While not every great anime starts out that way, there are some incredible series that blow viewers' minds with the very first episode.These series later go on to prove just how good they are, but it’s their first episodes that really set the tone for what they’re going for. There’s a common “three-episode rule” in the world of anime that states that a viewer shouldn’t drop a series until they’ve given the show at least three episodes. Some series only need a third of that.
It’s hard to nail the first episode of an anime, especially if the series needs to tell the story of a prologue before the events of the series. Most series' first episodes are somewhere around 22 minutes long without commercials or opening/closing music, making it incredibly difficult to captivate audiences right away. While it might seem difficult, some anime series showthat it isn’t impossible.
Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-
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Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- follows the story of Natsuki Subaru, a young man suddenly transported to a fantasy world. Struggling to understand his new environment, he discovers he has the ability to return from death, allowing him to change past events. With each resurrection, Subaru forges alliances and confronts the challenges of this alternate realm, endeavoring to protect those he grows to care for while unraveling the mysteries surrounding his predicament.
Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another Worldis a show that hasa surprisingly good first episode.It’s surprising because the series is based on long storylines that take a few episodes to develop before they come to fruition. The concept itself doesn’t seem like something that can be fully conveyed in a single episode. Natsuki Subaru is transported to a new world and gets one of the most bittersweet powers in anime - Return by Death. He can come back to a predetermined point in time, but only after his brutal death. Unfortunately, this would be the first of many, asSubaru would go on to experience many horrible deaths inRe:Zero.
The first episode ofRe:Zeroperfectly conveys the entire story in less than half an hour. The episode shows Subaru’s confusion entering a new world, follows him as he meets Satella, later revealed to be Emilia, and keeps following himthrough his cruel deathat the hands of Elsa. It’s an amazing, succinct episode that lets viewers know exactly whatRe:Zerois about.
Goblin Slayer
Goblin Slayer is a dark fantasy anime series based on the light novel by Kumo Kagyu. It follows the titular adventurer, a man obsessed with eradicating goblins from the world, partnering with a priestess and other allies to achieve his singular goal. The narrative explores themes of trauma, vengeance, and determination amidst a backdrop of violence and danger in a medieval fantasy setting.
To say that the first episode ofGoblin Slayeris brutalwould be an understatement.The series is often cruel, cold, and entirely unforgiving, and the first episode conveys those themes expeditiously. The first episode features a group of cute, lighthearted adventurers as they go to explore a dungeon. Only one of them is really taking it seriously, as the others assume they’ll be able to clear the dungeon without much difficulty.
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Their adventure couldn’t have gone worse, asnearly all of them die to goblins viciously.Not only do most of them die, but one of the female adventurers is assaulted horrifically in an uncomfortably memorable scene. Luckily for the single surviving member, Goblin Slayer himself shows up and dispatches the goblins like only he can.The first episode ofGoblin Slayeris one of the hardest to watch in anime, but for those who watched it, they learned what the series was trying to do immediately.
Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling follows Sung Jin-woo, the world’s weakest hunter, who gains extraordinary powers through a mysterious program after surviving a brutal monster attack. As he navigates his newfound abilities, Jinwoo embarks on a quest to uncover the secrets of his powers and the dungeon that altered his fate.
LikeGoblin Slayer, Solo Leveling’sfirst episodeis equally unforgiving.Solo Levelingis much more than its first episode, but the first episode certainly sets the tone for how dark the series can get. Sung Jinwoo is an E-Rank adventurer, the weakest of all the ranks. Sung Jinwoo himself is known as the world’s weakest hunter as well, and he only does it to earn money for his mom’s hospital bills and for his sister’s education.
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Sung Jinwoo and his companions are also in a dungeon when they discover that it’s a double dungeon. They go to check out the second dungeon in hopes of getting cool loot, but they find a horrible trap waiting for them. Sung Jinwoo’s companions largely betray him, and the few that don’t still leave him to die.It’s a cruel first episode that sees Sung Jinwoo die hopelessly, only to be reborn as one of the few hunters with the ability to actually get stronger.
Spy x Family
Created by Tatsuya Endo, Spy X Family is an action-adventure comedy anime that follows the misadventures of a found family with unique quirks. The story follows spy Twilight (known as Loid Forger), who, while on assignment, builds a fake family to get closer to his target. Unbeknownst to him, his new family carries their quirks. His wife, Yor, is a kind but deadly assassin, while his daughter, Anya, has telepathic powers - and is the only one who knows their secrets.
Spy x Familyisan adorable, heartwarming seriesstarring one of thebest dads in anime. Agent Twilight is the best secret agent his nation of Westalis has. When relations with the nation of Ostania look bleak at best, Westalis gives him Operation Strix. For his mission, he needs to create a family and enroll his “daughter” in a school to get close to the son of an important member of the Ostania government. Agent Twilight, now Loid Forger, finds Anya and adopts her to be his daughter.
Anya eventually gets kidnapped by some Loid’s enemies, and he’s forced to free her. In just one episode,Spy x Familyshows how capable Loid is as a spy, the extent of Anya’s impressive powers, and just how far he’s willing to go to protect her. It shows their blossoming relationship perfectly, asAnya is quickly becoming more importantto Loid than just a piece of his mission, setting the stage impressively for the rest of the series.
The Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland is a suspenseful anime series set in an orphanage where children, led by the intelligent Emma, uncover a dark secret about their idyllic home and plan a daring escape.
A lot of anime series have a brutal first episode to try and get people hooked on them quickly. There are few that are quite as brutal asThe Promised Neverland.The first season of the show is one ofthe best in anime, and it all began with the first episode.ThePromised Neverlandstarts as a much brighter series than most. It shows a bunch of kids running around what looks to be an orphanage having a great time, playing with each other without a care in the world.
