Monster Forum

Among many great things about Monster, my favorite is that this series is so extensively grounded in reality. I do not know of another anime series that doesn't involve some level of fantasy or mysticism. This is a decently long serial of about 72 episodes (if I recall correctly), you'll be addicted after the first two episodes and will NEED to know what happens next. If you're looking for brutally violent or brutally cute anime, this is not it. It is a dark series though, and because it does not try to be gratuitously violent throughout every episode, the acts of violence that are presented are very impactful.