So you’ve heard a little about anime and want to know a little more about what it’s about. Great! I can help you.

There are many ways that anime fans stay up to date with their favorite anime but the three main ways are comic strips and TV shows. Some comic strips are released in a weekly or monthly magazine or corresponding online source. Many are released about every one to three months in a comic book called manga. In the US, these strips are  translated into English so you can read which ever one you want. Like American comics, there are drawn panels with word bubbles telling some sort of story. To keep with Japanese tradition, the manga books are read right to left and back to front, which is basically opposite of what Americans do. The book size is usually about 6″x8″x1″ and roughly 150 to 250 pages long.

Most TV shows are based off of stories created in these magazines or manga so the may be a little behind story wise. Watching TV shows is my main way to consume anime content so that’s what I’m going to be writing about. Note that the TV show or the comic can sometimes have a slightly different story but the main plot should be the same.

So now that you want to watch a show about anime, your first question is how do I do that and what should I watch? These are two very good questions. One is watching it on TV. Look for Cartoon Network or Toonami and you might find some shows there. Online, there is a site called Crunchyroll and that is where I watch 95% of my content. As of now, it is free and you can choose to subscribe paying a monthly fee to have access to certain shows faster then a non-subscriber or watch comercial free. This is also a way to support their site. Other internet sites that people use are Youtube, Amazon Prime, Netflix and VRV. Some shows are available only on certain platforms.

Perfect! Now you want to watch something. Well, watching anime is kind of like watching TV. There are a bunch of different genre’s of anime and not everyone likes the same thing. Maybe one person likes comedy while the other likes action/adventure. Or drama, or sports.

What I’m going to do is list a few different genre’s and maybe list a few shows that you might like. I also believe that you should watch a show from the beginning even though the show might currently be running. Because of this, there are a few shows that I think are really good but I’m not going to mention as watching these shows from start to current or finish will take a very long time. Also, most shows are about 21 minutes long.

Best All Around – I know that everyone doesn’t like everything but this show has a huge following and I think it is really good. There are currently 71 episodes and counting so this might also break a rule of being a bit long but I would recommend this show as one of the most popular right now. My Hero Academia is a show where being born with a super power is normal and so is attending hero training school. Midoriya is a young boy who wanted to be just like his favorite super hero.

Isekai – This is a very popular genre where the main character is living in this world and somehow gets to another world where the story takes place. Re:Zero is a show where a teenage boy Subaru is going shopping and then suddenly transported to another world. 25 episodes long, this show is an adventure, action drama. Another show I would recommend is Konosuba. This is also a show where a teenage boy is transported to another world. 22 episodes long, this show is more of an comedy, adventure action.

Sports – Sports shows for me can be very motivating to go do any sport as the speeches can be very inspiring. The pivotal moments in sports scenes are usually drawn out to create more tension. Haikyuu is about a high school volleyball team, Kuroko’s Basketball is about a high school basketball team and Yowamushi Pedal is about a high school cycling or bicycle team. Here, just pick what ever sport you like Out of all three sports shows most people like Haikyuu the best.

Suspense/Horror – I usually don’t like this genre but one show caught my attention. The Promised Neverland is a 12 episode show about 38 orphans and The Gracefield House.

Slice of Life – This is a genre about ordinary life. No super powers or abilities but just the actions and conversations of a group of people. A Place Further Than the Universe is a 13 episode show about a group of high school girls who want to travel to Antarctica. Another show I would recommend is Laid-back Camp. This is a 12 episode show about a group of high school girls who want to go hiking in Japan.

Music – The music genre is usually about high school students who want to create some sort of music group. Zombie Land Saga is about a group of girls who make music but, as in the title, they are zombies. This 12 episode show is a bit of a twist on the genre and it could also be isekai as well but I think music is a big category in anime and I wanted to mention it.

I’m not sure what category I would call these final two shows I want to recommend. Fruit Basket is a 25 episode show about a high school girl meeting new people. It is definitely a drama so if you like drama you might like this show. My final recommendation is Gurren Lagann which is a 27 episode show about two brother living on a science fiction world. This over the top show is a comedy, action adventure show that just kind of puts you in a good excited mood.

One more way I think is a good way to watch a show is start watching a new anime. Every season I find many new anime. Just read the description, look at the art, and see if that interests you.

There is so much anime to watch and so many shows I want to watch. I think anime is in a pretty good place right now and there are great shows coming out all the time. Did you find a good show you might be interested in. Well, go watch it and happy watching.