Serious Animes

[Rainbowloid]

im always suprised when people reccomend durararararara (i dont know the spelling) over baccano, just seemes odd to me anyway.

I think it's because Durarara!! is more accessible for the average anime fan. It's set in modern times and has mostly teenagers as protagonists, and it has a pretty heavy emphasis on the use of modern technology. It's just generally easier for the internet-dwelling, anime-watching teenagers to relate to than the arguably more interesting setting that Baccano! takes place in.

By the way, I'm not saying that all anime fans are teenagers who spend all day on the internet, and I hope it didn't come out that way.

 

[Shivhappy]

Kite(yes its a little girl with a gun, but it's serious i swear)

You forgot the gratuitous sex scenes involving the main character as a 13 year old.

hmm, dont remember-been a few years. I clearly remember the bathroom assassination scene.

 

[Azure Sky]

For other mature/serious animated stuff; Afro Samurai is great, the Aeon Flux series is very different (the lead character dies nearly every episode and some of the story-lines are totally inspired) and for less serious: Metalocalypse or Archer both have hilarious characters.

Frequent dying... Reminds me of Higurashi.
Still the only anime I know of to pull off psycho-horror.

 

[Maeta]

Death Note.
its about a guy who can kill anyone with their face and name.
so he kills criminals.

THEN GOES BUGFUCK CRAZY.

I'd agree. Until that happens.

You know what I'm talking about. The series took a nosedive for the worst about halfway through.

Agreed, I actually couldn't finish the series because of that. I got maybe three episodes after that event and decided it sucked now.

But then you missed out on Teru Mikami and his awesome catchphrase? I thought that, yeah, it went off after #cough# happened, but it wasn't BAD, just not as brilliant.

Almost forgotten: a recommendation: Paranoia Agent seemed quite good from the 3 or 4 eps I got into it before I got blindsided and moved, and haven't picked it up again...

 

[mcnally86]

So I just finished watching Cowboy Bebop my first trek into the anime genre and I loved it. I then went looking for anime shows supposedly similar to Bebop.

I watched the first episode of Trigun and was disgusted, it was basically everything I don't want it an anime. Bad/childish voice acting, weird anime faces, and a bunch of little kids/girls running around with guns.

Are there any serious animes out there that are similar to Cowboy Bebop?

If you like vampires watch the Hellsing series. True that one girls breasts get larger every episode but they never point that out. They got in trouble for not making it enough like the manga so I think they made the concession there. Anyhow do not watch Hellsing "Ultimate" they basically redid the thing more like the manga to make someone happy. Its terrible, has child voices, animu faces and the like. I'm sorry I don't like goofy asides to detract from my horror. If you have to do something chibi hide it in the credits like Record of Lodoss War and keep it out of the cannon.

Edit: I forgot to say I liked Trigun. You just kind of have to get far enough into it. Basically he acts like a goof so hopefully no one notices hes some kind of horrible monster. When the plot gets to the point he cant hide the fact he is some kind of horrible monster he drops the act.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Ghost in The Shell and Black Lagoon are the only other ones I know of.

 

[SaetonChapelle]

Baccano. Im demanding you watch this very intelligent, fairly serious anime.

 

[Gigano]

Kite(yes its a little girl with a gun, but it's serious i swear)

Kite is a 'H', not an anime, please refrain from calling it such.

ANN beg to differ [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/kite].

...at least on the censored version, which is probably the most common here.

And - regardless of whether it fit the terminology - it's undoubtedly a serious piece of animation anyway, and hence might well fit the bill for what the OP was looking for. Probably should've mentioned that some versions of it contain AO-material though, but by now that should be exceedingly clear to everyone.

OT: Monster is an excellent offering, although being a noir thriller set in pre-unified Germany I doubt it's too similar in nature to Cowboy Bebop. Possibly also Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo too, although the peculiar art style and extreme change of setting from the book might be dissuading for many.

 

[Alasdair Macleod]

Planetes might well suit your needs.

http://www.tokyopop.com/product/1120/Planetes/1.html

And also somewhat topical, as the subject of dealing with the man-made debris circling the Earth has been in the news recently.

The team behind it had really done their homework. The show takes a very sober and plausible approach to space technology (both current and projected.) It's also noteworthy for dealing with the hitherto-untouched subject of how poor countries fit into a world where the rich ones are reaching for the stars.

However I can only recommend it insofar as it fits into your 'serious anime' prerequisite.

Personally I thought the series was a fucking abortion.

Partly for the overarching plot, which is lazy and simpering. But mostly for the main cast, who I absolutely, fucking despised by the story's conclusion.
Seriously, I have never loathed the central characters this much in a series of ANY story-telling medium, not just anime.

Is this a recommendation? Doesn't seem like it does it?
Oh well, give it a try. It might well be just what you've been looking for. Especially if plausible space-travel interests you.

 

[sage42]

Well I don't think it counts as a show, but the movie "Appleseed" I thought was really fun, although the twist at the end was probably really obvious. I'm only talking about the CGI remake so I can't really speak for the original nor can I say if that was a movie or a show.

 

[Sulacu]

Since I don't think it has been mentioned before, I would recommend Monster.

 

[Azure Sky]

Kite(yes its a little girl with a gun, but it's serious i swear)

Kite is a 'H', not an anime, please refrain from calling it such.

ANN beg to differ [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/kite].

...at least on the censored version, which is probably the most common here.

And - regardless of whether it fit the terminology - it's undoubtedly a serious piece of animation anyway, and hence might well fit the bill for what the OP was looking for. Probably should've mentioned that some versions of it contain AO-material though, but by now that should be exceedingly clear to everyone.

