Anime Recommendation and Suggestion Query

[Ryllharu]

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Damn, I took too long, but I completely second Alien Nine, and Now and Then, Here and There from Pandadice. I haven't seen the other two (but I have heard of them).
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Putting the more mainstream titles aside for a second:

Real Drive (RD Sennou Chousashitsu) - Cyberpunk dealing with the environment, nanotech, virtual reality, androids, cyborgs, and a healthy dose of metaphysics. It's a bit more toward present day tech than Ghost in the Shell, and it is also written by Masamune Shirow. It's very much the sci-fi extension of a constantly-connected society. Moreover, there is an interesting catch of the main heroine not having a cyberbrain, where nearly all her peers do. The episodes are a nice mix of stand alone, exploratory or comedy relief episodes and intermingled well with the overarching plot episodes. Perfect coming off Dennou Coil, because they both have similar themes and a detective series framework.
AniDB

Planetes - Space garbage collectors. While this isn't nearly as obscure as Real Drive became, as a somewhat older series, it may not always get the attention it earned. This is one of the best near-future space series I've watched. Slice of life most of the time, it has a very realistic view of space development and exploration, as well as a great awareness of all the very real hazards for humanity. Any anime sci-fi fan would consider this one of the masterpieces of the genre.
AniDB

ARIA - Yes, I am throwing in ARIA here. You will either love or hate this series, unequivocally. What makes ARIA special is that while on the surface it is simply a slice of life series about girls piloting tour gondolas, there is a lot of sci-fi undertones that often go unnoticed, even by fans of the series. There is a great deal of technology and history behind the terraforming of the planet once known as Mars into a water paradise. The series also has a rather informative idealized version of Venice. It is worth the try.
AniDB

Starship Operators - This is another one of my favorite space anime series. This series perhaps features the highest level of actual and realistic strategy in anime that I've had the pleasure of watching. Battles operate like 19th Century Naval battles. They can take days of maneuvering, but often end in a single shot. Strategy both martial and political take absolute precedence here in a battle of graduating trainees fighting a war of liberation, by funding their war through exclusive television coverage and political under the table deals.
AniDB


Returning to the more mainstream or better known titles:

Crest of the Stars / Banner of the Stars - Largely considered one of the "masterpieces" of anime. It is a political epic in space. I haven't finished it myself, so I can't elaborate as well as I should.
AniDB

Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex - I prefer the universe of the series to the films myself, but if you haven't seen both of the two GiTS universes, you really should. They are one of the pillars of sci-fi anime as well as cyberpunk in general. The series just gives you more of it, expands on the side characters, and has an excellent mix of action episodes, detective episodes, and less serious episodes.

Ergo Proxy - You've probably already heard of this one. Weird and sci-fi sure fit the bill here.
AniDB

RahXephon - Like a really weird, music-centric Evangelion.
AniDB

Kurau Phantom Memory - Sci-fi in general and superpowers founded in sci-fi science.
AniDB

Hyper Police - I might not call it a "masterful" series, but it is very enjoyable. A detective/bounty hunter series taking place on a somewhat post-apocalyptic world where humans are endangered and monsters and beastmen intermingle with them. It is a fun series worth giving a try. Certainly one that has a retro feel by today's standards, but it was 1997.
AniDB

Mahoromatic - The most prominent combat android turned maid series. Fun, but with plenty of depressing undertones at the conclusion of each episode. You may have missed it in your viewings, and it is certainly one you would want to check out.
AniDB


I think that about does it, but Real Drive is probably your best bet.

[MFauli]

Thx you two, will give Alien 9 and Real Drive a try.

Have already seen NaT,HaT , Planetes and half of Ergo Proxy.

[The Heretic Azazel]

I need a new series. I'm not particularly fond of the comedy/ecchi/harem/slice of life series but if they have good animation and a good story/fights (Railgun) then I enjoy them. I like gore with a good story (Elfen Lied, Shigurui, Basilisk) and I also really enjoy "realistic" anime with very tragic circumstances (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Grave of the Fireflies)

Fate/Stay Night, Claymore, Casshern Sins and Berserk are among my all time favorites.

[Buffalobiian]

Gore, good story, realism and tragedy?

I'd say this season's RAINBOW Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin pretty much fill that slot.

It's more like realistic depiction of violence than gore, so I'm sure when/if bloody scenes show up, I'm sure the blood will be in realistic quantities. At this point, "tragedy" may be a bit strong a word, but it's certainly a bit depressing, and rather dramatic.

I'd tell anyone to give this a go actually, but I think it fits your requirements rather well.

