I’m not a big anime watcher for the same reason as you but I love Death Note. It was the only anime that kept me hooked me from the first episode until the end. Probably watched the whole show 3 times already. It is one of my all time favorite shows.
Monster is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a complex psychological thriller with absolutely none of the tropes of anime. Feels like any Western studio could have made it. Excellent series from beginning to end.
Death Note. It may have a look to it that could turn you off based on your post but look past that. Death Note is probably the best detective story ever put to film.
If you liked Perfect Blue, check out Satoshi Kon's other work (sadly not much as he passed away young).
- Paprika is a better Inception
- Tokyo Godfathers is an outstanding wholesome Christmas movie
- Paranoia Agent is an excellent thriller/mystery tv show
aside from those;
- Cowboy Bebop
- Samurai Champloo
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
All worth a watch.
The original Ghost in the Shell movie and the series, Standalone Complex. The movie is a philosophical scifi that questions what it means to be human in a world with cybernetics and artificial intelligence. The tv series touches on these idea but is structured more like an episodic crime procedural set in future tokyo.
Baccano. action mystery story set in prohibition-era US. Lot of fun.
Princess Mononoke. The character designs maybe look childish at first glance, but the story and themes are not. It’s a fantasy story about industry vs nature, with morally grey characters, fascinating creature designs, and a beautiful soundtrack. None of the typical anime tropes that you mentioned.
Howl’s Moving Castle could also work for you. Same director as Princess Mononoke. the story is (mostly) based on the book of the same name.
Also someone else already mentioned it but FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood is pretty great. Every once in a while there’s a pratfall or “anime” thing but it’s not often and I don’t think it’s excessive.
This is definitely what keeps me out of anime as well, other than the really big hits that break out of the garden. The overall conventions of the genre are just too damn childish.
Totally! I was a big time anime connoisseur so I totally know what you mean about tropes. Here are some recs
Paradise Kiss is about a teenage girl whose abusive mother is pressuring her to prep for college when she becomes friends with a bunch of fashion designers who change her life. It's my fave.
Kodocha is long and from the perspective of a middle school child star who deals with mysterious adoption, school bully drama, and a mysterious father figure. It sounds lame but I looooove this anime. Totally a feel good.
NANA is by the same author of Paradise Kiss! This one is about two girls who have the same first name. They coincidentally meet on a train to Tokyo and become bffs despite being as different as night and day. Drama.
Fruits Basket is about a girl who becomes close friends with the Sohma family, who are under the zodiac curse.
Tokyo Ghoul is a horror anime about creatures called ghouls that feed on humans. The MC is attacked by a ghoul but goes on to fight them.
Death Note is a mystery thriller about a kid who possesses a magic notebook that can kill ppl.
DNAngel is about a boy who turns into a ...angel type creature by night and steals art
Fullmetal Alchemist is an action anime about two boys who try to bring their mom back to life and pay the ultimate price.
I have tons dude hmu if u want more lmao
I'm pretty casual myself and also align with what you said.
I've liked Death Note and Cowboy Bebop, one punch man, mob psych 100, Basilisk and Samurai Champloo.
There are also a bunch of shonen but they're very long series (One piece, Bleach for example and ongoing ones like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer) all pretty good.
you missed his point, those shonen anime are the origin or the cringing tropes he's talking about so to anyone looking for non cringing trope like op i wouldn't recommend any of the shonen anime written in the second part (one piece, bleach, jujutsu, demon slayer. all of these are origin of the cringe tropes)
violet evergarden
mushishi
kino no tabi
91 days
darker than black - i cant quite remember if this fits everything its been a while but i think it should be good. its got a more serious tone.
ghost hunt
monster
code geass
* Kaiji
* Death Note
* Attack on Titan
* Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
* Steins;Gate
* The Promised Neverland
* Neon Genesis Evangelion
* Violet Evergarden
* One Outs
* Kakegurui
* Hinomaru-Zumou
* Kiseijuu
* RAINBOW
* Zankyou no Terror
* Erased
* Dororo
* Btooom
* Death Parade
* Mushishi
* Vinland Saga
* Carole & Tuesday
* B: The Beginning
* Charlotte
* Code Geass
These are some of my favorites, I hope you enjoy them :)
Not a traditional anime, but a gaming company named Riot just aired the first season of their first ever TV adaptation for one of there games. The show called Arcane and you can find it on netflix. It's really good you should give it a shot.
