Thread: Intelligent Anime.

Juuni Kokki (Twelve Kingdoms): A withdrawn, unpopular do-gooder is drawn into a conflict in another world along with the school outcast and another classmate. There they become players in the revolution of one of Twelve Countries and eventually part of the story of each of the other kingdoms in turn. The music is lovely, the politics are complex, and the world draws heavily on Chinese mythology and the concept of "Divine Right" to rule. It starts out a bit overdramatic and is, unfortunately, incomplete (both in it's novel and anime formats)... but it's solid quality the whole way through.

BERSERK: A seinen series with a great deal of fighting, blood, boobs and guts. Oddly enough, it's also host to some of the most complex political and character interactions I've ever seen. Again... it's unfortunately incomplete and the anime is a bit dated: but it's a wonderful introduction to what's probably the best manga fantasy series ever written.

Rah Xephon: More or less a more subtle re-imagining of Neon Genesis Evangelion. A mech series with beautiful music, complex characters, amazing artwork and at least one episode that will bring even some of the blackest hearts to tears.

the films of Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Millenium Actress, etc): A fabulous director for animated films that are both entertaining and thought-provoking.

There are quite a few more... but all the material listed here is more than worthy. No point overfilling the plate.

well if your looking for thinking one naruto does have its moments tho it has fighting so hmm Tonari No Totoro would be the only one i can think of of the top my head its hard to remember^_^

Originally Posted by gaarasandkiller1

well if your looking for thinking one naruto does have its moments tho it has fighting so hmm Tonari No Totoro would be the only one i can think of of the top my head its hard to remember^_^

um, yeah, Naruto is not intelligent. You'd then have to say that Dragon Ball was thought provoking and smart...and My Neighbor Totoro is generally a film for kids ^_^;;


Mushi-shi comes to mind as an intelligent bit of anime. Might be a little slow in comparison to Deathnote but worth a shot.

Mushi-shi is a good example, as Evol said. Ghost in the Shell has it's philosophical undertones and such, and they usually take some thought to consider. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a silly, lighthearted anime that takes things to another thought provoking level as it progresses. Welcome to the N.H.K.! is a great anime examining human psychology in many different ways and in many different types of people. Overall I think Welcome to the N.H.K.! is your best bet, because it even surpasses Death Note in terms of how much the viewer has to think, but I recommend the light novel over the anime.

I recommend checking out the Ghost in the Shell universe a bit further. The two Stand Alone Complex series are nice political thrillers.

You might also check out Spiral. The ending wasn't all that great but the story it's self had a few things that you had to figure out. Over all it wasn't that bad.

Grumble Grumble Grumble

One thing that I've done, is to check the Japanese award sites to see what the Japanese Anime community consider what is the best of the best. And I have yet to do wrong with any of the purchases (so far) from the awards list...

The two significant Award groups with English web pages are...

Awards Winners Archive - Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008:

and

2007（11th）Japan Media Arts Festival | Japan Media Arts Plaza: