Most of my exposure with anime was whatever was on Toonami and Adult Swim in the 2000s. I've not watched stuff like, Ghost In The Shell, Cowboy Bebop (only disjointed episodes out of order), Neon Genesis Evangelion, which I know are highly regarded.
I've seen just about every Miyazaki movie at this point. I've seen Akeria.
I'm sure there's more mainstream shows and non mainstream shows that I'm missing and would enjoy.
Thoughts?
+1 on Utena being the greatest show of all time. it's a work of art with peerless depth and actual academic papers written about it. and yet one of the main characters turns into a cow. not a magical cow. an actual, grazing cow. seriously, I cannot stress enough how much this show is essential viewing.
the cow thing is super thematically important! it's a good representation of her relationship with her family and with the patriarchy and the grooming she experiences! the bit where she lays an egg is even more thematically important, and also very funny