So... you are a pretty big nerd but somehow anime always seemed stupid to you and you never got into it?
Well you are right... most anime is crap (flamewar starters and trolls please forget this sentence )
Especially those that run on western TV channels. Oh and English (not to even talk about German) dubbing is so horrible that it takes all the fun out of watching it too (subtitles are fine though).
Yet there are soo many fans... something must be good about it right?
Well yes... some (as in very few) are amongst the best TV shows/movies ever made!
So I decided to give you a short primer into the really good stuff (but don't blame me if you get hooked and your productivity is ruined ).
Lets start with the very light and family friendly movies. Basically everything the Director Miasaki and Studio Ghibli have done is up there with the Disney and Pixar classics. Yes it is mainly for children, but it is very enjoyable as an adult too. Some of it is really fine art! If you have children YOU MUST SHOW THEM THIS STUFF NOW!
Then there are the Sci-Fi masterpieces... e.g. mainly Ghost in the Shell and Evangelion (edit: Akira is great too, but a bit aged now)
The former one has two movies with the second one a bit too metaphysical for my taste and also some spin-off series which are okeish to watch (and which have been condensed into movies too).
The latter one (aka Evangelion) was original a series which was a bit messed up (as in mind fuck and bad script) and the same time one of the best Sci-fi ever done! It shows its age now so don't really bother watching the original series any more. Go directly to the movie remakes (part one and two are out, part three and four should follow this or next year).
For TV series the awesome Sci-fi series Cowboy Beebop is a must see (and has a really nice jazz/blues sound track too).
A bit more standard anime but still very good (but maybe not as a start, as it required having gotten used to anime), I would recommend the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya TV series and movie. This one is a "high-school" comedy, but with a quite awesome sci-fi plot and very likable characters.
A non sci-fi series with a very serious and sad under tone (focusing on social isolation and suicide), but still some comedy elements is Welcome to the NHK. But this one is only for advance viewers with some Japan affinity
Well and there are a bunch of also good, but less recommendable series Just stay away for the magic girl and "beautiful boy" series Oh and the harem series are cool for the lulz, but a rather good reason why most people hate anime
If I forgot some really good show, please feel free to add it!
P.S.: Everything that has more than 26 episodes, aka never ending series like Pokemon, Inuyasha etc is crap too