AnimeSuki Forums

Skygazer629 · 2006-12-20, 16:08

I'm looking for suggestions on what anime series to watch next. I've watched and really loved the following: Elfen Lied, , Tsukihime, Hellsing.......

- Blue Gender, Noir, Lain, and Gantz Season 1 (all I liked to a lesser extent)

Basically I like dark shows... I think character development is something thats very important for me as opposed to just a bloodbath etc type thing... though the bloodbath episode here and there doesn't turn me off at all.....
Seeing flashbacks of childhood from characters in Elfen Lied, and even in Hellsing seeing Alucard's human master as a child are among my favorite episodes. You know.. you actually have an idea why a character is the way that (s)he is.

I guess basically I want a series where I really get an emotional feeling for at least some of the characters, that's not a cutesy/childish looking show.... Some romance/relationship development is also a big plus, like there is in Elfen lied, or Tsukihime... or Blue Gender (which is I think the only reason I really made it through watching the series, as i liked to watch that relationship develop and see where it went.. countless bug slaying and the plot weren't super captivating for me). on the other hand, I don't mean like Season 1 of Gantz where the main character just acts perverted around girls, which I think is really shallow and a turnoff for me.

I think I also like vampire/superhuman powered individuals, i.e. you get those in all 3 of the anime I listed as my favorites. I didn't see much else in terms of vampires. I don't know if something like Vampire Princess Miyu fits with what i just said i liked or not?

Any suggestions stand out based on what i said im looking for? Thanks!

Matrim · 2006-12-20, 17:17

Quote:

I guess basically I want a series where I really get an emotional feeling for at least some of the characters, that's not a cutesy/childish looking show

Try Monster, I think it fits the description very well. It has great and extensive character development, it is very dark and with an addicting plot. Not much in the way of romance but no stupid fanservice, either.

Maybe Haibane Renmei, it's very emotional and almost totally character driven, not sure whether it fits the dark description, more like melancholic.

The currently running Red Garden has a similar concept to Gantz (the main characters are told they are dead and have to fight some monsters)and also strong character develpment and emotional attachment.

ThoHell · 2006-12-20, 17:22

Hmm, maybe Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori. It's a dark and twistedly weird anime....

SeijiSensei · 2006-12-20, 17:32

I'd put NHK ni Youkoso on your list right after Monster. Don't let the first few episodes fool you; this is a dark and complex psychological drama. As I said in the NHK forum, there have been few animes where I cared about the characters as much as this one. No vampires or other mystical creatures, just ordinary humans fighting with emotional difficulties. At times there are hints of romance, too, but like most things in NHK every bright cloud has a dark interior.

Lavabyle · 2006-12-20, 18:06

Higurashi has a very unique plotline and the character development is seroiously deep. Other than that i cast my vote for Evangelion.

mxg · 2006-12-20, 19:15

Wow did i hear right ? Dark and Deep with some really good character development ?
Then you are looking for Berserk which follows the Story of Guts the one man army and his tale of his life up until a certain point. it is great Stuff just look at my Ava and Aig (they are from the manga though)

Nergol · 2006-12-20, 19:58

Legend of Galactic Heroes does character development like nothing else, and is as real as it gets in terms of human emotion and motivation.

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is pretty dark and develops the characters well. Unfortunately, the characters it develops are mostly jerks.

Definitely Victorian Romance Emma. As you might have guessed, it's not very Japanese. But it does character development extremely well.

Oddly enough, Rozen Maiden might fit your requirements - it's deeper and darker than it first appears.

