I've been watching Anime since the mid-1980's - before I even knew there was a term for it. For the uninitiated it refers to animated shows not necessarily made for younger viewers, and in Western usage usually means such shows originating from Japan, but not necessarily. This page is my viewing list, and if you're interested in diving into this form of entertainment check out my "recommended" ones in the list (they have an asterisk by them). Granted most otaku are not going to agree with my picks as every Anime fan has their own tastes, but that's kind of the nice thing about it is there are so many genres.
The Bubblegum Crisis Series
* Bubblegum Crisis
* Bubblegum Crash
AD Police Files
Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040
AD Police: To Serve & Protect
This is a cyberpunk classic and you really have to see the two original series. "AD Police Files" is actually a prequel series so if you plan to watch it you may want to start with that one, though I didn't think it was as good as Crisis or Crash. The "Tokyo 2040" is basically a remake of the original series and not as good imo. I didn't care for "To Serve & Protect" at all.
* Ah! My Goddess
* Akira
Two more staples of any anime fan's viewing list. "Akira" is considered a landmark movie that helped put anime on the radar for Western viewers.
* Animatrix
This was the series of animated shorts released in conjunction with "The Matrix" movies. Some purists don't consider them proper anime, but I really liked them (more than the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies).
*Appleseed Movie
Appleseed Saga Ex Machina
This is a very good anime with a lot of CGI stuff in it. I liked the first one better because the characters were rendered with a bit more of a traditional anime style. The second one is just too computer generated for my tastes - it was like watching someone playing an X-Box.
Astro Boy (original series)
For many people this may be the very first anime they ever saw without even knowing it was anime. It is widely considered the first anime series and you should probably see if only for that reason. It's definitely a product of a different time aimed at a younger audience. Personally I'm not starring it as a "must see" because it can be a bit trying to get through due to it's age and low quality.
The Big O
This series gets rerun on Cartoon Network from time to time and was created as an homage to classic anime by using a similar style. !!!Spoiler: I actually hated the "Truman Show" ending !!!
Bleach
Bleach: Memories of Nobody
My brother really digs this series. I watched up to about episode 70 and got bored with it because it never seemed to get anywhere. Far too many characters and plot tangents imo. The second one is a movie.
Blood: The Last Vampire
*Blood+
The first one is actually a movie and you could consider it a prequel to the series, which is the stronger storyline. You don't need to have seen the movie to understand the series, in fact I originally saw them out of order.
Blue Gender
Captain Harlock (only a couple episodes)
CODE GEASS (seen everything but the Special)
* Cowboy Beebop (series and movie - highly recommend!)
This quickly became another "must see" for many anime fans with memorable characters, great animation, and a very different kind of soundtrack for this genre.
*Death Note
This series is dark, but also very very popular. It has also been banned in some places because some teenagers who'd seen it started keeping their own Death Note notebooks of people they wished would die and how, which caused authorities to fear one of them might act on it. Anytime something gets banned, though, that pretty much makes it a Must See TV, right?
Dominion: Tank Police
Eureka Seven
This one was an award-winning series that tackled a lot of heady social themes, but I didn't really enjoy it all that much and particularly disliked the ending and the main character.
End of Evangelion
Escaflowne: The Movie
Fatal Fury: The Movie
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
This was a movie based on the game "Final Fantasy." It is completely CGI and when released made news for the realism of the skin textures on the characters (the games were always known for using cutting edge graphics as well). Unfortunately none of that attention to detail went into the plot.
*FLCL
This is a bizarre series - actually that doesn't cut it - it is a strangely confusingly weirdly bizarre series. I'll forewarn you that you WILL be confused much of the time, much of it will never make sense to you. But it is, at the same time, quite entertaining and for me sets the standard for "experimental" anime. Oh, and one more thing - "eyebrows!" (you'll get that once you've seen it).
*Fullmetal Alchemist (1st series + movie)
I thoroughly enjoyed this series, which takes place in a parallel Universe where Alchemy takes the place of Science. This series ended before the Manga on which it was based had resolved so there is now a remake series called "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" that more closely follows the Manga plot-lines but I haven't seen it yet.
Battle of the Planets
G-Force
If you watched Saturday cartoons in the 1980's you might have caught these. They are both adaptations of the 1970's Japanese series "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" but due to additions and editing designed to appeal to an American audience and meet stricter broadcast standards you could really consider these distinct from the original series on which they are based.
