Garzey's Wing. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWru5o07j_I]
Just kidding, though really, it's maybe one of the funniest animes I've ever seen.
Anyway, I'm going with Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's not a perfect show, but I love it to death anyway. Cowboy BeBop probably comes in at a close second.
Dajosch said:
Legend Of The Galactic Heroes [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LegendOfGalacticHeroes]
Aired first in the 80s and certainly looks that part and can sometimes drag on forever. But its just so epic and cerebral that I have to love it for that.
-snip-
Awesome, another Legend of the Galactic Heroes fan! I'm only about an eighth of the way through, but it's shaping up
very well, and may tie Cowboy BeBop for second eventually.
Antidrall said:
You know, it's that one where all the characters had normal hair, the main wasn't an angsty punk with a mysterious past, and the villain wasn't a one dimensional cardboard cut out. Oh Also, I'm positive that the main character had a practical weapon. Can't put my finger on what it was called though.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Planetes. Eden of the East (well, except for the mysterious past). Akira. Cowboy BeBop. There's more to anime than just Shounen Jump, you know.
Note: I'm still comparatively new to anime, so I'm just getting around to watching stuff like Grave of the Fireflies, and the works of Satoshi Kon, so I may not have as big a pool of reference as some of you.