This is another way to say what's your favourite anime!
I mean...to a friend-what anime you would suggest to watch?

I would suggest "Excel Saga" and "Prince of tennis"

Well, it would depend on what sort of thing they liked. I mean, it's useless giving them Ghost In The Shell if they hate that sort of thing. Having said that, I would always suggest watching GITS because of it's importance in the world of anime. Chobits and Love Hina are others I would suggest, along with Cowboy Bebop.

I personally love Rurouni Kenshin. Noir is pretty good too. I'd recommend just giving a few of them a shot. There are lots of different styles out there.

If you're into the ninja stuff, also give Naruto a try. I love that show!

-Shingetsutan Tsukihime. (wonderful)

Just get out there to the BitTorrent world and collect as many as possible. I'm sure you'll find something you really like. Personally I recommend Mahou Sensei Negima and Love Hina, but I'm really into that romantic comedy genre...especially Ken Akamatsu-sensei's works. ^^

Hrmm, as has been said, it kind of depends... Here as some possibilities:

---(kawaii)
Cardcaptor Sakura
D.N. Angel
Aishiteruze baby

---(ai and violent heroines)
Love Hina
Ranma

---(mechas?)
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Nadesico
One of the better Gundam Series

---(corny but fun)
Naruto
Dragonball (earlier seasons and Japanese version obviously)
Rockman.EXE

---(uuhm... weapons 'n those who know how to use em?)
Noir
Madlax
Trigun
Full Metal Alchemist

---(so much more...)
Cowboy Bebop
Initial D

Basically, there's far too much to chose from, such is the wealth of anime culture.
I'd suggest taking something from these that is likely to fetch their interest. I initially tried to group them or whatever but I realize that this failed horribly so dont attack me on that. =P

Personally I think 3 good series to start with are Trigun, NGE and Ranma/Love Hina.
Then one might wanna look at some newer series like Naruto and FMA, or perhaps Initial d/ccs depending on the individual's interests.

(I just wrote this and it didn't register so I'm doing it again in a rage.) These aren't my favorites, but I love them and would suggest them to someone new: Akira, the first Ghost in the Shell movie, Dragon Ball Z (c'mon we all loved it as some point), Evangelion, there are many. I would just advise against something like Miami Guns or Comic Party for they use a lot of references that only a veteran would understand.

come to mind

Shingetsutan Tsukihime
Evagelion
Gungrave
Samurai Champloo
One Piece
Vampire Hunter D
Fatal Fury the movie
Last Exile
Chobits
Full Metal Panic

Hm...Fruits Basket of course!! But it depends on the character of each person..

I'd say Noir. Great show, probably after watching that you will feel the need to see more Anime

I would say GTO or read or die, maybe some comedy like School Rumble or a sport anime like Hajime no Ippo or Slam Dunk. Those are good!

Really depends...I love Fruits Basket and Fullmetal Alchemist. Those are both pretty good series.

I agree with most people here, it depends on the genre/s they like. Without knowing that, I would say Kenshin, Bleach, Naruto, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

I'd usually say start out with something funny...I'd suggest Azumanga Daioh, but that's probably a little too "Japanese" (for lack of a better term) for a newbie. I'd say go with something that's easy to find and is enjoyable - maybe Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, Naruto, etc. Don't jump right into deep deep stuff like Lain or something, or you'll make them hate anime forever.

I'd give em Dragon Ball Z, Ah! My Goddess OAVs, and Gundam Wing. Or, I'd just suggest they watch the stuff on Canadian channels (ie. Inuyasha and Gundam Seed).

mm, depends on the genre

I really like sci-fi mecha anime,
In that category, i woul totally recomend
RahXephon
Evangelion
Mazinkaiser
Gundam Seed
Godannar

action/adventure/guns
GunGrave
Trigun
Cowbe
Bleach
Hellsing
mm i don't remember anything else right now ^_^

I would say Full Metal Alchemist, Naruto, Bakuretsu Tenshi and Chobits I think. I mean its a few of my favorites.

ranma always is a good first manga/anime...but it depends on the reader's taste a lot too... I prefer mysteries = detective conan

It depends on what type of stuff you're into. Try the Canadian channels like geninlv1 said

Quote by hyattchanThis is another way to say what's your favourite anime!
I mean...to a friend-what anime you would suggest to watch?
I would suggest "Excel Saga" and "Prince of tennis"

Whoa! It's not the same question! Showing Excel Saga to a newbie would scare him away from anime... Excel Saga rocks, but not for newbies You have to think about that a newbie never saw an anime before and therefore you must take it slowly.
Good old Chihiro would be a good invitation into the world of anime

edit: btw. newbies doesn't like to start with series and it's not a good idea either. I would prefer movies first. Ghibli films or Vampire Hunter D for vampire fans, GITS for cyber punk freaks etc

I haven't seen the Magic Knight Rayearth anime, but I'd recommend the Magic Knight Rayearth manga It's got a bit of everything... schoolgirls, swords, magic, mecha, babes, bishounen, cute animal companions, humor, drama, a nice twist ending leading into a sequel... All drawn beautifully too

I'd suggest Comic Party. It really gets yuo into the mind set of an otaku. The main character is going throught the whole newbie phase which i think the newbie could definatly relate to. I have intro(se)duced people into the world of anime with this one and they eventually went on to be interested in every aspect of anime, becoming some really intence otakus. Also theres Excel Saga just to cherry the top.

I think Rurouni Kenshin would be a safe one, it's pretty easy to like. It's got humour, action and a bit of romance, should appeal to most people.