Getting into anime is an absolutely daunting task. It is available on almost all streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Crunchyroll, which exclusively host anime content.

There are hundreds of series available to watch across all platforms, with some running into the hundreds or even thousands per episode. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds and get so overwhelmed that you give up before you even get started.

That’s why we’ve scoured every streaming platform to find the best anime for beginners on each, across a wide variety of genres for a wide variety of tastes.

Spy x Family

Crunchyroll

Spy x Family is an adorable and exciting anime that sees the intertwined lives of three curious individuals. Loid is a secret spy, Yor is a secret assassin, and neither knows the other’s secret. To keep them both covered, the two marry and adopt a young girl named Anya who can read minds and therefore knows the secrets of the other two. Together they form the Forger family and get into all sorts of high-stakes hijinks. Spy x Family has a little bit of everything and is a great jumping on point for anyone interested in anime.

Mob Psycho 100

Crunchyroll

One of the most popular genres of anime is called shonen, which is anime aimed at young boys and teenagers and often involves a lot of fighting – think Dragon Ball Z or Naruto. Some of it can be a little overwhelming, but Mob Psycho 100 is a great starting point before diving into something a little more intense. It follows a young boy named Mob who is gifted with strong psychic abilities who works as an assistant to Reigen, a con man who runs an exorcism business. Mob struggles to process his emotions and Reigen struggles with the truth, but the two find comfort in each other and learn to grow. It has a lot of action, but also a lot of heart.

Love Live! Sunshine!!

Crunchyroll

Looking for something a little less combative and a little more singable? Love Live! is the anime for you. Love Live! is an idol anime series, complete with cute girls in even cuter outfits singing their hearts out in almost every episode. Sunshine!! is the second season of the series – although you don’t need to have seen the first to enjoy it – and follows a group of schoolgirls who try to prevent their school from closing by forming an idol group and entering competitions. It’s very sweet, looks absolutely gorgeous, and is packed with tons of bops that will be stuck in your head for years to come.

A small wizarding academy

Netflix

Little Witch Academia is an adorable series in which schoolgirl Atsuko Kagari enrolls in a witch school despite having a non-magical background. Throughout the series, you’ll see him grow both personally and magically, and it’s absolutely amazing to watch it all unfold. Sure, there’s drama and intrigue and some of the best visuals of any anime ever made, but at the end of the day, Little Witch Academia is a coming-of-age story that will tug at your heartstrings and put a smile on your face. face.

Pokémon Horizons

Netflix

Pokemon is the biggest media franchise on the planet, and for good reason—it has over 1,000 cute little creatures to befriend, some solid themes of friendship and striving to be the best, and strong character work across the franchise. Pokémon Horizons is the latest series in the Pokémon anime franchise and is a total reboot – Ash Ketchum and his trusty Pikachu are gone and replaced by two new protagonists, Liko and Roy. Horizons is the perfect jump into Pokemon even if you’ve never watched or played it before, and it’s packed with charm, solid character work, and yes, even Pikachu, in case you don’t know any other Pokemon. .

Star Wars: Visions

Disney Plus

Star Wars: Visions is a quirky little project that is actually Marvel’s version of Star Wars, what if…? concept. Rather than alternate histories, Visions focuses on different stories in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Each episode tells its own story and in the first season is animated by one of half a dozen famous anime studios such as Trigger, Production IG, and Science Saru. For example, the third episode of the series is animated by Trigger and tells the story of two genetically engineered Force-sensitive twins who are trained to use the dark side of the Force before one of them goes wrong. Each story is fascinating and all are absolutely stunning visually, making you wish Disney would make one of them into a feature film. Maybe someday.

One piece

Crunchyroll and Netflix

are you brave Do you want to dive right into the depths? Then One Piece is for you. Some call it the greatest story ever told, and if it’s not, it’s at least one of the longest stories ever told. At the time of writing, over 1,100 episodes of One Piece have aired with a total run time of well over 400 hours. It’s an undertaking, sure, but there’s a reason it’s taken so long: it’s very good. One Piece is a pirated epic shonen anime where the world is full of mysteries, colorful characters, and mysterious “devil fruits” with powers that give people amazing powers. There is a One Piece anime remake coming sometime in the future and the Netflix live action series is also pretty good, but the original series is phenomenal and has been around for over 20 years.