Forum - View topicDour &/or depressing anime.
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nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5124 |
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In this thread Key wrote ”of the rare anime out there that you watch to be informed, not to be entertained. It doesn't make an argument or try to dramatize anything; it just lays out there an example of what has happened for viewers to react to or not.”
So: What anime out there fits Key's criteria? Here are two series that I've seen:
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Mister V
 Posts: 1000 |
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Grave of the Fireflies, Barefoot Gen. These are the easy ones. With a more subjective approach, you could say I'm watching other series (considered to have a special, or classic status) to be informed rather than entertained.
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ailblentyn
 Posts: 1688 Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney |
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I'm not 100% sure I understand your criterion, but can I suggest something it makes me think of?
If you're thinking shows that are more interested in getting us to feel the punch of some raw truth (about human behaviour, society, history, etc.) than making an entertaining fiction, how about Pom Poko, especially as contrasted with Miyazaki's environmentalist films? Nausicaä and Princess Mononoke seem very much to be fictions with environmentalist themes, but Pom Poko I always think of as a sour documentary dressed up in an animal fantasy wrapper. (I suppose generally films with a social commentary come in different degrees of harshness.) Last edited by ailblentyn on Tue Oct 12, 2010 7:52 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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OldCharlieStoletheHandle
 Posts: 1288 Location: Mastic Beach, NY |
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Since the title of the thread and the first post seem a little different I'm also not sure if this meets the criteria, but I think Neon Genesis Evangelion is an anime that, while it does contain elements that are dramatic, I found to be very depressing in the sense that the fight seemed to be hopeless; the effect was rather like watching a Greek tragedy. In addition, since I didn't watch it until after seeing a lot of other shows perhaps I was being informed of how vaqrious anime tropes could be twisted and/or deconstructed. Certainly, love it or hate it, there is more going on in this show than simple entertainment.
Another anime I watched all the way through despite its being extremely depressing was Rumbling Hearts which was, to me, an object lesson in how dishonesty leads to tragedy. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator  Posts: 11337 Location: Frisco, TX |
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SaiKano is by the far the most depressing anime I've personally seen to date. It's been a while, but frankly, I have no intention of ever-watching it again. So much death, pain, anguish and sadness for those two and every other freakin' character
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Sea Lion
 Posts: 307 |
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I guess I'm in the right headspace to think about depressing things. One of the most depressing anime I've seen has to be Gunslinger Girls.
Each and every one of the girls has an tragic past, usually filled with extreme violence. These poor girls are taken and modified into perfect child soldiers (child soldiers are depressing enough alone). In the process, their memories are wiped over and over again. As a result of these procedures, their artificially extended lives are brief because they burn out like shooting stars. To top it all off, they show complete devotion to their handlers, but their handlers treat them with everything from almost romantic feelings to complete indifference and even contempt. |
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Rukiia
 Posts: 1897 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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Some people already listed a few anime titles that I also think are depressing. Like Elfen Lied and Saikano. Great series but very depressing.
Another one would have to be Bokurano. This series is emotionally heavy and pretty dark. spoiler[The kids are pulled into a game where they have no choice but to fight enemies with a mecha, that they named Zearth, or the Earth will blow up if they don't fight in a limited time or are defeated. Yet when a kid is chosen as a pilot they are going to die anyway. The mecha relies on their life energy to move and once an enemy is defeated the pilot dies. Also, their enemies are humans living on other Earth like planets, and their world will be destroyed if they are defeated. It makes you feel for the characters as they have difficult choices to make. Its a kill or be killed ordeal and the last one to survive (I haven't finished the whole series so I don't know how it ends) has a high chance of being traumatized or even mentally unstable.] |
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poilk92
 Posts: 433 Location: Long Beach California |
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I don't see what is positive about a lack of entertainment. Dramatizing a point is often the best way to make its finer points understood. Also i don't think there could be an anime that is interesting and informative and isn't entertaining even if just for its informativeness. I guess i don't know what you mean because from your description i think elfen lied and now and then here and there are both to provocative and interesting to not be intentionally entertaining
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killmyself
 Posts: 168 |
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As someone who loves documentaries I'm going to have to agree with this post. Regardless of how little the subject matter is dramatized it is still arranged in a way to evoke emotions and tell a story. Otherwise it would be unconnected scenes and information that you can't follow. |
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Wrathful
 Posts: 372 |
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I will say Haibane Renmei and Texhnolyze. Although the former finishes in rather a positve mood, the series has that depressing tone. As for Texhnolyze, it was confusing all the way and getting depressing towards the few episodes.
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HeatLegs
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Kino's Journey was pretty depressing. It exposes the corruption of society, and it sorta makes you feel powerless because things like cannibalism, human sacrifice, and brainwashing will always happen.
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ailblentyn
Posts: 1688 Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney |
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Shenl742
Posts: 1524 |
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[EDIT: Reasons, please. -TK]
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nobahn
Subscriber Posts: 5124 |
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You have the correct idea! 
poilk92 & killmyself-- I was trying to be as faithful as possible to the concept that Key was addressing. Please check out the two links in the first two lines of my opening post. As far as Elfen Lied is concerned, I wasn't really certain that it objectively fit the criteria set out by Key (again, please check out the relevant links in my opening post). The inclusion of Now & Then, Here & There, however, is something that I will defend without reservation. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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I'd have to think that (Shadow Star) Narutaru would also fit on this list. Despite the ever jubilant main character (think Shu from NTHT), the series is still filled with simply terrible things... cutting oneself, rape, and some of the most gruesome deaths imaginable. And to think this show aired on "Kids Station" in Japan. *facepalm*
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