Your Top 10 Seinen/'Mature' anime

[Alen]

Can you guys list your top 10 (or whatever you prefer) mature anime so I can get some ideas on what to watch next. If you could include why you liked each one that would be great. Thanks.


Edit:
Anime I've seen

Black Lagoon, Gantz, Elfen Lied, NGE, Berserk, Claymore, Blue Gender, Hellsing, Samurai Champloo, Afro Samurai, Cowboy Bebop, Devil May Cry, Ergo Proxy, Gunslinger Girl, Witch Hunte Robin and more. I don't usually like 'mindless action'.

[Haladflire65]

I'll just give you a few... What have you watched so far?

- Hellsing Ultimate. Really awesome animation, badass characters and dark humor.
- Monster: incredibly intricate plot, great drama, deep characters. It was rather heavy stuff but seriously, this one's a masterpiece.
- Sword of the Stranger: Some of the best swordfighting I've ever seen... BTW, this is a movie from studio BONES.
- Darker than Black... There aren't many people who haven't seen this one...

I know you asked for anime but I'd like to give you an excellent seinen manhwa as well - Shin Angyo Onshi. It's Korean, has good art, a good plot and good action.

Tell me what you think

[JRendell]

I havn't seen very much anime so I can't give 10;

Ninja Scroll: awesome characters, explicit content and a great plot. There's a sequel too.
Basilisk: very similar to Ninja Scroll. Artwork isn't quite as good imo.
Kite: it's a movie. If you've seen Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, then you will like this. Kite is much more 'seinen' than P~RftP~.

Hope this helps,

JR~

[Boduar]

Only 2 I can think of that are not already listed would be Murder Princess (ova) and Ghost in the Shell (I think it counts as seinen)

[Alen]

I can't believe I haven't seen Darker Than Black yet. I just looked at some footage and it looks damn good. Any others?

[synaesthetic]

I can't think of ten, so I'm tossing out one.

And I'm wondering why nobody mentioned it yet.

Kara no Kyoukai
Seven movies adapted from light novels written by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. The movies are quite simply wondrous to behold. The art is stunning, the animation is fluid and the production values are some of the highest I've seen in an anime film.

Story is quite good but a little confusing (lol incomprehensible Nasuwords), especially since the movies were aired in anachronistic order. The plot involves one Shiki Ryougi, a young woman who obtains the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, enabling her to see the "lines of death" in objects, people and more. By cutting those lines she can literally kill just about anything. Throw in some sorcerers, psychos, killers and otherwise warped and very powerful people, and the end result is pretty much awesome.

[DragoZERO]

Some may be considered as shonen, but the shonen demographic wouldn't be able to enjoy and realize the value as much as the seinen would.

• 5 Centimeters per Second
• Baccano!
• Blood+
• Blood: The Last Vampire
• Dennou Coil
• ef - a tale of memories
• Ga-Rei Zero
• Eden of the East
• Kure-nai
• Kurozuka
• Perfect Blue
• REC
• Seirei no Moribito
• White Album

[synaesthetic]

I always wondered why Eden of the East was considered shonen. I think most 10-13 year old boys would get bored with it/not understand it too well.

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

I always wondered why Eden of the East was considered shonen. I think most 10-13 year old boys would get bored with it/not understand it too well.

It's not. All of the sites list it as josei, and I have no idea why. It is definitely for both genders, but it's definitely not josei.

[Ansalem]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

It's not. All of the sites list it as josei, and I have no idea why. It is definitely for both genders, but it's definitely not josei.

They are target demographics. Higashi no Eden can be josei without implying that no one besides late-teen/adult women will enjoy it. It just tells what kind of person for whom the product is marketed and who the company thinks will be most interested in it, not exclusively who will watch it.　It's also more relevant for manga, since the demographic determines what kind of weekly publication the chapters appear in.

