I'm an old school fan of Akira, Vampire Hunter D, Robot Carnival, Ninja Scroll, Berserk, Ghost in the Shell, Tank Police, Cowboy Bepop, etc.
It seems to me there was a golden age (or silver age considering the amount of anime that came before these) that has come and gone. Am I wrong?
It has been a long time since I've seen anything that has piqued my interest regarding very good adult anime films or series along the lines of the above. I look at Netflix's instant watch offering and find only derivative stuff that I've seen over and over or just plain low quality.
Some things that I've tried and recently been OK with: Tekkinkonkreet, the New Evangelion films, and Samurai Champloo. But that's really all I can think of and even these were flawed. Let me put out there: I know that every single series and film I've mentioned is flawed as I feel that all anime is flawed. It's hard for me to name even the most classic series or film (i.e. Robotech, Fist of the North Star) that don't require caveats.
One last thing to note: STUDIO GHIBLI is God. I wouldn't begin to put any of Miyasaki's masterpieces with any of the above just as I wouldn't put any classic Disney films with the above.; it's a different category in my book.
-Jeremy
Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The Latter is based off the manga.
Funny, I was just about to check that out because I heard some good things!
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Bleach, Soul Eater, Death Note. If you haven't watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, you should.
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Bleach, Soul Eater, Death Note. If you haven't watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, you should.
Lady after my own heart:) Avatar is awesomesauce and I recommend you watch this quickly as the sequel, Legend of Korra begin soon
I will say this I am not a fan of Death Note... Well actually not a fan of the main charater.
I saw Last Airbender and LOVED it. Really excited for Korra. You know, I didn't really catagorize that as anime but I think y'all are right - that's straight up Japanimation (as the grampas call it).
Stardust: I'm definitely gonna check out Ganketsuo! Sounds great!
And if you can get me the name of that one with the demon butler I'll check that out as well.
Thanks for all the great suggestions, I've been real hungry for some good stuff.
Lilith: I like Samurai X and the other series called [CAN'T REMEMBER] and Bleach looked similar. Am I crazy?
Also: just remembered that watching Mushi-shi while abusing substances is transcendent. I highly recommend that.
I would highly recommend Fullmetal Alchemist as well, both versions of it are fantastic. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great watch as well. If you haven't heard of it I highly recommend a French series called Wakfu which just ended its second airing season.
What would you compare to Wakfu?
Software Test Engineer
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And then there was the one about the kid who had the demon as a butler in Victorian England... :( Can't remember the title, but still thought it was good.
Black Butler if I recall :)
Wakfu is difficult to really compare, but if I had to say anything... Records of Lodoss Wars? If anything, I'd really just say tabletop gaming being turned into an animated series.
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If you haven't watched the recent masterpieces you should:
Bakemonogatari and its sequel Nisemonogatari
And then there was the one about the kid who had the demon as a butler in Victorian England... :( Can't remember the title, but still thought it was good.Black Butler if I recall :)
Wakfu is difficult to really compare, but if I had to say anything... Records of Lodoss Wars? If anything, I'd really just say tabletop gaming being turned into an animated series.
It's Black Butler. My sister is obsessed over Sebastian.
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Lilith: I like Samurai X and the other series called [CAN'T REMEMBER] and Bleach looked similar. Am I crazy?
Rurouni Kenshin.
Samurai Champloo is crazy and fun.The Twelve Kingdoms is a fun fantasy romp, while Martian Successor Nadiesco is a fun science fiction romp.
Lucky Star is short and sweet, as is Azumanga Daioh.
no one's mentioned Basilisk yet?
hm.
Black Lagoon. gritty. Guns, action. full throttle action.
Bakemonogatari is great, but slightly abstract. still a solid one as suggested above.
Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars, terrific space opera.
Shura no Toki, is similar to samurai X/kenshin. Martial arts, action, drama, some comedy. Covers 3 generations of hero. main character in first arc, his son in 2nd arc, his grandson in 3rd arc.
Baccano is pretty damn cool. Mafia days, tommyguns, oh and immortals via alchemy.
Both of the Fullmetal Alchemists are good, but Brotherhood is much closer to the manga, and the better of the pair i think.
Spriggan was a stand alone movie like Akira/Ghost in the Shell. Basically secret agent james bond action, then psychic powers show up.
Valkyria Chronicles. Alt-world worldwar2ish tech action/drama.
Black Butler is cool. reminds me of Hellsing with less gore. lot of character reveleations and developments.
Sword of the Stranger. Martial arts, VERY close in style, art and tones to Ninja Scroll.
Will throw out more as i think of em.
edit.
Summer Wars: liked it a lot.
Eden of the East : same as above
hm.
Black Lagoon. gritty. Guns, action. full throttle action.
Bakemonogatari is great, but slightly abstract. still a solid one as suggested above.
Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars, terrific space opera.
