Mature smart anime?

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TraneBoy

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#1  Edited By TraneBoy

So i have seen quite a few anime. Unfortunately, most of them didn't apply to me, because i have outgrown all the childish shit that is 99% of anime.

The ones that i consider masterpieces:

Cowboy Bebop, Welcome to the N.H.K., Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin.

The ones i liked:

Code Geass, Death Note, Sakamichi no Apollon, Berserk, Great Teacher Onizuka, Ping Pong The Animation, Rurouni Kenshin - Tsuiokuhen, Tatami Galaxy, Monster, Usagi Drop.

The ones i disliked:

Gurren Lagann, Steins;Gate, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Paranoia Agent

The ones i dropped:

Baccano!, Gankutsuou, Trigun, Barakamon.

Is there anything out there that deserves my attention based on this criteria? Note, i hate when a show takes to long to climax or is slow paced most of the time.

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Corevi

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#2  Edited By Corevi

Let me tell you about an anime called Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It may seem like your average magical girl monster of the week childish anime but it is actually an amazing deconstruction of those. Whatever you do don't go digging into exactly how dark it gets or you will ruin the surprise.

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Justin258

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You disliked Baccano? Do you also dislike fun!?

Seriously, watch Psycho-Pass.

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TraneBoy

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@believer258: It is a big confusing crap. Plus it has superpowers, which i accept, but not in the case of a 1930s Chicago. Same reason i still didn't watch Durarara!!

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WorldDude

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I think both Spice and Wolf and Mushishi would be up your alley.

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TraneBoy

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#7  Edited By TraneBoy

@worlddude: Started watching Mushishi, but came across the second episode and it freaked me up. Not sure if i should start again.

Spice and Wolf seems the show i will like, but i expect to watch at the holidays something else.

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AlexanderSheen

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So, what do you consider mature and not childish?

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TraneBoy

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#9  Edited By TraneBoy

@alexandersheen: Mature is something that is based off certain themes from real life, something relatable.

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AlexanderSheen

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SBHAGAR

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Anime I would personally recommend

- Gargantia on the Verdurous planet

- Fate Stay night

- Attack on Titan

- Darker than Black

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Corevi

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#12  Edited By Corevi
@traneboy said:

@corevi: Sorry, but i don't accept having some 10 year old girls in the screen, even if it's good. It doesn't work that way.

It's received universal critical acclaim, deals with some pretty real shit (What does it mean to truly be selfless?) and it looks fucking incredible.

No Caption Provided

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SBHAGAR

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any miyazaki film aswell

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matiaz_tapia

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I second Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Just not what you'd expect from the promotional material. it's also short, the running time I think is 4 hours total. Also Psycho Pass is pretty good, tho it runs long, there is a shorter cut.

However, they are both from the same writer from Stein;Gate ( but it's understandable if you dislike it if you never went far enough to finish it. It sort of escalates...and it's kinda silly. On purpose, but still.)

A very obscure, very obtuse one that I really like and nobody else does is Boggiepop Phantom . The name doesn't help and the main story needs you to read up on some of the main characters since it doesn't explain who they are. The anime is from a series of light novels and it was made from the second or third one...But it's otherwise a great way to introduce some anthology type stories.

Another anthology type would be Jigoku Shoujo. The season conclusions are satisfying, but despite it's length it's basically a conduit to some interesting short stories that are usually concluded in one episode.

Higurashi no naku koro ni might be an interesting one for your particular set of mind. A lot of anime is kind of the same bullshit. Same jokes, same situations, etc. This one is kinda weird...but if you give it 3 episodes, you'll find yourself with something with completely different tone. Whether you like where it goes, well, that's a different story.

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liquiddragon

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#15  Edited By liquiddragon

@traneboy: trigun is awesome...what about ghost in the shell: stand alone complex? It's smart stuff but a lot of talking/ reading if in Japanese

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FLStyle

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@traneboy: Am I to understand that you've never seen any form of Ghost in the Shell? Because that should be your first stop if not.

