This piece is contributed by Tenoq, one of Malaysia’s renowned anime connoisseurs. Follow him here on Twitter. 

Millennials like me grew up surrounded by adults who insist that “cartoons are for kids”. For better or worse, we ended up watching cartoons with relatively mature themes that were clearly not kid-friendly. The Simpsons and South Park were the shows that all the cool kids watched, either for the liberal use of profanity or for the snark sarcasm that somehow resonated with us: the generation that witnessed the birth of proto-social media and archaic memes.

Today, ‘adults’ would gleefully watch Bojack Horseman, Archer, and Family Guy. These are all cartoons, but they were definitely not meant for children. English-speaking audiences eventually warmed up to the idea of “mature” shows and the animated medium no longer became a mark of permanent adolescence.

Strangely enough, Anime doesn’t seem to get the same level of reverence and recognition with mainstream audiences outside Japan. Despite the fact that anime has had mature themes since the 70s, the medium never quite got dissociated with younger audiences and there are still millennials today who would unironically claim that “anime is for kids”.

As discerning readers of high-quality content here on Kakuchopurei, this writer trusts that you have come to read this piece in search of mature anime shows to put on your watch list. In the interest of giving your brain something substantial to chew on, here’s a starter pack of 10 anime titles (in no particular order) with mature themes for you to enjoy!

Cowboy Bebop (2001)

Allow me to Pixar-pitch Bebop to you: bounty hunters in space. At first, the show passes off as a light-hearted swashbuckling adventure of charming rogues planet-hopping in search of criminals and fugitives. It’s all fun and games until a few episodes in where it tackles themes of wealth disparity, social ills, government propaganda and sometimes, desperation when you’re just shit out of luck.

Cowboy Bebop is a much beloved and celebrated masterpiece for its top-notch animation, timeless soundtrack and impeccable vocal performances. With 26-episode TV series and a theatrical film, it exemplifies the animated medium as a whole. A friendly gateway recommendation for anyone unfamiliar with anime.

Wolf Children (2012)

Mamoru Hosoda gained a following after many successful anime films such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars. Not long after, he came up with Wolf Children, a heart-wrenching story of a single mother raising two kids as she juggles work, education and childrearing. Lots of tragic, emotional moments to process.

It features phenomenal animation work from legendary studio Madhouse with lots of character acting that draws you in deep. One of the (very) few anime films that made me cry. Oh, by the way, if you thought the main character looks familiar, she was once a sleepy student in Lofi Hip Hop Radio 24/7 Chill Gaming / Study Beats.

Patlabor (1988)

Don’t you just love a good buddy cop story? Now take the winning formula of police duos and put them in giant robots. You would be forgiven to think this is a kiddy mecha battle, but I advise you to sit down and give it a go. Between office politics, drunk mecha pilots, and public complaints about traffic congestion (because of course, giant robots would obstruct cars), there’s a lot of heart to be found here.

Behind the glossy mecha animations, you will quickly see that Patlabor is a story about modern humans, coping with the daily struggles that come with modern life – except that there’s a construction robot that ripped the power lines and the whole city is left in a blackout. You’ve got three TV seasons and at least two films to watch so get to it, cadet!

Akira (1988)

How does one write a list of mature anime without including Akira? It’s impossible! Even if you’re not into anime, if you’re a film buff you would have at least heard of this legendary title. At bare minimum, you would know the “bike slide”. Yes, THAT bike slide, and now you know where it came from. You see it once, you will now see it EVERYWHERE.

It’s a dystopian future of biker gangs, corrupt corporations and experiments on children. This adaptation captures only but a piece of Katsuhiro Ootomo’s masterpiece manga, one that explored themes of exploitation, class divide, loyalty and betrayal. An undisputed entry in the annals of anime history.

Planetes (2003)

First of all: it’s pronounced PLA-NE-TES. Not Planets, not Planet-E-S. It comes from the Greek word Πλάνητες (Planētes) which means “wanderers”. Despite the name and the story being set in space, it’s not a story of planets but rather a story of very human characters. They wander between jobs, between having a steady income and being broke, between good, easy days at work and bad days when every floating piece of shit seems to hit all the turbo fans.

Taniguchi Goro (who would later go on to direct Code Geass) cooperated with JAXA to maintain a level of realism never before seen in sci-fi anime. Scenes in the vacuum of space are completely silent, save for background music and radio chatter. No whooshes, no clangs or bumps, not even the sound of thrusters. To emphasize the effects of weightlessness, some scenes were animated and broadcast at significantly higher frame rates.

Beneath the technical accomplishments on show lies deeper undertones of office politics, corporate buyouts, sexual harassment, glass ceilings, struggling entrepreneurs, the enduring, undying love for family. One of my favourite essays on the human condition.

 

NEXT: The remaining 5