- last update 30 Nov 2024 -
I think I should start this with a rant about otaku culture and weeb shit, and perhaps that funny misquote of Miyazaki saying "Anime was a miskate, it's nothing but trash", and "Those who identify as otaku, they sicken me deeply". Yeah, I'm totally doing that.
So, anyway, Japan has produced a huge amount of amazing cartoons and comics, and because of their massive amount and distinctive style, I made a separate page only for them, and here I'm listing some of my favorites that I've posted so far - but don't think they are more than Japanese cartoon and comics, and miss me with otaku culture and all that weeb shit.
• Cyberpunk, Transhumanism, Androids and shit
• Post-apocalyptic and other Sci-Fi
• Fantastic Thrillers, Dramas and weird Psychedelic and Psychological stuff
• Dark Fantasy and Supernatural stories
• Kinda cute or heartwarming, I guess
• And of course, I love them anthologies!
• Cyberpunk, Transhumanism, Androids and shit •
By the master Katsuhiro Otomo. A cyberpunk classic that influenced generations of anime and sci-fi. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, it follows a biker gang who get involved in a secret military project. The Akira manga ran from 1982 to 1990 and is a fantastic piece of history, with an immense world building and just marvelous artwork, but it was the 1988 movie that really shook the world, and opened the West to the Japanese animation invasion.
Akira the movie is a masterpiece in every way. From the sheer scale of parallax backgrounds and frames, with fluid and vivid animation rarely seems, small details as face animations being created after the voice-actors work, to its superb directing and iconic scenes and imagery that are cemented in pop culture and cinema history. Akira is a landmark, but also a damn fun and compelling story in an immersive world of neon lights, urban decay and social unrest.
[I will comment on the games when the section is ready]
By the cyberpunk master Masamune Shirow. Ghost in the Shell is another cyberpunk classic, following a Spec Ops team in a world AI, androids and cyborgs are the new normal. The original manga ran from 1989 to 1991, it got a sequel named Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor (1991-1996), that is quite good - but I don't want to talk about Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface (2001), I prefer to believe it does not exist. Since 2019 a series taking place between 1.5 and 2, named The Human Algorithm, and writen by Junichi Fujisaku (worked on several Ghost in the Shell adaptations before), is being released, but I can't yet comment on it.
What really put Ghost in the Shell in the world map was the fantastic 1995 movie directed by the master Mamoru Oshii. It just took everything to a complete new level, dropping the humor of the manga and focusing on its thought-provoking exploration of the nature of consciousness, identity and technology - not to mention, it's a damn great work of art as well, with astonishing directing and animation. Its sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) double down on its philosophical approach and is another great movie.
From there, we got several serial animations, with different cuts for TV and cinema, and so much stuff that I lost count. The Stand Alone Complex anime series is kinda beloved, but I found the first season pretty weak, although it got better in the second, still felt like a more generic police drama with awkward fan service. I remember liking the Arise series better, although still not finding remarkable. I couldn't get into the CGI action series that followed, and all of them got manga spin-offs too. Lastly, there was a Hollywood adaptation as well, with it's own promotional manga Ghost in the Shell Comic Tribute (2016-2017).
[I will comment on the games and the live-action movie when the sections are ready].
The Kerberus Saga is a violent and complex alternate history political thriller created by Mamoru Oshii, a massive series ranging from radio dramas to live action movies. Here we are going to talk about the manga and the animation, though.
The manga Kerberos Panzer Cop (1988-2000), and its sequel Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs (2003-2004), were never scanlated by the fucking weebs, so all we have available is the masterpiece movie Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999), directed by Hiroyuki Okiura. Another great and beautifully animated production that is at the top of this list for a reason - and, although not cyberpunk, it just fits the vibe of Akira and Ghost in the Shell movies.
Based on a 1949 manga by Osamu Tezuka, the god-father of anime, inspired by the 1927 Fritz Lang movie of the same name, adapted by Katsuhiro Otomo, and directed by Rintaro. If you are familiar with Japanese animation and sci-fi, these names should be enough for you to get an idea of how great this production is.
The Metropolis (2001) movie carries all social and technological commentary these guys are known for, combined with stunning and very complex animation mixing art déco and steampunk visuals. A real eyegasm but also a great adventure to watch and enjoy.
