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[Boksi]

Just wait until the final boss fight, Toony. It took me so many retries. So many.

Oh, and don't worry about that freaking four-attack blitz. They'll only do it once. I think.

[Nilum]

1. I really do not have too much stomach for “cutesy”, I must confess.
2. Reading subtitles would degrade the experience too far.
3. I would prefer something suspenseful or mysterious, but note that I have no taste for horror—I spend too much time alone with my imagination for that!
4. Well-dressed people are not a requirement but a boon. That would be “well-dressed” by my eccentric standards—good hats, frock coats, spectacles, boots, and the like. I suppose it is a rather strange thing to add, but I have not too much else.
5. Anything cerebral would please me—something that might give my mind something to chew.

This probably is a naïve, vacuous list, but I know nothing of anime, and I rarely watch any kind of entertainment at all, so it is hard to speak of my tastes. I chose this anime topic because I think I would like to watch something in addition to the occasional The Twilight Zone episode, and this seemed as good a place to start as any.

As has been mentioned before, Death Note. You can check off suspenseful and cerebral -- and the dub is pretty good. It's certainly not cutesy. It plays out much like a game of cat and mouse -- a genius detective trying to catch a killer who commits his crimes with a supernatural tool. It was what got me into anime, and what I gave to my friends to get them into it, as well. I honestly haven't watched it in years, so I have no idea how much I'd like it today (I'm sure my tastes have changed significantly) but it's certainly worth a shot. If you watch the first couple of episodes and aren't hooked, then maybe consider moving on to something else.

I'd probably recommend not watching Gurren Lagann right away, as it succumbs to some serious anime tropes that could turn off a newcomer. I'm looking at you, Yoko.

Baccano! is a great suggestion, though -- it manages to be funny, suspenseful, and (at times) hotblooded. I don't have experience with the dub, though.

If you want choices, there's Yume Miru Kusuri, but YMMV with it.

I seem to remember really enjoying Yume Miru Kusuri (with the exception of the student council president route) -- it was also the first VN I played that actually had good art, so that might have something to do with it. Word of warning: the story can get a little heavy at times.

quinnr: Clannad is the visual novel I'd recommend -- so long as you aren't going for the true end, it's not ultra-difficult and the heroines are some of the best. I haven't actually cleared it yet -- I stopped midway through to focus my efforts on Fate/Stay Night and wound up forgetting about it after falling into the hole that is the Nasuverse.

Higurashi (and from what I've gathered, Umineko) definitely aren't for everyone, but if you can get past the art and you like mysteries, I'd definitely give them another shot once you have more experience with VNs.

Also, I've heard really great things about Steins;Gate; I loved the anime, so it's next on my list of things to play (after the rest of Higurashi and Umineko...), so maybe it's worth a shot.

[Flying Dice]

1. I really do not have too much stomach for “cutesy”, I must confess.
2. Reading subtitles would degrade the experience too far.
3. I would prefer something suspenseful or mysterious, but note that I have no taste for horror—I spend too much time alone with my imagination for that!
4. Well-dressed people are not a requirement but a boon. That would be “well-dressed” by my eccentric standards—good hats, frock coats, spectacles, boots, and the like. I suppose it is a rather strange thing to add, but I have not too much else.
5. Anything cerebral would please me—something that might give my mind something to chew.

This probably is a naïve, vacuous list, but I know nothing of anime, and I rarely watch any kind of entertainment at all, so it is hard to speak of my tastes. I chose this anime topic because I think I would like to watch something in addition to the occasional The Twilight Zone episode, and this seemed as good a place to start as any.

As has been mentioned before, Death Note. You can check off suspenseful and cerebral -- and the dub is pretty good. It's certainly not cutesy. It plays out much like a game of cat and mouse -- a genius detective trying to catch a killer who commits his crimes with a supernatural tool. It was what got me into anime, and what I gave to my friends to get them into it, as well. I honestly haven't watched it in years, so I have no idea how much I'd like it today (I'm sure my tastes have changed significantly) but it's certainly worth a shot. If you watch the first couple of episodes and aren't hooked, then maybe consider moving on to something else.

I'd probably recommend not watching Gurren Lagann right away, as it succumbs to some serious anime tropes that could turn off a newcomer. I'm looking at you, Yoko.

Baccano! is a great suggestion, though -- it manages to be funny, suspenseful, and (at times) hotblooded. I don't have experience with the dub, though.

The dub was decent enough, and Ladd was deliciously hammy.

Agreed on waiting on TTGL, for the same reason. Reasons.

[Neonivek]

Could always make him watch Macross the english version

Which is three space animes turned into one. The issue is that it may have too classical voice acting for anyone who isn't old.

[Reelya]

Could always make him watch Macross the english version

Which is three space animes turned into one. The issue is that it may have too classical voice acting for anyone who isn't old.

That's Robotech if you mean 3-in-1. If you say Macross in English, you're talking about the 2006 ADV Dub, or Macross Plus, which was also Dubbed. I have some nostalgic memories of Robotech from my youth, but rewatching it in it's entirety, the fusion of 3 un-related series introduces too many plot-holes and ludicrous dialogue. Most of the voice acting isn't too bad though.

