Oh, yeah, heavy second on Utena.
On the movie side, Princess Mononoke and Summer Wars.
Back to series/OVAs:
The original Neon Genesis Evangelion (but you have to finish it with at least End of Evangelion). The recent remake in the form of feature films is also quite good, although clearly divergent from the original. And not all released in the US yet, as far as I know.
Sakura Taisen. Psychotronic mecha in a steampunk 1920s Japan fight demons and the sorcerous conspiracy behind them. The first couple OVA disks are good, but expect you to know the storyline of the original game on which they were based. The TV series has much lower quality animation but tells a more coherent story for the novice to the franchise.
Soukou no Strain, released in the US as StrAIn (Strategic Armored Infantry). Mecha warfare in a future with only relativistic interstellar travel, focusing on a young girl bred to be an elite mecha pilot who loses the ability to function as that elite in the same battle that reveals that her revered older brother, another elite pilot thought lost in battle, is now fighting on the side of the enemy, and the lengths she goes to in order to find out why he betrayed their side. For added fun, most of the character names come from Frances Hodgson Burnett's Victorian children's novels A Little Princess and The Secret Garden.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
On the movie side, Princess Mononoke and Summer Wars.
Back to series/OVAs:
The original Neon Genesis Evangelion (but you have to finish it with at least End of Evangelion). The recent remake in the form of feature films is also quite good, although clearly divergent from the original. And not all released in the US yet, as far as I know.
Sakura Taisen. Psychotronic mecha in a steampunk 1920s Japan fight demons and the sorcerous conspiracy behind them. The first couple OVA disks are good, but expect you to know the storyline of the original game on which they were based. The TV series has much lower quality animation but tells a more coherent story for the novice to the franchise.
Soukou no Strain, released in the US as StrAIn (Strategic Armored Infantry). Mecha warfare in a future with only relativistic interstellar travel, focusing on a young girl bred to be an elite mecha pilot who loses the ability to function as that elite in the same battle that reveals that her revered older brother, another elite pilot thought lost in battle, is now fighting on the side of the enemy, and the lengths she goes to in order to find out why he betrayed their side. For added fun, most of the character names come from Frances Hodgson Burnett's Victorian children's novels A Little Princess and The Secret Garden.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.