Anime: The Old, the New, and the Best

I don’t watch anime — but I know five people at The Punished Backlog who do. I asked them a bunch of questions about classic anime and new series, dubs versus subtitles, manga, the “Big Three,” video games that capture the anime feeling, and more.

– Amanda Tien, Editor

1) What’s your take on the “Big Three” of anime: One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach? What’s your favorite? Why do they stand the test of time?

Gary Wilson: The era of the Big Three shook anime and manga in the United States forever. Whereas something like Dragon Ball Z became popular for its Americanizations, the Big Three made Shonen Jump a name known outside insular circles. Suddenly Barnes & Noble had monthly prints available, folks were experimenting with new media outside Toonami, and Anime for Anime’s Sake was everywhere. I was always a Bleach guy: I was a little older, so the more teen/street focus of Bleach clicked more for me. What about you guys?

Kei Isobe: Bleach is my favorite too, but I’m not under the illusion (hah) that it’s an incredibly well-written work. I’ve read all of Bleach and Naruto, but strangely never finished One Piece, only making it about ~30 volumes in (that’s less than 30%, for those unaware). I’m also way more of a manga guy than an anime guy — kids these days don’t know how good they have it with shonens that actually have smooth animation. (Bleach, in particular, loses a lot in the transition from the page to the screen, at least until the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, which I’m sure we’ll touch on later.)

Why did these three take off? It’s an interesting question to untangle. I think all three have a unique appeal; as you noted, Gary, Bleach is definitely aimed at an older audience than Naruto, for example. If I had to distill it down to a singular quality for each of the Big Three, to me it’s that Naruto is relatable, Bleach is dope, and One Piece is actually good — but I’m curious to see what you guys see as the overarching perception. (Also, I just want to preface this by saying that I like all three, even if I think Bleach and Naruto are actually “bad” by my personal standards. I’m generally a lot more critical of things I enjoy!)

I also have to point out that I’ve found the Big Three categorization to be intriguing because I believe Yu-Gi-Oh! has a much larger cultural footprint than the Big Three generally, but tends not to be brought up in these discussions. Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece only debuted in Shonen Jump one year apart!

Vaughn Hunt: The Big Three are the Big Three because they changed the face of mainstream anime representation. There were definitely shows already popular in the U.S. thanks to Toonami and pay per view channels like Cinemax and Showtime playing shows and movies from the ’90s.

What made Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece different is that they were still ongoing manga when their anime got popular here. There was still time to see where stories were going, and no one had all the answers.

Naruto was definitely the most popular, Bleach had a mature, cool appeal, and One Piece was (and still is) all about crazy plots involving your friends. Bleach is my favorite, but I love all of them for their unique appeal.

Donovan Harrell: I have different feelings about each series in the Big Three, but my take on them as a whole is that they are the series that paved the way for anime’s ascendancy into the mainstream pop culture.

I was first introduced to Naruto in early middle school and knew immediately that it was something special. I then started watching Bleach in late middle school and early high school. I kept up with both manga series until they finished while I was in college. I think they lasted longer than they should’ve, and I have gripes with the stories and their endings. That ultimately makes it difficult for me to say they stand the test of time. Bleach easily has the best style, vibes and character designs though.

One Piece was the last of the Big Three I got into because I was completely intimidated by how long the series was. But during the pandemic, I challenged myself to read One Piece from chapter 1 to 1,000 and I did. And I don’t regret it. Out of all the Big Three series, this one has certainly aged the best and still offers fresh, engaging content. It’s timeless.

David Silbert: I think y’all described it best: Dragon Ball Z might have started the movement, but Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece are the titans that made anime a permanent cultural staple in the West.

One thing we haven’t touched on is that all four of these shows are known for being super lengthy — essentially the equivalent of a syndicated show like Seinfeld, Law & Order, or Jeopardy. They became appointment television for anyone who hadn’t read the manga, and channels like Toonami became known not just for their original IP, but for anime they licensed from overseas.

