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.
I'm a former huge anime fan who has fallen out of love with anime and thinks 98% of it is garbage, so I consider myself quite capable of meeting your request.
My recommendations:
Castle in the Sky: A Hayao Miyazaki flick back before Pixar completely dwarfed him in the "tell a heartfelt, all ages story that doesn't pander to literal/figurative children" department. This one is more of an adventure flick than, say, Kiki's Delivery Service or the wildly overrated Spirited Away. The English dub (by Disney) is amazing.
Paranoia Agent: Anime series by the late Satoshi Kon, who is to Japanese storytelling what Christopher Nolan is to American storytelling. Kon knows how to properly use ambiguity, unlike every other piece of Japanese storywork on the planet (only a slight exaggeration). Show is an ensemble series, exploring the lives of some real messed up people being visited by a mysterious entity called "Little Slugger." Way better than I just made it sound. Also has a pretty good English dub. In case you didn't catch on, I'm a dub guy.
Anything by Satoshi Kon: Figured since I was praising him so much I'd just go ahead and say it.
Chromartie High: I'm pretty sure I spelled that title wrong. Who cares: Chromartie is Japanese humor at its most humorous; thoughtful and cutting without any of that Bobobo "OMG YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING INSANE HOW VERY INSANE OF YOU" ridiculousness. English dub yadda yadda.
If you want more suggestions, holler or PM or something.
EDIT - Also, since you didn't ask and I love seeing my own typing on-screen, here are shows I strongly recommend you avoid like the plague:
Elfen Lied: You already explained why. Good on you.
Ergo Proxy: Remember how I said Satoshi Kon knows how to use ambiguity properly? The person what made Ergo Proxy does not. Ambiguity still needs a basis for thoughtful audience interpretation, and Ergo Proxy is just random tangents with little form. Speaking of which...
Neon Genesis Evangelion: I recommend watching this just to see how NOT to properly incorporate symbolism into a story. And how to write characters out-of-character just to fit whatever plot point you feel you need to make.
Bleach: The first few episodes of this are actually pretty good. Then the show becomes a really bad Dragon Ball knockoff.
Just about anything by Gainax: Including, but not limited to, Panty and Stocking and Eva. Possibly EXcluding FLCL, which is equal parts pretentiousness and brilliance.