[I will comment on the Fritz Lang movie when the section is ready]
By Toshimitsu Suzuki. What if magical girls went cyberpunk? The original Bubble Crisis (1987-1991), and its sequel Bubblegum Crash (1991), series are about magical cyber girls fighting boomers that went crazy - and it actually predates magical girls going superhero. I do find vehicles design of thoses series sick, but my unpopular opinion is that its alternative version Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (1998-1999) is a way better series in every other aspect, including changing the soundtrack from 80s city pop to 90s industrial metal.
But what is reallyg great is the violent and gritty down-to-Earth neo-noir police thriller AD. Police, it has a manga series from 1989 and an OVA series from 1990. The 1999 TV series, though, pretty corny.
Finally, the real cherry on top is Parasite Dolls (2003), by far my favorite entry of the whole universe and the most underrated. It has the seriousness of original AD. Police OVA, but with a great animation, and overall way better atmosphere and directing. A real cyberpunk gem.
Bubblegum Crisis also somehow got a comic mini-series by Dark Horse, which I commented here.
[I will comment on the games when the section is ready]
Another work by Masamune Shirow, Applessed has several version, and they are very different from each other. Taking place on a post-apocalyptic world, where a few hyper-developed cities are rendering humanity obsolete, the original manga ran from 1985 to 1989, and got a few more chapters on Appleseed Databook (1991) and Appleseed: Hypernotes (1992), and was also adapted to an OVA in 1988.
The next entry is the 2004 CGI movie, directed by Shinji Aramaki, which is a quite good action flick, and the CGI is even pretty good for its time. The next on this series is Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007), but this one is so damn corny it's embarassing.
Next is the Appleseed XIII (2011-2012) series, by Akira Miyagawa, with another completely new take. It's also CGI, and ok for its time. It also has a manga that ran from 2011 to 2013, but the weebdom never got around to scanlate it, so I can't comment.
Lasty, is Appleseed α (2014-2015) manga by Iou Kuroda, another new take, this time more post-apocalyptic, and I quite liked (I'm not much of a fan of the previous verions), then Shinji Aramaki made another movie called Appleseed α (2015) that, if it's an adaptation, it's a very loose one, and it kinda threw out of the window most themes about society and technology. It's more of a fun kick-ass post-apocalyptic action flick with real eye-candy CGI (quite impressive for the time).
[I will comment on the games when the section is ready]
By Yukito Kishiro, and known in the West as Battle Angel Alita, this is another essential cyberpunk anime - although it's very post-apocalyptic as well. The original manga ran from 1990 to 1995, and its first two volumes, out of nine, were adapted in an OVA series in 1993 (which are basically what they put in the 2019 Hollywood movie as well, with a few pieces of the third and fourth volume).
Kishiro wrote a story for a Playstation game in 1998, and from that he expanded the manga, starting Gunnm: Last Order (2001-2014), which is visually very great, but although having some very nice plot points, it turned into a weird battle shounen the characters keep pulling invincible power ups every other day. Unfortunately, Last Order is a must read to get to the current, and totally awesome ongoing series Mars Chronicle (2014-????) - my favorite by far.
There is also a collection of short stories called Gunnm Gaiden (1997-2006), that the weebdom never scanlated properly, and all I could find is one chapter. And finally, there is a 3min long CGI animation called Gunnm 3D Special (2000), that was released with the manga reprint.
By the great Chiaki Konaka, another cyberpunk anime essential. Armitage III is an OVA series from 1995 that was later condensed in the Armitage III: Poly-Matrix (1996) movie, but just check the OVAs for the full thing. It also has a sequel Armitage III: Dual-Matrix (2002), that was very meh.
There was also a manga version in 1995, Zarae Ohtana.
Brutal cyber biotechnological esper experiments led to the creation of a weapon that changes the world. A Koichi Ohata adaptation of deadend lame manga dropped in 1992, Genocyber is a childhood favorite of mine. Here in my country they aired it at 6pm on over-the-air television, between Sailor Moon and Saint Seiya, so all the 5-6yo kids could watch.
Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990-1991)
By Yoshiaki Kawajiri, one of those 90s gems. Cyber City Oedo 808 is three stories about convicts taking dangerous police jobs in exchange for sentence reduction.
Another futiristic, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, work by Masamune Shirow, this time more comedy oriented. The Dominion (1985-1986) manga was quite cool, but I can't say the same about its alternative setting Dominion Conflict One (1992).
There was a 1988-1989 OVA adaptation that was ok, but I liked more New Dominion Tank Police (1993-1994) OVA series. Lastly, they attempted a CGI anime, TANK S.W.A.T. 01 (2006), but this is one was kinda meh - and the CGI didn't help.
