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? 
