Anime Lover Needs The Next Step Up...UPDATED!

[SalamanderJoe]

Now I've loved anime since well 2007ish when I started college and introduced . I've gone through some of the obvious titles, and not actually knowing much of the anime scene, want to know what I should move onto next. I'll list a few and see what you think I should try next in the general genre:

Death Note
Bleach
The Ghibli's - Cat Returns, Spiried Away, Howls
Black Lagoon
Afro Samurai
Halo Legends and the two Final Fantasy films

[sub]Don't worry about suggesting any obscure ones. My mate suggested Battle Vixens this morning. I'm going to search it no....OH MY GOD! Yeah why not...just won't show my girlfriend...who lives with me[/sub]

UPDATE: I cannot express how awesome you guys are. I never expected 3 pages worth of suggestions and advice. It truly shows how awesome the Escapist community is. Thank you!
Based on suggestions I've ordered/bought a few of the following:

*Full Metal Alchemest: Brotherhood
*Studio Ghibli's Laputa, and also Tales of Earthsea (which happened to be a book I love)
*Borrowing Elfin Leid from my friend
*Found a Ghost in the Shell film boxset for £3!
*Also found Gun Sword which tickled my interest whilst searching around.
and a whole host of others you guys suggested. Thanks again!

 

[nuqneh1]

Cowboy Bebop if you haven't seen it yet. Best out there by far.

If you are looking for something more intelligent, try Spice and Wolf. It's got massive amounts of discussion about religion and economics! (Way better than it sounds.)

 

[emeraldrafael]

There are a few shows on IFC that are awesome. The first is Speed Grapher. Short, about 26 (maybe less) episodes, but with copious amounts of blood, swearing, and sex, and a nice engaging story line. The first few episodes are kinda dry since its just set up, but picks up fast and keeps a nice balance of action and plot. Again, called Speed Grapher.

There;s also a show called Hell Girl, a show that is about a girl that... well, sends people to hell. The first season is cool, its kinda predictable, but still, its fun to watch. It gets a plot later in the series, and has three seasons, but its still a cool show, at least to me.

Um... a show called Witchblade. Its about a woman who finds a weapon that basically turns her itno a super being and this agnecy wnats her. You have to watch it to get it, cuase its both awkward to explain and ruins it when you do.

A show called Gunslinger Girls, thats a show about these girls who are all teens or younger that are trained assassins. its more interesting then it sounds, whihc already is interesting.

And finally a show called Basilisk. Thats another show with plot, action, sex, blood. Its pretty cool, if you follow the story and dont mind outlandish action and a mystical feudal japan setting.

Now, other then that. Cyborg 009 (the battle against the greek gods episodes is fantastic), Detective Conan (dont know what its called in english, just google it.) Thats fun. Um... Big O, FLCL (another short one), Full Metal Alchemist, an anime movie called Full metal panic (I think. its about magic and mech suis fighitng demons), the anime Highlander Movie, Monster... there's more, i could get you a nice good list, but I dont wnat to overwhelm you. anyway, here's the shows again, in easy list form! 8D:

Speed Grapher
Hell Girl
Witchblade
Gunslinger Girls
Basilisk
Monster
Cyborg 009
Detective Conan
FLCL
Big O
Full Metal Alchemist
Full Metal Panic
Highlander movie (anime)

OH! Almost forgot. a show called Rurouni Kenshin. Thats awesome! So add that to the list: Rurouni Kenshin

 

[Casual Shinji]

Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories

Seriously, track this movie down. It is pure awesome sauce.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Samurai Champloo, Trigun, Outlaw Star...

As mentioned by one of the above posters, Spice and Wolf is also good. Currently working my way through it along with Escaflowne.

Really, you'll get a lot of good suggestions here.

 

[wooty]

I'm nearly done on Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and all I can say is....wow. Very good anime, not sure why I always held off on getting it.

 

[Tartarga]

I strongly recommend Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Lets just say that if you tried to count all the explosions you would be well over 100 by the first 3 minutes of the first episode. Also its from the creator of FLCL so you know its at least worth checking out.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, you should also check out Durarara!. If you liked Deathnote then this should be right up your alley as well.

 

[Mr.Petey]

I found Last Exile to be really underrated and quickly forgotten about soon after it came out but a gem nevertheless.
Plus I definitely preferred Madlax over Noir

 

[Dango]

Clannad and Clannad After Story, it will turn you into a sensitive man.

 

[Firoth]

Yu Yu Hakusho, Flame of Recca, Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate, Gundam Wing, Fate Stay Night, Soul Eater

 

[interspark]

lets see, my favourites are currently...

love hina
negima
magical girl nanoha
and the first few episodes of to-love-ru (once they stopped following the manga it got a bit crap)

 

[Outright Villainy]

Watch Full Metal Alchemist. Now.
Also Claymore is really good, if you ignore the rushed ending. It's also one of the few animes I've seen that has good female characterisation.