If you don't mind buying actual DVDs instead of downloading fansubs, Koi Kaze is about as dark as you can possibly get, and very deep and emotional. Princess Tutu and NieA_7 are other commercial animes with a lot of character development. I recommend them both.

andromeda0201 · 2006-12-20, 20:10

Fantastic Children, Kurau Phantom Memory and Basilisk are pretty dark
For character development, its Juuni Kokki for the win, you can try Kaleido Star too

cylontoaster · 2006-12-20, 20:19

Some more you might like:
Gungrave
Gankutsuou (The Count of Monte Cristo)
Gunslinger Girl
Now and Then, Here and There
Infinite Ryvius
and it doesn't get much darker or distrubing than Narutaru (Shadow Star)

Also some quick manga suggestions:
King of Thorns
Claymore
Bokurano
20th Century Boys

CrimsonFury · 2006-12-20, 23:49

Okay here's a few I thought of not listed i'll start with the licensed Anime

You've got Ninja Scroll, the movie, the Ova's(be warned they did not finish the OVA's also known as Ninja Resurrection) and the series

With Hunter Robin had some good dark undertones and was a serious anime with interesting plot.

Trinity Blood Fairly dark and intruiging plot, and it's also about vampires

Fullmetal Alchemist Despite it's cartoony first appearance, and a first 3-4 light hearted episodes(of course excluding the first two minutesof ep 1 :S) This show is probably one of the best combinations of a dark action ride, with amazing character development. You do feel for all the characters and it gives you a good view of what war etc.. does and what it means to both sides of a conflict. ALOT of very emotional twist and turns in this series with a great plot is a must watch for anyone IMO. All the hype for this series is justified.

Currently fansubbed animes

Black Lagoon a must have very dark, very mature, and just all around an awesome series, a must watch for any anime fan of action and well developed characters.

Hellsing OVA's well enough said

Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi not too much dark but some interesting characters very early in the series

Tokko Extremely dark series, much more along the line of a bloodbath anime but there's some good plot to it, unfortunately it is a fairly rushed ending

Blood+ It is licensed but not yet released into NA if im not mistaken, A great plot, with interesting characters. and of course once again some good Vampire action

BlueJar · 2006-12-21, 01:43

I have watched almost all the animes listed above and would (on the whole) recommend all of them, seeing as many of them fit your description. One anime that I absolutely loved was Please Save My Earth. It has an intriguing plot, lively rich characters, and is emotionally packed. Though, it is a bit on the romantic part it is still a wonderful anime to watch. The plot just gets you so caught up you can’t stop watching and the end seems just right for the anime. It’s as if every episode drove you further into the minds and past histories of the current embodied characters. I defiantly suggest you watch this anime; it will be a nice conversion into any other anime.

Duckinator · 2006-12-21, 02:11

I say try Gunslinger Girl. Its mainly about the Character Development. If you are a guy that wants an Anime with a Good Plot though, it ain't really for you.

miaka · 2006-12-21, 10:46

Black blood brothers -- vampire theme based from novel.
karin -- vampire comedy but the plot is not dark but light hearted.
fate stay night -- theres no vampire here but its from same company who create Tsukihime so you might want to take a look...
sousei no aquarion -- mecha romance genre...theres a vampire minor character and the series has strong psychological theme (jungian psychology to be specific)

Nergol · 2006-12-23, 01:51

Quote:

One anime that I absolutely loved was Please Save My Earth.

Ya, forgot about that one. Please Save My Ass is very dark and very affecting. Good call.

jedinat · 2006-12-23, 02:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nergol

Ya, forgot about that one. Please Save My Ass is very dark and very affecting. Good call.

Either that's a lame joke, or your unconscious mind is calling out for help.

CoolLikeAlways · 2006-12-23, 03:11

Death Note Its Sooooo Coool And Full of Darkness

Get Backers Soo Cool And Amaizing

And Those R Sooo Cool

Nergol · 2006-12-23, 15:43

JediNat;

I'll be the first to admit I was a pretty lousy JET teacher - being bad with people and not really liking children and all - but one of the few bright spots was that I was able to connect with the school otaku crowd via our mutual love of anime. A few of them seemed to be doing a group read of the PSME manga at the time.

When I taught them the English name of the series (in Japanese, it's "Boku no Chikyuu wo Mamotte"), they inevitably pronounced it in a sort of Japanized Katakana English. "Earth" is basically comprised of two sounds they don't have in Japanese - "ur" and "th". They pronounced it "Ah-su". So they ended up saying it as something much closer to "Please Save My Ass".