I'd second a lot the shows that have already been mentioned (Dennou Coil, Ga-Rei Zero, Kara no Kyoukai, Seirei no Moribito, Higashi no Eden, 5 cm per Second, Sword of the Stranger, Darker than Black, etc). Here are some seinen that haven't been mentioned yet. I'd list some more mature ones as well, but there's already a ton of suggestions in the thread.

Canaan: An action series set in China in an alternate present in which biological warfare has played an important role. A young photographer gets involved with an old friend who has a mysterious past, as they undercover a plot involving a strange virus. Many likable characters, including villains, with a decent plot and excellent action animation.

Mushishi: Ginko, an expert on mushi -- small mysterious creatures invisible to most-- wanders ancient Japan, investigating different Mushi that have gotten entangled with humans. It's a very relaxing show, and provides very interesting insights into lives of various people that Ginko meets who have been affected by the Mushi.

Macross Frontier: Mecha meets music. An excellent addition to the Macross franchise, it features an interesting plot, nicely made mecha action, and great music by Kanno Youko (composer for Cowboy Bebop among others).

Spice and Wolf: In a medieval Europe-inspired setting, a traveling merchant meets an ancient wolf girl who had been worshiped as a harvest goddess. She accompanies him on his journeys, slowly making her way back to her home. It features great back-and-forth dialogue between the two leads and makes trading interesting in a way you're wouldn't think possible.

Planetes: A young woman starts her new job in outer space as a debris hauler. This is a great realistic portrayal of a near future in outer space with fun, exciting, and touching characters.

[SeijiSensei]

My signature contains my list of contenders; nearly all probably qualify as "seinen;" certainly all are "mature." I can give you some short descriptions of each title, though you should be able to find much more information about all of them in the forums here and on other sites like Wikipedia (warning: spoilers) and AnimeNewsNetwork.

Browsing across my signature from left to right we have:

Mononoke Hime (licensed) - by far the most complex and mature of Miyazaki's works that I've seen; presents the conflict between human progress and the natural environment yet offers no easy answers

Planetes (licensed) - a slice-of-life portrayal of space trash collectors that touches on many issues with romance as well

Seirei no Moribito (licensed) - a 30-yo female bodyguard becomes the protector for a young prince who harbors an important secret about his country, its origins, and its future

Hataraki Man - a slice-of-life series about a 28-yo magazine editor coping with the stress and patriarchy of the Japanese workplace; subs exist but are hard to find

Mononoke - a set of fantasy/horror stories about an apothecary who slays demons; the evils this show portrays are all too sadly the result of human volition; see also its licensed prequel, "Goblin Cat"

Oh! Edo Rocket (licensed; streams available) - a satirical look at Japan in 1843-1844 with a focus on authoritarianism and censorship

Welcome to the NHK! (licensed; streams available) - a psychological slice-of-life story about a young man living as a "NEET" ("not in employment, education, or training") who meets a young woman intent on "curing" him of his problem

Baccano! (licensed; streams available) - gangsters encounter immortals in Prohibition America

Nodame Cantabile - aspiring young musicians in a conservatory take their first steps into professional careers and discover romance along the way

Monster (licensed) - a Japanese doctor working in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall becomes involved with a psychotic young man and fascistic plots

Twelve Kingdoms (licensed) - a Japanese high-school girl is mystically transported to another world where she discovers her true fate; largely a political drama with little romance

Saiunkoku Monogatari (licensed) - a feisty young woman yearns to become the first female imperial official in a fantasy Asian country that resembles T'ang China

Noein (licensed) - a 12-yo girl discovers she's the nexus of a conflict between "parallel dimensions" that might destroy our world

Dennou Coil - a story about children in a near-future world where special eyeglasses enable them to interact with a fantastical virtual world overlaid on the physical one; one of my favorite scores as well

Kure-nai - a 16-yo boy becomes the protector of the 7-yo heiress of a powerful Japanese industrial clan; mixes action, humor, comedy and slice-of-life with a disturbing plot

Bartender - a young bartender nicknamed the "Glass of the Gods" makes his reputation by finding just the right alcoholic concoction to resolve his customers' long-standing emotional conflicts

Saiunkoku is considered "josei," but I don't really care for labels based on marketing decisions about target audiences.

