Looking for a specific type of anime.
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From what I've watched and from what you've said, Cowboy Bebop is probably something you'd enjoy. The characters are great, it only has one series (26 episodes + a film), but each episode has its own story, with a few tied into the overarching plot. Plus the dub is fantastic.
Another show I'd recommend would be Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It's got a similar structure to Bebop with the addition of two episode arcs interspersed between stand alone episodes and series arc episodes. The animation is great and the world, concepts and issues it presents are well thought-out and smartly written (although clunkily delivered in some cases). The characters are generally grounded and likeable, with very few over the top badass moments, save for a few moments with Major Kusanagi. She is, however, a full cyborg, with a military grade prosthetic body, so those moments never really come across as entirely unrealistic, especially since she's far from indestructible.
EDIT: Should have read the OP a little more carefully. I didn't catch the 'no sci-fi' bit. My recommendations stand though.
EDIT the second: There's no mecha in either of them.
Another show I'd recommend would be Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It's got a similar structure to Bebop with the addition of two episode arcs interspersed between stand alone episodes and series arc episodes. The animation is great and the world, concepts and issues it presents are well thought-out and smartly written (although clunkily delivered in some cases). The characters are generally grounded and likeable, with very few over the top badass moments, save for a few moments with Major Kusanagi. She is, however, a full cyborg, with a military grade prosthetic body, so those moments never really come across as entirely unrealistic, especially since she's far from indestructible.
EDIT: Should have read the OP a little more carefully. I didn't catch the 'no sci-fi' bit. My recommendations stand though.
EDIT the second: There's no mecha in either of them.
If you're willing to try one with mechs but with quite a bit of substance and good characters rather than bullshit special attacks or whatever, I have to recommend Code Geass. Yes, it's got mecha and stuff in it, but it really keeps them as secondary, while really being about the people. Raises a lot of neat questions about what's right and wrong, who is good or evil, whether the ends justify the means, etc.ninja666 said:
If I understood your criteria correctly, you might enjoy Shinsekai Yori. The story is definitely serious, rather dark and ambitious, it's broken up into several arcs (the entire show is 25 episodes), the main characters are very interesting, I don't recall there being very many jokes, but on the other hand that means there weren't any dragged out ones either. Grey morality? Oh yes. No badassery? Yep. Technically speaking the setting is sci-fi, but it's nowhere near the generic kind, in fact it resembles medieval Japan more than anything else.
Seirei no Moribito. I don't think there's any humour, kind of on the fence of it being ambitious or not, and the female lead is while not a 'bad ass' in your typical shounen fashion does certainly kick ass, though the action is all very visceral and believable. Other than that I say this is the best fit for what you're looking for.ninja666 said:
Oh, also an older one maybe have a look at Juuni Kokuki (English translation is something like 'twelve kingdoms'). While at first glance it may seem like a typical 'high school kids fall into fantasy world', it ends up being very much what you're looking for.
Gee most of my suggestions are already taken Kino's journey and Mushi-shi are both quite and thoughtful and episodic. Spice and Wolf is the best show about economics ever and has probably the most natural romance in any Anime.
There are a lot of other good ones mentioned but a few good ones I haven't seen mentioned yet.
"From the New world" and "Nagi no Asukara: a lull in the sea" I put these two together because due to time skips you truly feel like you followed these characters growing up and both have fantastical elements. new world is much darker though and is basically post-post apocalyptic as the world was destroyed when everyone developed psychic powers and now it's gone back to something more pastoral but with the sense that it could all unravel again at a moment's notice.
oh and I must second the recommendation of "Beck: Mongolian Chop squad" which is perhaps the most western feeling anime i've personally seen. It can have a slow pace at times but is essentially a coming of age story about a boy discovering himself trough music. it has very realistic levels of badassedness and the best sound track.
I am also tempted to suggest "the world is still beautiful" but it's not yet finished so that makes it hard for me to do though what they have done so far has been brilliant.
There are a lot of other good ones mentioned but a few good ones I haven't seen mentioned yet.
