Yeah, I guess I could say I've dabbled a bit in the area. Was sneakily introduced to the whole thing via Cowboy Bebop, a real gateway anime that one.
Had watched some before that, of course, but it never really caught on with me.
After that, watched stuff like Monster, Pumpkin Scissors, Black Lagoon, Excel Saga, Welcome to NHK, some Tenchi Muyo and Ranma 1/2 (Got curious about these since I had seen constant stuff about these back as a kid) and of course, the usual Studio Ghibli and Satoshi Kon's stuff. I really loved the completely absurd humour and the more realistic art direction in Tokyo Godfathers, for example.
Then there's been Planetes, Toradora, Love Hina and Elfen Lied. I'm generally more drawn to darker, more realistic works and generally loathe most anime and manga, but there's the odd humorous series that manages to win me over. NHK was a perfect blend of both.
Don't really go for manga, at all. I get my comic fix from webcomics.