LIST: Jump into anime with these Netflix picks

Tristan Zinampan, Paolo Bitanga

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LIST: Jump into anime with these Netflix picks
Getting into anime when you’re a little bit older can be too much. Here's where you can start.

 


MANILA, Philippines – First, let’s get this out of the way, Anime IS intimidating. 

For those who didn’t grow up watching Dragon Ball ZYu Yu Hakusho (given the localized title of Ghost Fighter in the Philippines), and Flame of Recca, getting into anime when you’re a little bit older can be a bit too much.

1) There’s just so much material out there. Where must one start? 2) The fandom can be intense. Ask around, and there’s bound to be mega-fans who will bombard you with questions and suggestions, that can involve obscure hard-to-find picks, 20 years worth of watching (“What? You have to watch all 928 episodes of One Piece! Sit down, you have to start right now!”), and/or other to-do’s that are not…well, easy-to-do.

So, where to begin? Before we start, to clarify, anime is not a genre. It’s a medium. So think of it the same way you think of comic books or cartoons. If you don’t enjoy one, skip it and try something else. Don’t think one movie or series is indicative of the whole medium. There’s anime for young boys and girls (shounen for boys, shouju for girls). There are those which are more adult and naughty. Some are closer to sci-fi films like Arrival and Annihilation that can send you on an existential mind trip. So there’s pretty much something for everyone. 

In our picks below, we factored in some considerations. Most of these picks are relatively short binges; No Dragon Ball ZNaruto, or One Piece here. And, two, all of these are watchable on the close-to-universally accessible streaming service Netflix. Lastly, we also grouped things into two: classics, which many consider being the cream of the crop, universally-loved enough to be flagships of the medium, and up-and-comers, those in the current pop culture conversation. (So yes, you’ll be “hip.”)

THE CLASSICS

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

For those wondering, there are two Fullmetal Alchemist adaptations. The first one, released in 2003, deviates midway from its source material because, just like Game of Thrones, it came to a point where it overtook the manga and had to create its own storylines. Brotherhood, released in 2009, adheres closer to the original text. Which, in our opinion, makes the story more cohesive, and the plot progression feels more natural.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, tells the story of two alchemist brothers, Alphonse and Edward Elric. After a failed attempt at bringing their dead mother back to life, the two end up disfigured – one missing his limbs, and another one losing his body completely, forcing his “essence” to live in a suit of armor.

This anime is plenty surprising. Though it starts as a case-of-the-week, adventure anime, it becomes a full-blown political thriller complete with religious orders, war crimes, government cover-ups, and conspiracy. However, there’s also a ton of heart and emotional moments that will draw on viewers’ heartstrings (even those with hearts encased in armor).

Hunter x Hunter

The current Hunter x Hunter is actually a remake of the 1999 shounen-adapted series many of us knew as kids. The show follows the story of Gon, an ambitious boy on a quest to find his long lost father and become a great “hunter,” an adventurer specializing in the supernatural. The hit manga is considered by many, the other great work of YuYu Hakusho creator Yoshihiro Togashi (fun fact: he’s married to Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi).

Princess Mononoke (and all available Studio Ghibli films)

Among the handful of blessings in 2020, the world finally got Studio Ghibli on Netflix. Championed by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, the “Disney of Japan” influenced global cinema throughout the 90s going into the new millennium. 

Newcomers can start with any title, but we recommend his most classic Princess Mononoke, an enchanting fantasy set in a period when both man and beast ruled the land.

Death Note

Before Breaking Bad, there was Death Note – and before watching Netflix’s western adaptation, we recommend watching the short but iconic 2006 anime. 

The supernatural and the intellectual collide when high school prodigy Light Yagami stumbles upon a “Death Note,” a mysterious notebook that kills anyone whose name is written on its cursed pages. Beyond its premise, the show shines in its plot, pitting its boy genius-antihero against a formidable world-class detective known only as “L.”

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Possibly the most head trippy of the classics is Neon Genesis Evangelion.

While Eva (as it is called by fans) has all the pinings of a conventional “hero’s journey” – 14-year-old boy turns out to be supernaturally-gifted (in this case, at piloting a giant robot), ends up chosen to save the world – the anime is actually a repudiation of genre tropes.

Evangelion is a rumination on what is the cost of world-saving. In the anime, not everyone can pilot the giant titular EVA units. So when young Shinji Ikari shows exceptional skill, he is essentially forced to be a child soldier, even though it’s against his will. 

The anime goes into heavy territory – talking about PTSD and depression, parental trauma, and even the existence of God amid an impending and cruel apocalypse. Add to this a surreal and often dreamlike visual language, especially towards the show’s end, and it’s understandable how the Neon Genesis Evangelion can be equal parts an illuminating, almost religious experience, as well as a frustrating one. 