"From the New world" and "Nagi no Asukara: a lull in the sea" I put these two together because due to time skips you truly feel like you followed these characters growing up and both have fantastical elements. new world is much darker though and is basically post-post apocalyptic as the world was destroyed when everyone developed psychic powers and now it's gone back to something more pastoral but with the sense that it could all unravel again at a moment's notice.
oh and I must second the recommendation of "Beck: Mongolian Chop squad" which is perhaps the most western feeling anime i've personally seen. It can have a slow pace at times but is essentially a coming of age story about a boy discovering himself trough music. it has very realistic levels of badassedness and the best sound track.
I am also tempted to suggest "the world is still beautiful" but it's not yet finished so that makes it hard for me to do though what they have done so far has been brilliant.
Baccano! might appeal to you but for the most part you are kinda pissing on the wrong fire hydrant.
I personally enjoy shonen quite a lot, but other stuff has appealed before.
I personally enjoy shonen quite a lot, but other stuff has appealed before.
Maybe The Tatami Galaxy, which is about life in college? Flowers of Evil is pretty damned unusual for anime. It falls down on "likeable characters" but that's kind of the point, and I think they're still relatable. Also see Monster, Paranoia Agent and Serial Experiments Lain (that one has one of the most layered plots I've seen in an anime).
If you read manga, I'd recommend Jin, which is about a modern day doctor who finds himself in mediaeval Japan.
Also, I'd like to second SKBPinkie on your "wow the Japanese are so immature and I know this based off some cartoons they made for teenagers" comment.
If you read manga, I'd recommend Jin, which is about a modern day doctor who finds himself in mediaeval Japan.
Also, I'd like to second SKBPinkie on your "wow the Japanese are so immature and I know this based off some cartoons they made for teenagers" comment.
That anime doesn't exist, but something similar does. The berserk manga. The only thing is there's a lot of badassery. But its:ninja666 said:
serious
ambitious
multi-plot
non-annoying
likeable characters
occaisional jokes
gray morality
western-themed (swords, shields, wars, dragons, etc)
japanese-animated
non-cheesy
fantasy and medieval setting
not sci-fi
... The only thing is Guts is a badass. Nothing to be done about that.
There is an anime, and 3 movies, that cover a lot of the story, but the manga has the rest when/if you finish those.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n55QVlBoDxI
I'm kind of in the same boat as well, It's getting to be quite hard to find anime that I like...But then again, it's like that for any media I watch.
One of my 'go to' recommendations has already been said a few times, but I'll be 4th to say that Spice & Wolf is exceptionally good, and you would likely enjoy it immensely. It fills out most of your criteria.
I'd also recommend the movie Steamboy, there is one annoying character that I can recall, but for the most part it's quite good, and manages to not fall into pitfalls that other anime can.
For both of these animes, especially Spice & Wolf, I highly recommend the English dub, they were done astonishingly well. Also Patrick Stewart is in Steamboy!
Lastly, though I've only seen the first episode, and even then it was ages ago...I'd hesitantly recommend Last Exile. I have no idea where that show goes, but the pilot gave quite a good impression. The English dub wasn't the best though, probably best to watch that one subbed.
For your convenience, here's the first episodes and trailer of the shows I recommended:
Ah, just caught the "No Movies" thing...Well, just ignore Steamboy then, but I'll leave it there for the others viewing this.
One of my 'go to' recommendations has already been said a few times, but I'll be 4th to say that Spice & Wolf is exceptionally good, and you would likely enjoy it immensely. It fills out most of your criteria.
I'd also recommend the movie Steamboy, there is one annoying character that I can recall, but for the most part it's quite good, and manages to not fall into pitfalls that other anime can.
For both of these animes, especially Spice & Wolf, I highly recommend the English dub, they were done astonishingly well. Also Patrick Stewart is in Steamboy!
Lastly, though I've only seen the first episode, and even then it was ages ago...I'd hesitantly recommend Last Exile. I have no idea where that show goes, but the pilot gave quite a good impression. The English dub wasn't the best though, probably best to watch that one subbed.
