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← darkroom
Recommend Mature Anime to a Anime Fledgling?
Hi everyone! Ive always dabbled woth Anime in the past and have completed a few movies and series in my day but ive recently caught the bug again and want to build up a to-watch list of stuff.
Ive noticed i dont tend to go for the main huge Shonen anime that everyone and their mum likes (no offenece to these shows btw, im sure theyre great for the people who enjoy them), Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto etc....
But I prefer anime with a darker tone aimed at adults? Im down for some lighthearted stuff but ive notice i tend to only like slice of life stuff for that vibe.
But I can enjoy both realistic and fantasy type anime a lot more of they are darker in tone and theme.
So, if you can recommend me some anime that fits the bill, movie or series that i havent already got on my anime list, will get to them eventually!
Also, if its a series that has multiple sequels/prequels, the recommend starting series would be the one i would like to go for first, unless theres a specific reason for skipping something.
Thanks in advance! :D
P.S:
Sorry for the rambling! Im completely new to the site and havent done much forum posts in the past!
Edit: Wow so many responces everyone, I cant thank you enough! Most of if not all of these will be going on this list for sure! Thanks so much
MONSTER
Is all you needExtras:
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
Ping Pong THE ANIMATION
PERFECT BLUE
PSYCHOPASS
Kaiba
BLACK LAGOON
Mousou Dairinin
Kara no Kyoukai Fukan Fuukei
B The Beginning
Subete ga F ni Naru THE PERFECT INSIDER
C The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Yes! I have watched a few episodes of Monster years ago and loved it! I dropped it and a lot of other anime purely because i was busy or had other stuff to do! This one is on the list and will be watched ASAP for sure!
I didnt get far into the others at all but happy to give them a first proper try!
Thanks for the recommend!
some of these aren't too "dark", but are more mature
first I'll second
Monster
some more:
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Gankutsuou The Count of Monte Cristo
Devilman Crybaby
BANANA FISH
NANA
Let me take you a little down the route of sports.
They aren't all terribly dark, but they are mature in many ways/have mature themes even if they don't seem to start off that way.Hoshiai no Sora - Mature, harsh themes. Flashback to childhood comparison.
Major S1 - There's a tragedy in every season. (barring Major 2nd, that's kind of a lighthearted kickoff)
Touhai Densetsu Akagi Yami ni Maiorita Tensai
Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Ultimate Survivor (does Poker fall in sports, oh well)
Ashita no Joe (I've never seen it, but I've heard it's not a typical shounen and it's heavier than it seems)I also suggest the Battleship Yamato remake if you're interest in Sci-Fi, but Galactic Heroes focuses more on politics. This more on being reactionary.
Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199I also 2nd all of Madeleines' post.
These would be my picks
Texhnolyze
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Devilman Crybaby
Paranoia Agent
BokuranoThese next two aren't like, really dark shows but they do have pretty heavy/mature themes so I think they're worth mentioning still
Haibane Renmei
Kinos JourneyAlso I haven't finished this yet but it might fit what you're looking for too
Boogiepop and Others
Boogiepop PhantomYou've got Ergo Proxy and Lain on your planning already those are great dark/mature shows so I'm sure you'll enjoy those when you get to them.
you could try mamoru oshii’s filmography
ghost in the shell
patlabor
jin-roh
angel’s egg
sky crawlers
urusei yatsura
Jin-roh isn't mature at all, lol. Stereotypical anti-government propaganda.
To OP:
Though manga is much better and talks more about politics, while anime is mostly focused on girls and their handlers.
Also, don't watch Psychopass, its author is mentally underaged.
You are free to have your opinion on Jin-roh and maybe I can imagine what you mean but I don't completely agree.
GUNSLINGER GIRL is not bad but using children is a very forced plot device.
I'm not a Psychopass fan but your comment is baseless without concrete examples. Spoilers free, obviously.
You are free to have your opinion on Jin-roh and maybe I can imagine what you mean but I don't completely agree.
Well, you can't refuse one thing, the "idea" that is forced onto viewer in Jin-Roh is the one that reoccurs too often in modern media. It's like making another "war is bad" movie and calling it mature.
It's very pleasant to look at though, so it isn't bad, yeah.
GUNSLINGER GIRL is not bad but using children is a very forced plot device.
Yeah that's the weakest part of the anime, though as I said it doesn't matter as much because big (and the best) part of the manga is about Italian separatism, which is actually interesting to follow since in post-1991 (or maybe earlier, I don't know) movies/anime/etc separatists tend to be strictly positive characters.
