Best series?

[Scarecrow]

I have never watched much anime aside from a couple movies (Princess Mononoke or something like that, Howls Moving Castle, and Spirited Away). Anyway I loved Howls Moving Castle as far as the animation goes but the story was so full of holes and "convenient" happenings and a stupid ending that I really didn't enjoy it that much. But I did like the basic premise. Spirited Away lacked in the art department and Princess Mononoke I saw ages ago so I don't remember it much.

Anyway, aside from that I've watched nothing. Oh, I did play Tales of Symphonia, playing over 30 hours just to see the cut scenes which were crap until the very end. But the end sequence and opening animation was awesome (well the art was nice). Anyway I was hoping someone here could give me some suggestions. I love fantasy, no robot stuff though really, tragedies, and darker vampire type stuff (Id say "gothic" but I really hate using that term and it really doesnt mean much anymore). But yea mostly fantasy

I don't have cable or stations that get anime so I'm gonna have to end up buying this stuff cause my video store is crap when it comes to anime. So what are some of the best series to start out on available on DVD?

EDIT: Great, thanks peeps. I had one question... generally are these video sold dubbed or do they all give you the option of dubbed or subtitles? I like subtitles better so i would like to make sure thats what im getting. But if you have the option of both, no worries there.

What exactly is licenced anime? Stuff thats has US distribution I take it?

What does OAV mean? They use it alot on animenewsnetwork.com and couldn't figure out what it meant.

Oh and could someone like PM me whats up with the Evangelion series? I've seen that alot everywhere and someone had recommended it a long time ago. I noticed it was on the "Do not speak of list" though so I was just curious, thanks.

[Tarnish]

Fullmetal Alchemist is good if you enjoyed the general idea of Howl's Moving Castle, but not the movie itself (I was a little disappointed in HMC, too).

[Joshua Christopher]

If you're okay with the high level of violence, check out the Berserk anime. While the manga is my personal favourite, I won't recommend it due to the graphic sexual content.

[TheMelodyMaker]

I can see many of our regular users coming in here to simply post whichever series happens to be their favorite at the time, so I'm going to beat them to the punch and plug Hamtaro.

[TrigunX89]

Last Exile is a great series. It's kinda steampunk-ish though. For more of a traditional fantasy setting you might check out Scrapped Princess. I haven't seen the whole series though. .Hack//SIGN might also be worth checking out. Or you could wait until Tsubasa Chronicle comes out. I love that show.

[Ryusei]

Rurouni Kenshin is really good if you like sword-fighting and martial arts. XD (I like the English version better, probably because I never really watched the Japanese version. I've never read the manga, either. But the English version was awesome. Plus, I can understand the English version! XDD)

[Ryusei]

Or you could wait until Tsubasa Chronicle comes out. I love that show.

Oh, yeah! That one's really good, too. It's kinda fantasy-ish. I love it. XD

[Mr. SmartyPants]

if you want a very sophisticated and "unstereotypical" anime, you may want to check out Urasawa Naoki's Monster. There is no american release of the anime. But the manga volumes 1 and 2 are out. It is by far my favorite series. I strongly recommend it.

[jon_jinn]

Yu Yu Hakusho's good. It's a bit outdated but is an excellent action anime series. You could also try Trigun and Cowboy Bebob. I'm not sure if they sell that on DVD though...

[Lynx]

if you like something a bit darker go with hellsing, it's a vampire anime. serial experiments lain is also good, it's darker too, tho not a vampre anime.

[Ichigo_89]

For gothic-ness, definately recommend Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust. High-quality stuff! Blood:The Last Vampire might also be a safe bet too... I havn't seen Hellsing, so I have no clue on that. ^_^;;

[skyblue]

if you want a very sophisticated and "unstereotypical" anime, you may want to check out Urasawa Naoki's Monster. There is no american release of the anime. But the manga volumes 1 and 2 are out. It is by far my favorite series. I strongly recommend it.

I spent most of my loose money on Wolf's Rain. I'll be sure to pick up those Monster manga you were recommending me as soon as I can, once I get more mony with my summer job.

[Scarecrow]

Wow thanks... I wasn't expecting so many replies so fast. I wrote em all down so I can remember em all but keep em coming if you have any other suggestions. As for now, Im off to check these out. Thanks alot

[Allegro]

Voices of a Distant Star.

For fantasy, check out Magic Knight Rayearth.

[Mangafanatic]

It's not licensed yet, but Honey and Clover is stands a spot at the top of my anime list. If you can get your hands on it, it's well worth it.

As far as licensed anime, Princess Tutu is incredible. Don't let the name fool you. This is one incredible show. While it leans very much on many of the minor plots of fairy tales, it takes all of them and turn them into something new, fresh-- anything but cliche.

[GrubbTheFragger]

my favs at the moment are FMA, Cowboy bebop, Hellsing, Trigun and Rahxephon

[BrandonHeat]

Gungrave is still the best series I've seen (FMA being a close second).

[mitsuki lover]

It depends on what's avaible really.Though the best ones to get avaibilty wise are
Inuyasha,Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.Since they're uberpopular you can find them pretty much anywhere.
As far as others go I would suggest trying to get:
Ranma 1/2
RahXephon
Tenchi Moyu
Dual!Parallel Trouble Adventure
Case Closed/Detective Conan
Escaflowne
Ah!My Goddess
Gundam Wing
Gundam Seed
Stellvia
Pilot Candidate

[Scarecrow]

Great, thanks peeps. I had one question... generally are these video sold dubbed or do they all give you the option of dubbed or subtitles? I like subtitles better so i would like to make sure thats what im getting. But if you have the option of both, no worries there

And what exactly is licenced anime? Stuff thats has US distribution I take it?

They need a anime section at the video store... this is gonna take forever to check out all this. Lol

(oh and could someone like PM me whats up with the Evangelion series? I've seen that alot everywhere and someone had recommended it a long time ago. I noticed it was on the "Do not speak of list" so I was just curious, thanks)

[Maledicte]

Hellsing, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Le Portrait de Petite Cossette, Now and Then, Here and There, Gankustsuou, Giant Robo. (trying to fill in as many categories you mentioned as possible: fantasy, tragedy, vampires, "goth".)

[Debitt]

If you're into the fantasy stuff, I'd reccommend Escaflowne series. Emphatically. The movie was pretty, but had a choppy plot. The anime is just wonderful.

Vampire Princess Miyu is another one I'd suggest you check out. I haven't seen all of it, so I can't comment on it overall, but while the portions I saw were a touch episodic, it was definitely enjoyable.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

I can see many of our regular users coming in here to simply post whichever series happens to be their favorite at the time, so I'm going to beat them to the punch and plug Hamtaro.

You really love those little ham-ham's, don't ya? I liked 'em too while they were on Cartoon Network--Jingle was the coolest, by far!

Anyway, back on subject, I'm suprised that Fruits Basket wasn't mentioned in the list so far! It's very successful as a manga and as an anime. Second best ties for the Dragonball series and the Pokemon series. Like it or not, these anime are the most popular overall--Pokemon is still on the air and DBZ has more episodes than you can shake a pocky stick at.

My own personal favorite has got to be FLCL. The beautiful thing about it is that you don't have to commit yourself to it for long--just six weeks!