a show you'd watch with your dad

[TheAlbinoMoose]

I want to watch a show with my dad, any suggestions? He likes star wars, star trek, old westerns, lord of the rings,marvel and dc cartoons and stuff like that, but he's... VERY hesitant to watch anime. So I need a show that's short, action packed, dubbed, and not, well, very anime-ish, if you know what I mean. XD I just want it to leave a good impression.

[Xeno]

In B4 attack on titan is suggested.

There is Gundam, and the obligatory Cowboy Bebop suggestion though.

[mechana2015]

Have you thought of trying movies rather than series?

[Furen]

READY FOR THIS!
Arrow, Flash, Gotham, Marvel Agents of Shield, Firefly, (Castle, Doctor Who?) Everything before who sounds exactly in the parameters of what he likes... except maybe... Castle, but it's like, a detective show that always has something crazy, like believing that someone they're working with is a time traveler, or a vampire and stuff :/

Edit: Better description of Castle
A writer wants better real life experience writing detective novels, so he gets the chance to work with a detective, so there's always a story that could make for an amazing book in his mind, and his wild mass guessing always ends up really close/seeming to be what he guesses, which is hilarious.

Another Edit: Because you said show, it did not occur to me that you meant an anime... so like... I don't know, megaman? or that terrible Sonic X thing

[TheAlbinoMoose]

In B4 attack on titan is suggested.

There is Gundam, and the obligatory Cowboy Bebop suggestion though.

I do want him to watch AoT but I'm not sure if that would be the best place to start. Cowboy Bebop sounds good though, maybe I'll give it a go ^_^ thanks

Actually a movie might be better- he'll probably be more likely to watch it if it's only an hour and a half long

Haha thanks Ren XD guess I should have clarified what I meant... good recommendations, anyway

[mechana2015]

I would highly suggest avoiding Attack on Titan then, for a while. It's not really very friendly to outside eyes, especially since it's an incomplete story as far as I know, and if one thing bugs people about anime it's someone showing them an incomplete show as their first show.

Bebop would be a good start possibly. Film wise I'd have to ask what rating were talking about here, since that determines a lot about what is shareable.

[LastLfan]

If Log horizon gets a dub I think that would be a very good option

[IPv4]

Teletubbies.

[mechana2015]

IPv4 please stay on topic.

[Davidizer13]

Gundam 0080 would be a good option if you're really committed to this - it's six episodes long, the dub is pretty solid, and even with some very anime touches, like focusing on a kid's point of view, a tonally clashing OP song, and the ending, it's structured more like a war or heist movie. And despite being part of the UC Gundam-verse, it doesn't require much knowledge of what's come before, though it's a lot more fun if you do - the plot follows a group of commandos from Zeon, an organization that is, for all intents and purposes, a bunch of space Nazis, but this one manages to deal with the individuals fighting on their side with a more sympathetic viewpoint.

It is a bit hard to find legally, though, and towards its end, it gets pretty bloody (despite having a kid as the central character, this is not kid-friendly), so there's that, but even if you don't talk your dad into watching it, 0080's pretty good; it's probably my favorite Gundam show of the ones I've seen.

[Thunderscream872]

Fate/Zero(25 episodes)—Being that your dad likes LotR and Star Wars, I'd recommend this the most. I wouldn't say it’s necessarily action-packed, but when there is action (fight scenes and what not) its of very high quality. I've seen episodes 1-12 so far, and believe me when I say, when you watch this, you don't feel like you're watching a typical anime. The only thing is, the first episode is about 50 minutes long and is basically just setting the stage for the rest of the show. He might get a little bored out of that, but if he likes LotR, I don't really see what the problem would be there.

Psycho-Pass(22 episodes, with a second season on the way)—If you were to combine Criminal Minds and 24 and set it in the future, you'd get Psycho-Pass. It doesn’t really match up with the other stuff your dad likes, but I think it’s worth giving a shot. It's and incredibly good and intense show that presents allot of interesting questions about morality, law, government, etc. It starts out a little episodic, but eventually becomes very serialized. The whole presentation of this show is pretty different from other anime.

