Not every anime is meant to give its viewers complete clarity. There is a certain type of deep, philosophical anime series that can often leave the viewer with more questions than answers, making them wonder what they just watched after it's all over. These anime series are incredibly hard to pull off, but when they're done successfully, they're always a hit.
The best philosophical anime series tackle themes other series might be afraid of including in their stories. These thoughtful series aren't afraid, however, and dive head first into some of the most thought-provoking and mentally stimulating ideas any anime can feature. If a particular show or movie can ask and answer these complicated questions well, they almost always stand head and shoulders above any other anime in their genre.
10 Ghost in the Shell
Animated By Production I.G, Based on the Manga By Masamune Shirow
- Created by
- Masamune Shirow
- First Film
- Ghost in the Shell
- Latest Film
- Ghost in The Shell: The New Movie
- First TV Show
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
best anime movies of all time. It's such a popular series that it even received a live-action movie adaptation starring Scarlett Johansson in 2017. The series stars Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg serving the public with her assault squad. She's hunting the expert hacker "Puppet Master" in a dystopian New Port City filled with crime, corruption, and everything else that could be expected from the bleak setting.
Ghost in the Shell is one of the deepest anime movies around because of the themes that it explores. It tackles themes of identity, reality, and more in a technologically advanced world. Nothing is as it seems in Ghost in the Shell, and every moment is so much more than it appears to be on the surface. It's one of the best anime series for anyone who doesn't mind leaving a series with a lot more questions than answers.
9 Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Animated By Shaft, An Original Anime Series by Magica Quartet
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
- Release Date
- 2011 - 2011
- Directors
- Akiyuki Shinbo, Yukihiro Miyamoto
WHERE TO WATCH
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the most deceptive anime series around. On its surface, it's a wonderful anime about magical girls and the fun times they have together. After just a few episodes, however, Madoka Magica leaves viewers wondering what they just saw. Without giving too much of the plot away, it quickly shifts from a happy-go-lucky series into a brutal, dark anime that few can forget.
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What makes Madoka Magica stand out are the surreal themes it faces. After convincing viewers that it's just an entertaining, lighthearted series, it becomes clear that Madoka Magica is anything but easygoing. The fact that the first impression the anime leaves viewers with is so much different than what the series actually turns out to be is a huge part of the series' surrealism. Nothing is as it seems in the world of Madoka Magica, and that's the best part of the show.
8 Attack on Titan
Animated By Wit Studio and MAPPA, Based on the Manga By Hajime Isayama
- Created by
- Hajime Isayama
- First Film
- Attack on Titan: The Crimson Bow and Arrow
- Latest Film
- Attack on Titan: The Final Chapters (2023)
- Films
- Attack on Titan The Movie: The Last Attack (2024)
plenty of great Titan fights, an amazing world just waiting to be explored, and one of the most complicated main characters in anime. Eren Yeager starts the series as a fun-loving boy who wants nothing more than to hang out with his friends and to learn more about the world outside the Walls that they're trapped in.
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By the end of the series, he becomes death incarnate. Attack on Titan is one of the best series for its views on morality, fatalism, and so much more. Eren ends up destroying 80% of the world's population not just as an act of revenge, but as a means of protecting his home country against the threats that face them. Logically, his initial intention to save his home is understandable, but that might not make his decision the correct course of action in the end.
7 Monster
Animated By Madhouse, Based on the Manga By Naoki Urasawa
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Monster is one of the best slow-burning anime series around. It features Dr. Tenma as he tries to stop the titular monster he inadvertently created. As a doctor, it was Dr. Tenma's responsibility to save Johan and his sister Anna when they entered the hospital, but if Dr. Tenma had known what Johan was capable of, he would never have done it.
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Monster takes a while to pick up steam, but that's only because the series takes a lot of time with its deeply philosophical themes. One of the biggest themes the show features is nature vs. nuture, unpacking whether a person's true nature is something that can be changed or if it's inherent to who they are. While the show doesn't provide any answers, it does provide a ton of questions to keep any viewer guessing long after the final episode.
6 Code Geass
Original Anime Series Created By Sunrise
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Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
- Release Date
- 2006 - 2008
- Directors
- Gorō Taniguchi
- Writers
- Ichirō Ōkouchi
Cast
Johnny Yong Bosch-
Yuri Lowenthal
WHERE TO WATCH
- Franchise(s)
- Code Geass
- Creator(s)
- Gorō Taniguchi, Ichirō Ōkouchi
Code Geass is an anime about how even when everything seems to be perfect, things can still unexpectedly go wrong, and how unlimited power can be more of a curse than a blessing. The character at the forefront of the action is Lelouch Lamperouge. He's gifted the powers of the Geass early in the series, giving him the ability to make anyone follow his bidding by simply looking at them and telling them what to do. While this may seem like a simple enough premise on its surface, it quickly turns into a complicated disaster.
