Lucky Star and K-on for CGDCT
Evangelion for meta-commentary and deconstruction, to the point that future works that qualify often get called the “Evangelion of <genre>”
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Attack on Titan for battle shounen
Bocchi the Rock for girls band anime, specifically
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro for pretty much all of Ghibli
Akira for 90s anime
It’s okay. It’s been my white whale for a long time and what led me to meticulously detail what I watch and read if I remember to do it.
I’ll check out your suggestions to see if it can get me closer or like magically spark some core memory.