G
Guest
One of the most thought provoking anime i had the pleasure of watching was Shiki. I am interested in seeing what your one is.
^^
^^
ZetsubouKaiji
Well-Known Member
Good call on Shiki and kind of funny that you mention that one because it has been on my mind recently since I've been watching the awful Tokyo Ghoul anime. Tokyo Ghoul and Shiki both try to take the angle of monsters vs humans and then flip it on its ear by making the monsters sympathetic. The difference is Shiki does it masterfully whereas Tokyo Ghoul never develops the characters enough to pay more than lip service to the concept. Shiki is more successful because we know all of the monsters when they were human which makes them much more sympathetic off the bat. Shiki had a knack for taking unlikable characters and still making them understandable in the end. It takes its time to develop the conflict as it is a very slow burn series which allows for more time to take everything in and process it. Tokyo Ghoul on the other hand is so rushed there is never any real time to think much about what is going on. Shiki also has one of the best
Anyway it's a great anime that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a great horror story in anime. It takes the classic vampire story and then does a lot of interesting things with it.
Tae's list has some really strong candidates on it as well. With NGE, I think it is mainly the last two episodes that are really thought provoking. Before that it is a pretty standard mecha story. There are a few stand out episodes that do get into some good psychological and philosophical territory, but it is the last two episodes that really take their time to deconstruct and reconstruct the main character that will be the most memorable for me. This is another must watch title for any anime fan. Love it or hate it you should at least experience NGE once.
I'd throw in Kaiji for some dark commentary on society and human values. It's a pitch perfect thriller that really takes a look at the nature of human relationships both at their ugliest and at their best. The villains make some very compelling speeches that never fail to make be reflect a bit. There's also the main character of Kaiji, someone that I can kind of identify with even if I've never fallen quite so low as he has at the start of the series. However, I can identify with being a pissed off youth that doesn't know what to do with their life and I understand the feeling of just waiting for "real life" to go ahead and start itself when it's never going to happen unless you decide what you want and do something to make it happen. I could go on and on about this one but I'll stop it there.
Another good one is Psycho-Pass. The dialogue is very flowery and the philosophical and literary references are very blunt, but I think it makes an effective social commentary on the state of humanity. It uses a well developed future dystopia to make its commentary and its characters can be seen to represent various ideologies all while the rather innocent main character has to develop and chose which path she agrees with or if she comes to some new ideal through rejecting the ideologies of the other characters.
Penguindrum has already been mentioned by Tae but it is a great story that deals with the nature of fate and destiny vs free will in an imaginative and compelling way. The anime is great for many reason; a striking artsyle full of symbolism, one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in an anime and a great sense of humor. Penguindrum has a series story but it doesn't leave out the comedy about some of the absurdities of life. It is an experience that is best experienced and then discussed because everyone might not come to the same conclusions about the show. It never spoon feeds you the answers but instead poses the questions and lets you come to your own conclusion.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is also interested in the nature of fate and destiny but it also dissects a lot of the cliches in the shoujo genre. It has some pretty great commentary on gender politics and the relationship between the sexes. The anime manages to have some pretty strong opinions about sex without being explicit or exploitative. It also uses a fairytale like frame work but then turns it on its ear when the prince or hero of the story turns out to be female.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Mushishi. Almost every episodes leaves you with some kind of food for thought. The anime very effectively uses the supernatural to explore the human condition. Quite often the Mushi of the anime are used to represent various psychological conditions or various ideals about human nature. The anime also has a pretty big theme of balance between the human world and the natural world, but it also uses a third ephemeral world to dissect its various concepts. It's just a really well put together anime and the best episodic anime I've seen. Each episode contains a complete and satisfying story. It can develop plots and characters better in 20 minutes than some shows can do in 12 or more episodes.
Then there's Ping Pong: The Animation that made me think a lot about the nature of sports anime in general, but also poses the question of what makes a true hero. Even though it is a sports anime, Ping Pong takes the basic frame work to turn it into a character study with an excellent ensemble cast. Each of the characters has their own conflicts and development, and even seemingly minor characters get to have their moment to shine. It's an anime that is both very simple and surprisingly complex beneath the surface. It is also one of the best anime to come out in the last couple of years and the best anime I've watched this year.