 

[Del-Toro]

Keep going with the Ghiblis, you will not regret watching Princess Mononoke and Castle in The Sky (oh Miyazaki, you and your mobile castles). I'd also suggest Baccano!, especially if you like Mafia stuff, Black Cat if you don't mind a series that takes a few episodes to get up to speed and which has two climaxes and a big "this is my personal favourite" recommendation for Kannazuki No Miko (which may be going by the name Destiny of The Shrine Maiden, for reasons which have yet to be revealed to me) if you aren't averse to yuri, mushyness, or Super Robots and it isn't as fanservicey as one might expect. It's still got it but not much compared to what is really popular with the otaku bunch. I'm probably the last person (a straight up conservative and cynic) who should like, but I do, if that's any indication.

 

[Gigaguy64]

Tekkaman Blade
Cowboy Bebop
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Monster
The Big O
G Gundam
Gad Guard
TTGL
Rurouni Kenshin
FMA:Brotherhood
Samurai 7
Baccano!
Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex 2ng GIG
Sword of the Stranger(Movie)
The Weathering Continent(Movie)
Black Magic M66(Movie)
The Bleach Movies
Steamboy(Movie)

All of these are really good Action/Drama Animes.

 

[Gigano]

I'll - as my avatar and user group affiliation should make obvious - add my support for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When they Cry) as a must watch for anyone remotely interested in an excellent psychological horror and mystery animé.

Otherwise, I'd recommend Monster and Baccano!, as well as Excel Saga for it's incredible pace and animé genre parodies.

 

[acosn]

Full Metal Alchemist is a must. Either / or. Brotherhood is good, as is the first series of it, though Brotherhood does take the liberty of assuming you more or less grasp the two main characters personalities.

Trigun and Cowboy Beebop are both classics.

If you want some more craaaaazy stuff look into Foolie Coolie (FLCL) and Dead Leaves.

If you want your anime without the stereotypes in anime consider Beebop, again, but also Big O, and Eureka 7 and Xam'd: The Lost Memories.

EDIT:
Oh, and Ghost in the Shell. The animated series are better suited to someone who is unfamiliar to the series, and won't hold it against you, while.... well. Let me put it this way- while the ghost in the shell movies ain't bad, I literally fell asleep during the second.

 

[Axolotl]

Um... a show called Witchblade. Its about a woman who finds a weapon that basically turns her itno a super being and this agnecy wnats her. You have to watch it to get it, cuase its both awkward to explain and ruins it when you do.

They turned Witchblade into an Anime? Really? That was the best source material they could find?

 

[Sacman]

I've been watching anime along time and I like to think I have fairly broad tastes... so here is my top 10...
1. Serial Experiments Lain, It's The Second coming of Jesus, I even did a review!!! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.214642-Sacmans-Sac-tastic-Anime-Review-Serial-Experiments-Lain]

2. Ergo Proxy, A lot of people say Ergo Proxy is an anime you have to think about but on reflection it feels more like a parody or satire of over pretentious anime like Eva. The last episode is even titled "Deus Ex Machina."

3. Elfen Lied, What this show does is hard to explain. It's gory and bloody and filled with tasteless nudity but I loved it. Elfen Lied just got me so attachedto the characters that come the end I cried...

4. Welcome To The NHK. It's hard to explain... I mean it's really the only slice of life I've ever loved this much but I'm just not exactly sure why. It could be the pitch black humor, the realistic characters, the social satire, or even the brilliant writing. Honestly, however, I think it's more the fact that Sato's, The main character's, situation hit's very close to home for me...

5. FLCL. I hate to sound like everyone else but FLCL is 6 episodes of awesome craziness!!!

6. Blue Sub No. 6. I used to watch this as a kid on Toonami and I really didn't get it but going back to watch all 4 episodes now I can safely say it's one of the most polished OVA series I've ever see, with an amazing soundtrack, great action, great animation, a standout art style, and one of the most coherent messages about human nature I've seen in anime.

7.Gundam The 08TH MS Team. It really stands out for me because it's one of the few Gundam series that give a general sense of fear because the action is unpredictable and the characters really endear themselves to the audiance...

8. Paranoia Agent. It's a truly great murder mystery that keeps you guessing at every turn but look past that and you'll find a very intriguing deconstruction of the human mind...

9.Gungrave. Possibly one of the most underrated shows I've seen. Gungrave is a truly great story about friendship, love and betrayal without ever falling into cheesiness the great animation, spectacular fight scenes and well thought out character development doesn't hurt either.

10.Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni. Despite having no real plot, since I consider Kai and Rei to be non canon, Higurashi is one of the most atmospheric and frightening shows I've ever seen. It constantly keeps you guessing and always gives a feeling of paranoia and dread...

 

[Hosker]

I'm nearly done on Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and all I can say is....wow. Very good anime, not sure why I always held off on getting it.

That is very good, but I wouldn't recommend the second series at all though.

 

[Johanthemonster666]

I'd reccomend

Paranoia Agent
Ghost in the Shell- Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig
Neon Genisis Evangelion- The original series (watch the movies later)
Monster
Rahxephon
Cowboy Bebob

Edit:
Also Gundam 8th MS Team and Ergo Proxy (post above reminded me).