I'm not really fond of anime but there's been some shows and movies that have really been fascinating. I never heard of "Adult Swim" on Cartoon Network until a friend told me to switch channels so that I could watch "Case Closed" because he knew I liked Sherlock Holmes. I watched a few episodes and I was hooked.
I started watching InuYasha that came on before Case Closed but when Adult Swim dumped CC, I found that I wasn't interested in InuYasha at all. I was just watching the show only because it was on before CC.
He also got me to watch FullMetal Alchemist. Wow. That was an awesome series. He then encouraged me to watch some movies. Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, Porco Rosso, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, etc...
I really enjoyed them. The stories were nice and all. Then I was encouraged to make that scary step into the endless series... You know, having to watch 7 or 8 DVDs. Oy. I did finally cave and watched.... Last Exile! I finished the final (7th) DVD a few days ago. The first two DVDs were boring but the story was unfolding and I thought it was pretty neat during it all.
Now I'm wondering if I oughta make a leap and pick another series to watch. Hmm...