Are there any "Smart Anime" set in a normal world?

[Wraith]

After skimming through the suggestions from this thread: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.317256-What-Smart-Anime-are-there-apart-from-Death-Note I noticed something. Most if not all the anime suggested were either set in a world of Sci-Fi, Magick, super science, etc.

I think my recent dislike for manga/anime comes from most books/shows having to involve this kind of stuff all the time, to the point where it is almost always the main focus of the story when I'd rather see a Japanese animated take on real life issues or a person's journey through everyday life.

So I am asking if there are any manga or anime out there that deals with stories as seriously as say murder, revenge, honor, depression, peer-pressure etc. following adult aged characters without adding in giant robots, mind control eyes, a book that can kill with a name, or a brother losing his body to magi-science? I'm not asking for Breaking Bad levels of writing, but a decent story about normal adults going through normal and tragic life problems, while still being engaging and fun would be something new for me to see in the manga/anime verse.

And before you suggest it no I am not into WataMote. I have no interest in reading/watching something about a mopey unpopular girl trying to become popular. I want something that isn't necessarily kid friendly. Things that don't focus on high school drama like first kisses, or Summer Loves or not having many friends in senior year etc. I want something that deals with drugs, abuse, alcoholism, and murder.

So requirements:
- Adults (or at least late teens)
- Set in normal world (no powers, no mechs, no spirits etc)
- Hard hitting real-life drama (Drugs, crime, arrogance, death etc)

Thank you for your time.

 

[Flutterguy]

'Welcome to the NHK' is a parody of anime culture and modern hermitism. I really enjoyed it. It's about a college dropout who has been stuck in an existential crisis for a couple years rarely leaving his house. I don't know if its hard hitting enough for ya.

'Psycho Pass' was really cool, but revolves largely around sci fi technology which can scan peoples emotions.

Thing is they tend to involve the fantastical as a way to intensify the subject matter. It's easier to do and makes it stand out, doesn't mean its not worthwhile, although many are pretty terrible.

 

[madwarper]

I'm sure you've had to have already seen it, but Cowboy Bebop would fall under your description.
Mostly adult (aside from Ed). No powers, mechs or spirits (other than the ones referenced by the shaman). Drugs, crime and death.

Though, Monster would definitely fit your description. It's basically the Fugitive set in pre/post iron curtain Europe.

And, if you want a manga recommendation, I'd go with Heads.

 

[Elfgore]

You might want to check out Abnormal-kei Joshi. It is a harem... only not one you would suspect. The MC hates women... actually he hates the entire human race. His harem includes a girl suffering from some sort of schizophrenia, one stalker, one serial killer, and another is a super-masochistic. In the nine chapters that have been translated we have a serial killer teacher being the first arc after character introductions. Sadly, the manga has all been dropped by translators since it isn't that popular.

The other one I got focuses a little more on romance, cheating, and love triangles. It's called Uwa-koi. We have the scumbag protagonist who is banging his girlfriend's bestfriend. Yet he refuses to have sex with his girlfriend because he doesn't want to taint her. Deals with cheating, obsessive girlfriends, abuse (if you look at it right) and psychological issues.
Edit: Silly me, I forgot there is tons of sex. I actually had to remind myself by chapter nineteen this bastard is fucking four women with one who wants to fuck him. This has a School Days ending written all over it... I'm pretty sure it's a ripoff of School Days.

School Days would be a good watch... but too bad it is often considered one of the worst anime ever made, not including the ending.

 

[FPLOON]

Hmmmm... Damn, that REALLY narrows down my particular choices... and Flutterguy and madwarper named, at least, one of them already...

I think the problem I'm seeing is that even if you say you want it taking place in the "normal world", the "normal world" is already knee-dipped in sci-fi, at least; that I feel that the one suggestion I would say would not even qualify not only because of its added "sci-fi"-ness, but also how some of the focal characters, themselves, are not "adult" in the sense that they are technically still "minors" basically...

With that said, Gunslinger Girl (both the manga and the anime) deals with damaged little girls basically reborn as cybernetic assassins who take down terrorist organizations and the like across Italy... You basically get to see how one minute they can act as innocent as a little girl, "naturally", and the next they could take down enemies with instinctual precision... However, they are controlled by their "handlers" who know about their full backstory as well as see, from an outsider's perspective, how these girls deal with their new life without "full" prior knowledge of who they were before basically becoming a trained assassin as well as the "handlers", themselves, dealing with their own past at times, but "that's another story"... On the flip side, later on, you get to see some "adult" characters deal with being marked as terrorist and see why are they doing all this and for what purpose, which I won't spoil since I'm trying to describe all this as vaguely as possible...

The anime only has two seasons while the manga does continue on further than the anime with other characters introduced where they, too, are looked upon throughout the full manga run... With that said, despite the amount of action that does get presented in both, it's not really a "main" focus, per se... The action is kinda sparse overall and, in the anime, the dialogue can be too, as it's sometimes takes a "show, don't tell" approach to most of the character-driven events, in my opinion...

