Disclaimer: All information in my blog are based on my personal knowledge, experience and opinion. By reading said information you acknowledge this fact and agree to respond with awareness and consideration, and take full responsibility for your comments.
1. Samurai X/Rurouni Kenshin A riveting and poetic anime from its inception. You can empathize with the characters and their feelings throughout the story. It's filled with lots of blood and violence, but the relationship aspect between characters is consistently dynamic and potent throughout. Main theme it touches upon is the meaning of justice. In my opinion, the best adult anime and a must-see.
2. Death Note This anime is full of mind games and puzzles. It's a battle of intellect and wits between the main characters, but it's executed so well that the audience is even mentally absorbed in it. You see the main characters develop and grow throughout the story and how their attitude and behavior intensifies. The main theme touched upon here is the meaning of justice. The 2nd best adult anime.
3. Berserk The time and space of this anime is extraordinary. It gives you a thorough timeline of the main character's life and background and shows you how he individually develops through various events and battles. It depicts the relationships between characters very clearly and shows you how they change as events happen. It also shows the duality of pain and pleasure, and how sometimes ones great pleasure can only be achieved through the sacrifice of pain and suffering of others. The main theme for this anime is personal destiny. The 3rd best adult anime.
4. Cowboy Bebop The plot and storyline for this anime isn't as intricate as the previous three. Instead, what's great about this anime is the way it delves into the life of each of the main characters. It shows you their past and present and gives you room to imagine their future. It shows you how people can grow on you after being around them for a while, but like all things change is inevitable. The main theme for this anime is personal destiny. The 4th best anime.
5. Samurai Champloo Like Cowboy Bebop, this anime is about the journey and friendship that develops between the main characters, and isn't too analytical and insightful in terms of plot. This anime doesn't go too deep into the background and lives of the main characters, but instead it offers characters with very different personalities and shows you how they stick together through all that goes on, and how fate always has a way of intervening and what drives and motivates people can sometimes merely be will. The 5th best adult anime.
Bonus: 6. Hellsing Ultimate I believe this anime is still unfinished, but thus far it has been quite a ride. I don't want to review this one yet because it is still in complete. Definitely worth watching though.
Poll: What do YOU think is the best anime based on your OWN experience? (Vote): Death Note (Vote): Cowboy Bebop (Vote): Samurai X/Rurouni Kenshin (Vote): Berserk (Vote): Samurai Champloo (Vote): Hellsing Ultimate
Torn between Death Note and Cowboy Bebop because those were the 2 best animes ever. Both had great characters which made it really interesting, but the mind games in Death Note are great, so were the plot twists throughout the series, kept you wanting to see more, so death note has my vote on this one, but cowboy bebop is a close second.
Samurai Champloo, Death Note isnt exactly ADULT its more of a 'childs' view of how he can change the word, Samurai Champloo has an obvious more adult view on life as compared to Death Note 'kill everyone who you don't like'. If you want to say Adult in terms of language, violence w/e then it all depends on your standards really...but for having adult themes and 'philosphical' views etc Samurai Champloo is on the top. For Adult as in rawr blood sex violence gore Berserk wins and its go its fair share of deep thinking if theres time for it, but the manga > anime.
Good choices i would add Monster ( recommended ! ) into that list too.
All were preety good and ive read the manga of Berserk and Hellsing becuase they are not finished as anime.
Cowboy Bebob is such a classic and i must say Death Note is preety good but it would be awesome if they + Show Spoiler +
didnt kill L so fast.
I must say Hellsing and Samurai Champloo are preety dear to me because they were the first 2 animes i have watched and hooked up on animes after that
And Samurai X is just one great OVA i really dislike the original anime but this was just a masterpeiece i have watched already like 5+ times and i would watch again soon !
My vote went to Cowboy Bebop, mostly because it has by far the best soundtrack. I would have voted for Beserk if you included the manga. The anime only scratches the surface of that series.
well.. out of that list, bebop is probably the "best", but they are all quite good and worth watching. i wouldn't use "adult" to describe any of these though, maybe bebop and berserk, but the others not so much.
On October 12 2009 07:56 SkelA wrote: Good choices i would add Monster ( recommended ! ) into that list too.
All were preety good and ive read the manga of Berserk and Hellsing becuase they are not finished as anime.
Cowboy Bebob is such a classic and i must say Death Note is preety good but it would be awesome if they + Show Spoiler +
didnt kill L so fast.
