Good drama/action anime?

[Cynor]

So recently a friend showed me some of Death Note and Blood+ and I liked how it had a mix of action (but not too much) and drama without a lot of romance like is sometimes mixed in. So I was wondering if anyone could maybe recommend a few series along the same lines. Not too actiony with good story and some drama. Preferably a bit light on the romance factor, not that I'm against that but right now I'm in more of an actiony mood.

To give you an idea of some of the more actiony series I've watched and enjoyed to help you... (in no order)

Fate/Stay Night
Nanoha
Read or Die TV
Mai Hime/Otome
Helsing
Elfen Lied
FMA

and of course a bit of Blood+ and Death Note as I said above.

[qtipbrit]

Rozen Maiden is mildly similar to Nanoha with strange dolls instead of unusual magical girls. There's many slice-of-life comedy-ish moments, and some magical power doll fights. It also has the romance-less drama you're looking for.

Shakugan no Shana is another action/drama/everything anime that's been compared to Fate/Stay Night. The romance in the series isn't central, but it's pretty important for progression, though it's not necessarily a "romance" anime.

Spoiler for Fate/Stay Night:

Think Fate/Stay Night in terms of romance except that the two never really kiss and such.

You might also enjoy Baccano!, which focuses mostly on a story with relatively little romance. It spends most of its time progressing the plot with occasional drama and some quite sweet action scenes. If you try it out, don't be intimidated by the first episode, it'll scare you since you'll have no idea what half of the stuff happening is until you've seen the whole series.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann might be another one you're looking for, if you don't dislike mecha. It has some romance and a good deal of action, but its story is still strong, and there's drama. I also need to add the obligatory "This is the most epic series you will ever see. Epic."

[Cynor]

Thanks for the suggestions, i'll be sure to check them out. I actually forgot them on the list for some reason (probably since i was a little tired when making it and have seen so many anime series) but i have seen and enjoyed both shana and rozen. Also just to add onto the list (since my head is a bit more clear now) stratos 4.

[CrimsonWater]

Perhaps Samurai 7, Tusbasa Chronicles: Tokyo Revalations(the tv series was a little slower and more kid friendly), and something a little less mature... D. Grayman.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Seirei no Moribito

Balsa the spearwoman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, in atonement for a past sin. On her journey, she happens to save a prince, and is tasked with becoming his bodyguard.

Seirei no Moribito is, for the most part, a pseudo-historical fantasy/drama with a few episodes of high octane action. There are some elements of romance between two characters, but it's very subdued and not the main focus of the story.

Spoiler for video preview of Seirei no Moribito Ep3:

[Cynor]

CrimsonWater, do you think you can maybe expand upon on those suggestions a little and offer a little info on them from your perspective (like qtipbrit92 and TinyRedLeaf did) to help out? Granted I can easily look up descriptions, but it's nice to have something more to go on then just "maybe so and so" no offense.


Anyways, Seirei no Moribito does look interesting and seems like something I would like.. a shame it seems to be licensed and I just don't have the money for DvDs right now. Well, there is always Baccano left.There is also that D. Grayman, which from the desc sounds like it may be interesting... but I tend to shy away from the really long series like that and Bleach and such due to a lot fillers.

[james0246]

^ I guess they do not have Netflix on Midchilda or its two moons .

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Cynor

Anyways, Seirei no Moribito does look interesting and seems like something I would like.. a shame it seems to be licensed and I just don't have the money for DvDs right now.

It wouldn't matter if you did. The R1 license belonged to Geneon USA, and they've closed up shop. Media Blasters has picked up the license, but I don't think they've released any discs yet. There's also a separate deal between Seirei's owner Dentsu and Cartoon Network to show Seirei on that channel. Again there's no information about an airing date. If you live in the US, you might someday be able to watch Seirei no Moribito for free.

While you're waiting, I also think you should give Baccano! a try. If you want to try a program just now airing, have a look at Kurenai. It has some "harem" features, but it's not really a romance (yet anyway).

Among older shows, I'd definitely recommend watching Twelve Kingdoms if you never have done so. It's slow starting, but it'll grab your attention after a few episodes. If you're willing to make the commitment to 74 episodes, you should watch Monster. For dramatic content it has no equal among the anime I've seen, and it's still unlicensed. (Edit: It also doesn't have any "fillers" in those 74 episodes; they all matter.)

[Cynor]

Originally Posted by james3wk

^ I guess they do not have Netflix on Midchilda or its two moons .

I didn't think they delivered to the river either

Joking aside, I actually don't have netflix for various reasons, but even if I did as SeijiSensei said there aren't any DvDs out for that particular series atm.

