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Hi, I was hoping somebody would be able to recommend me an anime/mange that meets all of the following criteria:

1. Well developed characters.
2. A well developed setting (with preferable sci-fi/fantasy elements as well as a deep history/mythology).
3. A plot that's mostly serious in tone.
4. A deep plot (with preferable philosophical/psychological elements).
5. A complex plot.
6. A very emotional plot (with preferable love/tragedy elements).
7. A plot full of mystery and intrigue.
8. A preferably original storyline.

Originally posted by NCRotCA
Hi, I was hoping somebody would be able to recommend me an anime/mange that meets all of the following criteria:

1. Well developed characters.
2. A well developed setting (with preferable sci-fi/fantasy elements as well as a deep history/mythology).
3. A plot that's mostly serious in tone.
4. A deep plot (with preferable philosophical/psychological elements).
5. A complex plot.
6. A very emotional plot (with preferable love/tragedy elements).
7. A plot full of mystery and intrigue.
8. A preferably original storyline.


Gantz.


One of the best Sci-Fi stories I've ever read.

It is now a serialized anime.

Read the manga AND watch the anime aftwards. It will be the best week you've spent on Japanese anime/manga, guaranteed.

Detroit Metal City.

gundam seed



1. Well developed characters

- check

2. A well developed setting (with preferable sci-fi/fantasy elements as well as a deep history/mythology).

- the series is set in space with the action and grandeur of star wars with some of the complexity and structure of star trek

3. A plot that's mostly serious in tone.

- it's about the fallout of eugenics from a societal point of view

4. A deep plot (with preferable philosophical/psychological elements).

- i reiterate, it's about the fallout of eugenics from a societal point of view

5. A complex plot.

- ......... it's about the fallout of eugenics from a societal point of view


6. A very emotional plot (with preferable love/tragedy elements).

- characters will die left and right, cities gets destroyed, ideologies are died for, etc

7. A plot full of mystery and intrigue.

- near the end the plot takes a turn when you find out the hidden agenda of a character, an agenda that can lead to the destruction of mankind

8. A preferably original storyline.

- it has everything in spades minus this somewhat, only cause it's a cleverly written rehash of the several U.C. manga/anime wrapped into two series (w/ destiny)

well, it's mostly a homage to the 1 year war and beyond

Didn't Gantz the anime stop before the main character really hit the major parts of his development?

Originally posted by NCRotCA
Hi, I was hoping somebody would be able to recommend me an anime/mange that meets all of the following criteria:

1. Well developed characters.
2. A well developed setting (with preferable sci-fi/fantasy elements as well as a deep history/mythology).
3. A plot that's mostly serious in tone.
4. A deep plot (with preferable philosophical/psychological elements).
5. A complex plot.
6. A very emotional plot (with preferable love/tragedy elements).
7. A plot full of mystery and intrigue.
8. A preferably original storyline.


Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars. It's based on a series of Japanese SF novels and is a fairly direct translation (giving it an odd pacing where it seems kinda slow, but there's never any time wasted on recapping or covering old ground). On the face of it it's about conflict between multiple huge nations, but more specifically it's about two characters, their relationship, and their exploration of each other's cultures.


Haibane Reimei. Girl with wings wakes up *from a cocoon* in a mysterious village surrounded by walls she, and a small number of other people with wings, are not allowed to approach. Some metaphorical stuff happens in between slice-of-life elements.

Gunslinger Girls. Young girls are turned into cyborg assassins and assigned partners, working for the Italian government to fight terrorists, and their enhancements and the drugs needed to run them will eventually kill them. Largely about the relationship between the cyborgs and their partners, and very well done (also, despite what you might expect from 'young girls turned cyborg assassins,' there's almost no fanservice). Aside from the cybernetics, fairly modern day. First season is especially good.

Originally posted by Q99
Didn't Gantz the anime stop before the main character really hit the major parts of his development?

I have not finished the anime out, yet. I am on episode 4 or 5...or something.


Originally posted by Q99
Gunslinger Girls. Young girls are turned into cyborg assassins and assigned partners, working for the Italian government to fight terrorists, and their enhancements and the drugs needed to run them will eventually kill them. Largely about the relationship between the cyborgs and their partners, and very well done (also, despite what you might expect from 'young girls turned cyborg assassins,' there's almost no fanservice). Aside from the cybernetics, fairly modern day. First season is especially good.