[The Heretic Azazel]

Thanks Bill.. I'll get on that when I'm done with Eden of the East, which doesn't really fit into my description but it is a pleasant little series. Your suggestion looks right up my alley though.

So does no one else have interest in violent or realistic/tragic anime? WHERE ARE YOU RYLL??

[Yukimura]

If you don't mind tragedy mixed with romance you might try Saikano. I was recently made aware of it (I think by Ryllharu actually) and am planing to give it a try as it was recommended because it's supposedly to be emotionally powerful and dark.

EDIT @ BELOW: I think Ark has a point, if White Album seemed to be shaping up into a fairly realistic, or at least more serious romantic drama from the 3 episodes I saw.

Another show in a similar but not as serious seeming vein would be Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. It's somewhat tragic in that all the characters suffer psychological scaring of some sort at multiple points and there is a lot more serious consideration given to the kinda of hard choices that are often played for laughs in harem shows.

[Archangel]

I'm not sure because i never watched it myself but white album might possibly fill your requirements as well

[Ryllharu]

White Album does not fit. It watched all of it. It is all angst and no tragedy.


Realism and tragedy are honestly pretty rare when combined. The vast majority of the good tragedies have a lot of supernatural elements to them. The larger problem is that revealing that the series is a tragedy would be a massive spoiler (I will not include the two or three series that that would be, and you've most likely seen them anyway).

ef - a tale of memories (not supernatural)

ef - a tale of melodies (supernatural)

Chrno Crusade (supernatural, but violent)

Ga-Rei: Zero (supernatural and very violent, get the dvd versions)

Higurashi (violent, sort of realistic, occasionally tragic)

NANA (tragedy, realistic, series primarily written for a female audience)

RahXephon (heavy sci-fi first, tragedy second)

Saikano (as mentioned above. It is a tragedy first, and a heavy sc-fi romance right behind)

Shigofumi (supernatural)

Solty Rei (tragedy of a sort, but deeply set in sci-fi)

AIR (highly supernatural)


Bokura ga Ita (also a has some tragic elements to it, but it is primarily an angsty romance series)

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (exactly the same as Bokura ga Ita, romance with more angst than tragedy)

[DDBen]

Thanks Bill.. I'll get on that when I'm done with Eden of the East, which doesn't really fit into my description but it is a pleasant little series. Your suggestion looks right up my alley though.

So does no one else have interest in violent or realistic/tragic anime? WHERE ARE YOU RYLL??

Based on this I'd recommend Shikabane Hime Aka followed by Shikabane Hime Kuro.

There pretty tragic but not overly realistic as its based on a supernatural concept where a priest uses a dead girl bound to him in order to kill other dead people who have died but been unable to rest thus turning into monsters due to a regret they hold from life.

I'd directly recommend against Saikano though. I watched it based on some recommendations in here and I found it very hard to finish the series as it dragged and was WAY over melodramatic. Still its somewhat along the lines of what you asked for its just a real slog to watch with overall very little action and instead the focus being directly on the melodrama of the people involved.

[MFauli]

Okay, recommendation needed.

Im looking for anime with teenage boys/young men as lead characters, that are socially incompetent and feel left out, but then suddenly somehow get into bigger happenings. Examples from the top of my head would be Chaos Head or Welcome to the NHK. Anything else like that?

[Archangel]

Okay, recommendation needed.

Im looking for anime with teenage boys/young men as lead characters, that are socially incompetent and feel left out, but then suddenly somehow get into bigger happenings. Examples from the top of my head would be Chaos Head or Welcome to the NHK. Anything else like that?

Wait a season for The World that God only Knows

[MFauli]

Wait a season for The World that God only Knows

haha, okay, thx, that sounds awesome.

But I was actually looking for less comedic shows

[Ryllharu]

Im looking for anime with teenage boys/young men as lead characters, that are socially incompetent and feel left out, but then suddenly somehow get into bigger happenings. Examples from the top of my head would be Chaos Head or Welcome to the NHK. Anything else like that?

Now and Then, Here and There

Sora no Otoshimono (there is lots of humor, but the undertones are pretty serious, especially when you get into the upcoming second season)

Eureka 7

Peacemaker Kurogane

Le Chevalier D'Eon

Black Lagoon

Busou Renkin

Elfen Lied

Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai

Last Exile

Outlaw Star

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Saber Marionette J (humor at the beginning, none toward the end)

Solty Rei (old guy)

Summer Wars (movie)

Venus Wars (movie)

These will probably fit the bill. The concept you want has more prevalence in manga I think.

Series I am less sure about (because I haven't seen them):

Fantastic Children

[Archangel]

Lol i fucking fail at this, i couldn't even think of Evangelion...

