainly cause most of them are terrible in my opinion. The one exception to the rule though was RahXephon.

Bebop will be a good way to judge what he finds appealing for animes. After Bebop you can pretty much build a list for him.

Throw him Elfen Lied at some point, too.

[Krylo]

From what I gather Akira would have been good if it hadn't been trying to compress the entire manga into movie length, but whatevs.

That's quite probable.

[NonCon]

The one exception to the rule though was RahXephon.

If he doesn't like Evangelion don't show him RahXephon, and vice-versa. RahXephon is Evangelion but with all the Christian imagery and naming schemes replaced with Egyptian imagery and musical naming schemes.

Throw him Elfen Lied at some point, too.

You mean Elfen "Oh man this show is totally deep and so are the characters it is not a gory porno starring bad parodies of the human condition" Lied?

I'll admit I liked it. Three years ago. Haven't watched it for a while.

[Mirai Gen]

I honestly think that as far as anime goes Cowboy Bebop should just be categorized under "japanese animated show" or "animated series" or something from now on. The whole thing, front to back, is so fucking astounding that classifying it under 'anime' will probably estrange more people than it really deserves.

[ZAKtheGeek]

...the second Death Note compilation thing is available in English...?

[Julford Hajime]

I actually didn't watch any mainstream animes after Dragonball Z until, like, three years ago. Then I saw Love Hina. So I have to vote for Love Hina on the grounds that I really liked it, and it was a good start for getting me to watch anime. Hell, I don't even LIKE romantic comedies anymore, and I can still go back and watch this.

For actiony shows, though, I'd recommend the good Gundam series (Which basically consist of... Zeta, and not much else >.>), FMA, maaaaybe Trigun (I never got that into it, my bro got obsessed with it).

Otherwise, yeah, Cowboy Bebop. Friggin' amazing, but that's already been said like, a dozen times.

If you're looking for something that isn't all "OH SUPER ACTION TUFF TIME" or, y'know, serious pretty much ever, go for Lucky Star or Azumanga Daioh. Fuck Haruhi though, I never could get into it (Also Endless Eight).

I've got some other animes I love (Chrono Crusade, Elfin Lied, every non-Zeta Gundam series I've seen), but most of those have some major flaw or reason that you just don't bring them home and show them to the parents right away.

[CABAL49]

If he enjoys Cowboy Bebop, he might like Outlaw Star. It's a little ridiculous at times but I really enjoyed it. Gantz is a favorite of mine, but I hate how the anime ended.

[synkr0nized]

I wouldn't have guessed I'd be agreeing with NonCon on as much as I am.

Regardless, if it's an introduction, especially with a person with little to no previous exposure, recall your gateway drugs anime. Yes, there are many shows that are arguably very good and high quality, some that I am sure members here could argue about if they are the "best" over the others or not, but a key aspect is if they're an easy catalyst for wanting more. Bebop is clearly one of these. I'd argue that Escaflowne, Tenchi Muyo, and probably now Gurren Lagann are good examples of these.

It isn't always easy to do (nor is it always necessary, actually), but it may be helpful to try to distance yourself from the "I will show what I like" route and attempt the "I will show what the fans, en-masse, can generally agree is high quality". This applies to anyone introducing someone to anime, as this thread is long enough better Bells-specific points have probably been made.

[Bells]

Well, Cowboy Bebop made the list! I'll take in most of what you guys are throwing at me too

Also thank you all very much for not suggesting Hellsing. Because fuck Hellsing.

For oldies i'm thinking of doing a quick search for Blue Seed but it has been so long since i watched it that i'm not sure if it's a good pick. Also, Detonator Orgun (but that is like just 3 OVA's, so it can't hurt.)

[NonCon]

Also thank you all very much for not suggesting Hellsing. Because fuck Hellsing.

I recommended Hellsing. :(

[Krylo]

Hellsing is awesome, but I wouldn't use it as an introductory, 'cause there's just enough anime weirdness to weird out someone who doesn't already like anime.

[NonCon]

Hellsing is awesome, but I wouldn't use it as an introductory, 'cause there's just enough anime weirdness to weird out someone who doesn't already like anime.

