1. Kagerou Project:


It's really complicated and I just fell in love with the concept and all the characters. Basically, there was a Medusa named Azami who fell in love with a soldier. They wanted to be together forever, but that wasn't possible because the soldier was human and would one day die. Because of this Azami creates a never-ending world where time forever stands still, but it backfires when villagers find out about the existence of a Medusa.

They nearly kill her husband and Azami runs to never-ending world by herself so her husband and daughter can live in peace.

OTL explaining everything would require an essay xD but the gist of it is, something goes really wrong and some of the snakes manage to leave the never-ending world and enter our own. So every time someone dies on the 15th of August they get sent to the never-ending world.

The story revolves around a handful of teens who die on August 15. They are brought back to life by the snakes from Azami's world and come back with eye powers.

2. K-ON!


It doesn't really have a plot and is somewhat like Lucky Star. It's basically about a five high school girls who decide to form a band xD it's pretty silly and good for grins and giggles.

3. Hell Girl


This was great xD! It can be kind of bloody and disturbing at times, but the story is interesting and the art is pretty too. It's about a website called Hell Correspondence. It can only be accessed at midnight. You type in the name of the person you want dead and Hell girl exacts revenge for you, but in exchange you'll go to hell when you die. It starts off as a bunch of different stories but eventually everything comes together and it's just amazing.

4. Ano Hana


It has feels in it ;A; it's about six child hood friends who drift apart after one of their friends drown in a creek.

5. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0


It also has feels in it. //shot

1. One Piece!


So, I thought this show would be stupid and just drawn out and eventually come pointless like Naruto and Bleach //shot but as I watched it, I fell in love with the show. Well, because they're pirates seeking adventure that's for sure! I also appreciate how they develop as a pirate family and their determination to to never give up and they stand as a team, the sudden sad moments that hit you hard, and even lists thousands of reasons... It's just an anime/manga I'd recommend if you have the time. Ha, I don't even know how I caught up...

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2. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann!



Wow. This anime, it taught me things that I didn't expect. They have some amazing, quotable things in this anime, one of them being Reject common sense and make the impossible possible .
Like, this anime is so hardcore and yet so deep in a subliminal type of way. And I don't know, but the sudden attack of feels here and there really get to you. (This is around 27 episodes if you're willing. I think you should.) It's amazing.
Here's an AMV that depicts the show in a beautiful way.

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3. Soul Eater!



The concept of the show was pretty interesting to me. Meisters and weapons gathering 99 souls and 1 witch's soul in order to have a Death Weapon etc etc. I just think it's a cool anime. I HATED the ending though haha, but I hear the manga is better. (20 or so episodes)
Here's a cool AMV with them in it.

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4. Durarara!



Well. It's a funny name to say for one. The concept of gangs fighting might sound boring to you, but not when they add twists and turns. This city itself and all of its people is weird. From obsession over a relationship to having some unheard power to having monstrous strength because you're just crazy... Yeah. Ha, this is an interesting anime. Short (20 or so episodes), but I believe the manga is still going.

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5. Deadman Wonderland!



Oh my, how could I almost forget about one of my favorite bloody anime!? Corrupted Prisons and whatnot. Actually, I think they stopped the anime with a cliffhanger and left it to the manga which I should go look up . This is pretty intense, and bloody, and cool. Watch it!

Man I realize that I've seen a lot of anime and yet not that many at the same time... Like I read Blue Exorcist and haven't seen the show yet. But it was a good manga... Hm, Death Note was legit although I didn't finish it, but I had people tell me about it...

OH MY GOODNESS Space Dandy would be high for top 5! And I don't even know why! That show is kind of stupid, weird, and just....weird. But there are episodes where it seems like some actual in depth story is being told, but I don't know why I like, the show. But yeah, Space Dandy...

I'll leave out some details don't want to spoil it after all.

Toradora

I don't even know where to start with this anime, it's based off the light novel by Yuyuko Takemiya who also made Golden Time and had a manga made of it (which is also recommended). I've watched slice of life's before but when I came across this one it hit me and I couldn't stop watching it. The story is about a boy name Ryuji Taksasu and a girl named Taiga Aisaka who band together to help each other with their respective love interests which happen to be the two's friends. Watching the two of them try to gain the affection of the people they love was endearing but even more was watching the two of them grow and support each other through the series. The trials the two had the face, selfishness, hate, betrayal aaaah it's so good I'd watch it over and over again. (Which I have but you get the point). It has a nice dose of humor, the voice acting is great (japanese anyway, english dub is meh). The OST is memorable and when things get serious it's hard for the heart not to pound. I'd recommend this to my worst enemy.


