We were all beginners at some point in the world of anime, that time when we began to introduce ourselves in this great and diverse environment full of interesting stories that transport us to different worlds. As you start watching this type of content you become more and more familiar with more and more genres, demographics and plots, to the point of being an expert on the subject and being able to give some recommendations, such as the ones we bring on this occasion for all those who are beginning to approach anime.
The 12 classic anime that every newcomer should watch
This time we bring you a compilation of classic works that you can’t miss, in which we recommend a little bit of everything, including seinen, mecha, drama, action, comedy and even life stories. We’ll start with the big title, Code Geass, a philosophical and sci-fi anime that tells the story of Lelouch Lamperouge, who, under the alias Zero, leads a revolution in the Holy Empire of Britannia. This empire is a superpower that has dominated much of the world, including Japan, where Lelouch currently resides.
An incredible seinen full of drama and fantasy is Angel Beats! which takes place in a high school that functions as a limbo for deceased teenagers. These young people went through intense suffering or trauma in life, and now they must resolve those problems before receiving a second chance at life. The protagonist, Yuzuru Otonashi, wakes up in this world with no memory of his previous life, he along with other students, who aim to confront God because of the suffering they experienced in life, will fight against the school principal.
Another work that also has a lot of action and science fiction from the hand of the mecha is Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, in which the story takes place in a future where the Earth is dominated by the Spiral King, Lord Genome, who forces humanity to live in isolated subway villages. Among these classics we also find an iconic series from the 90s, Cowboy Bepop, which follows the adventures of the crew of the Bepop ship, including Spike, Jet, Fave, Ed and their pet Ein, as we discover the crude background of each of them and see that they have not had an easy life.
To the anime titles full of action and science fiction, 2 more works should be added, Psycho-Pass, a very well known cyberpunk and crime anime that exposes a near future, where it is possible to instantly measure a person’s mental state, personality and the probability that such person is going to commit crimes. And Kill la Kill combines a story of students who wear uniforms that enhance their abilities and are classified according to the amount of live combat fibers, along with social criticism of society and the power of clothing in a world where uniforms grant extraordinary abilities.
Moving into the famous theme of magical girls, we have Puella Magi Madoka, a story that revolves around drama and dark fantasy. High school student Madoka Kaname encounters a strange magical creature that offers her the possibility of obtaining supernatural powers that she will use to transform into magical girls and fight against evil beings. Within this well-known magic genre, we also find Yuuki Yūna wa Yuusha de Aru, where Yuuna Yuuki, a second year high school student, leads an ordinary life while being a member of the “Hero Club” an interesting group that is related to confront a mysterious being called “Vertex”.
On the other hand, we have Anohana, an anime slice of life that tells the story of a group of childhood friends who are separated due to a tragic accident (the death of their friend, Menma) in which they lost their friendship. Jinta, an energetic boy, who decides to reunite his old childhood friends, since that friend they lost returns as a spirit to fulfill a promise she made before she died, this mission will reveal new and old feelings in the characters to get that one wish.
Following in the line of life stories, we also find the works of Shirobako, a series that represents the daily worries and difficulties that can be experienced in different jobs, showing us all the efforts that our 5 protagonists will have to make to overcome them. Also Sora Yorimo Toui Basho falls into this beautiful slice of life recommendation, being about Mari Tamaki, a high school student who dreams of making the best trip of her life, but is very afraid to do it.
Finally, we close this series of recommendations with the anime Plastic Memories, a story that moves to a not too distant future, where there are androids with human appearance that begin to spread throughout the planet earth. The story focuses on Mizukagi Tsukasa, a young man of 18, who has entered to work in the android recovery office, whose job is to recover androids that have already completed their life cycle.
We know that these recommendations may not be the classic ones full of shounen titles, however, they are stories created in different years, which are well worth knowing, and are an excellent option to start getting into the world of anime in a different way than usual. With these anime recommendations you will be able to create a broad enough panorama to be able to determine in the future the genre that most attracts you.
