Nobody does it better than Japan when it applies to background painting. This exceptional series: Mushishi, created by Artland (spanning 26 episodes) is an animated series based off the manga by Yuki Urushibara. There is also a live-action version directed by Katsuhira Otomo (Akira).Devoid of violence or nudity, it is still not recommended for children. With eerie and supernatural concepts of reality, the storyline follows Ginko, a Mushi master travelling across the land investigating strange cases involving "mushi"; ghost-like creatures that co-exist in our world. The format is similar to many North American series formats (Sherlock, X-Files, CSI), each episode serves a self-contained dilemma where the protagonist digs beneath the surface, discovering both answers and more questions.
I've recently found a few episodes online:
Episode 2: The Light of the Eyelid (this one really can creep out kids)
