Sunday evening I was introduced to Anime. I watched Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. I am completely new to anime and was wondering if y’all could recommend some other films. I REALLY enjoyed Princess Mononoke. I thought that both the animation, and the story line were excellent.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
I’m new to anime, too, and just starting to explore. I really liked “Metropolis,” and also “Tokyo Godfathers.”
I just bought ‘Perfect Blue,’ which is fantastic, but not a kids’ movie like the one you saw. There’s nakedness, and death, and so forth.
I highly recommend you go to http://www.animeondvd.com and check out both the list of AoD Recommends linked from the front page and also the recommendation forum inside the forums. It would help to know what kind of books, movies, and the like you already like, since there are anime out there for almost everything.
I also suggest you invest yourself in a few books on anime and its relationship to Japanese pop culture, since a lot of anime (especially the humorous ones) have a lot of passing references to things you’d miss if you didn’t know what you were looking for.
Or just buy anime that have popups that explain where all the references come from (which I guess is only Excel Saga so far. I have no idea if ADV was planning on continuing that at all.)
Also, a lot of the newer releases will have things like interviews with translators, the director, and the like as extras. Those can be very informative.
The top three that I’d reccomend:
Samurai from Outer Space
A good introduction to anime, anime concepts, and history—like “why the huge eyeballs?” “Who’s the ‘Walt Disney’ of anime?” Or “why all the depressing endings?”
The Anime Encyclopedia
A listing of every anime movie and TV series produced between 1917 and 2001. And it’s not just a bunch of one-sentance “TV Guide” descriptions, either. Even the lamest, most obscure works get a paragraph or two of commentary. I give it four stars, two thumbs up—Joe Bob Ran says ‘check it out’! 
The Anime Companion: What’s Japanese in Japanese Animation
I’d explain it in detail, but I’ve gotten five hours of sleep in the last day, and I’m starting to see things. But I will mention the official Anime Companion Supplement Page.
Some, most, or all of the above books may be at your local library, as they are at mine.
Cheers,
Ranchoth
I wouldn’t watch Excel Saga - not yet anyways. While it is one of the most brillant comedies mankind has yet produced, it relies heavily on references to other anime, and is best enjoyed by an experiened anime viewer.
Personally, I would reccomend anything by Gainax - Evangelion, FLCL, Kare Kano, Mahoromatic, and so on; everything that studio does is just pure gold.
I have to chime in as the voice of dissent re: Neon Genesis Evangelion. I saw the first 4 episodes and found them to be rather uninteresting. None of the characters seemed interesting either, they were all just annoying. (Well, I should take that back - Rei was interesting. But not enough to make up for everything else.)
Personally, I’m a fan of the sci-fi / outer-space / big-robot anime series (as opposed to movies). With that in mind, here are my pics:
Robotech
Very well done “americanized” anime. Very mature characters and story, without taking itself too seriously, and kid-friendly (if that’s important to you). It was many an 80’s-childs introduction to the world of anime. The “Macross” portion of the story is without a doubt my favorite story period (movies, books, anime, etc). AND they’re now releasing re-masters, which have some previously-cut scenes restored! Dammit, now I have to go buy it!
Cowboy Bebop
More hardcore, less kid friendly. While most of the episodes are self-contained and unrelated to one another, there is an over-all story arc, and they’re all pretty good. Excellent animation, and the english dubs are actually good!
Martian Successor Nadesico
A somewhat less mature & somewhat more racy Robotech, this series can be pretty campy at times. The characters are all fairly engaging (though at times annoying). But I thought it was fun, and also has a decent story. It also takes some shots at the entire anime genre, with it’s “anime-within-the-anime”, Gekigangar-III.
Lot’s of people recommend Ghost in the Shell, but I found it to be rather boring & heavy handed. But then again, I had it figured out pretty much from the beginning, so YMMV.
So, there you go. Good luck, and enjoy!
Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are both directed by Hayao Miyazaki. He’s great. Some more of his work is available as well:
My Neighbor Totoro (wait for the Disney redub, due out shortly, rather than settling for the Fox dub, since the Disney version is widescreen)
Two more are coming out shortly. Porco Rosso and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, both redubbed by Disney.
Anime is a tremendously varied medium – what kind of movies do you like when they’re not animated?
But where else are you going find Kabbalist mysticism combined with giant robots? 
Eva really starts to get going after episode 8 when Asuka shows up. Of course, I have been on a Gainax binge recently - rewatched Eva, FLCL, and Mahoromatic; then watched Abenobashi and I am just starting on This Ugly and Beautiful World.
I agree with your reccomendations for Nadesico and Cowboy Bebop. Both are really enjoyable series. Nadesico especially; any series that does a classic sci-fi tribute like “The Lukewarm Equations” gets an extra star automatically. And Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV from Cowboy Bebop is one of the most brillant characters yet seen in fiction. Never was into Robotech much though.
I enjoyed Serial Experiments: Lain . No giant robots (I hate giant robots), not much fighting, a couple of sexual references but a very very strange story and some nice animation (I particularly liked the shadows on lain’s home street and the fact that the animators wern’t afraid of very sparse visuals). Downside is that it’s very long and expensive, find your local anime fan and borrow it would be my suggestion.
Let me second the recommendation that you continue with more of Miyazaki Hayao’s films. All that I’ve seen are wonderful, easily as good as anything Hollywood puts out animated or live action.
