50+ Best First Anime For New Fans, Ranked

High school student Light Yagami finds the "Death Note." He learns any name written in it means death. Light tests the book and realizes he can use it to remove criminals. Light uses the name "Kira" to kill criminals, aiming for a crime-free world.

Detective "L" notices Light's actions. L plans to find Kira's real identity. This starts an intense showdown.Light tries to stay ahead of L while eliminating threats. Light's actions push him toward more evil.Light eliminates obstacles to stay ahead of L. This makes Light more corrupt, blurring good and evil.

People in the walled city fear Titans, giant human-eating creatures. When Titans break the wall, Eren Jaeger joins the military with Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert, seeking revenge and the world outside.

Commander Erwin Smith leads Eren and the Scouts Regiment on dangerous missions outside the walls. They fight Titans and try to understand them. A darker secret about the Titans threatens to change everything.

An alchemy experiment fails. Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric seek the Philosopher's Stone to restore their bodies. Edward, skilled in alchemy, becomes a State Alchemist, using Alphonse's soul in armor.

Edward and Alphonse find a big plot about the Stone. They face homunculi, human transmutation, and Father, the creator. Through hardship, they get closer to their goal while exposing military corruption and the Stone's dark origins.

Naruto Uzumaki was shunned as a child because of the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him. Naruto wants to be Hokage and earn his village's respect. He travels with Team 7 members Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, guided by Kakashi Hatake.

Naruto trains to master ninja skills. He pursues his rival Sasuke when Sasuke leaves the village seeking power. Naruto becomes central to the shinobi world's fate, fighting the Akatsuki who want the Tailed Beasts. Only Naruto stops them.

Saitama defeats all enemies with one punch. Bored by the lack of challenge, Saitama looks for a worthy opponent. Saitama's power attracts Genos, a cybernetically enhanced teenager who becomes his student.

Saitama joins the Hero Association. He seeks recognition. Saitama rises through the ranks. He fights humanoid Sea Kings. He deals with foes like Carnage Kabuto. "The Monster Association" poses the biggest threat to Saitama.

Most humans have superpowers or "Quirks." Izuku Midoriya lacks one. He still dreams of being a hero like All Might. After meeting All Might, Izuku gets the "One for All" Quirk and enters U.A. High School to become a superhero.

Izuku makes friends and rivals like Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki while learning his Quirk. They protect civilians from villains disrupting peace, uncovering plots that threaten society. Izuku shows anyone can become a hero with spirit and drive.

Chihiro and her parents enter a spirit world ruled by witch Yubaba while moving. Yubaba turns Chihiro's parents into pigs, leaving her alone. She works at Yubaba's bathhouse to free them and return home.

Haku guides Chihiro to befriending spirit world inhabitants, including No-Face. Chihiro uses courage and determination to outsmart Yubaba and break the spell on her parents, facing the world's strange beings and trials.

Demons kill Tanjiro Kamado's family, turning his sister Nezuko into a demon. Tanjiro seeks to become a demon slayer to turn Nezuko human. He joins the Demon Slayer Corps under Sakonji Urokodaki, facing stronger demons on missions.

Zenitsu Agatsuma, a cowardly but skilled swordsman, joins Tanjiro. Inosuke Hashibira, a brash fighter raised by boars, also joins. The three fight dangerous missions, slaying powerful demons and learning secrets about demon power.

In Fiore, magic trades daily. Natsu Dragneel, a dragon slayer wizard, hunts for Igneel, the dragon who raised him. He joins the rowdy "Fairy Tail" guild."Fairy Tail" guildThere, he teams up with Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, Lucy Heartfilia, and Happy the cat.

They take on dangerous missions, fight corrupt guilds, and stop evil forces like Zeref from causing trouble. Their friendship helps them overcome hurdles as they learn about family.

When VRMMORPG"Sword Art Online"When "Sword Art Online" launches, 10,000 players like Kirito find they cannot leave the game; in-game death means real-life death. Kirito battles Asuna Yuuki to escape this trap by clearing all 100 levels.

Kirito achieves freedom. He journeys through gaming worlds like Alfheim Online and Gun Gale Online. Kirito and his allies protect these digital spaces from threats. Unbreakable willpower and skills let Kirito and his allies beat every hurdle to secure a future free from gaming control.

Space cowboy Spike Spiegel and his crew aboard the Bebop travel the solar system. They chase bounties and encounter trouble. Ace pilot Spike teams up with brawler Jet Black, hacker Ein, fugitive Faye Valentine, and child prodigy Ed.

This group engages in action-packed messes. They fight gun battles, chase criminals, face conspiracies, and deal with odd characters. Though they seek the next paycheck, every member hides a rough past that brings trouble back, causing intense fights.

College student Ken Kaneki changes his life after surviving an organ transplant following a ghoul attack. Kaneki partially becomes a ghoul. He fights to keep his humanity while living with humans and satisfying his new hunger. Joining the Anteiku café, Kaneki learns to accept his form with help from Touka Kirishima and Yoshimura.

Kaneki’s dual existence attracts threats. The Gourmet Ghoul and the ghoul-hunting CCG organization target him, threatening the human-ghoul balance.

Gon Freecss wants to be a Hunter, driven by his father's last words. He finds the Hunter job involves danger, adventure, and intrigue. Master assassin Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika, and Leorio teach Gon. Gon seeks his father and uncovers elite Hunter secrets.

Gon grows while facing tough exams and pursuing outlaws. The insane power of the chimera ant king Meruem tests Gon's will the most. Gon and his allies risk everything to protect humanity from this huge danger.

