Suggest me an anime

[Hadrian_Emrys]

Wow, so edgy.

Trigun goes out of its way to show just how much Vash has to pay for his ideals - his body is covered in scars, he constantly suffers wounds and indignities, and if he was an ordinary human he'd probably be dead a long time ago. But he doesn't abandon his vow against killing just because it'd be easier this way. That's commendable.

Trigun has its good parts and bad parts, but when it comes to portraying an idealistic character in a world that very rarely cares for his ideals, and still showing this character positively and not as a naive fool, it is excellent.

Eh. It's got nothing to do with being edgy, though it does appear that you have elaborated a bit more on my point for me. A code of conduct that could only ever be followed by someone with superhuman physical traits isn't a legitimate aspiration for mortal men. What good would have been accomplished if he had died, like a typical person would, whenever he had otherwise cheated death? True devotion to good was far better demonstrated by Wolfwood (despite his character flaws).

Legato illustrated his devotion to his cause in a manner that the protagonist's actions cannot even come close to mirroring the resolve of, regardless of the scars the latter bears.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Eh. It's got nothing to do with being edgy, though it does appear that you have elaborated a bit more on my point for me. A code of conduct that could only ever be followed by someone with superhuman physical traits isn't a legitimate aspiration for mortal men. What good would have been accomplished if he had died, like a typical person would, whenever he had otherwise cheated death? True devotion to good was far better demonstrated by Wolfwood (despite his character flaws).

Vash is being as good as he can be. Turns out that with superpowers, you can afford to hold yourself to pretty ridiculous standards. Western comics like to explore this idea, I've heard. He's no better or worse than Wolfwood - both are good men doing the best they can with the hand fate dealt them.

As for Legato, he was a fanatic. Mindless devotion requires no effort and has no merit.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Vash is being as good as he can be. Turns out that with superpowers, you can afford to hold yourself to pretty ridiculous standards. Western comics like to explore this idea, I've heard. He's no better or worse than Wolfwood - both are good men doing the best they can with the hand fate dealt them.

Bingo. Great power, great responsibility, and all that.

But really, Legato? Hero?? The dude who flat-out mass-murders to make his point?

Spoiler: Manga ickiness

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In the manga, he starts stuffing dudes into a tank through mind control. He just keeps packing them in until blood drips out of it...ew. It grosses me out just thinking about it.

*ahem*

And yes, I'm remiss in not recommending a look at Steins;Gate. It gleefully tropes around a lot of typical slice-of-life stuff AND THEN MAD SCIENTIST TIME TRAVEL. So yeah.

[Eldan]

Damn. How did I forget Stein's Gate. It's the best thing I've seen in years.

[Zaydos]

Baccano! I don't know where to begin describing this anime without spoilers. It's one of the best I've watched in years, and very much not your standard shonen (battle) anime fare. Plus it has bootleggers in awesome clothing. Its non-linear story telling can be hard to follow at times and it switches between different plot lines in a lot of episodes, but it' still really good and its fun to untangle the story telling method forcing you to keep your attention involved (unlike say Soul Eater which I've been watching in the background recently). It was based on a light novel which tends to be a good sign or a harem in my experience, and it's not a harem.

Durarara!! Based on another light novel made by the same guy as Baccano! I don't like it as much, but I have fond memories of it (watched it first) and it does have an interesting story. It is more linear and easier to follow, but still keeps the viewer engaged.

Obligatory Cowboy Bebop recommendation: It's good, some episodes are so-so, but more are great and the anime probably falls under the header of great and not merely good.

Steins;Gate: Great fun, the tale of a mad scientist in Akiba.

Tiger and Bunny: Super-heroes on reality tv and buddy cop dynamic. Very definitely aimed at an older demographic than most anime, but in many ways the most standard "shonen" (reminiscent of a battle anime) on the list.

[Scowling Dragon]

Well I watched Tiger and Bunny and enjoyed it. Though there are battles they are not the center of the Animes attention, and none of the characters have a power upgrade. Villains are oft defeated through some cleverness or drama.

So I enjoyed it and its aesthetic.

Moving on to Baccano!

[Metahuman1]

If you can stomach an anime that hates you and makes you hate yourself, Elfin Lied is really amazing. Most of it is designed to make you feel uncomfortable and icky, so it's kinda hard to take if you aren't prepared.

