School me on best Anime

[dfwmtx]

HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD - Seriously, how did a gun forum miss this one? Has plenty of shooting, zombie-killin' and fanservice (aka: boobs and underwear shots for you ignorant gaijin). They don't start with guns but get a cache mid-way through the season.

For some light-hearted stuff, I recomend "Nausicaa; Valley of the Winds" and "Spirited Away" by Miyazaki. Good movies.

Master Keaton - good stories, but not always full of action

FLCL - don't try to watch it to make sense. Appreciate it like a six-episode, cartoon haiku

Doomed Megalopolis

I prefer the old school cell animated stuff (Area 88, Bubblegum Crisis, Dirty Pair, Neo Dominion Tank Police, etc), but it's getting harder to find since the transition from VHS to DVD and now to purely streaming media.

[Cybrludite]

So long as the opening theme looks like this or this, and not like this (or like that with tentacles added...), you'll be safe.

[SoupOrMan]

So long as the opening theme looks like this or this, and not like this (or like that with tentacles added...), you'll be safe.

But what about this one, Cybr?

[Dub_James]

I haven't seen Gunslinger Girls but I have been told to check it out since I might like it.

Finished the first series this week. It is desperately sad, disturbing, and at times, draining. Now this is art.

[Cybrludite]

So long as the opening theme looks like this or this, and not like this (or like that with tentacles added...), you'll be safe.

But what about this one, Cybr?

Giant robots singing & dancing to that is cool. Giant otaku doing so, not so much.

BTW, I've got brain bleach available for sale. $500 per liter.

[SoupOrMan]

Dude, I used to work with Sailor Bubba at Anime Central. That's nothing.

[Evyl Robot]

Pretty new. Just watched Ghost. Looks like most of the others are DVD only except for a couple. I've heard Gunslinger Girl is worth watching.

They have Gundam and Neon Genesis, but again, DVD only. I'm sticking to the streaming available stuff for now.

Anime eh? I watched a couple of thems at one time or another.

Gunslinger Girl is fantastic! Did you need a box of tissues for that closing scene?
Also check out Fullmetal Alchemist. This is what got me back into anime.
Eureka Seven. Giant robots and alien forces of nature. What will be the fate of mankind?
Ergo Proxy starts out dark and moody. It's worth the watch, I just wish that they'd kept up with the broody mystery throughout. Some of the early episodes will creep you out.
Gun Sword (Gun X Sword?) is a lot of fun if you like the giant robot thing. It starts out slower than some of the others, but the repeated themes are endearing and the characters are funny.
Solty Rei has a very sweet storyline that you might enjoy. It's a love story but focuses on family and adoption rather than romance. Oh, and the daughter is a killing machine.
Metropolis the movie is pretty amazing. The animation is sharp, smooth running and uniquely retro, and the sound is crisp. The final scene really ties the whole thing together.
Samurai 7 is worth the watch, but they should had stuck with the original storyline. Instead, they came up with this big epic post-adventure so they could milk it into a full season. Plus the blend of 2D and 3D animation can be distracting in places.
Bleach is pretty amazing, but I could do with the seasons themselves moving along a little faster. Every new season the characters are introduced to a new adventure from what I can tell. I'm actually a little behind on this one.
Samurai X - Trust and Betrayal is pretty incredible. It's violent and really has very little to do with its parent series Rurouni Kenshin, which is a good thing to me.

+1 on what others said about Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Shamploo, Last Exile, Appleseed, Akira, Black Lagoon...

If you want to check out some of the less kid-friendly stuff that doesn't quite get to hentai territory:
GoDanNar is basically the giant robots piloted by fit people in skin-tight clothing with lots and lots of camel-toe. Then, they put a halfway decent love story in it to keep the series rolling.
Speed Grapher is disturbing but compelling and highly recommended. It's dark in its themes of immorality and hedonism, and there's an antihero who sets out to save the girl and expose the underworld.
Desert Punk will have you rolling around with all of the low-brow humor. Fairly early, you'll find yourself chanting, "Your mother's a dirty whore" over and over again.
Kiddy Grade is fun but a little uncomfortable as it nearly borders on kiddy pr0n. There's nothing explicit or implicit, but there are a lot of panty shots. Just tell yourself she's over 18 and check it out.
Najica Blitz Tactics is basically an excuse to stream panty shots. When you watch it for a little while, you suddenly realize that there's a decent storyline behind all those panties. Just imagine James Bond as a cartoon girl in a tiny little skirt.

I know there's more that I could impart insight on, but that's about all I can think of that's worth mentioning at the moment. I don't have a clue what Netflix streams.

[Cybrludite]

Najica Blitz Tactics is basically an excuse to stream panty shots. When you watch it for a little while, you suddenly realize that there's a decent storyline behind all those panties. Just imagine James Bond as a cartoon girl in a [strike]tiny little skirt[/strike] wide, frilly belt.

Fixed it for you.

[RangerWT]

Also try out Outlaw Star, it's one of many the anime I got into when I was just getting started and it doesn't disappoint IMHO.

Outlaw Star is one of my favorites. I remember reading in an interview somewhere that Joss Whedan said he took a lot of his influence fro Firefly from Outlaw Star.

Did no one mention Burst Angel? It's pretty good, if you like hot chicks with guns that is. Meg has to be one of the all time hottest anime girls ever.

[Jericho941]

You know what? Even though it's aimed primarily at kids and technically American, it's anime style, so I'm gonna go ahead and recommend Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I resisted watching this show because it was held in high esteem by people I generally considered to be immature dolts, constantly groping for a lost childhood before they had even been old enough to justify such nostalgia. But a friend of mine finally finagled me into watching it, and I have to say, I am impressed. Iroh is the kind of person I want to be like if I become an old man.