I must say Hellsing and Samurai Champloo are preety dear to me because they were the first 2 animes i have watched and hooked up on animes after that
And Samurai X is just one great OVA i really dislike the original anime but this was just a masterpeiece i have watched already like 5+ times and i would watch again soon !
There isn't 1 part of this post I didn't like. SkelA you rock!
Voted Bebop. But noticed the absence of so many other good series. The lack of Ghost in the Shell SAC and Legend of the Galactic Heroes in particular...
Wouldn't really consider Death Note adult (or, "mature" is how I'd put it). Rurouni Kenshin OVA's are great but overall overrated. Haven't seen nor read Berserk yet however.
IMO, Death Note was THE BEST anime I have ever watched, and I dislike anime for the most part. I just finished watching the series again and I can say that it doesn't get old. The OVAS for Rurouni Kenshin were amazing as well, but the cartoon series was quite dissapointing :/.
Bebop, Death Note, and Rurouni Kenshin were all pretty close for me.
Bebop had a great "cool" factor, with a bunch of awesome jazzy music, interesting character plot, and nice action scenes. I mean come on I think everyone loved Spike, he was just so BA. Cowboy Bebop was the anime of that time, and its pretty much a classic in my book.
Death Note was a great series but I agree with Skela on the idea of + Show Spoiler +
L dying so early on, they had ridiculous mind games and I didn't like Near AT ALL.The series ended for me after L died.
The plot, mind games, and psychological aspect was pretty strong. It shows what happens to people when they get consumed by power, which I thought was pretty cool. Justified purpose twisted into personal desire kinda aspect.
SamuraiX/ Rurouni Kenshin, I split it into 2 since Samurai X is during the war before the Rurouni Kenshin series, it had lots of gore and violence but it also had lots of emotional cracks as well. Action scenes were always intense and brought it home for me. As for Rurouni Kenshin, I liked Kenshin's character, peaceful, resolute, and modest turned into blood thirsty, berserk, and just inhuman. The OVAs were good but the series ended on a kind of bland episode.
Am I the only one that couldn't get into Hellsing Ultimate? I don't really recall what it was that bothered me about it, as I had it via Netflix about 4 months ago, but I think it was the visual style. If I recall, it just had a lot of unneeded "stylish" effects, that just hindered it for me. I haven't read the manga, but I watched the original anime, and it was good up until the quick almost "wtf" ending, and I hear that's the main thing that they were changing with Ultimate (to base off the manga?), but I just couldn't get into it for the life of me.
God damn I remember when my roommate showed me the first episode of Elfen Lied. I'm not an anime buff at all and I was NOT expecting it at all. Shit was messed up.
Berserk, hands down. Oh yea and Ghost in the Shell as a close second.
Also somewhere there come in Sword of the Stranger and Baccano! (Baccano! isn't very gory, but it carries very deep storylines and messages that go beyond the animation).
but whats an adult anime with an adult plot? i was thinking something else when i came into this thread lol. going off what some others said, i thought eva was pretty fucked up (in a good way), and elfen lied was cool.
Deathnote and berserk are amazing. Both have insane plots which actually make sense given you take their preerequsite magical abilities into consideration.
Death Note made me rage when a certain event happened. FFFFFU.
Code Geass > Death Note imo. Code Geass was presented with the ending in mind, whereas it seems like the second half of Death Note was really incoherent and chaotic, as if the creators extended it artificially due to the high ratings...
when i saw "adult anime" i thought someone had the nerve to blog about hentai LOL
but my favorite series has to be Battle Angel Alita... its released in a short OVA set, but the manga is far better. It's dark, violent, deep, philosophical, symbolic, and existential. unpredictable/complex character development, creative technology, depressing, yet with shreds of hope that make it so beautiful. also love the art style.
You seem to define an anime as "adult" as long as there are serious deaths in it. I would hardly call any of what you listed as an adult anime, except maybe berserk.
Dont read below if you haven't watched OP's listed animes, plot and ending spoilers ahead!: + Show Spoiler +
How the fuck is samurai champloo adult? They spend the whole anime looking for mr. sunflower only to find out that daddy is sick and dying. Yes its bitter sweet, wistfully melancholy, but not everything that has death in it is "adult". Ditto for Bebop. Champloo and Bebop just touch lightly upon the themes in their ending episodes, but do not delve into it in any deep sense at all. It would be helpful if you outlined what criteria you measured "adultness" by. Death Note also dealt with morality and justice, but the deaths soon become whimsical and while his traps were clever and stylish, I wouldn't say it was complex and multi-layered.
