What are some Classic Anime for anyone getting started?

Nous

Site Admin
Staff member
Founding Member Golden Pillar
Nous
Offline
Joined
Sep 21, 2025
Posts
149
What classic anime would you recommend for anyone who is just starting out in this massive universe of anime? It can get quite overwhelming for new otaku's to get into anime given the massive catalog of series on different platforms.

What would you recommend?
 
My tops would be:

  1. Full Metal Alchemist
  2. Death Note
  3. Rurouni Kenshin (the new one!)
I recommend those hardcore. They are a must in everyone's library.
 
Honestly Death Note keeps popping up everywhere except on streaming platforms, I tried checking on Netflix, Prime and Disney they don't seem to have it. Maybe would need to try to look around on the web and see what I can find. Is it an old series?
 
My top 3 will be :

1. Apocathery diaries (Crunchyroll, Netflix)
2. Blood + (not on Streaming like Netflix, etc)
3. Yuri on ice (Crunchyroll)

1. Mystery/ancient china/ slow-burn love/ cute and funny moment
2. Doesn't know who she is herself/vampire/little of romance)
3. A beautifull soft romance (BL) in skating figure/ great choice of music, a journey about regain/lack of confidence in skating
 
Nous said:
Honestly Death Note keeps popping up everywhere except on streaming platforms, I tried checking on Netflix, Prime and Disney they don't seem to have it. Maybe would need to try to look around on the web and see what I can find. Is it an old series?
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's around 20 years old, it's a classic.. i would say you can easily find it on platforms like Crunchyroll.
 
A bit hard since most good classics are long running series and you want to recommend something bite sized for newbies to try. So instead of looking at an entire series, I recommend just focus a season/arc of a show like not in order:

  • Dragon Ball Z
  • Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
  • Prince of Tennis
  • Death Note
Gotta give them variety of tastes.
 
Hellsing (both 2001 and 2006) are great options
The first anime has a bit of filler, if you want something faithful to the manga go for 2006
 
One of the best if not the best starter anime is definitely one punch man season one, one of the greatest first seasons in all anime imo
 
I only know Dragon Ball, Samurai X and Death Note lol, I have a lot of revisions to do, back then we weren't technologically savvy yet. Now's the right time for me to read more manga and watch more anime
 
Last edited:
Death Note! This was the one I started with. If you don't want Japanese language, you can watch in English. Rurouni Kenshin is another favorite of mine.
 
The first classic anime that really left a strong impression on me was Slam Dunk! ^^
 
I think for someone that is just starting out, I always recommended Naruto first. That was how i started back then. It’s easy to follow and the emotions are just different. Death Note too is solid and intense as well. There is no need to confuse newcomers with deep stuff immediately.
 
Tanla said:
I think for someone that is just starting out, I always recommended Naruto first. That was how i started back then. It’s easy to follow and the emotions are just different. Death Note too is solid and intense as well. There is no need to confuse newcomers with deep stuff immediately.
Click to expand...
Yes, Naruto is honestly a great entry point into anime. The characters and themes are easy to connect with, and it slowly introduces deeper ideas without overwhelming new viewers. Death Note is a really good follow up too since it’s more psychological but still very engaging.
 
From a Shoujo perspective, I really liked Negima! Magi Magister, and The Slayers is a good one too. But then again I also really enjoyed watching Ranma 1/2 and Tenchi Muyo (or Tenchi Universe), but these can be a little ... strange. The genre of Gender-Bender, I don't believe exists in other media. Ah! My Goddess is a cute romantic comedy that never moves beyond holding hands (I believe).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom