Lesser-known anime you might like and be interested in watching.

Genshiken

Genshiken (A.K.A. The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture) is about a boy who doesn’t know if he wants to be an anime otaku or a video games otaku. So he goes off the deep end and becomes the most otaku-ey otaku that over otaked a ku and lived happily ever after. Seriously. It’s a story about accepting yourself for who you are. The first season and the OVA adapt the manga very well. The second season, less so.

RahXephon

I imagine this is how RahXephon came into being:

Executive 1: What are we going to make for our next anime?
Executive 2: What if... what if we just made Neon Genesis Evangelion? Like, literally re-make the whole thing but with a bigger budget and call it something else?
Exec 1: I dunno, don’t people hate it for being angsty?
Exec 2: Okay, we’ll cut down on the angst by 50%. Sound good?
Exec 1: Sure. And we’ll make sure to have a mind screw ending that won’t make any real sense, right?
Exec 2: Of course. Although, perhaps we should add a coda that explains a couple things but only if you were really paying attention. You know, to make it more accessable.
Exec. 1: I like the way you think. Let’s greenlight this sucker right now!

Pumpkin Scissors

Pumpkin Scissors as a name makes no sense at all, despite a valiant effort in-universe to make sense out of it. The story in general isn’t too special and there’s a real “trying-to-be-like-Fullmetal-Alchemist-but-not” vibe to it. However, it’s executed rather well. The characters are likable and even the most cliche parts are done well enough that it’s still enjoyable. It’s not a perfect show, but it’s worth watching. Plus one of the main characters is a dude who destroys tanks with his bare hands and a large caliber pistol. That’s gotta count for something.

ZegaPain

ZegaPain would be easy to describe as “The Matrix meets Evangelion,” and that would be a fairly accurate, if simplistic description. But it’s also so much more than that. As with most great shows, the characters are what make it work, and the characters in this show are very well done. It’s also got some great plot twists you don’t necessarily see coming. The biggest problem is that it’s hard as balls to find DVDs of it anymore. I don’t ever condone piracy, but if that’s the only way you can find this show... I won’t judge you. Also, apparently there was an XBox game based on it. I have no idea how good that is though.

Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt is an excellent recommendation for the season. Based on some light novels, it has some excellent, short, multi-episode story arcs. Some of them are genuinely scary, I’ll be honest. The last story arc is a bit of a letdown, unfortunately, and they never made any more episodes based on the remaining novels. But up to that point it’s excellent. Oh, and the Christmas story will make you bawl your eyes out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Moon Station Dallos

Dallos is widely considered to be the first ever OVA. It's what you get when a Japanese animator reads The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and decides to adapt it. I last watched this a long time ago when I was a kid. I remember liking it but also not understanding what the heck was going on. It may or may not be good, but if you’re interested in the history of anime as a medium, Dallos is important to watch, if only for being the first direct-to-video anime ever.

The Vision of Escaflowne

Finally, we have Escaflowne. I remember this anime being huge back in the 90s, but I rarely see people talking about it anymore. I think it’s time for a revival. It’s an epic story of a young schoolgirl being sent to the invisible moon in the sky populated by humans, catgirls, and dragons. Oh, and they have giant mecha. Really, this show has something for everyone and it plays all of it well. It’s got romance, giant mecha battles, heroic heroes, psychotic villains, several coming-of-age stories and more. I’ve always been surprised at how well it packs so much story into 26 episodes. There’s also a movie I haven’t seen set in a different “darkest timeline” style continuity, if you’re into that sort of thing.