Introducing Parents to Anime?

[8BitNinja]

The reason why there is a question mark is because this thread is not so much "How should I do this." I don't care what entertainment my parents, or anyone, is into. That's like hating someone for liking mint chip ice cream just because you like rocky road. Besides, unless your 12-15 and want to get away with watching Eiken (look up at your own risk), this wouldn't even be something you would even care to attempt. I was wondering if you guys could think of an anime that could hypothetically get them into the medium. This is not something I care to attempt. Think of it as a made up challenge.

So my mom I would consider "hard mode" as this would be the requirements

> No weird stuff: I know that "weird" is a subjective term, so I'll explain. Weird means crazy hair, strange monsters/fantasy races, and special powers. This means that pretty much all Shonen can be ruled out. I would also rule out Jojo, Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan, but also keep in Sword Art Online for this category since it would be easy to reconcile these things since it happens in a video game.

> No Fanservice: It would be a while before I could talk to my mom normally again.

> No crazy gore: You know how there are those anime where people bleed inhuman amounts? I don't think those will get her into the medium

> Nothing in the Supernatural Genre: My mom really doesn't care for this. We can also rule out anything with magic to be safe.

> Nothing too dark: This is also objective, but I don't think shows where everyone has a life that sucks will work.

> Something made for adults: My mom is under the impression that cartoons are either for kids, or South Park. Let's not reinforce this.

> Nothing that focuses to heavily on romance: pretty self explanatory

> Something recent: The sleek and more polished look will definitely be a plus.

My dad I would consider "easy mode" as he already knows that animation can be made for adults (he likes the Justice League movies, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill). Also, the requirements are much smaller.

> No fanservice: Again, like my mom, I'll probably be avoided for a day or two.

> Nothing that is made for kids: Although I could possibly get away with Naruto and DBZ for this category, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Beyblade (yes, it's an anime) won't work. Besides, this is a forum full of mature adults. (Please don't comment on the last sentence, I don't care if you are 14 and watch Bleach)

> Nothing Too Weird: I don't think One Piece or Bleach would interest him. But I think that this one can have a lot of leeway.

> No romance heavy titles: this one again

> Something Semi Recent: I don't expect to get my dad hooked on Record of the Lodoss War like I did, but this can also have some leeway. I would say anything from the 2000s onward is fair game.

So do you think that it is possible?

[khadgar567]

The day my mom watched one of the animes i watch is the day............( its kinda impossible mate i need asmodeus level luck to pull that of and damn thing needs to be full of love higher then mlp cartoon)

[Kitten Champion]

That's a lot of restrictions there. Just based on my own experience of what my mother likes. I suppose watch them yourself first? I don't know.

Kino's Journey - a Menippean satire about a traveler experiencing various lands that each examine some curious aspect of humanity in evocative ways, and is pretty oblique all around. It is fantastic, Kino has a sapient motorcycle she converses with for instance, but those elements are there to explore certain concepts rather than exists for their own sake or to provide visual flare.

Sweetness & Lightning . a newly-widowed father learning to cook for the sake of his young daughter. Mix of cute, fun, and feels.

Hyouka - a twist on the mystery genre. One where no one dies or is seriously inconvenienced in any fashion but rather addresses more personal grievances and innocuous enigmas found in daily life.

Planetes - an SF story about a small division of near-orbit trash collectors, formed privately to remove potential hazardous debris left there from decades of space-flight that's threatening contemporary space-travel to and from Earth. Their work is dangerous, difficult, and deeply unappreciated by the wider world. Such that they come off as poorly funded and those assigned there are in the proverbial Siberia of the corporate latter as sort of blue-collar astronauts.

[tensai_oni]

I agree that there's a lot of restrictions. The OP makes me think his mom is someone who is very picky about media she consumes, not just anime. How about examples of movies or shows she liked?

Let's try to fit anime into these restrictions anyway.

I second Planetes. It is not a recent show but otherwise it fits very well. No fanservice, no ridiculous things, it's very down to Earth (figuratively, what with being about people in space and all) and realistic.

Mushi-shi is about supernatural things, because it's an episodic story of a doctor of sorts who specializes in dealing with nature spirits/weird micro organisms. If that's not a breaking point then the should fit very well.

I'd almost recommend Cowboy Bebop because it's great, but the first episode might be too dark and violent and then we jump into a silly story about a super intelligent dog right after. Might be perceived as too weird. Also, definitely not new.

Instead of shows, perhaps it'd be best to pick a movie to watch instead.

Makoto Shinkai creates good, emotional movies that are aimed at mature audiences but don't have gore or fanservice. Your Name is a recent movie of his, but it's supernatural.

Miyazaki's The Wind Rises is a fictionalized drama about the life of Jiro Horikoshi, a man who designed aircraft including fighter jets used by Japan during WW2. That last part isn't glorified in any way, quite the opposite.

[JoshL]

Ghibli is such a safe bet. Almost everyone can get behind it. I'd start Spirited Away, and if they want to be depressed, Grave of the Fireflies.

Or force them to watch Lodoss because that's one of my favorite things ever.

[tensai_oni]

A lot (not all, I know) of Ghibli stories are family movies. It's hard to persuade someone that the medium is not always for kids when you're showing them the Japanese equivalent of a Disney production.

I believe a really mature person shouldn't be bothered by watching something that kids can also enjoy and rather judge the movie by its own merits, but that's beside the point.

[8BitNinja]

I agree that there's a lot of restrictions. The OP makes me think his mom is someone who is very picky about media she consumes, not just anime. How about examples of movies or shows she liked?

I thought I was the one giving this difficult, yet trivial challenge. I'll try to think.

So, from what can I remember off the top of my head

For TV shows, my mom liked the first 4 seasons of 24. For movies, my mom liked The Avengers and Star Wars. For books, I can't think of any, but my mom is an English teacher if that gives any idea what she at least tolerates.

When I get the chance, I'll post an update

[Poison_Fish]

Of recent things that could fit the list you laid out, I'd highly suggest Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. It's a modern animated series that focuses on Rakugo, so it might have a bit of culture divide, but it is solid storytelling and is targeted at an adult audience.

Tokyo God Fathers by the late Satoshi Kon is also a great movie.

I'd also echo the suggestions of The Wind Rises, Planetes, and Mushi-shi. As well, Cowboy Bebop would be great with your dad even though it is not recent.

[8BitNinja]

I'd almost recommend Cowboy Bebop because it's great, but the first episode might be too dark and violent and then we jump into a silly story about a super intelligent dog right after. Might be perceived as too weird. Also, definitely not new.

This one might work. When I say crazy gore, I mean "people regularly lose body parts and bleed gallons of blood" and not as hyperbole. Think Tokyo Ghoul. Also, I'm pretty sure it aged well. I've seen the whole series, I'm sure that this one has an 80-20 chance favoring success.

[BWR]

Sadly, Mushi-shi violates the 'no supernatural' restriction, however amazing it is. Same goes for lots of Ghibli (though with SW and Marvel movies as examples of what is OK, this seems like a restriction that isn't taken too seriously).
You might try "Ghost in the Shell". It's definitely not written for kids, it's serious without being too dark (other than visually), and it's beautifully done. Other than that bit at the beginning, there is hardly any blood. It predates the year 2000 but a good movie like that should be fine no matter what. Or you could try going with "GitS: Stand Alone Complex", which is probably a bit more comprehensible and does fall within the cut-off date.

[eggynack]

Moribito: Guardian of the Sacred Spirit is usually a good bet. Has some fantasy stuff, but it's pretty low key. Low key show in general, really. Smooth, easy to parse, grounded, and high quality. Spice and Wolf has potential. It too has minor supernatural elements, but it's mostly about the intriguing world of medieval merchant trading, which is about as far as you can get from supernatural as is physically possible. Has some romance too, but again, primary focus is merchant trading. Also pretty low key, as would be implied by the premise.

[Gastronomie]

As aforementioned, Mushishi, and the movies created by Studio Jhibli.

Princess Mononoke has some gore, but overall it's a great watch.
Spirited Away is a masterpiece as well.

I know, they're already given, but I listed them up anyway. Why is that? Because they're great.

[Manga Shoggoth]

So much of my collection fails the list!

Whisper of the Heart (Gibli), which is essentially a girl meets boy romance (Pitched at a family film level). The only "fantasy/supernatural" part is a couple of scenes visualising a novel that the main character is writing.

You're Under Arrest (Motion Picture, although some of the TV series aren't bad) - essentially a story about two policewomen in Tokyo, dealing with such things as unexploded bombs, gun smugglers and terrorist attacks.