(PSA: the two-part finale of the original anime can get particularly surreal and hard to penetrate. Luckily, Netflix also has The End of Evangelion, virtually a film that serves as a more straightforward finale to the series.)

UP-AND-COMERS

Attack on Titan

Perhaps the most gripping anime in recent years, Attack on Titan is an artful mix of fantasy and suspense. It takes place in a secluded “steampunk” civilization that lives in fear of “titans,” or human-eating giants. 

Destined to avenge his mother, protagonist Eren joins the military’s elite titan-fighting unit, sending him along a winding rollercoaster of twists, death, and conspiracies.

One-Punch Man

In the discourse of pop culture, a question often asked is, how do you make a character who’s too powerful still compelling? It’s a dilemma that many have posited as to why heroes such as Superman and Captain Marvel fail to find an audience and have mediocre films that often resort to “depowering” as a narrative device just to give them a bit of challenge.

One-Punch Man takes a different approach to this dilemma; it faces the question head-on in a meta-textual fashion. One-Punch Man is about the comedic adventures of Saitama, the eponymous hero, and the banality of his existence as a hero who could literally win every battle with just one punch.

My Hero Academia

Another shounen manga adaptation, My Hero Academia is one of the hottest titles today. In a world where superpowers, or “quirks,” are common, a powerless Deku sets on a journey to become a great superhero. His unflinching courage earns him a spot at a top superhero academy, kicking off a fantastical high school drama along the lines of the Harry Potter series.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

The manga may be as old as Dragon Ball, but it wasn’t until 2012 that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure would become a series, and ultimately, an Internet phenomenon. A fantasy/action satire, the story follows the intergenerational rivalry between hero Joe Joestar and villain Dio Brando. More significant than the plot, its absurdity, postmodern self-commentary, and pop culture obsession render “Jojo” as the rightful king of anime memes. 

Even Jojo memes have become their own platform, with fans commenting, “Is this a Jojo reference?” to nearly anything on social media. The meme that keeps on meme-ing, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is more than an anime. It’s a philosophy.

Castlevania

Ok, this is essentially cheating. Technically-speaking, Castlevania isn’t anime but anime-influenced. For anime to be considered anime, it has to come from Japan. As the word “anime” itself, is the Japanese word for animation. It just so happens that with that origin, there also comes a distinct look and repeating narrative tropes and elements.

Castlevania, though based on a Japnese video game, comes from the west. It is produced in America and is written by Warren Ellis, one of the UK’s most well-known comic book writers. However, as material, Castlevania has enough merit to be added to our recommendations list.

Castlevania is a medieval fantasy that tells the story of one man’s quest to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Dracula himself. What the show does effectively is balance passion and ingenuity. It contains as much fan service from the games as rejections of its story elements – enough to make the show feel fresh. This all leads to an entertaining show with lots of gory action, stunning animation, and an enormous sense of scale, which makes everything just feel epic.

Violet Evergarden

Violet Evergarden is an “Auto Memory Doll” – basically, ghostwriters for those who cannot write or express their emotions in letters.

Formerly a child soldier, Violet lost both her arms in a war and is now is a cyborg with robotic limbs. As she tries to reintegrate herself into society, Violet is also searching for purpose, which slowly develops as she delves into the stories of the people she writes for.  

Violet Evergarden is one of those sci-fi stories which counterweigh its more cold, mechanical elements with poignancy and reflections on the human condition.

Altered Carbon: Resleeved 

Again, another product of the blurring lines between eastern and western animation. Though produced by Netflix and a spin-off based on the works of an English writer, Altered Carbon: Resleeved has a story written by Dai Sato, the creative mind behind Cowboy Bebop. Its studio, animators, and directors are also Japanese.

Altered Carbon: Resleeved features Takeshi Kovacs, the same character who, though switches bodies (and actors), appears in both seasons 1 and 2 of the series’ live-action Netflix adaptation. In the anime film, Takeshi must protect a tattooist while investigating the death of a yakuza boss.

At the forefront of Resleeved is gorgeous action. While the blend of CGI + traditional cell-shaded animation, which Netflix has become fond of – as seen in The Dragon Prince and Ultraman – can be jarring and choppy in the platform’s previous works, In Resleeved, everything is slick and fluid. Couple this stunning fight choreography, and nearly every battle scene in the film is highly rewatchable. – Rappler.com

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Tristan Zinampan

Tristan is Rappler’s resident pop culture vulture. He leads Rappler’s youth culture section, Hustle.
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Paolo Bitanga

Pawi is a multimedia producer, content writer, and host of Hustle's Inside the Industry podcast. A graduate of New York University's film program, he started as a commercial director in the US, working with brands like Adobe, Playstation and Coca-Cola. In 2020, he founded Act One, Rappler's online platform for Filipino short films. An all-around artist, Pawi is also a professional b-boy (breakdancer) and published children's author. You can follow his upside down adventures on Instagram @pawifiction