I've only really been paying attention to anime that have been coming out recently, especially in the last few years. I think the oldest anime outside of Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh that I've ever watched was Toradora and that only goes back to 2008. What are some of the best old ones, like pre 2000's or even 2000-2004ish?

Of course, I'm going to say Dragon Ball is a super fun series and I believe the anime started in the 80s if I recall correctly and the original dragon ball has a larger focus on the adventure aspect than just fighting unlike it's sequels such as Z and Super, that said if you like Dragon Ball I can say you should start watching Dragon Ball Kai right after since it's just Z but without filler but even then Dragon Ball is quite the long series so I can understand not wanting to dive into something like that.

I have only two words to say: Cowboy Bebop.

Heh heh, today is my birthday and I listened to the Spanish ending song of Hamtaro again. I would say that Hamtaro is a great and fun anime series. Other old anime series I highly recommend are Hime-chan no ribbon, the original Sailor Moon series, Flone on the marvelous island and Ghost Stories...the English dub of Ghost Stories is popular and it's a fun series if one is looking for humor, but I'm more familiar with the Spanish dub.

Berserk, Cowboy Bebop, Lupin the Third, DB + DBZ, Neon Genesis Evangelion...

Can't think of anything else I would really recommend after those. I know there are a couple that are worth watching that I can't think of right now.

[edit] Ghost in the Shell! Can't believe I forgot that one.

Hajime no Ippo is the best Anime I've ever seen, bar none. You don't even have to like boxing to enjoy it. It's an emotional roller coaster, and really uplifting.

.

Clearly everyone is forgetting this one gem of an amine that is better than the manga.

I would go for the typical dragon ball z or yu-gi-oh (especially toriyama’s version) but this month fate brought me to this one anime and I immediately got hooked into it

Yu Yu Hakusho was brilliant, bit slow at the beginning but as it progressed things got more interesting, especially when the Dark Tournament Saga revved into full gear (best tournament arc I’ve seen after I made my tournament arc thread, grrr). The romance between Yusuke and Keiko is well made and more grounded than most other action anime. Even if the ending was rushed it was a great one nonetheless.

If something more symbolic, Revolutionary Girl Utena is also a must watch. Don’t even say anything I thought it would be girly but the anime really sucked me in til the ending…

Those are two animes I enjoyed that differ from the usual tropes

Yu Yu Hakusho and Hajime no Ippo are big ones that are very close to my heart that were already mentioned. Cowboy Bebop is also very excellent.

I also love Fist of the North Star. It's actually my favorite anime, though I'm not very vocal about it.

Does One Piece count? that's like peak fiction right there.

.

zanderlex : Akira, hunter X Hunter, Fist of the north star, cowboy bebop, black lagoon, ghost in a shell(the movie), code launch, gundam, lord of the flies(movie).

I will throw another vote at YuYu hakusho and will also toss another two that I did not see anyone mention, Outlaw Star and Trigun. There also Slayers for another nice anime.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is probably one of the best things I've ever seen much less an anime. I'm glad it has the recognition and praise that it has, because it really is something special for its time and I think a lot of newer filmmakers and animators are going for a similarly introspective vibe that where other anime would focus on the mech and the mechanics behind it, it focuses on the people, or the children that operate them and how it affects them mentally. Enough has been said about the show already, but the last couple of episodes when things get really dark psychologically cemented the show in my mind as a key coming of age story.

alexanyways : I keep hearing so many good things about it. I basically know all the characters by now and I love the opening but never bothered to see it yet.

I’ve recently started watching Saint Seiya : Guardians of the Zodiac on Crunchyroll and I’ve vaguely remembered it somehow if it was on Cartoon Network or somewhere. I mean for an anime from the late 80s - early 90s it’s pretty good. I highly recommend it if into 90s action

Cowboy Bebop of course.

Oh, and Outlaw Star too. The uncensored version.