Getting started with anime

If you’re not familiar with anime you may be conflicted on where to start, or perhaps you see people that view anime as nerds, or whatever notions you’ve formed about anime viewers.

Well, I personally have a list of anime that I think would fit with ANYONE trying to get started. I will give you my personal 5 recommended starter anime!

1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
   
   
   Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is in my opinion one of the most if not the most well rounded anime of all time. It has excellent character development, great world building, captivates you with the mysteries of the philosopher stone, and does action and choreographed fighting right. This anime starts off dark but ends on a light and optimistic note. Definitely recommended!
   
2. Erased
   
   
   Ah yes, Erased. One of my top 5 favorite anime of all time. Erased is nothing over the top, which is why I believe it’s live action adaptation came out so well. Erased takes you into the past and challenges you to solve a murder mystery of a classmate to the main protagonist Fujinuma. This anime touches on sensitive subject like abuse, and shows huge character development as you watch an anti-social, doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone or their problems main protagonist become a caring, and selfless individual.
   
3. Vinland Saga
   
   
   For the more gore-thirsty viewers. If you like gore and serious toned anime, I strongly recommend Vinland Saga. This anime is based off of historical characters and takes place in 11th century Europe and is about, well, Vikings. What could go wrong, right? Vinland saga has just the right balance of character development in conjunction with its excellent world building and gore. The gore is not overdone like you would see in the likes of Blood-C or Berserk, but it’s just enough to sate your taste buds. This anime is classified as a “Seinin” anime which basically means it targets a more mature audience. Definitely worth a watch and I would recommend this to anyone who likes Adventure, gore, character development, and world building.
   
4. Death Note
   
   
   Death Note is another anime in my personal top 5. A truly well drawn out masterpiece, you watch as the main protagonist begins his descent into becoming an antagonist. It’s truly a battle of good and evil, the whole anime lacks in the action department (there is an epic chip eating scene though, yes, chip eating) however it makes up for that with the sheer amount of mental chess that is played throughout the anime. Nothing beats watching two great minds clash and try to outwit one another, those of you who like crime shows or anything requiring you to figure out who a murder is (except in this case, you already know!) I would strongly recommend Death Note.
   
5. Cowboy Bebop
   
   
   And then there was Cowboy Bebop. This anime was such a dynamic anime for its time. Not only was the art style and animation quality premium grade for its time (1998), but it pushed the envelop with how a lot of modern anime operate. What I mean by that, is the fight choreography to anime drawing character influence from it, there is no refuting the influence that Cowboy Bebop has had on anime. It takes place in the future of 2071 and follows the space bounty hunters who’s leader is Spike. This anime takes adventure and action to another level and truly makes you appreciate 90’s anime. See you later Space Cowboy.