Serial Experiments Lain

We're all connected... There is the world around us, a world of people, tactile sensation, and culture. There is the wired world, inside the computer, of images, personalities, virtual experiences, and a culture all of its own. The day after a classmate commits suicide, Lain, a 14-year-old girl, discovers how closely the two worlds are linked when she receives an e-mail from the dead girl: I just abandoned my body. I still live here... Has the line between the real world and the wired world begun to blur? (Source: Geneon Entertainment)

Perfect Blue

Rising pop star Mima has quit singing to pursue a career as an actress and model, but her fans aren’t ready to see her go... Encouraged by her managers, Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima’s reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia. As her stalker closes in, in person and online, the threat he poses is more real than even Mima knows, in this iconic psychological thriller that has frequently been hailed as one of the most important animated films of all time. (Source: Shout! Factory) Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 5, 1997.</i>

Ghost in the Shell

2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together with her fellow agents from Section 9, Kusanagi embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity. (Source: Lionsgate Films)

Boogiepop Phantom

Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop... Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she can possibly exist in this day and age. Still, strange things appear to be going on and the darkness is taking on many forms. Something is out there. Are you safe? (Source: RightStuf)

Neon Genesis Evangelion

In the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind's survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion's one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything. (Source: AniDB) Note: Later releases include edited versions of Episodes 21-24 called the "Director's Cut" with some visual editing and adding extra scenes that appeared in the theatrical recap 'Death'.</i>

3x3 Eyes

3X3 Eyes is the story of a young man named Yakumo Fuuji, who through a strange series of events becomes the immortal slave of the last of a race of 3 Eyed immortals. The immortal absorbs his soul to save his life, making him immortal in the process. Now, he begins a journey with the female immortal in an attempt to find a way of becoming human. Of course, there are many complications along the way, not the least of which being that the immortal is a female with a split personality, one achingly cute and the other being no-nonsense destructive power, and the romances that develop between.

Cat Soup

Cat Soup is an extremely difficult film to describe, due to its awesome surrealism and almost nonexistant dialogue. It is more a work of art than an anime. There are many underlying themes, such as the transcience of man's existence, but it can be enjoyed without understanding any of them. The plot, though simple, isn't necessarily understandable without being explained. The main character, a cat named Nyatto, embarks upon a journey to save his sister's soul, which was ripped in two when Nyatto tried to save her from Death. She trails after him, brain-dead. They encounter many brilliant, mind-bending situations, beginning with a disturbing magic show. (Source: Anime News Network)

Shadow Star Narutaru

During her summer holiday at her grandparents house Tamai Shiina, a young and cheerful schoolgirl, meets a strange looking creature. They befriend each other and Shiina names it "Hoshimaru - The Round Star". When Shiina returns home after the summer to go back to school she starts meeting other kids that also have befriended a strange creature like Hoshimaru. But she soon finds out that not all these creatures and their masters are as friendly as Hoshimaru. (Source: Anime News Network)

Macross Plus

The year is 2040 and the galaxy is flourishing with several colonies and advanced technology. AI is near perfection and the current top idol is the near-completed Virturoid Idol Sharon Apple. All that is missing are her actual feelings, which instead are supplied by Myung Fang Lone. Sharon's debut concert is on planet Eden, where at the same time, fighter pilots Isamu Dyson and Guld Bowman battle over air superiority for the "Supernova Project." Isamu, Guld and Myung were once childhood friends, but after an accident seven years ago, they went their own separate ways. With Myung back in the picture, the old disputes are once again awakened. And when an unstable and illegal AI technique is installed in Sharon, the situation is worsened. (Source: Anime News Network)

Boogiepop and Others

There is an urban legend that children tell one another about a shinigami that can release people from the pain they may be suffering. This "Angel of Death" has a name—Boogiepop. And the legends are true. Boogiepop is real. (Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

Gunslinger Girl

Officially, the Social Welfare Agency is a government sponsored corporation that's in the business of saving lives. In reality, it's an agency on the fringe of technology. They give terminal patients another shot at life using cybernetic implants. This conditioning process then shapes the patient into an efficient machine for handling all of the government's dirty work. (Source: Funimation)