[Anime] Suggest something to a non-watcher

[Badpaladin]

So, I'd like to preface by saying that I don't watch Anime at all. I've tried to do it here and there, but I usually can't get over the way it's animated. I know there are varying degrees of animation, but the ridiculously long legs, massive weapons that defy the laws of physics, the massive eyes ... you know, the stereotypical stuff ... it bothers the hell out of me. Other than that, I recognize that there are a lot of very deep qualities and fascinating stories involved, so I'm interested to see if I can get into some of them. Opening my heart, if you will.

I don't really know where to look, though. Battlestar Galactica is probably my favorite television show, mainly because of how vast and deep it is in its religious issues, political issues, social issues, moral dilemmas, existential ideas, character development, etc. It's also very dark and realistic.

I'm not looking for an animated BSG, but hopefully relating what I'm looking for to something some of you who are well-informed when it comes to Anime may have seen helps you a little more when it comes to recommendation. I want something dark, at least somewhat realistic, and I want a lot of deep character development. I don't want something that's easily approachable when it comes to storylines -- if I miss an episode, that means I should be lost. Heavily "Anime-like" visuals I could probably deal with, but I would prefer not to have a heavy dose of the style, at least not right away. More than anything, I want it to be thought-provoking when it comes to dialogue. This is the kind of dialogue I want to see(not necessarily about the limits of humanity, but in terms of intellectual and emotion depth along these lines):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIgx-uLVFFA

Although humor is okay, I'm looking for something on the serious side.

So, now that I've listed off some ridiculously specific conditions, is there something out there that's readily viewable that any of you could recommend me?

Thanks in advance for those that recommend!

[Deleted]

Deathnote.

[Deleted]

Genkutsuou, PlanetES and Jin-Roh. Crest of the Stars is great too, although you might dislike the anatomy. Monster for non sci-fi.

[grandpab]

I think Luga might be right with Death note. From the sound of it though you might not like the way it looks, it's a lot different than most other animes though so you might like it.

For a longer series that's still going I say try Naruto. If you get really into the story and the characters there's a lot of emotion in the series.

[Phaesimvrotos]

Deathnote.

Definitely. Check it out and you'll get hooked by the first eps. Best one by far at least from the ones I have watched.

[Horrify]

Cowboy Bebop.

[Brincamian]

The first two that come to my mind are Monster and Paranoia Agent. Monster is pretty long, but the plot has a lot of layers and a ton of great characters. Paranoia Agent is much shorter, but still has a lot to say. The animation in these two series is more realistic, as well.

[lizon]

I think you've prob been looking at only action driven anime's. Anime is a media format, like live action TV. There is a wide variety of shows within that media format. I believe that in your case something that is a little less action like would be more up your ally.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0



After a massive earthquake in Tokyo 25 km under the sea at a magnitude of 8.0, siblings Mirai and Yūki, who were visiting a robot exhibition in Odaiba at the beginning of their summer vacation, struggle to reach their parents in their house in Setagaya, assisted by a female motorcycle courier named Mari, who is striving to reach her own daughter and mother in Sangenjaya. Together, the three brave the ruined city and try their best to make it home safely.

Angel Beats



Angel Beats! takes place at a high school acting as a Purgatory, where students learn to give up any lingering attachments they still have from life before continuing to an afterlife or reincarnation. While the injury or cause of death are gone, those in the afterlife school can still feel pain or other things as they did when they were alive, as well as dying again, only to awaken with no injures several minutes later. The story follows the main protagonist Otonashi, a boy who lost his memories of his life after dying. Upon awakening in the afterlife, he meets a girl named Yuri who invites him to join the Shinda Sekai Sensen (SSS) (死んだ世界戦線?, lit. Afterlife War Front), an organization she founded and leads which fights against God for the cruel fates the SSS members experienced in life. Their only enemy in the world is the school's student council president Angel, a being with supernatural powers who fights against the SSS. Yuri believes that anyone who follows Angel's orders and behaves like a normal student at the school will eventually disappear and pass on. However, those who fulfill their dreams in the afterlife will pass on as well.

Voices of a Distant Star



A middle-school girl named Mikako Nagamine is recruited to the UN Space Army in a war against a group of aliens called the Tarsians, named after the Martian region (Tharsis) where they were first encountered. As a Special Agent, Mikako pilots a Tracer, a giant robotic mecha as part of a fighting squadron attached to the spacecraft carrier Lysithea.

When the Lysithea leaves Earth to search for the Tarsians with Mikako on board, Mikako's friend Noboru Terao remains behind. The two continue to communicate across interplanetary, and eventually interstellar space via the email facilities on their mobile phones.

As the Lysithea travels deeper into space, the emails take increasingly longer to reach Noboru on Earth, and the time-lag of their correspondence eventually spans years.

Katanagatari



Katanagatari is the story of Yasuri Shichika, a swordsman that fights without a sword, and Togame, an ambitious strategist that seeks to collect twelve legendary swords for the shogunate. The son of an exiled war hero, Yasuri Shichika is the seventh head of the Kyotoryuu school of fighting and lives on isolated Fushou Island with his sister. At a request from the female general Togame, Shichika and Togame set out on a journey across Edo-era Japan to collect the twelve Deviant Blades.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Note: Don't let the OP of this series deceive you, it's dark, and will blow away any misconceptions you have about Magical Girl anime's forever.



