I've been into anime since I was in high school and am now almost through my undergrad years. (Yikes.) I recently discovered Fantastic Children through this forum, a series that I enjoyed but had never heard of. I hope other viewers will be able to help me a find a few more great series (new and old) that I may have overlooked. I've already seen all the huge classics and screened the big titles of recent days (i.e. Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, One Piece, Saikano, Bleach, Trinity Blood, etc) so please keep that kind of suggestion to a minimum.
The YES-list -- fast-moving plot, compelling characters, original dialogue. Any genre, era or "situation" acceptable as long as plot, characters and dialogue are clever, fun, and at a high standard.
Examples:
Cowboy Bebop; Now and Then, Here and There; Elfen Lied; Blood +; Eureka 7; Juuni Kokki; Tide-line Blue; Full Metal Panic (all 3); Full Metal Alchemist; Gakuen Senki Muryou (Licensed title Shingu - Interstellar Wars); Escaflowne; Madlax; Tsukihime; Starship Operators; Fantastic Children; Crest of the Stars series; Noein; Zettai Shounen, Kyou Kara Maou, Samurai Shamploo, Shakugan no Shana
The NO-list -- break-breakingly slllloooooow plot, or worse yet plot that makes no sense, or worst of all, anime with no resolution. No cookie-cutter characters, flat-out "fight" anime with little/no development, or anime meant only to fill the void in a lonely otaku heart. I am not a 21 year old male virgin*, I'm a chick getting too old and lazy to put up with bull
Examples:
Inuyasha, Naruto, Bleach, Basilisk, Mai-Otome, Technolyze or Monster**, Onegai Teacher, Shuffle, Sakura etc
* No offense meant to the demographic of 21-year-old male virgins. I know a few, and they're very wonderful people ... just hornier than I am.
** Technolyze and Monster are good, just too dark, and too ... perhaps avant garde for my tastes.