[shinta|hikari]

What makes matching this challenging is the vague nature of the main character. Socially incompetent and feeling left out can be defined very broadly. Here are some possibilities:

11eyes - seems like the protagonist only has 1 friend so...
Aquarion - protagonist behaves like an animal placed in a new environment
Crest of the Stars - protagonist definitely feels left out due to certain circumstances in the beginning
BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad - Loser joins a band
Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure - Loser gets a mecha
Kaiji - guy in debt gets trapped in a life or death game
Kiba - Emo loner goes to a new world
Linebarrels of Iron - Bullied kid gets superpowers
Natsume Yūjin-Chō - Feels dislike towards humans because of special ability
Over Drive - Loser finds talent in a sport
Pandora Hearts - protagonist with mysterious past that makes him distant from other people
Princess Resurrection - Loser meets his princess
Pumpkin Scissors - Relic of war period in times of peace
Texhnolyze - Socially inept guy gradually getting involved in larger things

[Ryllharu]

Aquarion - protagonist behaves like an animal placed in a new environment
Crest of the Stars - protagonist definitely feels left out due to certain circumstances in the beginning
BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad - Loser joins a band
Pumpkin Scissors - Relic of war period in times of peace

I can't comment on the others because I haven't seen them to verify, but Aquarion, he's already pretty special in the first place, same for Pumpkin Scissors. Those don't really fit what MFauli was looking for, a protagonist thrust into extraordinary circumstances coming from humble or an outsider's place in the world. Being special to begin with, the world gets drawn to them, or they get dragged back into it.

Crest of the Stars isn't truly about Jinto, so that isn't a great fit either. He's just kind of scenery.

As for Beck, I wouldn't really call him a loser. He just doesn't have any idea what he wants to do with himself. I suppose in one respect that would fit the request, but in another, he's just drawn from his normal hum-drum life into the life of a guy in a band. I wouldn't categorize it as being pulled into "bigger happenings," just different ones. A lot of the stuff they do is pretty run of the mill.

[shinta|hikari]

I thought that as long as they were socially incompetent and feeling left out it would suffice. If these are the only conditions, being special should not disqualify them. In fact, it is more likely for special people to be unable to blend in. If he said that they had to be normal, then you would be right.

Also, even if they are drawn back to it, or if they draw the world to them (which was what happened in Chaos Head, one of his examples), it would not change the fact that they "somehow get into bigger happenings".

Crest of the Stars is about Jinto and Lamhirh. Jinto is not "scenery" at all. It is the interaction and development between those two that make up the show.

As for Beck, I guess it depends on one's definition of "bigger happenings". I simply thought going into a band, meeting and playing/singing with rock stars, and touring is a lot bigger than being a normal kid in high school.

Like I said in my post, the vagueness of the request allows for a lot of leg room in choosing recommendations. We just interpreted it differently.

[Pandadice]

RahXephon fits I think.

[KrayZ33]

As for Beck, I guess it depends on one's definition of "bigger happenings". I simply thought going into a band, meeting and playing/singing with rock stars, and touring is a lot bigger than being a normal kid in high school

especially since he becomes such a great singer and guitar player that he draws thousands of fans to the stage...

[Ryllharu]

I thought that as long as they were socially incompetent and feeling left out it would suffice. If these are the only conditions, being special should not disqualify them. In fact, it is more likely for special people to be unable to blend in. If he said that they had to be normal, then you would be right.

I'll concede to this point.

Keep in mind that there is an implied negative tone to the request (primarily because it is MFauli and secondly because of the request to avoid humorous series). A male lead was specified, requiring more thought to the request than it appears. The ideal would be a variety of shoujo series (X TV, Ayashi no Ceres, Fushigi Yugi, etc).

But Pumpkin Scissors and Aquarion still don't fit. Orlando isn't the main character of Pumpkin Scissors, Alice is. She is the one dragged into things over her head (or walking right into them). Aquarion has the same problem. Apollo doesn't have any character development, the rest of the cast does, mostly Silvia. Also, when you get down to it, Aquarion just isn't that good of a series, it's just generic.

Beck is upbeat (before you argue, the anime is).

Jinto does nothing in the first series. He is dragged along like a sad puppy. He is very much scenery. He contributes nothing, his opinion means little, and the interaction of trying to understand each other doesn't mean "bigger happenings" as far as he is concerned. He is tangentially involved at best. Lafiel is the star of that series, violating the male lead specification of the request. So Crest of the Stars still doesn't work. Banner...maybe.


Pandadice is right, RahXephon fits. If I included Evangelion I should have included RahXephon as well. I should be ashamed I forgot it.