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When an anime novice is taking their first steps into this wonderful medium, some anime series are far more welcoming than others. Certain anime are good starter series because they're short, high quality, and give a fair impression of what anime tends to be like. Those starter anime also avoid serious meta commentary, subversions, and parody, because new anime fans won't have any context for appreciating that commentary.
Other anime are bad picks for starting an anime hobby simply because they are the opposite of a good starter anime. These titles may be decent quality, but they are clearly written with experienced anime fans in mind, and they might be quite lengthy, too. New anime viewers need short anime so they can absorb a few quick stories and see how well anime can stick the landing. But these beginner-unfriendly anime are too long, too meta, or have too much fan service to give new viewers a good impression of the medium.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Doesn't Slow Down For Newcomers
Streaming on Hulu
Some anime reboots and remakes are totally worth watching, including for new anime fans, such as the 2019 Fruits Basket anime. New anime fans need no knowledge of the older, less impressive 2001 Fruits Basket anime to appreciate it. By contrast, the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime only rebooted the visuals while picking up the story where it left off, making it an anime strictly for established Bleach fans.
Viewers are expected to be familiar with many returning Bleach characters in the anime's Thousand-Year Blood War story arc, and then a whole lot more are added. The plot is also fast-paced and intense, with more than a few plot twists rocking the narrative. It's a fantastic treat for established Bleach fans, but new anime fans will be lost unless they just want a superficial taste of what modern shonen is capable of.
High School of the Dead is an Acquired Taste For Anime Veterans
Streaming on Hulu
High School of the Dead isn't beginner-friendly, even if its two genres both feel familiar to any anime fan. Anyone can appreciate the zombie apocalypse genre, and even anime novices know what high school comedy/drama can look like. However, High School of the Dead leans too hard into its fan service to be appealing to most anime newcomers.
New anime fans might not like the fan service, and even if they actually don't mind it, that kind of content can be misleading. Anime already has a reputation for adding a lot of sexual content just because, and anime like High School of the Dead only reinforce that idea. Plenty of other beginner-friendly anime don't feel the need to disrobe their female characters to tell a good story. Also, High School of the Dead lacks a proper ending, which may give an iffy impression to new anime fans.
Chainsaw Man Makes More Sense When Viewers Understand the Shonen Formula
Streaming on Crunchyroll
In most regards, the Chainsaw Man anime is a fine treat for new anime fans, but if anime rookies make it the first anime they watch, they'll be missing something. Above all, Chainsaw Man is a subversive take on the shonen formula, so if new anime fans don't know that formula, they're missing part of the point. New viewers might wonder why the leads are such rough antiheroes who act so strangely.
New anime fans are encouraged to watch a few proper shonen titles before diving into Chainsaw Man so they can understand how this anime deconstructs and mocks the formula. Watching titles like Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and My Hero Academia will give new anime fans plenty of reference on what Chainsaw Man is doing.
Konosuba is a Great Isekai Rooted in Meta Knowledge
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Konosuba is one of several anime that's bad for new anime fans, not because of extreme content or misleading impressions, but because it's rooted in the meta of how anime works. Konosuba is a parody of the isekai genre, so if new anime fans know nothing about isekai, they're missing about half the humor of Konosuba. Jokes like its self-insert protagonist, typical anime goddesses, and overpowered demon lord won't make much sense to anime rookies.
Isekai is a well-established genre that is found in anime more than anywhere else, so new anime fans won't have much reference for how isekai works when they compare it to Western media. So, fans are urged to try a few "normal" isekai titles first, such as That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and Re:Zero first so they can see how Konosuba playfully tears all this apart with its zany humor.
My Deer Friend Nokotan Would Make a Weak Impression on Anime Newcomers
Streaming on Crunchyroll
While there's nothing particularly bad about the comedy anime My Deer Friend Nokotan, it's not substantial enough to be an excellent watch, nor is it a good ambassador for what anime is like. The anime has charming humor and strong visual flair, but not much beyond that. It's the sort of delightful nonsense that appeals to established anime fans who want a break from all the serious titles.
