Initially, asking housemates to coalesce around a Japanese animation centred upon teenagers battling biblical giants in robot suits that are inextricably linked to their soul was a tall order. Anime, like video games and Reddit and superheroes, were once deemed as fringe culture. And, well, a bit nerdy.
No longer. Such things paddle in the mainstream, and anime is climbing the diving board on a slow march beyond the niche. "Anime is absolutely becoming more popular as people increasingly embrace 'geeky' hobbies," says Lauren Orsini, a web developer-turned-anime expert that's lent her knowledge to CNN, Forbes and The Daily Dot. "Liking Star Wars made you a geek, and now it's a Disney property, and the internet has made anime more accessible to more people."
The swelling mass appeal can be well understood by anime's mass approach, too. "It's important to remember that anime is a medium, not a genre," says Orsini. "Lots of people know about battle anime and magical anime, but there also topics as far-flung as fly fishing, amateur kabuki theatre, and baking" – which suggests, truly, that there's something for everyone. What's more, much of it is critically, universally acclaimed: the well-known Studio Ghibli productions, for example, and the futuristic existential drama that is Ghost In The Shell (long before Scarlet Johansson was recruited to play a Japanese woman in its live action remake, that is).
But you don't want to wade in at the deep end. As one quick Google search will quarry, there are stories that are very much for children, and those that require the philosophical capacity of René Descartes. That's not a good place to start. This however, is: all the best anime on Netflix to try something totally new.
Attack on Titan
Naked, 200-foot tall humans that snack on other smaller humans sounds as ridiculous as it does unappetising. But in the world of Attack On Titan, this bizarre food chain is grimly depicted as several towns, walled for centuries to protect against said monsters, fall one by one. In response, the series' heroes vow revenge against these bone-crunching Goliaths, and the ongoing battle is a terrifying mix of graphic atrocity and building dread. Giants are officially scary again.
Spirited Away
Your Lie in April
Anime isn't all swords and sorcery. Your Lie In April proves the medium is just at home telling stories of drama and heartbreak, as piano prodigy Kousei becomes unable to hear or understand the music he plays after the death of his mother. But his world of sepia tones and despair becomes a more colourful one upon meeting Kaori: his best friend's violinist girlfriend that seeks to rehabilitate Kousei's relationship with music, thus creating a visually stunning series that melds sounds, sights and synesthesia in this tragic love story.
Gantz: O
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most acclaimed anime series of all time. And, though its plot treads familiar territory – gifted teenagers pilot towering biomechanical mechas against divine 'angels' that are hellbent on destroying Earth – the tale itself is loaded with religious and psychoanalytical iconography by esteemed director Hideaki Anno, touching upon everything from Kabbalah to Sigmund Freud to the Dead Sea Scrolls. As abstract as it sounds, but Neon Genesis Evangelion is worthy of its legacy in anime's canon, and has sparked more than a decade of rigorous debate over its true essence.
Princess Mononoke
Violet Evergarden
For a film centred upon a war veteran, Violet Evergarden is remarkably absent from the battlefield. Instead, we see its titular heroine in her retired life: a purpose-built war machine that turns her prosthetic hands ghostwriting letters for those seeking a connection in life. And, as she grapples with memories of a former major to whom she was devoted, Violet slowly understands that meaning of her own new life too in this surprisingly touching series.
Erased
'Revival': a strange condition that scalpels the continuum, and one that occasionally sends Erased's Satoru Fujinuma back in time by a few seconds to save the lives of others. But when the protagonist is returned to 1988 and his former 10-year-old self, this suspenseful thriller sees Satoru try to prevent the abduction of several elementary classmates – and the murder of his own mother.
Castlevania
Based upon the esteemed Konami video game series of the same name, Castlevania is a sound example of an American-made anime that's found intercontinental praise – even more impressive given the well-worn subject matter of Dracula, witches and vampires. But Castlevania still manages to refresh the format, as Trevor Belmont is the last in a clan of monster hunters hellbent on protecting humanity from an aggrieved Mr. Dracula that saw his lover Lisa burnt at the stake by a God-drunk misogynistic townsfolk. She only wanted to practice medicine. He now wants to extinguish humanity's flame forever more.
Beastars
A small backwater town is populated by anthropomorphic animals. A poor white rabbit is getting picked on. A wolf is in the throes of sexually-charged teen angst. An alpaca is murdered. And it's up the the high school drama club to solve the mystery, of course! Beastars is a series that hails from the LSD wing of anime's rich tapestry, and though wild, strange and increasingly surreal, this unique drama is a madcap Heathers-like film noir mash-up with a side of vegetarian protein (because you're not allowed to eat your classmates, obviously).
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