Nowadays, most long-running shows (Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, etc.) are broken up into proper seasons, giving each narrative arc more room to breathe. The Big Three, in contrast, was constant action, all the time. Sure, they had plenty of filler episodes, which practically no one liked, but the gravitas of the Big Three’s presence on American televisions cannot be understated.

As for my favorite: It’s gotta be One Piece. Naruto had some beautiful character arcs, and Bleach had some terrific fights, but One Piece was the only show to deliver on both — while also serving up some of the best world-building in any medium, period. It did all this while (in the case of the anime) maintaining solid animation and offering outright breathtaking music. Oh, and did I mention it’s outlived its contemporaries and is still running strong today? Luffy and crew for the win.

If I had to distill it down to a singular quality for each of the Big Three, to me it’s that Naruto is relatable, Bleach is dope, and One Piece is actually good — but I’m curious to see what you guys see as the overarching perception.

Kei

Kei: Despite naming Bleach as my favorite, I agree with all of your points, David. I think there’s also a real social consciousness to One Piece that doesn’t permeate the other two, though they have reasonable philosophical underpinnings as well. (Relevant: the meme below, which I also referenced in our chat about the live action Netflix version of One Piece.)

Naruto has a lot to say about generational trauma and differences. The mentor-mentee(s) relationship is a huge cornerstone of the manga, and it’s been an… interesting experiment to see that throughline continue somewhat to Boruto as well, where we see our former protagonist fall into some similar trappings as the staid adults of his time.

Bleach, on the other hand, is a lot more about philosophies of life in general. Compared to works of media where the protagonists are intended to evolve over time, shonen tends to present itself in a way where the protagonist’s views are largely “correct,” even from the beginning, and they must “win the world over” to see things from their point of view. Luffy and Naruto both embody this way of thinking, for the most part. In contrast, Ichigo is a bit more of a blank slate.

Vaughn: 100% agree on what you’re both saying about One Piece. As an adult, it’s by far my favorite for the consciousness of its characters as they rally against the world and the direction it goes in handling the controversies they face. The fact that injustice is the largest looming theme in the series, and the emphasis on chosen family, feels contemporary to our current political events.

Kei: The way things play out in Bleach is that fights are largely about clashing worldviews. It’s a pretty common pattern for a villain or antagonist (even if they become an ally in the future) to espouse some sort of way of life mid-fight that the protagonists react to with horror or bewilderment; the conclusion of fights often can come down to some sort of acknowledgement from Ichigo or whomever else about the validity of that way of thinking. This isn’t to say that I think Kubo is some deep philosopher, but rather that his style of character design tends to converge toward characters whose beliefs are an almost exaggerated version of a certain philosophy, and Ichigo reconciling that as valid.

My final Bleach soapbox is that Kubo wrote a poem at the beginning of each printed volume of Bleach, and I love them, even if they might just be Rupi-Kaur-for-teenage-nerds. Reading these will probably tell you everything you need to know about Bleach, even if you never read it. It’s impossible to translate poetry from its original language, sadly, but Vizz and various fan sources have tried.

Amanda Tien: Okay, quick aside, but where do the ‘mons come in — the Pokémon and Digimon anime? Obviously both of those have become mega media franchises, Pokémon in particular, but what do you make of them?

Vaughn: Digimon and Pokémon are definitely important parts of the anime market, but they are like Yu-Gi-Oh! where they are ultimately merchandising machines. For context on our favorite duel-master, his source manga is a series of games. The creators of the show were looking for an aspect to monetize and they landed on a card game Yugi plays. Back to the topic, only Digimon Seasons 1 and 3 are worth watching, while Ash’s journey took like 20+ years to conclude and he aged a year. In conclusion, all of these shows are fun but I just wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend them to anyone outside of nostalgia purposes.

2) What’s your own journey with anime? When did you start watching? Do you still watch?