And yes, some of the topics you want your suggestions to touch upon, for example, do pop up... but like I said, I'm trying to describe all this as vaguely as possible... You can check out the anime and/or the manga if you want and see if it's to your liking or not...

Edit: On a more "lighter(?)" note, Samurai Champloo...
Double Edit: Dammit! How could I forget about Black Lagoon? That anime takes place in the mid-90s!

 

[Tanis]

While it's not totally 'no mech' or whatever, you should check out Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

 

[Wraith]

Okay, gonna try and reply to the few that did comment, because I doubt anyone else is going to come in.

'Welcome to the NHK'[...]It's about a college dropout who has been stuck in an existential crisis for a couple years rarely leaving his house.

My God, I can relate to that so hard. When I searched around for some stuff, that was one of the things I found, but I assumed it would be played for laughs too much from what I read of the description. Maybe it'll grow on me. I'll try it.

I'm sure you've had to have already seen it, but Cowboy Bebop would fall under your description.

Heh, heh. Already watched Cowboy Bebop, even got the movie on DVD, and I even caught Samurai Champloo when it first aired. That was all back when I was into more "traditional" anime. Though I would say even though I love it, Cowboy Bebop probably wouldn't be something I'd look into now if I never heard about it, because it takes place in space, which kind of counts as sci-fi, but just barely.

You might want to check out Abnormal-kei Joshi. It is a harem... only not one you would suspect. The MC hates women... actually he hates the entire human race. His harem includes a girl suffering from some sort of schizophrenia, one stalker, one serial killer, and another is a super-masochistic. In the nine chapters that have been translated we have a serial killer teacher being the first arc after character introductions. Sadly, the manga has all been dropped by translators since it isn't that popular.

Sounds a little out there, like how with other harem or hentai the main guy character kind of just stumbles into new strange and crazy girls to add to a I-Might-Love-Her list. But it may be something to check out. I'll take a glance at it.

The other one I got focuses a little more on romance, cheating, and love triangles. It's called Uwa-koi. We have the scumbag protagonist who is banging his girlfriend's bestfriend. Yet he refuses to have sex with his girlfriend because he doesn't want to taint her. Deals with cheating, obsessive girlfriends, abuse (if you look at it right) and psychological issues.

Now that is very intriguing. Kind of has the cognitive dissonance feel of not wanting to hurt (or in this case deflower) someone you love, but your physical needs cause you to go out and do something that would hurt the one you love if discovered.

Edit: Silly me, I forgot there is tons of sex. I actually had to remind myself by chapter nineteen this bastard is fucking four women with one who wants to fuck him. This has a School Days ending written all over it... I'm pretty sure it's a ripoff of School Days. School Days would be a good watch... but too bad it is often considered one of the worst anime ever made, not including the ending.

I actually read School Days, a few years back. I liked it for what it was-- crazy and fucked up. Though I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed the way the love triangle was handled.

[...]Gunslinger Girl[...]

I actually tried getting into that a while back but it never stuck to me. I can't put my finger on it, but it just never became my thing. Thanks for trying though.


Thank you all that responded for your suggestions.

 

[Wraith]

While it's not totally 'no mech' or whatever, you should check out Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Watched it before I fell into the 'I'm tired of sci-fi, magic anime' slump and it is one of my favorites. Kusanagi has to be my favorite female anime character.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Check out Paranoia Agent.

It's all about this rumor about a kid on rollerskates riding around the night bashing peoples' heads in with a bat. Each episode focusses on one person who may or may not have come into contact with Lil' Slugger. It's by Satoshi Kon, so it's very unlike most anime you'll see. Watch it just for the second episode alone, it's probably my favourite of any anime I've ever seen.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Great Teacher Onizuka (gto)

Serial Experiments Lain (broaches scifi near the end)

Speed Grapher

20th Century Boys (has kids, manga is better)

Monster

 

[Chromatic Aberration]

Oh look it's that thread again. *Entering Anime Recommendation mode*

Pretty much everything I'd point you to has already been mentioned to a certain degree: I definitely second the following
Monster (psych. thriller and fits what you are looking for pretty perfectly), Welcome To The NHK (black comedy with some harsh social criticism inside), Paranoia Agent (Lynchian mindfuck and a critique of consumerism) and Black Lagoon (overly cool homage to 80s/early 90s action-flicks).