When one of the kids gets adopted but leaves their stuffed animal back at the house, two of the kids go to return the teddy bear. They find their recently adopted friend dead, with their limp body hanging from the back of a trunk. It’s a shocking twist that catches everyone by surprise in just 20 minutes, setting the stage for the rest of the series.The Promised Neverlandis a great first season about mystery, and the first episode did a great job conveying that theme right away.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Set in Japan’s Taisho Period, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba follows Tanjiro, a young boy whose family is killed by demons. With his sister Nezuko transformed into a demon, Tanjiro embarks on a quest to become a demon slayer, seeking vengeance and a cure for his sister’s condition.
Tanjiro Kamado is one of the best modern shōnen protagonists. He’s a determined, hard-working Demon Slayer who will do anything to save his fellow Demon Slayers, protect his sister Nezuko, and avenge his family. It all started with the first episode, aptly titled “Cruelty”. Tanjiro leaves his home on an errand to return to a massacre. A demon attacked his family, killing his mother and most of his siblings bar Nezuko.
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The show is otherwise relatively lighthearted, as Tanjiro isn’t a character to be upset for too long. But the first episode was different. It was heavy, brutal, and altogether cruel for one of the kindest characters in shōnen. It serves as the perfect motivation forTanjiro as he looks to take on the King of Demons personally and end this long-standing feud once and for all.
Dandadan
Two high school students, embroiled in a wager to prove the existence of ghosts or aliens, encounter daunting paranormal threats, acquire superpowers, and possibly discover love. The series blends supernatural elements with personal dynamics as the protagonists navigate their newfound abilities and unexpected challenges.
Dandadantook the world by stormat the end of 2024. It’s an amazing series with a great romance at its core. Outside of Okarun’s and Momo’s relationship,Dandadanisone of the funniest anime in recent memory. The first episode can barely be described in words. Momo meets Okarun who introduces her to his love of all things extraterrestrial. She doesn’t believe in aliens but tries to get him to believe in ghosts instead. While they both turned out to be correct, they probably didn’t want to be.
The first episode ofDandadanis heart-warming, hilarious, and absurd all in around 20 minutes. The characters and their powers are introduced succinctly, the world they’ve found themselves in is hilarious, and Momo’s reaction to hearing Okarun’s real name isone of the funniest moments inDandadan’sentire first season.
Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a young man burdened by debt, who teams up with his pet devil Pochita to fight devils under the yakuza’s control. Released in 2022, the series portrays Denji’s struggle to achieve his dream of living a simple, peaceful life.
Chainsaw Man,likeDandadanis an absurdly hilarious anime withplenty of dark themes throughout. The first episode, amazingly titled “Dog & Chainsaw”, is a perfect glimpse into what the show is setting out to be. It introduces Denji, Pochita, and the world of Devils and Devil Hunters amazingly. Denji is a simple character who has found himself on the wrong side of life on more than one occasion. His one shred of hope, Pochita, is always beside him, helping him take down Devils for measly scraps of money.
Denji eventually fuses with Pochita to become the titular Chainsaw Man in a sad butamazing transformationthat shows exactlywhat the series is capable of. The first episode had everything that the rest of the series excels in: plenty of jokes, brutal fights, and an underlying bleakness that never seems to go away.
Attack On Titan
Based on the manga, Attack on Titan is a dark-action fantasy series set in a world where humanity has been corralled into walled cities from fear of monstrous human-eating Titans that exist outside of them. When protagonist Eren Yeager’s mother is killed in front of his eyes at a young age, his thirst for vengeance leads him to join an elite group of soldiers created to fight back against the Titan menace.
The first episode ofAttack on Titanis one of themost shocking first episodes in general, and it’s even better after completing the series. The first episode introduces Eren, Mikasa, and the world of the Walls and the Titans outside of them. The first episode ofAttack on Titanfills anyone watching it with a ton of questions, and immediately gives them a cruel answer. Eren is having a relatively normal day when the Colossal Titan appears above Wall Maria and kicks it open with a single move of his leg.
To say that the first episode ofAttack on Titanled to the rest of the series is true both literally and metaphorically. It created an uncurable rage within Eren that was never quelled, leading to one of the greatestevents of mass destruction in animewhen he enacted the Rumbling.The first episode ofAttack on Titan,titled “To You, in 2,000 Years: The Fall of Shinganshina”, makes even more senseas the events of the series unfold. It’s everything thatAttack on Titanis: brutal, cruel, and shrouded in mystery.
Oshi No Ko
Oshi No Ko is a 2023 Japanese series that follows a small-town doctor’s encounter with a popular teen idol leading to an entanglement in the cutthroat entertainment industry. The narrative explores themes of ambition, identity, and the hidden realities behind fame as the characters navigate complex personal and professional challenges.
The first episode ofOshi no Kois about an hour and a half long, making it closer to three or four anime episodes than one. It’stechnically one episode, however, making it the best premier episode of any anime series. There are not only one, but three incredible twists in the first episode that set the stage for the rest ofOshi no Koand the story of Ai Hoshino’s children, Aqua and Ruby. It’s hard not to describe the events of the first episode without revealing any spoilers, but it’s an incredible episode that’s captivating from start to finish.
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Oshi no Kois a series filled with twists and turns, deception and hope, and the first episode conveys that theme perfectly. Ai Hoshino herself is mixed with equal measures of hope and cynicism in the first episode, lying to her fans about her love for them while developing a very real love for both of her children.