[Lethologica]

Millennium Actress
Ping Pong The Animation

Fails the supernatural criterion:
Princess Kaguya
Princess Mononoke
Wolf Children

Fails the blood criterion:
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Sword of the Stranger

Seconded:
Tokyo Godfathers
Kino no Tabi
Planetes
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

[Traab]

Honestly, I suggest Full Metal Alchemist. I know it involves "magical" powers, but at least its treated like a science. In fact, they go out of their way to "prove" its all about math, and chemistry, and other hard sciences. Its an adult story, it has action, comedy, drama, victory, loss. While it does get bloody at times, its never really at the excessive level I dont think.

[Slayn82]

I recommend watching the Macross Movie. It has action, romance, drama. It's pretty good as an example that an Anime story can be developed on the same level as a good Hollywood movie.

[Knaight]

I'm jumping on the Tokyo Godfathers bandwagon. I'd also seriously consider a number of the Miyazaki movies - yes, they're technically for families as a whole, and yes, most of them technically have some magic (though if Star Wars and Marvel movies are fine they should be too). Still, there's a reason that Spirited Away was the massive hit that it was even among adults, and it's definitely a best foot forward kind of deal.

I'd also recommend Moribito. It's a bit of a go to for this - it's rock solid, it's made for adults in terms of concepts and themes and not in terms of sex and gore, it's beautifully animated, and it has roughly no anime weirdness. There is a bit in the way of supernatural stuff, but it's rare, doesn't show up for multiple episodes (at least, outside of what can be dismissed as characters being superstitious), and is just generally minor. The characters are believable, the setting was devised by an anthropologist and it shows, and the core driving forces of the plot include a parent's love for their child.

As much as I liked Spice and Wolf, I'm going to have to go against the grain on that one because of the fa nservice aspect. It's not that it's heavy on fan service in any way, it's that there's some nudity in the first episode. It's non-representative of the series as a whole, but it's also the introduction to the series.

[Clertar]

Most of the bad anime clichés that are spiralling up out of control in the last decade or so are endemic to shonen. For your mom, and for forummers in general, I think an ideal anime would be Yawara!, by the author of Monster. It's a masterfully crafted tale of a girl that struggles to find balance between being an incredibly talented judoka and an everyday normal girl. The characters are super memorable, with the mysterious Yawara herself, but mostly her grandfatehr, the news reporter with an obsession with Yawara, and her friends and rivals. The judo matches in the anime are some of the most white knuckle fights in anime, IMHO.

http://livedoor.4.blogimg.jp/konshin11123/imgs/c/4/c4394eee.gif

Anyone that hasn't seen it should give it a serious try, it's a masterpiece full of the epic of everyday life.

[Giggling Ghast]

What about Wolf Children? It's literally about parenting.

[Brother Oni]

I recommend watching the Macross Movie. It has action, romance, drama. It's pretty good as an example that an Anime story can be developed on the same level as a good Hollywood movie.

If you mean the Macross Plus movie, then it fails the nudity clause due to a scene about half way through. Other than that, I fully agree - maybe the Macross Plus OAV, since it doesn't have the same scene?
If you're talking about the original Macross movies, then no, unless they're really into space (soap) opera.


To the OP:

With regard to Studio Ghibili, there's very few that meets the first set of criteria. From Up On Poppy Hill while enjoyable, isn't an example I would show to first time viewers. Similarly, The Wind Rises has its own set of of problems.

Summer Wars is a fun anime which pretty much fits everything, although it can be a bit of a culture shock.

Do you parents have any other interests or hobbies? If your father is a bit of a WW2 buff, then Girls Und Panzer might be a bit of a surprise hit. Similarly, if he's into baseball, then Major could be a possibility. Both of these suggestions are aimed at the young teen demographic, so just meet your 'not for kids' requirement.

[8BitNinja]

To the OP:

With regard to Studio Ghibili, there's very few that meets the first set of criteria. From Up On Poppy Hill while enjoyable, isn't an example I would show to first time viewers. Similarly, The Wind Rises has its own set of of problems.

Summer Wars is a fun anime which pretty much fits everything, although it can be a bit of a culture shock.

Do you parents have any other interests or hobbies? If your father is a bit of a WW2 buff, then Girls Und Panzer might be a bit of a surprise hit. Similarly, if he's into baseball, then Major could be a possibility. Both of these suggestions are aimed at the young teen demographic, so just meet your 'not for kids' requirement.

My dad is really into hunting and fishing. He is also, like me, kind of a gun nut and into a lot of military based stuff. But as for TV shows and movies, my dad really likes anything with a large amount of action. He also really likes sci-fi and fantasy. Like I said, my mom is Dark Souls, my dad is the first 5 worlds of Kirby's Adventure.

My mom doesn't really have a lot of hobbies. If she never told me. But for update for media, she really likes The Princess Bride and MacGyver. She also liked Survivor, but I don't think that it's relevant.

[Slayn82]

If you mean the Macross Plus movie, then it fails the nudity clause due to a scene about half way through. Other than that, I fully agree - maybe the Macross Plus OAV, since it doesn't have the same scene?
If you're talking about the original Macross movies, then no, unless they're really into space (soap) opera.


To the OP:

With regard to Studio Ghibili, there's very few that meets the first set of criteria. From Up On Poppy Hill while enjoyable, isn't an example I would show to first time viewers. Similarly, The Wind Rises has its own set of of problems.

Summer Wars is a fun anime which pretty much fits everything, although it can be a bit of a culture shock.

I was talking about the original, 1984 Movie (Macross: Do you Remember Love?) The animation is excellent, and the pacing and elements should engage both his parents. Also, no nudity and... all that other heavy stuff Plus dealt with.

Also, Kagerou is a song that can give grow man teary eyes, both inside the story and in the audience.

And I second Summer Wars. That movie is fantastic. Each character is overflowing with personality.

[BWR]

You might try Lupin III.
Some exaggerated cartoon physics, but they are fun and funny and just clever enough to pull off the exaggerated plots and weirdness.
A couple of the shows and movies are a bit more adult in theme and content, like the spin-off "A woman called Mine Fujiko" but 'Green vs Red' is the one I can remember off-hand that was actually bad- just avoid that one. I would probably start with one of the movies since they generally have better production values. "Castle of Cagliostro" is good but the characters are quite a bit different from the source material. The series has been around a while but some of the newer stuff should be a good starting point. I started my Lupin-ing with "Blood Seal - Eternal Mermaid" and fell in love with the franchise with that.

[junlogji]

if your mother likes star wars and dark souls why would she be adverse to the fantasy genre

other than constructive criticism and applying the Socratic method i will be of no use as all of the anime i would recommend violate the too dark rule

[Celestia]

I strongly recommend Cowboy Bebop. It was specifically designed to feel like an American show, and (outside of Edward) it succeeds quite well at that. The way the story and scenes are structured should feel familiar and serve as a grounding element. It also doesn't rely on any Japanese lore, so there shouldn't be any cultural barrier to worry about. Lastly, it's certainly adult enough to dispel any notion of anime being just for kids. It really is an almost perfect entry point into anime.

[HandofShadows]

I was talking about the original, 1984 Movie (Macross: Do you Remember Love?) The animation is excellent, and the pacing and elements should engage both his parents. Also, no nudity and... all that other heavy stuff Plus dealt with.


The US version had the shower scene cut out.

[ThinkMinty]

> Something recent: The sleek and more polished look will definitely be a plus.

Some of the older stuff ages better than the new stuff looks now. Berserk's original anime, for example.



So do you think that it is possible?

My dad loved Porco Rosso, because he has a thing for airplanes. Porco Rosso is (among the Ghibli movies) the "dad movie" in the Ghibli canon. For your dad, start him off with that Porco Rosso. He also watched all twelve episodes of Puella Magi Madoka Magica once I got him three episodes in. He liked all the allusions to fairy tales and german folklore, and he liked that a major character is really Maxwell's Demon.

I'll break my recommendations down for ya.

Dad Stuff:


Porco Rosso. It's the Ghibli movie for dads, because the hero/titular character is a middle-aged man. It has seaplane dogfights and is about (among other things) how fascism is bad. Porco Rosso is the Ghibli your dad will actively enjoy.
Akira. It's pretty good and it's a very 1980's kind of movie, your dad might dig it.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Most of the good guys are army guys. Plus he'll probably dig the heck out of Major General Armstrong when she shows up. It's got some weird, but it's all grounded-weirdness.

