Anime Introducing Anime

[NashvilleDream]

[font=Century Gothic][size=1]How would [i]you[/i] introduce Anime to someone who has only been exposed to "American" cartoons (i.e. ed edd & eddy, Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy) and/or those TV show things like umm... uh... (I don't know many, Let's see if I can even remember one, shall we) Seinfield and Smallville(I have no idea what this kinda thing is, I just get earfulls at school) and stuff like that? (If you can even keep up through all the parenthases)[/size][/font]

[font=Century Gothic][size=1]I'm going to repeat the same thing without all the comments:[/size][/font]

[font=Century Gothic][size=1]How would [i]you[/i] introduce Anime to someone who has only been exposed to "American" cartoons (i.e. ed edd & eddy, Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy) and/or those TV show things like Seinfield and Smallville and stuff like that? [/size][/font]
[font=Century Gothic][size=1][/size][/font]
[font=Century Gothic][size=1]I've only got four minutes to do this, and any video/audio can only last up to a minute max, and I think I'm allready up to that with the two clips I'm using from Ruroni Kenshin, and the "audience" is 22 stuck up eighth graders with the "I don't give a (insert swear word)" additude. But In the essay, the "audience" is an 80 year old (litterally) english teacher. The things that I can show are: (episodes) Inu Yasha, .hack//sign, Knights of the Zodiac, Duel Masters, Cowboy Bebop, Witch Hunter Robin, Ruroni Kenshin, Teen Titans, Cyborg 009, Yu Yu Haksho, and (movies) Inu Yasha (2nd, 1st is a minute possibility though) Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Yu Yu Haksho, Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Samurai X: Reflections, Metropolis, Spirited away, and Castle in the Sky. I think that's all of em. Unfortunately, I never taped trigun before they took it off the air.[/size][/font]

[Dagger]

Nice topic, NashvilleDream. ^_^

Hmm..... I would show him or her something that is (a) visually impressive, (b) fairly realistic-looking--no enormous eyes, as many people mistakenly think that they're integral to the genre, (c) neither overly simplistic nor overly confusing, and (d) completely different from what the media and young Yu-Gi-Oh fans might lead them to expect. While well-known shows (such as Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragonball Z) have their virtues, and one can hardly brush aside the poorly animated classics, seeing those anime will only confirm skeptics' suspicions.

In my experience, non-fans take better to movies and OVAs than to television shows. Miyazaki films make a good starting point for parents and younger siblings; connoisseurs of violence or those with short attention spans may have difficulty sitting through them. Here's a brief list of the anime that my friends have seen and liked.

Akira
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Voices of a Distant Star
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Read or Die
Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal
Spirited Away

If you want me to describe or synopsize any of these titles, I would be more than happy to oblige. ^_^

~Dagger~

[densuke]

Calling popular American cartoons "idiotic" is not a good place to start. You are slagging a bunch of American prime-time TV shows which a lot of people watch and enjoy. If you want to interest anyone in anything, making negative comparisons is not the best way to go - you will only offend people. Anime has some different qualities from the shows you mentioned but you will not get a chance to discuss these qualities with people if you tell them that what they like is garbage.

Why not take a hint from the companies already trying to increase the audience for anime in the US? Disney has licensed plenty of excellent Ghibli movies - you can rent or buy them. There is a decent amount of anime programming on TV nowadays as well - there is a sticky in this forum showing the current offerings. These shows are attracting plenty of interest and people seem to be able to talk about them on their merits.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Dagger's suggestions are very good. That is pretty much exactly what I would've said. I'd add "Ah, My Goddess!" (the movie) onto the list, though, just because visually it's very nice, and the music is good. And most of my friends have liked it as well, although many of them are receptive to anime. My buddy Fade (sn), though, is a Sci-Fi-Channel guy, and he enjoyed Love Hina, AMG, and Cowboy Bebop (though that one he liked because it was sci-fi, nothing more, I believe). Love Hina in general, although in many respects like a "typical anime" as far as aesthetics go, is pretty well received even by people new to the medium.

Anyway, because AMG the movie and Love Hina are the only animes I have on DVD (or my comp) those are the only ones I even CAN show.

Many people make the mistake of trying to show Evangelion, but that show gives so little at a time that it doesn't work as well for an introductory series.

[DeadSeraphim]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial Narrow]Animehas pretty bad street cred, so its hard to introduce a skeptic to it.
But I have had los of success in this regard, usually by showing them movies. All my friends got into anime through me (and me through another friends showing me Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040) and it has never been by sitting down in front of the TV and flicking it onto whatever crap Cartoon Network is currently. playing. Movies all the way. ;) I've shown people the following movies and they went onto greater (anime) things.

