Please recommend some older anime with complex themes

[u/pococura]

I'm feeling burnt out on all the high octane, over powered protagonist stories. Shows like JJK and Hell's Paradise are visually interesting, but its difficult to connect with the characters. I want a complex story with interesting characters, relationships, themes and world building. (OG Naruto, FMA, Evangelion)

I think older shows like around the time of Toonami or before might be refreshing? I recently watched Banana Fish and enjoyed it and I've been watching Wolf's Rain. I was thinking about Berserk but not sure where to watch or if I want to be traumatized. Please give me some recommendations!

Preferences:

dark themes • gangster themes • seinen preferred but all genres welcome • evokes sadness or other strong emotions • pretty art • no gore unless the story makes it worth it • dynamic relationships • romance enjoyed but not required • growth or moral decline • plot twists

Loved:

• 86

• The Promised Neverland (s1)

• Vinland Saga

• Psycho-Pass

• Golden Kamuy

• Naruto

• FMA

• Evangelion

• Dorohedoro

• Gangsta.

• Yakuza Fiance

• Banana Fish

• Princess Mononoke

Liked:

• Yona of the Dawn

• Gachiakuta

• Apothecary Diaries

• Wolf's Rain

• Demon Slayer

[u/slap-my-crevasse]

So Death Note and Code Geass both have characters with super intricate big brain plans with extra contingencies and double crosses and blah blah blah.

Its a lot of "You fool! You fell right into my trap!"

And then the other guy goes "You are the one who is actually the fool, and have fallen into MY trap!'

And eventually youre 4-5 levels of contrivance deep.

Don't get me wrong, its all a lot of fun and all 3 of these shows are worth watching.

Death Note and Code Geass are complicated because the characters are tricking each other and keeping secrets. 

Paranoia Agent is complicated because its like... wtf is going on?

[u/pococura → u/slap-my-crevasse]

Oooooh I see what you mean. I think the cool powers carry the strategy a little bit. To me it was less a battle of wits and more a "how is he gonna overcome this supernatural power?" kind of suspense, if that makes sense lol. But I don't know about Geass really. With Paranoia Agent, how much wtf is going on is it? Like on a scale of 0 - FLCL?

[u/slap-my-crevasse → u/pococura]

FLCL is complicated because the characters are unpredictable and strange. One of my absolute favorites, im not trashing it at all.

Paranoia Agent just holds its cards close to its chest and you dont always know what's happening. It forces your brain to work and try to figure out the abstract. The characters motivations and actions all mostly make sense, but theres something unsettling and uneasy happening.

Ill also say Paranoia Agent is very much a psychological and paranormal horror show, and not as fun and lighthearted as anything else we're talking about. 

[u/pococura → u/slap-my-crevasse]

Gotcha. I see from the art that it looks much darker. I'll keep that in mind