Getting into anime can feel a little overwhelming when you don’t know where to start. There are thousands of shows out there, and picking the wrong one first can put you off the whole thing.
As someone who has watched anime for years, I’ve put together a list of the best shows to kick off your anime journey. Trust me, once you watch a few of these, you’ll be completely hooked.
1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Honestly, if you only watch one anime in your entire life, make it this one. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood follows two brothers who use alchemy to try to bring their mother back from the dead, with devastating consequences.
The story blends action, humor, and deep moral questions about sacrifice and humanity.
It has a beginning, middle, and satisfying end, which makes it perfect for newcomers who don’t want an endless series. Widely rated as one of the greatest anime of all time, it earns that title every single episode.
2. My Hero Academia
Imagine a world where almost everyone has a superpower, but you were born without one. That’s the starting point for My Hero Academia, and it instantly hooks you with a relatable underdog story.
Izuku Midoriya dreams of becoming a hero despite having no powers, and watching him earn his place is genuinely inspiring.
If you’ve ever loved superhero movies, this show will feel familiar and exciting right away. The colorful cast of characters keeps things fresh and fun throughout every season.
3. Death Note
Few shows grab your attention as fast as Death Note does. A high school student named Light finds a magical notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it, and he decides to use it to create a crime-free world.
What follows is a tense, chess-like battle of wits between Light and a genius detective known only as L.
Many people credit Death Note as the show that turned them into anime fans. The psychological twists will keep you guessing right up to the final episode.
4. Haikyuu!!
Sports anime might sound like a strange concept if you’re new, but Haikyuu!! makes volleyball feel like the most exciting thing in the world. Short, scrappy Hinata joins his high school volleyball team and works his hardest to compete against players who tower over him.
Every match feels like a movie finale.
Even people who couldn’t care less about volleyball end up completely obsessed with this show. The friendships, rivalries, and personal growth make it emotionally rich and endlessly rewatchable.
5. Fruits Basket
Warm, emotional, and surprisingly deep, Fruits Basket is the kind of show that sneaks up on you with its storytelling. Tohru Honda moves in with a mysterious family whose members transform into animals from the Chinese zodiac when hugged by someone of the opposite gender.
What begins as a quirky premise quickly becomes a moving story about trauma, healing, and belonging.
The 2019 remake is especially beautiful and covers the full manga story. Anyone who enjoys heartfelt drama will find a lot to love here.
6. Cowboy Bebop
Cool, jazzy, and unlike anything else in anime, Cowboy Bebop is the show that helped introduce an entire generation of Western viewers to the medium back in the late 1990s. It follows a ragtag crew of bounty hunters drifting through space, each carrying painful secrets from their past.
Most episodes work as standalone stories, so you can enjoy it without worrying about missing context.
The soundtrack alone is legendary. If you want anime that feels like a stylish action film, start here.
7. Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter starts with a cheerful boy named Gon who wants to become a Hunter, an elite class of adventurers, in order to find his absent father. What makes this show stand out is how it constantly reinvents itself across story arcs, shifting from adventure to horror to political thriller without losing its heart.
The bond between Gon and his best friend Killua is one of anime’s most beloved friendships. Beginners often say this one becomes their all-time favorite faster than they expected.
8. One Piece
Yes, One Piece is long. Really long.
But there’s a reason it has been running for over 25 years and still has one of the most passionate fan bases in the world. Luffy wants to become King of the Pirates, and the journey he takes with his crew is packed with wild humor, emotional gut punches, and incredible world-building.
A good tip: start with the East Blue arc and give it at least 30 episodes before deciding. Many viewers who thought it was too long ended up binge-watching hundreds of episodes.
9. Your Name.
Your Name. is a stunning animated film that works as a perfect first step into anime movies. Two teenagers, one living in Tokyo and one in a rural mountain town, mysteriously begin swapping bodies while they sleep.
The story weaves romance, mystery, and fantasy together in a way that feels both magical and deeply human.
Director Makoto Shinkai created visuals so breathtaking that some scenes look more like paintings than animation. At just under two hours, it’s an easy, emotional, and gorgeous watch from start to finish.
10. A Silent Voice
A Silent Voice tackles some heavy themes, including bullying, disability, and redemption, but it handles them with remarkable sensitivity. The story follows Shoya, a boy who bullied a deaf classmate named Shoko in elementary school, as he tries years later to make things right.
It’s an emotional rollercoaster that leaves most viewers reaching for tissues.
This film proves that anime can be just as powerful and artistically serious as any live-action drama. For anyone who appreciates stories about growth and forgiveness, this is an absolute must-see.
11. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Before Your Name. became a global sensation, this 2006 film by director Mamoru Hosoda was the anime movie everyone was talking about. Makoto, a teenage girl, accidentally discovers she can leap backward through time and starts using the ability for totally relatable reasons like avoiding embarrassing moments and acing tests.
Of course, things get complicated quickly. The film balances lighthearted fun with genuinely touching moments about growing up and accepting that not everything can be undone.
It’s a short, charming, and emotionally satisfying watch.
12. Toradora!
Toradora! is the gold standard of romantic comedy anime, and it’s the perfect pick if you’re curious about the genre. Ryuji is a gentle guy who looks scary, and Taiga is a tiny girl with a fierce temper.
The two team up to help each other win over their crushes, but you can probably guess where things actually end up heading.
The chemistry between the two leads feels authentic and earns every emotional moment. By the final episodes, you’ll be completely invested in seeing how their story wraps up.
13. Kuroko’s Basketball
Basketball has never looked this intense or this cool. Kuroko’s Basketball centers on a phantom player named Kuroko, who has almost no presence on the court but uses that invisibility as his greatest weapon.
Paired with the powerhouse Kagami, the two work to take on the legendary Generation of Miracles, a group of prodigies who once played on the same middle school team.
The games are fast-paced and wildly dramatic, which makes the show addictive even if you’ve never watched a basketball game in your life.
14. One-Punch Man
What if a superhero became so powerful that every fight bored him to tears? That’s the hilariously brilliant premise of One-Punch Man.
Saitama can defeat any enemy with a single punch, and his biggest problem is that nothing excites him anymore. The show skewers superhero tropes while also delivering some of the most jaw-dropping fight animation ever put to screen.
Season one in particular is nearly flawless entertainment. Whether you love action or just enjoy clever humor, One-Punch Man delivers on both fronts with style.
15. Pokemon
There’s a good chance you already know what Pokemon is, but the original anime series is worth revisiting or discovering properly. Ash Ketchum sets out from his small town with his reluctant partner Pikachu, aiming to become a Pokemon Master by collecting gym badges and competing in tournaments.
The early episodes have a nostalgic warmth that’s hard to resist.
For younger beginners especially, this is a natural and comfortable starting point. The adventures are episodic, cheerful, and full of creative creature designs that sparked a worldwide phenomenon.
16. Bleach
Bleach hooks you fast with a simple but thrilling setup: a teenager named Ichigo accidentally absorbs the powers of a Soul Reaper and suddenly finds himself fighting monstrous spirits called Hollows to protect his town. The action is flashy and satisfying, the characters are memorable, and the early arcs move at a great pace.
A brand new arc called the Thousand-Year Blood War has recently brought the series back with stunning animation. For fans of action-heavy anime, Bleach is a classic that absolutely belongs on this list.
17. Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan throws you into a world where humanity lives behind enormous walls to survive monstrous giants called Titans. The first episode alone is more intense than most entire series, and the show never really lets up from there.
Eren Yeager’s rage-fueled desire to fight back drives a story that grows increasingly complex and surprising.
Be warned: this series gets very dark and politically layered in its later seasons. But if you can handle the intensity, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most ambitious anime stories ever told.
18. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Few anime in recent years have made as big a splash as Demon Slayer. The story follows Tanjiro, a kind-hearted boy whose family is slaughtered by a demon, leaving only his sister Nezuko, who has been turned into a demon herself.
He trains to become a Demon Slayer to find a cure for her and avenge his family.
The animation quality is frequently jaw-dropping, especially during battle scenes. It’s emotionally grounded, visually spectacular, and one of the smoothest entry points into modern anime available right now.
19. Erased
Clocking in at just 12 episodes, Erased is the perfect anime for anyone who wants a complete, tightly told story without a massive time commitment. Satoru is a struggling manga artist who has the involuntary ability to travel back in time to prevent tragedies.
After his mother is murdered, he’s sent back to childhood and realizes the killer may be connected to a series of kidnappings from his past.
The pacing is excellent, the mystery is gripping, and the emotional core hits harder than you’d expect. A brilliant starter pick.
20. Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden is one of the most visually stunning anime series ever produced, and its emotional storytelling matches its gorgeous look. Violet is a former child soldier learning to live in peacetime, working as a letter writer to help people express what they feel.
Each episode typically follows a new client, and many of those stories will wreck you emotionally in the best way.
The show asks a quiet but powerful question: what does it mean to understand human emotion? For anyone who values beautiful, thoughtful storytelling, this one is unforgettable.