When I told them they were saying "Boku no Ketsu wo Mamotte", they didn't find it funny at all. I did though.

jedinat · 2006-12-23, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nergol

When I taught them the English name of the series (in Japanese, it's "Boku no Chikyuu wo Mamotte"), they inevitably pronounced it in a sort of Japanized Katakana English. "Earth" is basically comprised of two sounds they don't have in Japanese - "ur" and "th". They pronounced it "Ah-su". So they ended up saying it as something much closer to "Please Save My Ass".

When I told them they were saying "Boku no Ketsu wo Mamotte", they didn't find it funny at all. I did though.

lol, I see. I think I would have also found it funny ^^

2006-12-20, 16:08	Link #1
Skygazer629 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2006	Looking for Dark, emotional, character developed, anime to watch I'm looking for suggestions on what anime series to watch next. I've watched and really loved the following: Elfen Lied, , Tsukihime, Hellsing....... - Blue Gender, Noir, Lain, and Gantz Season 1 (all I liked to a lesser extent) Basically I like dark shows... I think character development is something thats very important for me as opposed to just a bloodbath etc type thing... though the bloodbath episode here and there doesn't turn me off at all..... Seeing flashbacks of childhood from characters in Elfen Lied, and even in Hellsing seeing Alucard's human master as a child are among my favorite episodes. You know.. you actually have an idea why a character is the way that (s)he is. I guess basically I want a series where I really get an emotional feeling for at least some of the characters, that's not a cutesy/childish looking show.... Some romance/relationship development is also a big plus, like there is in Elfen lied, or Tsukihime... or Blue Gender (which is I think the only reason I really made it through watching the series, as i liked to watch that relationship develop and see where it went.. countless bug slaying and the plot weren't super captivating for me). on the other hand, I don't mean like Season 1 of Gantz where the main character just acts perverted around girls, which I think is really shallow and a turnoff for me. I think I also like vampire/superhuman powered individuals, i.e. you get those in all 3 of the anime I listed as my favorites. I didn't see much else in terms of vampires. I don't know if something like Vampire Princess Miyu fits with what i just said i liked or not? Any suggestions stand out based on what i said im looking for? Thanks!

2006-12-23, 03:11	Link #16
CoolLikeAlways COOL LIKE ALWAYS Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: UAE (Dubai)	Dark Death Note Its Sooooo Coool And Full of Darkness Get Backers Soo Cool And Amaizing And Those R Sooo Cool

2006-12-20, 17:22	Link #3
ThoHell Senior Member Join Date: May 2006	Hmm, maybe Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori. It's a dark and twistedly weird anime....

2006-12-20, 17:32	Link #4
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	I'd put NHK ni Youkoso on your list right after Monster. Don't let the first few episodes fool you; this is a dark and complex psychological drama. As I said in the NHK forum, there have been few animes where I cared about the characters as much as this one. No vampires or other mystical creatures, just ordinary humans fighting with emotional difficulties. At times there are hints of romance, too, but like most things in NHK every bright cloud has a dark interior.

2006-12-20, 18:06	Link #5
Lavabyle A Ninny Moose Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Loitering around Age: 31	Higurashi has a very unique plotline and the character development is seroiously deep. Other than that i cast my vote for Evangelion.

2006-12-20, 19:15	Link #6
mxg The Lone Gamer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: A changed place Age: 35	Wow did i hear right ? Dark and Deep with some really good character development ? Then you are looking for Berserk which follows the Story of Guts the one man army and his tale of his life up until a certain point. it is great Stuff just look at my Ava and Aig (they are from the manga though)

2006-12-20, 19:58	Link #7
Nergol Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006	Legend of Galactic Heroes does character development like nothing else, and is as real as it gets in terms of human emotion and motivation. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is pretty dark and develops the characters well. Unfortunately, the characters it develops are mostly jerks. Definitely Victorian Romance Emma. As you might have guessed, it's not very Japanese. But it does character development extremely well. Oddly enough, Rozen Maiden might fit your requirements - it's deeper and darker than it first appears. If you don't mind buying actual DVDs instead of downloading fansubs, Koi Kaze is about as dark as you can possibly get, and very deep and emotional. Princess Tutu and NieA_7 are other commercial animes with a lot of character development. I recommend them both.

