I want to get into anime.

[Aptspire]

I'd like to recommend something of a drama-ish anime that is hardly known by anyone, yet is a masterpiece:

Beck.

It's fairly short(26 or so episodes, if i remember correctly).
On the upside it's got original music written by professional japanese bands and even a Beatles' cover, all done remarkably well.
This goes out to everyone. If you haven't seen Beck, please do.

agreed, I liked that one quite a bit
also, it all depends on your favorite genre, like everyone said here

 

[DannyJBeckett]

I'm not much of an Anime fan, but some you really should watch are:

DragonBall Z
Cowboy Bebop
Bleach
and
Ghost in the Shell

 

[hazabaza1]

I've recently been watching Cowboy Bebop, that's a pretty pimpin' show.
Though I watch it in Japanese, I can't imagine Steve Blum being Spike.

 

[Silvianoshei]

The great four: Death Note, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun

My personal favourites are

Katanagatari (Almost western flash-style aesthetics)
Bakemonogatari (Based on a novel and awesome style of animation)
Toradora! (Awesome if somewhat weird story about friendship and romance)
Durarara!! (Simply... great. The characters are awesome.)
Kimi ni Todoke (Super sweet and gentle romance)
Wallflower - Perfect Girl Evolution (Pure comedy GOLD and everything you need to know about how the Japanese ideal man is different from western expectations. XD)

I watch on otakucenter.com

^this - minus Kimi ni Todoke. Also consider Akira (classic), Hayao Miyazaki movies (generally solid) and OF COURSE:

ESCAFLOWNE.

Practice watching subbed stuff, dubbed voice acting is anywhere from irritating to downright unbearable.

 

[kjh242]

Well nao, let's see here...
I read mangas, usually, but here's what i can recommend, after having seen them;
-Lucky Star
-Aria
-Code Geass
-anything by Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away = favourite)
-Bleach was okay, and so was One Piece. The filler in Naruto got to be too much for me. I read those three now, though.
-Hayate no Gotoku / Hayate the Combat Butler

 

[Arsen]

Just watch Ninja Scroll, Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Iria, Vampire Hunter D, and DBZ movies 5-8.

There. You have officially seen the best Japanese Animation has to offer.

Oh...and Cool Devices.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I haven't watched much, but out of what I have, I must recommend Gurren Lagann. It is phenomenal, if a bit over-the-top sometimes. If you're into comedy more, I'd go with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. In addition, Neon Genesis Evangelion is pretty good. It's bit old, but it's pretty popular and worth looking up.

I've watched Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh, as well, and they're not bad. I'd recommend watching if you like the "Slice of Life" genre.

 

[luvva]

I'd go with what the majority of people are saying: Death Note's a fantastic place to start. Once I started watching, I was totally hooked

Definitely go for a bit of bebop- fantastically well-done, and also great to watch dubbed if you dont want to read subtitles too much.

those two are quite adult titles.

If you're into vampires, hellsing's a good watch, but it can run out of steam a bit at points.

full metal alchemist is a bit slow for my taste, but it's got some bits which are fantastic.

It depends what type of films you watch really:

if you like thrillers, go for death note, or full metal alchemist for something a little less twisty.
if you like sci fi, definitely go for bebop, or ghost in the shell.
if you're looking for something light-hearted (but not 'cute') go for one piece or naruto.
if you're looking for something more resembling a romcom, i loved chobits.

if you like the idea of overpowered things beating up other things, go for hellsing for a short burst, bleach for a longer burst.

 

[Sonicron]

-EDIT-
I know this comes down to personal preference, but I recommend watching the English dubs.

He's not English native speaker, so he should be used to read subtitles.

Not sure that argument holds water. I'm not a native speaker of English either, and I've always found it a lot easier to simply listen to spoken English rather than simultaneously read and absorb written English (at a demanding pace) while also trying to follow the on-screen action.

 

[blankedboy]

If you're after comedy, you might wanna try Azumanga Daioh or K-On first, then move into FLCL and Excel Saga once you come to grips with anime. Abenobashi's worth a look too, albeit a bit gimmicky.

 

[wetfart]

I'd recommend:

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Record of Lodoss War
Claymore
Mezzo
both Vampire Hunter D movies

All are pretty good, aren't too long and I never had any Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moments when I watched them.

I'd avoid FLCL as your first experience since it's pretty ... bizarre.

 

[A Weakgeek]

DON'T BE A GIRL! WATCH AN 80'S ANIME! WITH BOOBS AND BLOOD LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW!

Ladies and gentlemen...
Madbull 34

[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLsLpUwE6Rw[/link]

When wearing greanades as a jockstrap perfectly fits your niche.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Hmm.....I guess I'll just go with my stock recommendations list:

Witchblade - DVD/Netflix Instant Stream
Sekirei - DVD/Netflix Instant Stream
Trigun - DVD/Netflix Instant Stream
Mobile Suit Gundam - DVD
Witch Hunter Robin - DVD
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - DVD/Netflix Instant Stream
Neon Genesis Evangelion - DVD
Desert Punk - DVD/Netflix Instant Stream
Spice and Wolf - DVD/Netflix Instant Stream
Bleach - DVD

 

[Raddra]

I would recommend One Piece if you have patience and really want to invest yourself, its VERY long and it starts off slow but it gets absolutely amazing.

Spoiler

Just a small taste of the diversity and great action scenes in this anime.

 

[tthor]

the 2 animes i usually like to show people to introduce them to anime are Deathnote, and my personal favorite, Darker Than Black, because they show how much more adult and awesome anime can be, rather many people's perception of anime being something for kids (to sum up the main character of darker than black : Chinese Electric Batman. you can't get any more damn awesome)

 

[Sonicron]

-EDIT-
I know this comes down to personal preference, but I recommend watching the English dubs.

He's not English native speaker, so he should be used to read subtitles.

Not sure that argument holds water. I'm not a native speaker of English either, and I've always found it a lot easier to simply listen to spoken English rather than simultaneously read and absorb written English (at a demanding pace) while also trying to follow the on-screen action.

There (Germany) American movies on cinema are dubbed or come with subtitles? And series on tv?

This is because here (Portugal) they always come subbed whathever it is except for Cartoons which are dubbed. So we grow up used to subtitles, the readness excuse is invalid after you get used to it.

In Spain and France for example they dubb everything, it's awfull, I've watched Big Bang Theory in Spanish and 300 in French, it's just horrible.

Over here, everything gets dubbed as well, so my preference of sound over subtitles really has nothing to do with our customs when it comes to TV or cinema. (And let me tell you, many German dubs are not much of a pleasure to listen to, especially since oftentimes the translators screw up phenomenally badly.)
Still, you make a good point there, one I hadn't considered, and since I don't know where the OP hails from I suppose either of us could be 'right'.

 

[Artina89]

Your english seems to be just fine, better than a lot of native speakers anyway!

As for anime, here are a few favourites of mine, but these have probably all been mentioned before, but I thought I would contribute:

Black Jack
Cowboy bebop
Trigun
Hellsing
Hellsing: Ultimate
FLCL
Death Note
Astro boy (2004 one, but the older one is good as well)
Samurai gun
Virus: Virus buster Serge.
Noein

Most of these are quite short series (bar Astro boy, and the only Black Jack I have seen is the movie, so I don't know if there is a TV series) and I found them pretty easy to get into.

 

[Rooster893]

Death Note is awesome for first timers. Lucky Star is good if you're looking for something to put you in a good mood, and Cowboy Bebop is freaking awesome.

 

[Neo10101]

Cowboy Bebop is always a good start, Hellsing is also pretty good. Also if you like reading you could try reading some mangas first because they usually are more detailed and will give you more to the story. Oh, and one last to try that is a good place to start, Black Lagoon.

 

[Arronax]

Dude, I don´t want to seem bad manner or arty but I feel that the cowboy bebop scene you are showing has no meaning or context if you link it straight up like that(since you won´t know the characters if you haven´t seen the series and don´t get any of the buildup).

But then again this is the internet and everybody thinks they´re always right ;D

[Edit] Also I like your choice Cowboy bebop is one of my faves.

you don't need context to appreciate good cinematography . I don't love that scene because the story it's telling is especially powerful or compelling, I love that scene because it's direction and music are fantastic. I could spend all day talking about the amazing cinematography, direction and music within Cowboy Bebop, there's never been anything like it.

Point taken