High schooler Ichigo Kurosaki sees spirits. This changes when he meets Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia transfers her powers to Ichigo after she saves him. Ichigo then helps Rukia and Soul Society fight monstrous lost souls called Hollows.

Ichigo fights stronger foes with his spirit-sword Zangetsu and allies like Orihime Inoue and Yasutora "Chad" Sado. Hollows grow stronger, leading to fights against the evil Arrancar and rogue Soul Reaper Sōsuke Aizen.

Martial artist Goku learns about his alien Saiyan heritage. He unlocks huge power while defending Earth from alien threats like Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. Goku trains hard. He reaches new heights to fight stronger foes across the universe.

Loyal friends like Bulma, Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan support Goku. They help him pass limits and gain new forms, such as Super Saiyan, to protect his home world and more.

A tentacled creature blasts a hole in the moon. It threatens Earth in one year. He makes a deal to teach the doomed Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High. The students must assassinate the super-powered teacher, Koro-sensei, before graduation.

Koro-sensei and teacher Ms. Jelavić guide Class 3-E. The students gain confidence and skills. They devise ways to get rid of their nearly unbeatable teacher. As time runs out, the students value Koro-sensei's lessons, which clashes with their mission to kill him.

After his mother dies, 29-year-old manga artist Satoru Fujinuma finds himself in his childhood body. His 'Revival' ability lets him change the past to stop bad things. When his mother is targeted again, Satoru jumps back 18 years to find the serial killer.

Satoru reconnects with old friends. He races the clock to stop the murderer's cruel acts and find out who they are. Changing time is risky. Saving the timeline means hard choices. Satoru must choose between his wants and protecting the innocent from a bad fate.

Lelouch Lamperouge gets geass power from the mysterious C.C. Exiled prince Lelouch uses these powers to form the "Order of the Black Knights." He stages a revolt against his father's Britannia empire under the name Zero.

Lelouch teams up with rebel Kallen Kozuki and strategist C.C. Lelouch moves through dangerous politics. He undermines Britannia using cunning and charm. The path to justice and his fight with Prince Schneizel cause unexpected tragedy and sacrifice. Lelouch must decide how far he will go for the greater good.

Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric return to the story.Fullmetal Alchemist: BrotherhoodAfter a failed transmutation destroys their bodies, the brothers seek the Philosopher's Stone to fix the damage. They join the military, meeting new friends and enemies while finding deeper alchemy secrets.

New allies, like Xingese princess May Chang, help them. The homunculi appear as new villains. Following the manga closely, Brotherhood expands on character backstories and the alchemy world's myths. Through hardship and discoveries, the Elrics reach their goal while learning lessons.

An elastic man hunts the pirate treasure, One Piece.

God Yato seeks his past power back. He dreams of millions of worshippers. Lacking a shrine, fame, or money, Yato takes odd jobs for just 5 yen. Saving middle schooler Hiyori Iki's life changes things. Her soul then often leaves her body.

Yato feels responsible and promises to fix Hiyori. Yukine, his new Regalia weapon, supports him. Yato slowly gains fame while protecting Hiyori and fighting ghosts drawn to her condition. Yato's bloody past as a war god endangers the new allies he makes.

A modern high-school girl travels back in time to feudal Japan.

A young man and his friends defend the human world.

Online gamer siblings enter a new world. They must play games to conquer it.

A schoolgirl and her friends become powerful heroes. They fight forces of evil.

Two fighters team up with a waitress to find a mysterious samurai.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (Studio Gallop, 1996), also Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese action anime series. Nobuhiro Watsuki created the manga. A wandering samurai with a past seeks justice. He uses his sword to help the innocent, but never kills.

Friends build a machine to send messages across time.

Subaru Natsuki, a teen gamer, lands in a mysterious fantasy land.

Tatsumi travels to the Imperial Capital. He tries to raise money for his village.

A student council president secretly works as a waitress in a French maid uniform part-time.

After three wars fail to find the Holy Grail, the Fourth War begins.

Soma Yukihira fights top chefs to prove himself and sharpen his skills.

An outlaw named Vash the Stampede travels between towns on a deserted planet.

A boy gets caught in a deadly game. His cell phone diary starts predicting the future.

Ordered to be a prince's concubine, Shirayuki cuts off her red hair and escapes.

Vampires Alucard and Seras fight other vampires and the undead for a secret organization.

Orphan Tohru Honda moves in with a classmate and his cursed family.

A robot crashes into a village. This disrupts the peace of an underground community.

A youth returns from the dead to serve a devil's family.

A young amateur magician enters a tournament fought to the death, without knowing it.

A virus kills all adults. Children become slaves to emerging vampires.

Japanese teens attempt to survive a zombie apocalypse.

The Japanese government dropped an atomic bomb on Tokyo in 1988 following failed ESP experiments on children. Thirty-one years later, in 2019, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, attempts to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He fights anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists, and a powerful military leader. Tetsuo's supernatural powers then suddenly appear. A final fight occurs at the Tokyo Olympiad, revealing the experiment's secrets.

A young dungeon-worker in Orario does not know about his appeal to women, both mortal and immortal.

A female cyborg helps the police department.

A team of mercenaries smuggles goods across Southeast Asia.

Piano prodigy Kousei Arima had a mental breakdown after his mother died and now cannot hear his piano.

An ace detective turned into a child adopts a new identity to solve different mysteries.

Yuki Cross, a student at the Cross Academy, guards the school's vampire population.