Yeah, like I said, a lot of the ones I mentioned you have to be careful about when and how you introduce them.

[bluestarultor]

If he enjoys Cowboy Bebop, he might like Outlaw Star. It's a little ridiculous at times but I really enjoyed it. Gantz is a favorite of mine, but I hate how the anime ended.

Outlaw Star is good, but if he sees Bebop first, the similarities will glare. I personally liked Outlaw Star for what it was, but then I didn't see much of Bebop just by merit of access at the time (my mom HATES anime (she finds it ugly and generally grating), so our access beyond Pokemon and Toonami was limited, and then we got rid of our cable).

[Julford Hajime]

Blue Seed
I picked up the first 9 episodes or so at a bargain bin sale for like 5 bucks.

Guy wouldn't give me my money back after I complained about how shitty it was.

I don't think I'd show Gurren Lagann, either. I feel like you need some experience with anime before getting shown something that over-the-top. Bebop was good for being a nice, gentle ride into anime. Gurren Lagann is more like "BITCH THIS IS ANIME, HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE IN FOR" and then it BLOWS YOUR MIND.

[Rymramoch]

Then I saw Love Hina.

I say fuck Love Hina and pretty much every other Harem comedy ever made. They are the same damn show by a different name, with maybe 4 different episode plot lines. Same for Inuyasha. I am sorry I have to rant some but FUCK Inuyasha.


On the other hand I enjoy Outlaw Star a lot too. Also Yu Yu Hakusho if the guy is into the fighting stuff, but wants something many times less inane than DBZ (the original Dragonball was alright though.) I again say to go for the Ghost in the Shell TV series because If you want to get someone watching anime you have to open them in with something that's accessible, AND amazing--[Ghost in the Shell] is both. There are no sweat drops. There are no chibis. It takes no former knowledge of anime to enjoy. While at the same time the production values are amazing

[NonCon]

No romantic comedy I can think of is a good introduction to anime. I mean, Toradora! is fucking amazing and awesome, but it's not a good intro to anime.

[Krylo]

Ghost in the Shell tries too hard for me. There's not as much intellectualism as they like to make you believe. Just lots of big words, but at the end of the day the plot is no more intelligent than like CSI or something. Except replace whoever the head CSI officer is with the Major.

So I guess if he likes CSI and violence GitS would be good. Not really for me, but yeah.

[Julford Hajime]

I say fuck Love Hina and pretty much every other Harem comedy ever made. They are the same damn show by a different name, with maybe 4 different episode plot lines.

And you went and suggested Tenchi Muyo. Tenchi fucking Muyo. [/tenchihate]

I mean, yeah, lolharemanime, but I figure the genre in general should be witnessed at least once. It's new and exciting the first time, and after that it's the same old, same old. I'd just rather go for a GOOD harem anime [/tenchihateforreal]

[Bells]

I recommended Hellsing. :(

OH.... hm... yeah, right... uuuh...

http://thejosevilson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/mybad_cover-273x420.jpg

Also, small update, i just got a shot at getting both Tales of Symphonia and Destiny OVA's. I was thinking about getting Lodoss, but this would do as a "Light version" of it...

[NonCon]

Also, small update, i just got a shot at getting both Tales of Symphonia and Destiny OVA's. I was thinking about getting Lodoss, but this would do as a "Light version" of it...

I wouldn't recommend it. Tales of Symphonia the game was heavily influenced by anime, so an anime of it might not be easy to get into for someone not used to anime. Plus, from what I gather, they didn't even finish the story with the ToS anime, so that's a bitch.

As for Outlaw Star, Outlaw Star is Cowboy Bebop in the same way Death Note is Monster. There are some similarities (It's in space!), but they are extremely different. Apart from OS being obviously much more influenced by the medium than CB (Like the race of cat-people or the obligatory hot springs ep), it goes kinda kooky at the end. Definitely worth watching I'd say, but not something you'd want to show him early on.

[Bells]

oh... almost forgot. How about Clannad and Baccano? Those seem to be highly praised but i haven't watched them myself.

[InsaneGenius]

Baccano! is pretty sweet. I'm not sure if it's good to introduce someone to Anime, though.

