I apologize in advance(once again)if there is already a thread similar to this one BUT I'm curious about this.I would like know which are the best anime series of all time according to you guys and your reasons for those animes to be regarded as masterpieces in the industry.In my case,I think Steins;Gate is one of the best animes for various reasons:The outstanding character development,solid scientific theories about time travelling and its subsequent effect,the drama,the action,the romance..Uff,I absolutely loved EVERYTHING about that animeDefinitely,one of the best time travel stories(if not the best one)ever made as well as being the anime of a lifetime!.Now,with that said,go ahead and tell me which do you think are the best animes ever and why.

My favorite of all time is Ayashi no Ceres.
Some other great animes are Death Note, Code Geass, both Vampire Hunter D movies, and Welcome to the NHK to name a few.

My favorite is Naruto, probably in most part because that was my first anime ever. 

vanelan : DeathNote was pretty good. I actually watched it in English. Pleasantly surprised

My all time favorite anime hmm need to think.

vanelan : Ah,Ayashi no CeresMan,I have many good and sad memories from that anime and I still hold it close to my heart.It was one of the few anime series I've successfully watched from start to finish since(for one reason or another)I tend to start watching an anime and then go like:''Okay,this is not bad but I don't think it appeals to me the most,you know?''However,if memory serves,the first anime I've watched all the way to the end as well as being the first one I became a fan of was Rurouni Kenshin.Now,that anime was 100% appealing to me.In fact,the series as a whole isI still need to read the manga and watch the live-action films Rurouni Kenshin:Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends(well,maybe I'll rewatch the anime films since I don't remember them as clearly as the OVAs)

Best ever?  well there are a lot of really good anime out there once you start looking, most o the popular ones are, at there core, just plain horrible, but the hidden gems are where it's at.

Clannad (and after story) : Only anime that has ever made me consistently cry/tear/question reality for at least 3 consecutive episodes.  Really well made, makes you think, very emotionally connected.

Elfen Lied:  One of few shorter anime that really packs a punch, beyond the blood, gore, b00bs and such, there are intricate plot developments and believable characters to back it up.  Definitely worth a watch if you have not seen.

Monster:  One of my personal favorites, for some it is hard to get into, but if you are the type that likes to think of what will happen next before it happens, then go here, it will test your mental might (kind of old though )

So yeah, there are a lot of anime that deserve to be at the top of any anime list that don't get the credit that they deserve, but that list is  humongous and deserves many posts

xxdougiexxfreshx : Oh yeah! Neon Genesis Evangelion,baby! lolKidding aside,I've considered myself a mecha fan since I started watching the Gundam metaseries and Macross aka Robotech franchise.I heard that Evangelion is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed anime television series of the 1990s.It was THE anime that serve the purpose of reviving the anime industry both artistically and technically after the economy crisis in Japan during the 80s and towards the beginning of the 90s,which greatly affected the performance of many anime companies and their respective business models.Of course,midway through production,the creator Hideaki Anno made it into a heavy critique of the culture and a deconstruction of the mecha genre(it was different from the Real robot mecha subgenre,animes like Gundam and Macross are good examples in this case).He wanted it to be the ultimate otaku anime but sadly it ended up being way too controversial for its own good.I heard it has many psychological and religious themes.References to the bible like Adam,Lilith,Eve,the Kabbalistic Tree of Life or elements of the works of Sigmund Freud,Jean Paul Sartre,among many others.I think is incredible how much content they added to Evangelion.In fact,I became interested in watching Evangelion after beating Xenogears(that game has one of the best stories in any game ever made)since it was influenced by it.I will watch the anime TV series plus the anime films before this year is over,that's for sure