We asked our esteemed Cheezburger anime fans what anime someone who had never seen one before should watch, and they came up with some solid ideas. If you're in the market for an anime to try, check out the most popular suggestions below, and get watching! Most of these anime can be found on Hulu and Netflix, so you've got no reason not to try.
1. Howl's Moving Castle - Adapation of a book by a Westerner, and IMO, better than the book in many ways. The movie is a nearly flawless execution of the fairy tale formula, and its magic philosophy is wonderful when applied as a general life lesson. I'm as a whole not giving sub vs dub arguments here because both have their merits (even though I hate Japanese voices with a passion and there are many more mainstream talented English VAs that are capable of actual acting unlike your typical hammily-overacting Japanese VA *cough*) but I'd strongly recommend the English dub of Howl, as it's got Billy Crystal as Calcifer, Jean Simmons as Sophie, and Christian Bale as Howl, and they fit their roles very well. It even has Crispin Freeman in a very brief role at the end! (Itachi's VA, if you watched dubbed Naruto)Other popular Ghibli films include My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo, both of which have versions released by Disney if you're not ready to get your feet wet with subtitles.
2. Princess Mononoke - This movie gets a huge reputation as an environmentalist movie, but I see it as a more mature movie than that, an epic tale (except for the main character in the first third of the movie, but w/e) of an old and primal world of mythology clashing with a new world of industry and civilization, where each are struggling to live in a war that is unavoidable without one world dying away completely. It's an amazing idea with amazing art and amazing characterization.
3. Poro Rosso – The story of a former WWI flying ace trying to deal with life having been turned into a pig. It's really a very simple movie, but the atmosphere is beautiful, the loving care put into the scenery is moving, and the movie's ability to switch back and forth between relaxed and fast-paced is leads to some very nicely-paced conversations and dogfights.
4. Spirited Away – While not one of my favorites, this movie is undeniably a classic. Think of it as a sort of Japanese Alice in Wonderland steeped in Japanese mythology. I'll at least admit the visuals can be very nice, as in nearly every Ghibli film.
5. Laputa: The Castle in the Sky – I only recently developed an appreciation for this movie, but it's honestly very good. If I were to compare it to anything else, It'd be Tin Tin mixed with Final Fantasy VI. Some of the best Ghibli art direction, in my opinion, can be found in this movie, though the tone is simultaneously a bit too juvenile and preachy for my tastes.