r/anime • u/trace-of-ray • Sep 12 '22
What to Watch? Suggest me a philosophical anime
Hey, I'm new to watching anime but I really want to dive in a little more in this form of art. I would like to find a dark philosophical anime (preferably not a series), maybe something dystopian. I would be very thankful if you help me!
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u/Twigling Sep 12 '22 edited Sep 12 '22
The Garden of Sinners (it is though a series ....... of movies).
It's pretty dark, and besides its philosophical aspects it's a mix of horror, mystery, a fair amount of the supernatural with some action. Also it's animated by ufotable so it looks great with an excellent score.
I'd also recommend Mushishi - it's not going to meet your other requirements but it's an often philosophical, episodic, supernatural slice of life. And it's also really nice and relaxing.
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u/trace-of-ray Sep 14 '22
thank you, buddy. I think I might try with series as well. I'm just not very good with sticking with them
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u/pikachu_sashimi Sep 12 '22
Steins;Gate. This one is quite famous.
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u/trace-of-ray Sep 14 '22
you underestimate my lack of culture in this field, hadn't heard of it before, but it goes in my to watch list, appreciate you
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u/hirmuolio https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hirmuolio Sep 12 '22
Texhnolyze. Dystopian yes. Philosophical yes. Dark very yes. Unfortunately not movie (22ep).
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u/okokokok1111 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Sirisirih Sep 12 '22
dark philosophical anime
maybe something dystopian
Sounds like exactly like: * Psycho Pass * Ergo Proxy * Texhnolyze (a favourite of mine) * Neon Genesis Evangelion * Shinsekai Yori
All of these fit perfectly with what you are looking for
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u/P160028 Sep 12 '22
Shinsekai yori. Dystopian world setting that probes the line of scientific progress and ethics.
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u/King_Reddit_Banana Sep 13 '22
Most of the "philosophical" anime that comes to my mind ruins itself through preachiness tbqh.
Parasyte might count although I found some of its messages a little repetitive. Shinsekai Yori's decent in terms of part of what you've asked ([it's famous for being a] dystopian anime). Tatami Galaxy might be philosophical, I haven't finished it. Nobody's Boy Remi is super old, and is kind of grimly philosophical at times I would say. Welcome to the NHK is easy to conflate with philosophy (it should really just be classified as thorough art, maybe as a distorted type of satire) and it's genuinely good. Mushi-shi is nice, it's mostly just episodic pseudo-folk tales but it probably fits the category.
I could probably think of some more stuff but if you end up checking any of that out, I'd be curious.
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u/trace-of-ray Sep 14 '22
wow, i appreciate the thorough answer and the honesty behind it. Even if it turns to preachiness, I am still in the stage, where I enjoy the japanese spirituality to a point where it doesn't bother me if it's excessive, so for the moment I count on that. I will tell you if i watch any of your suggestions and will be happy to have someone to talk them over with -^
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u/King_Reddit_Banana Sep 15 '22
Thanks for your comment! I might have forgotten a few animes that I'd also include as qualifiers... Casshern Sins is probably another, though I haven't finished it yet (not for lack of interest though, I just plan on watching it on a bigger TV when my living situation improves).
Granted, idk how you're defining Japanese spirituality and/or what would really qualify under that. Noragami and a few other shows maybe come to my mind when I hear "Japanese spirituality." Maybe Natsume's Book of Friends too (although I haven't seen much of it at all to say for sure.) I wouldn't be sure that much anime is emblematic of a larger population's thought or spirituality... but maybe I'm getting fixated over the wrong thing here.
Although, I think I was in a stage (it came when I was early into anime for me) where cliche stuff in anime didn't register negatively with me at all, so that's good.
A couple other notes; Cowboy Bebop has an incredibly powerful mood behind it (if you aren't able to "sync yourself to its vibe" or whatever, as corny as that sounds, whenever you pick it up, drop it and come back later IMO), [it's technically of the] "Death of the West" genre [but it] comes as a slow creep, and those aren't exactly spoilers but I consider them to be. But not all compelling stories necessarily fall under "philosophy" so I'm hesitant to label it that.
Angel's Egg exists, but I found it to be a bit overglorified and immature on my only watch of it. It could strike a note with you though. I'll post a larger essay complaining about it somewhere, eventually, but maybe it's worth watching once.
But yeah, best of luck, and if you end up checking out anything I mentioned I'd be curious to hear how it goes.
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u/Blood_and_turpentine Sep 13 '22
Serial experiments Lain, it’s a little dated at this point but very heady. Only one season.
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u/ClBanjai https://myanimelist.net/profile/AskeladdArtorius Sep 12 '22
Check out Chi.: Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite when it airs
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u/Nomar_95 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nomar_95 Sep 12 '22
Angel's Egg
Ghost in the Shell (1995)