I have been watching Batman: Gotham Knight over and over, since I love the animation and the stories. Got me thinking, what other anime am I missing out on?

For those who will give suggestions, I have seen Samurai 7, Cowboy Bebop, The Boondocks (not exactly anime but close), the Batman release mentioned above, Afro Samurai, and Samurai Clampoo.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Depends on what you're interested in.

Comedy? Drama? Action? Sci-fi? Fantasy? Horror? Kids stuff? Adult stuff? Hentai?

Let us know. There's a big ol' world o'stuff out there waiting for ya.

OK...should have been more specific.

Really, I don't like the kids stuff...Pokemon esque I guess would be the way to put it. Adult stuff is pretty boring...I have human porn for that. Hentai, honestly I have no idea what that is.

Based on what you have seen, I'll recommend Black Lagoon and Chrono Crusade.

There's lot of varies of animes - I would suggest you check out the most popular animes such as Death Note, Chobits, Fullmetal Alchemist, Full Metal Panic!, and few others - so you can find your own taste of anime.

Very cool guys, I am going to check those out?

How is the Ghost in the Shell series? I had a buddy of mine who spoke highly of it.

I don't know any new stuff because my anime phase was in high school and early college. That said, I enjoyed the Bubblegum Crash series and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Not really helpful since it's not out yet (heard it will probably be out in June), but since it seems like you enjoy samurai based stuff, i'd recommend checking out Sword of the Stranger when it does get released.

I don't know shit from shineola when it comes to anime.

That being said, the Vampire Hunter D series is pretty friggin' awesome. Ditto for Urotsukidoji.

I like it. But it's not for everyone. To make things confusing, the film adaptations of Ghost in the Shell are completely independent from the two-season TV version. The TV adaptation is a lot more accessible than the films, but even the TV series starts getting weird somewhere during the second season.

I second the recommendation for Black Lagoon as a good place to start.

Appleseed
Appleseed: Ex Machina

besides B:GK those are the other 2 i own, they were blind buys and i absolutely love them!!!

If you like mecha anime, I would suggest checking out Armored Trooper Votoms (this was a sub only release from Central Park Media and may be OOP), Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (my favorite anime), and Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. For horror/suspense, I would suggest Perfect Blue, Hellsing Ultimate, Vampire Hunter D, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. The Guyver TV series is also worth checking out.

This gets a lot of praise on message boards, but I personally didn't really care for it (or the movies, which I recently rewatched). I was watching it on Cartoon Network until recently and thought it was a very dull show. I dropped it after watching episode 10, although episode 9 pretty much killed it for me(six people sitting in a virtual chat room talking about the Laughing Man is not what I would call "entertaining"). You should probably borrow the discs off your friend, if he has them, to see if you like it or not and avoid blind buying it.

You could check out THIS thread and see what sounds good or ask some questions.

Don't forget to check out our monthly column on anime, Anime Talk. It's a good way to keep up on what's coming out.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/anime/index.html

Based on what you've enjoyed so far I'd say Hellsing Ultimate, Black Lagoon, and GitS would be good bets.

Not the biggest anime fan, but I do have to say I love the hell out of Trigun (sci-fi/western/action). Also look for Ninja Scroll (cant comment on the series but I enjoyed the movie ninja/fantasy/snake-in-a-ladys-whoohaa) and Berserk (mideval/fantasy/horror/action).

First off... start with Neon Genesis Evangelion. You can't go wrong there. It's violent, comedic, and tragic at the same time... I'd say the best anime series ever made.

Gantz - You are about to die... at the last moment you are transported to an apartment with nothing more than a black sphere which has a countdown, a target, a bunch of guns, and SUPERSUITS. Fail? Die. Leave the mission? Die. Run out of time? Die. It's awesome.

BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad - Tale of a boy, a girl, and a band on their way to the top. Worth it just for the hilarious Engrish (yes Engrish) original songs [and Beatles songs!]. Don't watch the dub for this one

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - I could go on and on about Hayao Miyazaki's films under Ghibli Animation (which are by and far all amazing) but this is my favorite.

His and Her Circumstances (Kare Kano) - Based on the long-running manga series (which I think is still running) this series really goes deep into what it means to be in love... it's also quite hilarious. Watch it with your girlfriend.

Ranma 1/2 These kids nowadays always overlook my personal favorite comedic anime: Ranma. Boy and his Dad go to train at a cursed spring in China... both accidentally fall into the water which causes them to change whenever hit with cold water. Ranma into a girl ... and his father into a Panda bear. They change back with hot water. Hilarity ensues for almost 7 seasons (~150 episodes) and 2 movies.

... in the same vein of Ranma (maybe slightly less absurd) is Love Hina which is about a dork that takes over an apartment building inhabited entirely by young ladies. Hilarity ensues yet again.

Mobile Suit: ZETA Gundam is probably the greatest political anime ever made... and I HAD to include a giant robot series in this list somewhere. Gundam is by and far the biggest anime franchise out there and this series is the best of the best.

... Start there. Get back to me after that.

My favorite now and forever will be OUTLAW STAR. I think it has a similar vibe to Cowboy Bebop.

I also loved S-Cry-Ed.

I've seen Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, and several other anime series, and...

Berserk is BY FAR my favorite. I like to compare it to Lord of the Rings, which also has a medieval setting (knights, castles, etc.) and supernatural elements. I love the characters and themes in Berserk, and I like the fact that it stresses continuity. Every episode picks up right where the last one left off. There aren't stand-alone episodes. If I were to compare Berserk to Cowboy Bebop, I'd say that both series have compelling characters that you can relate to, but Berserk has a way better story!

A caveat (or two or three)...the first episode takes place in the future and only makes sense in hindsight. The entire anime is a huge flashbakc. So if you don't like the first episode, don't worry. Just keep watching! Also, the anime ends with a shocking cliffhanger. Fortunately, the story continues in the manga. The anime is based on volumes 1 through 13 of the manga, and in Japan the most recently released volume of the manga is 33. And finally, the series is quite bloody. Of course, the manga is FAR more graphic.

I can recommend several anime films (best ones are at the top):

Grave of the Fireflies (great, but somewhat depressing World War II-era film)
My Neighbor Totoro (family film)
Akira
Samurai X
Spirited Away (family film)
Nausicaa (family film)
Ghost in the Shell
Ninja Scroll

Based on your Batman reference, here is some good sci-fi anime with urban settings:
Ghost in the Shell (esp. the two movies)
Bubblegum Crisis
Bubblegum Crash
A.D. Police (original 1990 OAV series, not the recent TV series)
Baoh

4 by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll):
Midnight Eye Goku (2-part OAV)
Wicked City (movie)
Demon City Shinjuku (movie)
Cyber City Oedo (3-part OAV)

no love for "Appleseed"...is that considered the bottom of the bin in Anime?

I've seen Appleseed in three versions- the 1980s OAV (on Video) and then the two computer-animated versions on the big screen. I didn't like any of them. I didn't like the characters, the story or that style of animation. I prefer the grittier, street-level urban action of Bubblegum Crisis, Ghost in the Shell, and Patlabor--the 2 movies and both the original OAV and TV series. I like my futuristic settings when they look lived in. You don't get anything like that in Appleseed.

yeah, it was my only experience so i cannot compare, but i thought the story was good and surprisingly emotional.

Berserk, Gungrave, Noir, and Now and Then, Here and Now are amongst my faves. I'm rewatching Trigun... sooo goood!!!