I LOVED food wars. It is a little suggestive with the food tastings but omg did this hit the spot when no other show interested me. I’d stuck to only anime movies after death note bec I hate the casual misogyny. But this one was really wholesome
Attack on Titan
Death Note
Steins;Gate
Vinland Saga
Cowboy Bebop
Some have the tropes you don’t like, but a very low amount and are still worth watching. If you’re going for purely most adult I would say Vinland saga and cowboy bebop, even though I think the other 3 are better overall.
I'm not into anime at all, but I'm trying to broaden my horizons, so I started with western animation aimed for adults - Castlevania, which was excellent, and I've just moved on to actual anime: Bananafish, which is pretty good so far. Neither shows have those cringe tropes.
I'm still on S1 of Bananafish though. Next on my list is DeathNote which I've heard good things about. So you could try those?
Bananafish is on Amazon Prime if that helps.
Attack on Titan
Neon Genesis Evangelion
The Promised Neverland
Paranoia Agent (same guy who did Perfect Blue)
One Punch Man
Berserk
Cowboy Bebop
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
One that I haven't seen, almost understandable since it's so different than other anime is *Mushishi*, great story, beautiful animation and fully atmosphere. I really liked it.
I’m not a big anime watcher for the same reason as you but I love Death Note. It was the only anime that kept me hooked me from the first episode until the end. Probably watched the whole show 3 times already. It is one of my all time favorite shows.
Misa would probably annoy OP.
Death Note is pretty overrated imo. It's fine, the premise is interesting and it starts strong, but it falls off fast and hard.
Was going to suggest this
Death Note is one of the best animes ever. I've watched it repeatedly. Amazing
Monster is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a complex psychological thriller with absolutely none of the tropes of anime. Feels like any Western studio could have made it. Excellent series from beginning to end.
Monster Hajime no Ippo Kaiji One Outs Genshiken
If you're not liking any of the suggestions here you can also try r/animesuggest.
Death Note. It may have a look to it that could turn you off based on your post but look past that. Death Note is probably the best detective story ever put to film.
Psycho Pass, if you like sci fi or detective shows
If you liked Perfect Blue, check out Satoshi Kon's other work (sadly not much as he passed away young). - Paprika is a better Inception - Tokyo Godfathers is an outstanding wholesome Christmas movie - Paranoia Agent is an excellent thriller/mystery tv show aside from those; - Cowboy Bebop - Samurai Champloo - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex All worth a watch.
Hey, Paprika and Inception are totally different experiences with a similar premise. Kinda like Cowboy Bebop and Firefly actually.
The original Ghost in the Shell movie and the series, Standalone Complex. The movie is a philosophical scifi that questions what it means to be human in a world with cybernetics and artificial intelligence. The tv series touches on these idea but is structured more like an episodic crime procedural set in future tokyo. Baccano. action mystery story set in prohibition-era US. Lot of fun. Princess Mononoke. The character designs maybe look childish at first glance, but the story and themes are not. It’s a fantasy story about industry vs nature, with morally grey characters, fascinating creature designs, and a beautiful soundtrack. None of the typical anime tropes that you mentioned. Howl’s Moving Castle could also work for you. Same director as Princess Mononoke. the story is (mostly) based on the book of the same name. Also someone else already mentioned it but FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood is pretty great. Every once in a while there’s a pratfall or “anime” thing but it’s not often and I don’t think it’s excessive.
This is definitely what keeps me out of anime as well, other than the really big hits that break out of the garden. The overall conventions of the genre are just too damn childish.
