Something that will keep me engrossed from start to finish
 

I have been watching less and less of anime as of late(because of time constraints). Therefore, as a result I'm starting to drop anything that doesn't catch my attention in the first 2-3 episodes.
The latest show that I watched was Great Teacher Onizuka - 1st ep was a bit poor shall we say. But from then on it was an absolute fabulous ride.

Hence, I'm looking for - as the title says - a show/shows that will make me want to watch the next episode.

Here's what I've seen that fits the description above

Baccano!
Samurai Champloo
Death Note
Code Geass
Berserk
Gurren Lagann
Claymore
FMAB and FMA
Fate Zero

Oh, and the genre doesn't matter as long as it keeps me interested.

Mirai Nikki- survival for being the God
Sayonara Zatsubou Sensei- dark comedy with unique theme

that's all i could think right now.....

You probably seen these but I'll do the best I can to help you.

Ahem:

Why don't you give Mars Daybreak a shot? It's Mecha with a "Pirate" theme, plus the protagonist is really unique and capable.

There's also Innocent Venus & Heroic Age to add to the mix.

I nominate Hikaru no Go and Monster.

Yes, they both have over 70 episodes, but I never lost interest in either series.

I quote myself from the Cross Game thread:

Of a more recent vintage, Chihayafuru is also worth a try. Catch it soon so you'd be ready for its second season, scheduled to start this winter.

What TRL said. I have only felt the agony of waiting for a week to go by for a new episode to arrive very few times. Cross Game is one of those series.

I suggest give Tatami Galaxy a try. Its manic dialogue and pace can be a bit jarring, but it's a fantastic watch nonetheless.

I love the good old epic space drama. Don't know about you, but I never get bored of them if it has a good plot.

For this genre, my suggestions would be:

Gundam SEED
Macross Frontier
Vandread
Martian Successor Nadesico
Crest of the Stars
Outlaw Star
Heroic Age
Stellvia of the Universe

I'd suggest some pre-mid-90s anime too, but those tend to be reeeally long, and probably not good for someone with time constraints.

try One Outs its psychological and suspense and strategy just like Code Geass and Death Note
als try Puella Magi Madoka Magica its from the same author of Fate/Zero so you will like it too
also try Dennou Coil it maybe slow pace but damn its a great sci-fi and the ending is one cool one
another thing i remember good is Paranoia Agent its about paranoia so it will keep you suspense and guessing

that is all i can remember at the moment

Wow so many unique suggestions! Thank you guys :) This should keep me busy for a while.

Hmm, I think I'll start with Monster and Cross Game.

I'm on the same boat as you are. It's difficult for me to "marathon" anime these days since they all seem like the same thing I've seen in the past. So it's refreshing when I get an anime where I "look forward to the next episode" often, and they are:

-Mouretsu Pirates
-Bokurano
-Saki*
-Kaiji*
-Kuroko no Basket*
-Fairy Tail (very long, you'll eventually get bored, but if you're like me you'll breeze through the first...95 episodes easily rofl)

*Although I haven't watched Hikaru no Go and Cross Game yet, I have no doubt they would be marathon-able based on my experience of similar anime.

I also recommend Tari Tari, but note that the first episode is a bit...lackadaisical. If you can't get into it by episode 2 then it's not for you, but I was hooked from 2-6.

For me those were:

Chihayafuru

Ga-Rei Zero - the ending of episode 1 blew my mind away. Did not see that coming and wanted to know more.

Ghost Hunt - great series, keep you on the edge all the time. Anime has several arcs/cases which are not self related so you can jump around in case you find one arc boring though I liked them all. First arc is the weakest one though but that's where you get introduced to the characters. My fave arcs were second and labyrinth which is 2nd from the other end.

Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
Shiki

As a bonus you can try Steins;Gate though all actually good stuff only starts in second half.

try freezing or accel world. or there is also sword art online. i remember when i found those series, i watched them nonstop untill i finished them haha :) hope this helps.

Personally i think The Sacred Bleacksmith, Highschool DxD, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! (when you get past first 20 episodes), RomeoxJuliet and Steins Gate are all good choices that get you hooked and wanting more really early. Hope this Helps :)

I thought he dropped Highschool DxD and watched Steins;Gate, yet I told him to watch The Sacred Blacksmith. He'll make sure to try the rest :)

I watched a few episodes of Paranoia Agent due to this comment and I can definitely say that it will keep you engrossed from start to finish. It is nice to see this series again after almost forgetting about it's existence completely. So I second this one for sure.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel.

:D I'm up-to-date with Fairy Tail if only because I never had a backlog of more than 8-10 ep.(and that was only once).

I have watched Steins;Gate - as surprising as it sounds since the first half is pretty much stagnant, and also RomeoXJuliet. I also watched 15(I think)episodes of Phantom~Requiem for the Phantom but stopped after that - I just couldn't get into the characters or the plot, I guess. But I'll give it a second chance.


And as Misao-chan said I dropped High School DXD and probably am not going to watch Sacred Blacksmith - Don't like too much boobs and panty shots shoved down my throat.


Thank you for all your suggestions. I really appreciate it :)

To all those who recommended Chihayafuru, a HUGE THANK YOU :D
It's been quite a while since I felt so involved in a show.

No love for Cross Game? :confused:

I just finished Chihayafuru. Before that was watching Monster, but it somehow couldn't capture my attention. I don't know I just couldn't get into it. Couple that with continuous tests and I had no time to start any new series. I just got a break of 3 days. And I have end-sem starting this Monday so, I guess I'll be watching the rest of the recommended shows over the winter break.

I suggest Claymore. It's the first show that comes to mind when I think of being hypnotized into watching the next episode, no matter what time it is.
Also, don't pass up Cross Game, even if you hate baseball. :D