Excellent
Akira
A monumental anime, blah blah blah... Have you seriously not seen this? A decent sci-fi story with incredible animation that will probably never be surpassed.
Area 88 - OVA
Area 88 is the story about a mercenary pilot named Shin Kazama. It follows his exploits as a pilot, but what truly drives this title is the introspective nature of a man at war with himself. Features cool music and great animation.
Clannad After Story
The first Clannad was yet another high school anime/drama/whatever like the many before it. After Story picks up where the first series left off, but the second half moves into a great dramatic piece about life and family. A little messy in how it gets things done, but I found it to be a great watch.
Great Teacher Onizuka
A man and his quest to become the greatest teacher in all of Japan. He used to be a biker, and mainly got into teaching to be around teenage girls. This story doesn't seem complicated, but the interesting developments and interactions between Onizuka and his class makes this one of the better anime titles out there.
Honey and Clover
Honey and Clover is one of those series that is hard to describe just why it is so good because the premise doesn't sound like much. It follows a group of friends through their experiences at an art college and thereafter. I'm not sure why Takumi isn't interested in Ayumi. I'd totally jump her bones if she wasn't defended by a herd of unicorns.
Hourglass of Summer - vNovel
This is an interactive DVD so it's in fact a visual novel, but generally heaped in with other anime. I've never seen a date sim, but I admit that the story and concept for this one were fantastic.
Kodocha
An anime about the exploits of an 11 year old girl and a lone wolf boy doesn't sound that interesting, but this is one crazy anime. As one of the better anime comedies I've seen, I was surprised that it had some really good storytelling and drama as well. Subtitle readers will truly have their mettle tested with this one, but it's worth it.
My Dear Marie
Hiroshi builds a robot girl modeled after an attractive girl at school named Marie. He unintentionally also ends up naming this robot Marie. Things get weird once Hiroshi starts talking to real girl Marie and it turns out she's interested in him. On top of that the Maries' become friends. One of those good series you never hear much about. It's incomplete, but still worth watching.
Nana
I have no idea how to make a short summary for this show. It's about two girls with the same name who become friends and go through various circumstances in life. It also happens to be one of the best dramas in anime.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Shinji Ikari is insane. That's not surprising considering his father is an a-hole, he lives with his party animal fraternization-bait senior officer, and his other roommate is a crazy attention whore German girl with PMS all month long. His only other ally is some spaced out clone girl. Oh yeah, Shinji could you save the world for us?
Perfect Blue
This is an unusual title for anime being in the suspense/thriller vein. It features a story with a pop star who is stalked by an obsessive fan, but gets really surreal as things play out.
Record of Lodoss War - OVA
With elves, swords and sorcery: Record of Lodoss war is a purebred fantasy title more common to the traditional Tolkien vein. Animation was decent, story was very good, and the musical score is fantastic. Also has elf girls.. enough said.
Toradora
Yet another high school anime, but this one gets everything right. Romance, drama, totally adorable Christmas episode, most awesome class rep ever, and even a retarded parakeet. And I know you're thinking that all these high school anime titles would have been better if they only had a retarded parakeet...
Vampire Princess Miyu - OVA
No summary
X - TV
I'm sure a lot of people disagree with me, but I still think the X TV series is one of the better titles out there. Unlike the movie, the TV series was able to better flesh out the epic story as intended. Some people say Fuma is too close to his sister Kotori, but honestly this dude is too "close" to EVERYONE.
You're Under Arrest - OVA
This series has been going for decades now, but I don't think any of the other incarnations of You're Under Arrest ever managed to capture the charm of the series the way the OVA did. A good story, and exceptional quality in all respects.. except with terrible dubbing.