[Leafsnail]

Higurashi (and from what I've gathered, Umineko) definitely aren't for everyone, but if you can get past the art and you like mysteries, I'd definitely give them another shot once you have more experience with VNs.

Also, I've heard really great things about Steins;Gate; I loved the anime, so it's next on my list of things to play (after the rest of Higurashi and Umineko...), so maybe it's worth a shot.

There's art patches for all of Higurashi and Umineko (just as well, I don't think I could've got through Higurashi otherwise) now.  Voices for most of Umineko too, you should probably get them because the voices are pretty good.

[Enzo]

Unrelated to the rest of this post, has anyone seen The Girl Who Leapt Through Time? It was recommended to me and I didn't really think I'd enjoy it, but I enjoyed it a lot, and I don't really know why. One of those.

1. I really do not have too much stomach for “cutesy”, I must confess.
2. Reading subtitles would degrade the experience too far.
3. I would prefer something suspenseful or mysterious, but note that I have no taste for horror—I spend too much time alone with my imagination for that!
4. Well-dressed people are not a requirement but a boon. That would be “well-dressed” by my eccentric standards—good hats, frock coats, spectacles, boots, and the like. I suppose it is a rather strange thing to add, but I have not too much else.
5. Anything cerebral would please me—something that might give my mind something to chew.

Serial Experiments Lain! One of my favourites, not recommended yet. A story about a girl, the internet, suicide, club drugs, creepy government agent guys, god, and internet-god.
1) Not cutesy. Not at all. Although I guess Lain has bear-pajamas.
2) Admittedly, I don't think it had the greatest dub. I don't fully recall because I usually prefer subs anyway.
3) "Suspenseful/mysterious" for sure. Often creepy and unsettling, but definitely not horror.
4) Bear-pajamas. Visually most of the cool stuff is in the settings rather than the outfits, though.
5) Lain is borderline mindfuck territory.

OK, that's not actually a very good sell. But trust me, it's awesome, especially if the criteria is "cerebral, suspense, mystery".

Baccano and Cowboy Bebop are also really good recommendations, and much more fast paced and action-y. Cowboy Bebop is an absolute classic, Baccano is very entertaining.

[Nilum]

There's art patches for all of Higurashi and Umineko (just as well, I don't think I could've got through Higurashi otherwise) now.  Voices for most of Umineko too, you should probably get them because the voices are pretty good.

I'd heard about the Umineko patches, but I didn't realize there was an art patch for Higurashi, too. This is amazing. I feel motivated to finish Higurashi, suddenly. I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight.

[Tellemurius]

Could always make him watch Macross the english version

Which is three space animes turned into one. The issue is that it may have too classical voice acting for anyone who isn't old.

That's Robotech if you mean 3-in-1. If you say Macross in English, you're talking about the 2006 ADV Dub, or Macross Plus, which was also Dubbed. I have some nostalgic memories of Robotech from my youth, but rewatching it in it's entirety, the fusion of 3 un-related series introduces too many plot-holes and ludicrous dialogue. Most of the voice acting isn't too bad though.

Macross was before Robotech i believe and Robotech was a spinoff of Macross

[Lord Shonus]

Robotech was the first Macross series smashed with two unrealted series in order to reach the 65 episodes that US stations require for syndication. While it was an admirable effort, the patches show quite a bit.

[Neonivek]

Robotech was the first Macross series smashed with two unrealted series in order to reach the 65 episodes that US stations require for syndication. While it was an admirable effort, the patches show quite a bit.

You mean the fact that the stories actually feel completely unrelated anyhow?

I actually don't mind that so much.

So much time passed between them that I always treated it like it was just three seperate things that all happened to earth.

[ToonyMan]

There's art patches for all of Higurashi and Umineko (just as well, I don't think I could've got through Higurashi otherwise) now.  Voices for most of Umineko too, you should probably get them because the voices are pretty good.

I'd heard about the Umineko patches, but I didn't realize there was an art patch for Higurashi, too. This is amazing. I feel motivated to finish Higurashi, suddenly. I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight.

I played Higurashi with a lot of patches if it's worth saying.

Umineko was completely vanilla for me.  Which is sad, because the voice actors they got were top quality.  I started to like the art anyway.  HAM HANDS

Actually I've noticed VNs always get good VAs.  There are some scenes from Corpse Party I'd love to show if they weren't major spoilers.

EDIT:
Oh and it's worth saying the MC in Dangan Ronpa has the same VA as Shinji from NGE.  And another character does the main character in Persona 3 as well, though I don't know my Shin Megami Tensei.  Oh and one of them is DORAEMON.

[Neonivek]

That is because Visual Novels tend to be told entirely through speach and narration.

They sort of need good voice actors to even be viable.

While an manga tends to be a bit more visual.

As for Animes that are original... I have no idea. Heck I don't even know many (or just about any) animes that are original works unless they are also a movie.

[ToonyMan]

Most VNs I've played don't have voice actors though.  It's not required at all.

[Neonivek]

Most VNs I've played don't have voice actors though.  It's not required at all.

Yes but why get a voice actor for a medium that is PURE speach unless it is good?

It would be like getting actor for a martial arts movie who can't throw a punch.