Well this post is already long enough so I'll leave it at these for now, but there are a lot of other things I could name as well.
turns in tone I've ever seen in an anime. Episode 14 is a huge turning point where suddenly the humans can fight back but they take a sickening amount of glee in destroying the vampires. Before that the vampires seemed to have total control of the situation but everything turns around because of the horrifying events in episode 8 with Okazaki and his wife.
Tae's list has some really strong candidates on it as well. With NGE, I think it is mainly the last two episodes that are really thought provoking. Before that it is a pretty standard mecha story. There are a few stand out episodes that do get into some good psychological and philosophical territory, but it is the last two episodes that really take their time to deconstruct and reconstruct the main character that will be the most memorable for me. This is another must watch title for any anime fan. Love it or hate it you should at least experience NGE once.
I'd throw in Kaiji for some dark commentary on society and human values. It's a pitch perfect thriller that really takes a look at the nature of human relationships both at their ugliest and at their best. The villains make some very compelling speeches that never fail to make be reflect a bit. There's also the main character of Kaiji, someone that I can kind of identify with even if I've never fallen quite so low as he has at the start of the series. However, I can identify with being a pissed off youth that doesn't know what to do with their life and I understand the feeling of just waiting for "real life" to go ahead and start itself when it's never going to happen unless you decide what you want and do something to make it happen. I could go on and on about this one but I'll stop it there.
Another good one is Psycho-Pass. The dialogue is very flowery and the philosophical and literary references are very blunt, but I think it makes an effective social commentary on the state of humanity. It uses a well developed future dystopia to make its commentary and its characters can be seen to represent various ideologies all while the rather innocent main character has to develop and chose which path she agrees with or if she comes to some new ideal through rejecting the ideologies of the other characters.
Penguindrum has already been mentioned by Tae but it is a great story that deals with the nature of fate and destiny vs free will in an imaginative and compelling way. The anime is great for many reason; a striking artsyle full of symbolism, one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in an anime and a great sense of humor. Penguindrum has a series story but it doesn't leave out the comedy about some of the absurdities of life. It is an experience that is best experienced and then discussed because everyone might not come to the same conclusions about the show. It never spoon feeds you the answers but instead poses the questions and lets you come to your own conclusion.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is also interested in the nature of fate and destiny but it also dissects a lot of the cliches in the shoujo genre. It has some pretty great commentary on gender politics and the relationship between the sexes. The anime manages to have some pretty strong opinions about sex without being explicit or exploitative. It also uses a fairytale like frame work but then turns it on its ear when the prince or hero of the story turns out to be female.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Mushishi. Almost every episodes leaves you with some kind of food for thought. The anime very effectively uses the supernatural to explore the human condition. Quite often the Mushi of the anime are used to represent various psychological conditions or various ideals about human nature. The anime also has a pretty big theme of balance between the human world and the natural world, but it also uses a third ephemeral world to dissect its various concepts. It's just a really well put together anime and the best episodic anime I've seen. Each episode contains a complete and satisfying story. It can develop plots and characters better in 20 minutes than some shows can do in 12 or more episodes.
Then there's Ping Pong: The Animation that made me think a lot about the nature of sports anime in general, but also poses the question of what makes a true hero. Even though it is a sports anime, Ping Pong takes the basic frame work to turn it into a character study with an excellent ensemble cast. Each of the characters has their own conflicts and development, and even seemingly minor characters get to have their moment to shine. It's an anime that is both very simple and surprisingly complex beneath the surface. It is also one of the best anime to come out in the last couple of years and the best anime I've watched this year.
Well this post is already long enough so I'll leave it at these for now, but there are a lot of other things I could name as well.
randomredneck
Well-Known Member
Uh...none?
ZetsubouKaiji
Well-Known Member
NGE is the perfect anime for Patrick Bateman. He is desperate to create a facade of humanity and break free from the humdrum existence of humanity!
Also, I really failed in not seconding Boku no Pico, soooo many life lessons contained within. It puts all the other options to shame.
Also, I really failed in not seconding Boku no Pico, soooo many life lessons contained within. It puts all the other options to shame.
