Mature science fiction anime recommendation
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XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
I dunno if this would fall under the OP's tastes or not, and it does unfortunately get teen-whiney-angsty for a portion of it, but I think Stellvia's a solid 2nd tier in terms of overall sci-fi setting/universe and whatnot. I might be alone in this thought though.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Yamato 2199 remake is doing a great job modernizing the original story.
Only avaliable in hyper expensive japanese blu-ray discs, but you can always watch a preview before the america release.
I want this so bad.
Oh man, I love Yukikaze. Great dog fights, cool planes and social repression!
I don't get what people see in it. At the end of the movie when Shinji has sex with the clone of his mother I almost turned it off. It was too much.
I think I might let Legend of Galactic Heroes and Ergo proxy compete with each other, and watch the one I like best first and then finish the other. They both seem interesting, but I'm not sure what kind of mood I'm in.
Dude, we are one exactly the same wavelength regarding Planetes - I felt exactly the same way.
Sadly, I seen/read everything in the Ghost in the Shell universe. It and Dragon Ball are my two favorite series of all time. I liked SAC2 though. I liked how it was less about the Major herself and more about issues surrounding technology and the near future. But I can understand how someone wouldn't like it. It's much less about personal identity than the first series.
This.
After watching the opening of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, it really reminds me of the Xenosaga franchise. Can anyone let me know how similar (or completely different) this show is from Xenosaga?
Though, Legend of the Galactic Heroes looks extremely interesting, and I'll probably watch it regardless.
Though, Legend of the Galactic Heroes looks extremely interesting, and I'll probably watch it regardless.
xXBetter Off DadXx
Member
I'll throw out another recommendation for Space Brothers, lovin' it(at episode 25) so far.
Also, Heat Guy J, not sure it fits your criteria to a T, but I think you might like it.
Also, Heat Guy J, not sure it fits your criteria to a T, but I think you might like it.
No. They sound similar on paper, but the experience is a lot different. LoGH is extremely dry and deliberately paced and is often presented as a history. In that sense, it feels more akin to novels like Dune or early Foundation.
umop_3pisdn
Member
Berserk (the anime/Golden Age arc) is closer to a Greek tragedy than it is A Song of Ice and Fire, and that's why it's awesome and I like it more than ASoIaF.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Cowboy Bebop
Steins;Gate
Big O
Steins;Gate
Big O
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Yamato 2199 remake is doing a great job modernizing the original story.
Only avaliable in hyper expensive japanese blu-ray discs, but you can always watch a preview before the america release.
This anime made me love science fiction again and is in my top 10 anime of 2012 (as if that counted for anything lol).
---
I'm also going to say Aria because no one else will.
It meets some of your criteria, namely being existential, somewhat "hard" scifi (with some magic realism), and aimed at a mature audience inasmuch as it is science fiction that tells a story about adults without resorting to battleships and laser guns and violence of any kind. It also features a real place, inasmuch as it is set in Venice (transplanted to Mars lol).
The first two episodes are available for preview here: http://www.youtube.com/show/aria
Similar, but a bit lower tier, is Sora no Woto. But it's only 14 episodes, so it's less of a commitment. And it's available on Crunchyroll here: http://www.crunchyroll.ca/soranowoto
toddhunter
Member
In my opinion Ergo proxy is a complete waste of time. I can't think of anything of note that happens and the characters get boring fast.
I'd be interested to know if you watch it and get something out of it because all the recommendations suggest I missed something big.
[Bokurano]
(the opening and ending credit sequences of the TV series are nice though)
That's an easy one: manga. Just manga. Really.
(the opening and ending credit sequences of the TV series are nice though)
Eureka 7. Kind of a slow burn but the story goes to some fucked up places. Plus that series one opening theme is pretty nice.
Also cowboy bebop if you haven't seen it or Ergo Proxy though I can't speak on how it ends.
Anyone here seen Magical Girl Madoka? I heard that gets pretty out there for a sailor moon type anime.
Also cowboy bebop if you haven't seen it or Ergo Proxy though I can't speak on how it ends.
Anyone here seen Magical Girl Madoka? I heard that gets pretty out there for a sailor moon type anime.
The creator of Madoka Magica HATES the magical girl genre. So, the show attacks the trope of that genre, and it turns out to be one of the best animes of 2011.
Yeah I've seen it (actually I mentioned it in the first post ;P). It's a classic. It's more or less exactly what I'm looking for... but well I've already seen it! Thanks
Eureka 7 is great, but it's too shonen for what I'm looking for. I've definitely seen Cowboy Bebop too. Right now it looks like the new Battleship Yamato, Ergo Proxy and Legend of Galactic Heroes are in the top spots.