Clannad

The feels....that's...that's all this anime is, it's made by KEY who just...just...hurt...KEY hurts. Anyway the anime revolves more around the characters and how their world is shaped and changed by one another. It was a VN before so there are 'routes' in a way and each one is equally painful to watch but it's so engrossing it's hard to look away, there aren't always happy endings so be prepared for that. The anime mixes a good blend of comedy and tragedy which I don't get to see very often, it's hard not to fall in love with the characters as well.


Hellsing(OVA)
With respect to those who have read Twilight and Vampire Knight (I've read them as well to be fair) I will withhold my comments on a proper vampire and skip right to the core, this anime is beautifully done. The OVA's follow the manga so I'd recommend them over the tv series (though it's not too bad it doesn't have the depth the OVA's do). The stories revolves around the Hellsing Organization who hunt those that bump in the night, they are situated in London and to put it simply they get stuff done. I can't find the words to explain this anime and the things it touches but just...blood, gore, insanity, religious affiliation, vampires, guns, and explosions. If it hasn't been seen I'd recommend it.
I'd say watch it in English cause of the accents and the voicework which is really good, nothing like a Scottish bayonet wielding killer's monologue but I'd say listen to it in Japanese once...just to hear Alucard voice Jouji Nakata....just...all day. The animation not bad either.


Samurai Champloo
Samurai wielding swords and fighting during the edo period with hip hop influences nuff said. Kidding aside the anime is roughly about that, a break dancing foul mouthed samurai and a quiet samurai with insane kind of speed accompany a young girl looking for another. Watching the three interact with each other is funny enough but add in fight scenes, some character development, and a soundtrack that compliments all of that perfectly and you have a good gem worth watching.


Watamote
I went into this anime with low expectations actually but I figured eh why not, couldn't hurt to watch a few episodes. Eight episodes later day was breaking and I was staring nine. The anime follows a female protagonist who is...to put it simply an otaku entering high school with the expectancy of being popular, this may have been seen before, minus the otaku part or a few other tidbits but the way this anime handles this girls journey is beautifully done. The animation isn't flashy but it compliments the casual style, the facial expressions sell her emotions almost as much as her inner monologues and watching Tomoko blame the world for her unpopularity is unnerving but endearing at the same time, even more so when she comes to realize she may have a hand in her solitude. I see plenty of anime with a beautiful well groomed and well mannered protagonist beloved by all or many, not this anime. She barely exists and tries immensely hard to fix that, some things in the anime may even touch home for a few people.


If it wasn't clear from the selection I love me some anime with feels and character development, Hellsing is the only one of those with more story focus.
I sat for hours trying to narrow down anime and I figured I'd be there all day so I avoided any from the recent seasons and just stuck with some older ones that made an impression. (Except Watamote which was in 2013 making it more recent)
There are some honorable mentions like Ghost in the Shell but I'll be here all day if I don't stop here.

1. Code Geass

If you like Mecha, Politics with Royals, world domination, revenge, supernatural abilities, plot twists and/or (school) drama, Code Geass is for you. Its set in an alternate universe Earth where The Queen of England was forced out of England and relocated the seat of the British Empire to the 13 colonies, thus creating Britannia, which by the show's opening has become one of the world's 3 superpowers, along with the Chinese Federation and the European Union. It mainly focuses on Japan, which has been occupied by Britannia and renamed Area 11.



2. Death Note

Plot twists and supernatural stuff. 'Nuff said. A model student finds a supernatural notebook that allows you to kill someone simply by writing their name in it. He then uses it to cleanse the world of crime, and gets caught in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the police investigator sent to catch him.



3. Black Lagoon

Modern (90s) piracy in the South China seas. Okajima Rokuro is a Japanese salaryman whose been kidnapped by the crew of the PT boat 'Black Lagoon,' but ends up joining them. It's a very fun series that deals with the darkness of the human soul. And crime. And nuns. And nazis, but only for a few episodes. All in all, quite fun.



4. Elfen Lied

I understand the anime doesn't follow the manga very well, but this was the only one that got me the closest to tears. It follows a new breed of humans with nearly supernatural abilities called Diclonii, and their interactions with humans.



5. Trigun

The first anime I ever watched will always hold a special place in my heart. On the planet Gunsmoke, Vash the Stampede, the Humanoid Typhoon, is a wanted criminal with a stupendous bounty upon his head, but he's not exactly what you would expect a wanted criminal to be like. Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, agents of the Bernardelli Insurance Company, are sent to find and follow him and evaluate his danger to people and property.

When the boat flew in the air and he used that missile on the helicopter I went "I'm buying the rest of this anime."

It wasn't a missile, it was a torpedo, which makes it even more ridiculous.