Kei: I started watching Naruto and Bleach in middle school. Despite being Japanese, I didn’t really watch anime growing up (though I have a vague recollection of having some episodes of Doraemon on VHS tape as a toddler). I actually got into watching anime from a student teacher at our middle school who was, I realize now in retrospect, a huge weeb. I was a pretty regular anime watcher up through college, but I dropped off hard after that. These past few years, I’ve probably watched one or two shows a year, mostly shows I watched together with my girlfriend.

Gary: I started younger than Kei, probably around seven or eight. I was a Toonami kid; Gundam Wing came on right as I got home from elementary school, YuYu Hakusho right after dinner, and I’d occasionally grab a late night episode of Inuyasha or Detective Conan. I fell off for a couple years during high school, really only catching older works that folks would recommend me. The thing that brought me back, wildly enough, was Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. That show changed my perspective on a lot of life, and reminded me of the art form I missed. I’ve been sporadically back ever since.

Donovan: I’ve been watching anime my entire life, starting from watching Toonami in the late ’90s. I was particularly enamored with Dragon Ball Z and Gundam. I even dressed as Goku for Halloween one year (no I don’t have any pictures) and anime inspired me to take up martial arts as a hobby that I still actively engage in. It inspired me to learn more about Japanese culture, which led to me studying Japanese in high school and college for a total of about four years and studying abroad for a semester in Akita, Japan. I still watch frequently, keeping an eye out for potential gems every season. My all-time favorite series are Samurai Champloo, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, YuYu Hakusho, Cowboy Bebop, Hajime no Ippo, Fullmetal Alchemist and Golden Boy.

David: I started watching in high school, around the same timeframe as Kei. My very first anime was Death Note (available then, and still now, on Netflix). A relatively short anime at just 37 episodes, Death Note immediately hooked me with its bonkers premise. From there, I went on to binge Naruto via questionable streaming sites before eventually dropping cash on a legit Crunchyroll subscription.

Since then, I haven’t looked back. Every season, I sample shows that look enticing (following the tried-and-true three episode rule) before either dropping or continuing on with a show. Once I finish, I document my thoughts (and personal rating) on MyAnimeList — think Goodreads for anime. It’s become a nice side hobby for when I’m not busy playing or writing about video games.

There are moments when I fall off from the scene, but generally I try to follow along with each new season to find the creme of the crop. (Shout-out to when Kei and I did a fall anime preview for the website.) This year, I’ve been caught up with all the great new game releases, but I can’t wait to catch up on that other big backlog of mine and dig into some anime.

Vaughn: I started watching when I was about three. My dad loved a premium cable package probably because he didn’t have it when he was growing up. I’m pretty sure it was Showtime that used to run all of the Fist of the North Star episodes, so I’d watch those with my brother. The gore was ridiculous, the plot was all half naked men running around a wasteland, and the martial arts were dazzling. I was hooked! I also watched a lot of Shadow Skill (which sadly they never finished and is a DEEP CUT) at this point as well.

By the time the Big Three came out, I was watching those episodes a few weeks after they came out. My brother is older than me, so he was coming back from college with the burnt CDs of anime and I’m eating up whatever he throws at me which was a lot of Naruto and Bleach in the mid 2000s. He never got into One Piece so I didn’t read that until high school.

Of course, I had my Toonami lineup which was Zoids, G Gundam, YuYu Hakusho, and Dragon Ball Z. I used to watch Totally Spies and Codename Kids Next Door before Toonami kicked off too, racing off the bus to get to my shows if I had no homework. I still watch anime today, and try to keep up with the latest since the animation has gotten so good.

Amanda: Quick aside but OMG I LOVED TOTALLY SPIES. This actually brings me to another bonus question…

3) What about femme-centric animes? Sailor Moon was really popular when I was growing up but I only ever saw bits and pieces. The one anime that I’ve really ever seen was Cardcaptor Sakura was when it was shown on Kids’ WB in 2000. I was obsessed with it at the time. I think the only reason my parents let me watch it (they didn’t love us watching cartoons) was because there was an empowered young lady at the center. So where do anime like that fall in the canon? Do y’all watch those?

