1. Death Note
Yup, I put it as #1. One of most famous and popular animes, and deservedly so I reckon, really awesome story, very original (when it came out) also and pretty cool characters that you really get to like (everyone loved L, well he was very cool). NetFlix tried to capitalize on this anime by remaking it in their live action netflix fashion but apparently it was crappy lol, I like NetFlix but yeah sometimes they annoy me with stuff they produce. Btw some good anime is on NetFlix though! Fun fact: I once cosplayed L at a halloween party xD
EDIT: I've now seen the Netflix live action it was OK, some acting a bit silly at time but I guess worth watching
2. Gantz
Really excellent anime, that loads of people never even heard of I noticed. Really gnarly story that keeps you gripped. Showed it to an old girlfriend, who really wasn't into anime, and she loved it and was hooked, it's gotta be the mark of a really good anime.
3. Beserk (Golden Age film trilogy)
I still haven't seen Game of Thrones, well except for first couple of episodes. I guess I'm just not that into that genre? I have seen this though (and I'd bet maybe I'd like it better than GOT if I got round to watching it), and it really is excellent. Like what if someone who was a big fan of Dark Souls made an anime like it, though the story isn't like Dark Souls (does DS even have a story?), actually the story probably somewhat similar to GOT, I guess many of these genre kind of have to revolve around that kind of (his)story. It certainly is dark at times though, incredibly and grippingly so. Amazing for me, will make you want to swing a redcape around your shoulders and cosplay as Guts.
EDIT: I've seen more GoT and kinda gotta eat my words, it's also excellent
4. Welcome to the NHK
Like all my picks on this list, these anime shows were so great, they're not like any TV show or anything that has been put out in the west. Basement dwelling NEETs, recluses, drop-outs, etc. (Hikikomori they're called in Japanese) These guys do exist perhaps more so especially today. But has there been a cool show about one? Welcome to the NHK, recommended to me by some geeky acquaintance a year or 2 ago, I avidly watched it all, it was really good.
5. Elfen Lied
Kind of a weird one. Again far out story, fairly short series but it gripped me from the 1st episode, cutesey looking animation though it is fairly brutal anime and mixes in a bit of OTT female nudity (which I'd agree is unnecessary). But definitely this is good enough to make my #5, interesting fact I only learnt Lied meant song in German after watching this. German language of course is popular in Japanese as is English (a Japanese guy told me that).
Other notable or over-rated animes that didn't make the list
Outlaw Star - I noticed most people seem to prefer Cowboy Bebop when it comes to the old anime series but I liked this one, first saw it years ago on Toonami cable channel when I was in college
Ghost in the Shell SAC - how come ppl like this so much?? Story ain't great, hard to make sense of and uses deus ex machina type of plot twists (e.g. 'omg they hacked his eyes')
Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood - yeah this is good I guess, though it did start to bore me into the 2nd season
Neon Genesis Evangelion - yeahhh what whoa good at first I guess but gets weird
Really good anime on Netflix
Some really good anime on there, I'm impressed:
Devilman Crybaby - I kinda remember the old manga film from the 90s though I never saw, but this series was cool, very watchable
Baki - Lol I really think this is quite an awesome program, good for Tekken and martial arts fans
Castlevania - At first I thought kinda meh, but the setting and characters were cool, quite dark and atmospheric. Certainly I enoyed it more than Full Metal Alchemist which also recently came to Netflix.
7seeds -wow latest one I seen, like the tv show Lost except with actually a good story
