The Best Anime Quizzes for Newcomers (No Gatekeeping)

Here's the thing nobody tells you when you first dip a toe into anime: the fandom can be a little intense. Mention you just started Naruto and someone will immediately ask if you've read the manga, whether you're "filler-pilled," and what your top 50 looks like. Ignore all of that. You don't need a power-level chart to enjoy this stuff, and you definitely don't need anyone's permission.

This is a no-gatekeeping starter guide. Every quiz below is built around shows that are genuinely beginner-friendly — the ones most fans actually started with — and you can take them whether you've watched two episodes or two hundred. Score low? Cool, now you've got a watchlist. Score high? Even better.

Start Here: The Gateway Shows

Demon Slayer — the modern front door

If anime had a "press start" button in the last few years, it was Demon Slayer. Short seasons, an easy-to-follow premise (boy becomes demon hunter to save his sister), and animation so pretty it routinely breaks the internet. Our Demon Slayer quiz is a perfect first test — most newcomers clear it without breaking a sweat. Think you know Tanjiro's breathing styles? Test yourself →

Death Note — for the thriller crowd

Not into long-running action shows? Death Note is the gateway for people who'd rather watch a cat-and-mouse psychological chess match. It's 37 episodes, completely self-contained, and famously hard to stop once you start. Our Death Note quiz covers the Light-versus-L mind games that made it a phenomenon. Be honest about which side you're on.

The Big Three (Don't Be Intimidated)

Old-school fans call Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach "the Big Three" — the shounen titans that defined a generation. They're long, yes. But you don't have to finish them to take a quiz on them, and they're long for a reason: people love them.

Naruto

The orange-jumpsuit ninja who wants to be Hokage. Naruto is many people's literal first anime, and its themes — never giving up, found family, talking your enemies into therapy via punching — are basically the genre's DNA. Our Naruto quiz ranges from "everyone knows this" softballs to a few deep cuts for the believe-it crowd.

One Piece

Yes, it's a thousand-plus episodes. No, that doesn't matter for a quiz. One Piece is a pirate adventure with the most beloved cast in anime, and the Netflix live-action got a whole new wave of people on board. Our One Piece quiz is a great way to figure out how much you've actually absorbed about the Straw Hats. Set sail and see your score →

You do not need to watch a thousand episodes of anything to be a "real" fan. You need to enjoy what you watch. That's the entire bar.

Crowd-Pleasers Worth Adding to the List

Attack on Titan

If you want the show everyone was screaming about, it's this one. Humanity behind walls, giant humanoid Titans, and a plot that pulls the rug out from under you roughly every six episodes. Our Attack on Titan quiz is a touch tougher than the others here — the story gets genuinely complex — so treat a strong score as a flex.

Jujutsu Kaisen — the new hotness

Cursed energy, slick fights, and a cast people got attached to alarmingly fast. Jujutsu Kaisen is the show your friends are probably nagging you to watch right now. Our Jujutsu Kaisen quiz covers Yuji, Gojo, and the cursed-spirit chaos.

How to Use These (and a Suggested Run)

Here's a no-pressure plan. Pick one show you've already seen and take its quiz first to warm up. Then take one for a show you haven't seen — whatever you score, you now have informed picks for your watchlist. Anime quizzes are weirdly great for this, because the questions double as a spoiler-light preview of what each show is actually about.

A fun starter gauntlet: Demon Slayer → Death Note → Naruto. Three different vibes — action, thriller, classic shounen — and a solid read on where your taste actually leans before you commit a single watch hour.

Once you've got your bearings, the broader Anime & Manga quiz pulls from across the medium and is a good "how deep am I, really?" benchmark. Don't expect to ace it on day one. Nobody does.