Cowboy Bebop(26 episodes)—I don’t think I need to explain this one.

Btooom!(12 episodes)—People fighting against each other to survive on an island, while the people who put them there watch for their own entertainment—that’s basically what the show is about. It’s not an incredible show, but it’s not bad either. The major problem I have with this one is that it doesn’t have a very conclusive ending.

Darker Than Black(around 40 episodes if you include both seasons and a four episode OVA—which is definitely worth watching)—Darker Than Black is kinda hard to explain so I’ll leave it to you to look up on it.

Gungrave(26 episodes)—Think of Cowboy Bebop mixed with Breaking Bad, plus add mutant monsters. Aside from being very serious, with little to no comic relief, it’s a pretty good show, though personally I think Cowboy Bebop is much better (and it doesn’t hold a candle to awesomeness of Breaking Bad, but we’re talking about anime so….but if you haven’t seen Breaking Bad you NEED to watch it, so does everyone else on this planet!)

All of these shows fit your parameters the best, I’m gonna briefly list a few more that you might be able to show him, but don’t necessarily fit what you’re looking for exactly.

Steins;Gate (24 episodes + and OVA and a movie)
Death Note (37 episodes)
Eureka Seven (50 episodes)
Guilty Crown (22 episodes)
Code Geass (50 episodes)
Attack on Titan (25 episodes)
Gundam 00 (50 episodes)
Black Lagoon (24 episodes)
Baccano! (16 episodes)—Can’t say I’d recommend it, but…

Every anime I've mentioned is English dubbed.

Is there anything content-wise that your dad would really object to, because a few of these shows might be a little iffy depending on what he is willing to tolerate?

[mechana2015]

Btooom has aweful amounts of totally pointless fanservice. Not really something that'll make a good impression on anyone, let alone some of the later content, according to reviews. There are better shows with similar plots out there (hunger games).

Let's keep in mind this is someone's parent and that our favorite shows might not be good introductory shows.

Currently I'd say:

Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostrio
Cowboy Bebop, movie or series

[Ante Bellum]

How have we not recommended Giant Robo?

How have we not recommended Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still?

[Thunderscream872]

Come to think of it, mechana2015 is probably right about Btooom, there are some really "unnecessary" moments in there, but I still wouldn't totally rule it out.

Like I'm always telling people, if your parent are very conservative when it comes to what they watch (like mine are), you definitely should watch whatever you wanna show them all the way through yourself before having them watch it. This is especially true with anime since most of the ones I've seen can be pretty unpredictable content-wise.

[Xeno]

You must have a plan to prepare your family for anime.


Make him watch true pinnacles of animation, like Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, and Speed Racer.

[mechana2015]

How have we not recommended Giant Robo?

How have we not recommended Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still?

I hadn't recommended it because I really don't think of it as a good starter show. Combining mecha and wuxia in a show with a...vague ending may not leave the best impression, especially since there's a lot left up to the readers knowledge of the genre to allow them to enjoy the OVA. I love it, but I'm not sure it would be good for this situation, same with a couple of my other personal favorite shows.

I would suggest Dennou Coil, but it's night on impossible to find, since it had no US release.

[Ante Bellum]

It's still something to keep in mind, at least for later. It might just require a little bit of a primer.

[TheAlbinoMoose]

Thanks for the help ^_^ I've been looking up everything that was suggested, and they all seem to fit the bill pretty well (except tellitubbies) . My dad isn't very conservative, but I really don't want to watch anything that has sex stuff popping up consistently (awkwarddddd haha)

I haven't seen Fate/Zero, Psycho Pass, Lupin III, Cowboy Bebop (for shame I know) or Darker than Black but they all look awesome and I think one of them will work! If he likes it, then I'll move on to Death Note, Steins;gate or Baccano

[Ante Bellum]

Just a heads up, Castle of Cagliostro is vastly different from the rest of Lupin III. It's Miyazaki, of course it's going to be nice. Not that it's not good, it's my second favorite Miyazaki (after Porco Rosso), but it's hardly representative of the series.