Perhaps you want to consider the first season of Gunslinger Girl because it's not all that anime-ish in my opinion. So he wont get a culture shock.

Maybe also Elfen Lied, it's overrated by some and underrated by another bunch, when it's actually a pretty good show. I've seen some people getting into anime because of it.

[Tev]

Ghost in the Shell tries too hard for me. There's not as much intellectualism as they like to make you believe. Just lots of big words, but at the end of the day the plot is no more intelligent than like CSI or something. Except replace whoever the head CSI officer is with the Major.I'll be honest, my roomate is a huge fan of GitS. I, on the other hand, watch it mostly for the Tachikomas.

http://ghostlightning.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/ghost-in-the-shell-tachikoma-circle-halo.jpg

[krogothwolf]

Bacanno is great, but it jumps all over the place so it's probably not the best to introduce someone to.

Another good one is Princess Mononoko. There's an anime on the top of my head I want to recommend that may help but I can't for the life of me remember what it's called. I'll have scan over my anime when I get home to see which one I'm thinking of again.

Also Kenshin might not be a bad choice either.

[Azisien]

Just show this person a bunch of different animes until they like one of them. Anime isn't a comprehensive 'genre' you can just LIKE, unless you're weird (and some of my friends are, to my bafflement).

I'll always consider Cowboy Bebop a good anime to start someone on. It's short, well dubbed (I still only begrudingly watch subs), and summing up my sizeable pool of anime friends who seem all in general agreement, good if not great.

Trigun is another one that all of my friends will tout as good to start someone on. I despised it. But I think that's the general point, just take that list of yours, and FORCE your friend through the different series. And let them pick the most interesting one.

[PyrosNine]

Forget all this namby pamby "what should I show my friend that he won't get offended or put off from anime."

When we all first started watching anime, we were all stuck watching crap that nowadays, we'd probably be sickened by. I mean, we were just young children, looking for some cartoons to watch, and every now and then this really cool/cute/funny looking anime would be shown, Dragonball, Sailor Moon, then Toonami with Blue Sub 6, Gundam Wing, Tenchi, Trigun.

All of which, were dubbed, and often horribly, but we didn't know that there could be anything better so therefore it was awesome.

To make my point short, we came to like anime because it was dropped in our laps and it was better than that shit we were watching then. Now as teens/adults we watch it because of a long relationship with the stuff. To bring in someone who hasn't seen anime yet and try to hope that they'll get that connection at first glance is optimistic thinking.

Instead, you need to find a time when they're not watching nothing, and just throw it at them. All of it. Fire all missiles. If we can learn anime through painful trial error, they can suffer a dull weekend strapped into a room watching absurd anime.

We're such connoisseurs now! We watched this shit because it was there, but now we take the time to compare and contrast how much our childhood shows sucked in comparison to each other.

IT BLOWS MY MIND!

[NonCon]

Maybe also Elfen Lied, it's overrated by some and underrated by another bunch, when it's actually a pretty good show. I've seen some people getting into anime because of it.

Don't do this. Really. It is pretentious, the characters all fall into one of three categories, and it's mature in the same way MadWorld is.

Baccano might actually work after he's seen some other anime, as I have a hard time imagining that anyone could not like Isaac and Miria.

[InsaneGenius]

Don't do this. Really. It is pretentious, the characters all fall into one of three categories, and it's mature in the same way MadWorld is.

So is a shitload of other anime. And out of those Elfen Lied is actually the one I enjoy regardless of all that. But I can see your point, because I hold a similar opinion.
What I actually want to point at is that it seems to be a good show to start with.

I'd like to maybe suggest Berserk, because, fuck it's Berserk and I love Berserk. It may be good to get someone into anime because the show feels less like an anime. I think the eastern influence on the western inspired fantasy settings makes it pretty unique. The anime pretty much covers the ones i liked the most storylines from the manga.

[NonCon]

So is a shitload of other anime. And out of those Elfen Lied is actually the one I enjoy regardless of all that. But I can see your point, because I hold a similar opinion.
What I actually want to point at is that it seems to be a good show to start with.

I hardly see how a gory porn anime starring twelve year olds will give someone a positive impression of anime in general.

