Recommend serious/grown-up anime

[Alucardo]

Hi, I hope anyone can recommend me something.

Recently I found a FTP with tons of animes. I google'd 100s of titles, but unfortunately over 90% of them were about kids, school, fantasy and comedy.
So that method didn't work out well for me to find serious anime.

Next, I checked sites for recommendations to the animes that I like. That didn't work well either. For example, when I looks the recommendations for "Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin" on AniDB, there's ridiculous suggestions, eg Ironman. Wtf

So maybe someone on this site can help me.

What I'm looking for: serious, mature/seinen anime. It should take place in real world. It can involve sci-fi and few supernatural elements but the setting should remain real world. It can be historic or futuristic, but not much. Eg I loved Rainbow (10 years after WW2), but I definately don't want to see some historic samurai stuff.
It must not be a comedy, however I don't mind a few jokes.
No fantasy/magic anime.
It must not have children as main characters. They should be atleast high school students. Although there's always exceptions, eg Tokyo Magnitude - but I guess the reason I liked it was because it wasn't about kiddy stuff or school life.

Although I'm a guy, some and drama romance is a plus.
Not looking for romance-only anime though.

I'm actually pretty new to anime and I'm not 100% sure either of what I want. So please look at the titles I've mentioned below.

Some more favourites:
- Gantz
- Death Note
- Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
- Tokko
- Rainbow
- Ergo Proxy
- Bus Gamer
- Paranoia Agent
- Darker Than Black
- Kaiji

Some I like, but can't exactly call "favourites":
- Jigoku Shoujo
- Lain
- Monster << interesting but kind of slow-paced
- School Days << also slow-paced

Some animes I completely dislike:
- Canaan
- Occult Academy
- Mushishi
- Bleach
- Blood+
- Witch Hunter Robin
- and of course stuff like Pokemon and whatever...

Things I think I'm going to watch: Texhnolyze, Speed Grapher, The Skull Man, Boogiepop, Chaos Head, Great teacher Onizuka.

Thanks if you bothered reading this. I'm probably too picky

[Haak]

I would recommend Planetes. It's a sci-fi about astronouts that collect space debris. It's very good. Another mature sci-fi is Time of Eve which is kinda like I, Robot (the book) but all the stories take place in a cafe. I recommend the film, not the OVA's.

I also recommend Kara no Kyoukai. It's a series of seven films, each about murders that are taking place through supernatural means. The protagonist is Ryougi Shiki, a girl that has been raised in a family of demon hunters and has the ability to see the death of everything through her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. She also has an almost insatable urge to kill. As you can guess though, it has magic in it but it's an urban fantasy/supernatural.

There's also Blue Literature which adapts some old Japanese masterpieces. I also recommend Denpateki na Kanojo a mystery/thriller about solving murders. No fantasy elements.

[SeijiSensei]

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=3544221

[totoum]

If you liked Kaiji there's a second season coming in april,the same staff also did Akagi and one outs

If you liike soccer there's Giant Killing

If you liked Paranoia Agent you can check out Satoshi Kon's other works like Perfect Blue , Paprika (a bit of sci fi/fantasy), Tokyo Godfathers (there's comedy but also a lot of drama) and Millenium Actress
Cowboy Bebop also comes to mind.

Gunslinger Girl has kids but deals with its subject quite seriously,it is slow paced though.It's also the case for Requiem for the Phantom.

Black Lagoon seems to fit also.

[Alucardo]

Originally Posted by Haak

I would recommend Planetes. It's a sci-fi about astronouts that collect space debris. It's very good. Another mature sci-fi is Time of Eve which is kinda like I, Robot (the book) but all the stories take place in a cafe. I recommend the film, not the OVA's.

I also recommend Kara no Kyoukai. It's a series of seven films, each about murders that are taking place through supernatural means. The protagonist is Ryougi Shiki, a girl that has been raised in a family of demon hunters and has the ability to see the death of everything through her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. She also has an almost insatable urge to kill. As you can guess though, it has magic in it but it's an urban fantasy/supernatural.

There's also Blue Literature which adapts some old Japanese masterpieces. I also recommend Denpateki na Kanojo a mystery/thriller about solving murders. No fantasy elements.

Do they compare to the ones I listed?
Thanks.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=3544221

As I said I've already tried looking random recomendations.
So, I decided to make a new topic with the titles I like and maybe receive grounded suggestions for similiar anime.

Besides I already saw that topic. Mushishi and Cowboy Bepop like anime isn't my thing.

[O.D.]

Try Elfen Lied. It has some episodes which focus on the childhood experiences of the main characters, but other than this, it fits perfectly in your list of preferences.

[Guardian Enzo]

The two that spring to mind are House of Five Leaves and Seirei no Moribito. Moribito does have a child co-lead, but he's the best kid ever - if you can't like Chagum, you don't have a heart. The series on the whole is focused on subtle, complex and mature ideas.

HoFL is definitely a series by, for and about adults. Incredibly smart, moving and sometimes very funny as well.

Both the above series also feature really spectacular visuals and music. Can't go wrong either way.

