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I don't want to make this topic psychotic or whatever would you like to call it.
It's just the opposite.
Since this is my 1st entry - if you would like to comment - feel free to do this not only about content but form of this OP too; maybe putting some things in better words  ?
Creative criticism is much appreciated, thanks.
What dark- / gore- / depressing- like anime did you watch and can say it's worth trying or even recommended?
What arguably "too heavy" anime would you warn not to watch? (because it may be even plainly boring or stupid)
So, ranting or not? here are my feelings about some of them.
After watching 1st episode of SEL somehow I understand why it got Excellence Prize on 2nd Japan Media Arts Festival * and on the long run as total brainwashing Elfen Lied is to most people (at least when watching 1st episodes), I can't say I didn't like it as a series.
I'm not into rants about morality, suicidal jumping mixed with warning no to be insensitive/deaf about other people in everyday life as I can see this put in SEL (once again - I've watched 1st episode so far and I think I read about ending episodes being crucial for the series).
99% people think about and understand well that stuff anyways so watching freaking anime about it is just pointless in most attempts...
...most but is it in all?
Neon Genesis Evangelion is certainly (one of) the best of those touching deeper subjects; one of the 1st anime series I've watched that made me much more into this than less, even so much outstanding / not common in industry?
Other series that I consider let's say heavier than average ones are Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, Berserker, and of course Death Note.
Blood+ can be considered as heavier too, even nice but it's so boring ;/. I don't know about movie though.
I consider Higurashi more fucked up than Elfen Lied even if I can remember (obv) much more bodies and blood seen in EL.
Why? This is total, tiring mind S&M but what's more important after ~15 episode I felt as I've seen this all already and anime starts repeating itself, struggling not to end.
Someone correct me please but that's my feeling.
Some years ago I happened to read few Conan books, ones considered to be written by Howard not his impostors if I remember correctly? Schwarzenegger kicks ass too 
So some time ago I decided to try out some seinen starting with Berserker and holy shit 1st episode is so promising... too bad next ones are so disappointing even if watchable.
But if someone survives through (or skips;P I watched) them then ending ones are... how to call it? Hell? In gore aspect they beat everything I've seen and probably will ever see.
Let's say I like happy endings or at least promise of next season more than advertising on-going manga ;/. What's more manga heavily defended by people selling it as only few newest chapters can be found and downloaded.
And to end this... Death Note. Dropped by me after 5 episode.
I understand principles(?) of it but I don't identify with the main character :/ fact that guy + Show Spoiler [end of series] +dies in the end (as I read)
That's it but I'm very interested about good sides of DN so if someone disagrees... well not flame me ;d
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Media_Arts_Festival
found about it just recently; I consider this great source of anime to watch... I guess I'll try music and manga listed there too but that's like for whole another
 
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Have you tried Higurashi, I heard its suppose to be ok.
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Yo, beetlelisk, nice name ^_^
I liked Elfen Lied. It is an experience to like the main character even though she's a pure psycho mass murderer...
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^^
@ XCentron
About every series I stopped watching I re-thought continuing them so I think I may finish Higurashi quite soon
@ Servolisk
thanks man x)) yea romantic moments kind of caught my heart ;D
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elfen lied was so bad i had to stop after second or third episode
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I'm not surprised at all
edit:
I think Claymore should be here too... I'm not sure about Hellsing though, for similar reasons why I didn't write about Elfen Lied itself and instead compared it to other titles but about it later.
More or less... handsome blondes with swords probably as big and heavy as themselves and eyes of silver color but turning to almost yellow-burning during heat of the battle... that can say enough to watch or not to watch it eh?
Like I wrote 3 lines earlier I don't want to place Hellsing in the same topic as Neon Genesis Evangelion and SEL so I think I have to justify myself why I'm writing about Claymore.
1st of all bit off topic - have you ever heard of The Witcher game or books by Andrew Sapkowski? Those books are very good fantasy imo, even if I read them like those Conan ones like 7years ago or so...
Witchers (males) in book are pretty similar Claymores (females ;P) - "slightly" mutated human with much improved strength, agility and senses; similar problems about being accepted by normal humans (they are unnatural mutants right?) and I guess it's that kind of nostalgic feeling that kept me watching Claymore from the beginning to the end, see little bit stronger good sides and little bit less weaker.
Since I'm rather criticizing series here let's start with flaws - Claymore has similar problem as Berserker - fillers inside quite short series (tbh at least 20 of 25 episodes of Berserker may be considered as fillers ><; it's not as half as bad in Claymore but can be annoying enough) just to get more background on what's happening and why, many flashbacks to what happened some episodes earlier also.
