I do not include shonen or shojo that took things further, but series aiming at a little younger viewers
Currently I am watching the Tatsunoko version of Pinnochio (Japanese unedited version) and this feels like torture porn. Tatsunoko did similar things to their other kids series like Hutch the Bee and Demetan the Frog but here it is even worse.
Everyone tries to take advantage of him and he is laughed at. In one episode because of him a kid drowns and he feels guilty and even meets the kid's ruined mother who slaps him.
In another episode (edited in the dub) he tries to injure a child with an axe and screwdriver in order to make him fear less.
In another he and other kids are trapped in a castle of a horrific vampiress, wanting to dry them of their energy.
The current episode I am at, he suffers because some insects ate his legs and with one hand he tries to close the hole in a dam by putting his other hand in and slamming it with a stone.
Nippon Animation's version is pretty tame in comparison.
I dont know what would happen if I watched the unedited Tatsunoko cartoons as a kid. They really mess up a kids soul.
As if Watership Down movie and Land Before Time werent enough....
Other honorable mentions:
-TMS version of Dog of Flanders that is much more traumatic than the WMT series. Dog of Flanders movie takes influences from there.
-Gamba no Bouken: The weasels and other carnivores are nightmare fuel even for adults.
-Jack and the Beanstalk: another 70s psychedelic nightmare fuel, which I still remember
-The Yearling: that ending.....I had read the book, but still, it was very emotional, despite doing some changes not to my liking.
-Tico of the Seven Seas: In the later episodes when you become attached to the orca, they have to do this....
-Romeo's Blue Skies: one of the most dramatic kids series ever, though not as dramatic as the book and it changes some events too. But it is very traumatizing.
-Ie Naki Ko: Just like Gamba, they create nightmare fuel but this time with human characters.
-2 Years Vaccination..eh..Vacation, based on Jules Verne novel. Toei's version was brutal. There the mutineers dont hesitate to kill even the parents of the only girl survivor. There are also tension between the kids and racism against the black kid too. And an epic gun battle between the kids and the adults where people are injured or die.
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina - One episode revolves around a girl who murdered her abusive uncle. The backstory turns out to be even more f*cked up than it first appeared to be.
GeGeGe no Kitaro, the version that aired 2018-2020. I know it's technically based on a shounen manga. But like Detective Conan, Kitaro is marketed to prepubescent kids. Highlights include a bullied mother who attempts suicide, a Bad Person killed by the ghosts of his victims, and a protagonist unrewarded for his Good Deeds. 10/10 would watch again. 😀
MrSpenfo said: Eh, not an anime, but Courage the Cowardly Dog had some episodes that fucked with me as a kid. I still remember that fucking snowman...
strangely it's my favourite cartoon of all time. Short and sweet. The cge in it looks better than some modern cg cartoon. The singing barber is my pick for the most disturbing.
Yeah, that recent Gegege no Kitaro is not for kids, period, for one a lot of the episodes will go over their heads, especially the ghost train episode, which only adults would understand. It has way too much social commentary (a lot of is based off of if not straight up real facts) for kids.
Most mainline Gundam anime isn't for kids (It's for teenagers at best), despite it being marketed as such, especially the older installments, but IBO and to a lesser extent Unicorn are definitely for adults.
MINKY. MOMO. this show is infamous for traumatizing a generation of japanese children when
midway through the show's run, momo was KILLED OFF. rumor has it that the animators were pissed that the show was being cancelled due to low toy sales; in fact, the truck that hit momo was carrying toys.
now mind you, momo didn't STAY dead; she was reincarnated and the show continued on for another twenty or so episodes, making her, perhaps, the first victim of truck-kun. but still, apparently it became an urban legend that this show was cursed and it was even blamed for an earthquake that happened not long after the horrifying episode aired
I'd argue there's some fucked up episodes from Pokemon. Take for example, the Sabrina episodes.
"Did you forget already? In my word the color "red" doesn't exist. These must be...my tears. Ever since I woke up from my coma...I think I've been waiting for this very moment. You'd do well to remember this, Maya. The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."
(Ace Attorney T&T: Bridge to the Turnabout) "I'm my worst critic." (Kendrick Lamar)
SaiteiDaOrette said: The one that terrified me the most was that episode (I think it was the final episode) with that mean teacher and Courage having trippy nightmares.
Digimon Tamers surely is, but in hindsight: the first Pokemon movie is in its violence and themes quite brutal and has depth for a kids' movie. Especially if you know the girl's background story. And I still love it.
That brings back great memories. What a great movie. <3
I am watching the late-90s animated series too, featuring 2 of the original movie actors. While not as dramatic or violent, it is a very good kids series with quality voice acting and music and attractive character design.
_Maneki-Neko_ said: the first Pokemon movie is in its violence and themes quite brutal and has depth for a kids' movie. Especially if you know the girl's background story. And I still love it.
What girl? Are you sure you're not talking about the 3rd movie?
_Maneki-Neko_ said: the first Pokemon movie is in its violence and themes quite brutal and has depth for a kids' movie. Especially if you know the girl's background story. And I still love it.
What girl? Are you sure you're not talking about the 3rd movie?
No, I'm talking about Amber or don't know her Japanese name anymore, who met Mewtwo at the begin in that dream-like scene. She was the daughter of the leading scientist, who died because of an illness and the scientist tried to bring her back due a clone and maybe agreed to these experiments because of this.