Mom Stuff:


The Vision of Escaflowne. It's a great gateway anime, and it has all the fantasy stuff and handsome young men that will hit all of her buttons. It does crossover appeal right by having something in it for everybody.
Howl's Moving Castle. Your mom will like it, it's based on a book by Diana Wynne Jones. Also, it has Calcifer. 'nuff said.
My Neighbor Totoro. My little sister really dug it. It's a nice, slow movie in gorgeous watercolor.
Kiki's Flying Delivery Service. She'll like it, it has Phil Hartman as a Salem Saberhagen-esque sassy cat.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It was written by a lady and it's fulla beefcake. Your mom will dig it. The gore is present, but it's horror-gore instead of splatterporn.

[Leewei]

Ghibli is great for parents and grandparents. I'd suggest The Secret World of Arrietty, which was based on The Borrowers, and is very accessible to Western audiences. In the English dub, the maid is voiced by Carol Burnett. I'd be surprised if your mother didn't love it.

[Brother Oni]

My dad is really into hunting and fishing. He is also, like me, kind of a gun nut and into a lot of military based stuff. But as for TV shows and movies, my dad really likes anything with a large amount of action. He also really likes sci-fi and fantasy.

Military stuff is easy.
Ghost In The Shell as suggested earlier fits the military and sci-fi aspects. There's even slightly different versions, depending on whether he wants more action (both Stand Alone Complex TV series) or more philosophy (the original movie). The movie may fail on the fan-service bit as while the main female character gets down to a skin tight bodysuit a lot, she has a completely artificial body - it'd be like saying a film has nudity because of a bare female mannequin.

Gate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_(novel_series)#Anime) depicts what happens when a typical fantasy early medieval army meets a G7 modern military. It has its problems that the anime glosses over, but they're more due to political reasons that I can't really discuss on this board. May have some fan service problems when one of the female characters starts getting her rocks off on people dying (she is essentially the high priestess of a god whose portfolio includes death and war, so she channels the souls of anybody who's died violently to him, something which happens to be very *cough* pleasurable).

Girls und Panzer: Have your father watch this introduction scene to the first episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAAnUqhKWZI) and if the premise of Japanese school girls driving realistically modelled WW2 tanks doesn't at least intrigue him, he's not a proper military fan. :smalltongue:

Porco Rosso has already been mentioned, although the more grown up elements are in the background.

Upotte!!! - very fan service-y harem anime where the girls are anthropomorphised versions of various rifles. I would suggest only showing him this once he's properly hooked on anime. :smalltongue:

Macross Plus is a good suggestion; best described as Top Gun in space, a test pilot joins the programme to select the Navy's next generation space/atmospheric fighter craft. Problems ensure when the selection process is held on his home planet, his childhood former best friend is the test pilot for the other craft under contention and the girl they both fought over arrives.

Gasaraki is another one I enjoyed. New armoured suits intended for urban warfare are deployed, but the synthetic muscle system that solves all the current real world problems with armoured suits has been around for much longer than anybody suspects.

Jin-Roh: Wolf Brigade: an alternate history 1950s Japan where Germany won the war and additionally conquered Japan. Fairly heavy espionage themed anime, where a member of the government anti-terror unit starts to develop a relationship with a young activist who may or may not be a member of a terrorist organisation. Someone did a fairly in-depth review of the morality themes within Jin-Roh (link, warning has spoilers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRsCqCLnesE)), so certainly hits the 'for adults' criteria.

Mononoke-Hime has already been mentioned, and would be an excellent fit for him.

One Punch Man. Imagine Superman, but starting out as a jaded Japanese salaryman instead of a Kansas farm boy - very action based, a fair amount of humour, plus one of the best openings I've heard for a while (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QImBolnTVH8).


My mom doesn't really have a lot of hobbies. If she never told me. But for update for media, she really likes The Princess Bride and MacGyver. She also liked Survivor, but I don't think that it's relevant.

Your mother is tricky. The Princess Bride indicates that she likes adventure comedy, but I'm having a hard time thinking of a series that's also not aimed for children/young teens.

Pretty much all the films I could think of have already been named (Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart, The Wind Rises, From Up on Poppy Hill).

Barakamon: a slice of life comedy. A Japanese calligrapher is temporarily exiled to a very rural island due to his poor behaviour and both learns to behave and improve his art.

Moyasimon: another slice of life comedy although with a twist; a first year agriculture student rediscovers his childhood ability to see and communicate with anthropomorphised microorganisms.

Chihayafuru: Essentially a sports anime based on a traditional Japanese card game, karuta. The trials and tribulations of a high school student and her love for competitive karuta, which is essentially a memory game combined with snap. Your mother may enjoy the history of the game and the 'flavour text' of the cards, as they're all traditional Japanese poems rather than the modern western playing cards.

Log Horizon: One of the better 'real people stuck in a MMO' anime series, and might sneak past the 'no fantasy' clause by the video game element.

Would sports anime be her thing? Haikyu is a volleyball anime that's popular and pretty much fits everything except that it's aimed for young teens rather than adults.

Silly suggestion based on her being an English teacher: Library War. Due to increasingly harsh government censorship, libraries rebel, stating that the sharing of knowledge is a fundamental human right. Things escalate until you have library fortresses, with their own enlisted/comissioned Library Defence Forces, facing off against government paramilitary assault teams.



Mom Stuff:


The Vision of Escaflowne. It's a great gateway anime, and it has all the fantasy stuff and handsome young men that will hit all of her buttons. It does crossover appeal right by having something in it for everybody.
Howl's Moving Castle. Your mom will like it, it's based on a book by Diana Wynne Jones. Also, it has Calcifer. 'nuff said.
My Neighbor Totoro. My little sister really dug it. It's a nice, slow movie in gorgeous watercolor.
Kiki's Flying Delivery Service. She'll like it, it has Phil Hartman as a Salem Saberhagen-esque sassy cat.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It was written by a lady and it's fulla beefcake. Your mom will dig it. The gore is present, but it's horror-gore instead of splatterporn.

Unfortunately these all fail on a variety of the clauses (no fantasy, no magic, must be for adults, no gore, etc).

FMA: Brotherhood still has a fair amount of splatterporn, especially when Scar gets involved. There's also the scene with Al in the sewers, although Brotherhood cuts that scene short compared to the original series.

[8BitNinja]

Military stuff is easy.
Ghost In The Shell as suggested earlier fits the military and sci-fi aspects. There's even slightly different versions, depending on whether he wants more action (both Stand Alone Complex TV series) or more philosophy (the original movie). The movie may fail on the fan-service bit as while the main female character gets down to a skin tight bodysuit a lot, she has a completely artificial body - it'd be like saying a film has nudity because of a bare female mannequin.

Gate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_(novel_series)#Anime) depicts what happens when a typical fantasy early medieval army meets a G7 modern military. It has its problems that the anime glosses over, but they're more due to political reasons that I can't really discuss on this board. May have some fan service problems when one of the female characters starts getting her rocks off on people dying (she is essentially the high priestess of a god whose portfolio includes death and war, so she channels the souls of anybody who's died violently to him, something which happens to be very *cough* pleasurable).

Girls und Panzer: Have your father watch this introduction scene to the first episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAAnUqhKWZI) and if the premise of Japanese school girls driving realistically modelled WW2 tanks doesn't at least intrigue him, he's not a proper military fan. :smalltongue:

Porco Rosso has already been mentioned, although the more grown up elements are in the background.

Upotte!!! - very fan service-y harem anime where the girls are anthropomorphised versions of various rifles. I would suggest only showing him this once he's properly hooked on anime. :smalltongue:

Macross Plus is a good suggestion; best described as Top Gun in space, a test pilot joins the programme to select the Navy's next generation space/atmospheric fighter craft. Problems ensure when the selection process is held on his home planet, his childhood former best friend is the test pilot for the other craft under contention and the girl they both fought over arrives.

Gasaraki is another one I enjoyed. New armoured suits intended for urban warfare are deployed, but the synthetic muscle system that solves all the current real world problems with armoured suits has been around for much longer than anybody suspects.

Jin-Roh: Wolf Brigade: an alternate history 1950s Japan where Germany won the war and additionally conquered Japan. Fairly heavy espionage themed anime, where a member of the government anti-terror unit starts to develop a relationship with a young activist who may or may not be a member of a terrorist organisation. Someone did a fairly in-depth review of the morality themes within Jin-Roh (link, warning has spoilers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRsCqCLnesE)), so certainly hits the 'for adults' criteria.

Mononoke-Hime has already been mentioned, and would be an excellent fit for him.

One Punch Man. Imagine Superman, but starting out as a jaded Japanese salaryman instead of a Kansas farm boy - very action based, a fair amount of humour, plus one of the best openings I've heard for a while (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QImBolnTVH8).



