[Anime] Need something more "adult" to watch

[Chupathingy220]

Let me clarify "adult" first before you recommend anything.

I'm really starting to get tired of shows that beat you over the head with themes of friendship and honor and responsibility and blah blah blah blah.

I've been watching anime for probably around 12 years now, and eventually some things just get old. The whole theme of friendship has been stressed to me soo many times that it almost gets to the point of being aggravating. This is not to say that a show that touches on the topic of making friends is out of the question, just something that it isn't the focus. While I'm ranting, gratuitous fan service is another one of those things that at this point I feel kind of detracts from a show. Sure, having an attractive/well endowed female character isn't a bad thing, but when every other shot is an upskirt or a cleavage shot, I feel like it detracts from the whole experience. In the end, I'm looking for things with a more serious overtone.

With that in mind, a couple of examples of shows that I've really enjoyed have been:

Another (Really creepy, but it raises great questions about the nature of discrimination)

Ergo Proxy

Deathnote

Guilty Crown (this one kinda gets a little "friendshipy", but I found the premise interesting, Also the animation itself was fantastic)

Darker than Black

Spice and Wolf (More about companionship than friendship, and it was just so different from everything else)

Stand Alone Complex

Cowboy Bebop

So can anyone help me out?

Edited August 3, 2012 by Emotional Outlet

[AnimEvil]

Gantz

Fate Stay Night

Shikabane Hime

Basilisk

Moribito

Ghost Hunt

[RikuoAmero]

Try Code Geass. It's got themes of revenge, mystery-solving, and loss. As well as some fan-service, but not overly gratuitous. R1 is more or less a great season to watch, has a few iffy moments here and there. R2, the second season, though is all over the place, unsure as to what it actually is. Still has one of the best endings I've ever seen, I was completely gobsmacked, jaw to the floor when I saw it for the first time.

[Babybluex]

Well, you must've watched these shows already, but just in case: Furi Kuri, Dead leaves, GunGrave, Hellsing, Mushishi, Tokyo Tribe 2, Sunabozu...Oh, and Gurren Laggan. I'll add more to the list of those weren't enough...just tell me

[Chupathingy220]

Thanks for all the replies! I'll take a look into those. I've seen a few of them already. I forgot to mention Fate/Zero, which is what I'm currently watching. So far I'm really enjoying it so Fate Stay Night is definitely something I'm interested in. I've also already seen Code Geass. Totally forgot to mention it in my post :-p

[pleomax]

Thanks a lot to OP and the other member for mentioning some awesome animes. I saw 50% of what you guys mentioned and judjing by your taste in anime i think i am difinitely going to like the other 50%.

[WIRLYWIRLYPOOL]

Id reccomend Elfen Lied...I get what you mean...too much of the same crap these days :\...elfen lied is awesome, lots of decapitation and severed limbs Also has a romance part to it, but doesn't really focus on it...you kind of just know it exists...

[dark4yoyo]

Hum, I liked pretty much everything you did so these are also anime I like, and you may like them too.

Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen (Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal), it's pretty short but good nevertheless, I liked it alot (http://forums.kamets...i10-dual-audio/)

Witchblade, oh wow a anime in modern times without a teenager as hero ! A pretty interesting story (http://forums.kamets..._hl__witchblade)

Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, if you liked darker than black you'll probably like this one too. (http://forums.kamets...ge__hl__phantom)

Kara no Kyoukai, a movie series I haven't finished watching this one yet, but it seems like the type of anime you'll like, it's pretty strange, and not in actual chronological order, but it's recommended to watch it in the normal non-chronological order, as the original light novel was also made that way. You might want to watch the remix after the 6th movie for better understanding though. (http://coalgirls.wak...kara-no-kyoukai [you might want to get the 5th movie from somewhere else, as it's half the torrent's size])

Canaan, an odd one, not sure you'll like it but worth a try, it's only 13 episodes. (http://forums.kamets...age__hl__canaan)

Edited July 31, 2012 by dark4yoyo

[Hicks]

Black Lagoon, Outlaw Star, Flag, Baccano!, Last Exile, Toward the Terra (the more recent series, no dub unfortunately), Yukikaze, Planetes, Casshern Sins, The Vision of Escaflowne, and Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. I have reviews of all of those, though they can be a bit spoiler heavy, or you might want to look them up on Wikipedia and/or ANN for more info.

[Chupathingy220]

So glad that people get where I'm coming from with this. I'm actually making a running tally of all the ones I haven't seen in your responses, so looks like I'll have a lot of watching to do.

Elfen Lied was pretty awesome, I had seen that one before. At first the crazy amount of violence was a little disconcerting, but it ended up raising some awesome questions about the nature of discrimination and how humanity would treat a mutated population.

Hicks, I loved Black Lagoon and Outlaw Star, and Toward the Terra sounds awesome based on the wiki page, so that one's right near the top of my list now. I haven't watched Last Exile yet, though it has been sitting on my hard drive for almost a year now :-x

[Hicks]

It's a slow start, but it picks up after a few episodes. It's one of my favorites, actually. Glad I could help out.

[midnightwhisker]

Hmm. Gunslinger Girls? Friendship is touched on, but the basis is pairing a young girl (somewhat modified) with a handler and teaching them to be killing machines.

[Minkseru]

Nana, though it is a more girly anime friendship is far from the story plot, but either way.

X great series thus far, lots of death though, and half deaths, and friendship is touched on here and there, but overall suggestion would be watch the first episode then move on to the second, because the first episode loses you in the first few minutes derails your train of thought, bumps you off the car, and reseats you at the end as you move on to the actual show...