Kei: What a spicy topic. There are people who have written disserations about gender dynamics in Japan, so I probably won’t be able to do this topic full justice, but I’ll chime in with my thoughts.

Growing up, I didn’t watch Sailor Moon — but I didn’t watch Dragon Ball Z, either, so I was in a similar boat to you, Amanda. (I mostly grew up watching YES Network. I was a weird child.) I think for people of our age, media was more segmented by gender roles and ideas, and it wasn’t until later that I was more open to consuming media from different sectors, so to speak. As far as where they fall in the anime canon, they’re definitely a core pillar: Saying shojo manga or anime aren’t a part of the culture would be like trying to downplay the popularity of shows like The Powerpuff Girls in America.

There has definitely been an increase in the open acceptance of female-centric works in “nerd” spaces. This goes both for women who are interested in female-centric works, but also across the aisle, where men can engage with these works without being stereotyped or what have you. These two things are slightly different, and I can really only speak to the former.

Terms like shonen are shojo can be a bit loaded* and I don’t want to get too embedded into semantic discussions, but these genres, if you can call them that, definitely have notable tendencies. It’s very common, for example, for battle shonen and the like to have a close-to-minimal focus on romantic relationships, with romance often being played off for comedy for most of a show’s run before being tied off neatly at the very end with some minor acknowledgement. In contrast, shojo has a heavy, heavy focus on romance. If you’ve ever found yourself rolling your eyes at the immature way romance tends to be handled in shonen works, go across the aisle and check out some shojo works. Apothecary Diaries, a recent anime hit, is often categorized as a shojo. Yona of the Dawn, Kimi ni Todoke, Chifayafuru, Ancient Magus’ Bride, and Snow White with the Red Hair are all shows I’ve enjoyed. Like shonen, there’s a wide variety too: comedies like Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, as well as “deconstructive” shows like Revolutionary Girl Utena or Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Kentaro Miura, the author of Berserk, has even said that Berserk is very much like a shojo manga, so definitely consider broadening your horizons and letting go of any preconceived notions you might have! There’s great shows to watch everywhere.

*Loaded insofar as terms are shojo, seinen, shonen, etc. are technically “demographics” and not strictly genres. It’s just easier to refer to them that way; you do see people sometimes subcategorizing using labels like “battle shonen” or so on and so forth. Don’t crucify me, it’s just not a topic I think we have the bandwidth to get into.

Amanda Damn, that is such a generous and thorough answer to what was a quick aside. I really appreciate that.

David: Kei said it best. I don’t have much to add except to say… I don’t think anime has been particularly kind or welcoming to female characters or viewers, but I prefer Kei’s much more positive take. Even when I think of “pro-femme” shows like Violet Evergarden, the framing never quite escapes the Bechdel Test or something adjacent. Sailor Moon is so important because ladies are the main characters, and the only characters (if you don’t count Tuxedo Man).

Kei: I have more I can say on all this but decided not to because, again, it’s a really complex conversation and I know we’ve got more to talk about. For what it’s worth, I think manga has been a lot kinder to women, insofar as shojo manga has had much better inroads relatively speaking, they just weren’t getting animated quite as often. Shows like Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon still broke containment every so often.

Vaughn: I would say manga are kinder in this topic overall as many more of them are female centric, but not necessarily produced into anime. Kei summarized it best with his explanation of anime genres. That being said, there have been female centric anime that have been successful, in particular anything by CLAMP. With that in mind, the endings of their shows have had controversial endings to the point that I personally don’t recommend their stuff because they are that unsatisfying or upsetting.

Amanda: What are some examples, then, of good femme-centric anime you’d recommend?

Kei: Fruits Basket is good.