Your mother is tricky. The Princess Bride indicates that she likes adventure comedy, but I'm having a hard time thinking of a series that's also not aimed for children/young teens.

Pretty much all the films I could think of have already been named (Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart, The Wind Rises, From Up on Poppy Hill).

Barakamon: a slice of life comedy. A Japanese calligrapher is temporarily exiled to a very rural island due to his poor behaviour and both learns to behave and improve his art.

Moyasimon: another slice of life comedy although with a twist; a first year agriculture student rediscovers his childhood ability to see and communicate with anthropomorphised microorganisms.

Chihayafuru: Essentially a sports anime based on a traditional Japanese card game, karuta. The trials and tribulations of a high school student and her love for competitive karuta, which is essentially a memory game combined with snap. Your mother may enjoy the history of the game and the 'flavour text' of the cards, as they're all traditional Japanese poems rather than the modern western playing cards.

Log Horizon: One of the better 'real people stuck in a MMO' anime series, and might sneak past the 'no fantasy' clause by the video game element.

Would sports anime be her thing? Haikyu is a volleyball anime that's popular and pretty much fits everything except that it's aimed for young teens rather than adults.

Silly suggestion based on her being an English teacher: Library War. Due to increasingly harsh government censorship, libraries rebel, stating that the sharing of knowledge is a fundamental human right. Things escalate until you have library fortresses, with their own enlisted/comissioned Library Defence Forces, facing off against government paramilitary assault teams.





Unfortunately these all fail on a variety of the clauses (no fantasy, no magic, must be for adults, no gore, etc).

FMA: Brotherhood still has a fair amount of splatterporn, especially when Scar gets involved. There's also the scene with Al in the sewers, although Brotherhood cuts that scene short compared to the original series.

I love One Punch Man, but I never thought about it as a good gateway anime. I guess it makes it easier due to my dad not being that picky about entertainment.

Macross Plus, Gasakari, and Jin-Roh also sound good. In fact, I want to check all those out myself.

As for Upotte!!!, I actually watched the first three episodes and kind of liked it. It has a ton of jokes that anyone into guns would love. I don't know why, but I found the M16A4 burst fire joke especially funny. What's funny is that I watched this as a part of my "Find the Worst Anime Ever" challenge from a while ago.

Again, my mom is Nightmare difficulty in Doom. So that one is incredibly hard.

I looked up library war, and it seems pretty funny. Sounds kind of like a non sexual version of Shimoneta to me (which I enjoyed).

As for the rest of them, I feel like they might somehow work on my mom. Although I've never seen them, it sounds like good things to use as a gateway Anime.

[eggynack]

I love One Punch Man, but I never thought about it as a good gateway anime. I guess it makes it easier due to my dad not being that picky about entertainment.
My mom enjoyed it a great deal, and she, while not anime averse, can't be said to have any kinda preference for the medium.

[ThinkMinty]

Ayy 8BitNinja, play this for your dad:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMCYNH1EJTg

If he doesn't want to watch One Punch Man after that, it's his loss.

One Punch Man is great, though.

[Lemmy]

How about Cowboy Bebop?

[junlogji]

How about Cowboy Bebop?

already talked about rather extensivly earlier on

[junlogji]

i would recommend to the original poster to add to their prerequisites that the anime needs to have a good english dub

i think that making your parents listen to shoddy dubs or reading a lot of subtitles would be less than ideal

[ThinkMinty]

Both of your parents might enjoy Squid Girl. It's just twelve episodes, and it's hijinks-oriented.

This bit from the translated theme song explains it pretty well:

This invader comes from under the sea
She's got a grudge against humanity
To subjugate the surface, that's what she wants
But she's stuck waiting tables at this restaurant

It's goofy, but there are enough adult jokes that it's not for small children. Plus there's this one episode where Ika is fascinated by umbrellas that's just really great.

[8BitNinja]

Ayy 8BitNinja, play this for your dad:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMCYNH1EJTg

If he doesn't want to watch One Punch Man after that, it's his loss.

One Punch Man is great, though.

I don't know how many times I have listened to this cover

[junlogji]

Both of your parents might enjoy Squid Girl. It's just twelve episodes, and it's hijinks-oriented.

This bit from the translated theme song explains it pretty well:

This invader comes from under the sea
She's got a grudge against humanity
To subjugate the surface, that's what she wants
But she's stuck waiting tables at this restaurant

It's goofy, but there are enough adult jokes that it's not for small children. Plus there's this one episode where Ika is fascinated by umbrellas that's just really great.

the inkvasion will be krakenlackin

[ThinkMinty]

the inkvasion will be krakenlackin

Junlogji gets it

[junlogji]

Junlogji gets it

you don't even have an inkling of what i have :smallcool:

http://fanaru.com/squid-girl/image/265658-squid-girl-squid-girl.gif

[Ninja_Prawn]

Aside from Ghibli movies, the only anime I have seen that hits all of these points...


So my mom I would consider "hard mode" as this would be the requirements

> No weird stuff: I know that "weird" is a subjective term, so I'll explain. Weird means crazy hair, strange monsters/fantasy races, and special powers. This means that pretty much all Shonen can be ruled out. I would also rule out Jojo, Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan, but also keep in Sword Art Online for this category since it would be easy to reconcile these things since it happens in a video game.

> No Fanservice: It would be a while before I could talk to my mom normally again.

> No crazy gore: You know how there are those anime where people bleed inhuman amounts? I don't think those will get her into the medium

> Nothing in the Supernatural Genre: My mom really doesn't care for this. We can also rule out anything with magic to be safe.

> Nothing too dark: This is also objective, but I don't think shows where everyone has a life that sucks will work.

> Something made for adults: My mom is under the impression that cartoons are either for kids, or South Park. Let's not reinforce this.

> Nothing that focuses to heavily on romance: pretty self explanatory

> Something recent: The sleek and more polished look will definitely be a plus.

...is Gi(a)rlish Number, a deconstruction of the anime industry. Go figure.

[pendell]

I don't care what entertainment my parents, or anyone, is into. That's like hating someone for liking mint chip ice cream just because you like rocky road. Besides, unless your 12-15 and want to get away with watching Eiken (look up at your own risk), this wouldn't even be something you would even care to attempt. I was wondering if you guys could think of an anime that could hypothetically get them into the medium. This is not something I care to attempt. Think of it as a made up challenge.

So do you think that it is possible?


Try From Up On Poppy Hill (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Up_on_Poppy_Hill). It's a romantic story with zero supernatural elements and a wonderful story.

There's also When Marnie was there (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Marnie_Was_There), which is an incredible feel-good movie. There's also "The Lost World of Arietty" .

There's also Toradora! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toradora!). A romantic comedy which is both interesting and has no supernatural elements whatsoever.



If she likes more action-oriented stuff, how about Yamato 2199? It's a great sea story set in space and while there are some mild supernatural elements they are minimal and are explained in-universe as natural phenomena.

ETA: I just realized quite a few of my suggestions fail the 'romance' test. They're going to stand anyway because I think they really are that good. Don't forget The Wind Rises (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_Rises).

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Flickerdart]

Disregard series, acquire movies. Your name (Kimi no Na wa) came out recently, and is very good.

[Kato]

Those are a lot of restrictions... And sadly many go directly against what I like. Still, a few I can think of.

Steins; Gate. If sci-fi is apart from the supernatural ban. It has very minor fanservice, i.e. as much as an average American blockbuster. It's a strongly character driven story about time travel and related issues. It has a well done romance Subplot and one a bit strange subplot.. As all sci-fi, sometimes it effs physics up.

Usagi Drop. Effing Usagi Drop. So, I hate slice of life, real world, real issue drama stuff. But this effing show about a man adopting his half-sister because she has nobody else actually got me. There is nothing major happening except a man learning to be a single parent quite suddenly. Mind you, I stay away from such things in general, so it might just be average. But it really worked for me.

Also, because this is me and I have to recommend it : a Gundam? I can't recall a mecha ban and while quality strongly differs, things like 00 are generally well received and give an interesting view on part of the anime genre. G would be a much lighter take and Wing somewhere in the middle.

Edit: added some lines, mostly fixed half-daughter. (what would that even be?)

[ThinkMinty]

You are kind of overthinking it, though. If it's good, it's good.

[8BitNinja]

Those are a lot of restrictions... And sadly many go directly against what I like. Still, a few I can think of.

Steins; Gate. If sci-fi is apart from the supernatural ban. It has very minor fanservice, i.e. as much as an average American blockbuster. It's a strongly character driven story about time travel and related issues. It has a well done romance plot.

