I recommend Rurouni Kenshin, Cowboy Bebop, and Yu-Yu Hakusho.

Some really underrated Animes right there.

Damn you beat me too it haha. I second recommend those animes right there. Of course there is Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z which is great lol. Also I recommend Bleach, HotD (Highschool of the Dead which is a anime about zombies duh lol also made my obvious perverts lol), Trigun, One Piece, Samurai Champloo etc.

None of those are underrated, all of them are seen as some of the greatest animes of all time, especially Cowboy Bebop.

With that being said, definitely check out Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Outlaw Star, Trigun or the Big O. All are pretty readily available here in the states and all are more "adult" in content. I can't suggest though I'd love to something like Yu Yu Hakusho or Rurouni Kenshin because they're pretty long and quite the investment of time. All of the shows I suggested outside of FMA are 26 episdes so pretty easy to get through at your own leisure.

I will say though however, if you do find yourself enjoying a few of those titles, I would recommend you check out Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Although it's 110 episodes and really an anime for big anime fans, knowing that you are a man who enjoys history and politics will definitely find the historical and political intrigue of that show to be great. Not only one of the best space operas of all time or animes, but one of the best stories ever, period. You can always check out the 2 introduction movies of My Conquest is the Sea of Stars and Overture to a New War to see if you'd enjoy the series.

I only watched Sailor Moon [original uncut Japanese version, dubbed versions suck!] and LOVED IT! Well, at least the first 3 seasons. 4th season was a bit shitty, 5th wasn't that impressive either. My username here is a reference to a character (fave villain) from the show.

I loved the silly faces, voices and other funny stuff. Basically I watched it for the lulz primarily, but there were some interesting characters too and good action scenes. Sailor Mars rocks! It's from 1992 though, so visually it isn't as stunning as modern-age anime I suppose. Music is tight though!

Ban ban.
Who the Nell it is?!
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Fayaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Sooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuul!
U-Umino... -_-'

lawl

While they do get their well deserved critical acclaim, they aren't that well known in the West. Animes like Naruto and Bleach are huge in the west. So the ones I mentioned are often overlooked. (Except Cowboy Bebop, that one will withstand the test of time)

It's hard to recommend an anime series without knowing the persons taste in other media. People will always recommend Cowboy Bebop, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Cowboy Bebop is so great because it's NOT like other anime. It's a mark of the genre, but if you don't understand anime's conventions, you won't be able to appreciate the exceptional works.

Also, I've seen a lot of non-anime fans try to watch Cowboy Bebop and fail. They get bored. There's really no obvious arc or conflict to latch onto in the early episodes (there ultimately is one, but it's never the focal point of the series).

What type of anime are you interested in, Coltless? So far everyone's recommended action, but I feel comedy is where anime really shines.

You can always read a short summary of what it's about and then watch it to see if you like it. Here are some:

Fist of the North Star
Devilman
Saint Seiya
Hellsing

Akira is one of the most highly acclaimed anime movies ever made. Smoke some weed or pop a few Valium and just let your mind be warped lol.

Death Note
FLCL (Fooly Cooly)
Gurren Lagann
Neon Genesis Evangelion
The Boondocks (black anime. Pretty dope)
Afro Samurai (Movie)
Dead Leaves (movie)
Panty and Stocking
Gundam Wing
G Gundam
Gundam Wing Endless Waltz (movie)
Tenchi Muyo
CYBORG 009
Big O
Full Metal Alchemist
Ronin Warriors
S-cry-ED
Outlaw Star

I have only ever enjoyed three anime series: Cowboy Bebop, High School of the Dead, and Digimon Adventure 01.

See this is great difficulty. I'm Tabula Rasa when it comes to this genre; it's a bit like asking someone who just gained their hearing what sort of music they are interested in.

What I'm looking for is story- something to love, get invested in, have favorite characters, and feel.

Interests wise I've always enjoyed Science Fiction slightly more than Fantasy, but I love both. I have an affinity toward the paranormal as well. I'd say action is what I'm looking for, but I honestly don't mind if a show is a lot of talk as long as it's driving a story forward. Character development is sort of important to me; I like to feel like I know the characters. However, I'm not above disliking primary characters if the story is good (that's how I felt about John Constantine when his stories were good).