Vamp. Hunter D: Bloodlust
Akira
Blood: The Last Vampire
Ghost in the Shell
Samurai X
Ninja Scroll

They usually go down a treat with people. Those 20-something episode series usually go down ell.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Ghost in the Shell hasn't worked for me. Maybe it's because I personally didn't like it. It could be that. But of my friends I wasn't the only one. I guess go with Ghost in the Shell only if you make it clear that there's more philosophy than action in the film (though I'm not sure that's why I disliked it). Ghost in the Shell does well with the Matrix crowd, though.

[Panda]

I would tailor the anime to fit the personality of the viewer. For instance, I have a friend who loves horror movies, especially vampire stories, so I would show her Hellsing. I wouldn't start her off watching Love Hina. LOL I think the anime you pick to introduce someone to the genre should suit the tastes of the viewer.

What kind of movies does your friend like to watch? What is the age of your friend? These are some of the things to consider when picking an anime. If comedies are their main choice for entertainment my suggestion would be going with something like GTO. There are alot of great suggestions in this thread for starter animes.

Hope you have fun watching anime with your friend! :)

[Flashlight]

Trigun. Plain and simple. If someones grown up watching North American cartoons all their life (Which by no means are bad, I personally love some of them, just as much as I love anime shows), they're probably not going to take cartoons seriously. So, give them a comedy. Everyones loves comedy's, and that's what the first half of Trigun is all about.

The comedy hooks them in, and by the time the second half of the series shows up (With a dramatic change from comedy to drama), they've already been hooked into it and a well prepared for the more "mature" elements in the second half, which is (From what I've found) what most people like about anime. Thus, they can see with a clear vision what is so special about anime.

As I said, comedy appeals to almost everyone, and Trigun plays off that to hook you in. I would definately show someone new to anime Trigun first. Then open them up to some of the more mainstream anime like Cowboy Bebop.

(And on a final note, Studio Ghibli is a good and all, and many would enjoy their films [I certainly do] but many, many, people would still just think it's cartoons for kids, like Disney [Nothing against Disney, I love their stuff too]. So, it may not always work in changing views). :)

[Guest umi amano]

Well....there is this friend of mine who disliked anime but now she likes it.She really watches american cartoons all the time. What i did is i asked her what kind of film she likes (horror, comedy, action..). When i found out she likes action with a little touch of comedy, i made her watch these series:

Get Backers
Clamp School
Naruto

[XxmagentaxX]

Hayao Miyazaki movies are always the best place to start; Mononoke Hime or Spirted Away
Also Satoshi Kon, like Perfect Blue or Millenium Actress

[James]

[color=#707875]I'd suggest The Animatrix. From my own experience of showing it to my parents, it was really the first anime that they'd seen. My mother in particular liked and appreciated it.

I think it was appropriate because it tied into the live-action movies (so there was some kind of bearing going on) and there were a variety of animation styles in there. So I think all of these things helped; since all of the episodes are so visually different, people will usually come away liking [i]something [/i]from it.

I also found, again through my own experience, that Vampire Hunter D was a good way of easing people into anime. My brother watched it an loved it, despite the fact that he'd never really understood anime or been a fan.

And then there's Spirited Away. My sister and mother watched that and both loved it. I think it's largely the fact that it has such endearing characters and it's pretty easy to relate to Chihiro's situation -- so even though it's bizarre, it doesn't create overly-confusing situations that are too difficult to immediately connect to.[/color]

[Guest iamrobin]

[QUOTE=James][color=#707875]I'd suggest The Animatrix. From my own experience of showing it to my parents, it was really the first anime that they'd seen. My mother in particular liked and appreciated it.

I think it was appropriate because it tied into the live-action movies (so there was some kind of bearing going on) and there were a variety of animation styles in there. So I think all of these things helped; since all of the episodes are so visually different, people will usually come away liking [i]something [/i]from it.

I also found, again through my own experience, that Vampire Hunter D was a good way of easing people into anime. My brother watched it an loved it, despite the fact that he'd never really understood anime or been a fan.

And then there's Spirited Away. My sister and mother watched that and both loved it. I think it's largely the fact that it has such endearing characters and it's pretty easy to relate to Chihiro's situation -- so even though it's bizarre, it doesn't create overly-confusing situations that are too difficult to immediately connect to.[/color][/QUOTE]

I agree with both Animatrix and Sprirted Away. My mom had absolutely no appreciation for anime until she saw Spirited Away. It's definitely a classic. And Kiki's Delivery Service is another one.

[TheGodlyME]

HAHAHA!!--You could use the Excel Saga...That way, you could go any friggin' way with it and the others would have to believe you, or you could threaten to show them more!!

But more seriously, I would go with the Escaflowne movie...It's pretty interesting, and it doesn't have some of the things that are so stereotypical of anime, such as all the characters having huge eyes(not all of them, anyway); although it does take in the somewhat modified Neko concept(human/animal mix), and it has to do with mecha, and it's still stimulating in both the sound and visuals. In addition, there's a movie, so you can explain the backstory in a way that is to your liking, rather than the uninformed view of the others.

--I wouldn't use 'Teen Titans' as anime...it is based on American Characters, and could throw the rest of the class, and the teacher, way off. (Personally I don't think it's anime at all, and that it's actually insulting to the otaku, or myself for it to be considered anime.)

[OtakuSennen]

[color=navy]I have a friend who absolutely despises anime, and I've tried to introduce him to "good" anime several times, and there have always been certain things that clicked with him, and other things that just enforced his negative vision of anime.

[b]Good things:[/b]

1) "Americanized" series. Shows like Cowboy Bebop and Noir have characters with mostly "European-sounding" names. I remember watching Rurouni Kenshin, listening to ten minutes of recap with all of the complicated-sounding names, and saying nothing other than "..What?". Lots of modern gunplay and futuristic settings seem to appeal to action-flick-loving male teens, from my experience. Gee, I wonder why..

2) Relatively simple plot. .hack//SIGN and the second half of Evangelion was an automatic turn-off for everybody, male or female, that I've attempted introducing to anime. Thinking is a big no-no. The depth can come later, once they've noticed that all anime is directed toward card-collecting 8-year-olds. This doesn't mean that the series has to be shallow, necessarily. There just has to be a lot less deep dialogue and/or philosophy mixed in there. Bebop hits the mark with deep-but-not-too-deep story.

3) Not too long of a series. Generally, I think that if somebody doesn't want to watch anime, they're not going to sit through thirteen hours of it. One should probably start off with a movie (Ghost in the Shell), a short OVA (Read or Die), or a thirteen-episode series (Hellsing). Of course, there are on-going anime out there with seventy-something episodes that would appeal to certain demographics. I've found that most non-girly girls enjoy at least bits and pieces of Inuyasha, and Naruto is good for some folks.

[b]Bad things[/b]

1) Poor dubbing. If I were to be what were the top two complaints people have told me about anime, I would have to say that they hated the dub or they didn't want to put out a little brain power and read subtitles with the Japanese audio track. Personally, I think that Bandai puts out pretty solid dubs, and ADV does rather weak ones.

2) "Kiddy" anime. As great as Ghibli films are, I think that the masses would simply shun Castle in the Sky or Spirited Away because it's a more "immature" storyline. They'll be babysitting a younger cousin and watch, say, Brother Bear with them. They will not enjoy watching it, but they'll say "Oh, that's because it's Disney. It's just too childish." If somebody watches, say, Kiki's Delivery Service and dislikes it, they might say something like "Oh, that's because it's Japanimation. They're all like this." If they have limited knowledge of anime, they'll simply make a generalization that all anime are for kids, just like what they've seen with Pokemon and Dragonball, and they'll simply be enforcing a stereotype.

3) Complex storylines. Noir, .hack//SIGN, the last half of Evangelion, Lain.. They all have stories that make you [i]think.[/i] A lot of people don't want to have to do that, especially if they're unwillingly watching "Some of that Japanese crap" for the first time. Again, they can come back to the series later, and realize the genius behind SIGN or Lain.

4) Non-romantic comedies. Generally, comedy anime that have been brought to America are divided into three factions: Romantic, Otaku-only, and weird. Oftentimes, two of the sub-genres overlap some, but you shouldn't expect to show somebody FLCL or Otaku no Video and automatically love it.

And, no, I would definitely not recommend showing people American cartoons in anime-style. Teen Titans and Totally Spies are basically the same as Pokemon to a lot of people- Standalone episodes with blatant morals and cheesy dialogue. Not to mention they over-use "freak-out" anime expressions way to much. It all just leads to the all-cartoons-are-for-kids stereotype.