I'm also going to suggest to you
[ul][li]The Tatami Galaxy: Graduating nerd ponders on his past mistakes and relieves other possibilities of what he could have done better. Mostly a black/absurd comedy but has some elements of mystery, drama and some important things to say at the end.[/li][/ul]

[ul][li]Five Centimeters per Second: Crushing love-drama movie. Might be too presumptious and cliched for some but I still think it's one of the most powerful statements about missed chances and starting anew that there is.[/li][/ul]

[ul][li]Kaiji: 24-esque fast paced action-thriller about a man gambling in games that either gets him a fortune or his own death. Much like 24 sometimes way over the top but still all within the realm of reality and sometimes pretty damn unsettling because of it.[/li][/ul]

Now, a little bit more fantastic choices, which nonetheless never overdo the part

[ul][li]Heibane Renmei: Person falls from the sky and awakens without memories as an angel-like creature in a walled city. Very quiet anime that lives from the question its setting poses and at the end becomes an aesop about depression and fighting ones personal demons.[/li][/ul]

[ul][li]Spice & Wolf: Road-movie like series set in a medieval world following a merchant who travels with wolf-goddess. Features perhaps the most natural romance in all of anime and is a highly character-driven experience. [/li][/ul]

[ul][li]Mushi-shi/Kino's Travels: Both shows about travelers who in the first case deal with the mysterious forces of nature in old Japan or in the second case travel around in strange lands that serve as parabolas to discuss general issues about society. Both are very good, very quiet shows that are more about getting you to think than doing drama or the like.[/li][/ul]

....oh and also Madoka and Legend Of The Galactic Heroes. Because I always recommend both incase someone hasn't seen them.

 

[Dango]

So you want:

"Hard hitting real-life drama (Drugs, crime, arrogance, death etc)", and you want it to be "smart".

Yeah good luck with that, kid.

 

[lucky_sharm]

Baccano takes place in the 1930s in America, focusing on various groups of gangsters and thugs on a transcontinental train to New York. You might like that.

Attack on Titan takes place in a sort of vague time period, a mix between steampunk and the 1700s age where humanity gets ravaged by a mysterious race of mindless man eating giants called Titans, and its last scattered remnants are forced to live within a triple layered 700,000 km wide wall, large and strong enough to keep the Titans out of mind for an entire century until the inevitable calamity that sets off the rest of the story.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Only recommended this last week, but it looks like more people need to be educated about The Kerberos Saga and Jin-Roh.

Alternate history Japan, Germany won WW2. Germany's occupation force just pulled out of Japan, left the military police to try and control civil unrest. Disgraced soldier falls in love with a terrorist girl's older sister, and proceeds to wrestle between his loyalty to the state and his feelings for Kei.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'm sure you've had to have already seen it, but Cowboy Bebop would fall under your description.
Mostly adult (aside from Ed). No powers, mechs or spirits (other than the ones referenced by the shaman). Drugs, crime and death.

Though, Monster would definitely fit your description. It's basically the Fugitive set in pre/post iron curtain Europe.

With all due srespect, Cowboy Bebop features protagonists with a space-ship. Unless I've missed something, that's not the real world.

But Monster is a fine suggestion, and I second it.

 

[madwarper]

With all due srespect, Cowboy Bebop features protagonists with a space-ship. Unless I've missed something, that's not the real world.

Except that the title of the thread is "normal" world, not the "real" world.

Though, even with that note, are you implying that space ships don't exist in the real world? Because, I'm fairly certain, we have been to the moon, erected an orbiting space station and sent robots to Mars.

 

[Queen Michael]

With all due srespect, Cowboy Bebop features protagonists with a space-ship. Unless I've missed something, that's not the real world.

Except that the title of the thread is "normal" world, not the "real" world.

Though, even with that note, are you implying that space ships don't exist in the real world? Because, I'm fairly certain, we have been to the moon, erected an orbiting space station and sent robots to Mars.

You believe in the moon landings? Don't be so naïve. They were staged on Neptune.

 

[The Random Critic]

Clanned (that does have that alternative dimension thing going though)
Toradora is kinda adorable
Spice and wolf is a must watch for most romance anime fans. (I didn't watch it btw)

The first two are harem though, though far away from what is the norm nowadays

Also for manga special mention to Onani Master Kurosawa, it's pure awesomeness needs to be shared

 

[Wasted]

Check out Paranoia Agent.

It's all about this rumor about a kid on rollerskates riding around the night bashing peoples' heads in with a bat. Each episode focusses on one person who may or may not have come into contact with Lil' Slugger. It's by Satoshi Kon, so it's very unlike most anime you'll see. Watch it just for the second episode alone, it's probably my favourite of any anime I've ever seen.

I was about to recommend this. It fits your criteria although there is a surreal twist to the story. I enjoyed it greatly and I think Funimation streams it for free on their YouTube page.

 

[Kricketz]

You should give "Eden of the East" a look. 12 people are given 10 billion yen to "save" Japan. Pretty decent anime and I think it was only like 12 episodes. I enjoyed it.

Also I recommend "Canaan". It has guns and terrorists and bio-weapons capable of mass destruction. All good stuff. It's another one of those short ones with like only 12 episodes or so.