General Discussion

I don't watch much anime these days, and haven't for some years. I simply don't enjoy the vast majority of the new stuff that's popular or has been recommended to me. However, almost all the anime I have  enjoyed recently has one thing in common: the animation has been extraordinary. I'm talking about stuff like Ponyo, Arrietty, Sword of the Stranger and Redline. I absolutely love traditional animation, and it is truly a joy -- particularly in this day and age, when CG is becoming increasingly dominant in the world of big-budget animated feature films -- to see it not only live on, but reach greater heights than ever before.

Alas, since I don't follow anime news anymore, I often miss these movies. For instance, I only learned of Redline when some posted about it on GiantBomb's forum a couple of days ago, and while I don't remember the particulars, I believe I wouldn't have discovered Sword of the Stranger either if not for a similar stroke of luck. That's why I've created this thread. Basically, it's for posting about anime films that you love or are eagerly anticipating purely -- or at least in large part -- because of their exceptional animation (TV series are also acceptable, but I imagine we won't see that many of those since they rarely feature the same quality of animation as feature films for obvious reasons). I am especially interested in recent anime, but if you want to post about older stuff that's perfectly fine as well.

Redline is the most recent film choice, as are the latest Evangelion movies. But this year was a year of really, really strong OVAs, which, being thirty to hour long episodes produced once per two or three months, they have really high production value as well. And Break Blade is a fucking delicious OVA.

I agree with Blue Exorcist and to add to your watch list, you could try Guilty Crown. It has stunning CGs, and it's set in a futuristic, apocalyptic setting. Here's Kuro's plot on Guilty Crown.

After the spread of the "Apocalypse Virus" in Japan in the year 2029, the country has been placed in an emergency state. Since the spread of the virus, the Japanese government lost all of its foundations, and the reign of the international organization known as GHQ began ruling the country. Now Japan is in a state of martial law, which is enforced by the GHQ, and is considered a "quasi-independent" nation.

10 years pass, and we see the story through the eyes of Shu Ouma, an average 17-year-old teenager who lives a normal life. However, his normal life style is soon shattered after his chance encounter with Inori Yuzuriha, who eventually involves him with the anti-government group she is a part of, known as Funeral Parlor, or Undertaker.

Fate/Zero has a lot of good stuff in it.

A lot of shonen series pride themselves on animating major fights really well but it's far from being an every episode thing. If you like animation, this article and panel about animation might be right up your alley: http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2011/05/23/talk-of-anime-in-motion

How about I go through this via decade with what I've seen.
 
1980s
Robot Carnival
Akira
Wings of Honneamise
Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Kiki's Delivery Service
Angel's Egg
 
1990s 
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal
Princess Mononoke
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Macross Plus 
Cowboy Bebop (TV show and movie)
Perfect Blue
Whisper of the Heart
 
2000s 
Flag
Aoi Bungaku Series
Summer Wars
Girl Who Leapt Through Time
5 centimeters per second
Kara no Kyoukai
Planetes
Eve no Jikan 
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (both seasons)
Evangelion 1.0
Macross Frontier
Macross Zero
Karas
Ergo Proxy
Ghost Hound  
Pale Cocoon
Kamichu
Last Exile
Paprika
Tokyo Godfathers
Millennium Actress
Death Note
Eden of the East
The Sky Crawlers
The Animatrix
Spirited Away
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
Howl's Moving Castle 
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

2010-present
Colorful
Fate/Zero
Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
Evangelion 2.0
Eden of the East: The King of Eden
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost

This is great. Lots of stuff I haven't seen. Thanks!

@Hibaru:@Superevil225: I'm watching Ao no Exorcist and Bakemonogatari at the moment. The art is really nice, but I wouldn't say that the actual animation is particularly impressive.

@Icemael: Nisemonogatari has a lot of interesting things going on with it in both animation quality and the way the frame shots and handle "camera" motions.

I remember Soul Eater animated the fights very well and the art style in general was great. Some Key stuff like Angel Beats and Clannad have moments of looking very beautiful as well but as OP says most series can't afford to be consistently beautifully animated.
As far as movies and OVAs go, stuff like Summer Wars (although it has a lot of CG), FLCL and the Haruhi movie look freaking amazing.