GoKawiilDespite its ferocious popularity, people still tend to swear off anime entirely. These are usually the people whose reference of the medium pertains to a certain stereotype or to the few seconds of anime they once saw on a computer somewhere in the early 2000s.
But Japan has been producing some of the most emotionally resonant and visually audacious storytelling in contemporary media for half a century, and a great deal of it looks nothing at all like the stereotype it holds.
So here’s a case for the uninitiated. Start with self-contained films you can knock out in a single evening before graduating to series worth committing wholly to. The common thread, if you’re keeping score, is that not one of these requires you to know anything about anime, or Japan for that matter, going in.
Note that many of these picks are available in both the original Japanese audio with subtitles or as “dubs” with dialog dubbed by English voice actors. Dive in however you’d like.
Solo Leveling
If you want something fast, slick and unapologetically addictive, start here. Adapted from a South Korean web novel and webtoon by the Japanese animation studio A-1 Pictures, Solo Leveling follows Sung Jinwoo, an E-rank hunter regarded as the weakest of his profession. After being slaughtered during a dungeon expedition, he awakens with access to a mysterious system that only he can see–and which allows him to become stronger in a world where everyone else’s abilities are effectively fixed. Watching him transform from expendable underdog into an overwhelmingly powerful fighter is pure wish fulfillment, driven by propulsive pacing and enormous battles.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
This 2006 film is one of the softest possible landings into anime, with a concept that is simple to follow. Makoto is an ordinary teenager who unexpectedly discovers that she can leap backward through time. She initially uses the ability to redo poor test results, avoid awkward confessions, and correct everyday embarrassments. But manipulating time has consequences for the people around her, forcing Makoto to confront a future she may not be able to reverse.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Most fantasy stories end when the heroes defeat the great evil. Frieren begins there. After completing a decade-long quest, the elven mage takes off on a solitary journey, returning after 50 years to find that her human companions have aged while she has remained unchanged. Regret at missing out on reconnecting earlier and the pain of witnessing the death of one of her friends sets her on a journey of self-discovery. The result is a quiet, beautifully animated meditation on memory, mortality, and the meaning we find in seemingly fleeting relationships.
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