And why is hellsing even on the list? Its just bloody and badass. As entertaining as any zombie film, but hardly deep.
I would measure the "adultness" of an anime by how taxing the anime was on a emotional and intellectual level, as well as how many layers of complexity it has regarding each of its theme. In this berserk would pass the test in my book. The ending itself makes a juvenile leap into death and rape, but the layered complexity is in how comradeship bulids among Griffith's followers, and loyalty and friendship flowers. And the suddenness of Griffith's betrayal is so emotionally taxing because of how precious and painfully long it took to establish those bonds. But even so, berserk was not intellectually challenging at all.
For the benefit of those who didn't click into the spoiler: I would measure the "adultness" of an anime by how taxing the anime was on a emotional and intellectual level, as well as how many layers of complexity it has regarding each of its theme.
Eva should definitely be on your list. Without going into too much plot spoilers, its shows you realistically how taxing saving the world can be on your psyche. Shinji takes on a "Catcher in the Rye" like cynicism towards the adult figures in his life. His depressive self monologues are highly complex (some might even say nonsensical but I would argue not). The strategic plot omissions make Eva quite a intellectual puzzle as you try to work out the older generation's relationships with each other as well as where the Angels come from and how Adam/Lilith/Lance of Loginus relate to one another. It requires multiple viewing to fully "get" it.
Ghost in the Shell's stand alone episodes forces you to intellectually consider the many facets of their steam punk world and how that future society would function. And its complex episodes highlights the intricate dynamics of how a society works, which is mirrored in the electronically connected world. Not to mention the refernces to Salinger's works as well as the sheer creativity required to make such a far fetched futuristic world believable and fleshed out.
I'd go on to list more but ranting takes a long time. Monster would also be on my list for obvious reasons, but i've ran out of steam to make solid cases for everything. So /end.
Gungrave. It was based off the game but it was so god damn good I didn't even realize it was based off the game until near the end. Check it out. It's mobster style drama.
On October 12 2009 10:59 madnessman wrote: yeah none of them are really adult anime but deathnote is so good that after i showed the pilot to my sister and my mom they both got hooked.
Texhnolyze is the only anime i consider complex enough to be considered for 'adults'. And I've seen all the ones mentioned here (or not Gungrave actually). But then again the whole definition sucks.
I'd like to add Ninja Scroll to this list. The reasons are pretty obvious:
1. NINJA 2. female ninja?!? 3. cool powers 4. drinking blood from dismembered arm 5. OLD MAN NINJA 6. buttsex (maybe, can't say for sure) 7. reincarnation 8. NAKED FEMALE NINJA!!!!! 9. vagina snake 10. exploding rats 11. death by molten gold 12. BLIND NINJA 13. Traps every five seconds
On October 12 2009 11:41 Shauni wrote: Texhnolyze is the only anime i consider complex enough to be considered for 'adults'. And I've seen all the ones mentioned here (or not Gungrave actually). But then again the whole definition sucks.
The first time I watched that I had no idea what I was getting into and it was way too thick for me to swallow well. The second time I was digesting it better, but due to school starting I couldn't finish it. I'll probably have to give it a third go.
Hokuto Shinken (hokuto no ken) was really good old school anime imo. Death Note was good, pretty epic but overrated, since after the L arc, the storyline kinda went downhill.
Honestly thought this thread was about hentai too.
Watch more stuff really, there are a lot more good anime out there, and the top adult themed ones would be Honey and Clover, Monster,Gankutsuou,Planetes,Haibane Renmei,Mushishi,Texhnolyze, and Mind Fucks like Lain/Paranoia Agent/Boogiepop. Bepop/Champloo are ok, didnt watch ultimate but the original was meh, death note blows 2nd half + Trust and Betrayal is fucking awesome no question, Berserk is pretty good but not as good as the manga. Just watch more stuff before making lists like this.
Edit: Making a poll with your options only is not open to subjection especially considering Trust and Betrayal and Berserk are the one ones that come with high artistic and plot quality.
Why are people saying that the second half of Death Note sucks? It definitely wasn't as good, but I think it was only because it the series lost its novelty, much like why the subsequent Matrix/Star Wars films sucked (though I'm sure the acting in the SW films probably didn't help.)
