Really? There are actually more shows on now than the last two years at this time. (43 new shows started up this season.)
And a Gateway Series really depends on what the person likes in normal TV shows I mean Genre Specific Gateway Series would be more helpful as Anime is pretty diverse aside from the generic Shounen which are all the same.
edited 22nd May '11 9:12:21 AM by Raso
Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!There's still nothing wrong with the shows that have been gateway series in the past. I'd still probably bring up stuff like Cowboy Bebop or FMA if someone were to express interest in getting into anime. Of course, with less of it on television (well, non-Japanese television), there's less out there to pique that interest in the first place...
edited 22nd May '11 9:49:40 AM by CombatC122
Today's anime? Well, little kids may be suited to Shinryaku Ika Musume just because the humor is very basic and clean, there're no bathroom jokes except for the ink-puking, there's rarely any fanservice, and the atmosphere is bright and sunny. Ika's basically a little kid herself, and since she's foreign to Earthen Ways, she, and in turn the audience, gets treated to some crash courses in Japanese culture.
As for shonens, the new FMA show, BROTHERHOOD, is excellent. I don't have to explain why. :)
I myself got into anime from Cowboy Bebop when my college club was screening 'that episode where everyone gets high as a kite', and it sold me into buying the box set, which led me into getting interested in Samurai Champloo (same director), then to Adult Swim, then to the other shows THAT station aired, and then into the shows it DIDN'T air!
edited 31st May '11 11:17:46 AM by kyun
I watched an episode of Pokémon a little over a year ago on Cartoon Nectwork and now I am obsessed with various animes.
edited 1st Jun '11 8:57:54 PM by leafeon
don’t call me nerdy [url=http://dragcave.net/view/lgru9][img][/imgMy gateway series was Code Geass, out of a recommendation. It's also the first thing ever that made me go on a Heroic BSoD.
"If I touch my enemy, it's over, so I don't need to put effort in destroying them."Well, my gateway series was Lucky Star, but I don't think that's a good choice.
edited 2nd Jun '11 5:29:57 AM by AikoHeiwa
NO TREE FOR ME (ALSO LOVES HER BOYFRIEND)Seriously, any series can be a gateway series. It just needs to push the right buttons of the viewer, and finding those buttons is pretty much impossible.
I mean, my gateway series was the Ah My Goddess TV anime, through sheer coincidence* . Back then, I didn't even know I had a taste for Japanese romance stories, and no one could have ever guessed since I wouldn't (and still won't) touch Western stuff from similar genre.
So if you ask me, the best way to introduce someone to anime, would be by giving him/her a link to a streaming site and tell him/her to knock him/herself out.

There isn't much anime on TV these days and will probably lead to less new anime fans. What shows do you think have the potential to be the next anime Gateway Series?
In my opinion, Tiger And Bunny definitely has potential. It's American feel makes it an anime I can recommend to just about anybody. And Ao No Exorcist could probably drive in the same crowds Naruto did.
Don't mind me. I'm just a creepy little lurker.