Know of any mature/serious anime?
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Ive gotta mention Shigurui
eath Frenzy. Very dark, realistic and un-romanticized depiction of the samurai era. Somewhat slow-paced and contemplative in parts; similar to Texnolyze(same art design as well),but the story and ambient atmosphere are very engaging. Except for a couple of scenes the fights have the most realistic sword fights ive seen in any anime; very visceral and fast paced with a victor being decided in a couple of seconds of the start.
Modern animation with a very old-school feel in pacing. This series somewhat spoiled most anime for me when it come to looking for a mature/serious anime to watch. If you try it go with the sub as the english voices are way to light and upbeat sounding and really take away from the atmosphere.
eath Frenzy. Very dark, realistic and un-romanticized depiction of the samurai era. Somewhat slow-paced and contemplative in parts; similar to Texnolyze(same art design as well),but the story and ambient atmosphere are very engaging. Except for a couple of scenes the fights have the most realistic sword fights ive seen in any anime; very visceral and fast paced with a victor being decided in a couple of seconds of the start.Modern animation with a very old-school feel in pacing. This series somewhat spoiled most anime for me when it come to looking for a mature/serious anime to watch. If you try it go with the sub as the english voices are way to light and upbeat sounding and really take away from the atmosphere.
Not sure if I can recommend anything new, I definitely recommend what's already been said (Madoka Magicia, Berserk, Death Note etc.)
I give a high recommendation for Shiki which gives us an interesting take on what it would really be like to be a vampire.
I recommend Attack on Titan as well, good animation, good soundtrack, interesting premise and characters, it shouldn't disappoint
Also there's Ninja Scroll, both the film and the series, but mostly for the film, it was the best thing I watched in awhile
I give a high recommendation for Shiki which gives us an interesting take on what it would really be like to be a vampire.
I recommend Attack on Titan as well, good animation, good soundtrack, interesting premise and characters, it shouldn't disappoint
Also there's Ninja Scroll, both the film and the series, but mostly for the film, it was the best thing I watched in awhile
Ooh, a slip of the Freud there. I assume you meant it tells instead of shows, but I'll take the compliment.Red X said:Oh, bite me.Dr. Cakey said:
I like the Eva series but damn it's stupid shows rather than tell
Evangelion doesn't have symbolism. It's not that the religious symbols are meaningless, it's that they aren't symbols. You could write a paper on Evangelion and disconnect of mythic resonance. Even most Eva fans don't get this, to my eternal irritation.Red X said:
As opposed to Wolf's Rain...?Red X said:
Analogue of...? I've seen any number of people describe Wolf's Rain as an allegory, and I don't dispute them, but they never quite seem to go the extra inch and say what it's an allegory for. I can think of a couple of things it might be an allegory for, but it fails at doing any of that well, so it must be something else.Red X said:
I'm also tempted to point out that an allegory or morality play is essentially the crudest kind of story there is, but that's just me being vindictive, so I won't. Even though I just did.
I'll just pencil you in under "dubs of things I like are good". You're right next to JesuOtaku, though, so you're in good company. Wolf's Rain was a solid dub, probably average or even a bit above average for the time, so it's about equal to the original NGE's dub performance, but nobody but nobody can touch a contemporary Funimation dub.Red X said:Dubs better too, even the rebuilds
Another one?Mid Boss said:LOL! No no no. I'm not having another one of THESE conversations.Casual Shinji said:
You mean somebody beat me to it?
Dammit!
You know what the funny thing is? The religious names and imagery was never supposed to be anything exept a framing device for the lore of the show. It's only because it's Christian, and thus meaningful to the western world, that so much emphasis is placed on it by both fans and non-fans. People often draw the "Gainax admitted the religious symbolism holds no real meaning" card as being a fault of the show, but it's just them reading too much into it.Dr. Cakey said:
Yes, NGE is a bit polarizing. No, that doesn't mean you shouldn't at least try to watch it. It has die hard fans for a reason and liking it is all really down to opinion. Either way, it was a very influential show and fairly important to the history of the medium. Some would say without NGE, you wouldn't get Code Geass. Also watch End of Evangelion. There's a lot of nonsense(when people say "you don't get it." rest assured they don't either, I don't think anyone does and Anno is being dead silent on that front), but it's damned entertaining. If it's the fanservice people swear is in it that keeps you away, I promise you, most of it either isn't or is damned unsettling when you actually think about it. The dub? Well a lot of people are annoyed by Shinji, but he's supposed to be a whiny ***** sometimes, just like a regular 14 year old. I'd argue the dub is worth it for one reason, the voice of Asuka, a girl raised in Germany in the story, actually speaks beautiful German.
I favor Spice and Wolf. It's relatively light in tone(dark is not mature, High School of the Dead taught me that), but it takes quite a mature stance on relationships and most of the tension and drama is centered around medieval economics... Can't really make that exciting, but it's really not as bad as it sounds. Also, if you loved Moxxie's voice from Borderlands, you'll love the dub and the chance to hear 26 episodes of that voice. Also fairly light on fanservice once the main heroine gets clothed. Though she is a teasing flirt, that's half the fun.
Black Lagoon... really depends on what your definition of mature is. Lot's of blood and violence in the style of a 90's era action movie(that the series intentionally parodies)? That being said, it's an interesting show to watch for one main reason, the main characters(Revy and Rock) actually change somewhat through the course of the show. Static characters can be alright, but it's a better story when they actually change their outlook somewhat. There's a fair bit of fanservice, but I never found it to get in the way of the actual events happening like it did in High School of the Dead. The dub is alright, nothing blatantly bad.
