It's a little thing called Baccano!
 
Of course the Japanese don't know quality shit when they see it, and it flopped big time over there.
 
Lesson learned, produce more magical girl shows.
 
Anime sucks. They won't even give Shinichiro Watanabe his own show anymore. God damn it.

the best two are probably death note and evangelion. death note got old quickly shortly after the girl (you know, the one that is in love with light - its been a while since i finished watching the anime -_-;) came into the picture where it looked like it would get more interesting but then this person is forgetting they had the death note and this person is doing that and then L dies and then some new insignificant characters take on the role of L etc etc. i think the problem was that the plot started out so strong and it was all tying together so well that it could only go so far before it started to drop off.
 
as for evangelion, i think its a bit of hit and miss, but ultimately the best anime. i quite like the works of tatsunoku going back to tekkaman blade on cheez tv when i was a youngen and then nge sort of came around a few years after that for me and i found it strangely captivating. i think some of it doesnt add up right away which makes you confused yet curious, leading to further interest in watching how the show will pan out. i particularly like the last few episodes that are extremely psychological. they are both interesting and haunting to say the least, with the characters reflecting on their thoughts and feelings. it makes me wonder why so much anime is just 'jpop' LETS GO GUYS *jumps with fist in the air* and that sort of imagery when nge is clearly very popular and highly regarded by most if not all, yet rarely will an anime attempt to try and conceive characters so complex and interesting. not to mention its actually a mature anime clearly made for an older audience. so much for anime and cartoon being for kids? :)
 
how's that for a bit of rambling? ;) but yeah, nge, followed by death note for me.

Oh yeah, that reminds me, Evangelion sucked and no amount of remaking and rereleasing more and more of it will ever make it not suck.
 
I wish I could get back the time I spent watching it.

Like the majority here, I do not have a favorite. I'm still relatively new to anime, so I consider the ones that I have seen in their entirety to be my favorites. 
 
My first anime was .hack://SIGN. I was intrigued with the story, but most of all, fell in love with its soundtrack. Fake Wings is such a great track in my opinion. 
I think my next anime was Elfen Lied. Which I also enjoyed thoroughly. Then Gantz, super gorey, but awesome never-the-less. 
I watched Chobits. I don't know how I started that one, but I did watch it all the way through. It was cute, and I enjoyed it.  

Then I watched Ghost in the Shell. Man was that show amazing. 
 
And my most recent completed anime was Code Geass: LeLouch of the Rebellion. A very good show I thought. It had my stomach in wrenches because I found it a little bit emotionally disturbing. Best friends fighting each other on different sides, Sibling love and then faking sibling hate. It's safe to say the ending had me in tears, as well as certain segments in the show. 
 
I have Cowboy Bebop ready to watch, I just haven't started it yet. I'm looking for suggestions on more animes though once I'm done with that one.

my favorites are gurren lagann, full metal panic, fullmetal alchemist, cowboy bebop, kaiji, death note, and one piece. probably forgot a bunch of them tho.

If the Monster anime is anything like the manga, then that. 
 
When it comes to anime I've actually seen... Clannad. Season one was fantastic, but After Story hit it out of the park.

Akira or Ghost in the Shell. 

" @Axxol:   The best anime is what you enjoy the most!!  NO one can tell you any different if you enjoy K-On! over Ghost in the Shell or vice versa.  It's just what you like, that's all that matters.  "

Dilbert's pretty good. 

" @RJay_64 said:

" @Axxol:   The best anime is what you enjoy the most!!  NO one can tell you any different if you enjoy K-On! over Ghost in the Shell or vice versa.  It's just what you like, that's all that matters.  "

Why are you telling me this? "

" @Axxol said:

" @RJay_64 said:

" @Axxol:   The best anime is what you enjoy the most!!  NO one can tell you any different if you enjoy K-On! over Ghost in the Shell or vice versa.  It's just what you like, that's all that matters.  "

Why are you telling me this? "

oops I don't know.  I clicked the wrong button.    Minami-ke ftw! "  

Hm, I wouldn't necessarily say that an interpretation of Death Note wherein Light is a hero is necessarily incorrect.... 
 
But one series that I really liked that hasn't been mentioned is Gungrave; I remember really being emotionally affected by it the last time I watched it... 
Maybe Ergo Proxy; I really liked its art style, deep (sometimes to a fault) plot, and relatively quick battle sequences . 
 
Some of my favorite animated movies: Jin Roh, Cat Soup, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Paprika, and Perfect Blue. 
 