Vaughn: I’ll talk more about Noir in a minute, but I need to revisit it to give it a proper write-up. In the meantime, I can say Claymore is probably the closest I’ve gotten. The anime adaptation is a mess, but the manga is a thing of beauty. Without spoiling anything, ultimately you can view the work as a commentary on the themes of being a “monster-slayer” or even a “witch.” The manga does a interesting job of playing with the themes of fate and inverting the typical heroine’s journey, as the main character is the “weakest” character within a secret organization of monster hunters. Their journey is both gut-wrenching and a thing of wonder by the time you reach the end. I have a whole article about why it deserves a remake, but I’ll save that for another time.

Gary: You’ve also got something like Ouran High School Host Club, which feels like it’s supposed to be directed at a feminine audience but never really sticks a lane. It’s definitely kind to women in that the main character is the only competent one around, but there’s also a ton of fawning rich girls who only know how to be rich or cruel.

Kei: It’s impossible to ignore that shonen as a whole has never been especially friendly toward women, and the Big Three did contribute to that. All three have their share of well-written women, but they are a much smaller share of the cast in general; the lack of agency shown by characters like Orihime or Sakura in large chunks of Bleach and Naruto respectively has been discussed ad nauseam. I do think this is changing for the better these days; works like Haikyuu!!, for example, have a notably high female audience despite being a Shonen Jump property. Shojo simply wasn’t adapted to the silver screen at as high a rate, though I would say we are closer to approaching parity in that regard.

Amanda: I appreciate y’all! This is so interesting. Okay, back to our regular anime dialogue because we have SO MANY more questions and answers.

4) What’s some of the best new anime you’ve seen? And when I say new, I suppose anything that’s started in the last five years.

Kei: Is it a faux pas to say that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is the best anime I’ve seen in the last five years? It is a Trigger production. Other than that, I enjoyed Violet Evergarden a lot more than I thought I would, though I know there are certain elements of that show that draw controversy.

Vaughn: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End stands out the most to me. I think as an adult, having a show that’s not just peak shonen with real reflection is a rarity. There’s a weight to this show few anime really grapple with and I’m a sucker for anything whimsical that slowly unravels into a deeper plot movement. Dan Da Dan is also excellent and I think Kaiju No. 8 is another great one (the manga recently wrapped too).

Donovan: Agree with both of you. In the past five years, I think the anime that has stood out to me the most among an endless avalanche of garbage issekai has been Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. It’s truly something special that examines family, what it means to love, and how love endures the rest of time. And it does this through the eyes of an elf who beat the big bad demon king with her party, but still has to continue living due to her insane lifespan. I can’t forget Cyberpunk: Edgerunners either. It’s so incredibly heartbreaking but in an amazing way that sticks with you for years, even if you never watch it again.

Kei: I actually put more thought into answering this prompt. I’ll list some more shows I’ve watched: Delicious in Dungeon, Dan Da Dan, and Vinland Saga (cheating because I read these as manga, though).

David: Pulls up MyAnimeList profile… The past few years have been relatively slow-going for me on the anime front. That isn’t to say I’ve watched nothing; I just haven’t gotten to watching many of the shows others have already mentioned. (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and The Apothecary Diaries are all on my to-do list.)

Here’s what I have watched recently that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed:

• Odd Taxi — A terrific neo-noir thriller about an anthropomorphic cab driver who shuttles people around a city amid a string of serial killings.,
• Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War — An obvious pick, given the love we’ve all shown toward the Big Three. After a decade-long hiatus, Bleach is finally back with an anime dedicated to its final arc. It’s bloody, it’s gorgeous, it’s bat-shit crazy, and I love it.,
• Vinland Saga: Season 2 — Vinland Saga started airing in 2019, but its second season hit in 2023… and wow, if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out. The story of a stone-cold killer turned pacifist, Vinland Saga is a story you’ll want to watch with as minimal spoilers as possible. I’ll just leave it there!,
• Jujutsu Kaisen — Probably the most popular net-new anime of the 2020s, Jujutsu Kaisen has it all: Great fights, interesting characters, gorgeous animation, and unpredictable twists. It’s not for the faint of heart, but JJK is one of the best battle shonens out there.,
• Attack on Titan: The Final Season — It’s ridiculous to think that Attack on Titan started in 2014 (when I was a freshman in college) and wrapped in 2023 (with me saving up so I can get married and buy a house). That’s how long this thing has been dragged out! Thankfully, the final season was worth the wait, with a series of glorious fights that had me amped up from one episode to the next. It’s a predictable choice, but a correct one.

