I've gotten tried of teaspoon deep stories of most games and anime so does anyone know any that don't just appeal to the lowest common denominator
intellectually challenging games/anime (story wise)
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Phoenix Wright is challenging story-wise (until you find all of the evidence, because then you know exactly what happened), while the Professor Layton games are not only challenging story-wise, the puzzles will make you go absolutely nutty (or so I've heard).
As for anime, I remember Peacemaker Kurogane and X having decent stories.
As for anime, I remember Peacemaker Kurogane and X having decent stories.
Games and anime? We'd probably be here all day.
Games-wise...try the Tales series. Any of them, I'd say, Symphonia and Abyss in particular. Also, I review visual novels, so many of those would be good (Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night in particular).
Anime-wise...again, "here all day." Try something like Princess Tutu or Ghost in the Shell.
Games-wise...try the Tales series. Any of them, I'd say, Symphonia and Abyss in particular. Also, I review visual novels, so many of those would be good (Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night in particular).
Anime-wise...again, "here all day." Try something like Princess Tutu or Ghost in the Shell.
Anime....Gunslinger Girl and Witch Hunter Robin....Neon Genesis Evangelion and Elfen Lied come to mind.
Anime:
Neon Genesis Evangelion (it's a brilliant psychological study once you get into it, deeply rooted in Freudian ideas, and fused with some really weird metaphysics)
Ghost in the Shell [The first two movies] (okay, the show's good too, but it's more political. The movies are deeply philisophical, a quest to find just what it is that makes us human. You can not go wrong with them)
Mushishi (Quiet and contemplative, Mushishi will just leave you with a feeling of serenity. It's so different from anything I've ever watched that I can't even think how exactly I would describe it. Give a couple episodes a try and see where they take you)
Games:
Bioshock?
Neon Genesis Evangelion (it's a brilliant psychological study once you get into it, deeply rooted in Freudian ideas, and fused with some really weird metaphysics)
Ghost in the Shell [The first two movies] (okay, the show's good too, but it's more political. The movies are deeply philisophical, a quest to find just what it is that makes us human. You can not go wrong with them)
Mushishi (Quiet and contemplative, Mushishi will just leave you with a feeling of serenity. It's so different from anything I've ever watched that I can't even think how exactly I would describe it. Give a couple episodes a try and see where they take you)
Games:
Bioshock?
Three words.
Mobile. Suit. Gundam.
The original story of war, love, loss, betrayel, and human suffering.
See also, Macross.
Mobile. Suit. Gundam.
The original story of war, love, loss, betrayel, and human suffering.
See also, Macross.
I think Bioshock holds a firm grasp in deep content, if I may explain without someone screaming to the hills in shock as I unleash the spoiler that is the games conclusion of the second act in which the protagonists comes to realize his existence is nothing more then to blindly serve commands given under the phrase "would you kindly". Now as far as the game is concerned it's just a means in which to tie in a neat little twist to shift the central antagonists, but as a player outside of the game whom did exactly as instructed and blindly fallowed the orders of a voice on the other side of a radio, all of which without even considering the possibility of being nothing more then mindless cock...or was that just me? Well that and for being a challenge to the centralized concept of political theories mainly capitalism, Unitarianism and social constructivism.
As far as anime is concerned, not a whole lot of decent i.e thought provoking material. Now don't get on my case I do enjoy a well drawn anime in all its insanity but in terms of political social and philosophical theory most reach for the lowest hanging fruits and step away from any challenging or strong psychological mind-fucks, or at least taken the time to have at least read "The Prince" or for that matter fucking "Sophie's World".
As far as anime is concerned, not a whole lot of decent i.e thought provoking material. Now don't get on my case I do enjoy a well drawn anime in all its insanity but in terms of political social and philosophical theory most reach for the lowest hanging fruits and step away from any challenging or strong psychological mind-fucks, or at least taken the time to have at least read "The Prince" or for that matter fucking "Sophie's World".
