TVSquad

I recommend Inuyasha, Cowboy Bebop and any Miyazaki movie

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Adam, I 2nd the recommendation for Cowboy Bebop and any Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli film. I also recommend Grave of the Fireflies, Ninja Scroll, Galaxy Express 999 (if you can find a copy somewhere), and Ranma 1/2.

Also, I also enjoyed the original Japanese subbed version of Sailor Moon. But it might not be for everyone.

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I'd second Miyazaki and the goods from Studio Ghibli. I'm also a huge fan of the work of Satoshi Kon, who did the movies "Millennium Actress," "Tokyo Godfathers," and the fantastic miniseries "Paranoia Agent." I'm also a big fan of Shinichiro Watanabe's "Samurai Champloo" series, although I've never been able to get into his "Cowboy Bebop."

Another great Studio Ghibli artist is Isao Takahata, whose "Only Yesterday" is a staggeringly poignant film. He also directed "Grave of the Fireflies," which Joe recommended (a recommendation I second).

And don't miss the haunting "Kakurenbo," a very short film you can easily Netflix.

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Neon Genesis Evangelion would probably be the deepest anime when it comes to themes and character development. Last Exile is a very ambitious anime worthy of being called a masterpiece. Cowboy Bebop like the others say. I'm a Trigun fanboy, but I believe the character morality struggles near the end of the series are executed very well. Samurai 7 is a beautiful anime based on the film, The Seven Samurai, by Akira Kurosawa. As the awards suggest, Full Metal Alchemist must be seen, if not for the parallels between the story of Icarus and man's ambition via alchemy. These are but a few of the anime greats that I can name off the top of my head that are more than just some simple story with overplayed and droll themes. Enjoy.

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Fullmetal Alchemist deserved to win all those awards. That is by far the best anime series I have seen in a long time.

It definitely has it's "ridiculous anime moments" (mostly the interacting between Al and Ed), the overall storyline--especially in season 2--is so mature and dark it rivals that of several big budget hollywood films.

http://www.dailyhaggis.com/

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Yes, definately see "Only Yesterday". I don't know if it's available in the US (i have a taped version from TCM when it aired a few months ago). But if you can track down a copy somewhere, I highly recommend it.

I haven't seen "Millenium Actrss" or "Three Godfathers" yet, but they're on my list of movies to see.

I saw this one a while ago on a fansub, but I remember "I can hear the Sea / Umi Ga Kakero" was also pretty good. I think it was made for Japanese TV, and never got a theatrical release or a proper US release.

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whatta surprise. that list of awards is mostly made up of common crap. i'd recommend all of what karen recommended up there, as well as some of my favorites: serial experiments lain, texhnolyze, escaflowne (the series NOT the movie), NieA_7, and maybe boogiepop phantom. none of that stuff is new, but i haven't been keeping up on new stuff in quite some time.

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If you dig sci-fi action: Gantz, Ergo Proxy

Some good general series: Kino's Journey, Death Note, Blood +, Elfen Lied

Crazy good Comedy: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Cromartie High School, Excel Saga

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More like the "Fellating That Crap They Show Ad Nauseam On Adult Swim Awards." I do realize that this is the "American" based awards, but did any of the other greatly worthy series, songs, and/or dub performances else really have a chance against FMA, FLCL, or GITS when the voting was open to the public? Thank god for fansubbers that work on the new stuff and get it out within a week of airing, otherwise all I'd know was the dubs of those same 3 overrated shows.

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