Haha, shoulda just edited your first post. Double posting is frowned upon

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I was going to suggest Paradise Kiss sine it is the most recent show I've watched so instead I'll suggest a good one I didn't see.

Kino's Journey

In Kino's Journey, the protagonist, Kino, accompanied by a talking motorcycle named Hermes, travels through a mystical world of many different countries and forests, each unique in its customs and people. Kino only spends three days and two nights in every town, without exception, on the principle that three days is enough time to learn almost everything important about a place, while leaving time to explore new lands.

Each episode of the 13 and two movie anime is basically a stand alone minus a single two parter in the middle. While not every episode will appeal to everyone, any episode will appeal to someone.

You can watch a review by Arkada here:http://www.glassreflection.net/videos/anime-video-reviews/kinos-journey/

Kino's Journey might break the rule you have of no "cute girls" since the eyes are drawn rather large to match the style of the light novel artist this anime was adapted from. It might be distracting but I personally wasn't bothered by it.

If you can find the two movies I'd suggest watching them as well, the first Kino's Journey: In Order to Do Something –Life Goes On, is the prequel to the anime, taking place shortly after episode four, which is a prequel of the show as well and Kino's origin story. The two parts, Episode four "Land of Adults" and the OVA "Life Goes On" Tell the story of Kino before she became the Traveler.

The second movie is Kino's Journey: Country of Illness. This one is a bit longer than most episodes and if I remember right about an hour in length. It takes place after the show, to show that Kino is still traveling after the final episode.Good movie and if you enjoy the show I'd highly suggest it.

Lastly there is the prologue/bonus episode called "Episode 0: The Tower Country -Freelance-" around 12 minutes. This episode is about a civilization that builds a tower of stone that is meant to reach heaven.

Pros
+ Episodic nature lets you easily rewatch it in any order.
+ Kino is a very interesting character who has good chemistry with most of the cast
+ Each episode explorers a concept of human nature as well as the concept of "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is [beautiful]" Because of this, a common theme is that nothing can last and everything matters more because of this. I list this as a pro because how it positively effects the show and the story telling.
+ The episode characters are for the most part original and unique enough that they don;t feel like a simple role to fill but people instead.
+ This show is great for discussions. My brother and I had hour long discussions based one each episode.

Cons
- Kino's Journey is the title, yet Kino barely changes. This is broken in the "Life Goes On" OVA because as said already, that is the story of Kino's change.
- The art style may push people away.
- Music is decent but not a track you'd listen outside the show minus the opening and ending.
- You may be tempted to buy the light novel after seeing it.

Also for those that enjoy fairy tales Princess Tutu is interesting, though I like the sub over the dub because of the main character's voice. Might fall under cute girls rule again. :http://www.glassreflection.net/videos/anime-video-reviews/princess-tutu/ Same reviewer as before.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, Umineko no Naku Koro ni.


And I agree with Dibullba about "Another". Watch it.

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Tuor: Stuff is our resident, hot mess, alcoholic.
Senel: Stuff is the patron saint of getting shitfaced. You replaced your organs with an engine that runs solely on alcohol.
RIP Lucky. I love you so much.

What manner of witchcraft are ye speaking there?

Wait, are those the animes that you really, really loved and had an avatar of one of the girls from that a few years back?

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Stufflikehearts - He is a Sith Lord. I love Blood Lord :3
Jeffffey - Blood, you look at the information someone says, look over what really happened, and reply in a way that makes them realize what they were really thinking.
Mythrrinthael - Blood Lord, our local expert in interpretation of The Grim Tales from Down Below!
Fievel - Numerous campaigns and conquests, countless bodies decaying after the abandonment of victorious battlefields. Such is the life of Blood Lord.
Dusk_Imp - Blood Lord is like a celebrity here. Everything he does is pure awesome. ALL HAIL BLOOD LORD
Doctress Who - Why couldn't there be a Blood Lord in every forum? It would make life so much easier.
Snafu's Mercypostle.

Yep! I really liked Higurashi, aka When They Cry. Umineko was pretty decent, too. Adds into the Higurashi story.

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Tuor: Stuff is our resident, hot mess, alcoholic.
Senel: Stuff is the patron saint of getting shitfaced. You replaced your organs with an engine that runs solely on alcohol.
RIP Lucky. I love you so much.

I was going to ask you about those, but I kept forgetting.

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Stufflikehearts - He is a Sith Lord. I love Blood Lord :3
Jeffffey - Blood, you look at the information someone says, look over what really happened, and reply in a way that makes them realize what they were really thinking.
Mythrrinthael - Blood Lord, our local expert in interpretation of The Grim Tales from Down Below!
Fievel - Numerous campaigns and conquests, countless bodies decaying after the abandonment of victorious battlefields. Such is the life of Blood Lord.
Dusk_Imp - Blood Lord is like a celebrity here. Everything he does is pure awesome. ALL HAIL BLOOD LORD
Doctress Who - Why couldn't there be a Blood Lord in every forum? It would make life so much easier.
Snafu's Mercypostle.

I would have to suggest Little Busters. It definitely breaks the cute girls rule, but it's a Key anime, and seeing as you've seen all the other Key animes, you know what to expect.

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A grain of truth in every lie, a hidden lie in every truth

If you got sick of the world, and made it better to gain some peace of mind, would you be selfish or selfless?

Somebody mentioned it a while ago (though I did not realize since they used the english terminology), but Acchi Kocchi is definitely worth the watch. It is a bit of a cutesy anime, but where it shines is in the comedy and character interaction. Here is a part of an ep as an example. Do not worry about spoilers though, this is not a plot heavy anime.

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I've got an idea. How about the little-known anime "Skullman".

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The Bringer of death and chaos to the World of humans!!

"Why so Serious?"

Try Deadman Wonderland, the anime's only 12 episodes, and there's lots of cliff hangers at the end, but it's awsome.

If you truly enjoyed the anime, try reading the visual novels. Trust me, they are infinitely better than the anime adaptations.



While I do like the fact that   Higurashi took place in a different universe, and Bernkastel is only the result of all the Rikas that have died reaching critical mass and becoming a horribly twisted woman after Rika separated herself from her witch side in Saikoroshi-hen   , I can't say I was pleased by Ryukishi insinuating that    Bernkastel and Lambda take the world of Higurashi for nothing more than a game board, especially since Bern was once a part of Rika. The fact that Lambdadelta granted Takano the wish that turned her into the god-wannabe we see in Higurashi just makes it even worse.   

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Gaze into nothingness and despair!

as a transfan and whovian i can say that the novelizations are far better.

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"Small muscles, big brain, the heart of a lion."
—Anthony DiNozzo on Timothy McGee

Adding in to the list of recommendations, let me tell you about this series I just finished watching - Gankutsuou.



A paraphrase of the famous book, The Count of Monte Cristo, it is a fantastic series that doesn't ever feel like an anime - and, in this case, that is a superb thing. Sure enough, it is not as memorable as the book - but that is pretty much the same thing as saying not everything is as hot the sun. Truly one of the best adaptations I've seen in a very, very long time.

Plus, the visual style, with its artsy use of the "unmoving plaid" technique, is truly dazzling. There are some people who find it annoying, but I, for one, was completely awed by it.

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Gaze into nothingness and despair!

I've heard of that anime, for some reason I felt skeptical about it because the way it was represented when I was introduced to it, it looked like a plain old adaption of another book, but this is highly convincing. God, just look at that art, so brilliant.

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The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called "agglets". Their true purpose is sinister.

As for anime this season, not much standing out. Only two have me interested which are Hakkenden: Toughou Hakken Ibun and Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman which is essentially Lupin in the past.

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