Okay.. Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu, Tengen Toppa Gurenn Lagann, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Full Metal Panic, Deathnote, Claymore, ...
Are you serious? Do you really think he is going to enjoy all the cryptic satire of Japanese culture, not to mention in-jokes they never left out of every episode? I once may have said the show isnt as overwhelming as PPD, but that is not to say a casual watcher is going to be comfortable with it
Guren Lagaan is a terrific suggestion though, no argument there
I don't get Azumanga Daioh. Why is it so popular? What is it about?
Me neither. I thought it was good at the time when it was all the rage way back, and it gradually lost its uniqueness. Did you really think it was THAT funny? The show did have a few cultural/linguistic references that were clearly not gaijin-friendly, I assume you comprehend those fully
Not to take anything away from J.C. Staff, but IMO maybe it is getting a bit too much credit for what it is now compared to newer shows that are no worse by any means (unfortunately, some would lock in themselves in a denial claiming nothing is ever going to touch it)
Animation/drawing quality is mediocre by today's standards, humor was rather dull to me - maybe except the Chiyo Chichi bit. Depending on what you particularly liked about the show, you may want to try shows with more upbeat humor (ie Kyou no Gou no Ni, Shinobuden, Gokujo Seitokai, Manabi Straight, Dokurochan, DGC Nyo!), iyashi-kei (the ARIA series, Hidamari Sketch), bizarre (Pugyru, Potemayo). The most similar overall I felt was Sensei no Ojikan. Despite all the mudslinging and undue "disappointment" by some ignoramuses on internet, Lucky Star did have some solid jokes that had me in stitches every week - not something I remember Azu for.
I recently created a thread asking for a high-quality anime. The anime fans of this forum gave me slew of suggestions while poking fun at me.
So I took the words and downloaded a few of what you all recommended:
What I got was-
*Some stupid ass anime that has scifi experiment girls with invisible arms that kills people. Absolutely horrid storyline and mindless gore.
*Another anime with some goth female protagonist. You know that girl who wears eye shadows at all time. The story seemed to be too invovled with itself, citing random greek mythologies and etc. It just didn't have the pull
Are you freakin' kidding me? None of the today's anime in the past 3-4 years have been anything ground breaking or genre setting as Cowboy Bebop or Eva.
It is inevitable to get a good mix of stuff you may or may not like, given such an ambiguous qualifier as "good" or "quality". Being specific about genre, setting or characters would prove helpful. I could argue Moetan is a very high quality show in my view, but I certainly would not recommend it to you knowing what you would be looking for. Elfen Lied is a poor choice though. Was the second show Melody of Oblivion? A hit or miss series, gets a bit worse at certain parts. Wanna see something even worse? Try the recently finished (and highly controversial) School Days. For good or bad, it will definitely give you some food for thought
Not sure about what sort of "genre setting" Cowboy Bebop has done, care to list some of "wannabes" that tried to emulate it? I liked the drama and action in it, but it wasnt without faults and some cheesy episodes therein. I think it is just another case of a series being blown out of proportion by the western anime viewers.