T-Mobile Tuesday is giving out a free 3-month trial for Crunchyroll.

I don't have much time, but I am willing to give it a try.

For a total newbie to Anime, can any of you offer some recommendations? There is simply too much and I don't have time to research what's good.

It has to be available on Crunchyroll and the genres I am interested in are action, science fiction horror, martial arts, Ninjas, Samurais. And it has to have an English dub. I know dubs are frowned, but I don't mind watching Anima on dubs. I used to watch the old Battle of the Planets in English.

I don't need some long winded punditry or a list of 100 series with no context. Just tell me what's good and where they fall under. .

Thanks

And FYI, it appears to be a free trial of the Fan subscription.

Thanks, I received the same promo and am also considering doing it, at least for the kids who are more into anime than me.

Are you looking mainly for things that are only on Crunchyroll? For instance, I'd recommend to everyone stuff like Frieren or Spy Family and Dandadan but those are available elsewhere (notably Netflix). Also how far back do you want to go (ie: did you already watch the likes of Cowboy Bebop and are looking for more recent stuff)?

Yes, only Crunchyroll.

And if it's good, I am open to it.

Hellsing
Trigun
Berzerk
Ninja Scroll
Dan Da Dan
Fairy Tail
One Piece
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
Hunter x Hunter
Fullmetal Alchemist
Coyboy Bebop

I know you want things that are on Crunchyroll, I was mainly asking if you wanted me to exclude things that are already on other places like Netflix (since you only have a limited amount of time). Netflix (and/or Hulu) seem to get joint licenses for the really big dubbed recent stuff like:
My Hero Acadamia (superheros)
Jujutsu Kaisen (wizards)
Solo Leveling (fantasy/rpg)
Spy x Family (pretty wholesome, spy/assassin/psychic form a family)
Frieren (fantasy, basically what happens when the elf in your party outlives everyone else)
Dan Da Dan (sci fi fantasy, basically a bunch of different genres, beautiful though)
Dragon Ball Daima (the latest Dragon Ball project)
Kaiju No 8 (kaiju fighting)
Demon Slayer (demon slaying. seriously I don't know how else to describe it)
Hunter x Hunter (fantasy)
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (uh... kinda superheroes, I guess?)

All of which I'd wholeheartedly recommend, but again you could just watch them on Netflix.

Of stuff where I know for sure there's a dub:

Isekai (I've been transported to another world):
Musoku Tensei (beautiful art but the main character is a bit... problematic)
Konosuba: God's blessing on this wonderful world: (fantasy isekai, comedy)
Overlord: (takes over his high level in game character in a fantasy world)
RE:Zero (transported to another world but self aware: has the ability to reset to last spawn point after death)

Fantasy, but not isekai
Clevatess: really recent series, left on a cliffhanger but fantasy/swords and sorcery stuff
To Be Hero X: superheroes, also very recent
To Your Eternity
One Punch Man (at least season 1 is great; main character is overpowered and can end things in one punch)
Ranking of Kings (beautifully animated, main character can't speak)
Fullmetal Alchemist (world where alchemy and transmutation are commonplace)
Berserk (1997 show, not the more modern movies)
Vinland Saga (vikings, more grounded but I didn't know where else to put it)

Sci Fi/Giant Robots:
SSSS.Gridman (if you like super robots or the old Superhuman Syber Squad show)
Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato (remake of Star Blazers)
Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact (remake of Mazinger/Tranzor Z)
Gundam. Any Gundam. But try "The Origin" for a modern retelling of the original


All of these at least have a high quality level and are worth checking out an episode or two to see if you like them. All but Berserk and Musoku Tensei are probably suitable for most ages, I'd say, though of course fan service is everywhere.

DJariya:
- Action: Cowboy Bebop (cross over to sci-fi as well), Action with more violence: Black Lagoon, Action (movie): Akira or Sword of the Stranger
- Sci-fi: Gunbuster (space themed), PSYCHO-PASS Season 1
- Horror: Hellsing Ultimate
- Martial arts: hard to recommend one (recent popular ones are on Netflix: Baki, Kengan Ashura; less emphasis: Ranma 1/2)
- Ninjas: Basilisk
- Samurai: Samurai 7 or Samurai Champloo

Akira https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRQWJWPGR/akira
One of the most famous post apocalyptic cyberpunk/sci-pi anime film of all time.

Basilisk https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G65V1GV06/basilisk
A different spin of Romeo & Juliet involving two ninja clans.

Black Lagoon https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...6/black-lagoon
Mercenaries, guns, violence, drugs,...a very action packed series.

