A somewhat special request - really mature anime

[KhaS]

Hello everyone !

I come here looking for an anime that has to be really mature. I really don't want any childish part in it, especially from a relationship point of view...
So, I would like it to be some kind of slice of life anime that follows a pretty outgoing (shy is no good ) young adult (this is important, he/she must not be a teen...) in his everyday life: his relationships, his studies/work, his nightlife.

In fact, I'd like to know a little bit more about japanese culture and way of life. I watched my share of anime series but nothing came close to what I'm looking for.
I know I should probably read books or even book a trip to Japan, but I think anime is a good start.

Oh and manga would be good too. Even a TV series or movie would be nice.

Thanks guys, and sorry for the bad english .

[Theowne]

I have two great answers to mature romance and slice of life. I don't know if I'd call their main characters "outgoing" but they are not "shy" in the traditional sense either.

Honey and Clover - features a group of art students at college. I consider it mature, it has no cheating/drunk partying/other college stereotypes.

Maison Ikkoku - very long but satisfying series, with a lot of cultural idiosyncrasies throughout, about a college-bound student who falls in love with his widowed landlord.

[Smithsky]

Hm, I think you could try REC.

[Sackett]

Maison Ikkoku

Trust us on this one. It starts out and you think it's just another typical romantic comedy, but but the start of the 2nd season you realize it's actually a very mature love story, papered over by the normal romantic sit-com plots.

Episode 59 is a great example. You can see the sit-com plot coming a mile away, but if you ignore that, and instead listen to what Godai actually puts on his taped message to Kyoko, you realize this is man who has difficulty expressing his feelings, trying to get out his very powerful and very real emotions.

[Thingle]

Welcome to the NHK.


cross out the outgoing category. The guy's not even shy.

[SeijiSensei]

A number of shows in this genre fall into the "senpai" type of relationship between a young woman and a slightly older, and somewhat more experienced man:

Nodame Cantabile - the protagonists are a young man who want to become an orchestral conductor and a young women with a prodigious but untrained talent as a pianist

Toshokan Sensou - the premise isn't that plausible, but the relationship develops nicely

Planetes - a female rookie astronaut joins a group of space trash collectors

REC is a good recommendation as well. There's also a "senpai" feeling about their relationship, but Aka is a pretty independent young lady.

[mit7059]

REC, Planetes, Honey & Clover and Nodame Cantabile are all excellent suggestions and I second them heartily.

[blewin]

I third Honey and Clover. This is as real and close as you can get, looking at Japanese culture, people, interaction and real and believable issues in life.

[KhaS]

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions.

Unfortunately, I've already seen all of these.
Honey & Clover was pretty good, but I thought that the girl with the blonde hair (I can't recall her name) was very childish, and the main character (the one in love with the girl) much too shy...
In fact, I didn't find the relationships depicted in that anime very realistic... But it's been a while since I've seen it so maybe I don't remember things right...

Keep the suggestions coming !

[Theowne]

Originally Posted by KhaS

In fact, I didn't find the relationships depicted in that anime very realistic... !

I see Well people who consider H&C unrealistic usually tend to find "NANA" realistic, so maybe that's something you should consider (though I don't personally like it).

[SeijiSensei]

Well, you could give Ristorante Paradiso a try. It features a 20+ Japanese-Italian woman working in a restaurant surrounded by men in the 40-60 age range. Not much Japanese culture, though, since it's set in Rome.

[KhaS]

Yeah I know about Nana. It is definitely one of the most realistic animes out there IMO.

So I would be looking for something along those lines but if the main character is a guy, it would be a big plus.

[Shadow Kira01]

I can only recommend these few animes:

Kara no Kyoukai
Persona -trinity soul-

[npcomplete]

Originally Posted by KhaS

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions.

Unfortunately, I've already seen all of these.
Honey & Clover was pretty good, but I thought that the girl with the blonde hair (I can't recall her name) was very childish, and the main character (the one in love with the girl) much too shy...
In fact, I didn't find the relationships depicted in that anime very realistic... But it's been a while since I've seen it so maybe I don't remember things right...

Keep the suggestions coming !

Hmm.. I think you will find that traits of "shyness" and "childishness" does in fact reflect real life in Japan more so than elsewhere in the west.

http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archiv...e-samurai.html
http://www.kirainet.com/english/amae

As far as understanding the customs more, I'd recommend this book
.. and just to travel there. You may also be interested homestay packages like this one.

[ToshiroHitsugaya]

Suzuka is not that bad.

[Gomenasai]

Monster

You will litteraly never find a more mature natured anime around. It's not even mature because of something silly like gore, or nudity ect... It's just the overal nature, setting, style, and plot. Everything is mature about this anime. I will litteraly say it is one that people under 13 would most likely NOT enjoy because they might not even understand half of what is going on. The only other anime mature along this level is that anime "Bartender" Which is 100% about telling you about different types of alchohol, and the history/sayings of them.

[mit7059]

Originally Posted by ToshiroHitsugaya

Suzuka is not that bad.

Suzuka is an immature anime thats trying really hard to act mature and failing. I think the creators thought that if they added melodrama and bitchy irrational characters it would make it 'realistic' and 'mature'

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Gomenasai

Monster

Despite it being perhaps my favorite series, and certainly mature, it doesn't really fit the OP's request:

So, I would like it to be some kind of slice of life anime that follows a pretty outgoing (shy is no good ) young adult (this is important, he/she must not be a teen...) in his everyday life: his relationships, his studies/work, his nightlife....In fact, I'd like to know a little bit more about japanese culture and way of life.

Monster is a drama, not a slice-of-life show, the central character is a rather shy man in his thirties, there's little or no romance and not much "nightlife" in the sense I think the OP used the term. Given its setting in Eastern Europe it doesn't have much in the way of Japanese culture, either.

The only other anime mature along this level is that anime "Bartender" Which is 100% about telling you about different types of alcohol, and the history/sayings of them.

I'd have to say that's a rather incomplete description of Bartender. The show is really about memories, remorse, and resolution; the alcohol is presented as a magic "elixir" that can conjure up memories and induce healing. That's not to say I didn't thoroughly enjoy the historical presentations about scotch, the Margarita, or Hemingway, but the core of the show is much more emotional with a good dose of the sentimentality that seems to fuel shows for more mature Japanese viewers.

Despite not fitting the original request, I'd heartily recommend both these shows to anyone looking for anime with mature themes. I'd toss Hataraki Man into the mix as well, except that the "Man" in this case is female.

[KhaS]

Thanks for all the head-ups !

I didn't really like Suzuka, I find myself aggreeing with what mit7059 said...
As for Monster, what SeijiSensei said is true. It's not really what I'm looking for.
Also, I've already whatched Bartender and Hatakari Man. They were ok. Bartender was my favorite between the two but it was too episodic for my liking; I prefer to have a long story arc where each episode follows the previous one.

I just finished watching White Album. The good thing is that it was kind of refreshing to see a more mature anime like it, but there are still things that I find unbelievable: like Yuki and Touya (the main characters) were together for like 5 years and haven't had sex ? I also found them very distant from each other for a couple that lasted so long.
Now I don't really know about Japanese culture when it comes to relationships but I would imagine that after that much time spent together, they would be a LOT more close...

Maybe I'm trying too hard to compare western european culture (where I'm living) and Japanese culture so what I'm looking for (in my original post) simply doesn't exist because of cultural differences...

[wingdarkness]

ParadiseKiss sounds like exactly what you're looking for...Google it, get it...