As Berserker seems to be more much rough, in Claymore there is just too many unnecessary moments or strange shouts like during final battle (A:"yooomaa!" B: "killl" A:"yoomaaa" B: "kiiilll" etc).
Even if it's not always as much dynamic as it rather should be and wastes chance to tell something more about world where action takes place, it's actually pretty much rewarded later as better and better fights start to unleash and heroines of the series befriend, learning little bit more about organization that "created" them.
On the long run it made me hope for second (hopefully bit deeper) season and I think series is bit closer to "serious" ones I wrote a bit earlier than rather purely entertaining Hellsing and to some degree Elfen Lied.
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I didn't like Elfen Lied that much, people say it's the best anime ever but I don't agree at all.
Animes I liked are:
Claymore - Gets a bit annyoing in the end though but it was defenitely worth watching!
TOKKO - I enjoyd this one, watched it in two days i think (13 eps).
Death Note - + Show Spoiler + Was good until L died and that other fagget came and started doing the same shit, that's when I just coulnd't stand it anymore, it should've ended when L died!
Hellsing - So awesome, one of my favorite animes of all time, really awesome, violent and good lol. if you liked Hellsing I can recommend you to see Hellsing OVA as well (currently three episodes out), which is more awesome!
Blood+ - Also really good, nice drawing etc.
I'm currently watching Cowboy Bebop and I'm really liking it! Funny and cool, Spike is awesome. After CB I'm gonna watch Soul Eater, my friend told me it's funny/good!
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I liked Elfen Lied, SEL, Death Note, and haven't seen Berserker or Evangelion yet (but don't think everyone I've talked to about this hasn't scalded me already for not seeing Evangelion!! I just don't have any time to at the moment). If you are looking for more to watch, these are the ones I could think of off the top of my head.
Monster
It's about a very skilled neurosurgeon who decides to go against his supervisors orders and perform brain surgery on a child instead of on a politician. He then has to live with his choice and weather the storm that follows.
Jigoku Shoujo (Hell girl)
Basically people can go on a website and have someone they hate sent to hell in a cruel fashion. Only thing is that the person who sends someone to hell also has to go. They enter into a contract with hell girl and then she or one of her 3 companions as pictured above torture the target. At first I thought it was decent then it started getting repetitive to where I didn't end up finishing all the episodes. Who knows though I might always check up on it someday or maybe you will like it more than me.
Paranoia Agent
Complaints about a boy wielding a baseball bat have been made and two detectives are out to find this mischievous child...only problem is nobody seems to know where to find him and there are virtually no leads about him. They decide to consult one of his victims, a character designer for a popular anime company but they soon discover that all may not be how it seems.
I really enjoyed this show as it kept my attention and continued to offer variety while remaining true to its plot.
Last but not least (because I got to go)
Paprika (Movie)
A female research psychologist uses a device that allows her to enter her patients dreams and view their thoughts. All I can say about this movie is that I highly recommend it. The visuals and music are breathtaking while the story is just as amazing. K got to go!
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Paprika is good. I wouldn't recommend Berserk to anyone simply because IT'S NOT FINISHED WDFđí[KHKMKHM (the anime that is, I'm not that much into this stuff so I don't read mangas), otherwise it's 10/10.
I hated Elfen Lied, and despite it only had so few episodes, it made me cringe in pain trying to make it through.
Death Note is perfect. You need good logic and memory to decipher the trickier parts perfectly, I can see that for some people that might be too complicated ^^
That's it.
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One of the most obvious animes that hasn't been mentioned is Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku. It's totally fucked up and depressing.
Despite the look of it, it's gory, contains rape, murder and death. So much death in this anime. But also very cute and beautiful in a way.
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I guess I'll finish Higurashi and Death Note ^^
@ _Grazze_
never heard about TOKKO and that means I have to check it out
and yeah about Berserker like I wrote it's more like advertising manga than making anime out of it xP (even damn Ragnarok or some Night Wizard RPGs have their own animes oO)
but if there ever will be 2nd season, I'll watch it
@ 1sd2sd3sd man thank you very much ^^
yeah I watched Monster till ~55th episode, definitely gotta finish it (another good anime I forgot about ) and about Hell Girl I had similar feelings
Another series I just remembered is Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho(u)
It can give some headache but is very dynamic and definitely better than for example Hell Girl
Has anyone seen 2nd season??
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Pffft your missing out on Death Note.
I heard Monster is absolutly fucking amazing. I tried to watch the anime however and it was brutally slow. I made it to episode 24 of 70 something and quit. I'm gonna read the manga because apparently it's a story you cant miss. Way too impatient for the anime though.
