Best serious non emo teen angst anime?

[Locut0s]

I'm looking for some good serious anime to watch. However the only type of anime I tend to enjoy are serious anime. However by serious I specifically mean the following:

*NOT serious as in over the top philosophical mumbo jumbo why are we here are we all robots, we are all gia gia is we hippie acid trip wet dream stuff. There is a lot of this shallow shit out there and I hate it.

*NO mecha shit please unless there is something astoundingly good about it and that will take a lot of convincing.

*Along the same lines as the above most action only anime would be out, again unless there's a good reason.

So some examples of what I'm looking for:

Grave of the Fireflies
Wings of Honneamise
Almost anything Miyazaki

Anyone got any recommendations that I haven't mentioned already?

 

[Ricochet]

I just notice you didn't rule out tentacle rape.

Nah, I don't have anything for you. I hate anime.

 

[RbSX]

The best anime in the world is called sunshine, there have been record temperatures this month, go get some sunshine.

You have all winter to watch anime FFS.

 

[Dumac]

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

 

[Locut0s]

I just notice you didn't rule out tentacle rape.

Nah, I don't have anything for you. I hate anime.

I... need to rule that out?

 

[Locut0s]

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

Ok interesting.

 

[Locut0s]

The best anime in the world is called sunshine, there have been record temperatures this month, go get some sunshine.

You have all winter to watch anime FFS.

Yes it has been very nice out of late.

 

[Zorander]

Hard to know exactly what genre you like but, excluding anything with robots in them (virtual reality themes excepted), I personally find these great shows:

(in no particular order, whether rating or release year)
Dennou Coil
Summer Wars
Gungrave
Eden of the East / Higashi no Eden
Ayashi no Ceres
Monster
Darker Than Black (1st season only)
Gankutsuo: The Count of Mount Cristo
Last Exile
Haibane Renmei
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
Full Metal Alchemist (2004 version; 2009 run is not as dramatic, though its story is better fleshed)
Ergo Proxy


These are what I can recall off the top of my head. You can find out more about each of them on your own. I will add a few more once I remember some more.

p.s. None of these contain any teeny/happy/girl-power/pink themes that I think you want to avoid. Many are quite dark or melancholic (serious stuff) in contrast to many of today's anime.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Moribito - alternate world feudal Japan, female bodyguard, grown-up story that's a little slow-paced (not a cheesy blood-drenched teen story)

Aria - slice of life, gondoliers on terraformed Mars, might be too slow for you

Kamichu! - little girl becomes a minor goddess. Cute, Miyazaki-like. If you liked Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service you'll probably like this

Kino's Journey - road story, sort of an Outer Limits in that the different lands visited each episode usually have something odd about them.

Haibane Renmei - young girls that are almost angels (but without any powers), in a town that is sort of their purgatory.

A Wind Named Amnesia (movie) - another road story, in a world where all of humanity lost their memories.

Edit - I'll second these:
- Summer Wars
- Eden of the East / Higashi no Eden (start with the TV show, not the movies)

 

[DominionSeraph]

Haven't seen anything you posted (except Princess Mononoke), so I'm not sure exactly what direction you like, but here's my short "serious" list:

Code Geass (it has some mechs but that's not the point)
Elfen Lied
Death Note

It's a shame that I can't recommend the best show of 2011 (period), but you don't seem to be set up for it.

 

[Zorander]

Code Geass
Elfen Lied
Death Note

It's a shame that I can't recommend the best show of 2011 (period), but you don't seem to be set up for it.

Code Geass falls under OP's 'mecha shit'. Haven't watched the other two.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Code Geass falls under OP's 'mecha shit'.

I'd say the Geass part takes over the "mecha" expanding it into something... more. It's ain't straightforward mecha.

 

[busydude]

Ill second death note.

 

[Aikouka]

Gungrave

Best part of that anime is the scene in the elevator... "Buuuuuuuuurandon!!!"

 

[UncleWai]

Fist of the North Star

 

[Zorander]

I'd say the Geass part takes over the "mecha" expanding it into something... more. It's ain't straightforward mecha.

As much as I find Code Geass a great show too, I really don't think it escapes far from the "mecha" category, for much the same reason Guren Lagann is also a mecha anime despite the staggering scale of battle at the end.

 

[Zorander]

Best part of that anime is the scene in the elevator... "Buuuuuuuuurandon!!!"

Agreed. That scene and the final scene are the reason this show rocks.

Edit: And the way Brandon personifies the very definition of loyalty is truly touching and is the very theme that pervades this show.

 

[Soccerman06]

Code Geass too mecha
Elfen Lied ecchi crap
Death Note emo crap

It's a shame that I can't recommend the best show of 2011 (period), but you don't seem to be set up for it.

Summer Wars was pretty good
Colorful if your looking for something more dramay

 

[Aikouka]

Oh... If you like awesome music...

you ought to watch the anime in my avatar (Initial D).

EDIT:

My dislike for Death Note comes from the silly plot twists to keep the series alive. I gave up

Spoiler

after they get Raito's Death Note to the corporation.

I'd also say that Elfen Lied is more known for its heavy violence more so than the nudity.

 

[Dumac]

Death note is pretty emo/angsty....

If you do watch it, just don't watch past the first season (episode 26 iirc?)

 

[DominionSeraph]

Death note is pretty emo/angsty....

It would be if you were identifying with Light, but an adult would not. "L" nails the profile, and the mentality is juvenile.

The show works just fine identifying with the adults.

 

[PrayForDeath]

It's a shame that I can't recommend the best show of 2011 (period), but you don't seem to be set up for it.

Ponies? :awe:

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Ponies? :awe:

 

[DominionSeraph]

Ponies? :awe:

No. The pony thing is an entire culture of awesomeness based on a show that is surprisingly good, but the show doesn't stand alone as all that great. It's quite entertaining, but there are a LOT of shows that are better. And something like Puella Magi Madoka Magica is so far beyond it that it ain't even funny.

It's just that OP said he wanted "serious", but Madoka would not work if you went into it that rigidly.

 

[PrayForDeath]

I personally like shows that are strange and transport you to a completely different world. Think Mononoke.

Is Puella Magi Madoka Magica anything like that?