Good anime for non-otaku/geek audience
 

What would be the perfect anime for an audience that has never been interested in otaku/geek stuff and has a hard time to get into things like anime?

Any genre is fine.

Monster, and maybe Paranoia Agent.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. There is no human who can dislike this by the end.

Black Lagoon would probably be a good start, and if they liked that you could check out the second season.

How old is this hypothetical audience? Gender(s)? What types of live-action shows do they enjoy? Information like this would help a lot.

yeah, target audience would help because I tend to have much more success with titles that have content that they *aren't* already associating anime with. Either they initially think Pokemon or "bang, boobs, boom".... and shouting/posturing, whole episodes of that.

I've had good luck with some diverse items as Pani Poni Dash, Ichigo Masimaro, Spice&Wolf, SHnY, Kamichu!.
TTGL isn't a bad suggestion though with its up-front sci-fi motif (though Yoko is initially easy to dismiss as the bang-boobs-boom til you get to know her personality).

I think what you probably want is something that isn't an out-and-out genre piece.

Gungrave. A very complex mafia genre and revenge story. Gets a bit weighed down by the zombie stuff on the side, but the good stuff is golden.

Mushishi. An art piece. Episodic storytelling at just about its finest.

Does this mean i am no longer human ? ;)


As already noted, knowing the target audience would be very helpful. Other than that i am going to make a shot in the dark and say Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. While some components of the anime might be a bit hard to grasp, if your audience consists of people that might (or do) enjoy investigation shows like CSI or the like, and generally enjoy more serious settings, then i think there is a fair chance they might find GITS appealing. A grittingly realistic SciFi show set in relatively near future, centering around a government special operations squad - Section 9 - who specialize in informational warfare and aggressive response to criminal activity.

I believe the show has quite good potential to appeal to "regular" audience that like to sit down and watch some cops movie once in a while. If you crowd refuses to watch subs (which they shouldn't!), there is also a dub available, as the show is licensed.

yes. very much so, actually.

I would have to disagree here... All of those series except Kamichu are series I would never recommend to someone with little or no experience in anime, but that's just me. The generic stuff usually works best, and by that, I haven't seen it fail when I recommend them.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Elfen Lied, Fullmetal Alchemist, Full Metal Panic, Chrno Crusade, Love Hina, Shakugan no Shana, Zero no Tsukaima, Cowboy Bebop, Eureka Seven, and Princess Mononoke are a few series that I would recommend.

I think it would be better to start with movies first, not with some 74 episode series. ;)
Satoshi Kon movies like Millenium Actress or Tokyo Gotfathers may be a good start, as perhaps would be some Ghibli stuff like Mononoke Hime or Spirited Away. For a taste of darker anime Jin Roh comes to my mind, for a good laugh I would recommend Lupin:Castle of Cagliostro.

Bye, signorRossi.

EDIT:
@KholdStare:
Elfen Lied for the novice or casual anime viewer? I couldn't stand it and only watched the first episode and never felt the urge to watch more. Cowboy Bebop is great, but starts out very slow, it actually ended when it was really getting intersting.

As stated above, the biggest question is who the target audience is and what they're interested in. Aside from this concern, the correct answer is Ghibli films. They're short, so they don't represent the time commitment of a TV show or many OVA series. Most Ghibli films carry very familiar themes and require little knowledge of either Japanese culture or familiarity with anime. And they can be enjoyed by vastly differing demographics; almost enough to be considered universally appealing. It's quite telling that Ghibli fans don't bear the stigma of otaku that fans of other anime do.

The best Ghibli film to start with is going to depend a bit on the audience again, but something like My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service or Spirited Away would work for most people out there.

I think that makes it two of us nonhumans out there. :p

@signorRossi: Maybe it's just from my experience, but my peers (17-19) all love Elfen Lied when I introduced it to them.

It's an invasion! Someone get me a giant robot to combat this menace!

Seriously though, I've converted people to fandom with G-L : D

I don't agree with most of the posts on this thread although the ones I do agree with are probably the Studio Ghibli suggestions for the reason 4tran gave. It really depends on the age of the audience for which Ghibli film as well but Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle have enough to interest all audiences. For a younger audience try My Neighbor Totoro and The Cat Returns.

I think any sports anime may very well do the trick. (Hungry Heart Wild Striker,Over Drive,Prince of Tennis for a few examples)

Note: Lol this makes 3 ^^ I found not only TTGL but also Code Geass utter failures. (And I am a fan of Mecha type Anime)

lol, no one mentioned code geass, also I can't see sports anime working unless they're into sports.

if someone doesn't like TTGL, they aren't likely to become very big of an anime fan. They might like all the stuff that's not geared to the big anime dudes or all the artsy and pretentious stuff, but that will not make him an otaku, just a jaded fan. If we're tring to make this guy into a true blue hardcore fan, TTGL is THE way to do it.

If have no problems with my humanity being questioned, I do that by myself at times. But I take offense at "jaded fan".

Seirei no Moribito if they have the patience. I personally know two non-otaku (m/f) who liked it. As for movies I second Mononoke Hime.

OK, I've had it with the TTGL=the only true way crap. I found Gurren-Lagann rather derivative and boring and quit watching about 6-7 episodes in. I refuse to let you tell me that I cannot be a fan of anime if I don't like this show. Let's show a bit more tolerance here, hmm?

Also we don't know that the OP was talking about a male viewer; maybe he's talking about his girlfriend. Maybe he's talking about his eight-year-old niece? Maybe she'd rather watch NANA or Nodame Cantabile or Mononoke Hime or who knows what? And even if the person in question in male, he might prefer to watch those shows, too. (I would.)

that's why I'm saying he won't be an 'otaku'. Someone who gets all into every show that they see, and isn't picky or elitist. Someone who isn't just trying to watch all of one genre, but gets into every kind of anime just because it's anime. You can be a fan and not like TTGL, but it's unlikely that you'll find an otaku who dislikes it because the show is meant for people who are or have the potential to be otaku.

Also, you dropped TTGL at the worst time. Dropping it before episode 8, it can hardly be said that you even watched it.