I know that I am contradicting myself in some ways, and saying some rather foolish things in this post, but these rules don't always apply, especially all at the same time. Some people may tolerate a poor dub, or Japanese names, and utterly refuse others. Plus, there are things that I have not mentioned or noticed on that list. Things you find here are simply what I have encountered most frequently, in my own experience.

Edit: I forgot to actually put down what anime I would recommend, heh. Overall, I tihnk Cowboy Bebop is a definitely great starter (no duh), along with Akira and Ghost in the Shell, for most shonen / seinen fans. For Shoujo, though, I suppose Chobits, Kare Kano and Inuyasha fit the bill rather well. And for many 16-year-old males, a little dose of Love Hina can never hurt. *wink*[/color]

[SilverCyclone]

Well...I have turned many of my friends to the light of anime by showing them really nice scenes, usually from Inuyasha or Hellsing. After that, they keep coming back for more, and I slowly integrate them into it. I used to be the only otaku of my group, now I have around 18 friends, who hated anime because of :flaming: Pokemon :flaming: , who now are hard core fans. They still dont compare to my vast genre of animes, but its a start.

[Dagger]

[quote name='OtakuSennen][color=navy']For Shoujo, though, I suppose Chobits, Kare Kano and Inuyasha fit the bill rather well. And for many 16-year-old males, a little dose of Love Hina can never hurt. *wink*[/color][/quote]

Gah! Chobits and Inuyasha are most definitely [i]not[/i] shoujo. As a matter of fact, I think that the former series would also be more suitable for 16-year-old males. Inuyasha just falls under the same category as other super-long shounen anime like Rurouni Kenshin and Yu Yu Hakusho.

I don't watch very much shoujo, so I can't really offer any replacements for the shows that you suggested. My mom [i]did[/i] take well to Fruits Basket (a sweet, marvelous, wonderful anime), but I don't think she exactly represents NashvilleDream's target audience. Oh well... ^_^;

~Dagger~

[Guest Spike88]

I agree with Dagger get them away from the stereotype that everyone in the world would give anime. Give them good animated affects. Do it stuff that is well drawn and will show the time it takes to create some of the better anime out there. As for suggestions on what to use hey go for what you like the best too don't just do it for them the whole time. Like me I like Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop so I would probably show more stuff like that cause that's what I'm interested in so choose it form your perspective

[Adora]

[quote name='NashvilleDream']How would you introduce Anime to someone who has only been exposed to "American" cartoons (i.e. ed edd & eddy, Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy) and/or those TV show things like umm... uh... (I don't know many, Let's see if I can even remember one, shall we) Seinfield and Smallville(I have no idea what this kinda thing is, I just get earfulls at school) and stuff like that? (If you can even keep up through all the parenthases)[/quote]
Ehhh, tough one. Depends on who I'm explaining it to.

Recently I had to inform someone who just knew it as "Weird Japanese Cartoons" that no, they weren't [i]all[/i] about tentacle porn and schoolgirls which is the common stereotype. Since this guy is a tad...er... intellectual, I've given him a copy of [i]Kino's Journe[/i]y. Also, because we met through a Matrix fanboard (no comments) I've suggested he check out[i] Ghost in the Shell[/i] (including [i]Innocence[/i], when it comes out) and a few other D&M SF titles.

But, say, with my parents, they really really like [i]Porco Rosso[/i], so I'm going to take them to see the Ghibli Festival touring soon, and some of Ghibli's less-weirder ones (they said they appreciated [i]Sen to Chihiro[/i]... but found it a tad annoying after a while).

Depending on your 8th grader audience, you'd need the right stuff. If it's all boys, eh, y'know, go for the stuff that'd appeal to them. Girls are harder. Teenage girls are...well...teenage girls. A lot of them probably won't like it, no matter what you show them.

But it may still be difficult, if the kids were raised on Western-cartoons. Stuff that is considered "adult" here is different from "adult" in other countries, obviously. "Adult" in Japan means [i]very[/i] deep & meaningful, or about topics that would concern adults, like business and patriotism and military and such (like most gekinga's) or complex relationship saga's. "Adult" in the West tends to mean anything with too much sex, violence and controversial topics in it (makes us all look a tad immature, doesn't it?). Or just total irreverence, like Futurama (woot! Bender is my god!).

But it's probably good to avoid the overly Japanese stuff, like Azumanga Daioh. There is stuff in there that even [i]I[/i] don't get. *shudders*

[OtakuSennen]

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1]Gah! Chobits and Inuyasha are most definitely [i]not[/i] shoujo. As a matter of fact, I think that the former series would also be more suitable for 16-year-old males. Inuyasha just falls under the same category as other super-long shounen anime like Rurouni Kenshin and Yu Yu Hakusho.

