DDavis urged someone to start a top-5 anime thread, so I'll take the bait. Rather than an all-time top-5, which would be entirely subjective, I'd like to propose a different kind of top-5 list. Namely, the top five anime titles you'd recommend for people who don't really like anime.

Let's face it. There are plenty of reasons to hate anime: sobbing giant-eyed girls, interminable robot battles, slow pacing, incomprehensible storylines and those horrible, horrible tentacles. Even die-hard anime-fans can name one or two titles they absolutely can't stand.

So I put it to you, true-believers: Which are five anime titles are likeliest to turn an anime-hater into a fanatic? Justify your answers, please.

1. Tonari No Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro)
This whimsical story of two young girls and their encounters with a fantastic assortment of mythical forest creatures is quite possibly the greatest children's movie ever made. Its masterful use of silence, setting, emotion, color, sound and mood makes it a breathtaking jewel of a movie, able to entrance viewers of any age.

2. Cowboy Bebop
This one's kind of a cheat, since the series goes out of its way to emulate Western settings, characters, stories and especially music. But since it pulls it off so well, who's complaining? In its 30 episodes, the series covers every archetype in the book--gamblers, eco-terrorists, smugglers, computer hackers, hitmen, long-lost loves, and of course cowboys. There are some story arcs to keep things interesting, but most of the episodes are self-contained, which makes it a bit easier to watch in spurts. Yoko Kanno's bluesy soundscapes may be the finest you'll ever hear in a cartoon. If you aren't hooked by the series' playful opening title sequence, there may be no hope for you.

3. Ghost In The Shell
Sure, it's slow-moving. Sure, it's got way too much plot stuff than can reasonably fit in 80 minutes. Okay, yeah, the main character is a sad-faced cyborg who spends the first third of the movie kicking ass while wearing nothing but leggings and a see-through raincoat. But that's what makes it such a great example of the genre. Disney, this ain't. American audiences have always had a hard time adjusting to the Japanese emphasis of mood over narrative thrust, but this might be the movie to teach them how. The gloomy atmosphere of 2026 Hong Kong makes a superb backdrop to what is ultimately a cyborg's journey to reclaim her humanity.

4. Ninja Scroll
A cult classic, and deservedly so, this incredibly violent tale of a clash between good and evil super-powered ninja would seem incredibly formulaic if it weren't so incredibly outlandish. Virtually every scene features something to make your jaw drop, from a rock-man who attacks in the form of a deadly spinning wheel to a creepy hunchback with a wasp's nest in his back. The movie features wall-to-wall combat against a fearsome array of villains--what more do you want?

5. Blood: The Last Vampire
At 48 minutes, this anime about a scowling vampire teenager hired to hunt down members of a race of demonic vampire hybrids is probably too short for its own good. Many Western viewers find the movie's lack of any real beginning or ending to be unacceptable, which is too bad, as this landmark showcase for Production I.G. (this was the first anime to be composited completely digitally) is one of the most dazzling and stylish you'll ever see. The intense atmosphere takes over from the opening scene and never lets go, and the next half hour feels almost more like a nightmare than a movie. The story does ask a lot more questions than it answers, and while that can be frustrating for some, the film holds up well with repeated viewing, suggesting new interpretations with every revisiting.

How about it, Hashers? Which 5 anime would you recommend for newbies?

I'd say Gundam 0080 would make my list. The story of a boy who gets caught up in a war he only fantasized about the day before, 0080 is a powerful message on the fundamental problem of warfare, boiled down to a needless combat between two noble people of whom neither are villainous or evil at all, just caught on the opposite side of the war from each other. It may not have tons of whiz-bang action, but the characterizations and story really set 0080 above the anime norm.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I'd show certain people Fist of the North Star instead. For flat-out action addicts, it's kind of fun to hear them go "Daaaaaamn!" when a martial-arts fight ends with someone ripping both his opponent's arms off and throwing them away before the guy even notices they're gone...

For sci-fi buffs, Cyber City Oedo is a quite novice-accessible series.

For film buffs, Wings of Honneamise is a good non-Miyazaki visual fest, although action fans will be bored to tears by it.

To show the difference between cultures, Arrividerci, Yamato really rams the point home with its non-Hollywood ending--the good guys die at the end! (Plus, a lot of people saw the Americanized "Star Blazers" version so it's kind of a good bridge.)

Has anyone ever seen Cat Soup? It's a movie by director Tatsuo Sato that is quite visually stunning. I myself did not like anime much before I saw this movie. It's also VERY trippy, so your mileage may vary.

