maninahat said:
Alright, you've all seen a topic posted like this every other day. This one is slighlty different however.
Basically, I'm tired of how immature anime is, and I want to watch a show that'll convince me that anime can be for a smart, adult audience. DO NOT RECOMMEND ME ELFEN LIED. That show is exactly the kind of childish, immaturity I am talking about: a show that pretends to be sober and intelligent, but resorts to cheesecake cat girls, inappropriate panty shots at dramatic moments, and sensationalist gore. Adult content does not equal maturity.
I have already seen The Grave of The Fire Flies and Monster, those two being examples of good, mature anime. If you can find me something along those lines, I'd be grateful.
Elfen Lied has so many more problems than cat girls and panty shots. It's one of the most vile, utterly retarded and misogynistic animes I've ever seen. The OP just adds insult to injury by being the only good part of the show.
Anyway, I second the suggestions of
Kino's Journey,
Ghost in the Shell: SAC[footnote]The first movie is excellent too. It has a completely different tone, and for a while I was convinced that the series was superior, but upon rewatching it I realized that the film is a masterpiece. The second film.. well, not quite so much.[/footnote] and
Paranoia Agent (although that show is
full of unlikeable characters, leading me to wonder if Satoshi Kon just hated the audience).
I'd also like to add a suggestion for
Dennou Coil. Now, at first glance this will probably sound like it won't fit into your parameters at all, but it's a great series. The protagonists are all children, but it's deviously well-written and features some very interesting ideas. In other words, good sci-fi.
I'm not sure where you stand on Yuri, so I'll recommend
Aoi Hana as well. Yes, this one is also about High School students. However, it's very sober. It doesn't use any of the visual effects commonly associated with anime, and the characters are very believable. The anime unfortunately cuts short, but if you like it you can track down the manga.
There's also
Boogiepop Phantom. It dodges pretty much every common anime trope, but it's also kind of hard to watch. I would still recommend giving it a try, though.