Non Anime watcher friendly Anime's

[Mandrake]

Now here's a list of what I was able to show some others without them going for an automated cringe response

Fate Stay Night (the holy grail and mythological characters certainly helped)
Guardian of the Sacred Spirit
Last Exile
Twelve Kingdoms
Howls Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Oh and Claymore, untill the arc in the north.

I tried Ghost in the Shell SAC but for that kind of atmosphere they'd rather have live action characters for it.

Any other suggestions?

[TinyRedLeaf]

I noticed a few movies in your list, so perhaps these seinen/adult-targeted films may also work?

1) Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Fantasy)

In a post-apocalyptic future, large parts of the world have been swallowed up by forests of poisonous fungi. The remaining humans live near the fungus and its monstrous insectoid inhabitants, trying to prevent its spread. One of the human kingdoms, the peaceful Valley of Wind, loves its gentle Princess Nausicaa, but the peace is about to be broken, as they are swallowed up in the machinations of their larger, warmongering neighbours. However, Nausicaa has hidden potential, and may yet change the fate of the world.

The spiritual predecessor to Princess Mononoke, the animated epic that launched the fortunes of Studio Ghibli and its chief animator, Hayao Miyazaki.


2) Millenium Actress (Drama)

After nearly 30 years of living in strict seclusion, the aged film star Chiyoko Fujiwara grants an interview to journalist Genya Tachibana. As their conversation begins, Kan intercuts scenes from Chiyoko's films with her memories of pursuing the mysterious artist she met as a young girl. Accompanied by his blase cameraman, Tachibana finds himself within Chiyoko's memories and films, alternately observing and aiding the woman he adores.

It's the best of Satoshi Kon's animated films, in my opinion. He makes brilliant use of the medium to meld fantasy with reality, to evoke the jumbled memories of Chiyoko as she chases her mystery man through time and space. It's a movie pitched at adult audiences, much warmer and more approachable than Kon's first effort, the psychological thriller Perfect Blue.


3) 5 Centimeters Per Second (Romance)

A chain of short stories about the distance between Tono Takaki and Shinohara Akari, two children who tried to maintain their relationship after their families moved to different parts of Japan. The years pass and the rift between them grows ever larger, but Takaki continues to cherish his memories of Akari.

Anyone who has experienced the pain of long-distance relationships will empathise deeply with Takaki and Akari's feelings.


4) Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal (Historical fantasy; action)

Nineteenth century Japan is a land torn by rebellion and civil warfare. Small bands of soldiers roam the land, seeking to overthrow the tyrannical Tokugawa Shogunate. Enter the young orphan Kenshin, trained as a fighter by the master swordsman Hiko. His desire for peace is at odds with his brutal life, and the tension seems unreconcilable until he meets a mysterious woman named Tomoe. The enigmatic Tomoe's actions may show Kenshin that another life can exist for him, or may instead conceal a destructive secret.

The OAV prequel to the Rurouni Kenshin series is, surprisingly enough, far superior to its original source. Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi stripped away the comic-book action of the series, and replaced it with a heartrending portrayal of a conflicted hero who tries to maintain his humanity while meting out inhuman social justice. It's not for no reason that this movie has stayed at the top of Anime News Network's ratings till today. The prologue alone is enough to reduce many to tears.

[ganbaru]

Paprika fron Satoshi Kon, maybe Black Lagoon ( they might prefer a live action equivalent)

[Shadow Kira01]

How about these few...?

Bartender
Chocolate Underground
Death Note
Moonlight Mile
Shigofumi
The Sky Crawlers
Yomigaeru Sora ~Rescue Wings~

[Niji]

Wolf's rain worked for some of my non-anime watching friends. It is a bit dark though, if light-hearted is asked for, it is not the right thing.
Chi's Sweet Home if someone likes cats, and goes "cuuuuuuuute" all over a kitten
Seirei no Moribito could work too. A bit related to Twelve Kingdoms in athmosphere.

[Lizard]

In general, Cowboy Bebop is quite good series with which you can get someone into anime, so is Full Metal Alchemist. Princess Mononke/Howls Moving Castle/Spirited Away are also some nice movies that wont shoo away anyone unfammiliar with anime.
On the other hand you might try shock therapy: just tie them in chairs and play them something like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Elfen Lied, or Bokurano. There is 50/50 chance it will work and they get hooked. However if it wont work, they will probably hate anime forever....

[ArianaChaz]

Fruits basket got my gal friends hooked.

[Claude]

I got my friend to watch Sword of the Stranger and now he is watching Samurai Champloo. Success?

[blewin]

Planetes for space development.
Perhaps Scrapped Princess, it's about the determination of a girl to live through hardship. Fantasy/sci-fic setting.

[signorRossi]

I second what TinyReadeaf suggested (except #3, which I haven't seen yet and can't give an opinion about). 'Sword of the Stranger', as Claude suggested, is also quite beginner friendly.
If you want to show something darker you could try 'Jin Roh - The Wolf Brigade'. A straight-lined story, some (but still few) violent scenes that actually are not as an end in themselves and the 'Little Red Riding Hood' references created quite an atmosphere IMO.
'Tokyo Godfathers' and 'Lupin - Castle of Cagliostro' are two very funny movies that certainly suit non-animewatchers too.
And you will have to wait at least 1-2 years before you can show a GitS SAC Live action movie to your friends.

Signor-Rossi.

[SeijiSensei]

I'd endorse many of the other suggestions here and add Nodame Cantabile, unless your intended viewers are allergic to classical music.

Kure-nai has one of the wittiest scripts I've heard of late and very appealing characters. You might have to explain why a teen-aged boy and a young girl bathing together is okay by Japanese standards, but it's definitely not a loli-fest. (I myself find those scenes quite endearing.)

Usually I don't get beaten to the punch when it comes to suggesting Bartender, but in this case I'll just second Shadow Minato's recommendation. It sounds like you've gotten your friends to watch a few longer shows like Junni Kokki, but it's often easier to show them episodic shows like Bartender because the commitment level is so much less. Hataraki Man is another good choice for this reason.

[oompa loompa]

Mmm.. well there are a lot of good shows that would be terrible to show a non-anime watcer.. higurashi would be a good example of that.. for a first time watcher.. the usual samurai champloo + cowboy bebop is a good choice, as well as something along the lines of FMA. as far as something new.. i suppose this is just my personal opinion but Bounen no Xam'd might be a good choice, even though it might be considered a bit weird.

[kk2extreme]

beck - awesome music and realistic story, and there is english

[Hayaku]

I would actually suggest Code geass season 1 and 2. The fact that the countries fighting are england and former japan is actually quite interesting, even though some mecha action is involved. But the mecha part is not decisive. The story is very intriguing and you will get caught in it, even if you aren't an anime watcher ^.^ (well, it's not scientifically proven, but you should like the story)

[KanaKaishou]

The english dub of Hellsing (the original tv series).

It's shock therapy, yes, but my god, for 8 episodes (and all of them, if you haven't read the manga), it's glorious, bloody action. And it's the sort of thing that you know you couldn't express properly in live action.