Usagi Drop. Effing Usagi Drop. So, I hate slice of life, real world, real issue drama stuff. But this effing show about a man adopting his half-daughter because she has nobody else actually got me. Mind you, I stay away from such things in general, so it might just be average. But it really worked for me.

Also, because this is me and I have to recommend it : a Gundam? I can't recall a mecha ban and while quality strongly differs, things like 00 are generally well received and give an interesting view on part of the anime genre.

Me too, there are very few things that both my mom and I like.

[Brother Oni]

Disregard series, acquire movies. Your name (Kimi no Na wa) came out recently, and is very good.

For 8BitNinja's father, I'd have no problem with getting him to watch it; his mother, not so much as while it may not fail the 'not heavily romance focused' criterion, it most certainly fails the unnecessary fanservice criterion (the male character fondling herself repeatedly).

[Ninja_Prawn]

For 8BitNinja's father, I'd have no problem with getting him to watch it; his mother, not so much as while it may not fail the 'not heavily romance focused' criterion, it most certainly fails the unnecessary fanservice criterion (the male character fondling herself repeatedly).

Fanservice is going to be hard to avoid, though. It's pretty much baked into the medium, after all.

At some point the OP is going to have to compromise ("the fanservice in this one isn't too gratuitous") or explain to the parents about the cultural differences.

[Knaight]

Fanservice is going to be hard to avoid, though. It's pretty much baked into the medium, after all.

At some point the OP is going to have to compromise ("the fanservice in this one isn't too gratuitous") or explain to the parents about the cultural differences.

It's entirely avoidable, and not that hard to avoid. It's avoiding it while also avoiding everything else on that fairly extensive list that gets difficult.

[Kitten Champion]

It's entirely avoidable, and not that hard to avoid. It's avoiding it while also avoiding everything else on that fairly extensive list that gets difficult.

The problem with this thread is, well... it's merely a thought experiment according to the OP and he has no genuine intention of actually attempting the titular introduction.

If he really wanted to, I would say watch considerably more anime - of various genre - if you're trying to introduce someone who's likely to be reticent and may even hold a stigma against it. In much the same way I wouldn't blindly bring a picky eater with a questionable dietary comfort-zone to an authentic exotic restaurant merely because it's been suggested to me by an acquaintance in passing. Having experience and being comfortable yourself is a good beginning to building the confidence of others in your appeal.

[Flickerdart]

For 8BitNinja's father, I'd have no problem with getting him to watch it; his mother, not so much as while it may not fail the 'not heavily romance focused' criterion, it most certainly fails the unnecessary fanservice criterion (the male character fondling herself repeatedly).

In that case, literally anything by Miyazaki should do.

[Knaight]

In that case, literally anything by Miyazaki should do.

Grave of the Fireflies also nicely bypasses the "for kids" problem.

[8BitNinja]

Fanservice is going to be hard to avoid, though. It's pretty much baked into the medium, after all.

At some point the OP is going to have to compromise ("the fanservice in this one isn't too gratuitous") or explain to the parents about the cultural differences.

Yeah, but a gateway anime should probably avoid it. I guess after getting them into anime, fanservice wouldn't be that much of a problem, as it is in almost every TV show and movie.

[junlogji]

Me too, there are very few things that both my mom and I like.


http://img05.deviantart.net/2deb/i/2011/209/7/2/in_case_of_discouragement_by_mintflower-d41xm42.jpg

[Oneris]

There's not a chance you can start your mom on Manga first before moving on to anime? Kaoru Mori is known for creating absolutely beautiful historical slice-of-life manga like A Bride's Story (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bride%27s_Story) and Emma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_(manga)). They do often have romance as part of the plot, but rarely any of the tiresome anime tropes, and everyone in the stories has their head screwed on straight. They're pretty much the Downton Abbey of manga.

AS far as I know, Emma has been made into an anime, but its only been subtitled.

[Flickerdart]

Grave of the Fireflies also nicely bypasses the "for kids" problem.

That's a little intense.

[Knaight]

That's a little intense.

True, but it's probably not the first intense work the person has seen. I'd use it as an introduction in this case; it's good and it also flies directly in the face of some of the assumptions.

[Celestia]

Grave of the Fireflies also nicely bypasses the "for kids" problem.
Considering the reason it was made, I'd say that it actually is for kids. Not, like, five year olds, of course, but the intended audience was, in fact, those under the age of adulthood.

[Knaight]

Considering the reason it was made, I'd say that it actually is for kids. Not, like, five year olds, of course, but the intended audience was, in fact, those under the age of adulthood.

The intended audience isn't particularly relevant here - it's about the appearance of the work to an uninformed figure, and avoiding the stigma of looking like it is only for kids. Grave of the Fireflies avoids it nicely, regardless of the specifics of the target audience.

[Lethologica]

Just tell them Totoro is about the death of two children in the countryside. Totally a legit theory about Totoro. #problemsolved

(Even without that, my parents tell me the sandal scene is unexpectedly harrowing for parents, so it might catch them unawares.)

[Celestia]

The intended audience isn't particularly relevant here - it's about the appearance of the work to an uninformed figure, and avoiding the stigma of looking like it is only for kids. Grave of the Fireflies avoids it nicely, regardless of the specifics of the target audience.
Of course it's relevant. If you're trying to dispel the misconception that anime is for kids, showing someone an anime designed for kids isn't going to do a great job. It's like trying to show someone the Batman animated series as an example of adult entertainment. It may explore mature themes, but it's decidedly not for adults.

[8BitNinja]

There's not a chance you can start your mom on Manga first before moving on to anime? Kaoru Mori is known for creating absolutely beautiful historical slice-of-life manga like A Bride's Story (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bride%27s_Story) and Emma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_(manga)). They do often have romance as part of the plot, but rarely any of the tiresome anime tropes, and everyone in the stories has their head screwed on straight. They're pretty much the Downton Abbey of manga.

AS far as I know, Emma has been made into an anime, but its only been subtitled.


Just tell them Totoro is about the death of two children in the countryside. Totally a legit theory about Totoro. #problemsolved

(Even without that, my parents tell me the sandal scene is unexpectedly harrowing for parents, so it might catch them unawares.)

About Ghibli, since it's distributed in America by Disney, I'm pretty sure it would work better. After all, what can be so strange about it? It's Disney

(If you don't know that last part was from the perspective of my parents. I'm not talking to anyone in particular, but someone might have argued with that)

[ThinkMinty]

I stand by my recommendation of The Vision of Escaflowne. It's a good gateway anime.

[Lemmy]

Wolf Children should work as well... Specially for parents!

[8BitNinja]

Wolf Children should work as well... Specially for parents!

I looked it up, and it seems great. It's about love, family, and OH CRAP DID THAT WOMAN JUST DO THAT WITH A WOLF?

I'm just kidding. It looks great.

[Anthony222]

I've never even tried to introduce my parents to anime :smallsmile: But if I want to see their confused faces, I will do this :smallbiggrin:

[Ursus the Grim]

So my mom I would consider "hard mode".

> No weird stuff:
> No Fanservice:
> No crazy gore:
> Nothing in the Supernatural Genre:
> Nothing too dark:
> Something made for adults:
> Nothing that focuses to heavily on romance:
> Something recent:


Usagi Drop! was mentioned earlier. Its a slice-of-life about a man who has to take care of a little girl. I finished it recently, and it was pretty good. Funny, heartwarming, mellow. However, make sure they don't read the manga. It gets kind of weird at the end. Not as weird as one might think, but still pretty weird.

Your Lie in April is pretty beautifully animated. Its not 'for kids' but its also not too dark. While the romance tone is there, I wouldn't call it romance-heavy.

Mushishi: Sadly violates the Supernatural Genre, though I would argue that its really a labor of a love of nature. There are strong naturalist themes, and the mushi are essentially just used as a vehicle to explore man's relationship with nature (much like Princess Mononoke.)

Cowboy Bebop: Yet another one that's been mentioned. Its art, while good, isn't quite as polished as newer releases, though, and Faye dances the Fanservice line.

Trigun: A personal favorite of my own. Probably wouldn't be a hit with your mother, but your father will probably like it. Funny, but serious at times. Lots of action, no fanservice.

[erikun]

I was wondering if you guys could think of an anime that could hypothetically get them into the medium.
I don't think there is going to be a meaningful way to "get them into the medium". The biggest part of that problem is that the "medium" of anime really is some fairly typical fanservice, romance, and supernatural weird stuff. On the other hand, you could certainly get them interested in some select titles, or even select studios, which can produce some fairly good stuff.