Shura no Toki, is similar to samurai X/kenshin. Martial arts, action, drama, some comedy. Covers 3 generations of hero. main character in first arc, his son in 2nd arc, his grandson in 3rd arc.
Baccano is pretty damn cool. Mafia days, tommyguns, oh and immortals via alchemy.
Both of the Fullmetal Alchemists are good, but Brotherhood is much closer to the manga, and the better of the pair i think.
Spriggan was a stand alone movie like Akira/Ghost in the Shell. Basically secret agent james bond action, then psychic powers show up.
Valkyria Chronicles. Alt-world worldwar2ish tech action/drama.
Black Butler is cool. reminds me of Hellsing with less gore. lot of character reveleations and developments.
Sword of the Stranger. Martial arts, VERY close in style, art and tones to Ninja Scroll.
Will throw out more as i think of em.
edit.
Summer Wars: liked it a lot.
Eden of the East : same as above
I heard Summer Wars was great! Have that in its way from Netflizz right now.
EDIT: Btw, thanks for all the fantastic one-ups.
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Alot of good stuff, some I haven't even heard of before.
To add:
Series
Jyu-Oh-Sei (Planet of the Beast King) - another great series, sci-fi where Berserk is fantasy.
Darker Than Black - another great sci-fi series with supernatural overtones (or the other way round).
Basilisk - rival ninja clans dueling it out for their survival using some really twisted abilities.
Blue Exorcist - cool series about demon hunting.
Durarara!! - motorcycle riding dullahan... no more need be said about that!
Movies
Vexille - sci-fi, has a lot in common with GiTS (Ghost in the Shell) storywise.
Origins: Spirits of the Past - post-apocalyptic eco tale. One of the best openings in an anime kicks this movie off.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society - Helps if you've seen the GiTS:SAC series, but even if you haven't its still great to watch.
Broken Blade/Break Blade - Just watched this via Anime Network On-Demand! Though technically a series, each episode (there are six) is a movie. Mechs without lasers or missiles in a fantasy style setting.
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No one has mentioned Code Geass it seems. I would suggest that before Death Note really. Great list otherwise, really. I hope you find something that works for you!
As I was reading this thread, I was thinking "Why has no-one mentioned Code Geass?" And then... POW!
Let it be known that I will throw in there Monster and Utawarerumono.
For anyone who hasn't seen S-cry-ed, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's not too long (~20 episodes or something), but every one of them is great.
I'll also second Death Note, but my problem with it is that it seriously jumps the shark halfway through. I watched it from the beginning, loved every moment of it, hung onto every part of the rivalry between the hero and the villain (whichever you consider to be either), but then- without spoiling anything- something happens halfway through that completely strips all meaning from the show. The whole time I kept thinking, "The show just ended. Why are there 20 more episodes?" I literally only watched it to the end because I couldn't possibly comprehend where the show was going to go from there (and I was disappointed regardless). I recommend you check out the two Death Note movies (Death Note and Death Note 2: The Last Name, I think they're called)- they follow the anime/manga close enough, except it ends at the point that (in my opinion) the anime should have, with a better ending to boot.
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As for Death Note, I liked Light up until the 6th episode. What he does there was despicable in my mind and soured me on anything he did after that.
I loved Code: Geass. Its because of Lelouch that I learned of the trope "Xanatos Speed Chess," (where a character has an amazing gift not only for convoluted plans but for revising them whenever new circumstances arise. And then pulling it off).
Utawarerumono... great series! I can almost never get the spelling of the name right so I almost never bring it up on the forums.
More to add:
Giant Robo: The Day The Earth Stood Still - another great series that takes alot of its inspiration from steampunk.
Tekkonkinkreet - great feature about two kids trying to stop the yakuza from taking over and changing their city.
The Rebuild of Evangelion movies are great (two are out now, with the third coming out Fall of this year in Japan)... Shinji is far more outspoken in this than he was in the TV series. Some of the angels have undergone design changes to better reflect what they were supposed to able to do but couldn't due to technological constraints at the time (The angel Ramiel is my favorite so far of these changes).
Guin Saga - awesome fantasy series based on one of the best selling book series in Japan.
Highschool of the Dead (HoTD) - speaking as one who is tired to death of zombies, this series is good in spite of being set during a zombie apocalypse.
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More good ones are Gurren Lagann and Robotech. Either the 1980s or 2000s version, both are pretty good. Both of them feature giant robots... in SPACE!!!!!!
Gurren Lagann, Soul Eater, Persona 4 anime, The Guyver(series and OAV), Princess Tutu, Oh!(Ah!)My Goddess(series, Movie, or OAV), Project A-ko(classic), Hare+Guu, Shakugun no Shana, Slayers, Kodacha, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Hyper Police come to mind.
A big +1 for Black Butler, Full Metal Alchemist, and Gurren Lagann.