Mature anime with action and colourful characters

[God of Peace]

I am looking for something like Baccano! I absolutely loved it because of it's great characters ranging from hilarious to psychopathic; I loved it's unconventional story-telling, its unique choice of setting (or settings), it's mature (no shonen ), stylish violence, great music.

So far I have watched Darker than black, Gungrave, berserk, cowboy bebop, samurai champloo, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, Claymore, Hellsing, Monster, Trigun, Canaan, Kara no Kyoukai.

Thanks.

[Kotohono]

I'll probably think of something more later, but you're watching Durarara!! right?
It has unconventional story-telling, rather interesting set of characters, and same director of Baccano!.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by God of Peace

I loved it's unconventional story-telling, its unique choice of setting (or settings), it's mature (no shonen ), stylish violence, great music.

I think you're a candidate for Mononoke and its licensed predecessor Bakeneko.

[Full Metal Coast]

Black Lagoon is one you will probably love.

[Van-kun]

of all the anime that came out of my mid this one would be best fitting..

FUTAKOI ALTERNATIVE

it's hilarious and action packed from the start with wonderful characters and as it comes to it's conclusion the serious drama-side of the anime surfaces..

[Sackett]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

[Kotohono]

Originally Posted by Full Metal Coast

Black Lagoon is one you will probably love.

Second that, it's right what he is looking for.

[Boduar]

Hmm I wonder if Kiba would count. I think it is probably shounen but characters are all emotionally mature(only exception might be a minor character who is an apprentice) and has decent action.

Edit: Murder Princess fits perfectly probably although its a short 6 episode OVA.

[roriconfan]

Dennou Coil

[SeijiSensei]

I've got two more suggestions for you. One is Oh! Edo Rocket, a satire on censorship and authoritarianism set in 1843-44 Japan. All the characters are adults, and they're most definitely colorful! It's now streaming at Funimation in advance (hopefully) of a DVD release later this year. The character models are quite unusual, but I got used to them rather quickly:


Click to enlarge

Rocket also has one of my favorite scores, a mixture of big-band jazz, mariachi, and the occasional rock track. (roriconfan's suggestion, Dennou Coil, has my favorite anime score of all time, and a great story as well.)

My other suggestion is Kure-nai. Though the main characters are not adults, the story is most definitely mature, even disturbing. It has some "stylish" action, though it's not so bloody as Baccano!, and a good bit of comedy and slice-of-life material in amongst the drama and action. Good OP/ED, decent soundtrack. It's also by Brains-Base, the studio that made Baccano!.

[God of Peace]

Thanks, already watched black lagoon (sorry, should've mentioned that), I may like mononoke (looks like a mature xxxHolic). I am also reading Full metal alchemist manga, so Brotherhood would'nt be as interesting. I need something a bit more darker than Kira.

I will check out kure nai. I have also seen Shingetsutan tsukihime, Fate/stay night and shikabane hime.

[Kafriel]

Higurashi and Umineko if they're your cup of tea...could also try out Gantz and Blood+.

Hmm I wonder if Kiba would count. I think it is probably shounen but characters are all emotionally mature(only exception might be a minor character who is an apprentice) and has decent action.

KIBA is in my mature section, although it's not that deep and dark it has a distinctive difference from your run-of-the-mill shounen action anime.

[funkyaristotle]

Since you've seen Samurai Champloo, how about the 2 more recent series from the same studio. Michiko to Hatchin and The Sacred Blacksmith. If you want to choose one, I recommend Michiko to Hatchin. It has a great setting, an excellent sound track and interesting characters.

Also check the other series by Bee train. They satisfy most of your requirements, namely Noir, Madlax, Blade of the Immortal and El Cazador de la Bruja.

I also recommend checking out Birdy the mighty decode. While the first season is mediocre at best, the second season is full of win, especially the fight animation and soundtrack (plus it has an awesome antagonist).

Finally, there is 'The vision of escaflowne' it is worth watching this one just for its OST (imo Yoko Kanno's best work ever)

[NervZero]

Speed Grapher might be what you are looking for..

http://www.anime-planet.com/anime/speed-grapher

[God of Peace]

Since you've seen Samurai Champloo, how about the 2 more recent series from the same studio. Michiko to Hatchin and The Sacred Blacksmith. If you want to choose one, I recommend Michiko to Hatchin. It has a great setting, an excellent sound track and interesting characters.

Also check the other series by Bee train. They satisfy most of your requirements, namely Noir, Madlax, Blade of the Immortal and El Cazador de la Bruja.

I also recommend checking out Birdy the mighty decode. While the first season is mediocre at best, the second season is full of win, especially the fight animation and soundtrack (plus it has an awesome antagonist).

