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5. Uchu Kyodai (Space Brothers)

If an animated pug isn't enough to get you to watch Space Brothers, then what about it being funny as hell? If you figured out that Space Brothers has something to do with brothers who might go to space, then you get 100 internet points!

The actual story is that two brothers were fascinated with going into space, but only one brother (Hibito) actually became an astronaut. Now the older brother, Mutta, has a chance to be part of the space program. Will he join his brother in JAXA?

Even if Mutta wasn't one of the funniest characters in recent anime, I would still watch this show, because Mutta has an afro, and I support my 'fro bros.

4. Arakawa Under the Bridge

I don't mind weirdness. In fact, I welcome it. Good for me, because Arakawa Under the Bridge is completely bonkers. There are not too many anime I can think of about homelessness, and there are definitely none about homeless people who are this strange.

Our "hero" in this anime is a pompus rich boy who decides (for some reason) that he should live in the area under a bridge with a girl he's decided to become lovers with. Oh, and she claims to be from Venus. That's the least insane thing I can tell you about Arakawa. So what is it about this guy Kou that makes him want to live in this crazy society? Is he crazier than all of them? I want to find out!

3. Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World)

OH MAN! I think this is one of the most well plotted and written shows in recent memory. After just 2 episodes, I could feel that the original creator of this story put tremendous thought into the society and world he was creating.

I love a show where I cannot telegraph where the story is going to go, and what the fate of our protagonists will be. This is not a shounen show where the hero overcomes all odds. This is not a romance where the couple gets together in the end. The good guys might win- or everyone might be dead in the end. If it does end tragically, I'll be fine with that, because the story is so well told.

2. One Piece

I LOVE Dragon Ball Z, but Dragonball Z has been long over. So what's a former shounen to do? Watch one of the best anime PERIOD, that's what! One Piece is one of the most unique anime ever created, based on one of the most unique manga ever created. Eiichiro Oda is an endless well of character designs, super powers, and plots. Every time I watch an episode, I lament that One Piece didn't have a chance to be the juggernaut in the states like DBZ was.

1. Michiko to Hatchin

2008. Since 2008 this show has been largely withheld from distribution. In 2012, I finally breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that Michiko to Hatchin would be officially streaming. Michiko to Hatchin is a sister anime to Shinichiro Watanabe's works, like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. It is a Latin-flavored crime dramedy that takes place in Brazil. It's a female-led show, and this is a case where our heroes are not Asian, not European, and not American.

To have Latinas as main characters is nice, but that alone doesn't make for a show worth watching. What makes this show so beloved to me is that this feels like a labor of love, like something that people spend countless hours trying to get just right. It's the music, the characters, the scenery, just everything that makes this show worth watching. Whenever I watch Michiko to Hatchin, I feel like I'm witness to a rare phenomenon.