C3PX said:

"Well, you don't like anime because you haven't seen this!"

No offense to your friends, but anytime I hear someone say "you don't like X because you haven't seen/read/whatevered this!" its a sign that I'm in for a world of pain. People like that, simply put, are always into something stupid.

Suggestions suck (despite that I offered a few some posts ago). The best option, if you're going to take any at all, is to find a rental that has anime, and look for something that sounds interesting.

That works for me a lot of times, though there are instances where you get shortchanged because the distributors give trumped-up box descriptions that are nothing like what the show is actually about. Example:

Saint Seiya -- Boxes describe it as an angsty superhero show akin to Marvel Comics. In reality its a very upbeat adventure series with a lot of asskicking.

Crying Freeman -- Box describes it as being about a brainwashed assassin who is on the run from the police as well as the Chinese gang that took his life away. In Reality, it's actually more like an anime version of The Godfather with the occassional fight scene.

Ranma 1/2 -- Is constantly described as a "sex comedy." The reality: There is no sex. There is some suggestive humor but that's about it.

However, misleading descriptions usually turn out to be for the better more often than not, since you often go in thinking "this is gonna be the suck" then its surprisingly good.

Or maybe its just me.