Zack

No, but I have seen images from this. I actually prefer this kind of animation over the sci-fi genre of anime.

My favourite anime cat is, of course Doraemon

okey, you guys are all mentioning animes i have NEVER heard about O_o, then again ive only been watching anime for 3-4 weeks now.

#1 - Uchuu No Stellvia
#2 - Last Exile
#3 - aint finished with it yet, but will be Narue No Sekai

took me about 2days to watch stellvia, 2 more to watch last exile.
imo nothing is as addictive as stellvia, not even Hash O_o

Did someone say cats?

All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku-Nuku

For me:

1- Castle In The Sky (amazing)
2- Castle of Caligostro
3- Spirited Away
4- Princess Mononoke
5- My Neighbor Totoro

Best Anime so far:

1-Naruto
2-Full metal Alchemist
3-Chrno Crusader
4-Bleach
5-Samurai-7

Please do not post links to torrent sites. Thanks.

As for my top 5

1. Naruto
2. One Piece (The original, NOT the Fox-Kids version that now plays on US TV)
3. Anything by Ghibli/Miyazaki
4. Berserk
5. Fruits Basket

speaking of anime titles, anyone planning on getting/seeing "the place of promise, Beyond the clouds"?

its by the same guy that did voices of a distant star.

one person did it all, combination of 3d and 2d animation. think he got some help with the second one maybe, studio sponsored probably. but anyway, the trailers for it look awsome! not to mention the music...ahhh...sweet stuff.

Dvd release in japan in 13days.

http://www.kumonomukou.com/trailer.html

Check it out!

I would suggest the following...

Last Exile - I didn't like this when I saw the first few episodes, but the stunning 3D graphics and sound pulled me in enough to quickly appreciate the rather strange SF story line, but it all gets sorted out in the end. I guess my "open mind" kind of closed over the years.

A Little Snow Fairy Sugar - (not as sweet as you may think), great story, great animation and wonderful music.

Azumanga Daioh - I first saw this very funny character driven anime at an anime con two years ago, tracked down an "import" sub copy, loaned it to a friend who asked to keep it, bought another copy, and just got the "official" dubbed version. There are also two short clips available on the web. Really good.

Planetes - This gritty (but not dark) SF title set in the not too distant future was recently bought by Bandai (July 2004) so who knows when it will be released. I've got the first three books and the complete series as a Fansub. It deals with day to day problems of people who retrieve space junk amidst a backdrop of politics.

My Neighbors the Yamadas - Studio Ghibili's (Isao Takahata) little gem and the first of their movies to be painted and animated on computers.

Go Miyazaki!!!

Yep, I agree with My Neighbours, the Yamada's.

I enjoyed that alot - though it's definately not for everyone

just saw the first episode of Azumanga Daioh (only one i could find :/ )

god that stuff is hilarious, a must watch!.

not to mention 5min x 130episodes. ^^

And Grave of the Fireflies was great! Just bought it yesterday.

I am a total Anime Newb but I really liked Wolf's Rain.


Wade

Aw heck! I love all anime! There, I said it!

Hi long time lurker first time poster here. I just got A:M 2005 and am learning slowly but i just had to throw down on this forum because ive watched anime for years and love it all:

1: Fist of the Northstar- I agree with the earlier poster who talked about Rai taking old boys arms off, but my favorite part of that scene is how the guy tries to catch them when Rai chucks them back with nothing but his stumps.

2: Trigun- I didnt want to like this one but there was just so much going on in that series that had me hooked, great characters, villians, humor and emotion. One of my all time favorites.

3: Ninja Scroll- Jobei was just the man and watching take on the seven demons (I think they were the seven demons, its been awhile) was just awesome.

4: Cityhunter- This is just hilarious and ridiculous. I still cant get enough of Ryo trying to get laid, failing miserably, getting the crap kicked out of him by his partner, and just acting retarded.

5: Ghost in the shell- simply still amazing.

well thats just my opinion, hope to be more active in the community from now on now that i got the software.

maybe i should go back and watch some of this old stuff....

LOL! It's hard to choose five, isn't it?

way too hard to choose five i agree

My wife just got me a copy of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. I'm totally stoked to watch it! The only problem...is when?

Watch all of Miyazaki, I strongly reccomend those!

My opinion of Ghost in the Shell 2 was, although beautiful to watch and stuff like that, it dragged on..but apparently Oshii Mamaru said just take the movie as it is and not think too much (or something like that)

Appleseed is far more fun, and visually interesting as its a full 3d animated, cell shaded affair.