You've got the manga universe, the film universe, the Stand Alone Complex series universe (which has a film of its own) and most recently the Arise universe.

If you're only going to choose one I say go with Stand Alone Complex.

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emfromthesea

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Serial Experiments Lain.

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sweep

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#19 sweep  Moderator

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Paprika are both excellent anime films. Paprika I'd expect is definitely up your street, though it's a but trippy sometimes.

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TraneBoy

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#20  Edited By TraneBoy

@sweep: Saw already the girl who leapt through time. Will check paprika.

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Wilshere

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Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Its very mature but also very slow.

I don't know why you dropped Evangelion. Its one of the few shows that dwells into the psyche of people going through awful experiences. Rather than being gung-ho bad ass.

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figurehead00

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#23  Edited By figurehead00

@traneboy: You're kind of aggressive about this whole thing.

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figurehead00

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TraneBoy

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figurehead00

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@traneboy: That said, while it may not be what you're looking for as it's pretty fantasy oriented, I really enjoyed Claymore.

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Belegorm

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#28  Edited By Belegorm

lol was about to recommend Monster, but then saw it was in your post.

I would recommend Kara no Kyoukai, I mean it's adults with superpowers but I think the real point is of battling philosophies between the characters. In a way I think it's a kind of allegory about people fighting depression.

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Akyho

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#29  Edited By Akyho

Hmmmm I strongly recommend Ghost in the shell Stand Alone Complex is a very good start as it is Mature and not the same kind as Evangelion. It is Adult characters dealing with adult stuff in an adult world with real sci fi possible problems.

A Second on Legend of Galactic Heroes were for 110 episodes I was stuck needing to know what happens to the very very large cast in it....and I cried a lot when what happened was their last.... I had just finished watching Welcome to the NHK before jumping in to LOGH. Both were very accurate portrayals of human life.

I do warn that you may not laugh as hard as I did at the mostly serious space opera that is LOGH if you are not into politics and history. There is a 4 minute scene where it has the heads of each cabinet of the Alliance Federation debate on the war by saying "The Treasury is dwindling due to military expenditure we need more investors to the war effort." "What we need is a decisive victory to bring the people moral high and allow investors to feel more at ease with backing us in this war." "That too would do good for us staying in our positions, the upcoming elections shows that the life time we wont a battle our approval rating has risen by 50%! however with our current loss streak, we will never be re elected." and thus the politicians draw up military plans to keep themselves in office rather than end the war. I laughed at it as it was an accurate possible meeting, and we have seen it George Bush Sr and Jr and Margaret Thatcher, three very hated leaders kept in power since a war broke out during their office.

Lots of thinking in LOGH, on people, on war,on politics, on life direction, on history. Its a very very deep anime that fleshed out the character so much I felt they were real people, I even can recognize each character by japanese voice now (Gets weird listening to Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z as all I want to shout is "LORD REINHARDO SAMA!".

Other series that just as compelling yet sadly under budget vs LOGH. Legend of the four kings and Heroic Legend of Arslan...can you guess who wrote these stories too?

Much lighter stories that still touch on things. Legend of the four kings follows four brother who have dragon blood in their veins from their ancestors being dragons. They just want to live a normal life in modern day tokyo but people harass them for many reasons due to their heritage and in many different ways. All the while the brothers question "Why does it matter? Why does it matter if we are dragons or not, we have no intention of causing people harm and yet people wish to cause us harm...."

Heroic Legend of Arslan follows a boy prince in an eastern european medieval fantasy setting. His country is attacked and occupied thanks to traitors in his fathers ranks and thus him and his trustful bodyguard set forth to set his land and people free, using just his name, his heritage and his heart to win support....somthing his naive ways learn are not the only thing. He learns how the world works and for him to gain support their are motives and promises he must make he doesn't agree with or may not be able to fulfill. Filled with colorful characters to aid him as he amasses an army and deal with enemies of not just his father but of his own family line, while making new enemies.