*Galaxy Rangers
This is another series the purists wouldn't consider real anime as it was an American series, but it was animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now TMS Entertainment). It's a space western about Galactic law enforcement rangers and was considered somewhat revolutionary children's programming for America at the time. I recall marveling at the blending of traditional animation with computer generated graphics - which I'd never seen done in a "cartoon" before. It can be a little hokey when watching it today, but it has it's cult following.
*Ghost in the Shell
*Ghose in the Shell 2: Innocence
*Ghose in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
*Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Second Gig
This is another classic cyberpunk series, but can get very, very cerebral, philosophical, and even slow at times, but is still an amazing series. The first two are actually films and the series is more of a remake of them because there is no continuity between the films and the movies. However there is another animated movie that follows the TV series that does share continuity with it, I just havent' seen it yet.
Gigantor
This is another American adaptation, this time of the Japanese series "Tetsujin 28-Go." The original series is quite old (1956) and was produced in black and white, adapted to US television in the 1960's, but was revived and colorized in the 1990s. I saw this as part of a block of classic animated shows that used to air on weekday afternoons in the late 80's and early 90's.
G.I. Joe: Resolute
I never got into G.I. Joe so other than the recent blockbuster live-action film, this is about all I know about this franchise. I've only seen an edited for TV version of this movie and was set to turn it off when they nuked Moscow, sank an aircraft carrier, and I realized it wasn't the lame Saturday morning cartoon from the 1980's.
Gun Frontier (3 eps., lost interest)
Guyver
Howls Moving Castle (movie)
If you're a fan of Hayao Miyazaki's other films you'll probably like this. There's something about his films though that strikes me as too sentimental or contemplative, even sad. I do like that he often features strong, independent female characters though.
Highlander: Search for Vengence
Only watched this to complete having viewed the entire "Highlander" series, for better or worse (mostly worse). This animated movie is set in an post-apocalyptic future.
Ikkitousen (too much fan-service not enough plot)
*InuYasha
*InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
*InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
*InuYasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler
*InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island
*InuYasha: The Final Act
By all rights this series should have bored me to death as many of the episodes are almost the same, but for some reason I stuck with it and actually enjoyed it. Like a lot of fans, though, I was disappointed with how they ended the original series (after 167 episodes). That led to the "Final Act" series which did a very nice job of tying up all the loose ends of the original series and movies. Ack! But now I found out there is a 30 minute OVA called "Black Tessaiga" I need to see to be able to still say I've seen the complete InuYasha!
Kakurenbo (aka "Hide & Seek") This is a short film that's pretty good.
Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl
This sci-fi "comedy" series has a rather strange gender-bending premise that leads to a twist on the common love-triangle scenario in many anime. I put "comedy" in quotes because it really isn't ha-ha funny and I've even heard the ending described as a little too sugary sweet or alternatively disappointing (though unlike many anime series it does resolve).
Lupin the Third
Many people put this series on their must-see list. It's a comedy about the world's greatest thief (if he does say so himself). I could never really get into this series (meaning I've seen the TV series but never really had that "Oh, I gotta see more!" feeling). However it remains one of the most popular titles in Japan and I'm in the minority of people who don't care for it.
Codename: Robotech (pilot movie for series)
*Robotech: The Macross Saga
*Robotech: The Masters
*Robotech: The New Generation
Robotech: The Movie (aka Robotech I: The Untold Story)
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (movie)
This was arguably the first TRUE anime series I ever saw when it aired in the mornings before school back in the late 80's on one of the local channels - and nearly made me late for the school bus a couple of times. If you're confused about Robotech vs. Macross it's because Robotech was adapted from the Macross series, so the two are somewhat inter-related. The Robotech series has had problems gaining traction for more shows (a number of projects were cancelled) probably in no small part because there is a LOT more actual Macross that has been consistently released over the years.
Macross Plus
This is the only part of the actual Macross series I've seen - it's like watching Robotech from a parallel universe because it's similar but also different and the continuity follows Macross not Robotech.
Martian Successor Nadesico
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mononoke Hime (aka "Princess Mononoke") - feature film
Morbito: Guardian of the Spirit
My Neighbor Totoro (feature film)
Neon Genesis Evangelion
This is actually an "umbrella" title for a bunch of Gainax anime projects. The first of which focuses on typical mecha battle, but other series focus on romantic sub-plots and other side stories. There are actually two different endings for the first series and now they are re-doing the whole thing again.
