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There are certain things – like gigantic robots with breasts - that anime fans take in stride that the straights won’t. It’s a pop culture barrier that plagues all otaku who want to share the goodness of anime with their friends.  We all know how it goes: you try to get them to watch FlCl, and the first time someone gets a guitar ganked out of their head, it’s a deal breaker.  So for those of you looking to make addicts out of your friends, here’s an otaku guide to gateway anime.

1. Cowboy Bebop – it’s a classic that holds up to time and the evolution of anime – and if you doubt that, just ask Keanu, who will be playing bounty hunter Spike Speigel in the upcoming live action adaptation. The story of a group of bounty hunters fighting crime (and hunger) in the future, there’s just enough tech to appeal to sci-fi fans without going overboard. Otaku girl Amanda knows for a fact that it will suck you in, as it was her first anime.

2.        Bleach - The powerhouse anime, the king of the otaku world right now. Whether you follow the episodes on Adult Swim, the dvd/manga releases from Viz or download episodes as soon as they hit the internet, everyone who takes a peek at Bleach knows that its addictive power is better than crack. Though the otherworldly franchise does take a peek into Japanese culture and spiritualism, there’s so much fantastic fighting and characters to love that we think it’s a good pick, despite the lengthy nature of the series.

3. Full Metal Alchemist – This show has the ability to speak to viewers on many levels. In any one episode you will experience immediate attachments to each and every character on some level, you will see amazing feats of alchemy, and you will even be faced with moral dilemmas that even after they are resolved you still won’t be sure how you feel about what happened.  Ed and Al may be in a world completely alien to us but their personalities and their ambitions will sit very close to home.

4. Princess Mononoke – Miyazaki’s films are all masterworks, but this film especially has potential to appeal to a larger crowd. You have Ashitaka with a possessed limb that gives him so much power he can decapitate samurai with a bow and arrow. With war going on not just between humans but also with man versus nature there is tons of action to keep anybody interested from the beginning to the end. Unless you’re a jackass. Which you might be.

5. Black Lagoon – the story of the smuggling ship Black Lagoon and her crew, this show doesn’t have magic or robots or any of the other crazy shit that confuses the straights. What it does have is mob action, violence, and more violence. For your friends who like to watch shit get blown up and people get their faces blown off. Also, Revy’s rack is almost hypnotic.

6. Afro Samurai  - Afro was an interesting and hugely successful venture into culture crossover in anime form. Featuring the voice talent of Mace Windu himself, one Mr. Sam Jackson, the story of a samurai with a gigantic fro (and some killer bushido skills) and a rap soundtrack provided by the RZA - all make for a fantastic series that blends east and west with phenomenal results.

7. Death Note –Who hasn’t, at some point, fantasized about being able to easily dispatch bullies and not receive any consequences? In Death Note, Light has that ability. To his eyes he is bringing justice to the world and helping to mold it into a better/safer place. In the eyes of the law, Light is actually the ultimate evil. When Light as evil incarnate and L as the savior are going head to head you will cling to the edge of your seat as you see what their next moves will be. This show is more of a psychological thriller than a bust-your-face-in action flick.

8. Hellsing Ultimate – in the 90’s, a lot of us were taken with Hellsing, the story of the vampire Allucard and the corporation who uses him to wipe out vampires. Though it was good then, it doesn’t hold up to the anime in production now – or the aesthetics us westerners are familiar with in films and TV. Luckily, the company behind Hellsing figured that out, and made Hellsing Ultimate. A reworking of the show with bigger kills, better art and more of what makes Allucard so damn deadly rends it utterly accessible to horror fans.

9. Samurai Champloo – It’s a fantastic addition to our list, for all the same reasons as Bebop and Afro Samurai. A tale of two samurai put to hip hop music, it has a lot of the same character dynamic as Bebop (as well it should; the show was helmed by the same man who brought us Bebop, Shinichiro Watanabe) without the sci-fi element. Champloo has a lot going for it – most notably the Edo period plotline with slapstick comedy and rap culture interwoven throughout the plot.

10. Naruto – Ninja’s ninja’s ninja’s! Naruto is the story of one young ninja as he carves his own path to becoming a ninja master. What’s special about Naruto is that he starts out young and grows up and so does the storyline. He has to grow up fast and while there will be times of juvenile silliness they seem to come right when you need a break from an intense plot twist.

But just as there are shows that make for fantastic gateway animes, there are the common mistakes people make when introducing an anime virgin to our fantastic world, so here we present animes that are absolutely not to be used as gateway animes:

1. Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie – Some times your friends just don’t understand why people turn into cars. The movie is BRILLIANT - it’s beautiful and it feels like a fast moving dream that, no matter how many times you’ve experienced it, there is always more to learn. There are not many people out there who actually enjoy having to analyze every thing the see in order to enjoy a movie. Utena: The Movie is symbolism. Every piece of imagery, every character’s design and actions all fit into the most intricate puzzle.

2. Mecha Anime – yes, Code Geass, Aquarion and Full Metal Panic! are phenomenal shows. But gigantic robots fighting other gigantic robots in crazy plotlines (Aquarion, in one episode, dropped the characters into a chibi world, and I’m not even going to get into Evangelion’s backwards plot) doesn’t usually work, despite the fact that action = good and these shows are about 80% action. Mecha is a hard thing to get into, and often a turnoff for new viewers.

3. Any live action adaptation – The beauty of anime is that there are no limits to the imagination. But in the world of live action, there are things called budgets, and for a live action adaptation of anime, those budgets are usually small. Everything that was so fantastic in anime will become a budget liability in the real world, which often leads to guys in ugly rubber suits (want more proof? Read Amanda’s review of Blood: The Last Vampire.

4. Any of the 90’s “classics” Yes, they’re all wonderful because they came from a time when making a solid piece of work was more important than all the merchandise they could make by pumping out mediocre anime after mediocre anime. Sailor Moon is beautiful and magical when you’re a young girl (and was Bella’s gateway anime), but when you’re in your adulthood and you’re seeing it for the first time, it just doesn’t speak to you quite the same.  Akira, Dragon Ball Z, and even Escaflowne are great stories with a lot of love, mythology, and even some philosophy thrown into the plot. If you’re showing these to someone who has never seen anime or who has never had the urge to see, you’re giving them plenty of cannon fodder for sarcastic jokes at your expense as well as that of your beloved anime.

5. Baccano! - Baccano! is an excellent show, but an even better example of mistakes we make. Like Welcome to the NHK or the aforementioned FlCl, some things are just too out there for people who don’t understand the form of anime, the culture behind it (not to mention how that culture bleeds into anime) like us seasoned fans do. Baccano!, a story about twenty million things happening at once, is confusing enough for anyone. But then you toss in the alchemy and the kung fu moves on 1920’s New York mobsters… well, let’s just not go there. Don’t be swayed by how cool something new and shiny is; think of your audience, and not what rocks you.