By Noboru Ishiguro, directed by Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai, and Shinji Aramaki. Megazone 23 is a three-part OVA series, each by a different director, about a biker that stumbles upon a military secret and unveils deep secrets about the world... argh, I just noticed it sounds an awful lot like Akira haha, but it's a solid old school cyberpunk anime as well.
Psycho Diver: Soul Siren (1997)
By Mamoru Kanbe. A cool mix sci-fi, horror and film noir on this dark, gritty and violent anime that might remind you a bit of Dreamscape or The Cell. The real problem with OVAs is that they are too damn short!
Download: Devil's Circuit (1992)
By Rintaro. Another obscure cyberpunk anime, and it got the internet just left.
Serial Experiments Lain (1998)
By Yasuyuki Ueda, directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, and written by Chiaki Konaka. A unique, surreal and avant-garde cyberpunk anime that explores reality, identity, and communication in the age of the internet way before social media was even a thing. Lain weights heavily on philosophy and psychology and may not be for every viewer.
A short manga called The Nightmare of Fabrication (1999) was released in the artbook An Omnipresence in Wired.
[I will comment on the game when the section is ready]
By Shuko Murase. With a cyberpunk dark atmosphere surrounded by a desolated post-apocalyptic wasteland, Ergo Proxy at first seems very influenced by Blade Runner but develops in more philosophical and psychological ways about humanity and reality. It also got a manga miniseries called Ergo Proxy: Centzon Hitchers and Undertaker (2006-2007), written by Yumiko Harao.
"Creepy" can barely define this animation by Chiaki Konaka. It's a CGI anime that purposely looks like stop motion. The visuals feels like he was inspired by Fred Stuhr and Adam Jones, sad it wasn't real stop motion puppets, but still, a pretty crazy and grotesque story and concept full of body horror. A great watch if you are into the weird side.
Eden: It's an Endless World (1997-2008)
By Hiroki Endo. Post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, neo-noir crime thriller, psychological drama, existential dread, with a lot of well based geopolitics and ethnic conflicts background. Eden went through a lot of themes and literary genres during its run.
An imposing and brutal ever expanding structure is the scenario of growing despair and existential dread, but not on the characters. A very unique cyberpunk post-apocalyptic dystopia manga, Blame! is a highly experimental and complex story told more through the masterful illustrations of Tsutomu Nihei than his words.
Later, it was released a collection of ten short stories, with a few parodies, but also some pure mindfuck expanding the mythos, and even a short sequel to the manga, named Blame! Academy and so On (2004-2008).
There has been a collection of six short animations in 2003, they adapt a few scenes of the manga, and are as crazy and surreal. They also made another short called Special (2003), but not as interesting, neither the two Prologue (2007) shorts.
They made a CGI movie in 2017, it couldn't really translate the experimentalism of the manga, it's more of a post-apocalyptic action flick, but still a very nice watch. They also made a manga version o the movie, called Blame!: The Electrofishers' Escape (2017), with the one-shot epilogue Blame!: Fort of Silicon Creatures (2017).
By Tow Ubucata. A human trafficked, teenage sex-slave, becomes an accessory on an investigation to stop a criminal organization... and by accessory I mean a cyborg killing machine!
The original manga ran from 2009 to 2012, and it was very well adapted to three movies: Mardock Scramble: The First Compression (2010), Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion (2011) and Mardock Scramble: The Third Exhaust (2012). There is another manga entry called Mardock Daemons (2016-2018), but the weebdom never touched it, so I don't know what it is about.
By Keikaku Ito. A sci-fi mystery thriller about ethics and nature on an utopian future. Really nice anime movie.
Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020)
Altered Carbon fans don't miss this animated Takeshi Kovacs action flick - that could have been such an awesome game.
I commented on the series here.
Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 (2017), directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, is an absolute awesome short animation introducing the events that led to the movie Blade Runner 2049.
Shinji Aramaki also directed a series called Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021-2022), that is also linked to the movie.
By Bartosz Sztybor and taking place in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, inspired by the original Cyberpunk game by Mike Pondsmith, on the iconic Night City created by William Gibson for Neuromancer, and adapted and animated by the Japanese... can it get more cyberpunkish than that!?
There is also this awesome short story/music video Dawid Podsiadło - Let You Down (2022)!