Vaughn: Okay, I’m going to add to my answer. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is absolute cinema. It not only expands the manga but provides new material adding context and details previously unexplored. The soundtrack and animation are magnificent. Calling back to Kei’s point about Kubo’s poems, each episode ends with a poem as a preview to the next episode. Couple this with the general focus on strong animation for Kubo’s already distinct art style, and Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is one of the most distinct animated shows we’ve seen in a long time. It feels like we’re getting an OVA instead of a continuation of a series with all the new details. Last thought: Bleach has always had strong opening and ending animations and they continue this trend into the new series, even modifying the ending credits based on the story events.

JJK has always given me Tenjou Tenge vibes — a whacky, twisted world with insane sorcery and martial arts. It’s one hell of a roller coaster as an anime and always leaves you with more questions than answers.

Demon Slayer is very much a normal shonen experience and that’s okay. However, the Entertainment District Arc has one of the greatest animated fights I’ve watched, so for that alone I can recommend it.

Kei: I like Demon Slayer mainly for the aesthetics as well. The writing and pacing can be problems, but Ufotable did some really interesting stuff with the visuals. It’s a good low-stakes watch.

Donovan: Adding on a movie: Look Back (2024) is the best anime movie I’ve seen in the past five years and makes my top five overall. Incredible animation, a heartwarming coming of age story with a devastating emotional ending. I’m not kidding when I say I was weeping by the time I finished it. It’s one of those movies that truly demonstrates the love and pain that goes into producing anime and art in general.

Gary: Tripling quadrupling down on Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. It has gorgeous animation, a killer soundtrack, and is absolutely buck wild. Also, the fights are amazing. Also, because we’ve mentioned it but haven’t dove into it: Dan Da Dan is the perfect show. It’s goofy and full of heart, with some kickass characters and amazing story beats.

Vaughn: Doubling down on Dan Da Dan; I think its a great representation of whimsical situations turned into emotionally driven character development. It reminds me a lot of the Princess Resurrection manga which got a bad anime adaptation as I understand it (clearly I never watched it), but I adore the manga.

5) What’re some anime hidden gems?

Kei: Most of my favorite anime are somewhat obscure. My personal picks are Ping Pong: The Animation, Ergo Proxy, Casshern Sins, and Mawaru Penguindrum. There are also some comedies that I feel really flew under the radar, but that might just be my Japanese sense of humor speaking; I do think that anime’s physical slapstick doesn’t always resonate with other cultures. (I’m thinking of shows like Nichijou, Arakawa Under the Bridge, or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.)

Vaughn: I would say I have pretty mainstream taste. I feel like I have way more manga hidden gems, but I’ll stick strictly to anime:

• I mentioned Shadow Skill earlier which is a ’90s deep cut I usually gate keep because it’s close to my heart. It’s similar to a lot of ’90s anime with some tropes of calling out moves, but the soundtrack is incredible and the plot themes are Shakespearean in nature.
• Darker Than Black is another one I don’t see listed often, but was very popular on release. It’s a refreshing take on people getting powers as there’s a cost for each use, which is fascinating.
• I love a slow burn and this one kicked off the “girls with guns” craze: Noir. A pair of assassins fighting a conspiracy and traveling globally with a French-scored backdrop is just chef’s kiss.
• One I’m currently watching is the light novel adaptation of Full Metal Panic. It does a good job combining Gundam-style teenage tropes with school life while keeping things fresh. It’s also surprisingly funny as much as it is serious.
• Kei already mentioned Ergo Proxy, which is a good sci-fi slow burn.
• I love the old school anime movies so I’ll go with Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still. This isn’t a hidden gem as much as something you just don’t hear about anymore as it was very well received. With that said, there’s a plethora of anime movies from the ’80s and ’90s which are really good, but you hardly hear of them.
• Lastly, anything Yoshitaka Amano has worked on is probably worth watching.