Go watch Macross Plus.
I definitely have. Cheers
kiunchbb
www.dictionary.com
Based on his other works, Madoka's creator just hates life.
Now you mention it, he also done a lot of great sci-fi, but a lot of them are VNs that never got adapted into anime.
Moral Panic
Member
Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
I want science fiction, something as close to the GITS movie as possible. I love gritty, dystopian sci-fi anime. Any suggestions?
Gasaraki has neither of those and is rather under-rated I think. A good watch and pretty cheap at this point too.
Crest/Banner of the Stars is probably also up your ally but that busts your episode count (when you say 20, I assume you mean 24-26) by ~13. It's also technically out of print so prices for that are going up
I think pretty much everything else has been mentioned more than once.
Pancakes
hot, steaming, as melted butter slips into the cracks, drizzled with sticky sweet syrup OH GOD
Agreed, Steins;Gate is one of my favorite anime of the past couple of years.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Yep,
my #2 all time.
Dark Machine
Member
Most people have done the best stuff already but a couple I want to mention are:
Voices of a Distant Star - Love Story but set in space and deals with the light speed/time slowing effect like Gunbuster does. It made me cry, yes I'm a sissy. Looks beautiful. In fact anything made by this guy looks beautiful. The Place Promised in our Early Days is similar. Not massively techno Sci-Fi, but mature and deals a lot with human feelings in a Sci-Fi world.
Jin-Roh - You've probably seen this. Film by Oshii Mamoru. Alternate history based future. Awesome retro-future tech. Great story. "And then the wolf ate up Little Red Riding Hood."
Legend of the Galactic heroes was awesome. "Few wars are between good and evil. Most are between one good and another good."
Voices of a Distant Star - Love Story but set in space and deals with the light speed/time slowing effect like Gunbuster does. It made me cry, yes I'm a sissy. Looks beautiful. In fact anything made by this guy looks beautiful. The Place Promised in our Early Days is similar. Not massively techno Sci-Fi, but mature and deals a lot with human feelings in a Sci-Fi world.
Jin-Roh - You've probably seen this. Film by Oshii Mamoru. Alternate history based future. Awesome retro-future tech. Great story. "And then the wolf ate up Little Red Riding Hood."
Legend of the Galactic heroes was awesome. "Few wars are between good and evil. Most are between one good and another good."
Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
Übermatik;46198248 said:
In the vein of Ghost in The Shell, their isn't a whole lot of anime that are exactly close to it. There is some manga though.
Hmmm well there is a Battle Angel Alita anime, but I'd really suggest reading the manga. It is really good.
Blame! is a fantastic manga as well if you are going for a dystopian environment.
As far as OP's question, if you are looking for something to do with space I'd recommend Infinite Ryvius. I'm actually kind of disappointed no one mentioned it. The best way to describe it is Lord of the Flies in space. The only problem I had with the show was the last quarter of it.
If you liked Dragon Ball I'd recommend watching Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter if you haven't. For a fun space show I'd recommend Outlaw Star.
"Realistic" Science Fiction specifically dealing with themes of technology and the future (preferably not dystyopian though). GitS and Planetes are the range of style that I'm interested in.
Neat, I'll look into it. Yeah, the "20" limit really just meant a single series story arch and not something that continues forever (like Inuyasha for example).
Ubermatic said:
Yeah, like Trojita said, there isn't much in this style sadly. Try Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve) for an existential robot piece. But it's only a couple of hours long.
Cameron122
Member
Forsaken82
Member
If you liked Ghost in the Shell, you might like Armitage: Dual Matrix. It has a Blade Runner vibe to it... i remember it being average though.
One of my favorites however is Green Legend Ran... very underrated, but not sure if you would qualify it as traditional sci-fi as its more dystopian fantasy.
One of my favorites however is Green Legend Ran... very underrated, but not sure if you would qualify it as traditional sci-fi as its more dystopian fantasy.
DEAD RABBIT
Member
Definitely Space Brothers. Similar to Planetes and highly entertaining. I cannot recall one episode that has been boring or felt like filler.
You might also want to try Gunbuster. It is from the same director of NGE, but not as crazy as NGE. It is over-the-top, but sufficiently grounded sci-fi with excellent animation. Time-dilation plays a big role. It is short, only 6 episodes.
Another suggestion would be Starship Operators. Also short, just 13 episodes. Actually shows some realistic looking space battles which are awesome and suspenseful.
And I would definitely try to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Despite its length, it has a superb story and riveting characters. Its essentially an aristocratic costume drama set in a future galactic war between several factions.