What? No fanservice?

LAME!

Originally posted by dadudemon


What? No fanservice?


Yea, but it's awesome

It's one of those "Hey, you know what? Using young people as cyborg weapons is really messed up," things.

However, at the same time, most of the girls are better off as assassins than they were before, ironically. It's a really conflicted situation.

Considering all the girls are about 10 and iirc most were raped so badly they're beyond repair, no fanservice is a good thing imo.

Wolf's Rain. Probably your best bet imo. Lots of symbloisism and juicy psychology etc in there for you. Since she can say it better than I, watch and decide for yourself.
Apparantly Vinland saga.
Monster. (not sci-fi but deal with it, it's an awesome story)
Revolutionary Girl Utena. (my personal favourite. Get to the end. It is beautiful.)

If you havn't seen them you should:
Berserk.
Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Trigun.

Originally posted by Nephthys
Considering all the girls are about 10 and iirc most were raped so badly they're beyond repair, no fanservice is a good thing imo.

Ewwww. Grody.

Why would I want a female as my lead if they are 10? NO BEWBZ!!!!!


But, Q99 says it's "good", so I may give it a read/watch.

Originally posted by Nephthys
Trigun.


I forgot about this.

Yeah, imo, it is one of the best anime's out there. I like the story from the anime much better than the overall story from the manga. The ending is superb.

Awesome recommendations. I've watched Gundam Seed and Evangelion, though the rest look pretty cool (though I can't say I'm getting great vibes from Detroit Metal City ).

If you haven't seen it, you should look up Cowboy Bebop. It's rather short but every episode is enjoyable.

As for Gantz, I'd say no. The anime doesn't do the manga justice, and the manga initial approach was good testing the human nature in extreme situations but it doesn't really evolve beyond that.

Watched Cowboy Bebop as well. Think I'm gonna go with Gantz, Wolf's Rain, Trigun, and Monster for now.

1. Death Note
2. Tenjou Tenge
3. Fate/Stay Night

Others might argue, screw um' XD

Watched Death Note and played/watched Fate/Stay Night, though Tenjou Tenge is a new one. Would you recommend against watching the anime before reading the manga, as I generally don't like to read manga at all if theres an anime series that effectively adapts it these days.

If you liked Cowboy Bebop, then Samurai Champloo might be a title you should look into.

Berserk is good too.

I enjoyed Samurai Champloo. Good anime.

I liked the musical elements, too.

I hated that the ending...but then the VERY end of the ending made it worth the hate.

Originally posted by NCRotCA
Hi, I was hoping somebody would be able to recommend me an anime/mange that meets all of the following criteria:

1. Well developed characters.
2. A well developed setting (with preferable sci-fi/fantasy elements as well as a deep history/mythology).
3. A plot that's mostly serious in tone.
4. A deep plot (with preferable philosophical/psychological elements).
5. A complex plot.
6. A very emotional plot (with preferable love/tragedy elements).
7. A plot full of mystery and intrigue.
8. A preferably original storyline. The only anime I can think of that completely fits your criteria is Bleach. Tite Kubo is masterful in his story telling.

Would somebody be able to recommend me an anime that blends together an epic adventure with intelligent content and features a lot of drama between the characters, with as little comic relief as possible?

Originally posted by Boron Dalzier
Would somebody be able to recommend me an anime that blends together an epic adventure with intelligent content and features a lot of drama between the characters, with as little comic relief as possible?
It depends on what you mean with "intelligent content". If you mean that it's well written in terms of story and character development then Berserk by Kentaro Miura might be your title.

If you're looking for pseudoscientific elements that ignorant people find to be stimulating then Toaru Majutsu no Index might be more appropriate.

FMA - Brotherhood

Gankutsuou. It's based off of the Count of Monte-Cristo and it kicks ass! And I'm saying that after only seeing the first episode. It seems like it would be right up your alley Neb.

Though I'm not sure how loyal it is to the novel.....

http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/10/2235.jpg

...yeah that seems about right.