[I will comment on the game when the section is ready]
By Imai Toonz, directed by Hiroyuki Imaish. Two amnesiac criminals escape from a prison on the moon. A chaotic and absurd dystopian sci-fi adventure full of humor and action.
"In a future where cyborgs are more common than fully flesh and blood humans, a girl goes out to seek oil when her family's ration gets cut off. She needs to get it quickly so her grandmother's heart doesn't burn out, but no one has ever gone up above to the ration center and returned alive..."
A beautiful work by Tatsuyuki Tanaka, that has, unfortunately, been on an indefinite hiatus since 2010 - so, it seems unlikely he is going to pick it back up.
Hiroki Mafuyu is an awesome mangaka and illustrator that has been around since the 70s, but his works are extremely difficult to come by!
I know he has a lot of collections, but the only "full" story I was able to find online was the short one called Apples, that is in the partially scanlated anthology Error: Comickers Manga Collection For Another World Vol. 00 (2001). Apples is also the name of a beautiful anthology he released in 2019, which contains this work here and others, and you can find a few pictures online.
• Shorts that fit just right •
Dimension Loop (2001): A Koji Morimoto's Studio 4ºC crazy short animation.
Zoo (2005) Poetry of Sunshine: Directed by Junpei Mizasaki. The fourth part of the five-part film Zoo, adapted from the first volume of Otsuichi's novels of the same name. It is the only animated part.
• Damn awesome music videos, seriously! •
• Ken Ishii ‑ Extra (1995) • • Mylène Farmer ‑ Peut‑être Toi (2006) • • The Bluetoness ‑ 4‑Day Weekend (1998) •
• Post-apocalyptic and other Sci-Fi •
Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1997)
By Hideaki Anno, a blast of philosophical sci-fi mixed with a coming-of-age drama and a hard exploration of its characters psyche and relations.
You know what, I was quite surprised when people told me Evangelion was a Mecha anime, even though they are right there in your face, I never thought it was a main theme of the show...
The series ran from 1995 to 1996, and Anno made a more experimental ending. It made fans very angry, and after a few death threats they made the movie The End of Evangelion (1997), that is also awesome and it's the true ending.
Alongside with the anime, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto released his version of the story in the manga (1994-2013). The anime is the original, but because of delays in productions, the manga started first. It's a rare occasion of the manga being a watered down version, it completely ignore, or made very shallow, most of psychological and coming-of-ages aspects, and turned it more of an action/adventure story, but it's still pretty cool... and from there, there are tons of cash-grab spin-offs; slice-of-life romantic comedies, visuals novels sold for video games that are actually dating sims, really a bunch of crap that don't deserve to be named, and I include the Rebuild series in the crap list as well. Ignore all that shit, just watch the original show and the movie - and perhaps read the manga one day if you feel like experiencing it again.
By Shinichiro Watanabe. Jazz, bounty hunters and space ships. A classic with one of the best soundtracks ever made for an animation!
The series ran from 1997 to 1998, and later they released Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) with an extra adventure, which is also damn great.
For several several years there were talks about a Hollywood adaptation, and then in 2021 Netflix made a TV series... I watched one episode and that was damn enough for me hahaha - there was a promotional comic book miniseries released for it, I comment on it here
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
A great post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure by the master Hayao Miyazaki. Nausicaâ the movie is from 1984, and it's quite impossible to not compare it to Akira, because it's a damn great movie, but the manga (1982-1994) just have an immense worldbuilding and expands the story so greatly its a masterpiece on its own.
A crazy sci-fi comedy thriller written by Katsuhiro Otomo and directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo, with fantastic animation and a pertinent underlying social commentary. A must-watch for old school anime fans.
From late 80s to early 90s Patlabor got a manga and a TV series, and also two OVA series, they are a light police comedy drama, and I don't think there is much I can comment on them, it's like a very light version of Dominion (I have no idea how they didn't make a crossover). What I have to say is what Mamoru Oshii did to it in his movies.
Patlabor: The Movie (1989) and Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993), besides its superb looks, are very focused on investigation and political intrigue, very different from the silly light-hearted show. There is also a bit weird sequel by Fumihiko Takayama, where it takes a turn to horror kaiju movie, Patlabor Movie 3: WXIII (2002).
By Kim Moon-Saeng, a post-apocalyptic action adventure with some great visuals.
By Hiroshi Hamasaki. A dark dystopian and pretty nihilist series exploring existentialism and human nature.