Um, yeah, listen, Unless you have a desire for the morbid, the disturbing, and don't mind a cast full of horrible people that more often then not your expected to sympathize with, I'd avoid this one. Oh, and EXTREMELY Graphic in multiple Senses of the word.

[Knaight]

Most of the ones I would suggest have already been suggested (Moribito, Tokyo Godfathers). That said, if you're up for a more slice of life type thing, Bamboo Blade wasn't bad.

[GPuzzle]

Um, yeah, listen, Unless you have a desire for the morbid, the disturbing, and don't mind a cast full of horrible people that more often then not your expected to sympathize with, I'd avoid this one. Oh, and EXTREMELY Graphic in multiple Senses of the word.

In all senses of the word.

In fact, so much to the point my highest point of "is it graphic? If so, in which sense?" in every single sense is "Elfen Lied".

Durarara!! and Baccano! are fairly good.

[Metahuman1]

In all senses of the word.

In fact, so much to the point my highest point of "is it graphic? If so, in which sense?" in every single sense is "Elfen Lied".

Durarara!! and Baccano! are fairly good.

Spoiler: Just in case someone opts to watch it and doesn't want a spoiler?

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Really? I remember nudity in the first ep and a LOT of horrible gory violence but I don't seem to recall any sex scenes on camera or F-bombs being dropped. Course I might be suppressing the memory. Yeah, I didn't care for it.

[Math_Mage]

Holyland. Both a love letter to the martial arts and an intense psychological journey.
Mushishi. Haunting, atmospheric, richly detailed. No central plot; instead, carefully crafted self-contained episodes.
Liar Game. If the above two are anime for the body and soul, respectively, this is for the mind. An ever-escalating battle of wits and a meditation on the conscience of game theory.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Elfen Lied makes me laugh with it at times and cry with it at other times, that's enough for me to consider it good.

That said, if you're up for a more slice of life type thing, Bamboo Blade wasn't bad.

Bamboo Blade is fun, but its a shonen sports anime, not slice of life. Its just quite laid back.

Spoiler: Just in case someone opts to watch it and doesn't want a spoiler?

Show

Really? I remember nudity in the first ep and a LOT of horrible gory violence but I don't seem to recall any sex scenes on camera or F-bombs being dropped.

Spoiler

Show

Even off-screen child abuse is graphic enough.

[Kitten Champion]

Eh. It's got nothing to do with being edgy, though it does appear that you have elaborated a bit more on my point for me. A code of conduct that could only ever be followed by someone with superhuman physical traits isn't a legitimate aspiration for mortal men. What good would have been accomplished if he had died, like a typical person would, whenever he had otherwise cheated death? True devotion to good was far better demonstrated by Wolfwood (despite his character flaws).

Legato illustrated his devotion to his cause in a manner that the protagonist's actions cannot even come close to mirroring the resolve of, regardless of the scars the latter bears.

Vash is a Christ figure, it's kind of a thing.

[Tengu_temp]

I advise against Elfen Lied. It has a lot of gore and nudity, including nudity of underage characters, and treats them in an uncomfortably fetishistic way. Also all of the characters except the two little girls are annoying idiots, massive jerks, or both. The plot itself is kinda dumb, expects you to root for horrible people, and all the good elements it had, it stole from Evangelion and other similar shows.

[Math_Mage]

I advise against Elfen Lied. It has a lot of gore and nudity, including nudity of underage characters, and treats them in an uncomfortably fetishistic way. Also all of the characters except the two little girls are annoying idiots, massive jerks, or both. The plot itself is kinda dumb, expects you to root for horrible people, and all the good elements it had, it stole from Evangelion and other similar shows.

I agree with this. Having watched the whole Elfen Lied series some years back, there's nothing particularly memorable about the story except for assorted limbs and heads popping off of bodies.

[GloatingSwine]

I suspect that the people who cite Elfen Leid as being good don't remember '80s schlock anime from the actual '80s and so only know about this aberrant later flareup.

