The Best Anime Series for Beginners
A friend new to anime wants a beginner series: vote for the one you'd put in front of them first. Three tests decide entry: first, a TV series from a Japanese studio, not a film or a Western show in the style. Second, it starts its own story, ruling out recuts and sequels like Dragon Ball Z Kai. Third, at least 2 of 12 English-language beginner guides name it (Tom's Guide, TV Insider, Gulf News, Netflix Tudum and eight more, 11 dated 2022 to 2026), and so do at least a quarter of those eligible to. Eligible means dated on or after the premiere (a page's latest printed date; for a write-up of a linked reader poll, the poll's results date), and the undated guide counts against every show. A mention counts for the series its entry points to, by name, year, season or premise; at most 2 guides point to the 1986 Dragon Ball, the rest to Z. Votes reorder shows within two groups: 5 or more guide mentions keep a show above every show with fewer.
Death Note (2006) is #1 on “The Best Anime Series for Beginners”.
- 1
Death Note (2006)
Light Yagami finds a notebook lying on his high school grounds, tests it, and inside one episode he's decided to become the god of a new world. Madhouse made all 37 episodes for Nippon TV between October 2006 and June 2007, with Tetsurō Araki directing. It's named by 9 of the 12 beginner guides, and TV Insider's write-up of a Crunchyroll fan poll has it winning.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0877057/ - 2
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009)
Two brothers try to bring their dead mother back with alchemy, and the bill is Ed's leg, then his arm to bind Al's soul to a suit of armor. Bones made 64 episodes from April 2009 to July 2010 and followed the manga to its end, where the 2003 anime had run out of chapters and written its own story, and you'll find it on 9 of the 12 guides.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355642/ - 3
Attack on Titan (2013)
The story starts with a Colossal Titan breaching the wall around Eren's hometown and Titans eating his mother, so you'll know fast whether you can take the rest. Wit Studio animated three seasons and MAPPA the fourth, which ended on November 5, 2023; the episode total is 94 plus 3 OADs, and 7 guides out of 12 put it on their list.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2560140/ - 4
One Punch Man (2015)
Saitama trained until one punch could end any fight, and it's left him disillusioned; he defeats Mosquito Girl, the monster that nearly killed Genos, and Genos becomes his disciple. Madhouse made season one's 12 episodes in 2015 before J.C.Staff took over. It's the pick of 7 of 12 guides, and as of October 2026, 36 episodes have aired, with the second half of season three due in 2027.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4508902/ - 5
Cowboy Bebop (1998)
Spike Spiegel gets thrown out of a cathedral window during his fight with Vicious. Shinichirō Watanabe directed all 26 sessions at Sunrise, and Yoko Kanno formed the Seatbelts to play the score. TV Tokyo's first run in 1998 aired only part of the show because of its 6 p.m. slot and the violence; Wowow showed it all, and 6 of the 12 guides recommend starting here.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213338/ - 6
Naruto (2002)
Pierrot made 220 episodes for TV Tokyo from October 2002 to February 2007, and the last 85 of them are original material outside the manga, so expect detours. The pull is a kid the village scorns for hosting the Nine-Tails, and it works early: Naruto beats the renegade ninja Mizuki and earns the respect of his teacher, Iruka. Despite that length, 6 guides out of 12 still list it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409591/ - 7
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019)
Tanjiro comes home from selling charcoal to find his family slaughtered by a demon and his sister Nezuko turned into one, and his hunt for a way to make her human again starts right there. Ufotable made 63 TV episodes across four seasons from April 2019 to 2024 before the story moved to the Infinity Castle film trilogy, whose first part opened in Japan in July 2025; 6 of 12 guides put it forward.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9335498/ - 8
Spy x Family (2022)
A spy needs a fake family for a mission, so Loid adopts an orphan girl, Anya, and marries Yor, a city hall clerk who wants a cover marriage too, without knowing she's an assassin; only Anya, a telepath, knows everyone's real job. Wit Studio and CloverWorks premiered it on April 9, 2022, and 50 episodes have aired over three seasons as of October 2026; it's named 6 times across the 12 guides.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13706018/ - 9
My Hero Academia (2016)
Izuku is a Quirkless boy who still tries to rescue Bakugo, the childhood friend who bullies him, from a villain, and All Might, watching, chooses him to inherit One For All. Bones ran it for 170 episodes over eight seasons, from April 2016 to a final season that ended on December 13, 2025, so it's long but it does end, and 5 of the 12 guides name it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5626028/ - 10
Jujutsu Kaisen (2020)
Yuji swallows a rotten finger to protect Megumi from the curses it attracts and wakes up sharing his body with the ancient sorcerer Sukuna. MAPPA's run began on October 3, 2020 and reached 59 episodes over three seasons by October 2026, with a fourth announced after the Culling Game's first part ended in March; 4 of the 12 guides suggest it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12343534/ - 11
One Piece (1999)
Luffy pops out of a barrel in episode one and sets off to sea. Toei Animation has made it for Fuji TV since October 20, 1999, and the episode count had reached 1,176 by October 20, 2026, after a break that ended with the Elbaph arc in April 2026. That's a serious commitment, and 4 guides out of 12 recommend it anyway.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388629/ - 12
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (2023)
The Demon King is already dead when the first episode opens on the party's victory procession and a meteor shower; fifty years later Himmel dies of old age, and at his funeral the elf Frieren cries over knowing him so little. Madhouse premiered it with a two-hour special on September 29, 2023; by October 2026 two seasons and 38 episodes had aired, a third is due in October 2027, and 2 of the 8 guides eligible to name it do.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22248376/ - 13
Haikyuu!! (2014)
In his first official game, Hinata's junior high team takes a crushing defeat from Kageyama's, and when he gets to Karasuno High he finds Kageyama has enrolled there too. Production I.G made 85 episodes from April 2014 to December 2020, and the story continues in films (The Dumpster Battle in 2024, the final part due in 2027); you'll see it on 3 of the 12 guides.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3398540/ - 14
Pokémon (1997)
OLM's anime premiered on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997, and Ash leads the first 25 seasons, the run this record covers, which ended in March 2023; the 1,375 episodes on Wikipedia's infobox in October 2026 also take in Horizons, the separate series that followed. Ash's new Pikachu refuses its Poké Ball and ignores him until Ash stands between it and a flock of angry Spearow, and 3 of 12 guides recommend it for newcomers.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168366/ - 15
Sword Art Online (2012)
Players log into a virtual reality game, find they're unable to log out, and hear its creator, Kayaba, announce that dying in the game kills them for real. A-1 Pictures made 96 episodes over three seasons between July 2012 and September 2020, directed by Tomohiko Itō. If you've ever played an online game, the premise lands at once, and 3 guides out of 12 back it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2250192/
How this list was ranked
Readers rank this list by voting items up and down. Items are ordered by reader votes.