Kenshin was the best anime ever. I was really sad over the OVA series when it reveals his past. And it connects with what kind of character he is in the series. I do admit that the series tends to get goofy sometimes (weird characters that look like monsters, few unrealistic aspects like Aoshi's illusion trick) but overall, its so good
Death Note was good but not good enough to be the best
On October 12 2009 14:38 samachking wrote: Watch more stuff really, there are a lot more good anime out there, and the top adult themed ones would be Honey and Clover, Monster,Gankutsuou,Planetes,Haibane Renmei,Mushishi,Texhnolyze, and Mind Fucks like Lain/Paranoia Agent/Boogiepop. Bepop/Champloo are ok, didnt watch ultimate but the original was meh, death note blows 2nd half + Trust and Betrayal is fucking awesome no question, Berserk is pretty good but not as good as the manga. Just watch more stuff before making lists like this.
Edit: Making a poll with your options only is not open to subjection especially considering Trust and Betrayal and Berserk are the one ones that come with high artistic and plot quality.
I've only watched Samurai X, Berserk, and some of Samurai Champloo, and I think Berserk is the best between those three. Berserk seemed... well... more realistic to me. Haha! I know it had demons, monsters, and other creepy stuff, but Guts was like a "tragic hero", and I'm a huge sucker for those characters.
I just didn't feel the sense of urgency for the main characters in Samurai X or Samurai Champloo. They just seemed like the ones who would be invulnerable to death until the end. Guts was more like, he could die at any moment because his enemies weren't just humans, but supernatural beings that could shred anyone easily. And he certainly went through more hardships than anyone from the other two anime I mentioned.
It's kind of funny, really. I really disliked Berserk. I rented the anime from Blockbuster some years ago, and got so mad that the series would end on a note like that. But a few months ago I actually managed to read the continuation from where the anime had left off, which I guess the anime hasn't produced yet.
@samachking,
I'll take note on the anime you mentioned. I'm not an anime or a manga fanatic, but I do like a good series every now and then.
On a side note, would Trigun be considered an adult themed anime? What about Evangelion? And here's my recommendation for a good quality anime that I certainly enjoyed ^_^ - > Noir
Samurai champloo is so awesome. I need to watch more cowboy bebop, but it hasn't grabbed my interest too much yet. I've seen a bit of death note and it's not really my gig, but I guess I kind of have to watch it now. I haven't seen Berserk or Hellsing Ultimate so I don't have a comment on those. Rorouni Kenshin was really good for a while then it got pretty boring. So of those 5 Samurai is a super easy choice for me.
On October 12 2009 15:34 Thesecretaznman wrote: Why are people saying that the second half of Death Note sucks? It definitely wasn't as good, but I think it was only because it the series lost its novelty, much like why the subsequent Matrix/Star Wars films sucked (though I'm sure the acting in the SW films probably didn't help.)
On October 12 2009 10:10 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: Death Note made me rage when a certain event happened. FFFFFU.
Code Geass > Death Note imo. Code Geass was presented with the ending in mind, whereas it seems like the second half of Death Note was really incoherent and chaotic, as if the creators extended it artificially due to the high ratings...
Code Geass is such a great anime :o
Btw, was I the only one who thought of hentai after reading the title ?
On October 12 2009 10:10 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: Death Note made me rage when a certain event happened. FFFFFU.
Code Geass > Death Note imo. Code Geass was presented with the ending in mind, whereas it seems like the second half of Death Note was really incoherent and chaotic, as if the creators extended it artificially due to the high ratings...
Code Geass is such a great anime :o
Btw, was I the only one who thought of hentai after reading the title ?
On October 12 2009 13:38 konadora wrote: I thought this was going be some hentai review rofl
On October 12 2009 18:09 omninmo wrote: Ummmmm Serial Experiments Lain is the best anime for thinking types IMO Full Metal Alchemist also has some very deep themes.
I can't say I've seen most of these, but I thought Bebop and Champloo were targeted at the young adult male demographic ("young adult" meaning what it means in the literature/fiction context).
But what I like about those two is that they don't overreach in my opinion; a lot of other shows seem to get heavy on the armchair philosophy and/or dark plots for the sake of just being dark or having blood/murder. It's the style, cinematography (do you still call it that for anime when there's no physical camera?) , pacing, etc. that distinguish them. That and the character relationships are what do the exploring beneath the surface. If that's adult or not, I don't know. To me, it at least made a good watch.
