I don’t know if it’s neccessarily a gender thing, or purely a preference thing. One of my wife’s favorite “anime” releases of recent years was Aachi & Ssipak for instance. You should check out her review here.

Jeremy, I still maintain that Naruto is a children’s show, no different than Dragon Ball, but I’m willing to have you prove me otherwise. As for Demon City Shinjuku, I think it actually is more “intro” than Ninja Scroll, or Fist of the North Star. Compared to those it provides some pretty general 16+ audience action.

Also, with this list I’m trying to provide a nice mix of the good and the noteworthy bad, so as to provide a nice perspective for the discerning anime viewer. Ie: Don’t take the mention of Angel Cop as an endorsement of its quality :D

However, while I liked Demon City Shinjuku well enough, I really don’t think it’s that great of an “intro” anime. And I take particular umbrage at your besmirching of Naruto: my girlfriend (who had never seen an anime in her life) just finished watching 220 episodes of the original series and 25 episodes of the new series with me, after she got hooked from watching only the first episode. The trick is to watch the quality fansubs available free from places like http://www.dattebayo.com, instead of that filthy dubbing they show on Cartoon Network (horrible translations + bad voice acting = trash).

I mentioned in more words than here the Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X) OVAs, which are a perfect combination of heartwarming(+breaking) romance and violence; Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle when in need of a more formal title to bridge to show someone anime =/= disney; and Final Fantasy: Advent Children, because that one was just cool (and everyone on the local network agrees); and, of course, Grave of the Fireflies.

There are other strong ones too which I haven’t seen (Jin-Roh, Beyond the Clouds the Promised Placed, Hoshi no Koe, Kino no Tabi etc.) so I can’t include them on the list.

I guess gender matters.

Those are all definitely good picks on your list. I’d have to say that I never caught the steampunk train, but Steamboy’s animation was quite impressive. I thought about including more Miyazaki, but most of them are so family friendly, and thanks to the Disney releases now recognized (rightfully or not) as family fare, I decided not to include them amongst the other bad boys on this list :). Still, I am a proud owner of an ultimate Miyazaki collection. I have everything but The Cat Returns.

Thanks again!

Personally, I never really liked the whole ‘post apocalypse Tokyo’ genre…except for Akira. All of the other stories seemed to be the same.

I think the reason North America was so saturated with ‘neo-Tokyo’ anime titles was due to Akira’s popularity…but that’s another story.

Keeping in the ‘anime film or ova’ theme but adding a few more recent films, I’d recommend:
– Spirited Away – The Ultimate Miyazaki Experience™
– Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children – great fan service
– Appleseed – CG anime in cell-shaded style
– Steamboy – ‘Akira’ director Katsuhiro Otomo’s latest

Great article Chris! We linked to it on the site.

Thanks for the feedback. In creating this list I tried to include those films that wowed me when I first saw them, and still hold up as worthwhile or important viewings today. Hence the old, or classic titles. Smoovegeek, I must say I’ve never heard of any of those titles, but definitely will be checking some of them out.

Anca, I’d actually disagree with you on the Goldenboy. It’s got a tone not unlike British Benny Hill or American teen comedies. I’ve actually shown it to a couple friends (including my wife, when she was merely my girlfriend) and they all enjoyed it.

It’s true that a lot of these titles may not be for a “general” audience, but that’s not what I was going for. These are films that people 16 and up can and should enjoy. I’m not recommending them for children, or those with delicate sensibilites :) Mind including your own list?

Aside from Perfect Blue and Grave of the Fireflies, I don’t really agree with most of the mentions here as introductory, especially not for a ‘general audience’ (unless you translate ‘general’ as ‘20-something men’). If you show a non-anime-fan girl Golden Boy she… won’t really agree that it’s worth it. Hell, I (

YMMV of course, but here are a few more recent titles that I’ve found entertaining:

1. NHK ni Youkoso! (Welcome to the NHK!)
Focusing on a hikkikomori (socially maladjusted) young man who finds himself being “rehabilitated” by an attractive female high school student (yeah yeah, it’s anime), it explores various fringe social elements of Japan, from MLM schemes and MMORPG addiction to suicide websites, while we follow the personal growth of both characters. It’s alternately disturbing, hilarious, and touching. Awesome show.

2. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto
Historical drama with a supernatural twist. It’s hard to encapsulate, but it’s set at the end of the Edo era and contains a very healthy dose of history, tempered with a fast-moving plot which follows a mysterious samurai and a revenge-driven acting troupe as their fates intertwine around the pursuit of the magically preserved (and possessed) head of an ancient warlord.

3. xxxHOLiC
Despite how the name looks to Western eyes, it’s not a ‘naughty’ show; it’s Studio CLAMP’s most complex and interesting work (that I’ve seen) to date. The story centers on a young man who sees demons and is taken in by a fortune-teller who tricks him into working for her. Of course she is much more than she seems…

4. Mononoke
A new series this year with a very unique visual style that is reminiscent of early Japanese art and papercraft. A traveling ‘medicine seller’ is on a mission to banish mononoke (a particular type of spirit). Real tough one to describe, especially since I’ve only seen three episodes so far, but definitely check it out, if only for the art—it was a bit off-putting at first, but really drew me in.

5. Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei (So Long, Mr. Despair)
Also new, this show is a shining example of black humor (does that make sense?). A perpetually suicidal guy ends up teaching a middle school homeroom class full of equally quirky students. Each character in the show has a name that works out to a self-descriptive pun, and the creator uses these (among many other devices) to skewer anime stereotypes and eccentricities. One of the few anime shows that has made me laugh out loud on a consistent basis.