[InsaneGenius]

I hardly see how a gory porn anime starring twelve year olds will give someone a positive impression of anime in general.
That's easy, it will work if you're into gory porn.

But seriously, Gory it is, and when it is, it is very gory. But it's only really apparent in the first episode, as far as I remember, the later ones cut down on that.
I don't see how there's any porn, though. Except if you view the occasional nudity to be offensive enough to be considered pornography.
It admittedly seems to be there for the sake of being there. But it's not porn, not by my definition of porn at least.
It's more like a pantyshot, only there aren't any panties. Or other clothes.

[Bells]

That's easy, it will work if you're into gory porn.

But seriously, Gory it is, and when it is, it is very gory. But it's only really apparent in the first episode, as far as I remember, the later ones cut down on that.
I don't see how there's any porn, though. Except if you view the occasional nudity to be offensive enough to be considered pornography.
It admittedly seems to be there for the sake of being there. But it's not porn, not by my definition of porn at least.
It's more like a pantyshot, only there aren't any panties. Or other clothes.

Now, personally, i think that one is not a good introduction mostly for the same value as Evangelion is not a very good introduction... you can't understand it fully well and you get assaulted by the visuals because of that, because you're expecting Tom & Jerry on the screen.

Now, what Pyro said is actually quite true, i didn't start watching anime because i understood the unique storytelling style and the fact that the story and the characters went somewhere. I started paying attention because it was different and there was action elements that grasped my attention.

Later on i learned to enjoy anime for it's way of telling a interesting story.

I never watched Elfen Lied, but i watched some Higurashi and it seems to be around the same level... so... yeah, doesn't seem like a good introduction because at first everything seems gratuitous. You need some sensibility for the thing to actually start seeing what the story is trying to convey, it's trying to be revolting and brutal. But you don't get that visually.

EDIT:

Also, i noticed that there was no sports anime in the list, so i added Hajime no Ippo there. Now i'm thinking about One Outs too.

[BitVyper]

You guys are doing it wrong. Start with Excel Saga, Azumanga Daioh, and Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan. 'Cause really, watching someone's head explode is so much more fun than actually converting them.

[Tev]

EDIT:

Also, i noticed that there was no sports anime in the list, so i added Hajime no Ippo there. Now i'm thinking about One Outs too.
Hell I even managed to find a show about high school basketball (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2467) for my friend who's into sports.:sweatdrop

[PyrosNine]

Sports Anime's are great for the unbeliever. Ninjamon, my bro (not on these forums) only watched DBZ and Naruto when they were on in the morning and afternoon, until I pointed out to him: Prince of Tennis, as he was with my mother in watching oodles and oodles of Tennis Open's.

He watched the entire series, manga and anime, and is looking forward to the next iteration, while also picking up tennis and playing seriously.

He's not killing the dinosaurs with a special shot or anything, but a show that uses sports cohesively will always be interesting to the sports fan.

[Fifthfiend]

Ghost in the Shell is good because it's basically a cop show with robots, everyone in the universe has seen one of the ten million Law and CSI Orders so you've got built-in context for it.

Samurai Champloo is good (if you can get past having to say the name out loud, which I seriously can't) because it's what a person would probably stereotypically expect from A Japanese Animation, IE a couple of samurais rollin' around Japan startin' shit.

Black Lagoon is probably good because it's about a miserable fucking office monkey escaping cubicle hell to go shoot gangsters and blow shit up, I can't imagine anybody not identifying with that.

TTGL might not be the best cause it starts kinda slow, if you get 'em 3/4 episodes in you can probably hook 'em but they might see the like first dreary-ass three minutes and be like "yeah we're done here."

You could always show 'em Fist of the North Star, everyone loves seeing a guy kick another guy in the knee and then the other guy's face explodes.

[Magic_Marker]

If Cowboy Bebop won't work, nothing will.

[Arhra]

In your opinion, what is the best way to introduce someone to anime in general?

I have a friend who has next to none knowledge at all about anime. But he seems interested in seeing some stuff. Some other friends of his started telling him that Evangelion was the best anime of all time and it was bar none...
As a callow youth, Evangelion was the first anime series I'd watched outside of pokomans, dragoned balls and digimons and I turned out fine!

