I Need A New Recommendation!

[Arch-Defender]

I’m looking for a series that has these elements:

-Bonds of enormous strength between some of the characters: Like comrades who’ve gone through many battles, childhood friends who are closer than brothers/sisters…

-Betrayal by someone the heroes used to know. Can either be something that happened a long time ago in the past or during the series. Doesn’t have to involve the leads either, can be centered around a secondary character as long as it’s an important part of the show. It can also be something like Code Geass or Gundam Seed where it’s not so much outright betrayal as two friends pitted against each other by circumstances.

-The nature of one’s fate is questioned. Characters who struggle with their fate, either changing it before it happens or changing a fate that has already befall them.

-A secret organisation acting as the main enemy or being behind the scene and influencing the main enemy or events in the series.

-Psychological elements to the series either with the characters or about the series itself.

-The search for a utopia, or the quest to create a utopia or even better yet: an actual utopia. By utopia I mean a land/city that is a virtual paradise where balance is perfect and order is maintained or at least appears to be so at first.

Notes:

-I don’t care about the genre or the era, it can be mecha in space or knights in medieval Europe for all I care. Though while I don’t care about the genre, I’m somehow doubtful I’ll be receiving any slice-of-life considering the requirements.

-The art style or the age of the animation are unimportant, all eras and all styles are open.

[Leader Desslock]

Most of your criteria scream "One Piece" to me, but I don't have a good recommendation to give you off the top of my head beyond that.

Originally Posted by Arch-Defender

-The search for a utopia, or the quest to create a utopia or even better yet: an actual utopia. By utopia I mean a land/city that is a virtual paradise where balance is perfect and order is maintained or at least appears to be so at first.

If you haven't checked out the Appleseed Manga (not the anime), you probably should. It's the closest I've seen to utopian/dystopian literature in anime/manga.

The anime is watered-down, poorly-written eye candy that has all of the depth and directorial flaws of Michael Bay on a bad day. Avoid it.

I would also be interested to hear a recommendation of utopian/dystopian work, provided it was something with actual depth (i.e.: Appleseed manga) and not... for want of a better example, Code Geass. If it doesn't at least aspire to the level of Death Note, don't bother recommending it to me.

EDIT: I'm certainly not holding up Death Note as an example of superior storytelling; its cat-and-mouse aspect was written well, is all. I think if you're going to present utopian/dystopian themes and be taken seriously, the writing has to be at least at that level, and not, say, at the spoon-fed, check-your-brain-at-the-door level of Code Geass, Speed Grapher, or the Appleseed animation.

[Levon]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood fits.

[Arch-Defender]

Originally Posted by Levon

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood fits.

Because of an earlier recommendation thread I made, I already bought the series on BD; it's on my plan to watch list.

Originally Posted by Leader Desslock

I would also be interested to hear a recommendation of utopian/dystopian work, provided it was something with actual depth...

Its unorthodox for someone to recommend a series in his own recommendation thread, but in light of your request I guess I can recommend Ergo Proxy to you if you haven't seen it. It's in a post apocalyptic future and starts out in a utopian domed city and is themetically meaty. And I also didn't like it, which raises the chances you'll like it imo. Well to be fair the first 6 episodes were great, the rest, not so much.

Originally Posted by Leader Desslock

Code Geass

For reference to those who wish to recommend me a work concerning a utopia, Code Geass would fall under the "Attempting to create a utopia" category, as this was Lelouch, Schneizel, Charles, Suzaku and Nunnally's ultimate goal in retrospect.


Edit: I'm already watching One Piece and although I've taken a small break from it at the moment I do plan on continuing.

[Leader Desslock]

Originally Posted by Arch-Defender

Its unorthodox for someone to recommend a series in his own recommendation thread, but in light of your request I guess I can recommend Ergo Proxy to you if you haven't seen it. It's in a post apocalyptic future and starts out in a utopian domed city and is themetically meaty. And I also didn't like it, which raises the chances you'll like it imo.

I'll take a look, and yeah, I understand the inherent difficulty we have in recommending titles to one another. Infinite Ryvius was one of those rare overlap titles for us, I think.

Originally Posted by Arch-Defender

For reference to those who wish to recommend me a work concerning a utopia, Code Geass would fall under the "Attempting to create a utopia" category, as this was Lelouch, Schneizel, Charles, Suzaku and Nunnally's ultimate goal in retrospect.

I would agree here. From my perspective (having studied utopian/dystopian lit from Plato's Republic through the works of Goldman, Huxley, Swift, Hitler - yes, THAT Hitler - Gilman, L'Engle, Atwood, Orwell, and a hundred others)... Code Geass is unsubtle pabulum for the Shounen Jump crowd. It's no deeper in the utopian/dystopian sense than One Piece. But yeah, it's the right idea. I'm just looking specifically for something written beyond the level of a fifth-grader. So if anyone has recommendations along those lines, that'd be great.