Finally, there is 'The vision of escaflowne' it is worth watching this one just for its OST (imo Yoko Kanno's best work ever)

I'm already watching Noir, reading BOTI, and will check our El Cazador de la Bruja. BTW isnt Escaflowne shoujo romance or something? Thats the opposite of what I want.

[CeDeR]

I second Kure-Nai

[xenapan]

Originally Posted by funkyaristotle

Since you've seen Samurai Champloo, how about the 2 more recent series from the same studio. Michiko to Hatchin and The Sacred Blacksmith. If you want to choose one, I recommend Michiko to Hatchin. It has a great setting, an excellent sound track and interesting characters.

Also check the other series by Bee train. They satisfy most of your requirements, namely Noir, Madlax, Blade of the Immortal and El Cazador de la Bruja.

I also recommend checking out Birdy the mighty decode. While the first season is mediocre at best, the second season is full of win, especially the fight animation and soundtrack (plus it has an awesome antagonist).

Finally, there is 'The vision of escaflowne' it is worth watching this one just for its OST (imo Yoko Kanno's best work ever)

hi. i need more suggestions that whats already been put out. basically looking for the same things the OP is.

I started watching madlax.. its sloooooowww to the point its putting me to sleep. not to mention the BAD animation quality... the story was interesting at first but even 12 eps in its not that far into the story.

anyone got better ideas? better paced stories like baccano. i've watched most of the other suggestions (gantz, blood+, speed grapher, KIBA, black lagoon, FMA, murder princess, darker than black, trigun, gungrave,helsing, requiem for the phantom, black cat, bakemonogatari, mononoke, dennou coil)

i found claymore ok... but like elfen lied its gory for the sake of being gory and that doesnt really interest me.

[cerrian]

Originally Posted by xenapan

hi. i need more suggestions that whats already been put out. basically looking for the same things the OP is.

I started watching madlax.. its sloooooowww to the point its putting me to sleep. not to mention the BAD animation quality... the story was interesting at first but even 12 eps in its not that far into the story.

anyone got better ideas? better paced stories like baccano. i've watched most of the other suggestions (gantz, blood+, speed grapher, KIBA, black lagoon, FMA, murder princess, darker than black, trigun, gungrave,helsing, requiem for the phantom, black cat, bakemonogatari, mononoke, dennou coil)

i found claymore ok... but like elfen lied its gory for the sake of being gory and that doesnt really interest me.

Try Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra. Like Baccano, Bantorra is a dark seinen story that has a large cast of characters and a number of what appears to be separate and disjointed story arcs/events that later on intertwine and twist into a dark and serious plot line.

One of the great things about Bantorra is its unpredictable nature. It preys on your assumptions of anime conventions and cliches. Each episode is very efficient with little if any time wasted on fillers or fluff scenes. What may appear to be a typical standard fluff-filled anime scene will almost certainly come back later in the series with significant importance.

A forewarning though, Bantorra is one of those series that needs to build up early on before it explodes forward. Therefore expect the first 3 episodes to be confusing, disjointed, and perhaps slow. By the 4 ep (end of the 1st arc) pieces of the puzzle will start to fall into place and a glimpse at the true story and characters will be revealed.

[xenapan]

Originally Posted by cerrian

Try Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra. Like Baccano, Bantorra is a dark seinen story that has a large cast of characters and a number of what appears to be separate and disjointed story arcs/events that later on intertwine and twist into a dark and serious plot line.

One of the great things about Bantorra is its unpredictable nature. It preys on your assumptions of anime conventions and cliches. Each episode is very efficient with little if any time wasted on fillers or fluff scenes. What may appear to be a typical standard fluff-filled anime scene will almost certainly come back later in the series with significant importance.

A forewarning though, Bantorra is one of those series that needs to build up early on before it explodes forward. Therefore expect the first 3 episodes to be confusing, disjointed, and perhaps slow. By the 4 ep (end of the 1st arc) pieces of the puzzle will start to fall into place and a glimpse at the true story and characters will be revealed.

im good with that... i wasted a few hours watching madlax to ep 17 and i got so tired of the bad animation + sloooooow storyline i deleted the whole set. bantorra sounds like exactly the kind of anime i wanna watch right now. thanks!

[Niji]

Originally Posted by God of Peace

BTW isnt Escaflowne shoujo romance or something? Thats the opposite of what I want.

Escaflowne is a mecha anime, though very much out of the perspective of the (non-pilot) girl. If one can stomach old animation (pre 2K), it is a good show. Good story, interesting chars. If you see the series, you can do without the film.