Seeking realistic anime that isn't about teenagers or youth romance.
May 4, 2013 11:13 AM
This 2009 thread had some good suggestions for realistic, human-oriented anime titles, but I'm looking for something along those lines that doesn't involve teenagers or high school/college romance. Super-picky requirements follow!
I'm looking for anime films or series that are:
(1) Completely realistic, non-fantastical and totally grounded in modern-day -- by which I mean at least post-1970s -- "average/normal" life (so nothing like Planetes or Last Exile, or involving space or alternate realities).
(2) Not involving high school or college romance.
(3) Not action or crime stories. No period pieces. No high-concept premises.
(4) Not broad comedies. Humor is OK but I'm looking for a more realistic tone and character-driven stories, so nothing too wacky.
A good example of the kind of thing I'm looking for is probably Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, which features predominantly adult characters in dramatic or light-dramatic, character-based storylines.
I know these are pretty limiting criteria, but if there's anything out there that fits the description, I'd be grateful for a suggestion!
I'm looking for anime films or series that are:
(1) Completely realistic, non-fantastical and totally grounded in modern-day -- by which I mean at least post-1970s -- "average/normal" life (so nothing like Planetes or Last Exile, or involving space or alternate realities).
(2) Not involving high school or college romance.
(3) Not action or crime stories. No period pieces. No high-concept premises.
(4) Not broad comedies. Humor is OK but I'm looking for a more realistic tone and character-driven stories, so nothing too wacky.
A good example of the kind of thing I'm looking for is probably Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, which features predominantly adult characters in dramatic or light-dramatic, character-based storylines.
I know these are pretty limiting criteria, but if there's anything out there that fits the description, I'd be grateful for a suggestion!
I'm guessing you've already been through Ghibli, but Only Yesterday (pre-'70s flashbacks, but otherwise feels contemporary) and My Neighbors the Yamadas both fit.
posted by thetortoise at 12:17 PM on May 4, 2013
posted by thetortoise at 12:17 PM on May 4, 2013
Millennium Actress - there are some pre-'70s flashbacks, but the film is surprising and beautiful, and firmly grounded in adult reality.
posted by Paragon at 1:06 PM on May 4, 2013
posted by Paragon at 1:06 PM on May 4, 2013
Tokyo Godfathers would meet your criteria if homeless people fall within your parameters of "average/normal" life.
posted by thatdawnperson at 2:08 PM on May 4, 2013
posted by thatdawnperson at 2:08 PM on May 4, 2013
nthing Tokyo Godfathers, although I'm not sure what your threshold is for "high concept". I could see reasonable people disagreeing about how high its concept is. But it's a realistic, character-driven movie and after seeing this post I want to go watch it again.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:40 PM on May 4, 2013
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:40 PM on May 4, 2013
The easiest way to find anime similar to what you're looking for is to look at the entry for Rumiko Takahashi Antology at anidb, and make note of the major categories: Daily Life, Seinen and Time:Present. If you do an advanced search you can weight the results by category. If you then sorty by rating you get something like this search result, which should be pretty close to what you're looking for.
From the first page I would say that at least Azumanga Daiou and Clannad are pretty good.
You might want to remove the "seinen" (men age 15-44) category from the query above, since that excludes series such as Nodame Cantabile, which would go under the Josei (women 15-44) category.
posted by Baron Humbert von Gikkingen at 4:44 PM on May 4, 2013
From the first page I would say that at least Azumanga Daiou and Clannad are pretty good.
You might want to remove the "seinen" (men age 15-44) category from the query above, since that excludes series such as Nodame Cantabile, which would go under the Josei (women 15-44) category.
posted by Baron Humbert von Gikkingen at 4:44 PM on May 4, 2013
I was coming in to recommend Only Yesterday from Studio Ghibli as well. There are a couple of magic realism sequences in the flashbacks, but vast majority of the film is simple realism.
Studio Ghibli also produced Whispers of the Heart: this film is about a girl in high school and there is some romance, but it is only a sub-plot in what is otherwise a story about friendship and creative expression (music and writing). (I actually like kindof-sequel, The Cat Returns, better, but that is definitely not realism what with the trip to the land of talking cats.)
Fan guide to Studio Ghibli films.
if you later decide that you would like to watch realistic historical dramas, Grave of the Fireflies is a critically acclaimed film about two children during WW2.
posted by jb at 7:45 PM on May 4, 2013
Studio Ghibli also produced Whispers of the Heart: this film is about a girl in high school and there is some romance, but it is only a sub-plot in what is otherwise a story about friendship and creative expression (music and writing). (I actually like kindof-sequel, The Cat Returns, better, but that is definitely not realism what with the trip to the land of talking cats.)
Fan guide to Studio Ghibli films.
if you later decide that you would like to watch realistic historical dramas, Grave of the Fireflies is a critically acclaimed film about two children during WW2.
posted by jb at 7:45 PM on May 4, 2013
Azumanga Daioh is a great choice. While set in high school, there are no magical transformations, no romance, no crime and it's quite funny. Just more or less normal high school girls. There are a few surreal elements, but they're more to do with the wackiness of the girls' imaginations and/or dreams, it's definitely not a magical thing.
You might also like The Summer Wars which is set at least partly in a computer/online reality, so does have some fantastical elements, but is very firmly set in the real world. There's a biiiiit of romance but it's definitely not the focus of the film! The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, produced by the same group, is also really good but has more in the way of romance.
The Ghibli films recommended above are also very good. Will be checking out some of the other recommendations myself, as I also get sick of teen romance anime!
posted by Athanassiel at 11:31 PM on May 4, 2013
You might also like The Summer Wars which is set at least partly in a computer/online reality, so does have some fantastical elements, but is very firmly set in the real world. There's a biiiiit of romance but it's definitely not the focus of the film! The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, produced by the same group, is also really good but has more in the way of romance.
The Ghibli films recommended above are also very good. Will be checking out some of the other recommendations myself, as I also get sick of teen romance anime!
posted by Athanassiel at 11:31 PM on May 4, 2013
Bartender is fairly serious and realistic. People go into a bar and talk about their problems.
posted by segfault at 6:50 AM on May 5, 2013
posted by segfault at 6:50 AM on May 5, 2013
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posted by yeolcoatl at 11:48 AM on May 4, 2013