Really won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those up to appreciate its artistic vision and philosophical depth, will be quite a ride.
By Masahiko Murata. A scientific experiment has destroyed the world, and in the new society, factions and mutated beings are fighting to control the future.
The late 90s and the 00s produced plenty of cryptic, artsy, and dark anime. Gilgamesh's pace is too damn slow, but it’s a nice watch if you also like Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments Lain, Ergo Proxy, Casshern Sins, and so.
This is actually a very loose adaptation of a Shotaro Ishinomori manga that run from 1976 to 1977. The manga itself is quite interesting, although quite dated as well, and unfortunatelly only six of its twenty-three chapters were scanlated.
One Million-Year Trip: Bandar Book (1978)
An old school sci-fi and crazy as fuck story by the psychedelic motherfucker godfather of anime and manga Osamu Tezuka, full of references to classic horror, western and cartoons.
By Hisayuki Toriumi. An old school space horror anime. Nice pick for fans of the genre.
By Katsuhito Akiyama. The post-apocalyptic wastelands can only improve with Japanese anime girls!
Gall Force is a series of OVAs that started in the 80s. The original trilogy of movies, Eternal Story (1987), Destruction (1988) and Stardust War (1989), is a space story in a very old school sci-fi vein. Later we got an alternative setting with Rhea Gall Force (1989) and the sequel Earth Chapter (1989-1990) that we fight ourselves and our creations in a more post-apocalyptic world. There are two other settings from the 90s but those I'd like to ignore the existence.
By Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, based on a manga by Haruka Takachiho, Crusher Joe original movie is a classic and fun space opera adventure. It got an OVA series in the late 80s but I found it kinda weak. The manga, unfortunately, was ignored by the weebdom.
Anime meets Moebius!
Dragon's Heaven is a post-apocalyptic future anime with whole art style inspired by the great Jean Giraud - pointy hats and all!
Makoto Kobayashi's manga ran from 1985 to 1986, and they made a movie in 1988.
Blue Submarine No. 6 (1998-2000)
By Mahiro Maeda. An awesome post-apocalyptic OVA series set in a flooded world.
This is actualy based on a 1967 manga by Satoru Ozawa, but who knows how the original story is? This is another title ignored by the weebdom.
By Yuji Iwahara. Candidates are selected to go to a cryogenic sleep in hope to survive a world pandemic, but what they wake up to...
Japanese survival horror, in the vein of Resident Evil, Dino Crisis and Parasite Eve. The manga ran from 2002 to 2005, and although very cool, I kinda loathe the last volume. They adapted it to an anime movie in 2009, and the plus is that it skipped all I didn't like about the manga hehe.
By Hiroya Oku. Some people that died are recruited to fight aliens in a sick game. If you look up Plot-hole in the dictionary, you are going to see Gantz there. Regardless, the manga (2000-2013) is loads of fun!
It has a prequel, Gantz/Nishi (2011), and a spin-off Gantz:G (2015-2017), and a new setting called Gantz:E (2020-????) is currently being released, and it's just Gantz but in feudal Japan. It got a really bad anime adaptation in the 00s, with an even worse second season, but we got Gantz:O (2016) CGI movie that looks fantastic, but the script is awful, is just dumb fun eye-candy violence.
"There is a world in which an endless rain of dark ash fills the sky, and covers the earth. Humanity, fearing the ash that burns and melts away human flesh, had no choice but to cover themselves in protective suits, and their faces with gigantic masks. Bundled up in their suits and hidden away behind their masks, the people have fled deep within the underground. This is the story of the children growing up in this fearful world."
By Toshihisa Yokoshima. Awesome cel-shaded art with 2D effects, Cocolors is a bittersweet emotional story that attempts to depict happiness in the simple things within a scenario of growing desperation.
By Yasuhiro Yoshiura. A cute anime sci-fi adventure. Patema, a girl from an underground civilization wants to explore the world and discover its secrets.
The manga (2012-2013) is widely different, but only five of its thirteen chapters got scanlated.
By Shuhei Morita. After a cataclysmic event that destroyed Earth, humanity went to live in a colony on the moon, but some people are too ungovernable to sit quietly.
Freedom actually started as a Nissin Ramen promo and somehow turned into an awesome OVA series, with designs by the Akira guy himself, Katsuhiro Otomo. There is also a short prequel called Freedom Previsited (2006).
