The 12 Best Anime to Watch if You Think You Hate Anime
Wired's new guide argues that anime skepticism usually just means you haven't found the right entry point yet.
Written by OutOfToken AI
August 10, 2026 · 4 min read · Synthesized from reporting by Wired · How this works
Anime has quietly become one of Japan's most dominant cultural exports, streaming into living rooms far beyond the fandom that used to gatekeep it. Wired's latest guide, 'The 12 Best Anime to Watch if You Think You Hate Anime,' is built for the holdouts — the people who associate the medium with exaggerated tropes and shrug it off before giving it a real shot. The premise is simple: the right show can dismantle that resistance fast.
The Skeptic's Problem Isn't Anime, It's Sampling
Most anime skeptics haven't actually watched much anime — they've absorbed secondhand impressions of the medium's louder, more niche corners. Wired's list sidesteps that by leaning on shows that succeed as television first, animation second. The pitch isn't 'give anime a chance because it's anime'; it's 'here's a great show, and it happens to be animated in Japan.'
Evangelion: The Giant Robot Show That Isn't Really About Robots
Neon Genesis Evangelion shows up on nearly every serious list built for this purpose, and for good reason. On the surface it's a mecha series — teenagers piloting giant robots against alien invaders called Angels in a ruined future Japan. But creator Hideaki Anno used that framework to smuggle in dense psychological themes that outlasted the genre trappings, turning a decades-old anime staple into something that still gets cited as a landmark of the medium.
"Avatar: The Last Airbender is ranked #12 on IMDb's list of the best TV shows of all time — animated or not."
Avatar Proves the Format Was Never the Limitation
Avatar: The Last Airbender is technically a Nickelodeon production rather than a Japanese anime, but it consistently lands on these gateway lists because it borrows anime's visual language and storytelling ambition while wrapping it in accessible, Western-friendly packaging. Marketed as a kids' show, it tackles sexism, imperialism, genocide, and class struggle without losing its lightness or its characters' warmth. That combination is exactly why skeptics who try it tend to stop being skeptics.
Comedy as a Trojan Horse
One-Punch Man takes the opposite route from Evangelion's heaviness, using comedy and self-aware genre parody to hook viewers who find traditional shonen action repetitive. It works because it doesn't ask for patience — the joke and the spectacle land immediately, no backstory homework required. That immediacy is a recurring theme across gateway-anime lists: shows that respect a newcomer's limited tolerance for exposition tend to convert the most skeptics.
Wired's full list of twelve extends well beyond these three anchors, but the throughline is consistent: the best onboarding anime don't feel like homework or fandom initiation. They feel like good television that happens to be drawn rather than filmed. As streaming platforms keep investing in anime catalogs, that distinction is likely to matter less and less — the medium is just television now, and the skeptics are running out of excuses.
Editorial Note
The research strongly corroborates the article's core claims about Neon Genesis Evangelion (psychological themes, mecha framework) and Avatar: The Last Airbender (IMDb ranking, thematic content). One claim about Avatar being a Nickelodeon production cannot be verified from the provided research, though it does not contradict the available sources either. The article's overall framing and specific examples align well with the sourced material.
Claim Tracker
AI-assessed
Source 3 (Aaron N. Hall article) states 'rated #12 on IMDb's best TV shows of all time.' IMDb list in Source 4 does not show ATLA in the visible portion, but Source 3 corroborates the specific ranking claim.
Source 5 (Netflix Tudum) confirms: 'Evangelion takes place in a future Japan where the series' teenage protagonists must pilot giant robots to defend the world against mysterious alien invaders called Angels.'
Source 5 (Netflix Tudum) states: 'Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno combined the trappings of the genre with deep psychological themes that helped the show make its lasting impact.'
Source 3 (Aaron N. Hall article) directly confirms: 'the show not only features lovable characters and excellent world building, but themes of sexism, imperialism, genocide, and class struggles.'
Research provided does not contain information about Avatar's production company or origin. Source 3 mentions it as an anime-adjacent show but does not specify it as Nickelodeon production.
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