dark but girly anime? ( Preferably from the 2000s )
the only anime I have watched recently within memory was Elfen Lied which was absolutely fire so I want to watch more animes like it
I loved how cute it was at times, I loved the fact it had a found family aspect, and I really loved the way it balanced wholesomeness with extreme violence and other darker topics.
bonus points for the fact that its from the 2000s, I just like anime from around that time and earlier because its more aesthetically pleasing than modern anime which just looks too clean a lot of the time
I don’t feel like I have much else to add, the point is that I am looking for cutesy anime that cover or fully revolve around dark topics that are preferably a little older.
anything helps, thanks!
I loved how cute it was at times, I loved the fact it had a found family aspect, and I really loved the way it balanced wholesomeness with extreme violence and other darker topics.
bonus points for the fact that its from the 2000s, I just like anime from around that time and earlier because its more aesthetically pleasing than modern anime which just looks too clean a lot of the time
I don’t feel like I have much else to add, the point is that I am looking for cutesy anime that cover or fully revolve around dark topics that are preferably a little older.
anything helps, thanks!
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Oh, Higurashi, there's a lot of contrast between cute girl scenes and dark as hell parts. Yeah, that's definitely the one.
What I watched: Princess Tutu
What I expected: Card Captor Sakura + Swan Lake
What I got: Samurai dueling with electric guitars
That is a lie. Watch thru at least episode 3 before making any judgements.
This show is one of the best pieces of media I have ever watched and changed the way i think.
OTOH, it's not like they didn't have time
Not girly but it is cutesy slice of life shenanigans with a dark plot and mystery.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35838/Shoujo_Shuumatsu_Ryokou?q=Girls%20last%20tour&cat=anime
Magical lyrical girl nanoha - it's not as dark as magical girls shows like Madoka, but it's was dark for it's time. It's also really good for lesbian representation as it lets it's cast grow up the third season have the girls be in their 20s.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/77/Mahou_Shoujo_Lyrical_Nanoha_As
This ugly yet beautiful world, it's one of Gainax's last animes it's a 2013 anime but the animation is more reticent of the 2000s. Alien comes to destroy the world, day saved by the power of love kind of anime.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/146/Kono_Minikuku_mo_Utsukushii_Sekai
Closer to Elfin Lied energy:
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Future Diary
When They Cry ( look into where to start and watch it subbed)
Another
The Saga of Tanya the Evil
Angel Beats for the suggestion free of caveats.
Vampire Princess Miyu
Petshop of horrors (vacillating between pretty/elegant and dark)
Tomie (although manga is significantly better)
Zekkyou Gakkyou shorts
X/1999 (the pretty art stylings of clamp combined with violence and stringing of entrails) - both a film and a tv show, with both being good
SIGN ME TF IN!!
From the New World
Made in Abyss
School Days
School-Live!
There's also Gosick (someone else mentioned it here already)
I also like the premise of Full Moon wo Sagashite. It's about a girl with a terminal illness who wants to become an idol. It's somewhat similar to Princess Tutu (another title already mentioned here) in tone.
Magical girl site
Magical girl raising project
Cross Ange
Higurashi is a must as others have said.
If you wants to go a little further into the 2010s and deal with more modern production values, Madoka Magica got a fair number of other shows greenlit that might be up your alley. YuYuYu (Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru) is the first name I would bring up and IMO worth recommending in its own right (with the caveat that while S1 and WaSuYu are okay the *really* good season is Yuusha no Shou; Dai Mankai no Shou has issues and is skippable), especially if you watched Madoka first. (Also, it occurs to me that 2010s Studio Gokumi's lack of the resources for top-line production values may actually be to the show's benefit in your case, especially for S1 where the franchise wasn't a proven success yet.) Selector Infected/Spread WIXOSS is basically card games Madoka (and a show with Mari Okada as the main scriptwriter might be right up OP's alley); the main problem there is that the first two-thirds of Spread are pretty fucking bad. I'm on less firm grounds on Granbelm and Magical Girl Raising Project but they have their fans as well. (There's also Spec-Ops Asuka and Magical Girl Site; both are known for being edgy trash, but maybe you will disagree? And then there's Day Break Illusion - AFAICT nobody watched that show even when it came out, myself very much included in that, so who the fuck knows if it's any good or not.)
