Yet another "Recommend me something similar" thread...
 

I've only recently (last year or so) entered the world of anime. I've found some I like and some I'm not so keen on. I'll go through that here, and if anyone could make some suggestions on what else I might like, that'd be much appreciated.

Love Hina - 8/10, let down by LHA's visuals and storyline, manga much better. The only manga I've read - I'm not a big reader...
Mahou Sensei Negima - 8/10, haven't read manga, not going to, loved series.
Negima (second version) - 4/10, I've watched half of it and it's painful. Too wacky.
Evangelion - 9/10, superb, only let down by the last few eps, where presumably they ran out of funding.
Martian Successor Nadesico - 6/10, has its ups and downs, but is fairly enjoyable for the most part. Still struggling to finish watching it.
Elfen Lied - 10/10, Superb in just about every way. Wish it could have lasted longer.
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World - 8.5/10, Very good, just a bit too much on the weird side.
Shakugan no Shana - 8/10, watching now, on about episode 12. Enjoying it loads, even if Shana herself is a bit annoying at times.
Ai Yori Aoshi - have got hold of some but not watched it yet, hence no score.
DNA² - 8/10, this was the first anime I watched, and it got me hooked.

I know loads of you will probably disagree with my assessments, especially where Negima is concerned... but based on what I like so far what should I be looking at next?

Thanks guys!

I'll pick off the obvious - if you enjoyed Shakugan no Shana, there's the currently running SnS II (finish the first before you watch the second, naturally)

Do note that the second season of Shakugan no Shana is rumoured to be horrible, even among Shana-fans. :P

I think you'll probably like Noein, Toward the Terra, Haibane Renmei and Dennou Coil.

Thanks guys - the other half has got hold of Haibane Renmei, so I'll give that a shot next. Forgot to mention I'd seen and liked DNA² too - amended first post now. We're also up to date with Shana II - just haven't watched any of it yet.

From first glance at your list it seems that you like ecchi/comedy/romance series so I would be recommending Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun and Kodomo no Jikan from ongoing series.

Well I don't seek out ecchi stuff, but what I've seen I've liked on various merits, so I'll check out your suggestions and see where I find myself.

Thanks to you all - more suggestions always welcome!

Almost forgot Kodomo no Jikan isn't recommended if you dislike pedophiles. Also, suggesting Shuffle!(harem like love hina), Onegai teacher, Onegai twins.

First, if you liked DNA2, try and dig up a copy of Video Girl Ai, a series from the same author. I liked it more than DNA2 because it had a more serious side and good characters.

Next I'd recommend REC, a delightful little show about a wannable voice actress, a young salaryman, and Audrey Hepburn (no, she's not in it :), but her movies play a role). A good show to watch with the "the other half" in my estimation. Because the episodes are quite short, you can watch the whole thing in an evening.

Since you have an "other half" I'm guessing you might be a bit older than the median here on AS. If so, I'd suggest trying Bartender and Hataraki Man, both shows aimed at more mature viewers, and both having only eleven episodes. Next, give Nodame Cantabile a shot, a "screwball" comedy series (23-eps) set in a Japanese classical music college. You'll know after a couple of episodes whether it's your cup of tea or not.

All of these shows are unlicensed unlike Video Girl Ai.

If you want to try something more serious, I'd start with Junni Kokki (Twelve Kingdoms; browse my signature with your mouse for links), an epic fantasy set in a land modelled after ancient China. It starts slow but picks up fast around episode 6. This one's licensed, but available in boxsets at a reasonable price. Planetes and Noein (links in sig) are excellent science-fiction shows; the former has adult protangonists, the latter has middle-schoolers and adults. Both are licensed.

Monster is the classic anime mystery thriller, but at 74 episodes, it a serious commitment.

Finally, try watching an episode or two of Mononoke. Again you'll either love it or hate it, but you'll probably agree that it's has some spectacular artwork. Both it and Monster remain unlicensed. The predecessor three-episode arc to Mononoke, called Bakeneko, is licensed and available as a single DVD called "Goblin Cat" in the US. You don't need to watch it prior to Mononoke, but it does help a bit.

