This is a late post, but I recommend one and only one anime show:
EXCEL SAGA
If you like Family Guy and/or South Park, this show is for you! It's an anime nonetheless, and it'll make you laugh so hard, you have to pause your DVD just to regain your consciousness.
I will say it's not for everyone because it mocks just about everything (from movie and Japanese parodies down to the sex jokes), not to mention the show is so plotless, you can watch the show in any order and it would make sense (I wouldn't watch the last episode; it the only important episode in the series and that is probably the one you should avoid watching because it'll spoil lots of secrets of the story you're not supposed to know about unless you've watched the entire series and it may also insult you).
Still, it's the funniest anime out there! To give you story backround about this show, it's about a secret organization called ACROSS who's goal is to take over the world, but they decide to start small by taking over one city known as F.
The leader of this organization is Il Palazzo, a rather smart and handsome man (who wears unusually big shoulder pads) who wants to rule the Earth because it is corrupt and by taking it over, he can set things right to it.
He has three assistance to help him on his conquest: Excel, Hyatt, and...a bucket, a sponge, a plunger (these all count as one person). Now the funny thing is is that everytime El Palazzo sends them to do missions, they somehow end up failing it, and it is mostly Excel's fault. In fact, she is so bad, the bucket, sponge, and plunger are at a higher rank then her (I think the bathroom cleaning supplies is the staff director)!
Excel is highly hyperactive, and she talks so fast, you often can't understand what she's saying (which is rather funny).
Hyatt...dies a lot in each episode. About five times in every episode. This is also real funny because Hyatt would die in the oddest situations (she would stand there and her face would turn blue, cough up blood, fall, and then die!).
Yeah, so each episode features the antics of these duos trying to accomplish missions for LORD EL PALAZZO!
Oh, and I'll also mention Puchuus! There these cute little teddy bears that are actually cute looking unlike most other cute creatures other anime artist draw. Yeah, they show up here and there raiding havoc. You'll crack up when you see them being beat up because there faces deform and turn real creepy!
And I guess I mention Minchu. Minchu is Excel cat-looking dog and also her emergency dinner in case she get real hungry!
Now so I don't continue to babble, I will leave it to you to watch it and figure out the other important characters in the show and let you laugh when you see it!
I just finished watching the first few episodes, which is why I'm mentioning it. 
)
If you're gonna bother seeing Evangelion (the series) why bother watching that movie? Only like the last 10 minutes of it is anything new. Death/Rebirth are waaaaaaaaaaay better.