Hi.
I'm switching to J-drama this summer, as I'll be hitting a motherload (750 giga), but meanwhile, I watch anime, and recently I've been watching stuff like Symphogear, Clannad (the guys got girl eyes!), Spice and Wolf... and I have reached my limit.

Could someone recommend some good manly anime? I have Cobra or Golgo 13 in mind (the overpumped with steroids anime don't interest me (Fist of the North Star)). It doesn't have to be old school, but it might help...
Thank you all in advance.

Stop nerdin' it up and watch a MANLY J-Drama.

I recommend:

"Hero"
"My Boss My Hero"
"Nodame Cantabile"
"Stand-up"
"Ikebukuro West Gate Park"

HOO YA!

I just can't get into Anime!

@Alec_xvi
As expected, these titles seems less available than anime (*cough... as torrent*).
Where do you get all these? Perfect Dark? (it's because I'm lazy I didn't switch earlier)

As for why into anime, once you're raised with Dragon Ball, City Hunter and Cat's Eyes, it never really leaves you...

EratiK Wrote:@Alec_xvi
As expected, these titles seems less available than anime (*cough... as torrent*).
Where do you get all these?

D-Addicts

Nodame Cantabile isnt "Manly" at all. It's a very good drama, but its based on a shoujo manga.

Don't you like any of the "big 3" animes? (Bleach, Naruto and One Piece)
Imo, they are all good, if you enjoy those Saint-Seiya-ish Fights, where ppl talk while battling.
I haven't gone much further into bleach plot, but Naruto's and One Piece are quite good imho, especially the latter.

You can also watch something like Gantz (the movies are awesome too).

@adamantortoise (nice nick btw)
Thanks, I'll look into Gantz, but manly as in Cobra/Golgo 13 has nothing to do with the big 3. Also, I prefer Gintama (best animated cultural source so far).

@vileru
Ah yes, d-addicts... thx

How dare you not like Spice and Wolf!?

I don't really watch manly anime, hell, I can't even define it properly. I think Ninja Scroll fits the bill perfectly. Berserk is even better, plus it's a great classic that can stand on its own two feet without relying on being liked simply for being "manly", while still being alpha enough to call the only female character of significance and ability someone with "woman problems". With less certainty I'd point you to Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It's a great tale of men, but sadly it's about great commanders and politics and comrades-in-arms, not burly men duking it out

I also recently watched Busou Renkin, which was pretty corny and rather manly after the first arc of about 6 episodes. It wasn't awesome enough for me to recommend it to a random person, but if you have no other ideas, consider it. Black Lagoon isn't exclusively made up of men, but it is quite "manly", and general opinion is quite positive.
Kaiji isn't about physical battles, but..well, watch it and judge it for yourself.

No manliness, but honor recommendations for action get, off the top of my head, Darker than Black and Baccano!.

Just to clear things up, I did like Spice and Wolf (Brain's Base is good in general), but added to all the other girly/furry stuff, I just felt myself not being me anymore.

Also be warned, I've watched a lot of the anime in the untypical thread:
http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=2347
like Black Lagoon, Berserk, Kaiji, Baccano!... I plan to watch LOGH this summer (like with Jdrama, the size of the torrent is just ridiculous for my actual connexion), and Gilgamesh, Mushi-shi are dled and waiting. (I'll post on myanimelist one day)
Thank you for your comprehension.

It's older, but Rurouni Kenshin would fit the bill. Lots of sword fighting and conversations about honour and such.
You could always try sports anime too. Hajime no Ippo had a new series two years ago, and from what I've heard, it's pretty funny, has a lot of weird made-up boxing moves, and you get to watch guys beat the tar out of each other. I've also heard good things the baseball anime Cross Game.
There's also the new Berserk movies that are coming out, or Monster, or the new Evangelion movies (but I'm biased towards Evangelion).
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a really good horror anime, but be warned, there are lots of little girls have cutesy speech habits. (あうあうあう、はう～　にぱ～　かなかな, etc) That being said, the show is actually quite dark and really addicting.

[Zgarbas]

Detroit metal city is the peak of metal, and there's nothing manlier than metal.

Gurren Lagann, if you don't hate mecha.

The Rurouni Kenshin OVAs (or is it OAVs?) are brilliantly done, far better than the 100+ episode series.

I don't know if this is exactly what you are looking for, but 笑ウせぇるすまん might be something you could enjoy. It is very old though http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x98r38_...shortfilms

You might want to go to http://www.anime-planet.com or http://www.myanimelist.net, search for titles of series you like, and then scroll down to the recommendations section of the page.

I guess I'll list a few reccomendations of my own:

New series:

Fate/Zero: Epic series. Your need to be familiar with Fate/Stay Night (just skim the Wikipedia page, the anime isn't worth it), but there's a lot of adults talking battle strategy, fighting, and philosophizing on honor, chivalry, and what it means to be a king. Be warned it starts slow, and may have too much talking at the beginning for some tastes.