Games: Hotel Dusk (DS), Rule of Rose (PS2), ICO (PS2)
Anime: Trigun and Fooly Cooly (maybe not these 2, I don't have much anime experience)
Anime: Trigun and Fooly Cooly (maybe not these 2, I don't have much anime experience)
Games: Lost Odyssey and well thats the most complex one I own.
Anime: O lord... where to begin... Eureka 7, Fooly Cooly (maybe?), Spice and Wolf, and if you need a bigger list come visit the Anime Fans! group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Anime-Fans] (shameless plug) and the people there will help.
Anime: O lord... where to begin... Eureka 7, Fooly Cooly (maybe?), Spice and Wolf, and if you need a bigger list come visit the Anime Fans! group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Anime-Fans] (shameless plug) and the people there will help.
Lain is intellectually challenging all right. It takes a hell of a lot just to figure out what's going on.NiPah said:
Anime with depth? Where to start?
Serial Experiments Lain has been mentioned. As has Neon Genesis Evangelion. And FLCL (pronounced Fooly-Cooly). Of course, all three have the side-effect of leaving the viewer with no clue what the hell is going on. Very much mindscrew territory, these are, although FLCL is far more light-hearted.
Other than those, there's Now and Then, Here and Now. While I haven't finished watching it, NTHN is an incredibly mature anime dealing with the brutality of war from the perspective of children, particularly what happens in a police state where said children are raised as soldiers.
Also of note is Wolf's Rain, about a group of wolves masquerading as humans, seeking paradise (it makes sense in context). Absolutely brilliant, the characters are anything but one-dimensional. Whether it's actually intellectually stimulating is up to interpretation, but you can't accuse it of lacking any depth.
I'd also recommend Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. These movies deal with very different themes: TGWLTT is largely a coming-of-age story about a schoolgirl awakening to the consequences of her actions, particularly as a certain boy is concerned. Much better than it sounds from that, though. Grave of the Fireflies is, depending on who you ask, about the pitfalls of pride and stubbornness, the cruelty of Japanese society circa-World War II, the cruelty of war in general or any combination of the above. Or possibly more. Finally, Princess Mononoke is about (to me, at least) the importance of not succumbing to hatred, revenge or prejudice. Or it could be about nature vs civilisation, but I prefer the negative-emotion aesop.
That's the stuff I've seen, albeit incompletely in some cases. I've also heard good things of Elfen Leid, Higurashi, Ghost in the Shell and Welcome to the N.H.K.
Serial Experiments Lain has been mentioned. As has Neon Genesis Evangelion. And FLCL (pronounced Fooly-Cooly). Of course, all three have the side-effect of leaving the viewer with no clue what the hell is going on. Very much mindscrew territory, these are, although FLCL is far more light-hearted.
Other than those, there's Now and Then, Here and Now. While I haven't finished watching it, NTHN is an incredibly mature anime dealing with the brutality of war from the perspective of children, particularly what happens in a police state where said children are raised as soldiers.
Also of note is Wolf's Rain, about a group of wolves masquerading as humans, seeking paradise (it makes sense in context). Absolutely brilliant, the characters are anything but one-dimensional. Whether it's actually intellectually stimulating is up to interpretation, but you can't accuse it of lacking any depth.
I'd also recommend Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. These movies deal with very different themes: TGWLTT is largely a coming-of-age story about a schoolgirl awakening to the consequences of her actions, particularly as a certain boy is concerned. Much better than it sounds from that, though. Grave of the Fireflies is, depending on who you ask, about the pitfalls of pride and stubbornness, the cruelty of Japanese society circa-World War II, the cruelty of war in general or any combination of the above. Or possibly more. Finally, Princess Mononoke is about (to me, at least) the importance of not succumbing to hatred, revenge or prejudice. Or it could be about nature vs civilisation, but I prefer the negative-emotion aesop.
That's the stuff I've seen, albeit incompletely in some cases. I've also heard good things of Elfen Leid, Higurashi, Ghost in the Shell and Welcome to the N.H.K.
I agree with you %100, but I've never seen Mushishi.Kpt._Rob said:
OP you must listen to this person!