As for recommendations: When Marnie Was There, The Wind Rises, Wolf Children, and Secret World of Arrietty. Be sure to watch them yourself, to see if you think they are something appropriate for your parents. Past that: I'd recommend The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Patema/Inverted, along with other Ghibli and Miyazaki films, and anything else done by the people who worked on the above. Just note that some of them can get rather strange, especially some of the Miyazaki films, if you are trying to filter stuff for your parents.


Yes, I realize you weren't asking for recommendations for yourself, so just assume the "you" is for anyone looking for the recommendations.


Usagi Drop. Effing Usagi Drop. So, I hate slice of life, real world, real issue drama stuff. But this effing show about a man adopting his half-sister because she has nobody else actually got me. There is nothing major happening except a man learning to be a single parent quite suddenly. Mind you, I stay away from such things in general, so it might just be average. But it really worked for me.
Usagi is his half-aunt. She's the daughter of his grandfather, from a separate woman, and so would be one of his parents' half-sibling.

Also, depending on how far that anime goes into the story, I would absolutely not recommend it. The raising her bit is very sweet, but if it extends past the time-skip, you are in for an exceptionally awkward time.

[8BitNinja]

Usagi Drop! was mentioned earlier. Its a slice-of-life about a man who has to take care of a little girl. I finished it recently, and it was pretty good. Funny, heartwarming, mellow. However, make sure they don't read the manga. It gets kind of weird at the end. Not as weird as one might think, but still pretty weird.

Your Lie in April is pretty beautifully animated. Its not 'for kids' but its also not too dark. While the romance tone is there, I wouldn't call it romance-heavy.

Mushishi: Sadly violates the Supernatural Genre, though I would argue that its really a labor of a love of nature. There are strong naturalist themes, and the mushi are essentially just used as a vehicle to explore man's relationship with nature (much like Princess Mononoke.)

Cowboy Bebop: Yet another one that's been mentioned. Its art, while good, isn't quite as polished as newer releases, though, and Faye dances the Fanservice line.

Trigun: A personal favorite of my own. Probably wouldn't be a hit with your mother, but your father will probably like it. Funny, but serious at times. Lots of action, no fanservice.


I don't think there is going to be a meaningful way to "get them into the medium". The biggest part of that problem is that the "medium" of anime really is some fairly typical fanservice, romance, and supernatural weird stuff. On the other hand, you could certainly get them interested in some select titles, or even select studios, which can produce some fairly good stuff.

As for recommendations: When Marnie Was There, The Wind Rises, Wolf Children, and Secret World of Arrietty. Be sure to watch them yourself, to see if you think they are something appropriate for your parents. Past that: I'd recommend The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Patema/Inverted, along with other Ghibli and Miyazaki films, and anything else done by the people who worked on the above. Just note that some of them can get rather strange, especially some of the Miyazaki films, if you are trying to filter stuff for your parents.


Yes, I realize you weren't asking for recommendations for yourself, so just assume the "you" is for anyone looking for the recommendations.


Usagi is his half-aunt. She's the daughter of his grandfather, from a separate woman, and so would be one of his parents' half-sibling.

Also, depending on how far that anime goes into the story, I would absolutely not recommend it. The raising her bit is very sweet, but if it extends past the time-skip, you are in for an exceptionally awkward time.

First of all, you guys were able to recommend me a lot of stuff. Do you guys no death run Dark Souls with a Guitar Hero controller regularly? Or are you just used to dealing with pre-anime fan me?

Second, I didn't even know people still commented on this thread.

Third, You guys keep recommending Miyazaki, he sounds really good. I need to check his movies out myself.

[Kato]

Third, You guys keep recommending Miyazaki, he sounds really good. I need to check his movies out myself.
Eh, someone just resurrected it recently. But I guess we're just always happy to help?
Miyazaki is like THE big name when it comes to anime movies. I'd be surprised if you didn't watch any of his by accident.



Usagi is his half-aunt. She's the daughter of his grandfather, from a separate woman, and so would be one of his parents' half-sibling.

Also, depending on how far that anime goes into the story, I would absolutely not recommend it. The raising her bit is very sweet, but if it extends past the time-skip, you are in for an exceptionally awkward time.
Eh, it's been a while. I thought he was his dad. It's not like it changes much, except on paper.
Also, no time skip. I assume I can guess what happens afterwards but none of that is in the anime.

[Calthropstu]

Anime that works on this level:

Mom:
Grave of the Fireflies.
Ghost in the Shell movies.

Dad:
Elfen Lied
Berzerk
Claymore

[Calthropstu]

Of course it's relevant. If you're trying to dispel the misconception that anime is for kids, showing someone an anime designed for kids isn't going to do a great job. It's like trying to show someone the Batman animated series as an example of adult entertainment. It may explore mature themes, but it's decidedly not for adults.

Grave of the fireflies is NOT for kids. Holy ****, I'd almost consider that child abuse.

[erikun]

First of all, you guys were able to recommend me a lot of stuff. Do you guys no death run Dark Souls with a Guitar Hero controller regularly? Or are you just used to dealing with pre-anime fan me?
I happen to like anime, but don't really care much for the typical shonen fight scenes. I like ones which have a good atmosphere and focus on the character development, perhaps with some of the action (or at times, romance) on the side. As such, most of the ones I enjoy tend to fall outside the standard stereotypes, and are probably ones that other people uninterested in the stereotypes might be open to.


Third, You guys keep recommending Miyazaki, he sounds really good. I need to check his movies out myself.
Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are sort of the Disney in anime. They have long careers of producing good work, typically follow their own ideas rather than just the trends in current anime, and typically have very family-friendly movies. The biggest difference is that while Disney will frequently include a bunch of silly wackiness to keep the kids entertained, Miyazaki will frequently include children dealing with some tough times (for them) and growing up a bit.

And yes, some Miyazaki films are quite goofy and just full of silly situations (Ponyo and Totoro are charming, but not much more than silly and a bit surreal) but overall, they are generally good recommendations.

Studio Ghibli is the publishing studio for most of Miyazaki's films. They produce a number of other films as well, from different directors, and most of them tend to have fairly similar themes as Miyazaki's works. They are generally good recommendations as well, although you will occasionally get the very strange one.

[Knaight]

Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are sort of the Disney in anime. They have long careers of producing good work, typically follow their own ideas rather than just the trends in current anime, and typically have very family-friendly movies. The biggest difference is that while Disney will frequently include a bunch of silly wackiness to keep the kids entertained, Miyazaki will frequently include children dealing with some tough times (for them) and growing up a bit.

There's also the difference in that Studio Ghibli movies are consistently good, and Disney (not including Pixar) manages to produce something decent occasionally amidst a sea of dross.

[LughSpear]

FMA? It has a lot of feels '-'

[Brother Oni]

Grave of the fireflies is NOT for kids. Holy ****, I'd almost consider that child abuse.

The fact that Grave of the Fireflies handles a very mature subject matter doesn't mean it's not intended for children - it was originally shown in the cinemas as a double feature with My Neighbour Totoro, so it's most definitely aimed at children.

As for considering it child abuse, I'll point at the cultural differences between Western and Eastern societies, particularly in how they deal with death. Unfortunately this veers rapidly into religion, so can't be discussed on this board.


The biggest difference is that while Disney will frequently include a bunch of silly wackiness to keep the kids entertained, Miyazaki will frequently include children dealing with some tough times (for them) and growing up a bit.

Actually most Studio Ghibli films also have silly wackiness, it's just more in the background like Aardman Animation films rather than up front and centre and overemphasised in the more recent Disney films.

Off the top of my head, there's the soot sprites and the transformed mouse/mosquito in Spirited Away, the photograph scene with Fio, Mamma Aiuto and his crew in Porco Rosso and the way the tree spirits' heads rattle in Princess Mononoke.

[The Golarion]

Honestly I would recommend Princess Mononoke,

[thorgrim29]

You should get your dad to watch Black Lagoon. Actually you should get your mom to watch it too. She probably won't like it but it will definitely dispel the "anime is for kids" thing. It's like if Tarantino and the John Wick guys took a lot of coke and made an anime. It's got violence, guns, dark humour, guns, russian gangsters, sexy people, chinese gangsters, guns, american gangsters, guns, nuns with guns, japanese gangsters, swords, nazis, missiles, and also guns (seriously there is so much lead flying around in Roanapur that it must contaminate everything, no wonder they're all so violent.)

Hmmmm somebody need to get the the Jonh Wick guys to adapt Black Lagoon as a HBO or Netflix series, that would be freaking amazing. Might want to keep the heavy duty child abuse out though, or have the lady who plays Carol in the Walking Dead play Balalaika for meta-tragedy.