2006-12-20, 20:10	Link #8
andromeda0201 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006	Fantastic Children, Kurau Phantom Memory and Basilisk are pretty dark For character development, its Juuni Kokki for the win, you can try Kaleido Star too

2006-12-20, 20:19	Link #9
cylontoaster Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006	Some more you might like: Gungrave Gankutsuou (The Count of Monte Cristo) Gunslinger Girl Now and Then, Here and There Infinite Ryvius and it doesn't get much darker or distrubing than Narutaru (Shadow Star) Also some quick manga suggestions: King of Thorns Claymore Bokurano 20th Century Boys

2006-12-20, 23:49	Link #10
CrimsonFury Behold the Fury Join Date: Dec 2003 Age: 39	Okay here's a few I thought of not listed i'll start with the licensed Anime You've got Ninja Scroll, the movie, the Ova's(be warned they did not finish the OVA's also known as Ninja Resurrection) and the series With Hunter Robin had some good dark undertones and was a serious anime with interesting plot. Trinity Blood Fairly dark and intruiging plot, and it's also about vampires Fullmetal Alchemist Despite it's cartoony first appearance, and a first 3-4 light hearted episodes(of course excluding the first two minutesof ep 1 :S) This show is probably one of the best combinations of a dark action ride, with amazing character development. You do feel for all the characters and it gives you a good view of what war etc.. does and what it means to both sides of a conflict. ALOT of very emotional twist and turns in this series with a great plot is a must watch for anyone IMO. All the hype for this series is justified. Currently fansubbed animes Black Lagoon a must have very dark, very mature, and just all around an awesome series, a must watch for any anime fan of action and well developed characters. Hellsing OVA's well enough said Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi not too much dark but some interesting characters very early in the series Tokko Extremely dark series, much more along the line of a bloodbath anime but there's some good plot to it, unfortunately it is a fairly rushed ending Blood+ It is licensed but not yet released into NA if im not mistaken, A great plot, with interesting characters. and of course once again some good Vampire action

2006-12-21, 01:43	Link #11
BlueJar Piggy Out there? Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: InPiggy Age: 37	I have watched almost all the animes listed above and would (on the whole) recommend all of them, seeing as many of them fit your description. One anime that I absolutely loved was Please Save My Earth. It has an intriguing plot, lively rich characters, and is emotionally packed. Though, it is a bit on the romantic part it is still a wonderful anime to watch. The plot just gets you so caught up you can’t stop watching and the end seems just right for the anime. It’s as if every episode drove you further into the minds and past histories of the current embodied characters. I defiantly suggest you watch this anime; it will be a nice conversion into any other anime.

2006-12-21, 02:11	Link #12
Duckinator Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006	I say try Gunslinger Girl. Its mainly about the Character Development. If you are a guy that wants an Anime with a Good Plot though, it ain't really for you.

2006-12-21, 10:46	Link #13
miaka Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005	Black blood brothers -- vampire theme based from novel. karin -- vampire comedy but the plot is not dark but light hearted. fate stay night -- theres no vampire here but its from same company who create Tsukihime so you might want to take a look... sousei no aquarion -- mecha romance genre...theres a vampire minor character and the series has strong psychological theme (jungian psychology to be specific)

2006-12-23, 15:43	Link #17
Nergol Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006	JediNat; I'll be the first to admit I was a pretty lousy JET teacher - being bad with people and not really liking children and all - but one of the few bright spots was that I was able to connect with the school otaku crowd via our mutual love of anime. A few of them seemed to be doing a group read of the PSME manga at the time. When I taught them the English name of the series (in Japanese, it's "Boku no Chikyuu wo Mamotte"), they inevitably pronounced it in a sort of Japanized Katakana English. "Earth" is basically comprised of two sounds they don't have in Japanese - "ur" and "th". They pronounced it "Ah-su". So they ended up saying it as something much closer to "Please Save My Ass". When I told them they were saying "Boku no Ketsu wo Mamotte", they didn't find it funny at all. I did though.