I am first of all new to 4ch. Second of all not an avid anime viewer. However, in my short time watching anime thus far I have enjoyed a certain style. I do not really enjoy the comedic style, I really like serious anime. Another aspect I like is the idea of a continuous series, unlike animes like Cowboy Bebop or Outlaw Star. I enjoyed Death Note very much. I also enjoyed Densha Otoko (although this is live-action). Do any of you have suggestions for serious, series style animes for me to watch?
Welcome to 4ch!
There are various ways of interpreting "serious" anime,...
Haibane Renmei is a pretty serious anime (it deals with pretty serious issues), but maybe not you the conventional sense. The main characters are girls that somehow find themselves in a new world, and equipped with useless little wings. The rest of the series shows how they come to terms with this new world, the people they live with, and themselves. It's a continuous series, whose main difficulty is the slow pace which may put you off.
If you want to minimize comedy, then you could try tragedy, and go for Claymore. Also a continuous series centered around the fates of forsaken women warriors called claymores. I'm not saying it's the best or most original anime in the world, but I found the themes of corruption and inevitable fall quite engaging.
In yet another vein of serious, you could try Mushishi. This time it's not a continuous series, quite the opposite, but definitely serious, if by serious you mean deep. Each episode is an independent story, with different characters (except for the main one). The stories are often quite appealing, and the art poetic. One of my favorites.
Ah! Thank you very much for the welcome. It's good to be in this forum. I guess I joined it after watching Densha Otoko. Also thank you for the advice on which anime to view. From what I see Haibane Renmei sounds pretty interesting and I would be interested in watching that.
I have just begun Mushishi! I forgot to mention that in the original post, but I LOVE it so far. I suppose what I meant by serious was a story line that draws you in and you can get lost in the depths. The reason why I really enjoyed Death Note was because of the ethical complications it presented and to see how man would react to actually having the God complex. If you have any more suggestions based on this please reply again!
I also enjoyed Death Note quite a lot, because of the God Complex, as you mention, but also because of the quite astounding ability of the scenario to maintain high tension for so long.
Nevertheless I stopped watching it at episode 17, because I had the turn of events meant a collapse of the script quality. But since I did not see the rest of the anime, I can't be sure my hunch was correct.
Since you liked Densha Otoko, you might also like Genshiken. Although it's often comedic, you may enjoy the detailed description of the Japanese otaku lifestyle this anime provides. I would say that what is "serious" in this anime is its capacity to depict with a certain depth some characters and segments of Japanese society.
I hesitate a bit about advising Full Metal Alchemist, because this anime has often some comedic moments that may jar you. On the plus side, it's a continuous series with a very well thought scenario, world and character development. It's the story of two young kids that while learning alchemy, try some forbidden experiment that goes so wrong, that they will spend the rest of the series trying to sort the mess out. It's the longest anime that kept my interest until the end (52 episodes!), so they must have done something right,...
Unfortunately that's the extent of my knowledge in anime, so far. I'm also trying to get good tips ;-)
Of course, I could also advise you about movies (Grave of the Fireflies comes to mind), but since you are talking about series, I will refrain.
Your hunch was entirely correct.
Actually, I realized that there is one more title that may interest you, if you enjoyed Death Note: Monster
I only read the manga, so I can't vouch for the anime quality, but it has a very good plot that delves into issues about what if means to behave ethically, the price you have sometimes have to pay for it, and the meaning of it all.
The story follows a doctor practicing in Germany, who one day has to make the choice between saving one of two lifes. He makes the choice, and the rest of the story explores the consequences of his choice. The tension is also well rendered, although the buildup is slower than in Death Note.
I live and have lived in some of the places described by the manga, and I can attest that the author made an extensive research work ahead of producing the manga. Pretty remarkable for someone living in Japan.
I picked up the first 5 episodes of Monster. I haven't started watching it yet, but I will post later with a reaction! ^_^
in b4 Evangelion
>>7
Monster was the best anime i had ever seen, it was truly epic.
Well for some reason I just moved through the first episode, the thing I don't like is how German people all of a sudden speak Japanese. I'm no chemist, but I feel like German is one of the languages that is just SO far off from Japanese haha. I don't know if I will still watch it or not...
This has to be the fucking dumbest thing I have read all day. Congratulations.
GitS, Ergo Proxy.
serial experimental lain, texhnolyze, gunslinger girl, paranoia agent, the record of loddoss war, juuni kokki, claymore, berserk... i forgot the rest of it...
>>10
thats literary because that anime are aired and produced by japanese people you stupid dum dum... why would you pay a hell lot more for just stupid voice acting that'll ended up into subtitle or dubb them in the end >:(
I am a chemist, and I can say with authority that German and Japanese are plenty related. I mean, they both have an ethanol chain on the end!
Haibane Renmei, Vampire Princess Miyu (original old series), RahXephon, KGNE, etc etc
You are all right, I guess there was confusion in all that. Nevermind.
>>14
However...I don't know where you are from but since when is Language a subcategory of Chemistry??
>>13 Most of those are episodic though. Especially Lain, though it's so good. If you start going for something like that Boogiepop Phantom is good. Speed Grapher was also good. Although a movie Akira is awesome. Everythign mentioned was good. Though I haven't seen all of it, Kino no Tabi was a good serious one as well.
Reviving this thread. Does anyone know of more Serious Anime™ that was made post-2007?
>>18
Aoi Bungaku
The new Legend of Galactic Heroes stuff
Mushishi (already mentioned but has new seasons)
Sakamichi no Apollon
Shin Sekai Yori
Quite a few movies. Giovanni no Shima, A Silent Voice, I Want to Eat your Pancreas, etc.
>>18
Japan Sinks: 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfys-2KA3oQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Animator_Expo
episode 23, イブセキヨルニ, is painfully serious