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

All of the sites list [Higashi no Eden] as josei, and I have no idea why. It is definitely for both genders, but it's definitely not josei.

It was carried on Fuji's Noitamina service which has traditionally catered to the josei audience.

[Alen]

Wow, some interesting stuff in this thread. Now I can't choose what to watch!! Guess I'll start with Planetes (looks really interesting even though I usually don't like 'realistic' shows) and Darker Than Black.

[Sackett]

Maison Ikkoku

[Zwei]

Kite

Spoiler for Summary:

Sawa is a school girl, an orphan, and an assassin. She is being controlled by a corrupt cop who gives her targets to kill, detailing to her the crimes these men have committed in order to justify their death. Some of his power over Sawa has to do with her deceased parents and the promise of revenge. When another orphan, a teenage boy called Oburi, is brought in to assist Sawa, the two teenage killers form a bond of sorts. As they heal each other's emotional wounds, they begin to dream of a life that would not be spent under the shadows of murder.

Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~

Spoiler for Summary:

Mafia is rife in America where assassinations are a regular occurrence on the streets. Inferno, a mysterious company, is behind most of these dealings through the use of their near-invincible human weapon, "Phantom."

One day, a Japanese tourist accidentally witnesses Phantom’s latest murder. Desperate to escape, the tourist hides in a secluded building. However, Phantom, revealed to be a young woman named Ein, and the leader of Inferno ‘Scythe Master’ captures the tourist and brainwashes him.

Given the name ’Zwei’, this once peaceful tourist is now a puppet of Inferno with no memories. Drawn into a world of lies, deceit, and violence, Zwei must fight to survive, hopefully to one day regain his memories and escape from this world where he is constantly on the brink of death.

Darker than BLACK

Spoiler for Summary:

In Tokyo, an impenetrable field known as "Hell's Gate" appeared ten years ago. At the same time, psychics who wield paranormal powers at the cost of their conscience also emerged. Hei is one of the most powerful of these psychic agents, and along with his blind associate, Yin, works for one of the many rival agencies vying to unlock the mysteries of Hell's Gate.

Ghost in the Shell (There is 2 TV series and 7 movies)

Spoiler for Summary:

In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster. The pursuit will call into question what makes a human and what is the Puppetmaster in a world where the distinction between human and machine is increasingly blurry.

[DragoZERO]

Oh yeah! I don't know how i missed Requiem for the Phantom. I second, third and fourth that series!

[TCman]

Here's my top 10 seinen/mature anime:

10. Salaryman Kintarō

9. Ride Back

8. Red Garden

7. Nijū Mensō no Musume

6. Kemonozume

5. Perfect Blue

4. Wolf's Rain

3. Shion no Ou

2. Emma - A Victorian Romance

1. Sennen Joyuu (Millenium Actress)

[Van-kun]

eh? mature?

hmm..
School Days..

not good for children under 15..


"NO TO Premarital Sex"

[Generic Asian Guy]

Texhnolyze?

[Alen]

I watched School Days. It was great. I also watched the first 3 episodes of Texhnolyze and I couldn't get into it...I am watching Darker Than Black currently, it seems good though I've only seen 2 episodes to far.

[CeDeR]

Mononoke:Mysterious main character, unique animation and good stories.
Monster: Story, characters.
Texhnolize: good mindfuck.
Ghost Hound: Never saw anything like this.One of my all time favs dealing with out of body experiences, esoteric stuff and great characters.
Death Note: Good mind battles.
Berserk: Epic battles,great characters.
Kemonozume:think romeo and juliet but with monsters and monster´s assasins.
Gankutsuou:Sweet Revenge.
Hitsuji no Uta: Original vampire love story!?
Lain: Best mindfuck ive seen prolly.
Shigurui: Great swordfighting action.

Cant think, i have a terrible hang over will edit this later and add more.