*Noein (aka "Noein: To Your Other Self")
I'll admit it, I have a soft spot for parallel universe stories, and as the sub-title may have tipped you off this about some characters meeting their alternate selves - except in this case the other universe is 15 years ahead and apocalyptic.
*Oban Star-Racers
This is another one purists would argue is not "true" anime because it is a French-Japanese co-production. But I found it to be very enjoyable and highly recommend it, and unlike a lot of anime titles this one is really kid-friendly (it originally aired on the kids' block "Jetix"). Some of it initially seems derivative of the pod-racer scenes in Star Wars Episode I but the big difference is OSR doesn't suck.
*Otaku No Video
Part comedy, part prophetic warning of what you could become! Ken Kubo wants to become the "Otaking" (King of the Otaku). For the uninitiated an "otaku" is someone obsessed with something, in particular anime and manga. It's an odd one because it also mixes in actual live action film in documentary style.
Outlaw Star
*Paranoia Agent
The first time I watched this series I was struck by how odd it was, but it proved even better on a second viewing when I knew what was going on. The plot moves between a rather large cast of characters and how they are all affected by a juvenile serial attacker known as "Lil' Slugger" (because he inline skates up to people and hits them with a baseball bat). With each story we learn secrets about both the characters and the attacker's identity and motivation. Highly recommend - and watch it twice.
*Ranma 1/2 (161 episodes)
*Ranma 1/2: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China (feature film)
*Ranma 1/2: Nihao, My Concubine (feature film)
*Ranma 1/2 OVA (13 chapters)
This is another of those staple "must see" series and one of my favorite anime series of all time, despite the fact that it doesn't ever really resolve. The story is a gender-bending comedy with the title character changing sexes one way or the other when different temperatures of water get on him/her due to having fallen in a cursed Chinese spring. His father is similarly cursed, but turns into a Panda. Various other characters show up with their own bizarre curses - all thanks to that same collection of cursed springs in China.
The OVA is actually a bunch of OVA's. The ninth one "Team Ranma vs. The Legendary Phoenix" (US title: "One Flew Over the Kuno's Nest") was actually a theatrical film in Japan. Also, the 13th OVA was released 12 YEARS after the previous one and has never been officially available in North America and has a small cross-over with Inuyasha. There are also several specials that are extremely rare (only one was released outside Japan). After I watched all the video I could find I tracked down a translated final issue of the manga to see how it ends and was a bit disappointed that even there it doesn't resolve.
Read or Die
Sailor Moon
*Samurai Champloo
Firs time I watched this series I didn't like it at all. But on the second viewing something clicked and I came away actually liking it - enough that I'd recommend it! Yeah, crazy huh?
S-CRY-ed
*Shikabane Hime: Aka
Shikabane Hime: Kuro
This is actually a pretty good take on the "corpse warrior princess" kind of genre. The main character is an undead huntress after 108 "shikabane" (undead) after which she's been told she'll get into Heaven. I'm only recommending the first season though because the second season feels very much like it's the same thing all over again.
*Shin Chan
It looks like a chibi kids' show, but it definitely is NOT! It's the dialog that really makes this a fun ride (if you don't mind some pretty blue humor, that is). By the end of this series you'll be doing the "Ass Dance" and shouting "Let's all be drunken monkeys!" in your footy lizard pajamas. Oh, and this is one anime I'd actually recommend you see DUBBED rather than subbed (assuming you don't know Japanese).
Shuffle!
*Slayers
*Slayers Next
*Slayers Tri
*Slayers Revolution
*Slayers Evolution-R
This is another of my all-time favorite anime series. It's a fantasy comedy about a young sorceress battling the greatest evil and she's hilarious. I still need to track down "Slayers Special: The Book of Spells" and "Slayers Excellent" (another special OVA) and no less than FIVE films! For reference those are called "Slayers Perfect," "Slayers Return," "Slayers Great," "Slayers Gorgeous," and a short film called "Slayers Premium." I'll get around to all of them eventually, promise!
*Space Battleship Yamato (aka Starblazers)
This is another staple of anime fandom and pretty much defines the giant spaceship-turned-robot mecha genre. Personally I was never a huge fan of this series, but it remains an all-time fave among many otaku.
Speed Racer
Spirited Away (feature film)
Tactics
Tokko
Mainger Z (aka Tranzor Z)
I only ever saw the "Tranzor Z" (American) version of this show when it aired on afternoon television in the late 1980s. The original version was not suitable for broadcast in the United States so they edited it and toned it down. It's another of many giant robot mecha battle series, only this one is an early one.
