Contemporary Urban Sprawl Anime?
 

Hi everyone. I've recently started watching Anime again and am currently enjoying the very charming Kamichu! series, but my favorite type of Anime has always been that which explores urban culture, counterculture, myth, political agenda, technology and philosophy. Are there any decent/interesting series out there I have missed?

I have previously enjoyed the GitS, Patlabor & Lain series.

Regards,

Munin

This is a pretty tough request. Lots of shows take place in an urban area, but the locale of the story is often much more constrained. High-school shows are the most obvious examples. Here are a few I can think of that touch on urbanity and urban life in some ways:

Dennou Coil (sci-fi that takes place in a smaller Japanese city; young protangonists)
Noein (another sci-fi that takes place in a real-life Hokkaido city; again young protagonists; the city itself is lovingly portrayed)
Bartender (set in a Ginza bar; adult characters, slice-of-life about lives and loves past and present)
Hataraki Man (set in a Japanese publishing house in Tokyo)
Asatte no Houkou (fantasy, slice-of-life with an arc about coping with urban life)
Welcome to the NHK! (psychological study of young adults with problems)
Boogiepop Phantom (strange phenomena in a Japanese city; very dark)
Mnemosyne (immortal detectives in current and future Japanese urban environments; lots of gore, nudity, and lesbian sexuality)

Monster has a number of story arcs set in eastern European cities in the 1990's (Prague, Berlin, etc.).

You might also like Ergo Proxy which is set in a future, dystopic urban setting and muses about philosophical issues from time to time.

I'd suggest Texhnolyze as a good candidate. It has a dystopia setting.


I'd second Ergo Proxy.

Those happen to be in my top five of all anime.

All strongly seconded, and Texhnolyze also seconded. I'd suggest Boogiepop for best effect. Also Paranoia Agent.

A strong second to Welcome to the NHK!.. seems to fit what youre looking for.. unfortunately i havnt seen the other shows so i cant comment upon them

Thanks for your recommendations, guys. This gives me plenty to look into. I'm glad Parania Agent was recommended becouse I have already ordered the first DVD. Thanks again.

Regards,

Munin

You might want to keep an eye on Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora. It's rather a laid-back affair like its predecessor Someday's Dreamers, but episode two largely focused on the main character Sora's arrival in Tokyo and her attempts to navigate around town. I don't know whether we'll see more of the city in the remaining episodes, but watching episode two last night immediately reminded me of your question.