jesus, so much "bleach beyblade fullmetal alchemist naruto" in this topic; so here's my top
three to counter balance.
1) Tentai Senshi Sunred / Astro Fighter Sunred
2) Batman: Gotham Knight
3) Samurai Champloo
Honorable Mentions (no order): Air Gear, Rideback
1)
Astro Fighter Sunred I already wrote an entire near ESSAY length OP on it, see it
here.
2)
Batman: Gotham Knight Just finished watching this set of six short film series pertaining to Batman. Each short film or short episode was created by a different studio (well, two episodes of the six were made by the same people). Despite being made by these anime studios, it is dubbed in english; one notable thing is that the voice actor for Bruce Wayne/Batman throughout the entire series is the one who voiced Batman/Bruce in the DCAU.
It is said that it can fit into almost any universe or continuity and is not meant to be canon to the Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Dark Knight Rises universe.
Action everywhere, and it's nice to see Batman portrayed in different art styles (the first episode has him depicted about 4 different ways in 12 minutes) and situations (in around two episodes, he is not seen as the "ultimate non-superpowered" superhero as he bleeds and is mortally wounded several times)
3)
Samurai Champloo Set in whenever period samurai were present, it tells the tale of three different characters with their own motives, who somehow end up having to travel together. Characters have their own distinctive personalities and adds to the realism of the series. Hip-hop elements are common throughout the series, with a hip-hop and lounge type of soundtrack.
There are some anachronisms and references to things that are considered "the future" compared to Samurai Champloo's time period, such as rimless/frameless glasses, tinted sunglasses, boomboxes, microphones, beat-boxing, etc. However I feel like this is good, as it adds a bit of silliness and further adds onto the hip-hop elements (Samurai Champloo is literally Cowboy Bebop's hip-hopping brother [directed by the same person]). The ending left a somewhat bittersweet taste in my mouth, but it was good.
Honorable Mentions:
Air Gear: Story about a boy who gets these awesome roller skates that are powered through the motorized wheels (realistically called a hub motor, this type of technology actually exists but not at the power output in Air Gear). Lots of fan service all around, and I think the series could go without it. However, I think it's created by the person who created Ikki Tousen, so that's probably why. The anime leaves the watcher almost RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of a story arc- the manga has continued and is continuing (which I read lmao)
Rideback: Story about a young prodigy ballerina who suffered an accident which caused her to no longer be able to dance. She discovers Rideback, essentially a transforming motorcycle which can turn into a bipedal (bi-wheeled..?) robot which can be used for racing (military uses have been applied). Short lived at 26 episodes, the series turned from a racing approach to a "oh my god government conspiracy let's overthrow it" story. Manga is apparently better, but I have not found enough scans to keep me interested.
That said, expect REDLINE to zoom to the top of my list (number 2, Sunred will always have a special place in my heart <3 ) when it gets released worldwide in something other than Japanese.