By Masatoshi Usume. A very despicable mercenary roaming the post-apocalyptic desert wastelands. Desert Punk is full of action, humor, violence and absurd situations. It had an anime series between 2004 and 2005 that is very fun, the whole story was actually very fun, but it takes a dark turn after the events of the anime.
A bit of mafia, a bit of holocaust, a whole lot of violence. In the city of Ergastulum, that's more like a racial ghetto, the Handymen duo are freelancers taking jobs for the several factions that rule the place. Despite its silly generic name, Gangsta. is brutal and develops a complex story with its characters and setting. Kohske became one of my favorite mangakas and I hope she is doing well.
Gangsta. got an anime in 2015, but unfortunatelly the studio went bankrupt during its production, and closed doors after the first season was out. Although incomplete, the anime still kicks ass.
By Yo Moriyama, an homage to the Ikki Kajiwara's classic Tomorrow's Joe. It follows the journey of Junk Dog, a fighter who rises from the underground to challenge the reigning champion of a futuristic sport called Megalo Boxing.
It also had a manga (2018), I don't know if adaptation, sequel, prequel, spin-off or alternative setting, because it's another work ignored by the weebdom.
By Kazuya Tsurumaki. A chaotic and abstract coming-of-age OVA series with amazing animation. It had a few sequels, spin-offs and alternative settings, honestly, none really worth it They made a manga out of the anime too, but really the best part is the chaotic animation, so I didn't find the manga very interesting..
By Jo Beom-jin. In the future, after humanity exhausted its energy resources, humans developed means to be the source of energy supply in the newly found metropolis. The new government decreed that every citizen should be registered, and in return for their efforts and contributions to society, they would be rewarded with a new highly addictive drug. The result, not surprisingly, was a drug epidemic that led to violence, gangs, and mafias. However, what was not expected were the awful mutations that the said drug generated in a portion of the population. These individuals were no longer able to generate energy but craved the reward for it more than ever.
Aachi and Ssipak are two street hoodlums who, through a sequence of random events, manage to find a way to cheat the system and acquire the drugs in large quantities. This makes them targets for the government, the mafias, and the mutants.
With its unique art style, awesome direction, insane scenes, absurd non-stop action, sarcastic pitch black humor, and sick and twisted story, Aachi and Ssipak is a breath of fresh air in animation, and doesn’t hold back to appease easily offended audiences.
Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space (2002)
By Tol. A crazy, tad experimental, animation of a surreal future. A lot of mystery and conspiracies around a cute cat traveling through space.
It also has a few other entries, that are possibly not a part of the same story. Wake up!! Tamala (2010) is a short movie is very about environment. Meanwhile, Tamala on Parede (2007) and Tamala Wild Party (2007), I have no idea what they are about, as the weebdom never took interest on them.
The Legend of Mother Sarah (1990-2004)
A post-apocalyptic action drama manga by the master Katsuhiro Otomo. It gotta have the most violent scene ever made in fiction!
A one-shot manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. Glass domed metal cities, authoritarian police State, juvenile biker gangs, a cry for freedom on a post-apocalyptic devastated world... you know, the whole deal.
A pilot, named Route 20: Galactic Airport (1991), was made by Gainax, but unfortunately the series never took off.
By Yasuhiro Yoshiura. What is known to be left of humanity resides on a gigantic structure. Archeologists now try to restore the virtual remnants of the past, but is it even important?
Pale Cocoon is a pretty bleak featurette but also very impactful.
• Other stuff to check •
Star Wars: Visions (2021-????): A collection of stories set in the Star Wars universe. The first season is all Japanese, and honestly I only really liked the first story. Second season got studios from all around the world, though. I still haven't watched it, if I ended up liking more stuff, I may move this to the cartoon section.
Halo Legends (2009-2010): A collection of stories set in the Halo universe.
• Shorts that fit just right •
Home! (2021): By Akihiko Orikasa. A very cool short animation about a guy finding a lost vessel on Mars.
The Record of Garm War (1996): A pilot movie by Mamoru Oshii, made to test the CGI technology they were developing. The pilot itself lacks texture and some lighting but some scenes at the end are fully rendered and are truly impressive considering the year they were made. This technology was later used in the Ghost in the Shell sequel Innocence, and the pilot itself became the full length live action movie Garm Wars: The Last Druid in 2014.