My opinion people.

BTW, anyone gonna be in Tokyo late March to late April? I will be going to the Tokyo Anime Fair (second time - i was lucky to be in Japan for the first one in 2001 or was it 2002, cant remember now...ARRGHH)

see yas

oh, mimi wo sumaseba (Whisper of the Heart) is my favourite Ghibli film.

Hey thats cool,
So I guess you won't be missing TAF this year?

That depends. What is it?

http://www.taf.metro.tokyo.jp/en/index.html

No mention of Akira?

I'm not sure if I'd want to show Akira to someone already dislikes anime. It would only make things worse...

Ghost In The Shell
Nausicca of the Vally of the Wind (I originally saw this as "Warriors of the Wind")
Spirited Away
La Blue Girl
Angel of Darkness

Has anyone seen the anime for Chobits? The manga is my favorite one ever, so I want to see the anime.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

That may not help actually. There are too many softcore hentai scenes, which I think spoil it. It puts too many people off the manga.

How about Excel Saga? That show rocks!

I'll second the nomination of Appleseed; that one's just moved to the top of my list. I was hanging out at the Hash booth at MegaCon last weekend, and they had this playing at a booth across the aisle; I just had to have it for the visuals alone (it's toon-rendered CG, and beautifully done), but once I watched it, I discovered it actually had a pretty good story too.

No tentacles, though.

(I'll have to buy it again when it officially comes out in the US; the fansub sucked harder than a black hole.)

I'll 3rd Appleseed. I mean the new one done in XSI, not the old one I have on VHS. I read a review for it that called Appleseed part of an 'ugly' phase of CG filmmaking's maturation. I think that person probably has a history of not liking CG movies. There is so much to like and visually it is top notch.

Has any one else seen the old one? The new one seems to be related to it and even the story seems related if maybe rearranged a little. The biggest change that I couldn't get over was Briareos. In the new Appleseed, he's this emotional cyborg guy with a deep, heavy hearted voice. In that old Appleseed, he sounds more like a janitor on a Scooby Doo episode. I know that dub was done a long time ago, but Jeez!

Ooh Ooh. I just watched "Voices of a Distant Star". The excitement over Haruwo has got me all a twitter over one man shows again. This piece is great. Many scenes are like watching moving paintings. So it's not action packed, but there is action (mecha action, my favorite kind!). Give this one a look.

Have you seen the trailer for his follow-up film, The Place Promised in our Early Days?

http://www.kumonomukou.com/trailer.html

I'd have to disagree with Akira. I think Ghost in the Shell is more one that I wouldn't want to show to anime haters. Though I think both have their negatives I choose Akira over Ghost in the Shell. As the list was intended to introduce Anime haters to anime so they'd at least appreciate it, I went for titles that seemed more friendly to newcomers.
Akira being on their only becase it is THE anime title (to me), next to Ghost in the Shell. If I could have a 6, it would be Ghost in the Shell.

I'd go with:

1. Vampire Hunter D
2. Cowboy Bebop
3. AppleSeed
4. The Lodoss series (spelling?) is another good one
5. Akira

Brian

1. last exile
2. vash the stampede
3. cowboy bebop

thats for series ..

i try to avoid dubs as much as possible, the dub of voices of a distant star was a pain, couldnt get a hold of a subbed one.

Been drooling over Beyond the Clouds for years, and unfortunatly it was a bit dissapointing. the story was good and all, and the last part was genius, but there was simply too much talking about random stuff....repeating....kinda thaught it boring at times, but great overall.

however, both had geeeenius soundtracks ^^

Broke down and bought the Zeta Gundam box set Saturday... After watching just 5 episodes, I'm hooked. Even though the animation is somewhat dated, the story just crushes the later efforts like Gundam Wing.

here are a few one-offs that each go off on a different non-standard-anime tangent:

blood: the last vampire - retro goth
dead leaves - psychotic toon

-jon

(both from production ig)

I don't think anybody mentioned Macross Zero. The animation in that is pretty good, compared to most mainstream animes.

Macross Zero was great, kinda short though :/ . incredible dog fights ^^

I'm gonna have to add Samurai Champloo to this list. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out on one of the most kickass series ever aired. (Also one of the least historically accurate, combining a traditional Edo-era Japanese setting and gangsta/hip-hop cultural stylings.) It's a new 26-episode epic from the creator of Cowboy Bebop, and somehow manages to surpass its predecessor on nearly every level.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...8613478-7886445

I assure you, it rocks. Hard.

End of plug.