Is there any anime or manga out there that seems... strangely... "you"?
I got turned on to Haibane Renmei because a friend who was watching it fansubbed told me that it seemed like it was "made for me". Oddly enough, I know an anime that seems even more like it was "made for me" - though I'm a bigger fan of Haibane Renmei and Trigun than of it...
"Petshop of Horrors". I'm fan of the manga, too, since the manga started coming out in English translation. I haven't watched the anime in a long time, but I've been reading the manga. I think I like the manga better, but only because it is longer, more stories. (The "Petshop of Horrors" anime is only a 4 episode OVA series). My favorite story of it is still "Despair" - which is the same in the anime and manga - and the anime has colors and music and voices!
Anyway... this series seems like it was "made for me". You see... Since I was... well, possibly since I was born, I've loved animals. I LOVE animals! I love both real animals and mythic animals. I grew up around lots of animals. A couple of years ago, I even got to work in a zoo. It was great! And... though I'm definitely NOT a horror movie fan, I do like creepy TV series, such as "The X-Files" and little creepy sci-fi anthology series such as "The Outer Limits".
"Petshop of Horrors" is a combination of all of these. It's a series of creepy short stories that make you think, all involving mythical animals. (They only APPEAR human to their buyers - initially!)
It's odd. Though I love it lots, it's not my most favorite anime of all time... but it seems almost like it was tailor made for me.