Anime (or manga) on the level of Literature?

[Alexander]

I can vouch for Kino, though depending on the episode/chapter, some bits are better written than others.

Thirded. But it's the light novels that really do it justice.

I'd also put in a few Ghibli films, Beyond the Clouds: The Place Promised in Our Early Days, Serial Experiments Lain, and a few others I can't remember off the top of my mind.

As for whether they'll be considered classic literature after I'm dead? Probably not. But I'm not known to follow popular opinion.

[minakichan]

I'm surprised (actually, I'm not, considering which forum this is) that Battle Royale hasn't come up. I haven't read it, so I could be completely off the mark (again, violence is a big no-no for me. I'm afraid I'll have nightmares and will bite my tongue off), but I've heard it critically acclaimed as "Lord of the Flies for the current generation." Anyone have an opinion on it? I know that the movie is considered pretty trashy gorefest-y though. I really want to read the original novel-- despite, not because of, the violence. But I can't handle it.

[uc pseudonym]

As far as the Battle Royale manga, I think it tries for the Lord of the Flies mark and fails. It occasionally rises above pulp entertainment to address serious issues, but the majority of the time I don't think it is very good literature. I can't speak to the original novel or film.

The content is fairly graphic but accomplishes so little with it. There's a character with sexual trauma, yet most of the time this doesn't feel like a psychological exploration, just an excuse to have someone running around naked. And there's a limit to how many two page spreads you can have of bullets ripping through someone's face before the "exploring the carnality of violence" justification starts to wear thin.

I can't read it-- I REALLY cannot stand gore and guts in any capacity at all. It really sucks, because there's a lot of excellently remarkable shtuffs out there that just happens to be ridiculously and excessively bloody.

That's a legitimate reason not the read Berserk, certainly.

[Shadowalker]

Cognitive Gear, Nate, and uc pseudonym - Thanks to each of you for your informative replies. You all make good points, and the next time I'm around a large comic book shop and/or decide to do some on-line shopping, I'll probably look into The Watchmen or The Sandman.

[mechana2015]

Another novelesque series with a lot of content that struck me as over the bar of standard storytelling is GUNNM AKA Battle Angel Alita. Aside from having very high quality art, the series explores concepts of morality and philosophy in a way that I found interesting. This was also the first series that showed me the depth that could be approached in manga, and was responsable for my continued interest.

[jon_jinn]

i think Ghost in the Shell might possibly be considered literature level because of the relatively high level of philosophy behind it...