There exist strange creatures who have the power to grant one wish to each chosen girl. However, in exchange, that girl must then become a Puella Magi, a girl with magical powers, and fight against witches, evil creatures born from darkness that are responsible for murders and suicides. In the city of Mitakihara, a schoolgirl named Madoka Kaname and her friend Sayaka Miki are approached by a familiar named Kyubey, who offers to grant each of them one wish in return for making each of them a Puella Magi. Another Puella Magi named Homura Akemi tries to prevent Madoka from making such a deal, while Kyubey urges Madoka by telling her she will become the most powerful Puella Magi. However, contrary to glamorous notions of being a magical girl, a Puella Magi finds herself dealing with death, isolation, agony over the value of her wish, and existential crises. Madoka, following her friends, soon sees the darker side of being a Puella Magi, and because of knowing the truth about being a Puella Magi, she questions if she should become one as well.

These anime's are a lot more story driven than your traditional series. They do have a fair amount of action mixed in-between and plenty of character development. Keep in mind though, these series are NOT dubs. Typically the good stuff is never dubbed. You gotta find subbed versions of these series (either Fan-subbed or Official subbed if their available).

If you want some other suggestions just send me a tell, I got a long list. ^.^

[Sorx]

I can think of a few off the top of my head. Each about ~25 eps.

Death Note- Purely intellectual, this show pretty much fits what you've descibed perfectly. 1-25, the show is a masterpiece.

Berserk- Doesn't have much of an "anime" style. it's dark and gritty, with more of an medieval europe feel. It's not over the top, the characters are very human compared to other animes. granted, the main characters strength is a tad exaggerated. Gotta watch it to the end though. shit just gets real in the last moments. It's pretty thought provoking and puts a greater perspective on some things. Can't say the dialogue is always perfect. A bit grandiose at times imo, but it's entirely negligible.

Gun Grave- deals more with mafia's and gangs. It's not realistic but it's more of being very skilled rather than super powers(excludeing the first episode iirc). Aside from that, I really liked the character development in this series.

[ouki]

I think you should start off with some stand-alone movies about an hour long to an hour and a half.

Movies tend to go a little deeper into the human condition especially since the dialogue is uninterrupted by episodes. I hope these will grasp your heart:

-To the Place Promised in Our Early Days
-5 Centimeters per Second

The artwork of these two animated films are absolutely breathtaking.

If you'd like to go into a more series-based anime:

-Durarara!!
This is a very quirky anime. There is quite a bit of comic relief in this series but with no doubt there comes quite a bit of drama with it. Almost every episode has some sort of cliffhanger. But I'd mainly like to give credit to this anime for its take on humans and their interactions between each other.

-Bakemonogatari
I recently started watching this anime after someone mentioned it in a thread about two weeks ago. There's quite a bit of dialogue in this series and it leaves you to wonder whether there is something more to human psychology or if the writer is just crazed.

If you'd like more sci-fi-esque stories with more focus on political and religious conflicts, a classic you can watch is "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion".

The "big eyes" thing is something I believe you'll have to get used to. Asians are quite envious of having big eyes.

[Eldar45]

Based on your criteria, Ghost in the Shell.
As others have suggested: Death Note

Blood Plus, because I love the show.

[Xyonai]

The ones I would have suggested have already been posted, I'd go for: Death note, Durarara!!!, and Code Geass. Though the story of the last gets a bit convoluted after a while and all of the characters have the odd anatomy I think you dislike.

[Lockndrop]

Code Geass is really good it has some robot suit battles but the main character has a lot of internal conflict and development as the show goes on. a

[Deleted]

Can also suggest Death Note, personally started my anime watching from it (and couldn't bear the over-the-top style/humor in other top-rated anime until a year or two later). Monster might be another good option - a realistic mystery story with a rather deep story from what I hear. I actually went for it immediately after Death Note, but 4 years ago I was too young to have the patience to watch a series like that, and thus stopped at 15-20 episodes in.

[Badpaladin]

I read up a bit on Death Note and decided to watch the first episode on Netflix. Other than the introduction song, I have to say it's fantastic. I'm keeping this thread bookmarked so I can check out the other suggestions.

Oh, and Death Note isn't dubbed on Netlflix which is a big plus. I don't like dubbing.

Thanks for the suggestions thus far!

[Neichus]

Based on your criteria, Ghost in the Shell.

I think this is your best bet, as Kaellen said. The series is top notch. I found it to be a smart, believable future in which humans and machines become merged. Monster is also not like your traditional anime and I found it interesting, if perhaps a tad long.

My personal favorite series is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood but I'm not sure if that would suit your tastes, although it does have a strong theme running through it about the human condition and human suffering.

(Also anime aside, if you haven't seen it I'd highly recommend Babylon 5. Given your taste for what BSG offered I think Babylon 5 would be right up your ally. The first season is weak as it finds its footing, and the actor for the captain is terrible, but seasons 2-4 are great as the story unfolds. Season 5 unfortunately is again a waste though.)

[Deleted]

If you liked the new BSG.

Religion, prophecy, Mechas.

Neon Genesis Evangelion


For a more mature tone

Blue Gender


Less religion more tech

Ghost in the Shell (and SAC)


More esotheric green without tech

Princess Mononoke



If you do not like any of those, you do not like Anime.

[Sorrior]

Gundam wing comes to mind. As does mobile suit gundam Zeta. He'll most older gundams fit the bill just avoid the newer ones oh and g Gu Adam avoid that as well since ot won't work for you. Also gundam wing takes a little bit to tale off but by the end discussions of war and peace ate standard.

For now that's about all I can offer but yeah pre 2000 gundam minus G should work I especially recommend Wing, Zeta, Victory and X oh 08th MS teams well. My friends dad said it's incredibly accurate as to what soldiers in the field are like when on base at least and he's a pretty high ranking officer these days.

[nixcookies]

based on what you said, I would go with deathnote and code geass both are awesome.

[lizon]

-To the Place Promised in Our Early Days
-5 Centimeters per Second

It should be noted that both of these were made by the same director of Voices of a Distant Star. Makoto Shinkai is like the Stephen Spielberg of Anime. The guy's a genius.