Speaking of SeijiSensei, I didn't even think about Monster but I've heard of that several times. I think at one point I even had torrent files on my PC but never was able to actually download it due to space. I may also check out Kurenai too, since even though I'm not in the mood for big romance atm (which it could turn into) doesn't mean I don't like that kind of stuff. In fact some of my favorite series (which there are a lot of lol) are actually romance style (or have fairly large romantic tones) such as Clannad, Suzuka, Karin, Shuffle, Elfen Lied, Da Capo, Kanon, etc.

[kjk8288]

Most people who enjoy Death Note seems to like Code Geass (I guess it's the manipulation and the world domination thing). Lelouch from Code Geass isn't as cold blooded or manipulative as Light though.

[Cynor]

Originally Posted by kjk8288

Most people who enjoy Death Note seems to like Code Geass (I guess it's the manipulation and the world domination thing). Lelouch from Code Geass isn't as cold blooded or manipulative as Light though.

Not seen Code Geass so obviously I can't really say why people seem to like both, but I know I actually enjoyed Death Note more due the interesting story and all the double-crossing and backplaying. It was fun to try to figure out what exactly ws going on in both Light's and L's mind as they played out their game. "Why does Light do this?" or "What is L thinking?" things like that.

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Cynor

Not seen Code Geass so obviously I can't really say why people seem to like both, but I know I actually enjoyed Death Note more due the interesting story and all the double-crossing and backplaying. It was fun to try to figure out what exactly ws going on in both Light's and L's mind as they played out their game. "Why does Light do this?" or "What is L thinking?" things like that.

That's a large part of Code Geass as well. People often say that it was like taking Death Note and throwing its characters into robots.
Though there's not as much of the mental power genius-type stuff, the main character shows it to some extent and also has his own unique power.

Thinking over it again, you might also enjoy it, since there's a lot of action, some drama, and the romance is so forced that you won't even notice it.
Of course, if you dislike mecha, stay away from it.

[Cynor]

While I've never gotten into mecha before (well, ok, barely seen any actually), I'm not totally against it so maybe I'll see about finding it. Besides, it's done by Sunrise who I know can put out some good stuff.

[Touka]

Utawarerumono.

[incube]

Full Metal Panic (best combination of action, comedy and everyday life of a student)
Fate Stay Night (flawless till the very end... had a bitter feeling for a whole week after finishing it)
D Gray Man (lots of action and very few filler episodes)
Bleach (lots of action and many laughs)
FMA (one of the first animes i watched... although it was really bad dubbed, the story was very interesting)
Shakugan no Shana
Death Note (i dont like this kind of animes but i got to give it some credit since the plot was quite interesting and the psychological side was pretty well done)

I also suggest Gundam 00, Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny, Gurren Lagan, Kekkaishi, Zero no Tsukime and Busou Renkin. Just type the name of each anime on google and go to the animenewsnetwork link for more info about them.

[Cynor]

incube, did you read my original post (and the followups)? I've seen FMA, Shanna, Fate, and DN. I also don't like the really long series so that rules out Bleach really, and possibly D.Gray...

As for the others (besides FMP), I'll maybe check them out on ann or something but like I said before (and this goes to Touka too; and is also said in a sticky here)

do you think you can maybe expand upon on those suggestions a little and offer a little info on them from your perspective to help out?

[Touka]

Originally Posted by Cynor

incube, did you read my original post (and the followups)? I've seen FMA, Shanna, Fate, and DN. I also don't like the really long series so that rules out Bleach really, and possibly D.Gray...

As for the others (besides FMP), I'll maybe check them out on ann or something but like I said before (and this goes to Touka too; and is also said in a sticky here)

Well, as soon as you said you wanted an anime with a good mix of action and drama, the first thing that popped into my head was Utawarerumono. It has a very unique story, which I can't even explain. The story follows a man named Hakuoro, who seeks to discover his past, since he has lost his memory. It sounds so simple, but it's not. The anime starts off quite slow, but once you get past episode 10 (the whole series is 26 episodes long) there are many epic battles, fights and wars. The drama in the anime is contributed to mostly by the relationship between the main character, Hakuoro and the supporting character, Eruruu... and also, the many dramatic deaths and events that happen throughout the series. Utawarerumono is a fine mix of action and drama, with a great story. The animation is also superb, some of the best I've seen, as are the action scenes. They're extremly well choreographed. Utawarerumono is one of my favourite animes, second only to Death Note. I'd definitely recommend it.

Note: The series is more action than drama.

[Cynor]

Touka, thanks for the reply (even if it was a bit late coming lol). That certainly helps expand things some and I may check it out later, I'll certainly keep it in my mind though... even though I have a lot of backlogged series to watch now lol.