Some other ideas that come to mind are Ghost Hound and Zettai Shounen, though they both have teenage leads.

[mecharobot]

Jin-Roh: A dark conspiracy story set in alternative history around 1960.

Kaze no Yojimbo: Mystery based on a classic movie. It's set in near present. Can't remember the exact year.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Alucardo

Do they compare to the ones I listed?
Thanks.

I've only watched the following:

Originally Posted by Alucardo

Some more favourites:
- Death Note
- Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
- Rainbow
- Darker Than Black

Some I like, but can't exactly call "favourites":
- School Days << also slow-paced

Some animes I completely dislike:
- Canaan
- Mushishi
- Bleach

I don't know about Planetes or Time of Eve.
Kara no Kyoukai is actually somewhat similar to Canaan (Which you said you didn't like) but it's mostly different and I still think you'll like it if you liked Death Note and Darker than Black.

Blue Literature is a lot like Rainbow, especially the first story so i think you'll like it.

Denpateki na Kanojo is somewhat similar to Death Note and Rainbow.

[Alucardo]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

The two that spring to mind are House of Five Leaves and Seirei no Moribito. Moribito does have a child co-lead, but he's the best kid ever - if you can't like Chagum, you don't have a heart. The series on the whole is focused on subtle, complex and mature ideas.

Thanks.
I watched trailer for HoFL, and it looks rediculous to me. :/

Originally Posted by O.D.

Try Elfen Lied. It has some episodes which focus on the childhood experiences of the main characters, but other than this, it fits perfectly in your list of preferences.

Thanks. I've actually seen it. Forgot to list it. It indeed fits perfectly - I loved that series.

Originally Posted by Haak

I don't know about Planetes or Time of Eve.
Kara no Kyoukai is actually somewhat similar to Canaan (Which you said you didn't like) but it's mostly different and I still think you'll like it if you liked Death Note and Darker than Black.

Blue Literature is a lot like Rainbow, especially the first story so i think you'll like it.

Denpateki na Kanojo is somewhat similar to Death Note and Rainbow.

Thanks. I google'd all of them and they all look somewhat worth checking out.
The reason I didn't like Canaan was because it was too action-oriented and it didn't really feel "serious".

I'm open to more suggestions.
Maybe one of my listed favourites is one of yours too and you've known about anime longer than me (~1.5 years), you might know similiar anime.

I'll post this list again and add my reasons:
- Gantz - probably the best thing anime I will ever see. It mixes sci-fi while the setting is present. There's parts that make me LMAO, but it's still quite depressive. Also a great "mindfk".
- Death Note - it's just perfect. Every episode from opening to ending. Even though there's supernatural stuff, it remain realistic (kind of :P). It's not some supernatural anime about some shinigami/ghost/zombi and whatever hunters.
- Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 - I liked the realism and following catastrophe events.
- Tokko - not 100% sure why, but I remember watching it non stop till the end.
- Rainbow - probably my #2 favourite. It felt real and really made me want to want to see what happens to the characters in next episodes.
- Ergo Proxy - sophisticated and a bit too sci fi, but still an epic anime. Besides the main character was hot!
- Bus Gamer - actually not that much of a favourite, I just listed it, because I don't have seen many animes. It was definately better than average.
- Paranoia Agent - what a mindfk
- Darker Than Black - I thought it's just another action series, but after watching some eps, it turned out sophisticated an serious anime. Took some google'ing to understand a few things, but once I did, I couldn't stop watching. The last 2 seasons were not that perfect: not even very sure why, but it felt different than the 1st season. I even disliked the opening compared to 1st season. However, I still enjoyed everything of it more than pretty much 90% of animes I've seen.
- Kaiji - the genre made me a bit sceptical. But getting into it, I found it pretty "deep" and was hooked.

[Ziziphus]

You could try Ninja Scroll (the movie, I don't recommend the series). It has some supernatural elements and a historic setting, but the action remains realistic and intense. Very serious and mature for sure.

And as totoum said, if you like Paranoia Agent and mindf**k, you may like Perfect Blue and Paprika (although Paprika may be a little too fantasy and scifi for your liking).

There's also King of Thorn, a relatively new movie. The sci-fi element is heavy but the whole movie feels very realistic.There's plenty of mindf**k towards the end too.

And yeah, they're all movies.

As for series: try Mouryou no Hako. A little too much talking sometime but overall a great mystery/psychology story with great executions.

[Re-l]

Mnemosyne

[Niji]

try Noir - kinda suspense triller about 2 hit women
else.... your criteria are tough

with a bit more futuristic and super natural I would suggest Wolf's Rain.

[Sackett]

You'd probably like Eden of the East. Bit of sci-fi, but perhaps just 20 minutes into the future. I didn't care for the twist at the end, but most people seem to have enjoyed it.

The following don't really have any of the extraordinary elements that are in most of the anime on your list, rather they tend to deal with mature themes in ordinary life. Not sure if that's of interest to you, but here they are:

Cross Game - the first episode has the main characters as children, from 2nd episode on they are in high school. I think you might like this one. (Did you like The Natural or For the Love of the Game?) Won "Best Anime TV Series for 2010" in the little contest we hold here every year.