Code Geass shows that not everything goes well, even with absolute power. Lelouch starts the series as a near omnipotent being before falling victim to the same power that earned him the position he sought after. Even after putting several important pieces into play, Code Geass proves that getting everything one ever wanted is hardly for the best.
5 Death Note
Animated By Madhouse, Based on the Manga By Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Created by
- Takeshi Obata, Tsugumi Ohba
- TV Show(s)
- Death Note (2006)
- Movie(s)
- Death Note, Death Note 2: The Last Name
- Character(s)
- Light Yagami, L Lawliet, Ryuk, Misa Amane, Near (Death Note), Mello (Death Note), Teru Mikami, Minoru Tanaka
most controversial anime series of all time. It stars Light Yagami as he finds a titular Death Note, a notebook that allows him to kill anyone in the world by simply writing their name in the book. Light thinks that he's doing the right thing by killing a slew of criminals in an attempt to create a crime-free world. While it seems noble on the surface, it might be much less than that.
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Death Note has earned its fame through its exploration of morality. Sure, it might seem like a just idea for Light to take out the world's criminals, but he might not be the perfect person to decide whether someone lives or dies. The show is complicated from the beginning, perfect for someone who wants to ponder ethical dilemmas while they're watching a solid anime series.
4 Steins;Gate
Animated By White Fox, Based on the Visual Novel Game by 5pb
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Steins;Gate (2011)
- Release Date
- 2011 - 2015-00-00
- Directors
- Hiroshi Hamasaki, Takuya Sato
- Writers
- Jukki Hanada
Cast
-
J. Michael Tatum
WHERE TO WATCH
- Franchise(s)
- Steins;Gate
anime series that gets increasingly bleak and dark as it progresses.
Steins;Gate is all about time travel. Main character Rintaro Okabe bit off more than he could chew when he inadvertently invented a time machine with his friends. Some of the most gripping themes that the anime tackles include PTSD, time travel, and fate itself. Even though the main characters are some of the smartest in anime, even they are helpless to fate itself, often traveling back in time again and again to prevent events that feel inevitable.
3 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Animated By Bones, Based on the Manga By Hiromu Arakawa
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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a great, multi-faceted anime series that excels in so many different areas. The story is about brothers Alphonse and Edward Elric as they look to master Alchemy in an attempt to beat death itself. The series starts with the death of their mother. The boys decide to break all rules imaginable and try to resurrect her, losing more than they could have ever imagined in the process.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood explores themes of the truth, reality, and death itself. While the boys rightfully want to get their mother back, they learn that they might not have a right to transmute the very rules that establish the world that they're living in. It's a cold, harsh reality that they come to with while fighting monstrous enemies, adventuring across the world, and dealing with some of the most powerful villains in anime.
2 Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World
Animated By White Fox, Based on the Light Novel Series By Tappei Nagatsuki & Shin'ichirō Ōtsuka
RE: Zero - Starting Life In Another World
- Release Date
- April 4, 2016
- Directors
- Masaharu Watanabe
Cast
-
Yuusuke Kobayashi
-
Rie Takahashi
Out of all the deep, philosophical anime series out there, Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World might be the most brutal. The series surrounds Subaru Natsuki as he looks to navigate the new world he's transported to. While it seems idyllic on its surface, Subaru's new world does not actually fit this description. He's met with challenge after challenge, dying several times before he can even get a grip on the new reality he's faced with.
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Re:Zero is one of the best series in the isekai genre that is so much deeper than it appears to be. Subaru faces themes of hope, fate, and more in Re:Zero. He never knows what the right answer is, which is ironic given his ability to Return by Death. He often finds the correct path, only to be met with increasingly cruel deaths that slowly chip away at his sanity as they occur over and over again.
1 Neon Genesis Evangelion
Original Anime Series Created By Produced by Gainax, Animated By Tatsunoko, and Directed By Hideaki Anno
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Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Release Date
- 1995 - 1996
Cast
-
Megumi OgataShinji Ikari
-
Megumi HayashibaraRei Ayanami
WHERE TO WATCH
- Creator(s)
- Hideaki Anno
Not only is best anime series of all time. It's hard to describe what Neon Genesis Evangelion is about precisely because of how deep it is. At its core, it's a story about Shinji Ikari, a young boy summoned to pilot the Evangelion units in an attempt to defend what's left of humanity from the Angels looking to tear everything apart.
Neon Genesis Evangelion will make a viewer think about things that they've never thought about before. It explores themes of hope, justice, and what it means to be real. To call it confusing is a massive understatement to many in the best way possible. It's a series so deep and philosophical that watching it a second time might not even provide all the answers that viewers are looking for. It stands alone as a twisting, winding series that keeps its viewers on the edge of their seats during every single episode.
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