[Magic_Marker]

Most of the movies by this guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki#Television) should be good. Princess Mononoke might be the best, since it has an all star voice cast and Gaiman did the translation work.

[Death by Stabbing]

I just introduced a friend to the wonderful world of Anime and I have a few pieces of advice

Don't start out showing them anything too weird
That means no Paprika, Paranoia Agent, or pretty much any thing by Satoshi Kon...despite how awesome his stuff is the average person doesn't like to have their head fucked with that much...

Don't start out with anything too complex
I'd shy away from things like Ghost in the Shell or Samuri 7 or things with deep messages or things of that nature...then again it depends on the person but you don't want someone to come away from their first anime experience saying "what the fuck did I just watch?" or "if all anime is like this then no thanks"

There are tons of animes out there that are easy to digest. I started my friend off with Lupin III and he loves it and is interested in different anime now as well. Other good ones are Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, or Grenadier. From that initial list at the start of this thread there seemed to be a lot of big robot shows...that's all well and good but personally I tire of them after a while but if you want to show them a big robot show with other stuff in between then I'd go with Full Metal Panic! which is my favorite show with robots.

Hope this helps

DBS

[synkr0nized]

Truly the best word of advice is "cater to their likes". All of this "Don't show them show x because of factor y doesn't hold weight if said show isn't anything they'd care to see in another medium or if that factor is something that would actually draw them, etc.

Granted, it's a good call to go with the well-knowns and most-liked and to wait until he or she has enough exposure to actually get the references and parodies in things like Excel Saga, so a lot of the suggestions still stand. Maybe blood and gore is a good idea. Maybe a harem anime is the bees knees to some guy. Perhaps a new fan will quickly latch on to the exposition and "walls of text" in GitS:SC and similar shows. And so on. The initial list / seeding of enjoyment in the medium might be served quite well by looking into what movies, books, and/or comics the person enjoys already.

[phil_]

I didn't want to get involved in this because I felt like "Why would you want to introduce someone to anime of all things," but a glaring omission in the recommendations of this thread occurred to me as I was watching my favorites on youtube.

Busou Renkin. Show him that. It's a fighting show, it's funny, and there's this pretty good Spanish fandub of the opening song on youtube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igB5lrXI4WM) I'm guessing this friend speaks Portuguese, but it's still a good dub (I mean, I speak English and I like it). It's 26 episodes and only one isn't awesome. I has a satisfying ending. You can tell him, "The manga covers more." It's, like, the epitome of what a good shonen is and how you can read the manga sometimes if you want more. Make him watch Busou Renkin. If you haven't watched it, you watch it too, Bells.

[Nique]

ARRRG!!! You guys, all of you, need to watch Batman: Gotham Knight if you're trying to get someone into anime. That will hook em!

[Magus]

Just like Evangelion! *Rimshot*

From what I gather Akira would have been good if it hadn't been trying to compress the entire manga into movie length, but whatevs.

Just the first half of the manga, in fact. They didn't even get to the part where Akira rules over Japan as Emperor and Testuo is his general.

Akira has good animation and the biking part and some of the one fight between Kaneda and Testuo were pretty cool, though.

[01d55]

It's 26 episodes and only one isn't awesome.

Out of curiosity, which one did you think wasn't awesome?

I'm particularly fond of Protagonist's insistence that the chick is stronger than him. It is as sensible (she's got actual training and field experience and a pretty rad power) as it is genre-blind (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenreBlindness) (he is the Protagonist and she is not). Plus, she gets to beat some dudes up hardcore so her badass cred isn't totally informed (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InformedAbility).

[phil_]

Out of curiosity, which one did you think wasn't awesome?The one where Papillon and Dr. Butterfly float over Kazuki's school, argue about who's smarter, then Dr. Butterfly explodes. It drags, it wasn't funny or awesome, and the show had done a better job of "getting plot out of the way" before that.

But that's the only drop in the series, and it's only a drop in that it uses normal anime pacing instead of Busou Renkin, "If it isn't awesome, funny, or heart-warming, we don't need it" pacing.