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On September 01 2008 23:58 Shauni wrote:One of the most obvious animes that hasn't been mentioned is Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku. It's totally fucked up and depressing. Despite the look of it, it's gory, contains rape, murder and death. So much death in this anime. But also very cute and beautiful in a way.
Found it on Veoh as Now and Then, Here and There x) pretty nice ratings on imdb
From now on Big Thank You to everyone, I'm smashing my head against the ground before you ;D
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Needs spoilers... Or at least a disclaimer that you are revealing major plot details (cough DeathNote's ending...)
DeathNote is my favorite anime, by far. Other people who watch it compare me to Light, in hairstyle and personality (which is kind of fucked up), so I really related to him. Also, the storyline captivated me and I felt like I understood it entirely as it was coming up, it was fascinating to me.
Elfen Lied is my second favorite anime, and it was more because of the underlying emotions in the story more than the actual plot. It's kind of amazing that they pulled off an emotional drama under that kind of plot, actually.
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I loved LAin and Elfen Lied.
Thought Death note was totally overrated and not deep at all. Fun, but not deep.
I echo Paprika. You also might want to try ergo proxy:
(Synopsis on MAL): http://myanimelist.net/anime.php?id=790
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if you are into animes that are unsettling, unnatural, and have VERY messed up endings,
SCHOOL DAYS
first few eps gives you the impression that its just another cute romance anime, but soon IT FUCKS IT ALL UP after the main character... does repulsive things unnameable... which spreads to the other 2 main characters as well
i could not stop myself from watching the next episode immediately after once i got into the series, and was completely enthralled by some of the horrible things that happen to every character in the series
ending is incredibly depressing, scary, and altogether messed up
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School Days, watched it, now i'm fucked for life.
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You kidding me, dropped Death note? Its like one of the best anime out there? 5 episodes is just an introduction. Wait until you see the real action
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If you want depressing watch anything by Studio Ghibli =p
Although Grave of the fireflies was one of the saddest/most depressing anime film I have ever watched.
School Days wasn't that depressing/scary. They didn't even stay true to the real ending -.- (which was a lot more fucked up)
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In general, I think a lot of the dark, depressing type anime fall short for me because a lot of the time they're trying to convey a message, but it doesn't really translate well because the story as a whole is too shallow.
Elfen Lied: I found this series pretty entertaining, probably because it was pretty fucked up, but not just completely fucked like I hear Higurashi is, and had a bittersweet ending, instead of completely depressing one. It's not a particularly deep story though.
Monster: I love this series. The pace is a bit slow at first, but if you have all the episodes ready to watch back to back it's not too bad. Actually, I like a lot of the little side stories anyway. I think the characters in this series are much more real. They're not one-dimensional like most other series, which helps to eliminate the aforementioned issue of most series being very shallow.
Death Note: Overrated in my opinion. I found it somewhat entertaining, but there are a lot of things that people claim about this series which I disagree with. I don't find the schemes to be incredibly complex, nor do I find the morality aspects particularly interesting. What i see is plot devices and a shallow, naive sense of morality. It was a decent suspense story, but that's about as far as it goes IMO. (I'm probably slightly biased against this series because people think it's the greatest shit ever. I just find it unsettling when people agree with Light's "morality", when the guy's just on a power trip)
Neon Genesis Evangelion: I respect the series, but I did not personally enjoy it. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for a lot of thinking at the time, but I just found it to be kinda boring when I watched it.
Hellsing: I love mindless bloody action, so this is pretty awesome. I wouldn't really categorize it with most of the other animes you listed, as this one is primarily in the action genre.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images/lain5.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.tapeciarnia.pl/tapety/normalne/26170_neon_genesis_evangelion_asuka.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://foroanime.com/imagenes-anime/data/507/medium/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni-05.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Berserk/berserk_guts.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://api.ning.com/files/cra7Ny4IfjUXhlWIzG1LDCSVx0KQjnQQePDWl*qTR38_/deathnote.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://otakuism.animeblogger.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/claymore078_00.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.xs4all.nl/~oteman/monster.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a5/Jigoku_shoujo_2_dvd.png/230px-Jigoku_shoujo_2_dvd.png)
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Paranoia_Agent_title_screen.jpg/400px-Paranoia_Agent_title_screen.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/16/Paprikaposter.jpg/200px-Paprikaposter.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x310/Rouge_456/ima_soko_ni_iru_boku_ed-op_komoriut.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://static4.animepaper.net/upload/thumbs/wallpapers/Tokyo-Majin-Gakuen-Kempucho-To-Dai-Ni-Maku/[large][AnimePaper]wallpapers_Tokyo-Majin-Gakuen-Kempucho-To-Dai-Ni-Maku_Anime-SEED-Otaku(1.33)__THISRES__74380.jpg)
