I’ve always thought that it must be tough to make a beginner anime and manga recommendations list (a good one at least). People’s tastes can be incredibly different and, despite the common factor being that they’re beginners, I don’t believe that one can make a recommendations list that’ll apply to everyone. Therefore, I thought that something I would do is recommend some anime and manga based on other interests. Of course, there’ll be some generalisations but I do believe that this’ll result in a better list.
Fans of Western Animation:
I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people develop an interest in anime because they’re fans of animation and want to try something a little different. For those people, I think a logical, and perhaps too obvious, suggestion is to watch the films of Studio Ghibli, an anime studio that is often compared to Disney. I also think Mamoru Hosoda films would generally appeal to these fans as well. As for manga, I think a manga like Unico would appeal to Western animation fans but, since it can be a bit awkward to get a hold of, I’d also recommend Princess Knight, which is from the same author as Unico, and a Clamp manga such as Angelic Layer, although some of their other manga may prove to be a bit much for beginners.
Fans of Action:
Of course, a lot of people are drawn to anime and manga because of how many focus on action. Besides the various shonen anime and manga that come from Weekly Shonen Jump, Weekly Shonen Magazine or Weekly Shonen Sunday, I’d strongly recommend fans of action check out the Vampire Hunter D films, Ninja Scroll, Hellsing Ultimate and Afro Samurai. For manga, action fans might enjoy Black Lagoon, Fullmetal Alchemist, Lone Wolf and Cub and the manga adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Fans of Comedy:
Comedy can be notoriously difficult to translate from one culture to another and anime and manga are no different. Regardless, there are a few comedy anime and manga that I think can work for a beginner. I’ve always enjoyed the Slayers franchise and I think the anime incarnation is an excellent source of comedy while fans of history will probably enjoy Hetalia: Axis Powers. As for an anime movie, I think Tokyo Godfathers is one of the best animated comedy films I’ve ever seen! With regards to manga, a couple of fantastic classic comedy manga are Ranma 1/2 and Dr. Slump while another excellent but more modern comedy manga is Azumanga Daioh.
Fans of Dark Drama:
For beginners who are fans of gritty, dark dramas like Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica or Dexter, anime and manga have plenty of great examples. I think Psycho-Pass, Berserk and Gankutsuou are great series full of excellent drama and intrigue while some anime films I’d recommend are Paprika, the Ghost in the Shell films directed my Mamoru Oshii and the 2001 anime Metropolis. As for manga, I really like Death Note, Pluto and Prophecy and I think they could work well for beginners.
If you’re only just beginning to search for anime and manga, I hope these recommendations manage to help while, even if you’re not a beginner, I hope you manage to find something new to experience. Let me know your thoughts on these anime and manga recommendations for beginners, what anime and manga you’d recommend to a beginner and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!