Okay, so the other ones are Evangelion ad FLCL?

Okay, so the other ones are Evangelion ad FLCL?

Eva is worth watching only to say "I've watched Eva."  Otherwise don't bother with it, it's trash.

FLCL is short but fun.

Still... why not watch something a little more exotic?  Most people in this thread are recommending too much mainstream-ish stuff.

^ Well, I just started watching Anime, don't I want to start with the mainstream-ish stuff?

Depends on what you're interested in.  Anime is a medium, not a genre.  Some of the best (IMO) anime of various genres are not mainstream.  It all just depends on what interests you.

Evangelion had mainstream success and critical acclaim, but was also very weird and crazy and different, especially at the very end.

The ending is really crazy, so a lot of people got all butthurt and vowed to hate the show forever.

It's followed by a film, which is a completely different ending for the series, which made more sense out of the first ending, and had much better production values. It was even crazier though, in a different way, so even more people got all butthurt and vowed to hate the show forever.

In fact, after the first film the ending pissed people off so much he got death threats in the mail, and he puts one of those death threats in the film.

I like both endings, for different reasons, but I'm definitely crazy and weird and in the minority. It's a very good show, but there's a very good chance you'll hate the ending so much you'll hate me for recommending it.

I always forget to recommend Welcome to the NHK! I don't know how to classify it. It's definitely not an action series though.

Valkyria Chronicles
Karas
Devil May Cry (yes it's an anime too lol)
Chrono Crusade
Trigun
Outlaw Star
Full Metal Alchemist:/Brotherhood
Detroit Metal City
Beck
Martian Successor Nadesico
Bleach
Naruto

Evangelion's true ending is the movie. The eps 25 and 26, you watch them to finish the eps and not skipping them, but everyone knows the true ending is The End of Evangelion. At least that one makes sense (and it has Komm Susser Tod, the best song I've ever heard in an anime...at the climax moment)

Ghost in the Shell feels like it tries too hard for the theme of the show and winds up feeling forced. It doesn't help that the dialog and characters are rather bland to begin with.

There's also a GitS movie but it feels very disjointed.  The movie makes more sense after you've already seen it, but isn't nearly enjoyable enough to be worth a second viewing.