Show us some episodes that throw out the show's formula, try something completely different and as a result people either love them or hate them.
Nanami Episodes
Gurren Lagann 4 with Osamu Kobayashi, maybe?
Smocking episode in Zvezda
Also his episode of PSG, the one about the depressing Japanese salaryman.
What the hell was that?
Here's a lighthearted fetch quest and folklore referencing episode to break up the sad stories of hunting bounties and unravelling the sad lives of the downtrodden. Did you need that heart? If not, well, let cowboy bebop just rip it out for you.
Katanagatari Nanami's episode. Although I'm sure everyone loved it other than being cockblocked from the fight scene.
Hanagatari is the nanami episode. Tosses out Araragi, focuses on an actual plot resolution rather than an excruciatingly long character development and she actually fights the big bad instead of tricking it or talking it down.
Denno Coil's beards episode
KLK's No Late Day episode
Ergo Proxy's Quiz Show episode
Excel Saga is like a series of unbroken Nanami episodes.
It's been a while since I've watched Hana, but it felt a lot like most of Second season to me. I'd argue that Koi had less "long character development" than Hana in the traditional Monogatari sense too.
If I had to choose episodes that feel different to the rest of the series I'd probably go with Sodachi's arc.
Driving school episode in DBZ
Evangelion has a bunch of those
>The episode where Shinji and Asuka learn how to coordinate
>The episode where Asuka gets inflated
>The episode where some Nerv's rival company prototype goes crazy and Misato has to stop it
Someday in the Rain in Haruhi 2006.
God that was boring.
Don't watch the episodes in their proper order.
Speaking of Haruhi, the "first" episode (the one where they do the movie) counts too
Doan's Island
And then you watch the making of and suddenly the whole thing falls into place.
The Space Dandy one where he enters into some kind of dream. It was also the best episode
Samurai Champloo zombie episode
Space Dandy doesn't really count as every episode is completely different.
Something like the baseball episode of Samurai Champloo probably would.
The PSG zombie episode.