Love it. I would say "Mask no kamen (2005)" was the inflection point. Prior to that, I watched a bunch of shows and enjoyed some of them, but then I randomly stumbled onto this masterpiece. It is so good that I was motivated to lookup its director, Hamatsu Mamoru. It truly is unlike anything else you will watch.

When you see something that good, it makes you wonder what else is out there. Among the thousands of generic shows, there are true gems like Initial D. Did you know that Initial D continued with Season 5 after taking an 8 year break? Many fans don't know the new seasons exist.

How many even know that shows like Crest of the Stars exist? Its plot complexity resembles Babylon 5.

Then there's Kaiji. Kaiji is just... something else... Truly, truly something else. A simple game of rock/paper/scissors becomes a life or death experience when combined with gambling, greed, and group dynamics. Interestingly, they released a side story from the perspective of the villain's middle manager! It is absolutely insane how they apply corporate tactics to what happens to the hapless groups of gamblers.

Now there is such a masterpiece as Soul Land from China. Chinese donghua are taking animation to next level, although their stories tend to share the same plot. Soul Land makes you feel like you are inside a video game. Not everyone likes 3D anime, but this is done exceptionally well. Tencent is offering an official subtitled release through its YouTube channel, which recently became a paid offering and I paid for it.