Appreciating Anime
 

I've never really been much of an anime fan. My exposure to it has been rather limited, so I'm not sure whether my limited appreciation of it is the result of an innate lack of appeal or simply the lack of a good, solid introduction. I'm dating a girl now who is an anime fan, and I'd like to be able to enjoy it with her. Any suggestions as to how I might build an appreciation, (titles, etc.), or at least make sure I actually don't care for it, lol?

i think you should ask her 1st. If she's a fan, she'll know right away which anime you should be watching/reading.

If you're talking about anime movies, then I'll recommend a few:

Spirited Away.
Princess Mononoke.
Cowboy Bebop.
Ninja Scrolls.

edit: if you really want to get into animes, theres 2 things you need to like.
the art style and the storyline. some anime can be pretty lame on graphics but some are amazing! check out spirited away for the scenery.

and as for stories, well that's all up to you. i don't like most animes because the stories are just not my style. but some are great and when you find those, then you'll be set.

To be a fan of anime, you need to love everything extreme. All the woman have giant boobs, all the action is out of this world, all of the gore is to the extreme, and in the case of anime series, all of the plot lines are twisted and story lines weave in and out of each other.

A few more I would add to the list are:

Howl's Moving Castle
Fist of the North Star
Wicked City
Ghost in the Shell 1&2 and the Stand Alone Complex Series

Well, it all depends on how much she's interested in anime. Now, it's possible that the only anime she watches is the stuff that appears on Cartoon Network. Or she may got out of her way for the non-mainstream stuff, as well as dress up as her favorite caharacters and attend an anime convention.

But there are soooooo many genres within anime it's self, that you 2 may or may not like the same ones. There's your romantic comedy animes like Love Hina, His and Her's Circumstances, and Saikano. Your giant robot actions animes, Neon Genisis Evangalion, Gundam, and The Big O. Your action animes, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Witch Hunter Robin. And your ultra popular one's like Dragon Ball, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Naruto. And then there's your hentai (anime porno) with intergalatic demons who've come for our women ;)

And let's not forget the anime section in your big bookstores like Borders and such filled with graphic novels. A ton of animes started out this way, and later got an animated series for the fans.

So ask her to take you to her bedroom and have her show you her favorite ones ;)

Tentacle rape hentai has legitimate artistic roots.

That said, you really ought to ask her what she likes. She'll be touched that you have asked her to give you an introduction to anime.

Personally, I really like some of the stuff they show on the Cartoon Network--Naruto, Bleach, Trinity Blood. Of course, this usually means I have to stay up late on Saturdays. C'est la vie. It is a good place to start, and figure out what about anime you like--for instance, on some shows, the animation annoys me.

I wouldn't necessarily start poking around the manga section at your local Barnes and Noble until you've established what appeals to you. The sheer selection available in manga these days can be a bit overwhelming.

I confess, the first show that turned me on to anime is a show called "Great Teacher Onizuka", originally from a Tokyopop manga series. It's about a young guy who is a virgin and yet also the leader of a menacing motorcycle gang, who decides to become a teacher in order to score with schoolgirls. Along the way, he finds out he's actually pretty good at what he does.

So you never know what will appeal to you. It might even be tentacle porn!

I think this was discussed before.

Action: Appleseed, Akira, Dominion Tank Police, Lupin III series (especially the film Castle of Cagliostro), Ninja Scroll, Ghost in the Shell, Riding Bean, Black Magic m-66, Jin-Roh
Horror: Blood, Ninja Scroll
Comedy: Project A-KO, Lupin III, Orange Road (series and the finale)
Drama: Grave of the Fireflies (one of the most moving stories you'll ever see ... period)
Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Wings of Honneamise, Galaxy Express 999, All of Miyazaki's films (IMO the grandest of all storytellers with an endless imagination and tremendously moving - Spirited Away, A Castle in the Sky (Laputa), Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa, Grave of the Fireflies ....)

I guess one step is to realize that a lot of anime isn't cartoons. In the US, cartoons are directed towards youngsters and are basically babysitters that come in TV format. Anime...is animation, but the tie-in to cartoons ends at that. Anime is adult, with adult themes, SERIOUS voice acting, and raw emotion. Some Anime is for kids but a large chunk of it isn't. Anime is simply kick ass shows in animated format that usually have better character development than anything coming out of the US.

My favorites:

Naruto (subtitled version, up to episode 120 or so is possibly the best anime I've ever seen)
Cowboy Bebop (dubbed version with English actors is actually good)
Dragon Ball Z (plot is HORRIBLE but you'll be hard pressed to find cooler action scenes despite its age, worth watching for the badass characters and fight scene animations)
Neon Genesis Evangelion (not my absolute favorite but still very stylish)
Princess Mononoke

With all things, in order to appreciate it--to KNOW about it--you're gonna have to expose yourself to it as much as possible. It doesn't matter what, just watch it. I'm a fan of the original, if you can help it, always go for the original version. Uncut, unedited, and much, MUCH better voice acting. That said, let me introduce you to www.crunchyroll.com

All of the animes suggested above are excellent. I'll just throw in Death Note and Hikaru No Go to the bunch.

Death Note is a very, very stylish anime (and manga) with a Gothic/gloomy atmosphere. Extremely suspenseful and fantastic character development.

Hikaru No Go is about a boy possessed by an ancient ghost who loves to play Go and eventually, he learns to enjoy Go and is a very good at it, too. Again, great animation and story telling.

The thing about the above is that they're very tamed compare to animes (they actually wear normal clothes ;) ). No fighting, no big monster or spaceship, treasures, or any thing like that. Just some good ol' fashion story telling, kick ass character development, animation, voice acting, etc...

Since most of these series are massive, I suggest renting the DVDs and watching many at a time. During my "Naruto catch-up" I would watch 10-15 episodes per day in college.

TV: Cowboy Bebop (23 or 26 1-Hour Episodes and a 2-Hour Movie)
Dragonball Z (200+ 30 minute episodes)
Naruto (150+ 30 minute episodes)

Movies: Akira, Ghost in the Machine, Armitage: III (The Third)

There are so many series that are worth watching... But I always thought that way someone starts their animeology is to start with Ranma1/2 which isn't too serious but also gives you the wide variety that anime can be. With that being said there are plenty of character driven, plot driven stories.

Of course:

Cowboy Bebop
Evangelion
Ninja Scroll
Ghost in the Shell
GitS: Standalone Complex
El Hazard (oldie but goodie)
Love Hina
Trigun
Full Metal Panic
Kenshin - A long series but good to watch
Negima
GTO
The Melancoly of Haruhi

This list can go on and on and on.

Are a few that I can think of off the top of my head. There is definitely an anime for whatever genre you like. From Sci-Fi, to slice of life, to Fantasy, to comedy. You name it, I guarantee that there's an anime out there for you to enjoy...