The last two I love for how they manipulate reality in interesting ways.

" @eternitymemory said:

"   @MancombSeepgood said:

" My favourite so far has been Bakemonogatari. I don't watch much anime so my views may be somewhat constricted but the visual style was just incredible. "

I second this so much. Bakemonogatari looks amazing, and Araragi doesn't fall into the nauseating "stupid but full of SPIRIT" male teenage anime hero cliche or the boring "troubled, dark, and anti-social" cliche.   I also like FLCL for its craziness.  "

Yeah, Arararararararagi-kun was a great character... To be fair, most of the characters were pretty awesome. One of my favourite parts of the series was Araragi vs. Kanbaru.
 
 

  Such awesome art and voice-acting. Those screams are spine-chilling.  And now I have an urge to re-watch Bakemonogatari. Dammit. "

just saw baccano recently and
 
dragon ball
 

As far as mainstream appeal, I would probably go with Cowboy Bebop.
 
My personal favorite is FLCL though.

" @MancombSeepgood said:

" @eternitymemory said:

"   @MancombSeepgood said:

" My favourite so far has been Bakemonogatari. I don't watch much anime so my views may be somewhat constricted but the visual style was just incredible. "

I second this so much. Bakemonogatari looks amazing, and Araragi doesn't fall into the nauseating "stupid but full of SPIRIT" male teenage anime hero cliche or the boring "troubled, dark, and anti-social" cliche.   I also like FLCL for its craziness.  "

Yeah, Arararararararagi-kun was a great character... To be fair, most of the characters were pretty awesome. One of my favourite parts of the series was Araragi vs. Kanbaru.
 
 

  Such awesome art and voice-acting. Those screams are spine-chilling.  And now I have an urge to re-watch Bakemonogatari. Dammit. "

I've never heard of this, but I want to see it now. "

high school of the dead
rurouni kenshin series, ovas(the 4 episode ova is a masterpiece)
fairy tail
avatar:the last airbender
bleach 
naruto(though i dont ike it i know is  a qualitative anime)
death note
akira
 
these are some good stuff , there are shitloads more that cant remember atm

" @MancombSeepgood: I'm watching the first episode now.  "

I'm almost tired of saying it so often, but Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad is easily my favorite anime ever, and it is the best.

" just saw baccano recently and
 
dragon ball
 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

seriously though baccano owns

"

don't know what its called but it's a laundromat dude who works with this girl who lost her husband and misses him. And then he secretely wants her but at the same time he has to run the laundromat so that gets him into all sorts of trouble and there's another coworker who he fucks regularly (she's into weird shit) and he has to battle the big laudromat corporation and he gets tricked into sleeping with the CEO of the big laundromat corporation and then finally in episode 2 he catches his secret love "reminiscing" about her late husband and then they do it and then she gets pregnant with his baby. Have not seen episode 3 yet but they tease of a wedding :)

Baccano, Kino's  Journey, Mushishi, Durarara, Legend of Galatic Heros etcetc.

" Akira "

Nothing's moved me as much in recent viewing as Eureka Seven.  I'd say it's jumped onto my personal top-10.  And, after 457 episodes of One Piece, I am still not tired of it.  Currently, I am finishing up Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and it's very good, too although I believe anyone interested should see the first FMA series before hand, because the first 30 episodes of the original run are condensed into the first 12 of Brotherhood and so there is less explanation or characterization in that dozen.

OH DAMN! 

Pokemon.
 
 
Because it makes me feel nostalgic as fuck even though I can't take more than like 3-4 min of it at a time.

Bible Black, Chick grows a penis.

Fullmetal Alchemist. Just 'cuz.

"  

  Still the best. "

The best? 
 
Angel Beats. I'm not even totally sure it's my personal favorite, but it's absolutely brilliant, and not another anime out there makes its point more succinctly that I've seen. Just go watch it if you haven't already. 
 
As for my favorite? I dunno, I guess it's still probably The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. And no, I didn't watch Season 2, that's why I think I can still say that safely. XD

Monster 
 
/thread

No such thing as "best" Anime. 
Also, why is this a blog post?

Fuck me...no mention of monster at all. 
People need to see it. 
  

TTGL, Is my favorite, it got me into anime and I dont see how someone can dislike it.
 
Next to that was Prince of Tennis, I highly recommend it, after the beginning, its pretty damn cool

The correct answer is Gantz.
It's my favorite, along with Samurai Champloo, Elfen Lied, Death Note, and many more. 'S just my opinion though.