I really like the first half of Death Note, but the second half is just ugh. + Show Spoiler +
near fucking sucks.
Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop should be at the top :D. Also add elfen lied and ghost in the shell to the OP. And yeah I thought this was about hentai too :<
On October 12 2009 09:39 dnastyx wrote: How the hell can anyone pick Deathnote over Cowboy Bebop?
I guess it's all the 'adult' people making this picks.
Also, what the OP list lacks:
Experiments Lain Ghost in the Shell (Stand Alone Complex if we're mentioning only the series here) Texhnolyze (Tekunoraizu hehehe) Visions of Escaflowne
And wtf is with all the Elfen Lied fans? It was absolute crap. The animation was horribad, the plot seems like it was written by some emo who can't get laid (title reference?) etc. etc.
Something like Moyashimon would be an adult anime. Death Note, etc, are for emo kids. I second Experiments Lain as a good adult anime. Visions of Escalflowne used to play on WB11 on Saturday morning, and that accurately describes its maturity level.
I'll repeat my earlier statement that none of the OP's animes are adult animes, with possibly the exception of Berserk (and not because of maturity, but because of guts and blood).
Also agree that Elfen Lied is total shit (in the bad way).
My personal favorite is Revolutionary Girl Utena. One of the best animes ever made imo, whether it be for kids or adults.
I didn't include Escaflowne in the list as a 'mature' anime. Just an example of good series with awesome drawing, even more awesome music (Yoko Kanno doesn't fail) and pretty good story (yeah, might be a bit cheesy but it's a very enjoyable fantasy genre to watch).
On October 15 2009 06:23 gen.Sun wrote: Yeah I liked Escaflowne too. It's really too bad there isn't more adult animes. There's no HBO in Japan, sad sad.
I'm watching through Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop at the same time and IMO Champloo is a vastly superior series. Maybe it's just because the art is so much better in Champloo.
Berserk is the #1 on that top 5 list, and Hellsing will come in 2nd if your talkin adult wise. Death note was awesome but not anywhere near what i consider "adult anime". Its more teen anime, as with cowboy bebop and samurai champloo.
Btw the Berserk manga is fuckin awesome to the point where awesome no longer has any meaning.
Disagree that Eva is adult, also don't think FLCL is adult either. (Loved FLCL though.) Oedipus complex and boob jokes doesn't make something adult imo.
On October 15 2009 11:57 gen.Sun wrote: Nobody else likes Utena?
Disagree that Eva is adult, also don't think FLCL is adult either. (Loved FLCL though.) Oedipus complex and boob jokes doesn't make something adult imo.
Since I think it has more or less been unanimously agreed that the original list was terrible, let's switch to a more interesting topic: what makes an anime adult? For example:
Disagree that Eva is adult, also don't think FLCL is adult either. (Loved FLCL though.) Oedipus complex and boob jokes doesn't make something adult imo.
I'm not sure I agree. If a show will not be enjoyed by kids, I think that is a fairly strong case for it as an "adult" anime, which would put Eva on that list.
On October 12 2009 09:39 dnastyx wrote: How the hell can anyone pick Deathnote over Cowboy Bebop?
I guess it's all the 'adult' people making this picks.
Also, what the OP list lacks:
Experiments Lain Ghost in the Shell (Stand Alone Complex if we're mentioning only the series here) Texhnolyze (Tekunoraizu hehehe) Visions of Escaflowne
And wtf is with all the Elfen Lied fans? It was absolute crap. The animation was horribad, the plot seems like it was written by some emo who can't get laid (title reference?) etc. etc.
Come on... They don't make anime as they used to.
Good op lol
in all seriousness, the op was really good. and the story was sentimental, makes you feel for the characters. youre right, it's not on par in terms of story, animation, etc, but it makes the viewer like it. well some viewers. having so much shit happen, and then getting a 'good' ending - leaves the viewer satisfied.
it's like listening to some dumb but heartwarming story, but you cant help but get a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
On October 15 2009 23:30 koreasilver wrote: I have watched the OVAs, I like them, and I own them, but when it comes to depth in writing, it really isn't in the very top.
Fair enough.