I'm not a Psychopass fan but your comment is baseless without concrete examples. Spoilers free, obviously.
I was done with it after 2 episodes, but I doubt it gets better later on, but it's basically looks like someone who only watches anime tried to share his worldview on serious topics, which is common problem now since more and more people are getting into anime industry just because they liked something from the medium.
i.e. if you consider any art as a secondary creation (since you have to be inspired by something) then these people are behind several layers of secondary works, which is fine if you're trying to do something simple, but will not work if you try to touch serious topics.
Now you are talking. Without explanations any conclusion is debatable. Especially with GG having lower score than the other two anime mentioned. Ty for the feedback.
- continue this thread →
Can't blame people for trying to concise, most don't like to read walls of text (can't relate)
Edit: Added some more in between.
PSYCHOPASS
Darker than Black
Terror in Resonance
AJIN DemiHuman
Parasyte the maxim
KOKKOKU
God Eater
GANGSTAThis one has an interesting concept but it's worth a try. Hope that you enjoy.
Terra Formars
I was already curious about Le Chevalier D'Eon, but if you say it's pretty dark, then I'm even MORE curious about it.
Wow you've gotten a lot of great recommendations!! I'll keep mine short :)
LINK CLICK
Great Pretender
these aren't super dark, but you seem to have gotten a lot of dark shows, so i decided to recommend some fun ones with mature characters :)Attack on Titan
i also noticed you don't have Aot on your list, now it's definitely a main-stream battle shounen, but imo opinion it is A LOT more mature in theme and gives me a totally different vibe to let's say Dragon Ball. esp the newest season, it's certainly aimed at adults. so if you havent seen it already you should give it a chance even tho it gets put in the same boat as Naruto etc a lot!Berserk
lastly since you like the Berserk anime, YOU HAVE TO READ THE MANGA!!! if you get into manga there's a lot more series aimed at adults tbh
Shin Seiki Evangelion
make sure to watch End of Evangelion after finishing!
Cowboy Bebop
Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei
Wow, everyone pulling the gritty ones at you.
Let me throw some romance debt and mawling your way to compensate.
anilist.co/anime/2966Dororo
Gungrave (For your benefit, skip episode 1)
BANANA FISH
First of all, I'd recommend you to push aside FMA Brotherhood and go with the half-original 2003 adaptation if you really value the worlds "adult" "dark" or "grotesque"
The first adaptation luckily has borderline nothing to do with the manga after the first 2 cours, it took a way darker, better directed and way more personal route downhill instead, the truly grotesque way FMA should have been established for instead of being a simple, somewhat well made shounen-fight show. The half-original adaptation is all about moral madness, sacrificies, racism, politics, and what makes a human human in the first places things. Multiple characters like Greed, Lust, Scar, Izumi, Sloth, or Hohenheim (even Edward imo) got a way more personal and detailed treat than what the canon adaptation provides to you.
Even the Homonculi and their leader were way better expressed and represented there imo.Second can be Ga-Rei: Zero. A pretty good dark fantasy toned action drama about how harsh Japanese families and their hierarchy can be, especially if you are an adopted child in one of those families. Combine this with a decent mystery / slasher plot with two great female lead characters with kinda unique vibe and you get a great and unforgettable show to watch. Do not read the manga tho.
If you ever wanted to see a realistic and harsh representation of the classic "take everything away from a princess, treat her like a nobody and let's see what she can do by herself alone" plot, then you should watch Cross-Ange as well. The character drama and the interesting, detailed plot with some amazing twists in it alongside the adult and dark tone you are looking for is way more than enough reason to watch this show.
The ending is kinda disappointing tho.Cross Ange Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo
The last one I'd recommend is Drifters. Not much to say about this one tho. It’s basically Lord of the Rings – The Anime but better. It’s a dark, adult fantasy about a bunch of outlanders (famous historical figures isekaid into this world) trying to take on their opponents in a medieval-fantasy world.
This includes stuff like, taking over nations, set races like elves or dwarfs free, forming bonds and armies, making gunpowder, dealing with political and commercial disputes and etc.It has catchy characters and eye-candy, really unique art style & good animation. The guy who animated the series is actually the mangaka for the source material as well. He is the same person who made Hellsing Ultimate OVA, another show I’d highly recommend.
GTO Mugen no Juunin IMMORTAL REDLINE Megalo Box A bunch of new content for you