Zetman:
It's too much like a western superhero comic for me, but it is going for that "dark and gritty" feeling, and there are hardly any women in the cast besides those who get saved or killed.

Older series (which you might have seen already^-^; ):

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex:
If you liked the Matrix check this out.

Monster:
Haven't finished it yet, but it's very dark...I'm not sure if "manly" would be the right word, more like "mature".

Death Note:
Goes downhill in the middle, but still very good.

Outlaw Star:
More sci-fi than some of these, but it is a fun watch all the same.

Steins;Gate:
Incredible sci-fi series, though it takes a while to get going.

Jin-Roh (movie):
A dark, disturbing film. Watch if you liked Akira, or dark plots.

Akira (movie):
Same as above.

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin:
Haven't finished it yet, but very dark, mature(there's actually a parental advisory warning at the beginning of each episode), and staring all men.

Ergo Proxy:
Great sci-fi action series.

Skull Man:
Old school-ish dark anti-hero series.

Paranoia Agent:
More of a thriller than the others.

Umineko no Naku koro ni:
The first episode isn't great, and people who have played the VNs say it left out a lot,
but I still think it is a really good mystery series, though a little less manly then some of the others I listed.

Monster! Watch Monster!

welcome to the nhk!

and sakigake otoko juku is MAD MANLY lol.

Cowboy Beebop

[s0apgun]

Berserk.

Clasu Wrote:Gurren Lagann, if you don't hate mecha.

Dang! I was gonna suggest that.

Anyway, to add to what others have already listed:

FLCL, GTO, Samurai Champloo, Mushishi, Beck, Outlaw Star, Trigun

These may fit the bill as well. Some of which may not be considered "manly" (adrenaline pumping, big explosions, etc), but they are far from "girly."

Edit: Just realized OP said he watched Black Lagoon

I was going to say Berserk too because it's pretty damn "manly" and all but I can't stand it when anime studios take on manga that isn't finished and leave you out to dry with some dumb cliffhanger ending with no intention of ever going back to finish the series.

Zipang would also fall into this category. Pretty cool anime but never resolved.

Another suggestion : The Irresponsible Captain Tylor - It might be hard to find but it's hilarious and a great little series

These have all been said but I second them: Samurai Champloo, Rurouni Kenshin (my favorite), Cowboy Bebop, Berserk.

A series I've been getting into as of late that fits the bill of what you're looking for is Project Arms. Found out about this show by accident, but I'm not complaining. haha

Still not sure exactly what sort of animes the OP is looking for exactly. Here are some more titles to eye the synopsis on and see if they spark your interest.

Another (psychological thriller/horror)
Noein (Sci-fi)
Puella Magi Madoka Magica - I'm hesitant to put this one here it probably falls outside the "manly" category, but Studio SHAFT just does such awesome stuff (like Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari). But it puts a twist on the "mahou shoujo" genre and its a bit dark. So it might still fit.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei series. Comedy, but insane and also another Studio SHAFT production.

Clasu Wrote:Gurren Lagann

Came here to recommend this. It's a very rare robot show you can enjoy if you don't like the genre very much. It's not the steroid-loaded manliness. It's more of the adolescent adrenaline-driven manliness. It does look like your average kids show on the surface, but it's not. It's made by guys who love anime for people who are into anime. If you haven't seen it and are looking for manly anime, you should give it a shot. Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb!

I skimmed through the atypical anime thread. It seems no one mentioned Red Line:

It's a pure car action movie that's got action and only action. It's 100 minutes of constant adrenaline injection straight to your brain if you like action flicks. This is the reason why animation must be hand drawn and is living proof that Japanese animation isn't dead yet. It can be boring as hell though if you don't like the genre because it's got absolutely nothing other than epinephrine boost action. No moe, no plot, no philosophy. Just awesome animation.

Also, you might want to watch those oft-recommended sci-fi classics like Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Ghost in the Shell, and the like if somehow you haven't seen them yet. Whether they fall into the "manly" category depends on your definition. But they keep getting recommended for a reason. If you liked them, anime by the same creators like Samurai Champloo are always good starting points too.

As for Mushi-shi on your computer, it's not the kind of anime you want to marathon in one sitting. It's definitely a great show, but I recommend you have a couple other shows of different kinds as well so it doesn't get old quickly.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

The Best

Splatted Wrote:The Rurouni Kenshin OVAs (or is it OAVs?) are brilliantly done, far better than the 100+ episode series.

I watched the OVA and enjoyed it but the original captures a lot of what made reading the manga a pleasure. I remember that it ends around episode 63 or so (rest is filler, which I didn't watch). The movie and the OVA's are good.