While most if not all the articles on this site are dedicated to suggesting anime that people might enjoy based on series they like, genres they frequent, or super-specific elements that entice them, the best way to get anime recommendations is usually from a friend. This is especially true for someone who has never watched any anime.
People who are unfamiliar with anime don’t know what they like, and generally don’t know where to start. This makes potential Google searches difficult if not unfruitful.
However, if you have a friend who wants to get into anime or has had a sample of anime and wants to taste more, let me – a person who has written well over 1,000 articles giving anime recommendations – teach you how to give good anime recommendations to the uninitiated.
How to Give Anime Recommendations
Consider The Person
This is the most important thing to keep in mind when recommending an anime to someone interested in anime. You want to pick something that they will like, not necessarily something that you really liked.
A common example of this going somewhat wrong is a boyfriend trying to bring his girlfriend into the world of anime. He recommends Naruto/Jujutsu Kaisen/ Demon Slayer/ect to her.
In plenty of cases, those girlfriends have loved those series. Many of those shounen battlers have broad audience appeal – more on that later – and it hooked her in like it hooks so many others. However, all too commonly, the girlfriend enjoyed elements of those series, but wasn’t really “into it” because it focused more on big, cool action.
In that example, the boyfriend showed his girlfriend a shounen anime, which is big action anime aimed at a younger male audience. Now, any gender can enjoy shounen anime, but it is important to consider that perhaps, if recommending anime to someone, you should recommend shows in their demographic.
Anime Demographic Genres:
- Shounen – Anime marketed towards younger male audiences
- Seinen – Anime marketed towards older male audiences with a darker action elements and more mature storytelling
- Shoujo – Anime marketed towards younger female audiences
- Josei – Anime marketed towards older female audiences with more mature storytelling and often a bigger focus on drama.
Utilizing a Person’s Interests
While broad gender can be helpful in picking out anime recommendations for a person, it is not the only thing to consider about a person. Anime is a large medium these days, and has a lot of stories to offer. When choosing an anime recommendation, consider what else the targeted person is into.
If a person is frequently invested in a sports, then sports anime may be something to consider. If someone is invested in their band, music anime may have something to offer. If they like reading, choose an anime with a detailed and captivating plot.
Choosing Anime Based On Their Other Media Interests
Choosing anime recommendations based on a person’s hobbies is pretty obvious. However, usually the better option is to consider the other media they enjoy. What (non-anime) TV shows do they really like? What games do they usually play?
A Call of Duty fan may be more invested in popular high action shounen anime. A fan of Game of Thrones might like something medieval with a focus on manipulation, politics, and bloody revenge. Someone who plays story-focused RPG games, will probably enjoy an anime with a detailed, engaging story. Someone who has consumed every horror movie ever made probably won’t find Cute Girls Doing Cute Things slice of life anime very engaging unless those girls start mysteriously dying.
Consider The Content
When I was a teenager, I had a friend who wanted to try anime. I went back and forth on what to show her based on what I owned, since this was in the time before anime streaming when you bought DVDs and gambled on if it was a good series or not. I landed on the Bastard OVA because it was dark, brutal, and you could enjoy it without needing to watch a lot of episodes to establish plot. It was when Dark Schneider was carrying Princess Sheila up a ladder, her squirming her crotch on the horn of his shoulder guard and moaning sexually that I knew I had fucked up.
The takeaway from that cringe tale of my youth is that anything with ecchi as an anime recommendation is an inappropriate choice. Unless you are completely sure the person you are recommending the anime to is a horny degenerate, they’re probably going to find the fanservice very strange. Even then, avoid the ecchi if you will be watching it with them. That’s where things get awkward.
What to Avoid When Choosing an Anime to Recommend:
- Ecchi
- Blatant fanservice
- Very graphic violence
- Sexual violence
- Morally questionable relationships used casually or for comedy (Uncomfortably large age gaps, slavery, coercion, ect)
Unless you are sure they are an edgelord, it is best to avoid anything that Twitter would make a fuss over. So, no Redo of Healer or even Jobless Reincarnation. I don’t care how good the animation, worldbuilding, and action are, the moments when it gets sexual are weird and uncomfortable for a ton of people.
Make Sure You Have Watched It Yourself
This is just quality assurance, really. Any idiot on the internet can say a series is good. A five-minute clip can show you the good parts even if everything else was terrible. However, you will never know for sure unless you watch it yourself.
As an anime fan, you can take recommendations based on what other people say or from clips you have seen. However, you want someone who hasn’t seen any anime to have a good first experience. A new series you haven’t watched is a gamble for you, but a first impression of the genre for them.
In short, only recommend what you have seen, even if that doesn’t fit the criteria above. If recommending something you haven’t seen, you should also probably include that disclaimer when you recommend it.
When In Doubt, Consider Broad Audience Appeal
While there is a particularly vocal community of elitists and contrarians in the anime community that love to hate them, the thing about popular anime is that they are popular anime for a reason. They have an appeal to a large audience, they boast both quality and interest to a lot of people, and they are usually pretty good stories. Furthermore, always remember that even if it is riddled with tropes and cliches, a new anime fan hasn’t been exposed to those tropes and cliches enough to know they are overused.
Essentially, if you have nothing else to go on, recommend what is popular or was well-received. However, still keep in mind everything I mentioned above.
Some people really don’t have an interest in shounen battlers, but maybe they liked the ship-baiting that is often used in them. In that case, maybe an action romance or just a plain romance anime might be something they will love.
Maybe they loved the vicious, brutal fights in Demon Slayer, but wish the characters weren’t so eccentric. In that case, maybe a darker seinen anime where they keep the brutality and tone the characters down is for them.
Overall, my biggest piece of advice when it comes to giving anime recommendations to an individual is to consider them as an individual, and not just try to force them into a series that you really enjoy. Ideally, you want a series that appeals to them as a person, but you also enjoyed a lot too. That’s the sweet spot.
A good first anime recommendation can build a lifelong love for anime. So it is important to lay a good foundation. What tips would you give to people giving an anime recommendation to a new fan, or just giving anime recommendations in general? Let fans know in the comments section below.
