New Feature Great Anime For Adults

Anime is a medium rather than a genre, in much the same way "the movies" encompass more than just what comes out of Hollywood. The diversity of anime is a big part of what drew me to it and keeps me there: it's more than just kid's stuff. (Not that "kid's stuff" is by itself a bad thing -- the new My Little Pony is far better than it has any right to be.)

Anime that's aimed at older audiences also covers more territory than one might think at first. The most common association people have for "adult animation" is either material that would win a hard R (Black Lagoon) or an NC-17 (the hentai subgenre). But pull back a bit and you'll see anime for mature audiences in more than one sense of the word mature -- mature as in thoughtful and wise about human nature (House of Five Leaves) or informed by a strong sense of the political complexity of the real world (Eden of the East).

To help navigate these waters, we've put together the Great Anime For Adults feature, in which we explore all facets of anime aimed at older viewers. The twenty titles we've kicked off the list with are from all over the map: the three listed above are on there, along with feature films from Mamoru Oshii and Satoshi Kon, two directors known for creating what could be best described as "thinking man's animation." (Kon's Millennium Actress, shown here, is one of his many films that are on the list.)

Check out the feature, and be sure to chime in with your own suggestions below.

Image: Millennium Actress, courtesy Pricegrabber.