• More cool music videos •
• Capsule ‑ Space Station no.9, Portable Aiport, Project: City Flying in the Sky (2005) • • Flying Lotus ‑ More (2019) • • Heavenstamp ‑ Decadence (Animal Collective remix) (2012) • • The Pillows ‑ 1989 (2009) •
• Fantastic Thrillers, Dramas and weird Psychedelic and Psychological stuff •
By the incredible Satoshi Kon. A psychological thriller anime that explores the dark side of fame and identity, blurring the line between reality and illusion, with a tense and disturbing atmosphere. Perfect Blue is a masterpiece of animation, with stunning visuals and a haunting soundtrack.
Another masterful work by Satoshi Kon, with superb visuals, directing and animation, and a beautiful story. Millennium Actress is about a reporter interviewing a reclusive actress in the latter years of her life.
Satoshin Kon again, with a visually stunning sci-fi thriller. A mind-bending anime that goes full psychedelic blurring the limits of reality and dreams. It's imagery greatly inspired Hollywood movies like Inception, and Kon is just an awesome and talented director with immense impact in the medium, but that wasn't enough to attracted the attention of the weebdom to the original Yasytaka Tsutsui's Paprika (1994-1995) manga that inspired the movie, nor to the short manga sequel made Paprika: The Dream-Child (2007).
The nations are at peace because war is now fought by private corporations... but what is the war for?
Mamoru Oshii at his best with thought-provoking psychological drama and sky high aerial dog fighting. As Paprika, this could fit in the sci-fi section, but I don't think it's the main theme.
It also got a game for Wii called The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (2008), and a manga series based on it was made, but it's another thing the weebdom didn't pay attention to.
By Eiichi Yamamoto. A cult classic with superb and beautiful art, full of psychedelic and surreal touches that elaborate symbols and allegories in its most critical parts. Belladonna of Sadness is an adult medieval story about patriarchal oppression, sexual violence but also liberation and defiance. Partially inspired by La Sorcière, paganism and witchcraft are used as a popular rebellion against religious institutions and the persecution they promoted. The tragic narrative style follows a classic literature pattern, and the ending shows a spark for so much more that has been achieved and can still be achieved by this unruly spirit of freedom.
A superb experimental animation directed by Mamoru Oshii. Angel's Egg is a surreal and symbolic exploration of life, faith, and meaning.
Directed by Isao Takahata. A superb semi-autobiographical WWII story. I never thought I'd watch it a second time, but I had to look for good screenshots... why not watch a second time? You will get it...
By Ryosuke Takahashi. A war-torn country, suffering with radical armed factions and international military intervention, is recorded through the lens of an UN photographer that once took a picture that symbolized a chance for peace. A very unique anime with a docummentary-style narrative.
An autobiographical manga by Keiji Nakazawa. Barefoot Gen is an unflinching first-hand look at the result of dropping an atomic bomb on civilians... but that's just the first half of it. The manga (1973-1974) is brutal and goes deep in the story of Japan in the ten years after the war, including the American occupation, the yakuza, and, most notable, the Emperor and Japanese war crimes, and the post-war Japanese government crimes as well.
Talking about the Emperor is a taboo in Japan, personally, the only few works I ever saw even mentioning the existence of an Emperor were WWII works, just to say he issued the surrender. Gen is the only so far I've seen that openly talks about the Emperor and what asshole he was. Because of that taboo nobody ever talks about the imperial family, the Japanese people are there quietly paying taxes to support their luxurious life, with more than 40 servants per person, a personal orchestra and all kinds of stupid shit, because of their divine right or whatever. As nobody talks about them, people don't even remember these parasites exist.
There were two anime movie adaptations, with very brutal imagery as well. Barefoot Gen (1983) and Barefoot Gen 2 (1986), obviously they only cover the first half of the manga, and doesn't go into the government and the Emperor actions.
By Yasuomi Umetsu. Once I've read a Quentin Tarantino interview mentioning Kite, it automatically got my interest, but the story sounded so trash that it took a long time for me to decide to watch it, and... boy, is it trash!? Absolutely, and fantastically trash! And violent, and fucked up, disturbing, but also surprisingly well animated and directed with awesome action scenes... and some hardcore porn out of nowhere.
Maybe it's an urban legend, but I've read somewhere Umetsu lacked funding to make the anime so he went with an hentai studio and had to add a porn scene in each part, but they are really not important to the story and feel very awkward. Same goes for its spiritual sucessor Mezzo Forte, another fantastical production by the same director, that got some awkward porn scenes in the middle that could be completely skipped.
I only regret taking so long to watch it. Kite and Mezzo Forte are quite a unique ride.