Another recommendation for Gasaraki. First time I watched the first few episodes, I hated its dryness and was very much bored with it slow-moving story. But its style grew on me and it has some extremely rewarding moments. The ending is a bit of a downer though and arguably its 26 episode length could be shorter. Its story structure resembles NGE, but the style is completely different. I am very surprised to see it mentioned here since it's not everyone's cup of tea.
The movie Ghost in the Shell and both GitS:SAC series are must-sees, no debate possible. Don't bother with GitS Innocence though, unless if not for the pretty animation. It has interesting themes, couple of excellent scenes, but is overall unrewarding because of its preachy and self-gratifying storyline.
The movie Patlabor 2 could fit your tastes. Kinda in the same vain as Gasaraki without the supernatural stuff and far more political. I like how both have elements in their stories which seem to reflect real-life events, such as 911 and the Iraq War.
You might also want to try Gunbuster. It is from the same director of NGE, but not as crazy as NGE. It is over-the-top, but sufficiently grounded sci-fi with excellent animation. Time-dilation plays a big role. It is short, only 6 episodes.
Another suggestion would be Starship Operators. Also short, just 13 episodes. Actually shows some realistic looking space battles which are awesome and suspenseful.
And I would definitely try to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Despite its length, it has a superb story and riveting characters. Its essentially an aristocratic costume drama set in a future galactic war between several factions.
Another recommendation for Gasaraki. First time I watched the first few episodes, I hated its dryness and was very much bored with it slow-moving story. But its style grew on me and it has some extremely rewarding moments. The ending is a bit of a downer though and arguably its 26 episode length could be shorter. Its story structure resembles NGE, but the style is completely different. I am very surprised to see it mentioned here since it's not everyone's cup of tea.
The movie Ghost in the Shell and both GitS:SAC series are must-sees, no debate possible. Don't bother with GitS Innocence though, unless if not for the pretty animation. It has interesting themes, couple of excellent scenes, but is overall unrewarding because of its preachy and self-gratifying storyline.
The movie Patlabor 2 could fit your tastes. Kinda in the same vain as Gasaraki without the supernatural stuff and far more political. I like how both have elements in their stories which seem to reflect real-life events, such as 911 and the Iraq War.
You know I really liked Innocence. People don't seem to like it - I know - but there was something about it I really dug. It made more of a simple "detective story" vibe which I think works better for a movie format. But maybe because it focused on Batou? I don't know. I really like when they focus on characters other than the Major whose identity I think is already pretty complete. In SAC I think Togusa is easily the most interesting character.
After watching 5 Centimeters Per Second, I had tears pouring out of my eyes. I wasn't sobbing, just crying like crazy. Shinkai is a boss.
pancakesandsex
Member
Mostly fit your criteria and cover a variety of sub genres:
Gasaraki
Flag
Dennou Coil
Real Drive
NieA_7
The Legend of Black Heaven
Appleseed (First CGI film. Avoid sequels)
Blue Gender
Blue Submarine No.6
Key the Metal Idol
Eden of the East
Freedom
Argentosoma
Armitage III
King of Thorn
Silent Service - This might not really count as sci fi. It's a submarine movie.
Sky Crawlers
Don't quite fit your requirements, but you might like anyway, and can use to expand your interests:
Infinite Ryvius
Wolf's Rain
Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Wings of Honneamise
Now and Then Here and There
Patlabor: The Mobile Police
Megazone 23 (Part 1 and 2)
Macross (Original and/or Plus. Explore more if you like the concept)
Sol Bianca: The Legacy
Redline
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Garden of Sinners (This one is more fantasy I guess)
Crest of the Stars & Banner of the Stars
Betterman - Actually covers the same topic as Blue Gender in a more goofy super robot way.
Space Adventure Cobra
Birdy the Mighty and Birdy the Mighty: Decode
Depending on what parts of Evangelion you dislike, you may enjoy Rahxephon.
I can personally vouch for the high quality of all of these titles. While some of them might not seem like what you're asking for at first glance, I think you'll find elements of things you like in each one, and in a positive sense.
@ Icarus - all of patlabor is in the same continuity. The films and TV show / ova just have a significantly different tone.
pancakesandsex
Member
Dude kaiba is wonderful but that's not even close to grounded in any kind of reality.
Mattakuevan
Member
Actually answering your side question since anything I would have suggested as already been mentioned.
I personally think kai is how one should watch DBZ, the original series is so poorly paced. My wife has read the manga and she liked Kai a lot more cause it was closer to that. I felt that the pacing was almost too fast at times but I think it was better than the original series.
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