*Trigun
If you eve go to an anime/sci-fi/comic convention you will no doubt see someone dressed as the title character from this anime. It's about big guns and wanton destruction, but with a heart of gold. I guess. More staple anime viewing.
Trinity Blood
Vampire Hunter D
Voltron
Witch Hunter Robin
Wolf's Rain
Vampire Princess Miyu (the series - there is also an OVA that I haven't seen)
*The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006 series)
*The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009 series)
This is an excellent series! The title character is a school girl who forms a "brigade" (school club) to investigate unusual happenings. The irony is the members of her own club are the unusual ones, as is Haruhi Suzumiya herself, though she's oblivious to that fact. I'm a little reluctant to recommend the 2009 series because it is really a do-over of the first series only with more episodes. Furthermore many of those episodes revolve around a "Groundhog's Day" plot-line that they repeat to the limit of tolerance (I nearly gave up watching it because it was getting so annoying). So, if you aren't very patient just watch the first series and smile quietly to yourself whenever anyone mentions the second series.
Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales
Princess Resurrection (aka "Monster Princess")
*Ouran High School Host Club
At first I didn't think I was going to like this one as many of the love comedy anime set in schools are mindless, but this one is actually pretty good with over-the-top characters (more like caricatures) you love to hate. The story revolves around a poor female student attending an elite school on scholarship who gets mistaken for a boy and all the confusion that leads to.
*Daphne in the Brilliant Blue
The first description I read of this series immediately made me think "Water World." Thankfully it is nothing like that awful movie! Though I was mildly confused through much of the series because none of the characters was named "Daphne," but don't worry about that - this one actually does resolve and explain the mysteries it poses.
*Dennō Coil
The closest thing I can compare this to is the "Beyond" (haunted house) episode of "The Animatrix." Denno Coil, though, is about some kids in a future where augmented reality is so woven into the fabric of people's lives it's given the same credence as actual reality, and school punks spend their time hacking the system. At times this series can get very cerebral and obtuse, even confusing when you as a viewer are no more sure than the characters of what is real or not. Highly recommend, destined to become another cyberpunk classic.
*Allison & Lillia
Set in a retro-future, possibly on another planet, everything is kind of early 1900's tech but the nations, etc., are completely foreign. For the first 13 episodes you'll probably be wondering who the heck "Lillia" is if she's a title character - rest assured she appears in episode 14. High quality animation, a compelling political intrique storyline, and truly likable characters. Highly recommend!
Amazing Nurse Nanako (OVA)
Thankfully this is only six episodes long because it's not very good. Don't waste your time on it like I did. She's not that amazing.
Crystal Blaze
It's your typical tale of secret government experiments to turn teenage girls into bio-weapons uncovered by a rough private eye with a heart of gold and a checkered past.
*Dōjin Work
This is a series about some college kids trying to make a little money selling their own manga, with one of the girls torn between doing what she wants and what she knows will actually sell. She discovers almost nobody gets rich (or even breaks even) selling their own self-published comics. It will be up to you if this series fuels or dampens your own desire to self-publish comics, but the "panty dance" in the end credits will haunt your for days! When this series aired in Japan it featured live-action sequences with the voice actors trying (and failing) to draw their own Dojinshi comics, but I saw a version that didn't have those segments in it.
*Full Metal Panic
*Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu!
*Full Metal Panic: 2nd Raid
Yep! Another staple series you gotta see. It takes place in a parallel universe where in 1998 the Cold War has not yet ended, China has split into two warring nations, the Gulf War went nuclear in 1991 and triggered a major Middle East war, and all the wars have spurred technology (particularly mecha called "Arm Slaves" ) into existence. Much of the story revolves around a mercenary Sousuke Sagura and a unique school girl he is tasked to protect named Chidori Kaname.
You may want to watch "2nd Raid" right after the first series since it is the actual continuation of the story. "Fumoffu!" is a companion series - a high school comedy actually - the focuses on the trials of Sousuke's paranoia making him constantly go overboard protecting Chidori from real and imagined threats.
Kemeko Deluxe!
This is another strange anime series. Pretty girl inside some kind of dimensionally transcendental (bigger on the inside) mecha that looks like a chibi-fied (but rather unconvincing) human, massive weapons, alien threats, etc. It reminded me most of FLCL, but this series doesn't appear to ever resolve.
