Which anime do you enjoy with a mostly adult cast of characters?
By adult I mean over 18-20 years of age and with adult appearances. Nothing against anime with younger characters, but interested in finding some with older characters.
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+1 for Black Lagoon, W anime pick.
Also for Ghost in the Shell, PatLabor, and Redline.
I will also add on:
Jin-Roh/Jin-Rou (not the Korean live action from 2019), but it does briefly show a child on screen as a supporting character, and I dont remember if Kei was over 18-20 or not
AD Police Files, and its related series Parasite Dolls (unfortunately, the other related series Bubblegum Crisis and Bubblegum Crash are disqualified because Nene Romanov is 18 and Priss is 19, both under 20)
Space Dandy (maybe, that anime had like a billion characters and I dont remember if all of them were adults or not, but its not exactly a kid oriented anime)
Black Lagoon is one of the most underrated shows. People who have seen it usually love it, but not enough people have seen it.
I need to watch Jin-Roh sometime.
Yeah, Black Lagoon is lots of fun. I was so sad that it ended.
Jin-Roh slaps, just make sure you're prepared for it. It's a pretty heavy, typical Japanese war film, I don't want to spoil anything so I will just leave it at that. Soundtrack is god-tier though.
Patlabor 2 is one of my all-time favorites, but it's not very well-known. In a way it feels too mature and slow to be a wide hit, I guess.
The main cast would have grown into adults later on, and based how what's released of the anime so far, I wouldn't count it as "mostly" adults.
You're right, I misremembered how old the characters were. I removed it from my post. I must have thought that because it dealt with a lot of mature themes and war kind of forces kids to grow up fast.
Mushishi. Very serious, well-told stories told in single episodes. Occasionally a younger character will come along, but it's mostly adults, and the cast outside of the MC rotates episode to episode.
In no particular order these come to mind. Most of these are outside what I typically watch, but I did enjoy them.
Monster (Crime Drama) https://anilist.co/anime/19/Monster/
Mushishi (Psychological Slice of Life) https://anilist.co/anime/457/Mushishi/
One Punch Man (Comedy Action) https://anilist.co/anime/21087/One-Punch-Man/
TRIGUN (Action Adventure) https://anilist.co/anime/6/TRIGUN/
Hellsing (Vampire Action) https://anilist.co/anime/270/HELLSING/
Overlord (Evil Fantasy) https://anilist.co/anime/20832/Overlord/
I think a lot of the other answers here are being too generous with your rules and not giving you characters that both look older and are older.
Overlord has Mare and Aura though? Who, ignoring numerical age, have the appearance of a person under 20.
And Victim is a literal fetus, though Victim is only in the show for about 3 frames.
I do believe the criteria was "mostly adult cast" so out of 12ish characters having two not look like adults still fits the criteria. And Victim can probably be ruled out since you're right, basically 3 frames
I've completed quite a few:
Honorable mentions - depends on how strictly you'd define "mostly":
Honorable mentions - unique circumstances:
The only one I'd take issue with here is Spy X Family. I think it's more of an "all ages" show that focuses heavily on Anya and her classmates antics. All the rest make sense!
Oh yeah, her classmates. They are so unmemorable that I forgot about them😅
Moving it down to honorable mention
Uhh, the main character is technically a child, even though they >!have the mind and soul of a middle-aged man!<. I'm not sure I'd include this, but the other characters still work.
The rest of the cast appear to be adults though.
One child among numerous adults satisfy the definition of "mostly adult cast of characters" that OP asked for IMO.
Not when the main character is the loli. If you believe Saga of Tanya the Evil meets the standard set by the question you don't understand the question.
Ghost in the shell stand alone complex (and 2nd gig) was my first and still favourite anime.
My favorites have been :
Redline is unironically one of my favorite movies. It's just so silly, and I love it. "We're losing the race, what do we do!?" "What if we pressed the pedal down...harder" And then they go faster.
Redline proved to me that you don't necessarily need a good story to have an excellent movie. You just need a story that isn't bad, and then if you make everything cool as hell it'll work out.