To censor that much... Talk about ripping out 10-20 mins of it.. >.>

I was merely pointing out the difference.
It would be the same as someone looking for a comedy being recommended an anime named after a certain colored dragon. =3

I tend to deal with original edits and dubbing, so I probably over reacted a little. =3

 

[SckizoBoy]

Does anyone else like Gunslinger Girl? The title makes it sound like a joke, but it's a very serious anime about various moral issues. I really enjoyed Season 1 for its darker portrayal of the series, and Season 2 is passable, with (in my opinion) worse art direction despite the original manga artist helping out. But the series as a whole is good and serious.

Agreed, damned good series, if questionable name. However, I prefer the manga...

Haibane Renmei is completely non-violent, and can best be described as a metaphor about life, death and religion.

Gunslinger girl is... A series about cyborg child assassins. The premise sounds incredibly dubious, and certainly the reasoning behind why all the cyborgs are girls no older than 13 or so is quite... Strained.

Damn, haven't watched Haibane Renmei in ages, but I do remember why I think it's a brilliant series. Re GG, I'm just disappointed they never introduced Petrushka. *shrug*

OT: Right, since most of my recommendations (Gankutsuou, GitS, Darker than BLACK, GG, HR etc. etc.) have already been mentioned, I only have the following:

Seirei no Miribito - deals with a lot of issues across the 26 episodes, very well handled relationships, great action scenes and a solid overall story
Hourou Musuko - deals with gender identity in middle school, maybe not what you're looking for, but I'll mention it anyway
Fuujin Monogatari - an acquired taste, visually, but a quaint story about fuujutsushi
Sky Crawlers - a film, but a very good critical allegory for modern media
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 - get over the little boy's personality and just think March 2011 only in cartoon form
Le Chevalier D'Eon - le Secret du Roi plus an interesting dose of occult

Might have a couple more lurking in the recesses of my brain...

 

[Gigano]

...
To censor that much... Talk about ripping out 10-20 mins of it.. >.>

Well yeah, that's the wonderful dilemma of either supporting a censored release, or sitting through some rather unpleasant stuff.

On principle I always go with the latter though.

I was merely pointing out the difference.
It would be the same as someone looking for a comedy being recommended an anime named after a certain colored dragon. =3

I tend to deal with original edits and dubbing, so I probably over reacted a little. =3

Such terminological difference was certainly of little relevance to the actual topic at hand, so calling it misleading was a bit of a stretch.

 

[Do4600]

From my experience, Cowboy Bebop is pretty much universally considered the best anime series ever made and rightly so, it's going to be a hard act to follow.

Trigun takes a little while to get started, before you write it off though you should at least watch the:

Spoiler: Twelfth Episode

This is where the series really starts to turn.

As for other anime, I could recommend, The Cowboy Bebop movie, Akira, Ghost in the Shell (the movie more-so than the series) and perhaps Hellsing, but only if you have interest in vampire mythology.

 

[Shadu]

Fullmetal Alchemist and Wolf's Rain are my two nominations.

Either of the FMAs, but Brotherhood is a lot more in depth in certain things and doesn't sort of...go a bit odd at the end. Or I'm assuming since I've only read the manga, but Brotherhood follows the manga very closely, and you don't need to watch the original to understand Brotherhood. It is a complete series on its own.

Wolf's Rain is a bit odd at times, and rather sad, but very good.

 

[Azure Sky]

...
To censor that much... Talk about ripping out 10-20 mins of it.. >.>

Well yeah, that's the wonderful dilemma of either supporting a censored release, or sitting through some rather unpleasant stuff.

On principle I always go with the latter though.

I was merely pointing out the difference.
It would be the same as someone looking for a comedy being recommended an anime named after a certain colored dragon. =3

I tend to deal with original edits and dubbing, so I probably over reacted a little. =3

Such terminological difference was certainly of little relevance to the actual topic at hand, so calling it misleading was a bit of a stretch.

As I said, probably over reacted. =3

Back OT though, Sailor Moon is a fantastic anime, but only if you can find it in its original format.

 

[shemoanscazrex3]

Well a serious and great movie would be Perfect Blue. Studio Ghibli movies might come off as kids movies but they usually have a serious underlying theme to them. House of Five Leaves is pretty good and short. Kaiba is great as well. I really dig the art style on those two. I liked Chobits it took me a little while to get into. Also Dead Leaves despite its seriousness is some crazy over the top action that shouldn't be looked over on. That's all that's coming to me that no one has said already

 

[Torrasque]

Well, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is pretty damn good, and has a lead female character that doesn't want to make me rip my fucking ears and/or eyes out.

Seriously...

<spoiler=The Major is fucking win>

The Major is like the Commander Shepard of the anime universe.

Motoko Kusanagi is one of the few female anime characters that I love, but have no sexual intent in mind. Not even in my dreams, lol. I've seen GitS hentai, and it always annoys me =|
I'd say The Major is the Samus Aran of the anime universe. Someone so awesome that you subconsciously think "ok, they must be a dude", but realize "wtf, thats actually a girl?... I am really ok with that!"

There's also FLCL... which on the surface is nowhere near a serious anime, BUT underneath all the silly action and over the top-ness there's a theme of maturity. It really is a great anime (and short being only 6 episodes) that you shouldn't pass on because it's "silly"

I was gonna say FLCL for the lulz, but that is a good point.
FLCL is remarkably silly, but it actually has a serious theme if you can look past the extreme silliness.