Monday, April 30, 2012
Picking your First Anime
Everyone I know says I'm a walking encyclopedia to anime. Well, of course they're wrong. I just happen to know more than them, since most of them aren't the fans that I am, so when they ask I seem more knowledgeable than I really am. Compared to others with the same interest, I probably know about the same, or perhaps less. But I do know what I like, and have learned a few simple terms to help me along, as well as point others in the right direction.
The first thing I'd suggest is to ask your friends, after all you are friends because you have similar interests, so maybe they can get you started. But let's say, you ask them and they look at you like you're an alien, maybe they even ask 'what is anime?' Or perhaps you're too shy or don't want them to think you're a 'geek.' What do you do now?
First, the easiest way to get started in right direction to picking your first anime, is to think of movies, television series you already like. Maybe you're into sci fi? Or maybe comedies are more your style? Or maybe dramas are more your thing? Well I assure you, whatever interest you already have there's an abundance of anime just waiting for you.
So now we have our genre, and looked for anime under it. But now we have hundreds of titles showing, how in the world do we pick from here?
Easy.
For me I usually go by what I find aesthetically pleasing. But not always. Sometimes the plot draws me in. So what to do now is read up on some of these titles, find summaries, a few screenshots, maybe a review or two just to see what others with the same interest thought of one particular title. The internet it the a great place to find all these things quickly and easily. I use anime-planet.com to find what I'm looking for, but some other popular places are, animenewsnetwork.com, anidb.net, and MyAnimeList.net. Try them, and see which one you like best.
After we've done all this and picked an anime to watch, we're almost done. Almost you ask? Well I'm sure you noticed when you picked your title that there's a bunch of tags labeling it as well. And maybe they're not quite what you're looking for, or maybe you have no idea what some of them are. Well, whatever site you used to find this anime, will most likely have a glossary of their tags.
To help you out a bit with the Japanese terms you may not be familiar with, I'll list a few of the more popular ones, and you can also use these to narrow down your search.
shoujo- It means girl. Basically it's anime that is aimed towards girls such as romance and usually have good looking boys. An example would be Fruits Basket or Ouran High School Host Club, Shugo Chara!
maho shoujo- Magical Girl. Like shoujo but with girls with magical powers. Examples: Sailor Moon, Fresh Pretty Cure!
shounen- Anime under this genre is aimed towards boys. It includes anime that are more action and adventure like Naruto or Bleach
josei- Basically its like shoujo for women, it mostly focuses on women's lives in Japan and realism. Examples: Saiunkoku Monogatari
seinen- This is like shounen but with stronger adult themes and more realism. Examples: Gankutsuou or True Tears
bishoujo- This is an anime with a lot of pretty female characters. Basically eye candy for heterosexual males. Examples: No examples
bishounen- This is an anime loaded with very pretty male characters. Basically eye candy to the heterosexual female. Examples: Uta no Prince-sama
Slice of Life- This genre focuses on normal characters dealing with everyday problems. Examples: Usagi Drop, Polar Bear Cafe
Sudden Girlfriend Appearance- A sudden girlfriend appears, usually having do to with a engagement that was not previously known. Examples: DearS, Bakemonogatari
Harem- A harem is one boy with a bunch of girls trying to gain his attention. Examples: Clannad, Shuffle
Reverse Harem- This is the reverse of a harem, rather than one boy and a bunch of girls it's one girl surrounded by a bunch of boys. An example is Ouran High School Host Club, La Corda d'Oro, and Uta no Prince-sama
shoujo-ai- This translates to 'girl love' it's like yuri but its more limited focusing more on the relationship with little more than kissing and hugging. Examples: Aoi Hana
shounen-ai- Translates to 'boy love' (BL) Similar to shoujo-ai this is yaoi but more limited focusing on relationship over sex. Actually it usually has no sex just hugging and kissing if even that. Examples: Loveless, Princess Princess, Kyo Kara Maoh!, Gakuen Heaven, and Maginal Prince
ecchi- This is lighter than hentai it might contain some breast shots but very few to know full nudity scenes and it's more censored. An example would be Mayo Chiki or Shuffle
hentai- This is basically animated porn. It has sex and nudity scenes. (Important to know if you don't like that kind of thing.) Examples: The Immorals
yuri- This is like hentai but with two girls. Examples: Mnemosyne
yaoi- This is basically like hentai only with two boys instead of a girl and a boy. An example is Junjou Romantica or Sekaichi Hatsukoi
There are hundreds more, most of which are self-explanatory but hopefully this list will help get you started with ones you may not be familiar with.
