How-To
How to Get Into Anime as a Complete Beginner
By Jordan A. · · 5 min read
Anime is not a genre. It is a whole medium, as wide as live-action, and that is exactly why it feels impossible to start. Tell someone you want to get into anime and they will bury you under forty recommendations, half of which run 500 episodes. Ignore all of that. Getting in is easy if you start with a taste you already have.
With Netflix pouring money into shows like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane, anime has never been more mainstream or more reachable. Here is a plan that actually works.
Start with a story type you already love
The single biggest mistake beginners make is picking the most famous show instead of the one that matches their taste. You do not walk into live-action by watching the longest series first. Do the same here. Like tense thrillers? Start with Death Note. Love a big emotional epic? Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Want something warm and funny? Spy x Family. Match the mood first, and the medium takes care of itself.
Three gateway shows that never miss
These three convert skeptics for a reason. Each is complete, accessible, and does not ask you to learn a rulebook first.
- Death Note (Netflix): a brilliant student finds a notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it. A cat-and-mouse thriller that hooks people who swear they hate anime.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Netflix): two brothers chase a way to undo a terrible mistake. Often called the best anime ever made, and a complete story in 64 episodes.
- Spy x Family (Crunchyroll): a spy, an assassin, and a telepathic kid fake being a family. Funny, sweet, and easy to watch in small bites.
Sub or dub, and why it does not matter at first
Purists will tell you to watch with the original Japanese audio and subtitles. They are not wrong that it is often the better performance. But if reading subtitles for hours sounds like a chore, the English dubs on modern shows are genuinely good. Watch whatever keeps you watching. You can switch later once you are hooked. The worst version of anime is the one you quit because you made it a homework assignment.
Know where anime actually lives
You do not need ten subscriptions. Crunchyroll is the dedicated home and has the deepest library, including new episodes as they air in Japan. But Netflix now carries a huge slate, from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to Devil May Cry, and Hulu holds classics like Attack on Titan. Between a service you probably already have and one cheap add-on, you are covered. Start with what is already on your account before paying for anything new.
Two rules to keep you from bouncing off
First, give a show three episodes, not one. Many anime spend the first episode on setup and find their feet by the third. Second, do not start with a 1,000-episode monster like One Piece as your first show, no matter how much a fan insists. Finish something complete first, feel the payoff, and then decide if you want to commit to an epic. Confidence comes from finishing, not from starting big.
Your first month, mapped out
Pick one of the three gateway shows that matches your mood and finish it. Then branch based on what you liked. Loved the tension of Death Note? Try Monster. Loved the scale of Fullmetal Alchemist? Go for Demon Slayer. That is it. You are in. For the full canon once you are ready, our list of the best anime shows of all time is your next stop, and if choosing paralyzes you, our guide to how to pick what to watch helps. Anime is really just great international storytelling, the same reason our best international shows list exists.
Building the habit after your first show
The real goal is not finishing one anime, it is turning it into a habit that sticks. The trick is to line up your next pick before you finish the current one, so momentum never breaks. After a thriller like Death Note, a warm show like Spy x Family keeps you from burning out on tension. After an epic like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, a shorter series feels like a reward. Alternating tone this way is how casual viewers become genuine fans without ever noticing it happened.
It also helps to know that anime covers every genre live-action does, and then some. There are sports dramas, workplace comedies, courtroom stories, quiet slice-of-life shows, and psychological thrillers, not just giant robots and superpowers. If a friend's recommendation does not click, the answer is almost never that anime is not for you. It is that you were handed the wrong genre. Match the medium to a mood you already enjoy in live-action and the whole thing suddenly opens up.
One last piece of advice
Do not let anyone gatekeep your entry point. There is no wrong first anime, no required reading, and no test to pass before you are allowed to have opinions. Start with the show that sounds fun tonight, watch it in whatever language keeps you comfortable, and follow your curiosity from there. The community loves nothing more than a new fan, and the catalog is deep enough to last a lifetime. All you have to do is press play on the first one and let it do its job.
The hardest part of anime is not watching it, it is choosing the right first step for you. BingeNext reads your taste in live-action and points you at the anime that fits, on the service you already pay for. Get show recommendations and start with the one built for you.
Topics covered: anime for beginners, gateway anime, how to start anime, crunchyroll, death note
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and is responsible for every guide published on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu. Dates, season counts and where-to-watch details in these guides are checked against official sources before publishing, and corrections are welcome at Jordan@Bingenext.com.