A few months ago I got done watching the entire series of Gurren Lagann (awesome). Now a few months later I'm interested in beginning another series, but ultimately don't know where to begin. I like to watch anime with action, or a decent story to it. What I don't like to watch is animation with a ton of gore, sex, suggestive themes, tentacles, or anything else that seems entirely uninspired.

What is there to watch for an animation fan like myself?

I'm pretty sure you haven't come to the right place.

@JasonR86 said:

I'm pretty sure you haven't come to the right place.

Shall we?

--

1. Get out.

2. Anime is gross.

3. Your avatar is amazing.

4. Die in a fire.

@NlGHTCRAWLER:

You forgot the old standby;

"Anime is for jerks."

@Dynablade: Check out Black Lagoon.

@JasonR86: I always forget that one. Pshsh

@Pox22 said:

@Dynablade: Check out Black Lagoon.

Good selection. If you have not seen Full Metal Alchemist, I suggest that. I have not yet seen brotherhood but the original has action and a great story.

Just finished Code Geass & Durarara!! Both are exceptional series.

Gun X Sword and Funimation's Initial D dub.

Black Lagoon: Haven't seen that before so definitely a priority.

Gun X Sword: Will check out.

Initial D: Seen some tidbits but never a full episode. Will watch some.

Code Geass: Now there's a series I enjoyed a while ago.

Durarara!!: Will check it out.

Full Metal Alchemist: I have seen some episodes back in 2006 and liked it. Haven't watched enough of Brotherhood so I will check that out.

Soul Eater 
Baccano 
Ghost in the Shell 
Darker Than Black

Death Note

Ergo Proxy

Gungrave

@Blannir: Does the series Gungrave have anything to do with that old classic PS2 game with the same name?

Soul Eater: I've seen box sets around but haven't seen it. Will add to list

Baccano: same

Ghost in The Shell: Such an awesome movie. Need to watch Stand alone complex.

Darker Than Black: Will look

Death Note: Great series

Ergo Proxy: Will try out.

Trigun

I think your looking for giantjerk.com

Trigun: oh that series....so much win!

@Dynablade: Well since this is a gaming website: Give Gungrave a try. It's obvious but Cowboy Bebop & Samurai Champloo. Paranoia Agent is one of the best I've seen in the last decade.

I know you said ease off the violence/sex, but Gantz uses those things in very story/character-driving ways. But it is SUPER violent and SUPER sexualized (and in fact is a send-up of Japanese repression using those as themes).

Edit: And your avatar makes me want to play Kirby Super Star. Oh and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. It's gorgeous and tragic to see what happens to anime with a limitless budget. Hellsing is also pretty good (though also pretty violent, but in a much more stylized/ridiculous way).

Aquarion Evol

soul eater

tiger and bunny

Stiens;Gate

@Undeadpool: Well thank you lol. Kirby Super Star is one of my favorite SNES games.

I've always wanted to watch the entire series of Cowboy Bebop. I've usually watch a few episodes, then miss a whole bunch cause of forgetfulness. Very much need to finish that show.

Samurai Champloo is pretty cool from the first few episodes I've seen, forgot about it over time.

@Dynablade: Yep, Gungrave is based off the game although the anime story is quite a bit different and delves a lot into Brandon's past.

I thought Witch Hunter Robin was pretty good. I Also highly recommend Ergo Proxy. I watched Full Metal Panic recently and liked it. Really liked both seasons of Code Geass as well.

@Blannir: Oh wow I definitely need to see that then.

Oh man Witch Hunter Robin is a series I haven't watched in a while, I remember it used to air on the Adult Swin a long time ago.

Steins;Gate is great, probably my favorite anime in the last couple years (less action more great story)

@Animasta: Cool story you say? hmmm sounds right up my ally.

@Dynablade said:

@Animasta: Cool story you say? hmmm sounds right up my ally.

do you like time travel? cause it's all about time travel and mad science and doctor pepper

jerks itt

@Animasta: As someone who likes watching Dr. Who on ocassion yes I like time travel! lol

Dragonball Z is pretty good.

@TheHBK: That was one of the first series to get me into anime in the first place. Fun times.

Watch One Piece. After that, there is no other anime to watch.

Well, Cowboy Bebop is pretty cool too.

@Mrsignerman44: I like One Piece, though I'm seriously wondering how long this series will go on. I've been watching it off and on for a few years.

You don't like gore and sex. Well Elfen Lied is just for you!

If you liked Gurren, Tiger and Bunny is probably right up your alley. It's probably the most fun anime I've watched in years. It's the same idea as GL, a comedy spin of a typically very serious genre, but T&B is a parody of super hero shows. It's got a very western feel to it as well, and really pulls off the dramatic moments when it wants to.

I'd also recommend Darker than Black, as many have said here. It's a bit too self serious for my tastes, but the animation is beautiful and the show ends up being quite entertaining. If you haven't checked out Cowboy Bebop yet, that's absolutely where you should go next. It's my favorite anime of all time. The way the characters are developed and how the action is choreographed to the music is amazing. With Bebop, the american dub is so good I'd whole heartedly say make sure to check it out.

