It’s quarantine week five, you’ve already binged Tiger King and re-watched your favorite episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. You’re not sure if you can handle another Criminal Minds re-watch. There’s a lot of ads on Netflix for anime, but maybe you’ve never really dipped your toes in those waters before. Well, rest assured I’ve got you covered for your first adventure into Japanese animation.
Anime is actually older than you may think. According to Anime: A History by Jonathan Clements, Japanese animation dates back to the late 1800s and early 1900s with short hand-drawn productions. In 1963, Astroboy leapt off the pages of his manga to become a world-wide cartoon phenomenon. The 1970s-80s saw a massive boom of animation all over the world, including the first animated classic from Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984. Today, titles such as Naruto, Bleach, One Piece and Ouran High School Host Club are staples in popular culture. But the wealth of shows available to watch might make your head spin a little, which is why I prepared this list.
- Hi-Score Girl
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This anime is a perfect place to start your watching. It follows two kids who love arcade gaming in the 1980s, when arcade gaming and home game consoles were just beginning to take off. Along with being a really cute little friendship story, you also get a lesson about the history of gaming. The main character Haruo is basically a brat, but he knows when to get himself together to be there for his best friend Akira. They start out as rivals in the beginning of the series and slowly learn that they’re best friends that share a true love of gaming – maybe even more than that as they go through high school. The show’s playful atmosphere makes it hard to stop watching, even when the video game addiction is a little cringey.
- Little Witch Academia
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Did you love Kiki’s Delivery Service as a kid? What about Matilda? Did you fantasize about going to Hogwarts in your early to late teens? Then this anime is a good one for you. Akko, the lovable klutz, goes to Luna Nova Magical Academy in order to study hard and become like her favorite famous witch someday. Only it’s not that easy for her – magic is going by the wayside and society is moving on. Luna Nova might even have to close! But Akko finds a powerful relic that could decide the fate of witches all over the world. This anime is so cute you almost want to squeeze it in a big hug.
- K-On!
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Moving on to something more modern, this anime is about high school girls reviving an old light music club so that it won’t be disbanded. Only problem is, they’re not the greatest musicians – the main character Yui doesn’t even know how to play an instrument at first! But through friendship and hard work, the girls prove that the club deserves its spot in their school and manage to carry it on through to their university careers. This anime is funny, charming, and more “Slice of life” than some of the others mentioned here. Fun fact: this anime even played on Japan’s Disney Channel!
- Seven Deadly Sins
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Looking for something a little more action-packed? Even though shonen/shounen anime and manga is marketed towards teen boys, there are plenty of titles in this style that can be enjoyed by all. Shonen titles have more action/fighting and less romance, but have wonderful characters and plot arcs. But one of the downsides can be the length of the series in this genre. One Piece is a manga published in 1999 that is still coming out, making it 67 books and over 830 episodes by now. But to bridge the gap between short cutesy anime and more action packed epics, we’ve chosen Seven Deadly Sins. The leader of a gang of former outcast fighters is a cute little guy called Meliodas, who runs a tavern perched on top of a giant snuggly pig. His best friend is a melodramatic tiny pig, and the love of his life is a runaway princess. What could go wrong? This series features comedy, romance, fighting, magic, and a lot of cute pig moments.
- Girls Und Panzer
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Imagine if tank battles were considered a sport at your school? Yes, tanks. It’s the future, boarding schools have been moved onto giant self-sustaining academy ships, and they can evacuate the ship’s city to have adorable high school girls destroy it with their tanks. Not only that, but tankery is basically the most prestigious sport in the world. Teams from all over the world compete for high honors and rich families maintain schools of tankery style to churn out champions for future battles. When the protagonist Miho moves away from her family to go to an academy ship and get away from the family expectations, she never dreamed she would be thrown right back into the world of tankery she was trying to escape. But the girls from all of the school’s clubs have to band together and win their battles or see their school closed. This anime is probably the most adorable thing I’ve ever watched, but talk about girl power!
Whether you’re surfing Netflix for something new, or have a passing curiosity in anime, these 5 titles will help get you started. From here, the anime queue of Netflix is your oyster. Quarantine won’t last forever, but you can get a few shows under your belt before the end of it. Who knows, you might find yourself starting One Piece or Naruto after you’ve finished Girls Und Panzer!