Tents
Well-Known Member
Nothing has crept up my head as intensely as Serial Experiments Lain did. Also Penguindrum is an excellent example where I could get my values in check really quick. There are also Mushishi and Haibane and other already mentioned good stuff.
Grave of Fireflies made me weep for a week, though. It gave me a lot to think about, mostly about my own distaste in certain things and fears.
NGE just broke my mind so far that I forgot how to think from all the thinking. ZK can vouch on that one. I found myself not to be too bright as most of it was not making any sense to me.
Although every time I watch something I hate it always provokes the thought why the hell am I wasting my time with this when I could watch something that actually makes me think instead of killing off my brain cells one by one.
Grave of Fireflies made me weep for a week, though. It gave me a lot to think about, mostly about my own distaste in certain things and fears.
NGE just broke my mind so far that I forgot how to think from all the thinking. ZK can vouch on that one. I found myself not to be too bright as most of it was not making any sense to me.
Kenikki
Member
The most thought provoking would probably be NGE. Granted, I did watch it when I was pretty young, but I still can't think of any other anime which could possibly beat it for me.
It's not even particularly "deep" things it got me to think about, but more like general aspects of daily life.
It's not even particularly "deep" things it got me to think about, but more like general aspects of daily life.
ZetsubouKaiji
Well-Known Member
Since it's been mentioned by a bunch of other people I'd definitely throw my vote in for Serial Experiments Lain. I think the anime might be even more relevant now because of how ubiquitous the internet has become in our lives. The whole thing has this really heavy atmosphere of despair and loneliness to it. There's a lot to think about with the series because it is packed with symbolism and it asks a lot of questions about what it means to be human and interact with people. It also deals with how interactions are different when done through the web to a lesser extent. It's a fucked up cyberpunk Alice in Wonderland and I mean that in the best way.
Haibane Renmei is another great title that functions as a symbolic fairy tale. Like most fairy tales it has its own morals and lessons to teach but they aren't quite as obvious as most fairy tales make them which is why there's a lot to think about and discuss with the anime. It's slow paced and leaves plenty of room for contemplation.
Kino's Journey uses a skewed world that is just enough like ours to be recognizable but different enough that it can be used to represent the struggle of various ideas and human nature. Each stop on Kino's Journey leaves her in a simplified place with one or two big aspects are exaggerated to create conflict. Kino gets familiar with both sides and then makes her decision. Sometimes she just remains an observer letting events play out and other times she gets more directly involved in the resolution. Kino is an observer of the human condition and quite often comments on the nature of society in her talks with Hermes or other people. It is a brilliant and smartly written series. The pace is slow and relaxing which leads to a lot of time to contemplate all of the ideas presented. It is all done in a very non-pretentious way and a lot of the time it's left up to the viewer to interpret the results or the reasons for Kino's actions since she is a pretty laconic protagonist. Another special thing about Kino is that she is a completely non-sexualized character which is something refreshing in anime. Her design is kept intentionally androgynous in the main series and most of the OVAs, Shaft decided to moe-fy her design for one of the OVAs, but that was also the weakest of the Kino material.
Haibane Renmei is another great title that functions as a symbolic fairy tale. Like most fairy tales it has its own morals and lessons to teach but they aren't quite as obvious as most fairy tales make them which is why there's a lot to think about and discuss with the anime. It's slow paced and leaves plenty of room for contemplation.
Kino's Journey uses a skewed world that is just enough like ours to be recognizable but different enough that it can be used to represent the struggle of various ideas and human nature. Each stop on Kino's Journey leaves her in a simplified place with one or two big aspects are exaggerated to create conflict. Kino gets familiar with both sides and then makes her decision. Sometimes she just remains an observer letting events play out and other times she gets more directly involved in the resolution. Kino is an observer of the human condition and quite often comments on the nature of society in her talks with Hermes or other people. It is a brilliant and smartly written series. The pace is slow and relaxing which leads to a lot of time to contemplate all of the ideas presented. It is all done in a very non-pretentious way and a lot of the time it's left up to the viewer to interpret the results or the reasons for Kino's actions since she is a pretty laconic protagonist. Another special thing about Kino is that she is a completely non-sexualized character which is something refreshing in anime. Her design is kept intentionally androgynous in the main series and most of the OVAs, Shaft decided to moe-fy her design for one of the OVAs, but that was also the weakest of the Kino material.
captaincrunch
Well-Known Member
Shin Sekai Yori and Shiki for me.
