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KimiNewt · Jul 5, 2014

Hello GAF, for some time now I've been trying to get my girlfriend to try watching some animation show and she has resisted it. Recently she relented and I've been trying to think of the best show to show her that won't turn her off forever, as this might be my last chance.

She doesn't like action, and doesn't want to watch it in Japanese so it's better if it's dubbed. Her favorite show is Dexter (at least until the end), and she really likes comedy or drama.

I thought about either Death Note which might be similar to Dexter and has a dub.
I also thought about Avatar (I know, not an anime) simply because it's just so gkod- but it may be problematic because of the action and it's a bit childish at times.

drgambit · Jul 5, 2014

Honey and Clover

MikeTheSponge · Jul 5, 2014

Will slice of life stuff get to her?

Azumanga Daioh is a good beginner anime, imo.

Osaka · Jul 5, 2014

Try not forcing anime on her

SwiftDeath · Jul 5, 2014

I think Avatar might be a good transition into an actual anime series. I'm sure she's probably watched western cartoons at some point in her life anyways

Good Job Bob · Jul 5, 2014

Show her a Miyazaki film.

aygomyownroad · Jul 5, 2014

Kill la kill would work.

But seriously Attack on Titan is a great anime great story and fantastic pacing

Valkerionseven · Jul 5, 2014

Best shows for non anime people are shows that are not full blown ANIME!!!!!! every second. Pick shows that have smarter plot lines and characters. No "I love you brother" plot twists/main story concepts like Sword Art. Nothing overly violent unless they are into it like Hellsing/Attack on Titan.

Go for stuff that is straight up good television/movies, super creepy anime fans can even discern between the two by now hopefully.

Gorillaz · Jul 5, 2014

Trying to get her into anime but not the action specific ones? death note might work but I guess ir would vary on her limit of "suspension of disbelief"

Idk OP might just not be for her :Yeshrug:

Edit: dont show her kill la kill, that shit will backfire, Avatar would be a more easy going show for her I guess

Edit 2: spirited away would another good choice probably a better one

Flandy · Jul 5, 2014

SwiftDeath said:
I think Avatar might be a good transition into an actual anime series. I'm sure she's probably watched western cartoons at some point in her life anyways

Yeah I came to say Avatar The Last Airbender as well.. Not exactly Anime but it's close enough. It's on Netflix and on Amazon Prime Instant Video as well

one_kill · Jul 5, 2014

Summer Wars

My wife enjoyed it despite not liking anime in general. It's got a great English dub too.

Tesseract · Jul 5, 2014

gits sac

Finaika · Jul 5, 2014

Love Hina

yami4ct · Jul 5, 2014

Going with a movie or short series might be a better start. I would start with either something from Miyazaki or Hosoda. I can't imagine anyone disliking Kiki, Totoro, or Spirited Away. If you want something a bit more adult focused, Wolf Children and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time are a couple of my favorite movies ever.

Femmeworth · Jul 5, 2014

Some more information would help narrow things down.

nilbog21 · Jul 5, 2014

Osaka said:
Try not forcing anime on her

lol this

if she has taste in film, she should enjoy princess mononoke (which great english dubbing btw)

Horse Detective · Jul 5, 2014

aygomyownroad said:
Kill la kill would work.

But seriously Attack on Titan is a great anime great story and fantastic pacing

^

Something like Oreimo would be far too action packed.

corduroyCUCK · Jul 5, 2014

Good Job Bob said:
Show her a Miyazaki film.

right here. this. do this. Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle for starters.

also i have to speak against Kill La Kill or Attack on Titan, to show a person who doesn't like anime either of those to start is just a bad idea.

my route would probably be start with Ghibli flicks, then to move onto shows, Cowboy Bebop, it's the anime for people who don't watch anime, plus bitches love Ein.

ultraspank · Jul 5, 2014

Start with Ghibli.
Don't shonen.

nilbog21 · Jul 5, 2014

corduroyCHUCK said:
done. right here. this. do this. Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle for starters.

ya definitely show her these if u want her to fall asleep so sneak off to play xbox

Tablo · Jul 5, 2014

Cowboy Bebop

zeromcd73 · Jul 5, 2014

Shingeki no Kyojin and Free! are two titles that are very popular with girls.

HORRORSHØW · Jul 5, 2014

my gf likes the vampire hunter D movie and most of studio ghibli's work. try there.

YesNOnoNOYes · Jul 5, 2014

akira

for anime movie

... or if for anime series...... uh ... idonno if she doesnt want too much action stuff, ... maybe sports anime title like hikaru no go??? it has drama and interesting characters...

though dexter is kind of hard to go by. cuz it kinda sucks after the first season.

also lol you guys at "dont show her kill la kill" as if somehow theres an unspoken understanding that KLK would not work on most girls

(i dont disagreeeee)

obin_gam · Jul 5, 2014

Urotsukidōji

Grizzlyjin · Jul 5, 2014

I think you pretty much have it figured out. Death Note is going to be your best bet based off the fact that she enjoys Dexter. There are some common thread there. Both are about sociopaths who kill criminals.

YesNOnoNOYes · Jul 5, 2014

obin_gam said:
Urotsukidōji

HAHAHAHAHAHAH

Femmeworth · Jul 5, 2014

What does she like about Dexter?

Thinking about it, I see why you instantly chose Death Note. But I don't know if that would necessarily be a good choice.

