Hunter X Hunter - A boy's search for his estranged father and the adventures he has in a colourful fantasy world. A pretty typical set-up for an anime, what sets it apart for me is how psychologically complex it is (enemies are defeated with inventiveness and preparation, not brute force).
Death Note: A supernatural detective story that poses the question: how do you catch a mad god?. The entire series is just one massive, brilliant story.
Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke: Two films by Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest film animators ever. I find these two films are a head and shoulders above the rest of his work (that's partially because I saw them first) and are among my all-time favourite movies. All anime fans make their way to these movies eventually.
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