Even in Japan, many dismiss anime as being no more than cartoons for kids – Japanese anime fans looking to challenge this prejudice provide 25 anime titles they would unhesitatingly recommend to those poor souls who might otherwise languish under the terrible misconception that animation consists of nothing more than Disney flicks and Saturday morning cartoons…
1. Ano Hi Mita Hana
2. Natsume’s Book of Friends
3. Usagi Drop
4. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
5. Clannad After Story
6. Chihayafuru
7. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
8. Toradora!
9. Hanasaku Iroha
10. Bakemonogatari
11. Neon Genesis Evangelion
12. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
13. Steins;Gate
14. Mawaru Penguindrum
15. Angel Beats!
16. Cowboy Bebop
17. Ghost in the Shell
18. Fullmetal Alchemist
19. Mushishi
20. Grave of the Fireflies
21. Black Lagoon
22. The Tatami Galaxy
23. Mononoke
24. Fate/Zero
25. Crayon Shin-chan: The Adult Empire Strikes Back
is anaru and tsuruko really a prostitute? O_O
This list is missing School Days
I’m absolutely shocked that “Grave of the Fireflies” isn’t no. 1.
I’d probably pick Elfen Lied or Mirai Nikki, two of my favorites.
Let’s be honest. Only 20 and 23 have any serious adult – adult as in Krzysztof Kieslowski or Ingmar Bergman appeal not adult as in X-rated video – significance. The rest are sentimentalist garbage = soap operas for teens and as such good for them big man-children. 20 is a genuine human interest story with breathtaking cinematography and an uncanny ability to demonstrate the behaviour of a child in the animated medium, while 23 is a great intro to Shinto and even natural law.
A good for adult anime which is not even on the list is the Japanese anime adaptation of Franz Kafka’s, “A Country Doctor”.