Looking for something like the works of Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop)

[Freeze]

Hey guys, Ive been trying to find a new anime to watch. Latley I've felt that animes just aren't as good as they used to be, not very original or meaningful. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still an anime fan and still love the medium, but lately I've found normal television shows to have much more meaningful stories to them. I've gotten tired of shonens, and while one piece is all sorts of awesomeness I sometimes find myself just not watching it for months at a time. I don't really now how to characterize what I want in an anime, but I really loved the following series:
-Cowboy Bebop
-Speed Grapher
-Black Lagoon
-Samurai Champloo
-Death Note

I don't really need a dark anime, but maybe one thats more realistic. To me, the works of Watanabe really have a lot of heart to them, but I guess he isn't gonna direct anything anytime soon. Ive been thinking of giving Michiko to Hatchin and Baccano! a try though.

[signorRossi]

Hmm, out of your favourites I only liked (but those much) the two series by Watanabe, dropped 'Death Note' and was dissatisfied by 'Black Lagoon' in the end, haven't seen 'Speed Grapher'.
As for your call for suggestions, have you already seen 'Gankutsou, The Count of Monte Cristo'? It is a solid (not happy-go-lucky, but also not that dark) series with gorgeous art, just don't expect any comedic relief in it (no warrior monks and dope in this series ).
Michiko to Hatchin has some good episodes, but isn't consistent as a whole, which is a real shame.
Finally I can't resist to recommend something out of your usual watch pattern: give the medicine seller a try, the last arc of 'Ayakashi, Japanese Classic Horror Stories' and 'Mononoke', that is.

signorRossi.

[Niji]

Michiko to hatchin is very good show, entertaining, deep enough. in topic comparable a bit to samurai champloo searching someone for some reason. your list reminded me of Wolf's rain, and Claymore also. Not much to do with Watanabe sama, but good animes along your lines.

[SeijiSensei]

You should watch Monster; deep, realistic, all the things you're looking for.

I'll second signorRossi's suggestion of Bakeneko/Mononoke as well. They won't look like anything you've ever seen. The same team from Toei created the currently-airing series Trapeze; it's perhaps not so stylized as their earlier creations, but it still has a very distinctive look. Bakeneko is the best $7 you can spend on an anime in my opinion.

Among older series, if you've never watched Twelve Kingdoms, I'd suggest you give that a try. I'll warn you that it takes half-a-dozen episodes to really get going, but your patience will be greatly rewarded. Planetes is a sci-fi slice-of-life show about space trash collectors that feels "realistic" despite being set some decades into the future.

You might also want to look at Welcome to the NHK!, a psychological comedy-drama about young adults struggling to find their places in the world.

Finally, I'll toss Kure-nai onto the list. It has a mix of drama and slice-of-life features with some action sequences as well.

Seconds for Claymore and Baccano! as well. The latter is being streamed for free at both Funimation's own site and at hulu.com.

[retardation]

a lot of bones stuff i think is similar. i like darker than black.

[Troilism]

You just need to expand out of your comfort zone. Anime works a bit differently since there are so many different shows, you can easily get turned off for a while but come back.

Real Drive
XXXholic and second season as well
Oh! Edo Rocket
Amatsuki
Mazinkaiser
New Getter Robo
kare kano
hunter x hunter (ovas as well)
Noein
Crystal Blaze

I through in a bit of a mix there but if you want to keep watching you have to look for different stuff. Sure there's a lot of shows that mean nothing but are just fun watches (asu no yoichi! and such stuff) but there's a lot of good stuff getting released as well. There's tons of stuff already out but you need to give them a chance. I myself went on break for about half a year and have come back and it's kinda nice rewatching oldies and watching new stuff as well.

[oompa loompa]

I'll update this later, but for now you should get your hands on Kara no Kyoukai ASAP. This is such a worn out recommendation, but if you haven't seen Evangelion, you should do that as well ( post your anime list too pls!)

[wingdarkness]

I second Matchiko E. Hatchin, it's the closest thing I've watched reminiscent to the spirit of something like Cowboy Bebop...Far more than the tad bit overrated Black Lagoon if i'm being honest...

Also try Tokyo Tribe 2 if you get the chance..It's offbeat, dark, and loads of interesting with an incredible genre blending soundtrack...

[retardation]

is kara no kyoukai complete or are there going to be more movies?

[Ansalem]

Originally Posted by retardation

is kara no kyoukai complete or are there going to be more movies?

There are seven movies in total. All have been in Japanese cinema, but the seventh has not been released on DVD/BD.