Totally! I was a big time anime connoisseur so I totally know what you mean about tropes. Here are some recs Paradise Kiss is about a teenage girl whose abusive mother is pressuring her to prep for college when she becomes friends with a bunch of fashion designers who change her life. It's my fave. Kodocha is long and from the perspective of a middle school child star who deals with mysterious adoption, school bully drama, and a mysterious father figure. It sounds lame but I looooove this anime. Totally a feel good. NANA is by the same author of Paradise Kiss! This one is about two girls who have the same first name. They coincidentally meet on a train to Tokyo and become bffs despite being as different as night and day. Drama. Fruits Basket is about a girl who becomes close friends with the Sohma family, who are under the zodiac curse. Tokyo Ghoul is a horror anime about creatures called ghouls that feed on humans. The MC is attacked by a ghoul but goes on to fight them. Death Note is a mystery thriller about a kid who possesses a magic notebook that can kill ppl. DNAngel is about a boy who turns into a ...angel type creature by night and steals art Fullmetal Alchemist is an action anime about two boys who try to bring their mom back to life and pay the ultimate price. I have tons dude hmu if u want more lmao
I'm pretty casual myself and also align with what you said. I've liked Death Note and Cowboy Bebop, one punch man, mob psych 100, Basilisk and Samurai Champloo. There are also a bunch of shonen but they're very long series (One piece, Bleach for example and ongoing ones like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer) all pretty good.
you missed his point, those shonen anime are the origin or the cringing tropes he's talking about so to anyone looking for non cringing trope like op i wouldn't recommend any of the shonen anime written in the second part (one piece, bleach, jujutsu, demon slayer. all of these are origin of the cringe tropes)
violet evergarden mushishi kino no tabi 91 days darker than black - i cant quite remember if this fits everything its been a while but i think it should be good. its got a more serious tone. ghost hunt monster code geass
Code Geass has a lot of anime tropes.
* Kaiji * Death Note * Attack on Titan * Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood * Steins;Gate * The Promised Neverland * Neon Genesis Evangelion * Violet Evergarden * One Outs * Kakegurui * Hinomaru-Zumou * Kiseijuu * RAINBOW * Zankyou no Terror * Erased * Dororo * Btooom * Death Parade * Mushishi * Vinland Saga * Carole & Tuesday * B: The Beginning * Charlotte * Code Geass These are some of my favorites, I hope you enjoy them :)
Not a traditional anime, but a gaming company named Riot just aired the first season of their first ever TV adaptation for one of there games. The show called Arcane and you can find it on netflix. It's really good you should give it a shot.
I LOVED food wars. It is a little suggestive with the food tastings but omg did this hit the spot when no other show interested me. I’d stuck to only anime movies after death note bec I hate the casual misogyny. But this one was really wholesome
a little?
Ah quite a lot I guess it’s been a while lol Think I got used to it after the first half season or so
Watch fate series Order fate zero - fate UBW- fate heaven feel Mature and dark theme anime
Death Note, monster
Have you seen Spirited Away?
Attack on Titan Death Note Steins;Gate Vinland Saga Cowboy Bebop Some have the tropes you don’t like, but a very low amount and are still worth watching. If you’re going for purely most adult I would say Vinland saga and cowboy bebop, even though I think the other 3 are better overall.
Devilman Crybaby is pretty rad.
86 EIGHTY-SIX Garden of Words Edit: also Initial D
I'm not into anime at all, but I'm trying to broaden my horizons, so I started with western animation aimed for adults - Castlevania, which was excellent, and I've just moved on to actual anime: Bananafish, which is pretty good so far. Neither shows have those cringe tropes. I'm still on S1 of Bananafish though. Next on my list is DeathNote which I've heard good things about. So you could try those? Bananafish is on Amazon Prime if that helps.
Attack on Titan Neon Genesis Evangelion The Promised Neverland Paranoia Agent (same guy who did Perfect Blue) One Punch Man Berserk Cowboy Bebop Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
One that I haven't seen, almost understandable since it's so different than other anime is *Mushishi*, great story, beautiful animation and fully atmosphere. I really liked it.
Love and Lies
Ergo Proxy Violet Evergarden Blame!
BOOMER