Best anime with grown-up, non-superpowered characters
 

Most anime seem to have main characters who are too young to be out of college.

Even if the characters are college graduates, they usually have superpowers.

It's very hard to think of many shows that don't feature either youth or superpowers.

First, there are a few shows I didn't like that didn't feature youth and superpowers:


Monster had a super-skilled adult protagonist; technically he did not have super-powers in the comic-book superhero sense.

Master Keaton is a super-intelligent detective, but again, he doesn't really have super-powers.

Black Lagoon has super-skilled, super-lucky mercenaries.

Gunsmith Cats has super-skilled gun specialists with insane levels of luck.

Second, there are a few shows I loved that didn't feature teenagers and superpowers:

Planetes is the best example of non-super-powered adult characters.

Cowboy Bebop features super-skilled, super-lucky bounty hunters.


Thirdly, there are a lot of shows that avoid conventional super-powers, but still focus on teens:

Welcome to the NHK had a college-aged main character.

Mouryou no Hako was absolutely awesome, but it involved an awful lot of teenagers.

Kamisama no Meme-Chou was awesome, but it featured high-schoolers.

Master Cooking Boy, Yakitate!! Japan, Bakuman, Chihayafuru all seem to avoid superpowers, but to feature teens. I haven't watched any of them for more than an episode.

Experience has shown me that I mostly like shows about "supernatural" themes, so I should probably watch more movies like Onmyouji and so on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onmyoji_%28film%29

However, a lot of anime please me because the high school element isn't overpowering. Natsume Yuujinchou and Full Metal Alchemist both have young heroes, but both emphasize supernatural elements over the youth of the heroes.

Hellsing dealt with mature, adult characters, just about all of whom had supernatural powers.

The various Ghost in the Shell shows likewise had adult characters with super-tech powers.

I love the fact that anime can provide stories with supernatural themes. I just feel the need to branch out into supernatural stories with adult heroes.

Hey ! You should look at Fairy Tail ! It features adult-aged (despite his young appearance) protagonist who has superpowers, the series deals a lot of supernatural themes (magic being the main theme), however it feature kiddie shounen action elements and has long set of episodes (117 episodes released I think, and it's ongoing).

Adults and the supernatural? There's no better choice than Bakeneko and its unlicensed sequel Mononoke. Stunning artwork, serious dark stories, and a stellar protagonist voiced impeccably by Sakurai Takahiro.

In Claymore beautiful blond women use enormous swords and other talents to battle horrific demons. The main character has a teen-aged male sidekick for part of the story, but the rest of the cast are adults.

Seirei no Moribito portrays a 30-yo bodyguard who is given the job of protecting a young prince from being murdered. The story mixes both a humanistic portrayal of human motives and a supernatural theme.

Finally, for a change of pace, there's the supernatural comedy Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo. Ryoko is the stunningly beautiful and self-absorbed head of the "Supernatural Division" of the Tokyo Police. She has a yearning for her male assistant and partner, but he's either too dense, or more likely too savvy, to give her any encouragement. The stories tend to the "monster-of-the-week" variety, but the witty script and excellent seiyuu performances keep the show moving along.

Finally I'll recommend two other animes about adults, neither of which contains a hint of the supernatural. In Bartender, we have a young man with a remarkable intuition that enables him to select just the right alcoholic concoction to soothe a weary soul. Ryuu's abilities border on the supernatural, but it isn't really presented that way. The second show, House of Five Leaves, is set at the end of the samurai period. A newly-unemployed ronin searches for a new place in society and becomes involved with a band of criminals. Sakurai gives another excellent performance in this show.

The creator of Ghost in the Shell made two other shows in the past few years that you might also enjoy. One of them, Ghost Hound, mixes the supernatural, depth psychology, and brain science. While the pieces don't always fit entirely together, it's definitely worth watching. The protagonists are all about thirteen, but there is a large supporting cast of adults. Shirow's other show, Real Drive, is closer to GitS in its use of science-fiction. Aside from the fifteen-year-old protagonist, the rest of the main cast are adults, some of whom fit your description of having "super-tech" powers.

Trust me. There isn't a better show than Mushishi that fits your description. An adult protagonist (although he isn't the focus of the show... it's episodic etc.) without superpowers (some knowledge etc. but no superpowers) going around helping people with stuff that feels supernatural but isn't really. Lots of themes and it's just all around awesome.

Although, admittedly, I love Bakeneko and Mononoke just as much. The protagonist can't really be called a protagonist since the shows are episodic as well. He does have some superpowers of sorts.

You should check these three out for sure.

You might wanna try Golden Boy. It's about a 25 yrs old college student, who completed most courses in his college, but dropped out before his graduation. He travels from one place to another by riding his bicycle and meets different women during his travels. I highly recommend it. :3

I definitely prefer teens with super powers; HOWEVER, I only prefer them if the teen is NOT stupid or the typical weak guy becoming all powerful after getting face rolled. Or even just mega super powered teens. I mean I can tolerate it, but it gets boring since a ton of super powered teen shows are like that (Sacred 7, Naruto, Bleach, TONS more)

I like when the character (teen or adult) has the power or awakens and is ALREADY powerful and that they have the "cool" act and not some wimpy stupid kid. I like shows even more when the character has to hide the fact that he's that powerful. It's even better when that character comes in to save the main character. To name a few that really fit this preference if you are interested:

Shounen Onmyouji (this is by far the #1 anime that fits this description for me entirely)
Trigun (Vash doesn't seem super powered, but it sure does feel like it)
Trinity Blood (Shimpu-sama is FREAKING PRO, so many undiscovered powers)
Code Geass
Ao no Exorcist (he has that stupid kiddy/weak act, but has the all-powerful/awakening attribute that I like)
Vampire Knight (Zero does kind of have the weak act, but it's not the boring Naruto/Bleach weak to strong act)
Sacred Blacksmith (I hate Cecile, but I like the "cool" part of Luke when he crafts his sword/uses it; then again, his douchebag attitude is too common)

I'm a big fan; I've been watching it since the first episode.

Wow! That list will keep me busy for a while! I've seen Claymore, Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo, and Bartender. All were well-done,but Bartender somehow made me convinced that I had to get drunk while watching it. I'll look for the others.

I should have put Mushishi into the first post. I agree that it's an amazingly good show. Thanks for the other two.

Thanks, I will check it out.

I loved Trigun and Code Geass. Ao no Exorcist was well-done, and Sacred Blacksmith was watchable but IMHO didn't live up to its potential. I had been hoping Luke would get more screen time and more character development.

I will have to look for Shounen Onmyouji, Trinity Blood, and Vampire Knight.

Thanks to all.

just want to point out regarding Bakuman, the main protagonist don't stay teens forever. They do grow up even if the designs don't look like it.

@ yourfriendrick

I think you'll definitely enjoy Trinity Blood the most so get on it! :D

Giant Killing is about football. Great show with no unrealistic physics.

For a good story try death note best anime i think ill ever see and its not about him having powers

Trinity Blood has some really good voice acting and background designs. The character designs are good, but highly stylized.

Death Note was great.

By the way, Nerima Daikon Brothers is amazingly grown-up. It's a screwball comedy, but it is highly satirical. The relationships between the characters ring true.