Other Mature animes that follows more 80's action movie routes yet still have some strong thought provocation.

A.D Police Files. 2038 AD and androids are common yet so is the fact they go berserk and to fight androids is no easy task let alone when so many seem to be outfitted with military weapons. The A.D Police are set up to fight and destroy these androids, yet despite their specialised gear....they are still just men and women in uniform having to deal with the strangeness that modern cybernetic life has brought them. Has such stories as a woman has had to go under so much reconstructed surgery she is 70% mechanical...and thus classified an android.....which she has accepted and takes her revenge on lone prostitutes on an underground line for all the things that has happened to her. Another is Robocop in a nutshell.....but what happens to the human mind when forced into a metal case with no sense and a cocktail of drugs to force them to fight other mechanical monsters no much unlike them....

Cyber City Oedo 808 another Cyberpunk story following three criminals given a second chance by being cops....with explosive collars around their necks and sent into suicidal situations that has been caused by the modern technology that is Cyber City Oedo.

You could follow down to some Mecha choices, Macross plus is a masterpiece in mecha and storytelling, it is basicly Top Gun but with mechs, that undersells the deeper story that Macross Plus tells of three high school friends and the rift that has been torn that they must face 10 years since the last time they saw each other....all brought back together yet the rift is much larger than before.

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There is also the often forgotten yet highly influential three movie series Megazone 23 were the central government is a computer that maintains balance in an enclosed city waiting for the nuclear fallout outside after world war III, while companies prepare for war to find out the truth of what is really going on. Man I need to rewatch this one realy.

There is the OTHER cyber punk two part story of Gally a recovered android dropped from the floating utopia above the junk slums. One man restores Gally who has the frame of a small girl and personality of one with no memory of who she was, however as the rough nature of the slums she learns the harshness and need for Bounty hunters all the while unlocking her own abilities she never knew to protect the ones she loves.

You also have the Movie Lensman which is based on the books of the same name. It is a fun space romp that I should check out the original books as my father has read the books and said the anime was quit interesting to see it in motion.

Aswell as the seminole Mecha anime Orguss 02! Set in a mixed up world that see's Feudal monarchies and traditions over see WW2 technology world that uncovers unknown fighting mechs called Decimators and wage war with these rare but powerful machines. Follow Lean a young man working as a salvager with a man who is almost his father they worked with the military to uncover these machines, until a urgent need for the recent batch of excavated mechs need delivered and repaired enroute with promise of a decent pay if they just fly with the military, on that journey they are attacked by an enemy decimator and they must fight for their lives with Lean piloting his first Decimator into battle to save himself, his adoptive father and the rest of the military crew. The events of that day spirals lean into joining the army and becoming a centre point in the undoing the events that brought such advanced mecha very literally out of the sky and hopefully bringing an end to this constant ware due to the need for an arms race. Excellent and intelligent 6 part serise!

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If you check the dates on all my recommendations you will find they are all from 95 and before that is where I find most of what I think as Mature.

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brophdog

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#30  Edited By brophdog

I wouldn't call it mature necessarily but No Game, No Life is one I would check out if you play games. It's a little over sexualized but in an ironic way and it's not really that graphic.

E: plus it's got mad style

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Gaff

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I remember Michiko to Hatchin fondly, though I can't say I've finished it?

Samurai Champloo is another good one. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (don't make me try to type the Japanese name), was a melodramatic, but still very effective series about loss. Darker than Black is another good one, avoid the second series though!

I could probably think of some more, but judging by what I've listed, I've fallen off the anime train for a while now.

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hermes

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I will recommend Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Not sure if it is for you, but I think its a great series, so I recommend it to everybody who likes anime...

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Karkarov

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#33  Edited By Karkarov

Psycho Pass, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Darker than Black, Legend of the Galactic Heroes has one of the worst names of all time but is probably one of if not the best anime ever made for "mature" audiences.

Go watch those first. Understand if you walk away not liking them it isn't that you only like mature anime it is just that you don't like anime. Edit: Ooops it was in the op missed it somehow.

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BabyChooChoo

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Sword Art Online....obviously.

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TheManWithNoPlan

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#36  Edited By TheManWithNoPlan

Maybe you'd like Monster. I'll admit I've never seen more than an episode or two, but it's always sounded like a cut above the rest. Fullmetal Alchemist seems like a safe bet.

Edit: Whoops, didn't see Monster in your op. I still recommend it to anybody else.

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tuxfool

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#37  Edited By tuxfool
@traneboy said:

@figurehead00: No i'm not. Just stated a fact.

These are some really shitty responses to people trying to help you. As the other poster said, I don't think I feel like helping.

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TraneBoy

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figurehead00

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@traneboy: Just be nicer. You're asking people for help, and here they are trying. While you might not like something, it doesn't mean it's lame/for 15 year olds. Different people like different things. Again, just be nicer.

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TraneBoy

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@figurehead00: I'm just tired of watching dozens of shit shows. Guess it's time to quit with anime.

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figurehead00

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@traneboy: I get that. I suspect we actually have pretty similar opinions on anime. I don't watch much of it because I find a lot of it irritating too. I'm glad you started this thread though, I'm going to try some of this out. I'll probably start with Psycho Pass.

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Mezmero

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You might want to give Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor a shot. It's about a loser gambler who gets in way over his head in a gambling tournament. It's one of my favorite instances of a main character in an anime who just gets treated like a piece of shit at every possible moment. He's essentially the Chuck Greene of anime. Also there's no magical or supernatural horse crap thrown in for the hell of it so you don't have to worry about any swerves like that in the plot. Also might want to try One-Outs. It's a baseball show about a gambler who becomes an amazing professional pitcher through deceit and trickery. Sorry for recommending a bunch of gambling stuff but I can't think of many things to fit in your criteria.

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Karkarov

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@figurehead00: Go for it. It is a great sci fi show, you can get season 1 on netflix right now. There are plenty of other good shows listed here though so don't rule them out.

@traneboy said:

@figurehead00: I'm just tired of watching dozens of shit shows. Guess it's time to quit with anime.

*shrug* Or you could try the recommendations some people tried to give you instead of blanket insulting everyone who posted trying to help you. Either way works.

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JosephKnows

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For a guy who wants "mature smart" anime, you sure don't sound like the qualities you espouse. Also, you actually dropped Baccano. There's no helping you!

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TraneBoy

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#45  Edited By TraneBoy

@josephknows: Could barely stand that joke. Watched like 6 or 7 episodes to make an opinion about it. If half of the show didn't appeal, then the rest wouldn't. Also didn't like it having supernatural elements.

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spraynardtatum

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Pokemon is pretty adult.

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poobumbutt

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@traneboy: No, you really are being aggressive. The things you like/dislike don't even differ that much from me, so don't take this as a bias thing. There's just not really any need to take shots at them. "Didn't like it" would suffice, I expect.

Furthermore, I would second pretty much everyone here, along with Darker Than Black and Black Lagoon as well.

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Lausebub

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Thanks for making this thread. I have a bunch stuff to work with now.

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figurehead00

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@karkarov: Thanks, and I definitely won't rule them out. I'm bookmarking this thread for sure. At least something good came of it.

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matiaz_tapia

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#50  Edited By matiaz_tapia

@traneboy said:

@figurehead00: I'm just tired of watching dozens of shit shows. Guess it's time to quit with anime.

If you are really that frustrated there are a few things to note when looking for stuff to watch. If the title is labeled as "Seinen", then it's meant for mature audiences. That line is thin sometimes, but there is a line.

If the show goes on and on forever, then it's probably following a particular formula. Most risky/interesting shows go for 12 episodes just to adjust to market realities.

Of course there are exceptions. But most of them have been noted in this thread. "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood" is meant for teenagers (shounen), but it's interesting regardless. "Death Note" is a very strange concept, but it became popular enough to go farther than 12 episodes.