To defend my honor, I raise you ~all of Shinkai's works. :p
On October 12 2009 09:39 dnastyx wrote: How the hell can anyone pick Deathnote over Cowboy Bebop?
I guess it's all the 'adult' people making this picks.
Also, what the OP list lacks:
Experiments Lain Ghost in the Shell (Stand Alone Complex if we're mentioning only the series here) Texhnolyze (Tekunoraizu hehehe) Visions of Escaflowne
And wtf is with all the Elfen Lied fans? It was absolute crap. The animation was horribad, the plot seems like it was written by some emo who can't get laid (title reference?) etc. etc.
Come on... They don't make anime as they used to.
Good op lol
in all seriousness, the op was really good. and the story was sentimental, makes you feel for the characters. youre right, it's not on par in terms of story, animation, etc, but it makes the viewer like it. well some viewers. having so much shit happen, and then getting a 'good' ending - leaves the viewer satisfied.
it's like listening to some dumb but heartwarming story, but you cant help but get a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
I'm really sorry that my expectations are quite high sometimes and I dislike 90% of the movies/animes. Let's take Ergo Proxy for example, which had pretty nice story and got a couple of cool ideas going on in it (Equilibrium + Aeon Flux + a lot more in one thing). Everything is fine until we meet the main character. I freaking hate it when badass guys act like pussies and like they couldn't find their way in life. And it's more of a trend with recent anime (which is bad). I liked EP overall, but it was definitely lacking in some departments. For the duration of entire series I wanted to slap Vincent in the face shouting "Wake up!". He looked and acted like he would have an ev filled with sedatives permanently pumping them into his body. I am all after stopping the trend of characters who go: "I am immortal and can call down fire from the sky or do some other kinds of terrible, terrible damage but at the same time I'm going to cry like a woman, be shy and undecided and restrain myself from using my power" - seriously, WTF?!
P. S. Dumb, heartwarming stories make me nausiated. Not warm and fuzzy inside.
On October 12 2009 09:39 dnastyx wrote: How the hell can anyone pick Deathnote over Cowboy Bebop?
I guess it's all the 'adult' people making this picks.
Also, what the OP list lacks:
Experiments Lain Ghost in the Shell (Stand Alone Complex if we're mentioning only the series here) Texhnolyze (Tekunoraizu hehehe) Visions of Escaflowne
And wtf is with all the Elfen Lied fans? It was absolute crap. The animation was horribad, the plot seems like it was written by some emo who can't get laid (title reference?) etc. etc.
Come on... They don't make anime as they used to.
Good op lol
in all seriousness, the op was really good. and the story was sentimental, makes you feel for the characters. youre right, it's not on par in terms of story, animation, etc, but it makes the viewer like it. well some viewers. having so much shit happen, and then getting a 'good' ending - leaves the viewer satisfied.
it's like listening to some dumb but heartwarming story, but you cant help but get a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
I'm really sorry that my expectations are quite high sometimes and I dislike 90% of the movies/animes. Let's take Ergo Proxy for example, which had pretty nice story and got a couple of cool ideas going on in it (Equilibrium + Aeon Flux + a lot more in one thing). Everything is fine until we meet the main character. I freaking hate it when badass guys act like pussies and like they couldn't find their way in life. And it's more of a trend with recent anime (which is bad). I liked EP overall, but it was definitely lacking in some departments. For the duration of entire series I wanted to slap Vincent in the face shouting "Wake up!". He looked and acted like he would have an ev filled with sedatives permanently pumping them into his body. I am all after stopping the trend of characters who go: "I am immortal and can call down fire from the sky or do some other kinds of terrible, terrible damage but at the same time I'm going to cry like a woman, be shy and undecided and restrain myself from using my power" - seriously, WTF?!
P. S. Dumb, heartwarming stories make me nausiated. Not warm and fuzzy inside.
Haha i completely agree with you. Tis why i enjoy shit like the new Fist of the North Star OVAs and the Hellsing Ultimate OVAs. The badasses are actually badass throughout . But you dont find many anime with that type of genre/caliber. Everything has to deal with highschoolers, harem, and cheesy drama/comedies. It is getting pretty old and redundant..
Samurai X is still my favorite. Bebop was great, Death note was great (2nd half sucked), Champloo was good (felt like it tried too hard to be cool at times), Boogiepop was alrite, haven't seen Berserk. Maybe I'll go check that out. Kenshin's still my hero though!
EPT