If you grew up with the output of Manga Video UK then swearing, tits and gore was what anime was about. The UK dubbers actually used to put swearing in if the show wasn't going to get a high enough age rating. (The most extreme example is probably Cyber City Oedo 808, you should watch it in all its glorious terribleness)

[Pronounceable]

So I've watched a few episodes of this Revolutionary Girl Utena. The "little girl got so impressed with the prince on white horse that she decided to be a prince herself" thing they put right at the start is a brilliant idea however, I loved that. No idea where it's going with that idea, because they haven't really done anything with it so far.
Is this like a bizarre slice of life high school shenanigan anime? Some sort of absurdist deconstruction of magical girl stuff? Because that intro sure looks magical girly to me and almost everything that's happened so far is weird. And the dark skinned girl gets slapped every episode, not to mention that weirdass ratmonkey thing's existence. Is this secretly a slapstick comedy? I have no clue at this point.

Guess I'll watch some more. Hopefully they'll make it clear just what this series is trying to do soon because this is getting boring.

e: Breaking News! I watched episode 6. This **** is totally absurdist slapstick, you cannot convince me otherwise. It is awesome.

[afroakuma]

So I've watched a few episodes of this Revolutionary Girl Utena. The "little girl got so impressed with the prince on white horse that she decided to be a prince herself" thing they put right at the start is a brilliant idea however, I loved that. No idea where it's going with that idea, because they haven't really done anything with it so far.

Oh I assure you, they're going to run hard with it.

Is this like a bizarre slice of life high school shenanigan anime?

It takes those tropes and runs around like mad with them at times.

Some sort of absurdist deconstruction of magical girl stuff?

Surrealist moreso.

Is this secretly a slapstick comedy?

No.

Guess I'll watch some more. Hopefully they'll make it clear just what this series is trying to do soon because this is getting boring.

The first arc stays relatively close to the material it plans to deconstruct. If you're interested in talking out your concerns more at length, feel free to PM me.

[Terraoblivion]

Where exactly do you see anything even remotely resembling even a surreal take on slice of life in Utena? It's heavily based around big themes, plot, mysteries and the duelist of the week. Even ignoring all the artsyness, it's heavily focused on stuff happening, big dramatic revelations and fight scenes. That goes in a rather different direction than slice of life. I mean, even the Nanami episodes are more focused on absurdist humor than presenting some kind of everyday life for the setting.

Also, it can't really touch on the genre of schoolgirl slice of life for the simple fact that the genre didn't exist yet when Utena came out. It was no more capable of providing commentary on it than an Old Kingdom Egyptian was of discussing Buddhist theology.

[Eldan]

I just watched the first episode of Samurai Flamenco and I'm thoroughly unimpressed. It's just... uninteresting. I really do hope something is happening in the second episode, or I'll quit. The characters are just so bland. And stupid.

[jseah]

Anyone seen a slice of life in a SF/Fantasy setting yet? Still looking for a good one there.

[Eldan]

Bodacious Space Pirates? It's about a high school girl inheriting a spaceship and letter of marque. Couldn't finish it personally, thought it got boring after a while. But it treats space right, at least.

[Mx.Silver]

Anyone seen a slice of life in a SF/Fantasy setting yet? Still looking for a good one there.

Erin is fairly slice of life in parts. As is Haibane Renmei.

Off the top of my head, there isn't really much of anything that you need to have read the Fate/Stay Night visual novel to understand, but it is fairly merciless in spoiling some things that were major revelations in F/SN.

This is true, but I don't think spoiling a decade-old visual novel that the OP isn't all that likely to play is much of a concern.

[jseah]

XD I dropped Moretsu Space Pirates after the 2nd arc (the one with the genepod thingy). It got tiresome.

I've also watched Haibane Renmei and had the most hilarious misunderstanding for the entire series until the last two episodes. I kept thinking, "and NOW they'll go over the wall". And of course, they never do, because the wall was never the point. But it was ok.

Neither of those are what I would consider slice of life, though they did have elements of it.


I have watched at least one episode of Kemono no Soja Erin but can't remember what was in it. I could give it another try.


The closest that I've seen has been A Little Snow Fairy Sugar and Natsuiro Kiseki. Although that's more normal slice of life instead of fantasy/SF one, since it's more supernatural elements than outright fantasy. Natsuiro Kiseki was absolutely hilarious though.

