Introduce Your Friend To: Anime
As someone who enjoys anime and has friends who don’t really watch it I find myself getting asked what I’m currently watching at the moment and if I have any recommendations for a series etc. If I happen to be indulging in anime at the time I find myself recommending a couple of anime shows. As such, I thought I’d compile a list of a my top 5 shows to recommend to a friend. My top 5 are heavily influenced by my top favourites. When it comes to introducing people to anime as much as I want to say One Piece or Bleach (minus the filler episodes) I just think of how many episodes there are and it deters me.
Shingki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)
This was one of those things that I was so transfixed by and terrified of at the same time. Who wouldn’t be scared of giant genderless titans that love to kill people in grusome ways?
Eren Jager is a young boy who’s passion in life is to kill titans. He has two close friends; Misaka (his adopted sister) and Armin. When he gets the opportunity to fight the Titans after his mother is killed by a Titan, he does everything he can to make that happen. He lives in a country that contains the remains of humanity since the rest of them have been wiped out by Titans who appeared suddenly over 100 years ago. The anime basically follows Eren’s life from one important day and onwards. I watched this religiously and read the manga too. If your friend is not slightly intrigued by this I would start to think there was no hope for them.
Gurren Lagann
Gurren Lagann was introduced to me on a lazy weekend and I fell in love. I’m not one for animes with mecha but there was no stopping me after the first episode.
One thing I loved about Gurren Lagann is the character development. I am one of those people who can get attached to fictional characters because they come across so well and Gurren Lagann was no exception. It follows the life of Simon the Digger from teenager to adulthood. Simon is taken under the wing of probably one of my favorite anime characters Kamina. Together they follow a new path and choose to leave the life that humans are now made to live underground and roam the land above while defeating Beast Men. Earth is ruled by the Spiral King, Lord Genome who is served by Beat Men, who are human/animal hybrids.
The awesome factor comes into play when Simon finds a small Gunmen and they use him to help them fight for humanities sake.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
This story follows the lives of two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric as they try and recover what they lost when they played with alchemy they did not understand. Their attempt at bringing their mother back to life costs them dearly and they go on a journey which will help them try right the wrongs their committed, re-unite with their estranged father and save the country.
I can’t give it a decent summary without spilling any details that add to it. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood had me an emotional wreck more times than I can count, all I can say is give they a warning before “that” episode, you know the one I’m talking about.
Kill La Kill
Warning: Fan Service.
Kill La Kill was recommended to me based on how outlandish it was. It follows the story of schoolgirl Ryuko Matoi as she looks for her fathers murderer. This search leads her to a prestigious school Honnouji Academy, its president Satsuki Kiryuin and her mothers hold on the world of fashion.
The premise of the anime is based of clothes…. yeah, you read that right, clothes. Not just any clothes mind you, clothes that when infused with Life Fibres of varying percentages give the wearer super human abilities. Ryuko Matoi starts snooping around Honnouji Academy when trying to find her fathers killer and is faced with obstacles and trials that she must over come to get to the truth.
This anime is one that made me laugh, kept me engaged, and was downright shocking at times.
Fairy Tail
Fairy Tale is very much a light-hearted anime when compared to something like Fullmetal Alchemist. It’s one that you can watch with younger siblings or introduce to the friend who you know likes magic but you aren’t sure would like the heavier stuff.
It is set in the Fiore Kingdom for the most part. The show revolves around Natsu Dragneel, a likable hot headed character and Lucy Heartfilia, a teenager who runs away from home to join Fairy Tail. It then follows their journeys from that point on. Fairy Tail is my only exception to the length rule, as it currently has over 200 episodes. It doesn’t have a single story-line consistently. It has multiple seasons so it changes a bit every 48 episodes or so. It’s very light hearted to watch and easy enough to catch up on.
The reason I would recommend those 5 is because there should be at least one to catch your anime newbie friend’s attention. They all have action and heart-break, and they all cover multiple sub-genres such as magic and machines, not to mention the crazy scientists and epic fight scenes! What more could you ask for in an anime. Although there are so so SO many more, these 5 are as good a place to start as any!
