So, you’ve been eying that special someone for months now. You stalked them but just a little and in a sweet way. Besides everyone stalks on social media… You’ve learned all you could, goat absolutely all your courage together, and managed to ask them out. Great! Except what now?
You’ve decided to introduce them to anime! Brilliant, you might as well get it out of the way now and if they’re still around afterwards, you know you’ve got a keeper!
I’m pretty sure I don’t need to spell this out, but this is a joke post. I’m playing on stereotypes and you should not take my advice.
5) Kill la Kill, Cat Soup, Saint Young Men…
These shows are, how can I put this…kinda weird… You can tell a lot about a person by their reaction to the WTF. For most of us anime fans Kill la Kill is a classic with a lot of tropes and metacommentary but try to imagine if it had been the very first anime you had ever seen and had no context for the gags. Pure awesome right! And it may be the most down to earth of the three.
If you have a favorite weirdo anime go for it. The idea is to see how far your chosen is willing to expand their mind. Even if it goes horribly and you end up rejected, at least they’re going to have something to talk to their friends about!
You have to be o.k. with getting a “reputation”.
4) Serial Experiments Lain, Flowers of Evil, Evangelion (straight to the movies)
Oh yeah, someone’s gonna think you are smurt! Super duper smurt. Make sure you comb over the internet for all the theories on what’s actually going on, so you can explain it to your date when they inevitably end up confused and lost. Ok so some of these could be called obnoxiously pretentious. But one man’s pretense is another man’s genius!
Besides, there’s an advantage at keeping your date guessing and disoriented. You’re right there to comfort them and make everything clear. You’ll be a hero, one that battles with their brains! Now how smexy is that? Super duper smexy.
Did I make the description for the brainy animes sound as dumb as possible on purpose?
3) Clannad, Toradora, Hotarubi no Mori e
OK, I’ll level with you, I figured we needed some romance titles and I just picked the two most popular I had seen. I’m not a huge fan of either but the boys I know love this stuff. And to be fair, they are both in fact well made anime with some truly great elements. So if you feel the need to really go on the nose and choose a romance, these are decent choices.
As for Hotarubi no Mori e… I haven’t seen it…. I know!!! You guys probably don’t know this but I’m a huge fan of Natsume’s Book of Friends and this movie is a spiritual twin to the series. Written by the same author it tackles similar themes with that lovely bitter sweet melancholy. I have only read great things about this movie. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see it, the art work is enough to make me tear up…
You should see it with a date and tell me about it!
2)
If your sweetie likes the gents:
Black Butler – Let’s face it this is the gold standard in Bishie Banquets with walking talking fantasy stereotypes to suit every taste. Not only will your date find something thrilling to stare at, but they’ll be impressed by how secure you are to not mind the competition.
In addition, this is a well made show with enough laughs and action to keep you entertained even if this isn’t your particular brand of eye candy.
If your honey prefers the ladies:
Love Live: I like my idol shows silly bordering on stupid but for those who enjoy a sincerer story, it seems everyone is about Love Live. I haven’t seen it, but boy do I hear about it all the time. Apparently, the girls are very cute/pretty/sexy but in that innocent way.
And form what I have seen of the art, it’s quite beautiful. Certainly, should be a delightful watch. I can only imagine that such a devoted fanbase (you should see the reception the voice actors get!) means that there’s plenty to love about the series.
1) One Piece, Detective Conan, Doraemon …
With 839, 903 and over 2 500 episodes respectively, starting any of these series is instant long-term commitment. You will need years to get through these shows and they’re all still in production!
It may be a cheap shot, but the heart wants what it wants. So, if you found your forever person, why not share a forever anime with them!
I should specify that this is a purely practical suggestion. I’ve only seen what amounts to a handful of One Piece episodes but in theory at least, these suggestions are solid!
Sooo…what do you think? I actually did have an anime centric first date way back in the day. I believe it was Noir…. Have you? 
My wife is no big anime fan, but she’s open to it just by proxy of being around me. One type of show that we love to watch together are cozy, good-natured comedies. Most recently Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and Dagashi Kashi have really been a good time for us to enjoy as a couple.
I love Kobayashi..
And that does sound absolutely lovely. Have you tried Interviews with Monster Girls? I was really surprised by how sweet and not super creepy, it was
We did give Interviews with Monster Girls a try but it didn’t catch on with either of us. It was cute, but we found it to be alittle boring. My wife and I both have a preference for the bigger, bolder, brightly colored, goofier stuff. Interview lacked the kinetic energy that we’re usually looking for in a show. Monster Musume was more our speed – we don’t mind the fanservice side of things.
True – interviews was more sweet. I mean it’s a show about handicapped kids so…
Oh yeah. Definitely very sweet. It was one of those situations where I totally respected it, and appreciated the sort of story that it was trying to tell. I just recognized that it wasn’t quite “for me” if you know what I mean.
