There is naturally an entire spectrum to how Normie friendly a given Anime can be. From an ideal Anime to show your parents to this OVA will get you excommunicated.
What makes Fate/ special as a franchise is that I think only it has representation on every level of that spectrum. To the point where I feel like I could define each level using a Fate/ Anime.
Some of these levels do have more than one Fate/ show on them, but for this I’ll be using the Fate/ shows I most personally recommend.
Fate/Zero
Shows that are completely Normie friendly, either nothing Otaku about them at all or it’s so faint only someone who already is an Otaku would notice. Other Anime on this level would include Noir, Witch Hunter Robin, Ghibli films, Pokemon, original Gundam and Macross, and probably most Toei Stuff.
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (UFO Table TV Anime)
Shows that don’t have enough Otakuness to put anyone off but enough of an Otaku hook to be a potential gateway drug. Other shows I like to put here include Code Geass, Gundam 00, Madoka Magica, Yuki Yuna Is A Hero, the original Higurashi Anime, and most of the first two seasons of Railgun.
Fate/Apocrypha
Not impossible for a Normie to get into, but only recommend it to someone if it appeals to some other interest of theirs, for Apocrypha that could be any of the Heroic Spirits. Other Anime I place here include the rest of Raildex, the SciADV Semi;Colon shows, the main Haruhi Anime, School Live!.
Carnival Phantasm
A Normie could enjoy it if they’re watching it with someone into it, or maybe just hooked on the franchise via something above. Other Anime I’d put here include Project A-Ko, Nanoha, Lucky Star, most of that Isekai I watch, and things like comedic Chibi spin offs.
Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya
This is the point of no return, once you enjoy this there is no normal left in you.
None of this is a statement of quality (I pretty much only listed stuff I like). There are Anime you could wind up hating for reasons that have nothing to do with Weeb Degeneracy, and there are Hentai I consider Masterpieces. For the three in-between categories the lines can be blurry anyway so that’s where it’s important to make an effort not to let your opinion influence your ranking, this is about how Otaku something is not how good it is.
Update December 2021: I shall elaborate a bit.
Now that I've seen Cowboy Bebop I'd put it on the Fate/Zero level. Something else I should have listed on the Zero level but neglected to is most Lupin III stuff.
Simply saying "most Toei stuff" I kind of regret because some Normies stumbling on this post may not know what shows are and aren't Toei. Toei shows include Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, Pretty Cure, One Peice, Digimon, Yugioh. But even some of their lesser known stuff is just as Normie friendly if it's a kids' show, however they've also done a lot of Go Nagai stuff which perhaps belongs on a different level.
Trixie The Golden Witch once said her problem with trying to recommend people "gateway drug Anime" is that what makes them good Anime for Normies is exactly what makes them not very representative of Anime as a whole. The Anime she's thinking of are the Fate/Zero level ones. That's why the UBW level Anime (essentially all adaptations of routes of Stay Night are on the same level) are special, they are shows that are genuine glimpses at what Anime is usually like, even what's sometimes disliked about it, but in ways that ease you into it.
The Apocrypha level is probably where the largest percentage of Anime that currently exist falls, at least stuff made in the last 20 years. The goal studios are usually going for is stuff that definitely will reel in those money wasting Otaku, but have some potential to appeal beyond them. That includes probably all the Fate/ shows that are neither Stay Night adaptations or one of the shows I named a level after.
Stuff on the Apocrypha level potentially could work as someone's very first Anime if they already have an Otkau mindset somewhat but don't know it yet. Christians who both believe in Universal Salvation and reject the sexual prudishness usually associated with Christianity I'd say are potentially examples of that, your Peter Hiett and David Bentley Hart types. But you'd still need to know the right one to recommend for that person.
Putting all the SciADV shows on the same level was a mistake, even the ones I had seen when I first made this I didn't think about enough. Robotics;Notes and Occultic;Nine are the ones that belong on the Apocrypha level, but Steins;Gate is on the Stay Night level while the Chaos; shows are on the Carnival Phantasm level.
YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love At The Bound Of This World is on the Apocrypha level.
Going back the initial premise of Fate/ uniquely representing all the levels in one franchise. Yeah other franchises exist on more then one, and probably all franchises exist on the Prisma Illya level when you include Doujins. But as far as officially licensed stuff goes, most franchises try to stay mostly consistent to where they started in how broad or narrow their appeal is. Most that start on the Zero level especially try to stay there, and shows that start on the SP or PI level are kind of hard to even theocratically make adaptable into a Normie friendly form. So IDK what it is about Fate/ that gave it this talent, but I'm glad to have one.
