Attack on Titan, for me, is too overrated and poorly executed. Especially when you have Blue Gender, which was basically the same thing, but more mature and without the over-the-top nonsense & poor pacing.
BOT: Some of my personal favourites, though, are Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Shinsekai Yori, Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Kaiba, Katanagatari, Casshern Sins, Mobile Suit Gundam: 08 MS Team, and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
It's a common dilemma, and we are faced with these decisions, whether we like it or not. Just keep doing your homework and you will eventually find a car that suits you best. But hey, I even purchased mine not long ago.. I can relate to this!
To answer your question, I highly recommend the Toyota Corolla within the years of 2003-06. Specifically, you should be looking to pick one installed with a 1.8L engine and with manual transmission (optional). To my knowledge, these engines provide a reasonable boost in power and torque from your smaller, more conventional engines.
As others above have mentioned, it's your first car - you do not really need anything too fancy.