Soooooooo, who here hasn’t watched anime? Because it is one of the most beautiful forms of entertainment I have ever had the pleasure of getting to enjoy. Seriously. It is the thing of childhoods, but it is also perfectly acceptable to still be addicted 15 years later. I, like probably most of American children, got into anime by shows we had no idea were animes in the first place.

For me, that anime was Pokemon. Obviously this was heavily influenced by the fact I loved the games. Next, Yugioh. Warner Brothers Saturday cartoon lineup was the best. It is why I looked forward to the weekends(Of course no school was part of it too). But cartoons man, they were great!

I think it was late into elementary school when the heavy hitters came. Naruto, One Piece, Inuyashi, Case Closed. One piece was the one that stuck out to me, even to this day it is still my favorite anime. Now-a-days it’s hard to keep up with One Piece(I am only on around episode 300ish). Naruto was much much much much easier to catch up in large part to do with fillers. I try to watch several different old and semi-new animes, as well as 5 per season(I failed miserably with this summer season.). I also take request on what to watch.

One of the reasons  made this blog was for these exact post. I had a wonderful childhood, all things considered. I want to share what made my childhood special with everyone else. I want people of the world to give Pokemon and One Piece a chance(Even though they are popular, there are still plenty of people who have never even heard of them).

What Pokemon and One Piece do so well is they make you care about their characters(excluding Ash). The bond the characters form are unreal(I talked about this in my top five reasons to love Pokemon). The Straw Hat Crew are unforgettable, while the pokemons leave you wishing you could have them as pets. The worlds are massive and you cant help but to get absolutely captivated by exploring the worlds and wanting to know every little inch this new scenery has to offer.

In all honesty, while I consider these to be the top two shows(Pokemon more so up to Johto, the rest are fine, but Johto is the pinnacle of the franchise), its hard to recommend these to newcomers. Simply put, they require a ton of commitment to the show. With so many people living busy lives, its hard to say start here. Is it worth it? Yes, a million times yes. But you might not be able to commit to something like the epic of One Piece right away. That is okay. Work up to it.

There are plenty of amazing animes that are super short and easy to knock out. Here’s a few that’ll apply to the new coming watchers (In no order):

Sword Art Online: SAO is like a try before you buy deal. It has multiple seasons and such so you can try out SAO and see if you want to keep watching past it’s original 20 or so episodes. I have heard a lot of praise(Like the same praise Attack on Titan got) and then I heard a lot of hate as well. i am going to be honest, in a world where great anime is everywhere, I don’t care much for it. I only finished the first 8 episodes, so do not take a word as final. I tend to be more partial of Picking up Girls in a Dungeon, but, heck watch both for yourself.

Attack On Titan: This show exploded out of nowhere. It is all over Hot Topic, and got people who do not even care about anime to watch it. It is very solid, very gory(if you care about that stuff) oh, and Eren is the worst main character in an anime. Very good if your into fighting huge monsters and not into getting attached to main characters.

Parasyte: This is an anime after my own heart. Seriously, it is so good! It might be the best anime to only have 24 episodes. It’s gory, it action packed, but goodness if it isnt the most thought provoking anime I have ever seen. This show makes you think its all about big fights, but at it’s core it has an even bigger heart. Must watch for anyone who can handle violence. It is beautiful.

Yu Yu Hakusho-  At a 112 episodes, this is the longest I am putting on the list. I promise. This is a beloved favorite of mine. It has a great lesson about not taking life for granted, while at the same time being an awesome super natural action thriller. Definitely check it out if your looking for a solid 90’s anime, or your ready to start progressing to the heavy hitters.

Cowboy Bebop: So this is the only anime I have not seen at least one episode of, which I’ve heard is a sin on my behalf. It’s a cult classic and fan favorite of anime die hards and noobs alike and for that reason I have to put it on the list. It’s high on my “To Watch” list, and I will make sure to watch it, so do yourself a favor, and do the same.

I have also heard the Full Metal Alchemist series is really really good, but I more interested in collecting all 27 volumes of the manga before I bust out the anime. Also Deathnote gets a lot of love as well

If you’ve never watched anime before, just do it. Do not be alarmed when you cant quit watching, you cry your eyes out when a beloved character is just brutally murdered right in front of your eyes, you shout “finally” when the two characters you’ve been shipping for 20 episodes finally have that first kiss moment,  or desperately hoping your favorite show is going to get a second season even though the show is all wrapped up and the studio has expressed it is over. It just means you love anime, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Happy watching guys!