Going back to anime...
A while back I finished Puella Magi Madoka Magica (or whatever it's called, just call it Madoka, that's the main character's name.)
It's a magical girl series that's a lot darker and more serious than the usual kiddy fare of magic girls. In fact, it's listed as Seinen for a reason. Main characters die, serious shit happens, Heroes become villains and villains become heroes. The ending has a wild twist. It deus-exes at the end, but not too badly.
I very very very highly recommend this series. Everyone was telling me this series was one of the best series ever, and now I can see why. I would say it was the best series I've seen in a while.
I also watched Blade of the Immortal. As someone who read some of the manga years ago, I can say this about it:
The good - the series does a damn good job of staying close to the source material.
The bad - like a lot of things that are based off of manga, the series ends without a definite conclusion, let alone a climax. Hey Japan, are you people too dense to understand basic storytelling structures like climaxes and resolutions and shit? The series feels like it could have a sequel in the future, but who knows if that will happen.