I'd say D.Grey Man if not for the fanservice(though generally aimed at women, bizarrely enough, excusing Lenalee's perfect and oft shown legs) and tone whiplash that permeates the series thus far. The characters are generally quite decent and the world doesn't really get more crappy, which normally means mature show, but there's a lot of silly in there too. Granted, this is when I'm only like 10 episodes into a 100 episode show, but hey, call it a first impression.
I favor Spice and Wolf. It's relatively light in tone(dark is not mature, High School of the Dead taught me that), but it takes quite a mature stance on relationships and most of the tension and drama is centered around medieval economics... Can't really make that exciting, but it's really not as bad as it sounds. Also, if you loved Moxxie's voice from Borderlands, you'll love the dub and the chance to hear 26 episodes of that voice. Also fairly light on fanservice once the main heroine gets clothed. Though she is a teasing flirt, that's half the fun.
Black Lagoon... really depends on what your definition of mature is. Lot's of blood and violence in the style of a 90's era action movie(that the series intentionally parodies)? That being said, it's an interesting show to watch for one main reason, the main characters(Revy and Rock) actually change somewhat through the course of the show. Static characters can be alright, but it's a better story when they actually change their outlook somewhat. There's a fair bit of fanservice, but I never found it to get in the way of the actual events happening like it did in High School of the Dead. The dub is alright, nothing blatantly bad.
I'd say D.Grey Man if not for the fanservice(though generally aimed at women, bizarrely enough, excusing Lenalee's perfect and oft shown legs) and tone whiplash that permeates the series thus far. The characters are generally quite decent and the world doesn't really get more crappy, which normally means mature show, but there's a lot of silly in there too. Granted, this is when I'm only like 10 episodes into a 100 episode show, but hey, call it a first impression.
No, don't read the manga, the Ellen Lied manga was stupid, literally the only parts worth reading were the beginning, until where the show ends... after that it just loses all pretense of subtlety and maturity, for the sake of being more exploitative, more violence, and more nudity... granted the shows was pretty bad too, but atleast it didn't introduce a character for the sole purpose of having them wear a diaper, and at least it new better than to gut all the intelligence it might've had, for the sake of boiling everything down to black and white answers, so the audience doesn't have to think anymore...<.<sextus the crazy said:
Also, I whole heartedly endorse Lain as the greatest thing ever!
And check out, Mushi-shi, Paranoia Agent, Welcome to the NHK, and Boogie Pop Phantom... just off the top of my head...
Oh yeah. Many many.... MANY times. I could run through how the ENTIRE argument would go down step by step. The only interesting thing about it would be to try and guess at what point you would attempt to drag the debate down into personal attacks and name calling. It's a boring waste of time.Casual Shinji said:Another one?Mid Boss said:LOL! No no no. I'm not having another one of THESE conversations.Casual Shinji said:
You mean somebody beat me to it?
Dammit!
Watch Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Even if you hate it. You'll have enjoyed the journey.
Also: Revolutionary Girl Utena.
It might seem really girly..... then the sword fighting starts... then the other stuff happens.......
Oh! And Princess Tutu.
...
I'm serious.
Princess Tutu is some dark as hell shit.
It's what Madoka Magika WISHES it could be.
EDIT: OMFG! Mai+Hime!!!
There's a really nice... high-school with giant robots monster-of-the-week anime......
Until you hit the second arc.... then it becomes delicious... so sinfully psychotic and deliciously dark....
Even if you hate it. You'll have enjoyed the journey.
Also: Revolutionary Girl Utena.
It might seem really girly..... then the sword fighting starts... then the other stuff happens.......
Oh! And Princess Tutu.
...
I'm serious.
Princess Tutu is some dark as hell shit.
It's what Madoka Magika WISHES it could be.
EDIT: OMFG! Mai+Hime!!!
There's a really nice... high-school with giant robots monster-of-the-week anime......
Until you hit the second arc.... then it becomes delicious... so sinfully psychotic and deliciously dark....
I guess it is melodramatic...But I dunno, it has a strange quality to it. Not amazing, but it gets the job done, I suppose.Anoni Mus said:
I'm not really all that into the show, to be honest. But at the same time, I wanna know what happens next...I'm more in it for the plot, instead of the characters. Which is kind of a detriment.
I always thought speed grapher was a pretty good serious anime, if it hasnt been suggested already (didnt really want to read through four pages).
I'm pretty sure what you're looking for is Bobobo Bo Bo-Bobo.
Yeah, I'd say that's pretty mature.
But in all seriousness, try rewatching Fullmetal Alchemist, assuming it was Brotherhood. If it wasn't, watch Brotherhood. The regular series isn't bad, in fact it's pretty damn good, but Brotherhood is just a thousand times better.
Also, try Deadman Wonderland. It's a tiny bit strange simply due to the super powers part of it, but it's not so much as Japan weird, but mostly just fantastical writings. Watch the anime first I'd say to get your feet wet to know if you'd want to try the manga. I say that simply because I always find watching an anime easier than reading the manga. That's just me. But the anime is cut way too short, so you'll have to read the manga if you want more.
I haven't seen enough other animes to recommend one to you, though I'll be taking these people's suggestions for myself.
Yeah, I'd say that's pretty mature.
But in all seriousness, try rewatching Fullmetal Alchemist, assuming it was Brotherhood. If it wasn't, watch Brotherhood. The regular series isn't bad, in fact it's pretty damn good, but Brotherhood is just a thousand times better.
Also, try Deadman Wonderland. It's a tiny bit strange simply due to the super powers part of it, but it's not so much as Japan weird, but mostly just fantastical writings. Watch the anime first I'd say to get your feet wet to know if you'd want to try the manga. I say that simply because I always find watching an anime easier than reading the manga. That's just me. But the anime is cut way too short, so you'll have to read the manga if you want more.
I haven't seen enough other animes to recommend one to you, though I'll be taking these people's suggestions for myself.