Maison Ikkoku - while focused on romance, it does deal with areas of romance that are commonly ignored- such as financial responsibilities. Set in the 1980s.

Clannad - senior year in highschool, mainly a comedy about school life, although with some darker undercurrents. Main reason you'd watch is so you can watch the sequel:
Clannad: After Story - everything that comes after, getting married, having children, ect.

[Alucardo]

Originally Posted by Niji

try Noir - kinda suspense triller about 2 hit women
else.... your criteria are tough

with a bit more futuristic and super natural I would suggest Wolf's Rain.

Thanks. I'll check out Noir - hopefully it's not action-only.

Wolf's Rain seems too fantasyous.

Originally Posted by Sackett

You'd probably like Eden of the East. Bit of sci-fi, but perhaps just 20 minutes into the future. I didn't care for the twist at the end, but most people seem to have enjoyed it.

The following don't really have any of the extraordinary elements that are in most of the anime on your list, rather they tend to deal with mature themes in ordinary life. Not sure if that's of interest to you, but here they are:

Cross Game - the first episode has the main characters as children, from 2nd episode on they are in high school. I think you might like this one. (Did you like The Natural or For the Love of the Game?) Won "Best Anime TV Series for 2010" in the little contest we hold here every year.

Maison Ikkoku - while focused on romance, it does deal with areas of romance that are commonly ignored- such as financial responsibilities. Set in the 1980s.

Clannad - senior year in highschool, mainly a comedy about school life, although with some darker undercurrents. Main reason you'd watch is so you can watch the sequel:
Clannad: After Story - everything that comes after, getting married, having children, ect.

I think out of those Eden of the East might and Clannad might interest me.
Others seem to be comedies. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Re-l

Mnemosyne

Seems like some superhero anime... well, might try it. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Ziziphus

You could try Ninja Scroll (the movie, I don't recommend the series). It has some supernatural elements and a historic setting, but the action remains realistic and intense. Very serious and mature for sure.

And as totoum said, if you like Paranoia Agent and mindf**k, you may like Perfect Blue and Paprika (although Paprika may be a little too fantasy and scifi for your liking).

There's also King of Thorn, a relatively new movie. The sci-fi element is heavy but the whole movie feels very realistic.There's plenty of mindf**k towards the end too.

And yeah, they're all movies.

As for series: try Mouryou no Hako. A little too much talking sometime but overall a great mystery/psychology story with great executions.

I've got Paprika already. Anyhow, I'm more trying to find series. Films are just too short for me.
Thanks for Mouryou no Hako - seems like a serious anime.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Alucardo

As I said I've already tried looking random recomendations. Besides I already saw that topic.

So you really did check out all the shows I listed here and rejected them? Sorry, but then I'm out of suggestions.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Alucardo

Thanks. I google'd all of them and they all look somewhat worth checking out.
The reason I didn't like Canaan was because it was too action-oriented and it didn't really feel "serious"..

Oh I see. If that's the case then Kara no Kyoukai is fine.

[Re-l]

Originally Posted by Alucardo

Seems like some superhero anime... well, might try it. Thanks.

The plot summary makes it seem like one, haha. But I wouldn't classify it as one, there are really no superpowers other than the fact that she can't die (which is explained why during the series).

[Alucardo]

Originally Posted by Alucardo

Things I think I'm going to watch: Texhnolyze, Speed Grapher, The Skull Man, Boogiepop, Chaos Head...

Started but dropped Eden of the East. Dunno... it just felt like this anime wasn't targeted for mature audience.

Also tried Texhnolyze. That felt like the weirdest and overcomplicated anime ever. Even Ergo Proxy felt like child's play to understand, compared to this. So hard to get interested in it. It was so slow, eg 1st episode seemed to be focused on how people walk... wtf

Tried Speed Grapher too - it felt somewhat interesting, but not enough to get "hooked". I think it could have been something equally good as Darker Than Black, if the story was better.

Also tried Chaos Head, because I expected it to be something serious, dramatical and bloody. It turned out it was about some guy with emo pants who had hallucinations and lived in a container. This just took away my interest.


I think there's like 1 anime out of 100 that I like.

[Haladflire65]

Ok, you're almost as picky as me so I really want to help I know you said you don't want historic samurai stuff but you must watch Sword of the Stranger... It is a samurai movie but it's not very historic, it's animated amazingly by Bones (the studio behind DTB) and it's very serious, definitely not meant for kids. It doesn't have the complexity you seem to like in anime but it's still very, very good stuff.

Maybe you'd like Karas? I kind of doubt it because it doesn't have much depth in the story but it's a dark action/sci-fi anime that I enjoyed very much.

Durarara!!? Revolves around events that take place in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, with some supernatural elements. By the same people behind Baccano!, which is also excellent if you haven't seen it (personally, I think Baccano's better but DRRR had more endearing characters).

I might be able to think of more...