Anime/manga recommendations:
Fullmetal Alchemist-alchemist brothers lose mom to disease and figure that they can bring her back to life through alchemy--big mistake. Ed ends up with mechanical limbs, Al ends up with his soul attached to a suit of armor. How to recover Al's lost body--can the mysterious Philosopher's Stone help? And what does it have to do with the deadly humonculi? (a sucky US dub is now on Adult Swim, and being released in stores-anime series is finished-except for movie projects--manga series is still going)
Trigun--set against the backdrop of the far future, some sort of colonization fleet from earth crash-lands on desert planet, survivor culture mirrors US old west. Two brothers with supernatural powers fight to decide the future of the human survivors. One brother, Vash the Stampede, causes such much destruction where ever he goes that he is labeled a walking natural disaster. Two ladies from the Bernadelli Insurance Agency are sent to monitor him and keep him from causing more claims against the agency. (decent dub--anime is done, manga is still being released--music from this series was also good)
One Piece--don't be put off by the weird art--a great story about a young pirate who wants to become Pirate King and find the treasure One Piece. He collects strong comrades along the way, each with their own dream to fulfill. Great emphasis on friendship. (don't, don't, DON"T watch the funimation slaughter of it if you can any way get around it--look for a official release that has the original series, Japanese voices with subtitles--both anime and manga are ongoing)
Cardcaptor Sakura--girl opens book in archaeologist's dad study, magic cards come flying out, turn into various creatures and take off to plague Tokyo, she is ordered by keeper of the book to re-capture creatures-then a rival card-captor appears. Don't let the big-eyed art fool you, series is well-written, with good character development. (both anime and manga are finished--beware of the the edited US version Cardcaptors--it isn't a dub of the Japanese series)
Fruits Basket--orphaned schoolgirl meets family under a strange curse and seeks to help them undo it. (US dub was good quality, anime finished, manga ongoing)
Naruto--goofy ninja kid dreams of being top ninja in town, unaware that his body houses spirit of deadly demon, the Nine-Tailed Fox. (Cartoon Network has a dub of this on now--both anime and manga are ongoing)
Bleach--boy who can see ghosts meets shinigami, accidently causes her a severe injury, and must take her place fighting bad ghosts "hollow" during her recuperation. ( both anime and manga are ongoing, anime only available in fansub so far, but it will probably be licensed soon-manga already licensed)
Samurai Champloo--masterless samurai and fight-loving bandit accompany a restaurant worker on her quest for "the samurai who smells like sunflowers." (ditto what everyone else has been saying)
Cowboy Bebop (''--also check out series soundtracks)
Hellsing--ancient monster-fighting organization in England keeps pet vampire as a secret weapon, must fight resurrection of Nazi menace armed w/werewolves and zombies. (decent dub, anime series done, new OVA's still coming out, manga ongoing)
Samurai Deeper Kyo--mild mannered travelling apothecary shares body with famous deadly samurai Demon Eyes Kyo; is accompanied by female bounty hunter who schemes after Demon Eyes Kyo's bounty. (decent dub, anime done, manga ongoing)
Ranma 1/2--teenage martial artist and dad fall into cursed springs during martial arts training; boy turns into girl when doused w/cold water, dad turns into panda, hot water reverses the effects (decent dub, although lead character voice actor changes mid-series, anime and manga done)
Inu Yasha--school girl falls down temple well, ends ups in feudal Japan, meets dog-demon and other assorted characters (pretty bad dubs except for title role, anime done, manga ongoing)
Mantanti Loki Ragnorak aka Mythical Detective Loki--strange yet charming series about a girl who's obsessed with the supernatural and the seemingly grade-school aged kid she meets who runs a detective agency. (anime done, unsure of manga status, not licensed or released by anyone in US--check ebay for hong kong dvd subs)
Shingetsutan Tsukihime--I hear this was based on a h-game, but you can't tell it. Boy who has been mysteriously fostered out by family is just as mysteriously called home again. A murderer is stalking the city. On the way to his new home, boy commits an monstrous crime--or was it just a dream? (licensed, should be available for purchase from most anime sources)
New this season, unlicensed, you can only get fansubs so far:
Mushishi--man travels through Japan hunting Mushi--a sort of supernatural building block of life--ridding people of their more harmul manifestations. It's a slow quiet tale, with beautiful animation--almost like a Ghibli series, without the obiquitous girl.
Blood +--girl with no memory is adopted by family. Gradually it comes to light that she is much older than she seems--an ancient being whose job/curse is to hunt other ancient creatures who prey on mankind.
Best source for finding out where to get fansubs of unlicensed series is
http://www.animesuki.com. They are extremely scrupulous about licensing. If you have the option, I recommend watching the shows in Japanese with subtitles. The Japanese anime voice actors make the US dub actors sound like wooden poles. For me, listening to the American dubs of my favorite series is akin to hearing fingernails on a chalkboard.