I don't watch very much shoujo, so I can't really offer any replacements for the shows that you suggested. My mom [i]did[/i] take well to Fruits Basket (a sweet, marvelous, wonderful anime), but I don't think she exactly represents NashvilleDream's target audience. Oh well... ^_^;

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]
[color=navy]Ah, I knew somebody was going to take what I said the wrong way.

In my book, the term "shoujo anime" simply means "anime that appeal to girls." As much as Viz tries to cover it up, or Rumiko Takahashi tries to "action up" the series through elaborate fight scenes, Inuyasha is a romance story. Inuyasha, the focus of the series, is a dynamic character. At the start of the series, Inuyasha basically wants to kill Kagome, and yet he changes his beliefs and mindset over time to please her. No matter how many times they have their little fights, or quarrels, Inuyasha is always the one that changes so he can remain with her. It seems like an ideal partner, somebody who will do anything to stay with you. A young teenage girl's fantasy, perhaps.

And Chobits, as far as I have seen in person, has appealed to [i]many[/i] girls. It's true that the fanservice and rather perverted themes attract a large male audience, and some people could consider the series nothing more than a teenage boy's fantasy, but if you have a person picking up Chobits for the essential story and not the perversion thrown in there, it's most likely going to be a girl. This sounds very stereotypical of me, but the generalization still stands true for the most part: Guys like action, girls like romance.

Lately, though, I think that the line between "Girls' manga" and "Boys' manga" has become pretty blurred. Both genres oftentimes take elements from the other. In fact, a lot of more recent series that I've seen could go either way, and can barely be classified as either, visually speaking. In a lot of anime from the eighties, you could simply look at the style of a character's face and classify them as either shounen, shoujo, or other. If I were to look at a character design from, say, Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto's creator) that I have never seen before, followed by one from A.I. Love You and then a character from Serial Experiments Lain, considering I had never seen any of the characters before and was not aware of what series they were from, I could not classify the genre any of the examples would fit into. There are obviously series that go against what I'm saying, but again, I'm speaking about the general visual style today in Japan.

Overall, though, Shounen and Shoujo shouldn't be classified as genres. They're just terms used in the anime world to display demographic targets. Things such as Romance, Action and Mystery are the true genres. Besides, anyone can watch or read whatever they want, and deciding what makes up a series through gender is a rather outdated thing in today's society. One's personal taste in film and television should reflect what they should see to introduce them to anime.[/color]

[Dagger]

The way I see it, terms like shounen, seinen and shoujo serve to indicate an anime's content and intended audience rather than its [i]actual[/i] audience or artistic style. The Chobits manga was one of CLAMP's first attempts to reach male readers, but as you mentioned, the series has also attracted female fans. Guys adore Maria-sama ga Miteru despite the fact that it's aimed squarely at women; the same thing goes for SuperGALS! and Marmalade Boy.

Lol, Inuyasha is a pretty pathetic romance story. However, my opinion of the anime has pretty much dropped through the floor in recent weeks, so I'll spare you any lengthy discourse on its flaws (real or perceived).

Visuals may not always play a large role in determining a particular show's classification. Nevertheless, ridiculously large-breasted girls and effeminate bishounen are seen in so many anime that one can't afford to totally disregard the significance of various series' character designs.

~Dagger~

[Japan]

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1]
Akira
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Voices of a Distant Star
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Read or Die
Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal
Spirited Away
[/QUOTE]

I don't think that Akira would be a good anime movie for someone new to anime should watch. For one thing, the movie leaves out a lot of details. I've found that the manga explains things musch better. The watcher of Akira might enjoy the excessive voilence, action, and and gore, but they would get all confused. Then I bet that they would assume that all anime are confusing, and that they wouldn't want to give anime another try afterwards because of that.

Now with the Samurai X, you are getting a lot better. There are action and gore for those guys that love that kind of stuff, and there is romance for those particular girls. Though, someone who have never seen anime before, may not know much about Japan. They may become confused about the goings and traditions of the samurai.

Spirited Away is a good movie, but, again people may become confused and stop watching it because they don't want to think about what is going on. I know that from experience. When my mom and sister were watching it with me, they were asking a million questions. It is a good movie though for all ages.