Now all you need to go is get you anime and enjoy!
Get your Anime HERE!
Lastly, you're not going to like everything out there. So if you don't like the first one you see, try again. There's definitively something out there you will like.
The first thing I'd suggest is to ask your friends, after all you are friends because you have similar interests, so maybe they can get you started. But let's say, you ask them and they look at you like you're an alien, maybe they even ask 'what is anime?' Or perhaps you're too shy or don't want them to think you're a 'geek.' What do you do now?
First, the easiest way to get started in right direction to picking your first anime, is to think of movies, television series you already like. Maybe you're into sci fi? Or maybe comedies are more your style? Or maybe dramas are more your thing? Well I assure you, whatever interest you already have there's an abundance of anime just waiting for you.
So now we have our genre, and looked for anime under it. But now we have hundreds of titles showing, how in the world do we pick from here?
Easy.
For me I usually go by what I find aesthetically pleasing. But not always. Sometimes the plot draws me in. So what to do now is read up on some of these titles, find summaries, a few screenshots, maybe a review or two just to see what others with the same interest thought of one particular title. The internet it the a great place to find all these things quickly and easily. I use anime-planet.com to find what I'm looking for, but some other popular places are, animenewsnetwork.com, anidb.net, and MyAnimeList.net. Try them, and see which one you like best.
After we've done all this and picked an anime to watch, we're almost done. Almost you ask? Well I'm sure you noticed when you picked your title that there's a bunch of tags labeling it as well. And maybe they're not quite what you're looking for, or maybe you have no idea what some of them are. Well, whatever site you used to find this anime, will most likely have a glossary of their tags.
To help you out a bit with the Japanese terms you may not be familiar with, I'll list a few of the more popular ones, and you can also use these to narrow down your search.
shoujo- It means girl. Basically it's anime that is aimed towards girls such as romance and usually have good looking boys. An example would be Fruits Basket or Ouran High School Host Club, Shugo Chara!
maho shoujo- Magical Girl. Like shoujo but with girls with magical powers. Examples: Sailor Moon, Fresh Pretty Cure!
shounen- Anime under this genre is aimed towards boys. It includes anime that are more action and adventure like Naruto or Bleach
josei- Basically its like shoujo for women, it mostly focuses on women's lives in Japan and realism. Examples: Saiunkoku Monogatari
seinen- This is like shounen but with stronger adult themes and more realism. Examples: Gankutsuou or True Tears
bishoujo- This is an anime with a lot of pretty female characters. Basically eye candy for heterosexual males. Examples: No examples
bishounen- This is an anime loaded with very pretty male characters. Basically eye candy to the heterosexual female. Examples: Uta no Prince-sama
Slice of Life- This genre focuses on normal characters dealing with everyday problems. Examples: Usagi Drop, Polar Bear Cafe
Sudden Girlfriend Appearance- A sudden girlfriend appears, usually having do to with a engagement that was not previously known. Examples: DearS, Bakemonogatari
Harem- A harem is one boy with a bunch of girls trying to gain his attention. Examples: Clannad, Shuffle
Reverse Harem- This is the reverse of a harem, rather than one boy and a bunch of girls it's one girl surrounded by a bunch of boys. An example is Ouran High School Host Club, La Corda d'Oro, and Uta no Prince-sama
shoujo-ai- This translates to 'girl love' it's like yuri but its more limited focusing more on the relationship with little more than kissing and hugging. Examples: Aoi Hana
shounen-ai- Translates to 'boy love' (BL) Similar to shoujo-ai this is yaoi but more limited focusing on relationship over sex. Actually it usually has no sex just hugging and kissing if even that. Examples: Loveless, Princess Princess, Kyo Kara Maoh!, Gakuen Heaven, and Maginal Prince
ecchi- This is lighter than hentai it might contain some breast shots but very few to know full nudity scenes and it's more censored. An example would be Mayo Chiki or Shuffle
hentai- This is basically animated porn. It has sex and nudity scenes. (Important to know if you don't like that kind of thing.) Examples: The Immorals
yuri- This is like hentai but with two girls. Examples: Mnemosyne
yaoi- This is basically like hentai only with two boys instead of a girl and a boy. An example is Junjou Romantica or Sekaichi Hatsukoi
There are hundreds more, most of which are self-explanatory but hopefully this list will help get you started with ones you may not be familiar with.
Now all you need to go is get you anime and enjoy!
Get your Anime HERE!
Lastly, you're not going to like everything out there. So if you don't like the first one you see, try again. There's definitively something out there you will like.
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