Cowboy Bebop https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...6/cowboy-bebop
One of the most well known anime series of all time.

Gunbuster https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GZJH3D8D8/gunbuster
Classic short action / sci-fi series

Hellsing Ultimate https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...lsing-ultimate
Vampires, Nazis, violence, blood and gore. And there is the performance of Arucard (Dracula spelled backwards).

Paranoia Agent https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...paranoia-agent
TV series by Saotoshi Kon: psychological thriller, horror,...

Samurai 7 https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6DK0K8KR/samurai-7
Based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai film

Samurai Champloo https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...murai-champloo
Considered to be 2nd most popular series by Shinichiro Watanabe (1st: Cowboy Bebop)

Sword of the Stranger https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...f-the-stranger
Assassins, ronins,...film has good action sequencesand good animation.

VINLAND SAGA https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...0/vinland-saga
Historial series involving the Vikings with plenty of action and drama.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...st-of-the-dead
Horror, zombie series...leaning toward horror comedy

***

story:

If yourself, maybe try Cowboy Bebop? This series probably has most broad appeal for anime beginners. If movie, try Akira. If you want to try something longer, maybe Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood?

For your kids, this will be more difficult. Crunchyroll typically ignores the kids demographic. Many of the suitable content are short series. Other platforms has more suitable content for kids.
- Bananya https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GY2PW4EMY/bananya
- Chi's Sweet Home - Chi's New Address https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...is-new-address
- Mitchiri Neko https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G.../mitchiri-neko
- Nyanko Days https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...J6/nyanko-days
- With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G...ery-day-is-fun
Bananya is probably the best of the bunch followed by Chi's Sweet Home - Chi's New Address.

If your kids are closer to teens: Cells at Work! (it can appeal to younger audience but the concern is blood)

Awesome thanks guys And thanks WTK for the detailed explanations.

Another series to mention is HEROMAN. It's a 2010 mecha / superhero series from Studio Bones and Stan Lee. The series more or less failed in Japan. Disney's supposed attempt to get this to international TV distribution never materialized. English dub was never released here. There was an English dub in SE Asia (aired on Disney XD). IMO, it's an underrated and forgotten series. Series is still streaming on Crunchyroll after all these years https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6Q4WP11R/heroman, but it's subtitled only.

I wouldn't quite recommend all the shows WTK is listing for a newbie to anime but Sword of the Stranger would definitely fall within DJariya's preferences. It's a movie but definitely scratches that itch.

I'd say go with Sword Art Online as your first taste of anime. Hugely popular show with one of the best English dubs in the genre. The show gets a little weird down the road but I wish I could experience the first season again unaware.

Solo Leveling is an action-driven, gory recent show which should interest Western audiences. But it only picks up after 9-10 episodes as the second season is a lot more interesting.

There are martial arts-centered anime but usually as an adjunct to another genre like high school comedy or fantasy.

Samurai 7 is probably the best Samurai anime, being inspired by the film Seven Samurai.

I started watching Akira last night (dubbed) and got through about 1/2 of it before I had to go to sleep.

Yeah surprisingly I have never seen it before. Really great animation for something that was made so long ago.

The thing about Akira is that I have no idea how anyone who hasn't read the manga makes heads or tails of what's going on. It is absolutely beautiful (and they spent a lot of money at the time to make sure of that) in an era before CG so it stands the test of time, but IMHO it works best as a companion piece to the (also excellent) manga.

One month into our 3-month trial and one teen has watched just a little bit and the other hasn't watched anything. I think I know where we're headed when this trial is over. That's okay. If it's not for us, it's not for us.

Yes tthat's kind of how I felt. It was like walking into the middle of a comic.

It's also likely not for me longterm. I have way too much to watch and would feel too much pressure to watch something to make it worth it.

Most who get into anime find something they really enjoy early on as a gateway drug of sorts. For me it was Ninja Scroll initially but it was years before I found that feeling again in the genre. Anime has grown a lot since those pre-2000s days.

Yeah I totally get why most would see Crunchyroll as very niche, especially if they have access to other streaming services already. A lot of what I would consider candidates to be mainstream hits are either snapped up on other services (Ranma, Gundam, Delicious in Dungeon, Sakamoto Days) or the licensors got smart and sold it to multiple services (Dan Da Dan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Dragon Ball, Apothecary Diaries, Frieren, Demon Slayer, Spy x Family, My Hero Academia) even if some of those don't have the latest seasons when they come out. As an anime nerd I usually find something every season that interests me (this season it's Tojima wants to be a Kamen Rider) and I usually choose something to try out with the kids.