Also Samurai Champloo is pretty good, and Spice and Wolf is excellent. Also Princess Mononoke is probably the best animated thing I've ever watched.

[The_Admiral]

Well if your dad's a gearhead, I can't recommend Initial D more.

[8BitNinja]

You should get your dad to watch Black Lagoon. Actually you should get your mom to watch it too. She probably won't like it but it will definitely dispel the "anime is for kids" thing. It's like if Tarantino and the John Wick guys took a lot of coke and made an anime. It's got violence, guns, dark humour, guns, russian gangsters, sexy people, chinese gangsters, guns, american gangsters, guns, nuns with guns, japanese gangsters, swords, nazis, missiles, and also guns

If it has that many guns, I'm definitely watching it myself.

Also, American, Russian, Japanese and Chinese gangsters along with Nazis and nuns with guns? Sounds like a good enough plot for me.

[Lethologica]

If it has that many guns, I'm definitely watching it myself.

Also, American, Russian, Japanese and Chinese gangsters along with Nazis and nuns with guns? Sounds like a good enough plot for me.
Haha, 'plot'. (Black Lagoon is a fun ride, though.)

[Velaryon]

Third, You guys keep recommending Miyazaki, he sounds really good. I need to check his movies out myself.

Yes. Yes, you do. Pretty much Miyazaki's entire catalog (in fact, all of Studio Ghibli) is worth watching, and some of them may even appeal to your parents.

Now, as for other recommendations, you mentioned that you didn't want magic, but is sci-fi technology acceptable? If so, perhaps consider Psycho-Pass. It's basically if the movie Minority Report got turned into an anime police procedural. There's detective work and gunplay and such, but not significantly more violence than your average episode of CSI or Law & Order.

I haven't seen a lot of it, but Orange may also fit the bill for you. Wikipedia classifies it as a "slice-of-life romance" series, but it didn't strike me as particularly romantic, at least not in the few episodes I saw. It's about a high school girl who receives letters from her future self, instructing her to prevent her "biggest regret," which revolves around a new student that she befriended and who commits suicide in the original timeline.

[8BitNinja]

Haha, 'plot'. (Black Lagoon is a fun ride, though.)

You mean a bunch of factions fighting isn't a plot?

Are you saying that For Honor doesn't have a deep story?


Yes. Yes, you do. Pretty much Miyazaki's entire catalog (in fact, all of Studio Ghibli) is worth watching, and some of them may even appeal to your parents.

Now, as for other recommendations, you mentioned that you didn't want magic, but is sci-fi technology acceptable? If so, perhaps consider Psycho-Pass. It's basically if the movie Minority Report got turned into an anime police procedural. There's detective work and gunplay and such, but not significantly more violence than your average episode of CSI or Law & Order.

I haven't seen a lot of it, but Orange may also fit the bill for you. Wikipedia classifies it as a "slice-of-life romance" series, but it didn't strike me as particularly romantic, at least not in the few episodes I saw. It's about a high school girl who receives letters from her future self, instructing her to prevent her "biggest regret," which revolves around a new student that she befriended and who commits suicide in the original timeline.

Sci-fi technology is acceptable (for some reason my mom doesn't find it strange at all) and both of these sound like they would work.

[Lethologica]

You mean a bunch of factions fighting isn't a plot?

Are you saying that For Honor doesn't have a deep story?
I have no idea what that is. But plot is really beside the point in Black Lagoon.

[Velaryon]

I have no idea what that is. But plot is really beside the point in Black Lagoon.

For Honor is a video game. The story, pretty much in its entirety, is "some force lifted a kingdom of knights, one of samurai, and one of vikings, and put them all next to each other. Now they fight all the time."

[Kato]

Sci-fi technology is acceptable (for some reason my mom doesn't find it strange at all) and both of these sound like they would work.

If sci-fi is not a problem I'd like to repeat my and other people's suggestion of steins;gate which is probably one of the best anime of the last decade.

[8BitNinja]

For Honor is a video game. The story, pretty much in its entirety, is "some force lifted a kingdom of knights, one of samurai, and one of vikings, and put them all next to each other. Now they fight all the time."

Now in hindsight, it was a pretty stupid joke.

Anyways, I started watching Black Lagoon and I really like it. I'm still unsure why pirates would own a torpedo launcher or how it's possible for one person with an M79 and a PM-63 RAK (which I thought was an Uzi until I paused the episode for a second and saw wasn't). But why do I even care? It's pretty cool.

[Velaryon]

Now in hindsight, it was a pretty stupid joke.

I chuckled. I think the problem is just that not everyone was familiar with the game.

[Calthropstu]

urotsukodoji would definitely prove anime is not for children...
They might never speak to you again though.

[8BitNinja]

urotsukodoji would definitely prove anime is not for children...
They might never speak to you again though.

So I looked it up on Wikipedia

The cover shown was a guy with tearing in his clothes, obviously wounded with a cudgel looking thing in his hand with the Star of David at the end standing across from a monster.

I think that it might be about a Jewish guy who fights monsters.

Am I just a little off? Is he only Jewish in religion and not ethnicity?

[Calthropstu]

So I looked it up on Wikipedia

The cover shown was a guy with tearing in his clothes, obviously wounded with a cudgel looking thing in his hand with the Star of David at the end standing across from a monster.

I think that it might be about a Jewish guy who fights monsters.

Am I just a little off? Is he only Jewish in religion and not ethnicity?

Ummmmm...

Sure. Let's go with that. It's not even close, but it's a hell of a lot better than the truth.

Let's just say it's not suitable for ANY audience. The story is actually quite good if you can stomach some of the worst scenes any anime has ever put out. Most cannot.

[8BitNinja]

Ummmmm...

Sure. Let's go with that. It's not even close, but it's a hell of a lot better than the truth.

Let's just say it's not suitable for ANY audience. The story is actually quite good if you can stomach some of the worst scenes any anime has ever put out. Most cannot.

Yeah, I read the Wikipedia article and it says it started the whole "tentacle" thing.

If this is the mother of all tentacles, I'm pretty sure the only place this belongs is in the depths of Tartarus where it is torn to shreds by the Cerebus himself.

Actually no, that would be to cruel to the Cerebus.

[Moak]

I could have a murky memory but... one of the first anime I've watched was the first Patlabor movie, and it remained with me on how... "simple" it was in its premise and execution even if it was about giant robot, because the labor where more a way to make the potential damage "bigger" and more "on the nose" than everything else.

I haven't seen it since like... 10 years? but I remember to love both it and the manga that I read immediatly after.

[8BitNinja]

Edge of Tomorrow was based on a manga. Does that count?

Also, Pacific Rim was inspired by Evangelion. But that was inspiration, not adaption.

[Brother Oni]

I think that it might be about a Jewish guy who fights monsters.

Wrong Urotsukidoji. He meant Urotsukidoji Legend of the Overfiend from 1989.

The plot itself is quite good, if you can handle the tentacle and sex parts (note that for a time, it was banned in several countries as a 'video nasty').

It's also far from the worst 'tentacles and sex' anime out there, but getting into a discussion of that is definitely off limits on this board.


I could have a murky memory but... one of the first anime I've watched was the first Patlabor movie, and it remained with me on how... "simple" it was in its premise and execution even if it was about giant robot, because the labor where more a way to make the potential damage "bigger" and more "on the nose" than everything else.

I haven't seen it since like... 10 years? but I remember to love both it and the manga that I read immediatly after.

Patlabor is an odd one. The original TV series is quite a fun team comedy following a bunch of new recruits trying to qualify for the newly formed Mobile Police division of the police force (my favourite episode is when everybody gets dragged into a night out as a team bonding exercise and end up absolutely hammered :smallbiggrin:).

The two movies are an entirely different kettle of fish, both being fairly intense political dramas (eg the second movie involves a false flag operation to trigger a martial law state) with a bit of mecha action tacked on.

Both are generally realistic approaches to the mecha genre (eg one of the recruits is disqualified from the pilot role for being too big to fit into the cockpit) and are well worth watching, although the TV series is showing its age and even the movies look a little dated these days.

[Calthropstu]

Yeah, I read the Wikipedia article and it says it started the whole "tentacle" thing.

If this is the mother of all tentacles, I'm pretty sure the only place this belongs is in the depths of Tartarus where it is torn to shreds by the Cerebus himself.

Actually no, that would be to cruel to the Cerebus.

That's just it though, the story actually is pretty good. I'd love to see it redone in a more palatable way.

[8BitNinja]

That's just it though, the story actually is pretty good. I'd love to see it redone in a more palatable way.

So this is a horrible literal taking of making porn with a good plot?

Maybe I'm not understanding something because all I did was read the Wikipedia article.

