Best Anime

glad someone mentioned this, great film

But best anime is still Ghost in the Shell

i hate anime tv shows with a passion, with the only exceptions i have found being Super Milk Chan, Excel Saga and Panda-Z (if that even counts). Milk Chan seems to piss off "anime fans," too.

i do like some of the really big movies, Princess Mononoke being my favorite. i also really enjoyed Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed...oh and Vampire Hunter D was interesting.

that's about it, though. i really think it's an awful genre in general with stupid, banal plots and retarded fanaticism. but it can be very cool on the rare occasion that it's done well.

I really liked Love Hina and Great Teacher Onizuka.

For movies you can't go past Studio Ghibli. Hovever, recently saw Mindgame and it's utterly surreal and stylish. I think it's quite possibly the best anime film ever.

As for series, I like FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Haibane Renmei, Azumanga Daioh and Evangelion (pretty much my introduction to anime, that one).

films - anything by hayao miyazaki, katsuhiro otomo or mamorou oshii.

series - ah! my goddess, kare kano, genshiken, cowboy bebop, flcl, samurai champloo, nge and cardcaptor sakura.

first anime film I saw was castle in the sky, and the first series would've been either sherlock hound or battle of the planets.

looking forward to: air gear and i"s (although I doubt either'll be as good as the source material...)

berserk, neon genisis, and call me a dork but naruto i have been loving that for about a year now.

Metropolis, and Genocyber.

I really can't think of many anime movies I've liked. They're often so truncated, and it seems like almost all the talent is going into series. Pretty much just the respective oeuvres of Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon, with nods to Vampire Hunter D (or, better still, VHD - Bloodlust), Ninja Scroll, and Akira. I might possibly be forgetting one or two, but I don't think so. Ghost in the Shell is commonly cited, but it's so confusing and lacking in context for the action that I just can't recommend it. Or the sequel. Beautiful as they are. Spriggan was kind of amusing, but...eh. Mind you, I hear good things about a few others that I haven't seen yet.

Series, though: Absolute top of the list, without question, by far, would be Cowboy Bebop. Every episode different but wonderful in its own way. Skillful manipulation of genres. Great characters. Intriguing world. Great music. Action. Heartbreak. Humor. Absolutely wonderful. Best TV ever.

After that, RahXephon. Intriguing and building mystery, great characters, romance, beautiful animation, etc etc. And, wonder of wonders, a mostly satisfying resolution. I used to really like Evangelion, but RahXephon seems similar in a lot of ways, yet is a much more mature and well-crafted work.

Paranoia Agent. Bizarre, wonderful. Satoshi Kon's trademark reality warping strikes again.

Fullmetal Alchemist. Given that this is being brought over by the Cartoon Network and the DVDs are frontloaded with endless ads for crap like Dragonball Z, I was astonished to find how nuanced and enjoyable this series is. There's some screwball humor, and Edward's a bit of a brat, but the show overall has some very serious and well-done themes and real horror to it. And just about everyone is complex and multifaceted. Also, really pretty.

Elfen Lied: So, so very strange. Combination of your standard Japanese harem comedy with mistaken situations and compromising positions (with full nudity. This is not a shy anime.)....and an outright SF/horror gorefest with severed limbs everywhere and some really bad things being done to good people.

Haibane-Renmei: I've certainly come away with strong impressions from Yoshitoshi Abe's other series (Serial Experiments: Lain and Texhnolyze). They were very strange, fragmented, and powerfully moody. But...did I actually like them? I dunno. Haibane-Renmei, though...beautiful, mysterious without being confusing, and heartwarming as all hell.

Witch Hunter Robin: It gets compared to the X-Files. I sort of agree, but I think WHR is better. More coherent, less longwinded, and doesn't just rehash the same basic setup over and over.

Ghost in the Shell - Standalone Complex: The same interesting concepts and universe (with Kusanagi, the character from the first movie, still operational). A lot less confusion. Plus, the most gorgeous theme song EVER.

Gasaraki: Only about halfway into it, but so far it strikes me as being a strong contender. Very realistic mechs with Middle-eastern conflict deployment and hints that this conflict is actually being underlied by one between a terrorist organization and a powerful mercantile family in Japan over some sort of hidden power...one that would be very dangerous to everyone if actually unleashed.

.hack//SIGN: Very slow, yes, but interesting character interaction, lovely music, and a unique setting (an MMORPG server).

FLCL

The various animation styles are astoudning let alone an awsome whacked out story. As far as the music goes. WoW...

I am into wierd shit Serial Experiment Lain, Noir, Witch Hunter Robin, Hellsing, blue seed and others

I too am happily surprised to be enjoying Full Metal . Really wasn't expecting much , but man , there is some twisted shit in that series . The whole mutating people with animals scenario is very sick stuff . I also enjoy Ghost in the Shell the series , & also didn't care for the first movie ( didn't see the second one yet ) . Loved Ninja Scroll , just brutal fight scenes . Bebop is classic . And then there's Hentai ...

Evangelion

MOVIES:
Akira
Vampire Hunter D
Ghost in the Shell
Twilight of the Dark Masters (short and twisted... more of an impression than a movie, but I just can't get over "I must kill... the demon...")

SERIES:
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Witch Hunter Robin
Ranma 1/2 (Yes I said it... And I meant it, too!)

can someone explain me how ghost in the shell is a good anime?
it's a jumbled mess that doesnt' do the manga any justice at all.

i like Naruto, Fruits Basket, Cowboy Bebop, FMA, Saiyuki and Gravitation...... i'm more into the shows than the movies, really. and i'll watch anything with yaoi

i enjoy just about all of Miyazaki's films. Robot Carnival was my first and by far favorite. FLCL was really great, though it took me watching it a few times to start to get it. Almost all anime has its good points.

Naruto Gundam Wing Akira Hellsing Ghost in the Shell I can almost like some Dragonball almost Any Vampire Hunter D as well
PS anyone who likes overfiend scares me

Gotata go with Ninja Scroll as my fave, as log as it's the subtitled version. The dubbed version was too cheesey for me to stand.

Ninja Scroll, FMA, Ghost in the shell...

Nobody mentioned Tekkonkinkreet? A beautiful movie based on one of my favourite comics (Black & White):

Paprika is another one I love: