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.
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!
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.
Log in to comment