That said, outside of Madoka itself the rec I am most inclined to bring out here (with a caveat) is a somewhat forgotten, somewhat older work that I suspect featured heavily in getting Madoka itself greenlit: Mai-HiME. Now fair warning, Mai-HiME's finale (specifically the second half thereof) has some serious issues (read: *completely* fumbled the execution), so go in expecting the show to faceplant hard in the last ten minutes. But the first twenty five and a half episodes may be exactly what OP is looking for, and it's from the right era for OP's aesthetic preferences to boot (literally aired the season after Elfen Lied). After that I go straight to two other works already listed in the thread: Princess Tutu and OG Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (*only* the 2000s Deen version (2006/Kai/Rei, Kira optional), the 2020 version Gou+Sotsu is a stealth sequel that will spoil you on the original and worse Sotsu is *abysmally* bad). If you can tolerate some, ah, unfortunate early 2000s fanservice (and to be fair you *did* like Elfen Lied, but in this case an elementary schooler is involved), Nanoha actually might also scratch enough of the itch?
(If you want a dark work from the early 2000s that's very, very firmly shoujo, you could also look at Full Moon wo Sagashite.)
If you want to go even further back to late cel era, then consider looking at Corrector Yui and Revolutionary Girl Utena.
It's a different kind of dark, but Full Moon O Sagashite is very girly and follows a young girl with throat cancer and a surprising amount of dead loved ones. It tries to fall more in the cute half, but it's dark moments but harder for it.
So I am a spider, so what?
Ascendance of a Bookworm.
Kill La Kill.
Nier: Automata Ver1.1a.
My happy marriage.
Gunslinger Girls - young girls made into assassins it gets dark but in a way that feels conversational of the situation.
Princess Tutu - Others have said this but believe me if you want something with a feminine touch that's dark but not like horror dark just dark themes that have enriched world building and character.
Red Garden - this one is overlooked a lot but has an interesting concept and it follows 4 girls give it a shot. OST is awesome too.
Blood the Last Vampire - I really liked this movie horror/action a good time staring a vampire school girl.
All from the 00s!
Electromagnetic Girlfriend - A horror gem very short but it does the horror well.
Shadowstar Narutaru - Female lead very cute style. If you like manga it's superior but the anime is a fun watch.
Chainsaw Maid - If you like this the creator has a ton of claymation shorts often staring girlies.
RIN \~Daughters of Mnemosyne\~ - This is very horror, gore, fucked up. Kinda interesting. Think you'll dig it.
I want to throw in Revolutionary Girl Utena which is 90s but one of my favorites it deals with many dark subjects but in a way that feels like it's exploring them in the sense of human nature rather than just for shock value. Make sure to watch the movie too if you enjoy the series.
Kind of a romance/adventure anime with a cutesy lead girl, can get dark at times. The story is great. The original release is from 2008 and the art style sounds like what youre looking for. They are remaking it now too, and continuing the story so there's that too.
Koi Kaze
Short film - Hoshi no Koe
RahXephon (may not be very girly)
Similarly, Martian Successor Nadesico may not be very girly...
It's from 2016, which is 10 years ago.
Give it a try.
--[Fruits Basket](https://youtu.be/nIwMjyYsBPA?si=nhlutmy5pmuvSDqq) (2001)
--and [One: To A Shining Season](https://youtu.be/rcBOqDQsnls?si=BnTiCxq-5L_5V0nh) (this ones kinda meh)
--and [Red Garden](https://youtu.be/fg7wuy4t7Wo?si=bZ84iy5bf9f6PaZx)... this is an anime im planning to watch this upcoming next year
One from the 90s:
---Dear Brother... its dark and also very pretty (starts off innocent and gets dark and serious)
(Edit: dang.. ever since I posted about that Red Garden anime yesterday, people have been mentioning it.. heck yeah lol)
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (Wallflower)
Claymore (more to badass girl)
Selector Infected Wixoss
Daybreak Illusion
Princess Tutu
Because Perfect Blue is a thing, the perspective is definitely feminine, and it can be pretty dark, but more in the "black swan" sense than just animated violence