For more precise elements, I tend to like double-cross stories as well as unhappy endings/ a good amount of cliff hangers.

As I said, this is uncharted territory for me so any help would be hot.

Based on this criteria, I would strongly suggest Yu-Yu Hakusho. It has a lot of episodes, but it really is quite fun. It deals with the paranormal and it has a healthy dose of action. It has great story arcs and the characters are all colorful and likeable.

Then Legend of the Galactic Heroes is your show

I liked the Persona Animations, and High School Of The Dead

.hack//SIGN and .hack//Roots.

That's it.

Afro Samurai
Death Note
Mirai Nikki
Bleach

These are my favorites I recommend any one of them

In that case, Trigun. It has all the conventions of anime at their finest execution. The comedy is very strong and yet very much in the style of anime, and the drama is very powerful when it needs to be. It's even a Sci-Fi series at heart. I strongly recommend it given what I've read above.

For paranormal, I'd recommend "Mushishi" episode 2, (The Light of the Eye Lid). The episodes don't have a logical order, so you can start anywhere in the series. I think episode 1 is a poor intro, so I'd go straight to 2. Mushishi is kinda like "The Twilight Zone: Shinto Edition." It's dry, but the main character is unbelievably interesting, and it's probably the most atmospheric anime I've ever seen. Highly recommended.

For comedy... man, I wanna say "Full Metal Panic Fumoffu," but you really need to see the first season (aka: the one not called fumoffu) to really appreciate. I can't say with confidence if Fumoffu is going to be your thing or not, but if it is, you can go no higher. And even if it's not, the first season of FMP is good enough that the time investment won't be a waste.

There's so much more comedy I wanna recommend, but it's difficult since most of it is girly as fuck. Some of the best anime comedy involves the harem genres, and that stuff is simply not for everybody (in theory; I think with the correct mode of presentation, anyone could enjoy it, but that sort of thing has to be cultivated. That's why I don't feel people should jump straight into Bebop. Man, this is a long parenthetical).

This is all that comes to mind for now. Hope this helps.

The JoJo's Bizarre Adventure TV adaptation just finished, it has covered parts 1 & 2 (Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency) and it was really, really good.

JoJo is for you if you enjoy an over-the-top visual style, Kenshiro-like buffed dudes killing vampires with sunlight-based martial arts and many fights which focus more on crazy stragies and "tricks" instead of just brute force (Great example is a scene where the main protagonist of Part 2 pulls a pin out of a grenade on a vampire's scarf, but when the vampire tosses the grenade away it was actually linked into about 10 other strings which unpin 10 grenades on the vampire's back, that sort of insane stuff)

If you also despite the stereotypical schoolgirl moe stuff, JoJo lacks that a lot. The characters are really well-designed and interesting.

i'd say watch

Bleach
Death Note
Gurren Laggan
Tenchi Muyo
Inuyasha
Beck
Nana
Claymore
Witchblade
Gundam Seed/ Gundam Seed Destiny
Deadman Wonderland
Shuffle
Desert Punk.
Requiem of the Darkness
High School Of the Dead
Black Cat
Sekirei

Just to name few. Cause i Watch alot of anime.

Depends on the anime you like. Action,Horror,Fantasy,Comedy,Drama.

I hate anime. I've never understood the appeal of it whatsoever. However, the only one I will only tolerate is Dragonball Z and all the other versions of it. That is all.

idk why i like anime it just looks cool

Hahaha Gundam SEED..............god that show sucked. No offense.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've had a busy week and haven't had a chance to get to trying any of them. Also, I don't want to do it like on a random Tuesday night before bed; I want to experience it.

Like I said before, I'm really looking for story; I thrive on story. Story is why I love Who, Mass Effect, and Metal Gear Solid.

Also, I feel a stand-alone film might be the best way to enter the genre; to test the waters I guess. I've heard good things about Spirited Away, but is it something a No0b to the genre can sit down and enjoy?

Yes. Virtually every Hayao Miyazaki film is easy to sit down, watch and enjoy. Some other great films by him to check out would be Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

More great character driven shows to check out would be like Temp said Mushishi and Kino's Journey. Both thrive on getting to know the adventures of the main character and the strange things they encounter on their journeys.