"Horrible" because, unlike the first season which began with action and then moved into romantic triangles, this season began with the romance and is only now getting into the action?

Shakugan no Shana II isn't horrible...it's just uninteresting for the most part. I also second REC and Nodame Cantabile. I would also like to recommend Mahoromatic.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll make a note to avoid Kodomo no Jikan since if it features paedophilia I'm likely to be sickened by it.

Shame my net connection has been (and still is) so flaky for the last month or so, as I've got virtually no additional anime down. I'm enjoying SnS II although not as much as the first season. We're also watching Starship Operators - I've seen the first 6 and I'm enjoying it.

Ai Yori Aoshi is turning out to be really sickly sweet - it's hard to acknowledge that I like it, but since I'm still watching after 8 eps I think I'll have to concede that I do. The ferret is unbelievably cute. What's with the no-nipples thing though?! In my view, they should either show nudity, or not. This is a freaky in-between and I'd have thought it would be improved by not showing it at all.

Once my net connection is sorted I'll have to try and get hold of as many of your suggestions as I can.... just no idea how soon that is likely to be. :(

hey you and me are kinda in the same boat.....as far as recently waltzing into the diverses wolrd of anime....and it seems are tastes are also quite similiar....especial the Elfen Lied part....so ima throw you a few suggestions of anime that i really liked seeing our taste is similiar...

sainkano-a really sugary sweet anime in first few episodes....turns horribly bitter and "effed up" in the next....it kinda is like elfen lied....but not quite...-ending is kinda wierd thou...coulda done without the last episode.....

meloncholy of h. suzamiya- for a little comedy....(watched a dubbed version...i hate to say it but the voice acting in the dubbed version is way better)...male protagonist has hilarious naration goin on ...

deathnoteany series where the main character suffers from delusions of granduer should be intresting....

samuri x: trust and betrayal- 4 ovas long but many say its a masterpiece....and i agree....this is probably gonna be the only thing that will come close to bringing you the same pleasure that elfen lied did.....

Thanks gh0stmice... I'll have a look for those when I get a chance.

Baccano! (8/10) This is a fun story of a bunch of immortals and various adventures across history, to be as broad as possible. Sometimes the time jumps can be a bit confusing, but lovable characters (the cast list is HUGE), and the two main characters are a quirky and utterly absurd pair that you can't help but to be charmed by.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. (10/10) I just got finished watching this, and it's awesome. It's a total GAR rush from beginning to end, and even thought I've never been a mecha fan, I loved this series. Not to mention it has Yoko. 'Nuff said.

Code Geass. (10/10) I watched this recently as well and it has great main characters. Lelouch is an anti-hero, a character archtype we don't see all that often, and he's out for revenge on Britannia for his mother's death. The story in short is that way in the future, the British Empire takes over most of the world, Japan being one of many. Japan loses its identity and is referred to as "Area Eleven". As such, the native Japanese are now called "Elevens". Lelouch aims to change this and destroy Britannia, even though he himself is a Brittanian. Again, a mecha anime, but way more emphasis on who is INSIDE the mechs, rather than the mechas themselves.

Hmmm... being British, I may not like seeing my nation being portrayed as evil... there are, after all, three sides to every story. Might give it a look though.

Don't worry I've watched a lot of anime where the United States is involved "on the other side" somehow and all I can say is if the anime is good enough, you really don't care.

Not to mention its fictional anyway.

Technically, "Britannia" doesn't refer to England/UK, since the Japanese refer to England/UK as "Igirisu". The focus is never on that country anyway, so it doesn't matter. I really highly recommend Code Geass.

Oh right, so it's just another 'fighting the Empire' premise... I can handle that. :)

DNA2 was one of the first anime that I saw as well! And it's still one of my favorites :)

Here are some of the more mainstream anime that I would recommend:
Higurashi No Naku Koroni - Watch it.. Trust me. I was so hooked after the first four episodes that I couldn't even sleep at night.
Claymore
Death Note