Welcome to NHK, really walks you through the life of a university dropout failed adult.
I loved Wotakoi. The 4 main characters are 26-28 and employed. It's in the especially rare category of adult romcoms. It's a shame the anime never got a second season, but the manga is finished so if you give it a watch and want to find out what happened after, give it a read!
Wotakoi is basically my default answer to when people ask about adult romcom series. Great suggestion.
Big O
Ninja Scroll
Read or Die
Samurai Champloo
Berserk (OG)
Blue Gender
Frieren - Beyond journeys end
A real fresh take on fantasy stories imo with a lot of themes I always wanted to be explored in the genre. In my last pen & paper group i played an elvish alchemist specializing in seemingly useless utility potion effects. And when i created the character i had a hard discussion with my dm on how elves actually pervice the world and other races, with them reaching ages of thousands of years and whatnot. And frieren adresses that perfectly. Also that soundtrack is just the best. I have yet to listen to "One last adventure" and not get at leas queazy, if not tearing up a bit.
Were currently watching it a second time, just a week after finishing first time. We've never done that with any series.
Highly recommended
Fern and Stark are technically in the 18-20 age range though. And fairly teenage-y. But I agree it does explore a lot of more "mature" themes.
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One of my favorite moments was in part 5 when ::: spoiler JJBA Part 5 a character asks Giornio if he has a driver's license and he goes, "Nope! I'm 15!" :::
You've nailed some good ones here. It's been a while since I've seen it but I believe Speed Grapher also fits the bill.
Seriously dragon maid? That show is very divisive for its depiction of characters, lol. (e g. Kanna)
Why not? It's still mostly adult.
Odd Taxi (crime drama)
Psychopass (crime drama)
Cells at Work: Code Black (... Medical drama?)
Death Parade (Death game-ish)
Devilman Crybaby (main character is a high schooler, but it's irrelevant imo. I didn't remember until I looked it up again. This is a grim series )
Inuyashiki (Action. Old man is a complete Chad)
Panty & Stocking (Comedy)
Jellyfish Princess (Drama)
Saga of Tanya the Terrible (it's not really a kid, action)
Saint Young Men (Comedy)
Samurai Champloo (Action)
Shiki (Horror/Drama)
Monster (Mystery)
Rose of Versailles (Very old, but romance/drama)
Almost all of Satoshi Kon's work (including Paranoia Agent)
Ruroni Kenshin (Shounen)
Yurii on Ice (Romance/drama)
A recent one I don’t see mentioned often: The Great Pretender
For anyone else perusing this thread, don't sleep on this one! It's a solid recommendation. I'd watched it prior to seeing this comment, and its art style is slick as hell with an interesting story to boot.
A great one!
If heists are your thing, definitely give the first arc a watch. It's a handful of episodes for a complete standalone storyline.
Eureka Seven
if you want a fantasy story with emotionally intelligent characters, well-crafted themes and messages, great animation and music
this is a gift for you
::: spoiler OP2 Spoliers Eureka Seven Opening 2 HD High definition :::
This was harder to answer than I thought, pushing up to 20 eliminates a lot of contenders I think. I would say maybe Vinland Saga? The main character starts as a child, but it also covers a large time span so he hits twenty partway through the second season. Major recurring characters are almost all adults throughout. Its a semi-historical anime set mostly in England and Denmark during a war between the two. It's a show that deals heavily with violence and trauma, has some very complex characters, and I can't recommend it strongly enough
Maybe so, though that's why I tried to relax it with 18 and older as well as mostly vs only adults. If there's some younger characters I don't mind, but I thought I'd ask about anime with a primary cast of older characters for a little change of pace.
Appreciate the suggestion!
I can't second this one enough. Vinland Saga was absolutely fantastic. Although, the first season might be a technical disqualification because of how much time it spends on the MC's youth. I personally think it fits the theme though.
