Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shin Seiki Evangelion)

Some consider it the best anime series ever concieved, others find it to be a depressing ride through chopped up biblocal mythos with unlikeable characters. I really enjoyed this one, but I wouldn't call it the masterwork the rabid fans like to call it. All the philosophical psychobabble is definitley cerebral and interesting, but the series leaves a hell of a lot of room to interpret and people who can't see past whats going on in the surface will definitley have trouble understanding what is going on.

Not much to say without putting in a lot of spoilers, lets just say you will either like it or hate it.

Shinji Ikari: A young boy that a lot of male fans love to hate because of his constant cowardace. I think his personality makes him all the more realistic, he isn't some superhero cliche. He tends to be meek and soft-spoken. He pilots Eva-01 and is the main character...

Misato Katsuragi: A heavy drinker and the commander of military operations for NERV, she seems immature for her age but can be serious when it counts.

Gendou Ikari: Enigmatic and always in the background his true intentions are for the most part as clear as mud until the end.

Asuka Langley Sohryu: A young girl who has a disturbing past, she has an arrogant front but is extremely depressed and suicidal as she slowly gets surpassed by Shinji in her piloting skills.

Rei Ayanami: Another enigmatic character, she seems to be an emotionless "doll". She seems to have an almost nonexistent personality, the source of which is later revealed.

Plenty more, but these are the main protagonists.

The animation quality is excellent throughout most of the series, taking a slight dip in the last few episodes. This is definitley one that lends itself better to DVD than VHS or pirated downloads.

The japanese voices are excellent, but the english dub is one to avoid, most of the voices don't even come close to fitting the characters, let alone equaling the exellent japanese cast.