If you're looking for mecha shows, there's always Evangelion. It's very esoteric and self serious, but a fascinating show overall. The remake movies are absolutely fantastic, too, but not sure how well they'd do for a non fan. There's also Eureka Seven, which is in a lot of ways a much more light hearted and fun Evangelion. It also has some of the most beautiful animation I've seen in mecha shows. If you can deal with a show being quite old, the original Mobile Suit Gundam has a lot going for it. There's a reason that franchise keeps going. It's some of the best mecha action in the industry. Just make sure to grab the japanese voice on that one as the english dub is just horrific. If you can get through that, Zeta, Char's Counterattack, Unicorn(UC), and Victory are all wonderful shows. Wing, 00, G, X and Age all have a lot going for them, but you have to be able to put up with a lot of cliched crap. The OVAs, especially the 08th MS team, all are extremely well done as well. Turn A is a divisive series. I find it wonderful, but it's a love it or hate it type thing.

If you're looking for a fun, Shonen action show, Hunter x Hunter is pretty amazing. You can jump on the new series right now as it airs. So much fun. Way better then the Naruto/Bleach stuff that clogs shonen shows now. It's written by the same guy who did Yu Yu Hakusho, another favorite and recommendation of mine, and he just kills it. It's just too bad he is so inconsistent in writing the manga. Really kills me to have to wait through his countless hiatuses, but damn if he doesn't come back to hit it out of the park every time.

It's not exactly what you asked for, but I have to through Kamen Rider Fourze and W in the mix as well. They're my favorite shows in a long time. They pretty much just are live action anime and I'd recommend them to anyone who even remotely likes anime.

Gungrave was not at all what I expected, but it was great. One of the best mob shows I've seen.

I agree with most of what people have already recommended but I'll throw out a few of my own:

Fooly Cooly

Serial Experiments Lain

Escaflowne

Twelve Kingdoms

Last Exile

RahXephon

Wolf's Rain

Read or Die

OH OH OH i forgot, School Days

@Dynablade: There quite a few I could recommend (most have been said already). But, for now I'll go with Jormungand, Blue Gender, SoulTaker, Megazone 23, and Tytania.

@Giglionaire: Very funny lol

Evangelion: Man I knew there was a series I've forgotten to watch. I've heard such great things about that series over the years that I definitely need to watch it.

Fooly Cooly: Love how strange and crazy that series is.

Escaflowne: A co-worker of mine loves that movie. Need to watch ASAP

There have been a lot of good suggestions in this thread. One that I haven't seen recommend yet is Moribito. I recently watched it and absolutely loved it.

@Slay3r1583: It is a great series. I have the entire series on DVD and don't regret buying it.

I do NOT sugguest watching DearS or some name of that nature. It is SHIT. Pure and simple, and I watched all the way through hoping there would be some good in it... nope... nothing. The main character is a dickface that I wish to kick the shit out of. Supporting characters suck except for ONE! The green hair slave girl from the sky is a fucked up concept and it never gets better. I felt awful while watching it and I cannot sugguest any other human being watch it.

Watch Eureka 7 on Crunchyroll (they got sub and dub. I liked the dub much more.) Great great show. Mech action and a great romance plot with a coming of age story with some major scifi jargon going on which makes... some sense. Watch that show!

Gintama.

@Jay444111: Ok Eureka 7. Sounds like a plan to me.

Gintama: I never could get into the manga, but I will try a few episodes to see if it's alright.

@Undeadpool said:

@Dynablade: Well since this is a gaming website: Give Gungrave a try. It's obvious but Cowboy Bebop & Samurai Champloo. Paranoia Agent is one of the best I've seen in the last decade.

I know you said ease off the violence/sex, but Gantz uses those things in very story/character-driving ways. But it is SUPER violent and SUPER sexualized (and in fact is a send-up of Japanese repression using those as themes).

Edit: And your avatar makes me want to play Kirby Super Star. Oh and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. It's gorgeous and tragic to see what happens to anime with a limitless budget. Hellsing is also pretty good (though also pretty violent, but in a much more stylized/ridiculous way).

I found Gantz disappointing. It started off awesome but at the end, 90% of each episode seemed dedicated to recapping the previous story beats with the other 10% being a character getting killed.

VHD: Bloodlust on the other hand is pure poetry. It looks gorgeous and, so far, is the only anime to feature gothic-architecture vampire spaceships.

They've been mentioned before but they really can't be mentioned enough, so, Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. Bebop is more of an episodic show, but it's absolutely fantastic and it's a lot of fun and the dub is pretty great. Champloo has more of a focus on an over-arching story than Bebop, and it's got a lot of really well done sword fights and the like (the ending of the series is really, really good). They both have gorgeous animation. Stick with them past the first few episodes, they get better the farther along they go, I think.

Also check out the Cowboy Bebop movie. Lot of a fun, that one.

Ergo Proxy

And The Counte Of Monte Cristo Gankutsuo

Urusei Yatsura
Maison Ikkoku
Kimagure Orange Road

Gungrave is still my favorite anime ever. Fantastic.

Full Metal Alchemist and Brotherhood

Baccano! (gory, but in a fun Tarantino-ish way)

Cowboy Bebop

Yu Yu Hakusho (the best fighting anime ever; no filler, great story, and the fights are long enough to be interesting but short enough to know when to end.)

Samurai Champloo