Donovan: There are so many anime released constantly that many solid series can get lost in the shuffle. Off the top of my head, I’d recommend visiting the worlds of Shangri-La Frontier, Log Horizon, Tsukimichi Moonlight Fantasy, Bungo Stray Dogs, Odd Taxi, and Space Dandy. I’d also recommend other heavy hitters like Gachiatuka, Fire Force, My Hero Academia, Dan Da Dan, and Apothecary Diaries to start.

David: Hell yes, Donovan! Love the Odd Taxi nod.

Gary: Log Horizon is incredible, even if the dub is so-so. For some more under the radar works, check out SK8 the Infinity, a very fun skateboarding show that is more queer than it lets on.

Kei: I want to add on to the “girls with guns” subgenre talk and shout out Canaan, which is another show that I feel is under-discussed — admittedly, not criminally so, but it’s a fun show.

David: I’ll add two all-time favorites of mine to the mix: Mushishi and Kino’s Journey —the Beautiful World— (specifically the 2003 anime, not the more recent remake). Both of these shows follow a similar structure: A wandering traveler makes his way from one civilization to the next, observing his surroundings and befriending people while helping to solve some critical need. In Mushishi, main character Ginko is an expert in supernatural beings known as “Mushi,” whereas in Kino’s Journey, the titular Kino is a journeyman looking to enjoy new (and often bizarre) cultures and customs.

Both are early 2000s anime that still hold up today. They preach compassion, and empathy, and genuine curiosity. Especially now, in a world beseiged by ignorance and bigotry, we could learn a bit from Ginko’s and Kino’s ways.

6) What anime do you recommend for someone who’s new to the genre?

Donovan: Start with Cowboy Bebop without a doubt. From there, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. And if they’re still interested, make them watch Death Note. I think those are the most beginner-friendly anime that capture the range and potential of anime as an artistic and storytelling medium.

Gary: Seconded both those options from Donovan, though I recommend the opposite order and not Death Note. I’d also recommend starting folks off with shorter series in general. While things like One Piece has its moments, the sheer size can be daunting to an incoming watcher. For those shorter bursts, I’d recommend Death Parade. It’s more grounded and focused, with a very compelling story from the jump.

Vaughn: I feel like Cowboy Bebop is a little slow for the average viewer. Samurai Champloo might be a better paced first watch, and it has the same director, Shinichirō Watanabe. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is always my first recommendation. I’m going to spoil a first timer and recommend YuYu Hakusho as well. It’s genuinely one of the best and can be nicely divided into its four parts if you wish to stop at any time. As a story, I think it includes a lot of the tropes anime, but also addresses a lot of them in a mature and innovative way while defining what most people love about ’90s anime specifically.

Kei: Most of my personal favorites are shows I would recommend to people who are new to the genre. Anime has a unique nature in that a lot of series are actually about other anime, trope-wise. Many comedies are satirical or parodical in nature, and tons of jokes and bits are basically about poking fun at the ingrained nature of these tropes. Then again, recommending that someone get into anime by telling them to watch the English dub of Ergo Proxy is like… Well, it’s very dissimilar to most anime out there, so it’s not exactly a good launching point, either, but at least it’s not an embarrassing one.

David: I think the easiest place to start is with a movie, actually. Try watching a Studio Ghibli flick (it’s hard to go wrong with any, but Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and My Neighbor Totoro are all terrific). If you enjoyed your time, then it’s time to go bigger.

Move on to a 13- or 26-episode series. I agree with Vaughn’s assessment: Cowboy Bebop is considered by many to be a great starter, but I think Samurai Champloo is a better fit for non-anime watchers. I also whole-heartedly recommend Death Note (sorry, Gary — it was my first!).