For your convenience, here's the first episodes and trailer of the shows I recommended:
Ah, just caught the "No Movies" thing...Well, just ignore Steamboy then, but I'll leave it there for the others viewing this.
I'm going to ignore your forbidding of films, because you do yourself a disservice by not watching this.ninja666 said:
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. Set in an alternate history 1960s Japan, where a military police force has to deal with internal corruption and state terrorism. A disgraced soldier is sent back to basic training, and he falls in love with the older sister of a suicide bomber he failed to stop.
It's not science fiction, it's speculative fiction. There's no fantastical devices or magic laser guns. Just heavy German combat armor and MG-42 machine guns.
It has multiple storylines. The foremost is the romance between the two leads, but in the background, there is political maneuvering, terrorist cells, and an investigation into a suicide bomber. These all collide at the end of the film.
The characters aren't annoying. Fuse is a stoic yet deeply troubled soldier who clings to traditional Japanese values, while Kei is an optimistic if naive civilian who longs to move away from the oppressive regime.
The entire film is made up of ambiguous morality. One of the big questions raised is the need for societal change. The Wolf Brigade unit represents Japan's insular society, and their need to destroy change that threatens the pack. Meanwhile, Kei and the Terrorists represent the need for change to progress society out of a dark period.
It isn't really a funny film at all, so you can check annoying comic relief off your list.
Finally, your comments on Badassery. Some people might see the intrinsic thrill of an armored man with a big gun mowing down enemies, but this film does not glorify violence in the slightest. It is swift, ruthless, and brutally efficient. The ease with which the Wolf Brigade guns down the poorly equipped revolutionaries further highlights the violent regime that is controlling Japan. Like the wolf pack defending itself, the Wolf Brigade and the MPs defend Japan's society from change, with lethal force.
It's one of the best films I've seen. And it's nice to see animated Japanese people actually looking Japanese.
Dis gon be gud. I'll watch it tomorrow. The thing about recommending shows instead of movies was mentioned because I'm looking for something to occupy me for a longer while and movies aren't exactly that kinda thing.Soviet Heavy said:
You can recommend movies, of course, and I'll watch them if they're worth it, but I'll mostly prefer you to recommend shows.
Watch anything by Satoshi Kon. His work is as far removed from "anime" as it can get.ninja666 said:
Perfect Blue
Millennium Actress
Paranoia Agent
Tokyo Godfathers
Paprika
Only Paranoia Agent is a TV show, but seriously watch these movies. The only thing that makes them anime is that they're animated - They might just as well be live-action.
Weirdly, Avatar, The last Airbender is pretty much what you described. I think it ticks nearly all the boxes, except for the one of it being anime. Takes a lot of leaves from it's book though.
Going to definitely have to second the suggestions for Monster (the manga/anime by Naoki Urasawa, not to be confused with the Hollywood movie starring Charlize Theron) and Mushi-shi. The former is pretty much my go-to "anime for people who don't like anime" suggestion because it plays out like a serious drama that could easily be adapted to live-action (read: The only stylized elements are visual representations of stories within the story). And when I say it plays out like a serious drama, I do mean a serious tone rather than just something you could see on prime-time. Mushi-shi has a significantly lighter/more mellow tone to it and doesn't truly have a central plotline. Truth be told it's perhaps better looked at as a collection of "just so" stories than anything else, and it uses this to phenomenal effect. Personally, I'd suggest watching Monster as a series and then following that up with Mushi-shi as a series.
Yeah, I couldn't help but wonder if it was because of Avatar that these requirements seemed so oddly specific. And if that's the case, tough luck, there's not too much I find that's like it. Maybe FMA? At a very dodgy push.SNCommand said:
I didn't really like the sequels as much. It's good, don't get me wrong. A solid 7/10 in my books, it just feels more rushed than the original show. I liked the slower pace with filler. It was interesting and took the cast to many locations instead of just revolving around the same place. I think Legend of Kora got around that with the last season though and the Spirit Relm.