Oh yeah totally get it…
In any case snuggling to a fun moe show with a sweety sounds like heaven.
A good theory, and one I have tested. And we even married after anime watching many shows together. But it doesn’t last and the relationship didn’t either.
I hope it goes better next time
Even things you love, together, don’t last because women are unreliable. You probably noticed this yourself. It is one of those Truths with a capital T. Young people believe in love because they don’t know it, and won’t believe it when others tell them. So it is pointless to bother with warnings. All the mistakes get made over and over again. Meh.
Still, thank you for the sentiment.
Wife and I watched Vampire Slayer D before we got married, 32 years ago. Does that count?
Of curse it does. I didn’t know D was out 32 years ago…
First film version of VSD was in 1985. I watched it on 16 mm in the Japanimation Room in LosCon.
You know you’ve watched way too many anime when neither Kill la Kill nor Saint Young Men strike you as particularly weird. Cat Soup on the other hand…
The thought of finishing a series with that many episodes makes me want to quit *any* relationship.
This is the Dawnstorm history with Love Live. Tries to watch it as it airs, gets annoyed by pre-credits sequence and quits. A year or so later: tries again, quits at the same time. A year or so later, tries again, braves the sequence, makes it past the opening… end enjoys the show. There’s a second season. Tries to watch second season. Gets annoyed by pre-credits sequence and quits. This is where I still stand. I never bothered with Sunshine.
Wow – you stick in there. Three times and actually managed to enjoy it! Good for you. I don’t think I have that type of determination.
It’s not really determination. It’s more like this: the more you watch the less remains. When you’re bored, and want some fluff, you’ll go back to stuff you tried before, just in case. I won’t ever go back to shows I outright hate, but everything else is fair game.
You always have the best ideas for a post 😂😂 Really loved reading this one. When I ever have a date in the future (yup…still not giving up) I’ll be sure to go back to this post. Wonderful way to start the weekend 😀😀
I’m sure you have a gaggle of internet fans who would love to watch anything with you Raist.
Haha…I guess that might be true. Well maybe I should make a post about that lol 😂😂
Interesting! Looking forward to it
I watched Angel Beats with a crush and it turned him into a bigger otaku than I ever was at that time. As for whether the whole romance thing worked out…that’s a different matter. XD
Well at least you spread the anime love around! You’re like an anime cupid. That’s something
Wow, now that you put it that way, I am impressed with myself.
> Turn crush into anime trash.
I already found mine that way 😂
THIS is great lol. I love everything about this post. I definitely miss marathoning anime with that special someone. Never thought about sharing my love with Detective Conan to lock someone into a huge commitment. Also still need to watch Evangelion. One day. Thanks for sharing!
Next blind date, you know what to do!
Ahh, idol anime . . . Imagine saying that, as a new fan, being like “My first anime was Love Live! and things have only gone up from there!”
Also, End of Eva, hehhehheh, and we should make sure they try Future Diary too! (I actually did that once . . . we’re not really close anymore😅)
Future diary is at least a bit more sequiture but yeah good choice as well. Especially if you describe it as relationship goals!
“One man’s pretense is another man’s genius.”
This is my new motto! 😸
That’s gonna make for some great posts!
I haven’t seen anyone use the word “smexy” since Junior high, so thanks for the memories Irina!
This post was solid Irina humor and that gif might be too powerful…
Funny story, on our first meeting, she accidentally saw my folder where I keep all my degenerate vanilla doujins on my phone, and her first instinct was showing me Genos x Saitama doujins she had kept on HER phone.
So my foolproof suggestion is watch hentai with your crush, it will go GREAT, I promise. (citation needed)
That was when I knew she could accept who I was. Anime Trash.
Hey, if you’re gonna go in the pool, might as well jump into the deep end
Go big or go home with a restraining order, I like to say.
It perked up my day to see Cat Soup listed on here.
We don’t hear about it so much anymore
me & my man watched Mob Psycho together as it aired when we first started dating…it was good because it gave us something to watch/talk about every week when we still were too nervous to have full conversations hahaha
That’s actually an extremely sweet story. I would love that as my couple origin tale
You haven’t watched Love Live?! What is wrong with you, Irina, get on that now, it’s so utterly delightful and gay as fuck.
No, seriously, I adore Love Live. Although I must confess I haven’t watched Sunshine yet. Perhaps that can be a summer project. It’s an anime my wife quite enjoys.
Great list! I’d just add Urotsukidoji to it and you’ll be golden.
(DISCLAIMER: do not watch Urotsukidoji with anyone. including yourself)
I watched two episodes I think. I don’t remember much. I’ll be sure to pick it up when I’m done with the shows I want to watch
No rush. It’s a blast though, and some absolutely killer songs throughout. I have the music on quite regularly in my car!
Well…i have an ongoing joke that I will die of old age before I finish my to watch list
I watched Yuri on Ice with a friend once – marathoned it in one night. We are now dating.
Well there’s really no other way that could have turned out…