For longer series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the obvious choice, as is Hunter x Hunter (2011). If you want shows that are a bit more current, I’d go with Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, or My Hero Academia.

7) When applicable, Japanese subtitles or English dub?

Gary: I have a very mild case of ADHD and tend to listen more than see, so I’ve always been a dub guy. As such, I’ve been turned off some things by not great performances. These days, I’m actually a dub guy with subtitles on too; getting old stinks.

Donovan: I’m definitely team dub for the most part. Unless it’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure — sub every time.

Vaughn: Subs. Dubs are okay for anime pre-2005 is my rule, save for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009) which has a phenomenal dub. I’m echoing Gary on the performances part, but a lot of dubs are pretty good these days. I think I just enjoy the tonality of Japanese at this point, and I got used to new anime not being dubbed immediately (which is not the case anymore).

David: Subs as well. There are exceptions to the rule — Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has a great dub, as Vaughn mentioned, as do Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo — but generally speaking, I like the Japanese delivery of most shows over American or English ones.

Dubs are great for those just getting started, however! There’s a reason we all keyed in on FMAB, Bebop, Champloo, and others. There will always be an opportunity to convert you to team subs later… cackles maniacally.

8) Do you read manga as well? If so, which ones do you like?

Donovan: I do! I more or less consume the same amount of both. I typically will start reading manga when an anime season ends and I just have to continue the story. But I keep up with Chainsaw Man, One Piece, Kagurabachi, and, until it finished recently, Kaiju No. 8. And, of course, I can’t forget the unforgiving heartbreak that is Berserk. I just want that series to finish so badly. It’s so good.

Gary: These days, I’m much more of a casual watcher than a reader. The two exceptions were Jujutsu Kaisen because I had to know where it was going, and the ongoing Daemons of the Shadow Realm. Daemons is the new series from Hiromu Arakawa, creator of Fullmetal Alchemist. It rocks.

Vaughn: I’m going to copy Donovan minus Chainsaw Man, which I should get back to. I’ve been rotating between One Piece, Kagurabachi, and Kaiju No. 8, but it just finished. I promise myself I’ll finish Death Note one of these days.

Kei: I actually read much more than I watch, and I generally prefer manga to anime, at least until the animation quality reaches a certain threshold. (Suffice to say, 2000s era Studio Pierrot did not meet that standard.)

David: I’m not much of a manga reader (I just prefer the audiovisual experience offered with an animated show). That said, I do like to keep up with the One Piece manga, if only to get a preview of what’s to come once Toei turns that source material into magic.

If there’s one manga I’d recommend, it’s Liar Game. Centered around a high-risk, high-reward elimination game (much in the vein of Squid Game), Liar Game stands out in two key ways. One: People who lose don’t die, but rather accrue a debt that in many ways is even worse. Two: The protagonist is way too smart to ever suffer such a devastating loss. If you enjoyed Death Note, or Code Geass, or any show that involves cunning, deceit, and an overpowered main protagonist, Liar Game is for you. (An anime never released, but a live action is available if you want to experience it in a non-manga format.)

9) What video game most captures that anime itch for you?

Donovan: I’d pick any of the Tales games, especially Tales of Bersaria. Other than that, any version of Persona 3 through 5.

Gary: BOY DO I HAVE A SERIES FOR YOU.

Vaughn: Persona for sure. I’m sure I would feel that way about Star Ocean: Until The End of Time with a replay as well, since it is very much Isekai.

David: I also wrote about video games for our anime and manga fans out there.

Amanda: I’ll admit that this question is 100% inspired by that piece of yours, David, hahaha.

David: To give you the Sparknotes version of my list, there are plenty of video game that were clearly inspired by the anime greats. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an obvious nod to Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, while Dragon Quest shares its visual style with Dragon Ball (RIP to the late, great Akira Toriyama). For more obscure choices… well, you’ll just have to read the full article!

So Many Anime To Try!

Sounds like I have somewhere between one and 100 anime to try. What anime recs and takes do you agree with? Or disagree? Let us know in the comments!