Staccat0 · Jul 5, 2014

Osaka said:
Try not forcing anime on her

Yeah, I mean, I can't think of a reason to try to get another person into anime...

That said, I think another poster was right. Avatar is on Netlfix, it has western sensibilities and gets legit good eventually. That and Miyazaki movies should be a pretty solid starting point if you are dead set on it.

Mortemis · Jul 5, 2014

He said she doesn't like action, not sure why people are recommending KLK of all things.

Seriously, just show her a Ghibli film. I know people who wouldn't touch anime with a ten foot pole but would drop everything to watch Spirited Away. Princess Momonoke is my favorite, but you really can't go wrong with any of them.

GaimeGuy · Jul 5, 2014

Ghibli.

Chariot · Jul 5, 2014

I have to agree with the most serious posters.
First, don't force it upon her, she will only resist while watching.
Second, a movie is better, since it's shorter and looks better.
Third, ghibili is the way to go.

Fritz · Jul 5, 2014

I'd start with a non-fantasy Ghibli flick. From Up On Poppy Hill or summin

Trent Strong · Jul 5, 2014

Osaka said:
Try not forcing anime on her

Pretty much. I mean, there's some good anime, but it is the worst medium overall. No reason to shove it on her.

ZoddGutts · Jul 5, 2014

Wolf Children could be her thing too.

Jex · Jul 5, 2014

Not as many troll recommendations as I had expected. Well done.

SephiZack · Jul 5, 2014

Steins;Gate isn't action and I liked it a lot.

victreeb3l · Jul 5, 2014

Ghibli movies might be a good start. Howls Moving Castle or Spirited Away might be nice.

If all else fails, La Blue Girl

TUSR · Jul 5, 2014

just watch haruhi

Prophet Steve · Jul 5, 2014

Good Job Bob said:
Show her a Miyazaki film.

This sounds about the best recommendation for me, although I don't have a lot of experience with non-action anime out there, and I am sure there is plenty of good stuff there.

Spirited Away would be pretty nice, but on the other side an appreciation for imaginary and animation is mostly what the movies thrive on. I don't know if she would enjoy it.

aygomyownroad said:
Kill la kill would work.

But seriously Attack on Titan is a great anime great story and fantastic pacing

This sounds about the worst recommendation for me. You should be pretty used to animé tropes to enjoy Kill la Kill and besides that it is a pretty bad example of an anime without action. And it is extremely hit or miss with people.

And Attack on Titan is also an action show. But at least people who don't watch anime seem to mostly enjoy it.

I don't enjoy either shows though.

nilbog21 said:
ya definitely show her these if u want her to fall asleep so sneak off to play xbox

wut.

kingkitty · Jul 5, 2014

Perfect Blue is a good movie.

Death Metalist · Jul 5, 2014

Death note, especially since its short (37 episodes, try watching it subbed but you're GF probably wouldn't want that lol) compared to other animes, Fullmetal Alchemist is another one although it isn't short(Original is 51 episodes, FMA: Brotherhood which is a remake of sorts is 64 episodes), NANA, Rideback.etc just to name a few. As for movies well here is my recommendations:

Spirited Away, My neighbor totoro, Whisper of the heart, Howl's moving castle, Ponyo, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Perfect Blue, The Cat Returns.

NotMyUsername · Jul 5, 2014

I think Beck (Mongolian Chop Squad) is a good safe show. In no way is it super wacky or rely on being comfortable with anime-esque things from what I recall. No bloody noses or other emotional signs that might be lost.

I've shown it to several people and they all really enjoyed it. Good characters and story.

corduroyCUCK · Jul 5, 2014

nilbog21 said:
ya definitely show her these if u want her to fall asleep so sneak off to play xbox

my ex showed me Howl's Moving Castle, man. she wasn't even into anime and it was one of her favorite movies.

TUSR · Jul 5, 2014

if you show her kill la kill shes going to break up with you

andrewjackson1828 · Jul 5, 2014

corduroyCHUCK said:
right here. this. do this. Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle for starters.

also i have to speak against Kill La Kill or Attack on Titan, to show a person who doesn't like anime either of those to start is just a bad idea.

my route would probably be start with Ghibli flicks, then to move onto shows, Cowboy Bebop, it's the anime for people who don't watch anime, plus bitches love Ein.

+1 Ghibili then top rated shows like Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist or Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

My instructor in college tried to get his wife into anime, his first choice:

Ninja Scroll

. He never watched it before and she'll never watch anime again lol.

Gintamen · Jul 5, 2014

Someone who hasn't seen much anime before should not watch Kill la Kill!

Chose one of the many sweet slice of life series or something josei Stuff. Nodame Contabile for example is hilarious, entertaining and more for women. Dennou Coil If she can take some more action/fantasy elements, has a lovely female cast on top of that. Ghibli has been named enough times already.

Jenenser · Jul 5, 2014

maby start with some movies.
(series might be hard to follow for her as most are shounen and actionbased)

my recommendation:
spirited away
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

my neighbour totoro
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096283/

and the sadest movie in te world
grave of the fireflys (most people can only watch it once)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Ventara · Jul 5, 2014

For what it's worth, my sisters loved Death Note, and they're the type that goes "eww, lol anime." Though they did think it wasn't as good after episode 25 onwards.

So I'd go with Death Note.

Finaika · Jul 5, 2014

Trent Strong said:
Pretty much. I mean, there's some good anime, but it is the worst medium overall. No reason to shove it on her.

wat

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