[Ohiotaku]

Except for the Utopia part, sounds like Penguin Drum would be a perfect match (believe I recommended this before). It can be quite bizzare though (like FLCL or Utena) and some elements of the relationships can be disturbing/offensive.

For older series, I would recommend Clamp's X, Noein & R.O.D. TV (though things don't really come together until the second half).

I would also recommend Hero Tales, even though it's pretty cliche/stereotypical in a lot of ways.

[KZK]

Red Garden/Dead Girls

Noein, To Your Other Self

Tweeny Witches

Most of these have a lot of what you are seeking:

Trigun

Noir
X
Fractale

TEXHNOLYZE

Revolutionary Girl, Utena/Adolescence Of Utena

Daphne, In the Brilliant Blue
Gasaraki

Shakugan No Shana

Tekkonkinkreet

[ZeroRyoko1974]

What about Jormungand?
Bakuman
Claymore (well except for the latter part of the anime)
Summer Wars
Fate/Zero
Kemono no Souja Erin

[goddessofanime]

Originally Posted by Arch-Defender

I’m looking for a series that has these elements:

-Bonds of enormous strength between some of the characters: Like comrades who’ve gone through many battles, childhood friends who are closer than brothers/sisters…

X
Psycho Pass

-The nature of one’s fate is questioned. Characters who struggle with their fate, either changing it before it happens or changing a fate that has already befall them.

This pretty much is the premise of Psycho Pass.

-A secret organisation acting as the main enemy or being behind the scene and influencing the main enemy or events in the series.

See above.

Also: K

-Psychological elements to the series either with the characters or about the series itself.

-The search for a utopia, or the quest to create a utopia or even better yet: an actual utopia. By utopia I mean a land/city that is a virtual paradise where balance is perfect and order is maintained or at least appears to be so at first.

Psycho Pass fits this completely.

[DazarGaidin]

Spice and Wolf
Scrapped Princess
Kurau Phantom Memory
Legend of the Legendary Legends..err Heroes
Place Promised in our Early Days
Letter Bee, if you can stand the whiny main boy (I couldn't).

[Sauron]

Guin Saga but some of the aspects are only slightly touched upon (as the anime represents a small part of the greater work).

[Arch-Defender]

Originally Posted by Ohiotaku

Except for the Utopia part, sounds like Penguin Drum would be a perfect match (believe I recommended this before). It can be quite bizzare though (like FLCL or Utena)...

I think I remember you recommending it before as well. The only one of those two I've seen is Utena, I have no idea what FLCL is about aside from hearing people say it's one weird show.

Originally Posted by Ohiotaku

...and some elements of the relationships can be disturbing/offensive.

It takes a lot to disturb/offend me

Originally Posted by Ohiotaku

For older series, I would recommend Clamp's X, Noein & R.O.D. TV (though things don't really come together until the second half).

I wasn't a big fan of X, though I haven't seen the other two. There's an OVA to R.O.D, should I see it first?

Originally Posted by ZeroRyoko1974

What about Jormungand?
Bakuman
Claymore (well except for the latter part of the anime)
Summer Wars
Fate/Zero
Kemono no Souja Erin

I've seen Claymore and I'm waiting for Fate/Zero's dub since they decided to make one. Jormungand and Kemono no Souja Erin look promising though.


Goddessofanime: I’ve been interested in Psycho Pass since it was first announced, since FUNi is also releasing it I’ll certainly check it out.

Originally Posted by DazarGaidin

Spice and Wolf
Scrapped Princess
Kurau Phantom Memory
Legend of the Legendary Legends..err Heroes
Place Promised in our Early Days
Letter Bee, if you can stand the whiny main boy (I couldn't).

Scrapped Princess is one of my favorite series. The Place Promised in our Early Days didn't click well with me though. Kurau's premise really grabs me and Legend of the Lengendary Heroes as well as Spice and Wolf look like they could be promising, I think I'll pass on Letter Bee though.


Sauron: About Guin Saga, is the dub as bad as I heard? Last time I considered it I found out the show covers a small portion of the actual story and had an atrocious dub so I passed. I figured it wasn’t worth sitting through the dub and an incomplete story of that level probably wasn’t worth sitting through the subs but I might be wrong.

[RKOrulez]

Most of what you seem to be asking about sounds like Berserk.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by RKOrulez

Most of what you seem to be asking about sounds like Berserk.

I second this. I hesitated to post the recommendation since the anime isn't finished, so he'll have to pick up the manga to continue the story (highly recommended).

Only point that doesn't match up is this:

-The search for a utopia, or the quest to create a utopia or even better yet: an actual utopia. By utopia I mean a land/city that is a virtual paradise where balance is perfect and order is maintained or at least appears to be so at first.

[RKOrulez]

Originally Posted by Jon

I second this. I hesitated to post the recommendation since the anime isn't finished, so he'll have to pick up the manga to continue the story (highly recommended).