And of course, there's To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, which was generally ok to bad, except for the slice of life bits. >.> One could almost say that I'm watching it for the wrong reasons...
Natsume Yuujinchou also has its moments. Watched it all. ^^

[Tengu_temp]

I just watched the first episode of Samurai Flamenco and I'm thoroughly unimpressed. It's just... uninteresting. I really do hope something is happening in the second episode, or I'll quit. The characters are just so bland. And stupid.

This is a show that takes a while to get going. Give it at least three or four episodes, maybe even six if you're patient. Episode 6 is when Samumenco hits the level it keeps, with some exceptions, till the end of the show.

Anyone seen a slice of life in a SF/Fantasy setting yet? Still looking for a good one there.

First 6 episodes of Gargantia. Then it gets bad.

Aria fits the bill, I suppose, but I haven't seen it. An Knights of Sidonia is 50% slice of life on a giant colony ship, 50% mecha fighting with horrible alien monstrosities.

[Math_Mage]

Can I recommend Mushishi again? It's like a slice of life in a fantasy world. Maybe. A little bit.

[Tengu_temp]

Not sure if I'd call Mushishi slice of life, but it's a really mellow, slow-paced show, very episodic and often without a real antagonist. And it's definitely very good.

[afroakuma]

Where exactly do you see anything even remotely resembling even a surreal take on slice of life in Utena

I'm pretty flexible with my terminology; I'm not saying "Utena depicts a classic slice-of-life genre series and subverts it," I'm saying "yes, there are some scenarios one would expect out of a series set in middle/high school, and those are looked at through a surreal and subversive lens."

[Hadrian_Emrys]

SlyGuyMcFly: Vash is being as good as he can be. Turns out that with superpowers, you can afford to hold yourself to pretty ridiculous standards. Western comics like to explore this idea, I've heard. He's no better or worse than Wolfwood - both are good men doing the best they can with the hand fate dealt them.

As for Legato, he was a fanatic. Mindless devotion requires no effort and has no merit.[/QUOTE]

Vash doing what he can is one thing. Vash holding others to those inhuman standards is not.

What makes Legato a fanatic? He was working with a guy who's ideal was to "kill spiders to protect butterflies" and his approach was systematic and methodical. His most biggest moment in the anime required making significant personal sacrifice for the sake of opening Vash's eyes.


CarpeGuitarrem: I have had no exposure to the manga so, unless that scene was replicated in the anime (and I forgot about it) that didn't get added into my estimation of the character. Of course, now that you HAVE brought that to my attention, I have some reading to do in order to see if stance revision is called for.


Back on subject, Samurai Champloo was also enjoyable and interesting despite having moments of absurdity.

[Kitten Champion]

Anyone seen a slice of life in a SF/Fantasy setting yet? Still looking for a good one there.

Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto or Someday's Dreamers - a 2003 anime with a sequel (Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora) that came out in 2008. It's a contemporary fantasy setting where mages are under the hospices of a governmental bureaucracy and trained as part of an apprenticeship program before becoming legally certified. It's sort of like a mahou shoujo anime stripped of the superheroic elements that have become common and made for a slightly more mature audience, focusing on the interpersonal drama and fish-out-of-water aspects of a rural girl in the big city.

I find it quite relaxing, and the magic feels quite miraculous at times despite being just another service industry in the world.

There's Planetes - a 2003 SF anime about life as a working-class grunts in the glamorous world of orbital debris removal. Dangerous, vitally necessary, but ultimately unrewarding work that takes in some eccentric and pretty unsatisfied people. I'd go on, but mostly it's just what it is on the surface, a work-based slice of life that happens to be based around a fairly hard SF setting.

Of course there's also Patlabor - a 1989 pretty long-running anime about a future police force which uses piloted humanoid robots (labors) to deal with labor-related crimes. Despite the premise, it's mostly about the lives of the people in the force itself and their day-to-day interactions. It's a lot like Planetes, actually, except less emphasis on it actually being the future outside of the titular mecha.

Although it's more of a Menippean satire than slice of life, Kino's Journey does have that quality of gazing into people's regular lives through their window and seeing what's going on. It just happens to be the lives of people in societies created to satirize certain aspects of our culture, so ironical slice of life, I guess.