Maybe Bokurano as well, but it's been a while since I've seen it so my memory is a little hazy. Guess it's time for a rewatch.
I love anything that genuinely makes you question just who the real bad guys are in a story.
Maybe Bokurano as well, but it's been a while since I've seen it so my memory is a little hazy. Guess it's time for a rewatch.
I love anything that genuinely makes you question just who the real bad guys are in a story.
Funkgun
Forum Moderator
Outside of those mentioned,
Perfect Blue takes on the mental side of entertainment that is dark and exploitative on the part of "idols" in Japan. The creator has no qualms of making the audience disturbed slightly. His twisty work in Paranoia Agent is also mind bending (with a few missteps of being a longer series) Hell even his work in Tokyo Godfathers deals in what is family values now and the disablement of the atomic myth.
(god I miss Satoshi Kon)
Monster delivers a moral dilemma of what is right and what is "morally wrong". It is a twisted box of characters that are developed then stripped of a perfect world. (20th Century Boys by the same creator also pulls off some mind blown fun in Manga form)
Ghost in the shell, (especially the series) delivered on what it is that makes us human,
And just for the sake of it,
Jin-Roh, The Wolf Brigade
This darker Red Riding Tale is more akin to the original folklore tales of Red Riding Hood and builds a believable alternative world.
Many titles from Oshii are thought provoking. He along with Kon are woth searching out.
Perfect Blue takes on the mental side of entertainment that is dark and exploitative on the part of "idols" in Japan. The creator has no qualms of making the audience disturbed slightly. His twisty work in Paranoia Agent is also mind bending (with a few missteps of being a longer series) Hell even his work in Tokyo Godfathers deals in what is family values now and the disablement of the atomic myth.
(god I miss Satoshi Kon)
Monster delivers a moral dilemma of what is right and what is "morally wrong". It is a twisted box of characters that are developed then stripped of a perfect world. (20th Century Boys by the same creator also pulls off some mind blown fun in Manga form)
Ghost in the shell, (especially the series) delivered on what it is that makes us human,
And just for the sake of it,
Jin-Roh, The Wolf Brigade
This darker Red Riding Tale is more akin to the original folklore tales of Red Riding Hood and builds a believable alternative world.
Many titles from Oshii are thought provoking. He along with Kon are woth searching out.
Taek
Well-Known Member
I want to second Perfect Blue, and third Ghost in the Shell.
Ghost in the Shell as a franchise is particularly thought provoking to me, for many of the same reasons that ZK listed for Serial Experiments Lain, though GitS is firmly set in a future that we are nowhere near close to, the idea's behind the net and identity are pretty great. I also like how the film takes such a different approach from the original manga, it has this isolated feel, almost mechanical, and the conversation on the boat with Batou sticks out as particularly brilliant. Then you have Stand Alone Complex, which feels much closer to the manga by being pretty episodic, but with an overarching plot that comes in and out. The last few episodes of the first season are up there with some of my favourites.
And as others have explained their choices, I guess I will too. Though ZK has done a great job of explaining Utena and Penguindrum, i'll explain the shoujo choices.
Brother, Dear Brother on the surface just looks like a typical 70's shoujo manga adaption, with a lot of melodrama and what could be seen to be childish and silly problems. However, the further you go into it, he more you become engrossed into the characters, and the deeper the problems they have reveal themselves, and they become something infinitely more personal than they ever should really feel. The last arc especially wrenched my heart out, as some of the people I speak to on skype can attest to. It's a great case of execution over premise I guess, because I bet half the people who read the synopsis in the database wouldn't be all that interested.
Rose of Versailles was written by the same mangaka as above, and both shows look very similar as a result. RoV had me questioning the nature of duty, what gender and gender roles mean, and by the very end, the nature of revolution. Yes it has the same kind of melodrama as Brother, Dear Brother, and I understand that can be off putting for a lot of people, but I feel it's well executed because the characters are so good. It also shows that the characters are flawed, and that no one is a perfect beacon of humanity.