As for other animation, it’s hard to make recommendations without knowing the range of your tastes. So please take the recommendations here with a grain of salt.
In general, I’d stay away from some of the Gainax stuff mentioned here like Excel Saga or FL CL. Both of those series in particular are so full of pop culture references and anime references in particular that unless one is watching in the company of a true no life Otaku… you’ll feel lost much of the time.
On the other hand, if you like adventure stories about plucky girls, I’d recommend the following TV series:
Nadia, The Secret of Blue Water Hmm… it begins with a LOT of tribute (read: outright bold faced theft) for the works of Jules Verne, especially 20,000 Legues Under the Sea. Of course the series also has some rather intriguing new characters, some plot elements that Verne completely missed (Racism being one of them.), and an evil plot out to control the World! Seriously, it’s great fun and highly recommended. It’s also benefitted from the hand of Miyazaki helping with some of the concept work, IIRC.
Kodomo no Omocha How to describe this one… The Wonder Years with a female lead who is on a constant caffeine high? Proof that insanity is not a bar to making a living? I’m not sure how to accurately prepare you for the ball of energy and madness that is Sana-chan (the main character) but… it’s grand fun, and very different from what most people think of as traditional anime. The problem is that you’ll have to look for it from fans, since it has not been translated for commercial release, yet.
Mysterious Play, also known as Fushigi Yuugi in the original release. A sword and sorcery type adventure, but more than a little warped, sometimes disturbing, and very, very well done.
Patlabor (Hey, I had to make mention of at least ONE giant robot show…) In my opinion one of the best giant robot stories ever told. First off, because while the robots are a focus for the storyline, they are not characers - just tools. The characters are believable (if, in some cases, caricatures.) and likeable. The story focuses on a future where giant robots are used in a number of applications, and the police have had to develope special weapons teams to combat Labor crimes. Best described as Hill Street Blues with giant robots, it’s more about the problems that a police unit can have, especially for a high visibility, but not very well liked by the main office, unit.
Enjoy your experimentation!
I forgot to mention one more thing: Anime follows Sturgeon’s Law. (90% of everything is crap.) At first when only a little anime was being translated for distribution here in the states, the consumer was pretty safe, but these days, we’re getting a lot of crap.
And, of course, like any other visual medium, what excites me may not interest you. One of the staple plots/scenarios for anime is the martial arts quest adventure which leaves me yawning. You’ll find there’s a lot of different stuff out there. And you’ll find some is pretty offensive. (Not even necessarily the tentacle rape stuff, either. I found Super Atragon offensive in the extreme, for example.)
There are a lot that are manga series and TV anime series (which came first depends, but often the manga came first). Some that I love are:
Ah! My Goddess (also called, Oh! My Goddess)
Fruits basket
Hikaru no Go
Kare kano (also called, His and her circumstances)
Marmlade Boy
Naruto
Rurouni Kenshin
What the heck, I’ll suggest…
•Escaflowne (Fantasy/Romance TV series, and “remake” movie)
•Read or Die/R.O.D. (OAV miniseries…kind of hard to describe. It’s about secret agents working for the Royal British Library. Kind of like X-Men meets James Bond, with Our Man Flint as a binder, and starring Marian Paroo. It’s weird. You’ll love it.)
•Witch Hunter Robin (Modern Day Supernatural/Mystery series. Kinda like X-Files, except with a much more coherant plot)
•Last Exile (Steampunk/Aviationpunk/Adventure TV series. You ever see The Rocketeer or Crimson Skies? It’s like an Edwardian version of those. Gorgeous visuals, but I’ll have to warn you…the company isn’t going to release the last of this series on DVD until December, and dang near every episode is a cliffhanger. You might be left tearing your hair out in frustration.)
•Metropolis. I can’t second this reccomendation enough.
•His and Her Circumstances. (Romance/Comedy TV series. Very cute.)
As long as we’re talking series, here are the ones I am actively collecting or have already collected:
Cowboy Bebop. Dumb name, great anime. Cool SF setting, great characters, great animation, intelligent and well-written.
**Trigun. **Goes from being a wacky wild west series to being a serious drama without ever really feeling all that different.
**Noir. **Dark as the name would have you expect, it’s about two young women who are contract killers, and their mysterious past.
Witch Hunter Robin. Interesting psychological drama with witch powers. Looks fabulous.
Kiddy Grade. Criticized (rightly) for too much fanservice (that means jiggling boobs and panty shots), but there’s a really good story, fascinating setting and some great character designs. Plus, super-powered secret agents are way cool.
Ninja Scroll. Created as a sequel to the excellent movie of the same name, it’s more adventures of amazing ninja guy against super-powered enemy ninjas. With plot.
Those Who Hunt Elves. Lowbrow comedy at its finest. Three humans are stranded on an alien world, and need the special spell to get back. Sadly, it’s on the bodies of some elves. So they must strip the clothes off every elf they meet to find it.
I can’t believe I forgot the **Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex **series!
And as long as I’m still posting, how about a couple of movies (or OAVs)?
Ninja Scroll. Stylish, very adult and compelling.
Read or Die. I haven’t tried the series (looks like I need to), but the OAV is great.
Ghost in the Shell. Great movie. Cyberpunk at its finest.