Meanwhile, consumers watching their first few anime titles may look at My Deer Friend Nokotan and think anime is all just shallow cartoons with nothing to say. Other comedy anime have decent character arcs and some emotional resonance, but My Deer Friend Nokotan simply does not. It's a fluff anime and a novelty for experienced fans, while newcomers may try stronger comedies like Nichijou or even Azumanga Daioh.
Gurren Lagann May Give the Wrong Impression of the Mecha Genre
Streaming on Crunchyroll
If new anime fans really want to, they can certainly watch the well-regarded Gurren Lagann anime and enjoy what it has to offer. Everything about this anime is excellent, from its emotional impact and its inspiring messages to its astonishing animation. New anime fans will appreciate why the fandom loves Gurren Lagann, but they will also get some misleading impressions.
The minor downside to treating Gurren Lagann as a starter anime is that it misrepresents the mecha anime genre that it's making fun of. Gurren Lagann is a good-natured parody of mecha with its humor and astronomically ludicrous power scaling, and new anime fans might be led to believe that most or all mecha anime feature robots bigger than galaxies. By contrast, relatively grounded mecha anime like Gundam and Macross keep the power scaling under control.
Fairy Tail is Lengthy and Has Too Much Fan Service
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Here and there, the Fairy Tail anime is stronger than its many detractors say, since it does have a strong heart and some truly innovative designs with its characters and magical combat system. In the long run, though, Fairy Tail can simply never compete with the shonen big three it's clearly meant to compete with. New anime fans are urged to watch the original big three or titles like My Hero Academia to enjoy shonen at its peak.
Almost anything Fairy Tail does has been done at least a little better in similar shonen anime, so new anime fans are encouraged to try those other anime instead to get a stronger impression of the medium. Aside from that, Fairy Tail is noted for its constant and gratuitous fan service. Some anime rookies will greatly dislike that, and even if they aren't bothered, they may get the wrong impression that most shonen action anime have that much fan service in them.
Gintama Is a Love Letter to Shonen
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Gintama is one of several anime that is well-regarded and has earned its stellar reputation, but is only meant for established anime fans. Gintama is a love letter and parody of shonen as a whole, making comedic references to the big three, Dragon Ball, and a few others. That makes Gintama rewarding for anime veterans to watch as they spot and laugh at the goofy references.
New anime fans will miss out on all of that, which ruins at least half the point of the Gintama anime, so this title is best saved for later. Rookie anime viewers may still appreciate the other content found in Gintama, such as its well-animated fight scenes and the character moments. Still, new anime fans can get material like that in other anime without having to worry about constant meta-humor.
Eromanga Sensei May Creep Out Anime Rookies
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Some anime rookies may not mind fan service centered around teenage girls, but they will almost definitely draw the line when they find out what's waiting for them in Eromanga Sensei. This anime hails from the same creator as Oreimo, which has a similarly iffy reputation. Neither anime would make a good impression on newcomers of the medium, and they might make them regret getting into anime at all.
Above all, the problem with Eromanga Sensei is that it blends sexual tension and comedy with the protagonist's 12-year-old stepsister Sagiri, and the other girls aren't much older than that. Plenty of other anime titles dabble in steamy material and sexually tense comedy, but Eromanga Sensei is arguably the worst way to do so.
Food Wars! is Funny and Exciting, But Has Constant Fan Service
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma is another example of an anime that does have plenty to offer while also having too much sexualized content for some anime newcomers to handle. This culinary anime is a comedic and surprisingly informative take on the shonen battle formula, replacing action and magic with competitive cooking at an elite school named Totsuki. Experienced anime fans may enjoy it, but new fans will get an iffy reputation of anime in the process.
For the sake of comedy and fan service, Food Wars! frequently shows its characters undressing explosively as they savor the incredible taste of food. Fans may note how Food Wars! does that almost as often to the male characters as it does to the female ones, but new viewers may still not like it. And either way, Food Wars! will give viewers the wrong idea about how heavily fan service is actually used in the medium, on average.