*Time Jam: Valerian & Laureline
This is a French TV/Japanese co-production I found very entertaining and highly recommend! It's based on a comic book but has a completely different plot where the time traveling heroes have to solve the mystery of what changed history to make the entire Earth disappear!
High School of the Dead
Lots of unnecessary fan service gets in the way of a decent zombie story, which unfortunately doesn't resolve.
*Rideback
Part motorcycle, part robot the story is set in a dystopian near future. Excellent animation, a couple of truly surprising moments, and an opening theme that will make you want to jump on a Rideback and take on the government yourself!
Fractale
Set in a future where people are jacked into an augmented reality computer system that runs like a world religion the truth is the world and families are falling apart because everyone spends time as avatars (some really bizarre) in the cyberworld. Except for the luddites who want to take down the system and let people regain their humanity - whether they want to or not. Very nicely done but felt like it wrapped up a little too soon to me.
Gunslinger Girl
Watched the first season. Very high quality animation, almost obsessive detail on guns, but I just couldn't bring myself to like or care about any of the main characters.
*Nanaka 6/17
It's good if you like zany, cutesy high school comedies with a touch of drama. If you prefer your anime full of guns, monsters, magic, or mecha this ain't for you. Month's later you just may find yourself utter a "Huwawawa?" yourself.
*Nagima!
Maho Sensei Nagima! : Haru ("Spring" OVA)
Maho Sensei Nagima! : Natsu ("Summer" OVA)
Magister Negi Magi Maho Sensei Nagima!
There are actually three "Introduction" OVAs that go before the first series, but they really just cover stories you'll see in season 1 anyway. The first season has good character and story development and I highly recommend it - it also has a twist ending I wasn't expecting.
The "Spring" and "Summer" OVAs, though, are plotless scenarios for fan service.
The Second series (which is a retelling apparently more based off the Manga) has more action and better animation, but generally chooses style over substance. It also introduces a card game aspect to Nagima's magic I'm guessing is tied into some product line. I recently found out there are two more OVA's after the second series, but since I didn't care for where they took the show in the second series and the earlier OVAs were mindless fan service I really have no more interest in this series.
*Tatami Galaxy
More "experimental" anime! Very very different style than most anime with a "Groundhogs Day" style plot. I highly recommend, but you'd better be a speed reader for the subtitles - the characters talk REALLY fast!
*Princess Jellyfish
It's a comedy about a group of 20-something otaku girls trying to save their home from developers. Title character reminds me of "Ugly Betty." Doesn't fully resolve but was quite enjoyable.
*House of the Five Leaves
Very good story about a gang of somewhat reluctant kidnappers in feudal-era Japan. There's definitely a door left open for another series or OVA. High quality animation, but the general tone of the show is kind of melancholy, for lack of a better word.
*My Bride Is A Mermaid
Saw this dubbed, but the dialog was funny enough to keep me watching and it does mostly resolve. Lots of wild takes, running and screaming, over-the-top characters and - of course - mermaids. Good fun, but some people might object to the foul language.
*Azumanga Daioh
It's one of the funnier high school comedies I've seen, and though I often watch the subbed versions of anime this is one where I've enjoyed the dubbed more - particularly the way one character is given a southern drawl to drive home the point the other characters consider her a "hick" because she's from Osaka. Highly recommend!
Excel Saga
This series which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever - it's more "experimental" anime. Closest thing I could compare it to is FLCL (but that's a lot better) with the most annoying aspect of this one being the title character "Excel" because of her grating voice (and it doesn't matter if you watch it dubbed or subbed - same grating voice).
*Scrapped Princess
A medieval society 5000 years in the future, after some great war humanity lost. There are remnants of the old world still in use, a central church bent on controlling the populace for a "God" who doesn't want humanity to advance again, and a prophecy of a princess who had to be killed because she is the "poison that will destroy the world" when she turns 16. Very nicely done, decent characters, story wraps up.
WHAT I'M WATCHING NOW
Nodame Cantabile - takes place at an elite music school, mostly seems to focus on three characters. The prodigal pianist, the messy girl savant, and the wannabe rocker. Funny dialog is keeping me interested.
ONES I'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO
Samurai 7
Four episodes in and will need to look for the rest of the series - interesting take on Kurasawa.
Ragnorok
Only 1 episode into it, not sure if I'll continue. Hasn't exactly grabbed me.
