I haven’t seen it available in the US, but it has hit a lot of US Film Festivals according to the Anime News Network. I picked up the Korean anime Sky Blue: Wonderful Days as an imported sub in 2006, and it has won a boatload of awards since then. While not a replacement for Ghost In The Shell, it is a serious story; the animation is world class, the characters are fully realized, and the plot line is worth paying attention to.
