Welcome to Gaia! ::

As some of you are aware, I'm leaving for a job overseas soon, and I'm hoping that I'll keep myself entertained by buying DVDs to watch in my spare time. Movies aren't such a big problem (since I already have quite a collection) but TV shows (particularly anime) I could probably use some advice on what I should buy.
So far on my list I have:
M*A*S*H - Series Boxset
Fullmetal Alchemist
Lost - Seasons 1+2, and probably 3 later this year
InuYasha - Whatever seasons I can get ahold of mrgreen

Any other ideas?

Animated:

Simpsons
Futurama
Cowboy Bebop
Daria (is this one available in seasons?)
Do they have seasons of Hey Arnold! ? I used to love that show!
G Gundam (it's corny, it's cheesy, it's lovable!)

Action/Drama-y:

Heroes (if they get 1st season on DVD)
Prison Break (first season is good... second season... Meh.)
S L I D E R S (1ST and Second Season)
Xfiles (Feast on my geek-y ness!)
House
Roar

Mini Series:
10th Kingdom
Merlin


Comedy:

Scrubs
Fresh Prince of Bell Air
Frasier

Yeah, I agree! Please expand your horizons beyond Inu Yasha and FMA. Not that I hate either of these titles, but there is just so much MORE. I could recommend dozens of great shows... currently I think my favorite is Honey & Clover.

Ranma 1/2 is by the same artist as Inu Yasha and she is great. She also did a few other series I highly recommend, Maison Ikkoku for another sweet romantic comedy, Mermaid Forest is my favourite, it's a much darker story about those who eat the flesh of a mermaid can become immortal but most people can't survive the transformation or worse, survive and become monsters. This one I think the manga is better, it plays out the same way but it seems to flow moe in the manga (titled Mermaid's Saga). It's nice becaue it is thirteen episodes long, as opposed to Maison Ikkoku which is (I think) 78 or Ranma which is . . . A lot more, but truthfully once you get past the third season it kinda goes downhill and Inu Yasha which is at least as long.

Azumanga Daioh, this really fast paced comedy surrounding a group of girls through-out high school. It is hysterical and was originally done in a four panal comic strip style so the anime has that feel. Each episode is I think made up of about eight segments and I can't rave abolut this series enough. It's 26 episodes which is perfect.

Paranoia Agent is a really creepy psychological thriller that is brilliantly told in thirteen episodes. It's a really interesting look at the study of mass paranoia (hence the title). If you really like that dark, in depth look, Serial Experiments Lain should be seen. You could even try Boogiepop Phantom, Ceres: Celestial Legend or one of my favourites Read or Die, which isn't quite as dark as some of these but I'll include it here for lack of a better place to put it. Maybe more of a supernatural detective story.

Neon Genesis Evangelion, talk about not being able to catagorize something. It's part action, part mecha, part religious, mostly phillosophical, part end of the world, part personal developement and all brilliant.

His and Her Circumstances, if you really like the analasis of personalities in Eva this is it on overload. It is done by the same guy who did Eva (who clearly has some issues) and was his response to finishing Eva and wondering what he could do that would be as unlike Eva as he could get. He decided on a shoujo high school romance.

Mahoromatic Automatic Maiden is just a fun series, typically anime with a sentimental twist. Midori Days, Oh! My Goddess (and later Ah! My Goddess thougb start with the 5 episode OAV Oh! My Goddess), and Please Teacher fall undr this catagory and should be seen (Midoi Days and OMG are ver sweet and Please Teacher, not quite so much).

Kaleido Star is another little gem unlike any other (though it has a similar feel to another series "Princess Nine" that are both routing for the underdog type stories).

I think a lot of times, shojo just has the best stories, if you like tragedy, romance, comedy, fantasy and generally romantic shows. Fushigi Yugi (Mysterious Play) is a very, in depth mythilogical fantasy. Marmalade Boy is pretty much an anime soap opera, and so addicting. Kodomo no Omocha is basically like Marmalade Boy, with kids and on speed.

Twelve Kingdoms, Kino's Journey and Revolutionary Girl Utena are obably the last three I'd recommend just to kind of give you a very broad overview of anime and you can decide more exactly what your style is. A creme de la creme of anime. There are a couple movies I highly HIGHLY recommend that you may not be familiar with. Apart from anything Miyazaki, My Neighbors the Yamadas and Grave of the Firflies which are both done by the cocreator of Miyazki's studio Ghibli and GotF is one of the bes movies period anime or not (and is incidently where part of my nickname came from (how's that for morbid)) and Cat Soup which is just . . . very odd, and a little sick.

Wait and see what format you'll be using once there. It's all well and good to buy all sorts of stuff, but if you cant watch it, 'nuff said.