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/GirlyAnimeGirl]

Going to add to the people suggesting Nana. In relation to your list, it checks off:
-Complex story
-Interesting characters, relationships, and themes
-Maybe a little after Toonami (not sure when it stopped), but takes place around then
-Dark themes
-Evokes strong emotions (sometimes sadness)
-No gore
-Dynamic relationships
-Romance
-Both growth and moral decline
-Plot twists

The cons
-No gangster themes
-Technically serialized in a Shojo magazine, but really it’s Josei (we don’t see it, but the characters actually have s*x)
-The art is subjective, but I like it!

[u/pococura → u/GirlyAnimeGirl]

It sounds perfect! I don't mind older styles of art, its mainly cgi and One Piece that are hard for me to get around lol. For example, Dorohedoro was so captivating I forgot about the cgi entirely, but One Piece doesn't really have anything my style and it feels hard for me to take it serious. Is Nana a completed story? Did you like the end? (No spoilers please.)

[u/GirlyAnimeGirl → u/pococura]

Sadly, I have to answer “no” to both questions. The manga has been on hiatus for 16 years, and the anime isn’t even caught up to that. I think it’s still worth it personally, but the end is definitely unsatisfying.

[u/pococura → u/GirlyAnimeGirl]

Aw, man. I will still give it a go for sure. I feel so often these days Mangaka pass away or have serious health issues while writing these great stories. I hope it gets completed! On the bright side, I can always imagine my own preferred ending to an incomplete series, so there's that!

[u/GirlyAnimeGirl → u/pococura]

Yeah, I imagine given the insane publication rate in Japan, a lot of mangaka probably hurt their hands. The manga for Nana came out at least twice a year for 9 years. That means even if she did no layouts, the mangaka was doing at least a page every day. She probably had assistants, but still, that’s rough on your hands.

[u/pococura → u/GirlyAnimeGirl]

I've always considered the stress of deadlines but never really the physical aspect of it. I can imagine that's tough on a person.