It's 70 or so episodes, but easily one of the greatest stories I have ever experienced. It's an anime called, "Monster". Its very grounded in reality (no magic or trolls and stuff), but despite the lack of fantasy manages to make, in my opinion, one of the pure incarnations of evil a villain has ever embodied. You will not be disapointed.
also, you may have seen it already, but Death Note is very good too.
If you're looking for something thats plenty of action, comedy, and an amazing soundtrack Samurai Champloo is good too. It's not too story heavy, but there is continuity and progression of storyline/character development, though it is more episodic.
--
Zelda, Pokemon, and Final Fantasy from 1989-2001 were the best creations of man.