Cowboy Bebop...you are getting better. Cowboy Bebop is more familiar in terms of American culture. There is action, comedy, and a bit of sci-fi. Another good thing about Cowboy Bebop is that jazz is the main kind of music for the series. Many people know jazz. Many guys, old and young, would enjoy Faye a lot because the skimpy clothing she has on. This movie in general, though R rated, is simple enough for anyone to understand.

The anime movie, and anime series that I recommend are Grave of The Fireflies, and Love Hina. Grave of The Fireflies is an anime, is a Japanese view of the fire bombing raids during World War 2...which is also a history lesson of sorts, and all of my anime-hating family loved it.

Love Hina is just a very funny anime, and also is a nice romance story.

As for certain anime being meant for girls, or meant for boys....

That maybe true that a certain anime may be meant for an all female audience, for example, but....it doesn't mean that only girls would watch it. Love Hina, which was meant for one particular gender in Japan, was popular for both genders of the US. Though some anime may be shoujo, that doesn't matter. All people are different. Some girls may hate shoujo, yet love shonen, and vice versa. That also implies to the male gender as well.

You may think that I am putting down what people have said here, but I am not. I am just playing the Devils advocate.

[Dagger]

[quote name='Japan86']Though some anime may be shoujo, that doesn't matter. All people are different. Some girls may hate shoujo, yet love shonen, and vice versa.[/quote]

Of course. ^_^ That principle applies to every form of entertainment, from pornography to trashy romance novels.

As I mentioned earlier, [i]many[/i] guys are enthusiastic fans of shoujo, and I know girls who absolutely refuse to watch it. However, almost anything that can be easily categorized will by its very nature have to contain some stereotypes--which is why I think it's best to show anime haters something that isn't instantly recognizable as shoujo (such as Sailor Moon) or shounen (Naruto, DBZ, etc).

There are a lot of people who feel that anime is beneath them in terms of depth and content. Lighter fare like Love Hina just won't cut it for those folks, so I've put together a second list aimed at intellectual elitists/everyone who won't accept that not all cartoons are for preschoolers. Some of these anime may be a little quirky, but none feature mecha, hyper schoolgirls or bratty kids with psychic powers.

Kino's Journey
Master Keaton
Monster
Haibane Renmei
Koi Kaze
Paranoia Agent
Grave of the Fireflies

Texhnolyze, Boogiepop Phantom and Serial Experiments Lain are all fantastic series, but you'd have to show someone at least three or four episodes of each for them to make a bit of sense and not come across as being ridiculously obtuse.

~Dagger~

[crobo]

I introduced my best friend (14 years old for anyone who wants to know) to fruits basket a couple of months back, not because i wanted to get her into anime but because i love it, and she liked it immeditely. Then she went and watched loads more anime and she's a big fan now. I tried to get my other friend to watch it and she watched the first episode but she didn't really shine to it as much as my other friend. Probably because of it being too weird for her. i think she was a little freaked out by it actually. :smirk: Anyway i tink you should show them more "normal" anime because some people can get bit feeaked out by the comedy elements of some animes (In my experience anyway)l

[Dagger]

[quote name='crobo']Anyway i tink you should show them more "normal" anime because some people can get bit feeaked out by the comedy elements of some animes (In my experience anyway)l[/quote]

*nods* In his first post, Sennen also said something to that effect, and the two of you couldn't be more correct. Azumanga Daioh and Sensei no Ojikan definitely have their merits, but both rely heavily on cultural jokes that would fly right over the average American's head.

Parodies like Excel Saga, Otaku no Video, etc. are also pretty much guaranteed to fall flat. It takes a while for people to become accustomed to the quirks of Japanese comedy (which is often very exaggerated and over-energetic).

I'd avoid series which rely heavily on symbolism. These include FLCL, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Revolutionary Girl Utena and The Melody of Oblivion. I love the latter two anime, but generally speaking, skeptics often think such shows are weird or heavy-handed.

~Dagger~

[BlueGender]

[COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1]I suggest you show a little bit of all sides of anime, show some dramatic scenes then show the lighter side. Most of my friends are also into anime but anime's that my family enjoyed are:

Akira (alot of dramatic visually mpressive scenes)
The Animatrix (the fact that many people have seen The Matrix would increase interest)
Aeon Flux
Excel Saga ( may get a few laughs and laughing is a good way to draw attention)
Vampire Hunter D
Vamprie Hunter D: Bloodlust
Speed Racer

It might help if you use some action clips from maybe DBZ to draw attention at first because im sure there is already alittle DBZ fanbase in the class.[/SIZE][/COLOR]