The rest of the cast are adults though, which fits the "mostly adult cast" requirement IMO
Genshiken
Bartender
Spice and Wolf
The Fable
Dungeon Meshi
Goblin Slayer
Saihate no Paladin
Shirobako
Psycho Pass
Wotakoi
Zom100
Golden Kamuy
My Home Hero
Kyokou Suiri
Vinland Saga - He's like 16 in the first half but grows up by the 2nd half.
Isekai Ojisan
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Blue Period
Megalo Box
Samurai Champloo
BNA
Aria
Ishuzoku Reviewers
NHK no Youkoso
Drifters
Trigun
Osomatsu-san
That takes the record for the longest LN title /s
I swear I formatted it properly on mobile.
A few off the top of my head: Shirobako. Space Dandy. Samurai Champloo. Ghost in the Shell: SAC.
A lot of people already mentioned the ones I know of and mostly I only know of older shows that were geared to an older audience :/
Outlaw Star? Anything made by Satoshi Kon texhnolyze Megalo Box Baccano? Legend of The Galactic Heroes
The recent film Blue Giant is great. About a young man who moves to Tokyo from rural Japan to pursue his love of jazz. Great visuals and music.
Loving all of the Odd Taxi mentions.
From my spouse:
Not sure if it's considered true anime, but Castlevania on Netflix was excellent.
Wotakoi, Black Lagoon, Baccano (I think?), 91 Days, Akudama Drive, Golden Kamuy, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, ID: Invaded, Dragon Maid, Spice and Wolf, Wave Listen To Me! to name a couple
Shirobako
A Sign of Affection
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
I'd tentatively add Berserk to the list. Tentatively because the story does go back to recount the characters' youths, but that's really not the main focus.
Another good one with mostly adult cast and a more mature plot is Monster.
(trying not to duplicate other mentions)
Current:
Recent:
Off the top of my head, Darker than Black. Same director, different take on bleakness: Wolf's Rain. The main characters don't really have 'ages' given, but they're pretty clearly adults.
Record of the Lodoss War (a D&D campaign turned into anime, if I recall rightly)
That time I reincarnated as a slime (technically the main character is ~34, and very few children are shown, but the cast has a lot of 'childishness' in them... the style is the equivalent of a popcorn superhero movie I'd say)
Legend of the galactic heroes
Witch Hunter Robin
Van Helsing (if you just want to laugh at idiocy, simply watch the abridged series, but the actual show is good)
Dragon Ball Z, except for a few episodes every now and then. The show itself is obviously aimed at the younger shonen crowd though, if you haven't seen it.
.hack//sign (dot hack sign) is a pretty interesting one. It has several other series in its 'canon' if you like it. I'd say it was the adult oriented, well-presented premise of sword art online before sword art online was wet-dreamed up. A friend described it as 'waving its dick around because they had an actual orchestra for the soundtrack' in several scenes.
Mixed-age cast—the main characters are adults in the context of their society, but not all are necessarily 20+ years of age. Also be aware that there are two different versions of this, an OAV and a later TV series. There are significant differences in story between the two (the TV series adapts more of the original material, the OAV ends differently). I prefer the OAV, but it's mostly a matter of taste.
The last time I watched it (admittedly about ten years ago now), I found that it hadn't aged all that well. The loose ends left because it was a prequel to some of the games in the .hack franchise were very noticeable. (It's still a better version of the "trapped in a game" trope than SAO, though, because it doesn't repeatedly reduce the female lead to a damsel in distress). And not all the main characters were adult, although some clearly were. The soundtrack is still excellent if you like Yuki Kajiura's style, though.
Call me a bit old fashioned, but Lupin III. Regardless of which part or movie, I tend to enjoy some of the sometimes wacky antics that occur.
The new Bartender anime was pretty good.
Heh, does western anime count?
Legend of Korra, Vox Machina, DOTA: Dragons Blood
And Pantheon.
For heaven's sake, if you have not watched Pantheon, correct that immediately. Techically the cast is young, at first, but it doesn't feel like that at all.
Is the series ending anytime?
It's so underrated! And it's gorgeous, being Studio Mir.
It's kinda over the top, but I guess that's relative.
Maybe I missed the joke, but it's ended :(
Oh cool, thanks. Time to pick it up again.