Oh, and Shin Sekai Yori was brilliant. With themes about what it means to be human, and how far will society go to preserve a fragile peace. It has a great take on themes of friendship, sex, and loyalty too. It's also one of the best fantasy/mystery stories I've ever seen.
Ghost in the Shell as a franchise is particularly thought provoking to me, for many of the same reasons that ZK listed for Serial Experiments Lain, though GitS is firmly set in a future that we are nowhere near close to, the idea's behind the net and identity are pretty great. I also like how the film takes such a different approach from the original manga, it has this isolated feel, almost mechanical, and the conversation on the boat with Batou sticks out as particularly brilliant. Then you have Stand Alone Complex, which feels much closer to the manga by being pretty episodic, but with an overarching plot that comes in and out. The last few episodes of the first season are up there with some of my favourites.
And as others have explained their choices, I guess I will too. Though ZK has done a great job of explaining Utena and Penguindrum, i'll explain the shoujo choices.
Brother, Dear Brother on the surface just looks like a typical 70's shoujo manga adaption, with a lot of melodrama and what could be seen to be childish and silly problems. However, the further you go into it, he more you become engrossed into the characters, and the deeper the problems they have reveal themselves, and they become something infinitely more personal than they ever should really feel. The last arc especially wrenched my heart out, as some of the people I speak to on skype can attest to. It's a great case of execution over premise I guess, because I bet half the people who read the synopsis in the database wouldn't be all that interested.
Rose of Versailles was written by the same mangaka as above, and both shows look very similar as a result. RoV had me questioning the nature of duty, what gender and gender roles mean, and by the very end, the nature of revolution. Yes it has the same kind of melodrama as Brother, Dear Brother, and I understand that can be off putting for a lot of people, but I feel it's well executed because the characters are so good. It also shows that the characters are flawed, and that no one is a perfect beacon of humanity.
Oh, and Shin Sekai Yori was brilliant. With themes about what it means to be human, and how far will society go to preserve a fragile peace. It has a great take on themes of friendship, sex, and loyalty too. It's also one of the best fantasy/mystery stories I've ever seen.
captaincrunch
Well-Known Member
imo you can't call yourself a true anime fan until you have - love it or hate it, you should see it. :thumbsup:
Although I'm sure there's some anime I haven't seen that others would argue the same about.
Although I'm sure there's some anime I haven't seen that others would argue the same about.
Kruszer
Well-Known Member
The ones that come to mind are:
Aquatic Language
Arjuna
Boogiepop Phantom
Death Note
Ergo Proxy
Garden of Sinners
Ghost Hound
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Gosick
Gunslinger Girl
Haibane Renmei
Heaven's Memo Pad
Hell Girl
Higurashi no Naku Koroni
Hyouka
Kaze no Yojimbo
Kino's Journey
Koi Kaze
Mind Game
Monster
Mushishi
Now and Then, Here and There
Pale Cocoon
Paprika
Paranoia Agent
Perfect Blue
Planetes
Psycho-Pass
Real Drive
Red Garden
Serial Experiments Lain
Shiki
Time of Eve
Welcome to the NHK
Aquatic Language
Arjuna
Boogiepop Phantom
Death Note
Ergo Proxy
Garden of Sinners
Ghost Hound
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Gosick
Gunslinger Girl
Haibane Renmei
Heaven's Memo Pad
Hell Girl
Higurashi no Naku Koroni
Hyouka
Kaze no Yojimbo
Kino's Journey
Koi Kaze
Mind Game
Monster
Mushishi
Now and Then, Here and There
Pale Cocoon
Paprika
Paranoia Agent
Perfect Blue
Planetes
Psycho-Pass
Real Drive
Red Garden
Serial Experiments Lain
Shiki
Time of Eve
Welcome to the NHK
Last edited:
StarsMine
Well-Known Member
I would have to go with ghost in the shell. Its startling how "accurate" it is of the future even when written in 89. But the questions it asks, like what makes you a human, your ghost, are hard questions to grapple with and ones we WILL have to answer in my life time.
Taekwondoin, the future gits is set in is probably far closer then you realize.
Taekwondoin, the future gits is set in is probably far closer then you realize.
G
Guest
Tokyo Ghoul and Trigun are probably the top two.