Flaser wrote...
Cowboy Bebop.
First: It has high production values and the director wasn't screwed by a committee, so he could tell a coherent and finished story.
Second: It's accessible. It I want to hook someone on anime (or gently take the anime virginity of someone) I show them Cowboy Bebop. It has archetypical characters that everyone can relate to yet they're fleshed out in the story and grain gravity as authentic characters.
Third: No fan pandering, genre shit. (To watch this show you don't have to be into moe, mecha or any other subcultural movement of the decade)...though being familiar with John Woo choreography helps.
Fourth: It's whimsical and light, the show never takes itself too seriously and it is jam packed of cultural references that - unless you lived under a rock for the last *20 years* - you should *get*. It still can tell moving or insightful stories, and when it finally tries to do drama or tragedy it still has an air of brevity about it, that stylized "jazz of storytelling" that entertains and makes you feel welcome from the get go... and still do some heavy shit, not pull punches and make us feel for our heroes.
Five: The music, the music. Yohko Kanno has never been so good ever since. This and Escaflowne were her masterpieces that she has yet to top. Light, whimsical and badass, serious at the same time. Just like the show.
Thank You!
Gurren Lagann: Absolute achievement in what animation can do.
Last Exile: Well planned out story and characters.