I placed it on hold because season 1 didn't have a conclusive ending. I'd rather binge everything at once.
The later seasons are a ride!
A few older series I haven't seen listed yet:
Ergo Proxy is one of my favorite shows, period. Very mature, very thoughtful.
Dungeon meshi is a recent one that comes to mind
Obligatory ![email protected]
Lots of good stuff in this thread already, will suggest Black Magic M-66 and Megalobox.
Golden Kamuy comes to mind.
"The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent" was pretty good. I agree with lots of the others people already listed, but this one makes her age a relevant plot issue which basically sets the tone. It's a romance anime with light combat and a good amount of world building. 2 seasons.
The Great Passage and Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. The latter of which might start with them as kids but I feel like most of the show was with them being older.
Vinland saga
It's not an anime, per se, but the writing, voice acting and such are very much like an anime in the Like a Dragon series of games. Where it currently sits, all the characters are middle-aged or older. It also has a lot of existential dialogue and side stories that are extremely poignant, as someone who is also middle-aged in this time period.
The only actual anime I could even think of with main characters my age or older that I also enjoy is Cowboy Bebop; and that's about 50-50 because of Faye and Edward. I've seen some episodes of Bartender but I wouldn't go so far as to say I enjoy it yet. It's a bit dry.
What you want is "seinen" anime, which is intended for an older audience. Most anime is "shonen", which is intended for kids. (Not that there's anything wrong with an adult enjoying shonen.) There are more genres and specifications, but I am not that into anime.
Dragonball is shonen. Cowboy Bebop is seinen. There are loads of great seinen shows out there.
"Spice and Wolf". It's a great story with adult characters. MC is like 26 years old and the themes in this show are also for mature audience. There is a series from 2008 but they also made a remake that is currently airing. As a fan of original series I'm enjoying it very much.
Fullmetal Alchemist (both of them). The two main characters are basically the only teenagers, and only one of them looks it.
Brilliant series, but the main characters are children. That kinda goes completely against the request of the OP.
Prominent adult chatacters, off the top of my head:
Mustang Hawkeye Havok Braida Ross Major Armstrong Hughes Bradley Kimbley Lust Greed Envy Hoenheim Father General Armstrong Izumi Sig Granny Scar Marcoh Buccaneer Yoki
Prominent teen/child characters:
Ed Al Ling Mei
How does that not fit the definition of "mostly adult"?
That is fair. Just noticed that your response was downvoted more than others and thought that might be why.
Do 1000+ year old characters that look young count?
I mean, I don't remember watching an anime that has a character like that, but IDK some people are really weird about that.
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
I don't care how old the character is canonically. If they look and act like a child, they should be treated as one. Simple as that.
I agree, but that is also why I was asking.
Fair enough. I'm just tired of the excuse that the reader/watcher is supposed to believe that the very obvious child is supposed to be hundreds or even thousands of years old and that somehow magically makes it not weird or creepy to view this character sexually.
I love manga and anime myself, but I just feel like this kind of shit makes everyone that enjoys this form of Japanese media look bad.
And what do you think about irl people who are in their late 20s or 30s and look like teenagers?
That is an actual person that is in their 20s or 30s, regardless of being blessed with youthful looks. Not a fictional character that is purposely designed to look like a child for no good reason other than getting lolicon fans interested.
Is it ok to have preference for blondes or redheads or tall or slim? I think most people will agree it's ok. Now, do you consider it ok to have preference (including sexual attraction) for youthful looks, in case it's limited to people who are actually adult?
Actual, real adults? People capable of consent and making their own choices? Absolutely. Doesn't change my opinion on fictional characters that are made to look like children when making them look older has absolutely no effect on the story.
I don't really remember any examples of hundreds year old loli vampires that actually act like kids. Shinobu certainly isn't one. I didn't include anything like this because OP specifically asks for adult appearances though.
I can't argue this point or agree with it. I honestly haven't read or watched enough media with characters like this because it's not my thing.
I just added that because it fit the earlier duck metaphor. And I'm willing to bet money there are actual characters like that as well.