[Brother Oni]

So this is a horrible literal taking of making porn with a good plot?

Maybe I'm not understanding something because all I did was read the Wikipedia article.

Having just read the Wikipedia article on the anime, it doesn't do the story any justice at all.

Bear in mind that the original manga was a good horror story with erotic elements. The anime was the same, just with the erotica amped up to the 'tentacle rape' level of sexuality and violence.

Essentially there's a prophecy that a chosen one will come and unite the human world, the demon world and the man-beast world together and usher forth a new golden age. The protagonist, a man-beast called Amano Jyaku, has been near obsessively searching for this messiah for 300 years.

Along the way, while keeping tabs on possibilities of people who could be this chosen one, the Chojin, he ends up fighting demons who want to find the Chojin themselves. However it turns out that rather than helping the Chojin ascend and thus gain his favour in the new world, the demons want to kill him instead - the demons have their own prophecy of the Chojin and it's not the golden age of peace and prosperity that Amano believes in.

Meanwhile the boy who could be the Chojin and his new girlfriend find themselves in the crossfire between Amano and the demons, with severe consequences.

Personally I would say it's something that's worth watching once (assuming you're old enough) and you can always fast forward through the more disturbing scenes.

[Calthropstu]

Having just read the Wikipedia article on the anime, it doesn't do the story any justice at all.

Bear in mind that the original manga was a good horror story with erotic elements. The anime was the same, just with the erotica amped up to the 'tentacle rape' level of sexuality and violence.

Essentially there's a prophecy that a chosen one will come and unite the human world, the demon world and the man-beast world together and usher forth a new golden age. The protagonist, a man-beast called Amano Jyaku, has been near obsessively searching for this messiah for 300 years.

Along the way, while keeping tabs on possibilities of people who could be this chosen one, the Chojin, he ends up fighting demons who want to find the Chojin themselves. However it turns out that rather than helping the Chojin ascend and thus gain his favour in the new world, the demons want to kill him instead - the demons have their own prophecy of the Chojin and it's not the golden age of peace and prosperity that Amano believes in.

Meanwhile the boy who could be the Chojin and his new girlfriend find themselves in the crossfire between Amano and the demons, with severe consequences.

Personally I would say it's something that's worth watching once (assuming you're old enough) and you can always fast forward through the more disturbing scenes.

Pretty much my take on it. And I like how your spoiler isn't too much of a spoiler.

[Brother Oni]

Pretty much my take on it. And I like how your spoiler isn't too much of a spoiler.

Thank you. :smallbiggrin:

As you've said, I believe the story has merit, just that the sex and violence gets in the way. If it were re-done to the same level as the manga, it would make a reasonable series for mature audiences.

[satamfan]

Like everyone has said, Studio Ghibli is an easy selection. Go watch some of the movies and pick some to show. Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are pretty solid choices.
I've introduced both my mom and her friend to FMA: Brotherhood. My coworker's wife actually borrowed the DVDs to watch the 2nd half in a few days. Frankly, it can skirt pass the no-magic on a technicality, but I think its good enough to win both parents. Just skip episode 1 since its just for the 2003 returning crowd anyway.

[8BitNinja]

Like everyone has said, Studio Ghibli is an easy selection. Go watch some of the movies and pick some to show. Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are pretty solid choices.
I've introduced both my mom and her friend to FMA: Brotherhood. My coworker's wife actually borrowed the DVDs to watch the 2nd half in a few days. Frankly, it can skirt pass the no-magic on a technicality, but I think its good enough to win both parents. Just skip episode 1 since its just for the 2003 returning crowd anyway.

After some thought, the no magic rule can have some leeway. I just wanted to be safe on the "not too weird" rule. I think that FMA could work.

Also, completely unrelated, the title helps you remember Newton's Second Law.

[Oneris]

What about The Saga of Tanya the Evil? I'd say the magic level is also around that of FMA. The first episode is a bit generic, but the second episode fixes it by revealing what makes the series unique. It's very mature about the whole 'preteen girl fighting in magical WW1" bit with absolutely none of the usual fanservice, though it pushes the religion angle pretty heavily which might offend some viewers.

[tomandtish]

If "Your Name" is still showing in the theater anywhere, I highly recommend that one. it's a wonderful romance wrapped up as an anime. And they are showing both sub and dub versions.

[The Duskblade]

As all of my picks have been mentioned. I figure I might as well focus on episodes you could show them rather then just starting at episode 1.

Cowboy Bebop:
Asteroid Blues. Ok so it actually is the first episode. But it's a great introduction to the show. Missing Faye, Ed and Ein but as an intro that might be beneficial. A little bit more violence then is normal for the show though.
Sympathy for the Devil: Unfortunately this probably breaks the no Supernatural rule but is otherwise a really good early episode.
Ballad of Fallen Angels: The introduction to the Cowboy Bebop overarching plot. Gives some hints to Spikes backstory, sets up Vicious and the entire section in the church is one of Animes highlights for me.
Bohemian Rhapsody: I appear to be alone in adoring this episode, but it lets all the cast play a part. It's pretty light hearted which makes it a nice break (especially if you just finished watching Jupiter Jazz) and I enjoyed Hex (Granted I have a soft spot for anyone who likes Parrots) and the ending while bittersweet is touching.

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Original FMA is way more supernatural and has some more disturbing elements)
In this case definitely skip to episode 2. The first episode is more of a Supernatural thing if you see it before the rules of alchemy are established. Which the second episode does well.
The episode about their training on the island could also work pretty well for that reason.
Alternatively depending on tastes for the Dad, the episode where Riza recounts the Ishvalian war of extermination.

Ghost In the Shell Stand alone complex
It's been too long for me to go into detail. But I remember Jungle Cruise really stuck out to me. Really need to rewatch Stand alone complex.

[Zalabim]

I don't know what your parents would think of it, but I recently rewatched Tonari no Seki-kun, and it's still wonderful. It's about a kid, Seki, who spends all his time in class quietly playing with toys and games, as seen from the perspective of the girl who sits next to him and tries to ignore it. It's rarely what you'd expect and he always goes to extremes. Her narration really sells the whole experience. Also, each episode is 7 minutes long. It's like a good newspaper comic.

[8BitNinja]

What about The Saga of Tanya the Evil? I'd say the magic level is also around that of FMA. The first episode is a bit generic, but the second episode fixes it by revealing what makes the series unique. It's very mature about the whole 'preteen girl fighting in magical WW1" bit with absolutely none of the usual fanservice, though it pushes the religion angle pretty heavily which might offend some viewers.

My entire family is religious, I'm pretty sure it won't offend them.

[Lethologica]

My entire family is religious, I'm pretty sure it won't offend them.
Oh, um, Fullmetal Alchemist might present some issues on that score in the first couple episodes. Just a heads-up.

[8BitNinja]

Oh, um, Fullmetal Alchemist might present some issues on that score in the first couple episodes. Just a heads-up.

Alright.

I might check out the first few episodes. I heard that it was good anyways. I just never watched it.

But if you think that's weird, keep in mind that I watched Lodoss and Ergo Proxy before Attack on Titan.

[Knaight]

Oh, um, Fullmetal Alchemist might present some issues on that score in the first couple episodes. Just a heads-up.

It's worth checking, although in my experience it often doesn't (I suppose it would cause problems for just about anyone reading Ed and Al as infallible authorities, but that reading isn't exactly supported in the text).

[pendell]

Just saw the article Six Anime worth watching that aren't by Studio Ghibli (http://kotaku.com/six-mind-blowing-anime-films-that-aren-t-by-studio-ghib-1794328712). Would any of them work? Your Name is second from the top, but I believe that's disqualified for other reasons.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Lethologica]

Just saw the article Six Anime worth watching that aren't by Studio Ghibli (http://kotaku.com/six-mind-blowing-anime-films-that-aren-t-by-studio-ghib-1794328712). Would any of them work? Your Name is second from the top, but I believe that's disqualified for other reasons.

Respectfully,

Brian P.
I think the only one that hasn't been mentioned is Mind Game. (Haha, they can't go 6 films without mentioning multiple Kon movies.)

[Oneris]

My entire family is religious, I'm pretty sure it won't offend them.

Er, it might. God is kind of messing around with this naytheist guy to force him to have faith, but he's doing it in a thoroughly dickish method like putting him in danger and holding his life hostage.

[8BitNinja]

Er, it might. God is kind of messing around with this naytheist guy to force him to have faith, but he's doing it in a thoroughly dickish method like putting him in danger and holding his life hostage.

Oh, okay.

I guess that, in my case, I would have to watch the whole series in order to make a decision