Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Just a FYI: the Bokurano anime goes fully anime only towards the end
Yes I read up a little after as the anime ended but left some plot points hanging, so I read that the anime changed quite a bit towards the end. As you said I also read they toned down certain points.
It's quite rare for me to get into an old anime at all though, not just the art style but the way people are characterised has changed so much, in some of the older ones there is a lot more slapstick humour and people overacting, I'm glad more modern ones are more grounded, for the most part.
Things like Eva and this were fine though, so glad I gave it a watch