Unico (1981) made me wonder how it got the G rating and Kids tag. That's G and not PG. It has alcohol abuse, attempted rape and pretty scary scenes of a monster chasing his victim trough surreal and dark places. Even by 1981 standards is a very dark G.
inim said: Unico (1981) made me wonder how it got the G rating and Kids tag. That's G and not PG. It has alcohol abuse, attempted rape and pretty scary scenes of a monster chasing his victim trough surreal and dark places. Even by 1981 standards is a very dark G.
I have watched that one, it's mostly childish but got pretty dark intro and ending it's weird.
I like to add Kerokko Demetan. Aside from graphic violence, it's also quite dark with its themes from beginning to end; I wrote a review that explains why.
inim said: Unico (1981) made me wonder how it got the G rating and Kids tag. That's G and not PG. It has alcohol abuse, attempted rape and pretty scary scenes of a monster chasing his victim trough surreal and dark places. Even by 1981 standards is a very dark G.
I have watched that one, it's mostly childish but got pretty dark intro and ending it's weird.
I like to add Kerokko Demetan. Aside from graphic violence, it's also quite dark with its themes from beginning to end; I wrote a review that explains why.
What's even more unbelievable is that MAL has it listed under Comedy genre too! French version even edited half a second when a fish hunts him and bites his own lips, missing him. Still it was the only unedited version of the three compared to Pinnochio and Hutch.
Hutch the Bee is the apex of that kind of anime with 127 episodes. No wonder it arrived much later in Europe and edited too. They even considered it as a copy of Maya despite being released few years earlier. First half of first season of Maya was even influenced by it, one reason it was edited in Europe.
It is even mentioned in NANA manga as one favourite childhood series of a major character.
I'd also add Phoenix Cosmozone 2772 movie. I'd rate it as a kids movie, yet the topics presented encompassed many of Tezuka's serious moments.
inim said: Unico (1981) made me wonder how it got the G rating and Kids tag. That's G and not PG. It has alcohol abuse, attempted rape and pretty scary scenes of a monster chasing his victim trough surreal and dark places. Even by 1981 standards is a very dark G.
I have watched that one, it's mostly childish but got pretty dark intro and ending it's weird.
I like to add Kerokko Demetan. Aside from graphic violence, it's also quite dark with its themes from beginning to end; I wrote a review that explains why.
What's even more unbelievable is that MAL has it listed under Comedy genre too! French version even edited half a second when a fish hunts him and bites his own lips, missing him. Still it was the only unedited version of the three compared to Pinnochio and Hutch.
lol I didn't realise it was listed as a comedy, which is ironic given that nearly every episode is a tragedy. One of my favourite episodes, with a dark plot twist:
A father and son who earn their living by performing shows and selling children's toys paid a visit to the cruel ruler's pond. The cruel rulers taxed the father heavily (as he always does with anyone who works in his pond), which infuriated him but he eventually accepted hesitantly. After a few hours, the father leaves his son alone for a while, and his son is bullied by some thugs before being saved by the brave protagonist Demetan. The father thanks Demetan for caring for his son and informs him that he will revisit the ruler for some business; Demetan agrees to take care of the child.
But then the child apparently wasn't feeling well, so Demetan went quickly to find the father, only to see the father leaving the pond. Demetan, surprised, asks the father why he was leaving, and the father coldly replies before leaving, 'I sold him to the pond ruler, I don't need him anymore.' Demetan returns and tells the story to his son, who becomes enraged because he believes it was a cruel lie. But soon after, the ruler's muscleman appears to take the son to the ruler's house; the son, of course, resists, but then the ruler himself appears and tells the muscleman to stop.
He then confirms that the son will die soon from a chronic disease, so he orders his man to abandon the son and quickly hunt down and murder the father for duping him and selling him an ill unfunctional slave. The action then begins...
inim said: Unico (1981) made me wonder how it got the G rating and Kids tag. That's G and not PG. It has alcohol abuse, attempted rape and pretty scary scenes of a monster chasing his victim trough surreal and dark places. Even by 1981 standards is a very dark G.
Wow that's pretty fucked up. PTWed.
The 2nd movie is even worse, but Unico isn't for kids. The movies are based on a much more tame shoujo manga.
petran79 said: I'd also add Phoenix Cosmozone 2772 movie. I'd rate it as a kids movie, yet the topics presented encompassed many of Tezuka's serious moments.
How can you think that movie is for kids? The manga that inspired it is most definitely not for kids. Even if we consider that lots of kids read shounen, Phoenix is on the more mature side of the demographic.
How can you think that movie is for kids? The manga that inspired it is most definitely not for kids. Even if we consider that lots of kids read shounen, Phoenix is on the more mature side of the demographic.
Still it was shown on a regular Saturday morning on German TV channel in the late 80s and we were mesmerized, watching the whole 2.5 hour movie (with ads) till lunch.
Catalano said: chargeman ken is pretty fucked up, people dying in almost every episode
Wait, seriously? I heard it's a comedy.
the comedy they intended to use is lame, it's funny when you see a giant alien shooting randomly at people killing them, only to be killed by the main character in 2 seconds.
Catalano said: chargeman ken is pretty fucked up, people dying in almost every episode
Νοw that you mention it, the studio behind it, Knack, did also another popular kids series titled Don Chuck the Beaver (not slang term) and it had some violent moments too, including stoning and hanging characters as well as hostage situations