Andrew McAfee

I mean, honestly, a lot of the real tentpole titles of anime aren’t things I’m comfortable with...Attack on Titan, Parasyte, Tokyo Ghoul—they’re super-popular, but I’m just not into them.

Most anime gets into some really philosophical areas in a pretty violent way. It's kindof its "thing." I personally like Akira, but I totally get it. Maybe try the Violet Evergarden path first?

I mean, I went that road myself when I got into anime—Blue Sub 6, Ninja Resurrection, Ghost in the Shell—but I’ve found a happy medium that doesn’t slip into the more disturbing stuff. Or, perhaps just the stuff that doesn’t disturb me, because Hellsing’s on the good-stuff list.

Are the really freaky anime actually necessary to someone’s development as a fan of the genre, though? Do you really HAVE to see the dog scene of Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki before you can say you have an understanding of anime?

well, freaky is subjective and I don't think there's ever a "true" understanding of anime. THe best you can hope for is your own personal interpretation.

Any media not just cartoons from a culture that’s alien to you will always register as odd

Well, while that is certainly true, I’m mostly referring to media that deliberately sets out to challenge you with weirdness or discomfort.

Honestly hard for me to be too objective here since I don’t hold Japanese cartoons in the high regard that many westerners seem to but challenging media exists everywhere and is that much harder for the outsider to the source culture