Kite has a kind of sequel made in 2008, but I'd prefer to ignore its existence. Mezzo Forte also got a 13 episodes TV series in 2004, that is also not so great.
"In the 1920s, a poverty-stricken 12-year-old girl named Midori resorts to selling camellias in the slums of Tokyo. Midori finds little success until, one day, she is approached by a gentleman who offers his sympathy and aid. When her bedridden mother succumbs to an illness, and with no one else to turn to, Midori visits the man's address."
Midori (1992) profoundly disturbing arthouse movie was entirely funded, animated, produced and directed by Hiroshi Harada, who could not find sponsor due to its graphic imagery - yeah, at the height of stupidly gory and porny OVAs being produced. The movie was widely censored and banned around the world and was thought lost until 2013 the original negatives were found in a warehouse and remastered.
It is a direct and very faithful adaptation of Suehiro Maruo's Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show (1984).
This Korean animation is actually a one guy project: Yeon Sang-Ho. The directing is nice when you think about scene composition and pace. Voice acting is mediocre but the main problem is that they either lacked proper equipment or a sound technician because when the actors are laughing or screaming the voice starts clipping (distortion due to loudness). The art, now the art sucks, and the animation is pretty bad too... why am I recommending it?
The King of Pigs is a very gripping dark psychological drama with well written characters and narrative. The art department is very lacking, but it's honestly one of the best animated stories I've watched in a long while. Too bad it had a very low budget - if it had any at all!
A real duel between a blind and a one-armed samurai was recorded in history. For the layman, it was a fiasco, but Shigurui retells the story, showing how skillful they were and how only real sword masters could appreciate the unique and absurd spectacle of their technique.
Shigurui is not some action series, but a historical romance and psychological drama that feels a lot like a classic novel, although it is very graphically violent.
After watching the animated series (2007), directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, I read the original Norio Nanjo's manga (2003-2010) and thought how hard it would be to build up the tension and suspense as Hamasaki does in the anime without the aid of timing and music, but then I realized the real challenge might have been how to transfer all the emotions to the animation without the use of a narrator. Even if the manga had been completed by the time the anime came out, Hamasaki’s director’s cut couldn’t be more precise, and it is truly a superb adaptation, extremely faithful but at the same time bringing this historical romance to new heights thanks to his skillful directing.
By Shinichirō Watanabe, a psychological thriller anime that follows two young terrorists moved by mysterious motivations.
Kino travels through a world full of City-States, each with their own unique culture and set of morals.
Based on novels by Keiichi Sigsawa, Kino's Journey had tons of adaptations. The 2003 anime series had the special Kino's Journey: Tower Country (2005), the prequel Kino's Journey: Life Goes On (2005), and the sequel Kino's Journey: The Land of Sickness (2007). Then there was a new anime series in 2017.
Apparently, at the same time two mangas were being published from 2017 to 2020, but the weebdom had low interest on it, and only scanlated thirteen of the twenty-two chapters of one, and twelve of the fifty-three of the other.
By Kei Sanbe. A cute, and tad brutal, mystery thriller manga with a bit of Butterfly Effect and Life is Strange. A boy can rewind time when a life threatening situation happens, but he may end too far back.
The manga (2012-2016), is obviously way richer, but it also has a very good anime adaptation (2016).
By Taiyo Matsumoto. The city viewed and explored by two street kids, friends of local guards, hobos, gangs and gangsters - and with a unique art style.
The manga ran from 1993 to 1994, and it got an awesome movie adaptation (2006) directed by Michael Arias.
By Inio Asano. A couple living together and working unsatisfying jobs. Solanin is pretty much about becoming an adult, an amazing story that will hit totally differently if you are in your 20s - or past it.
Actually a part of a collection of three stories by different authors, this one is by the master Katsuhiro Otomo, and is about a minor gang of bandits trying to prove their worth and getting involved with way more that they can even comprehend. Absurd, fun and loads of action with all Otomo's underlying political and social commentary.
"Do you know the average age of a Japanese politician? The young ones are sixty. The only young people who can become politicians today are celebrities or the children of older politicians. Even those who come up from the bureaucracy are over sixty. There's no way for young people to get into politics under the presente system. The country's run by thickheaded old men."
Two young and very determined survivors of the Pol Pot regime get dissatisfied with the state of Japanese society, and devise a plan to rock it from the inside. Deciding at chance, one joins the mafia and the other politics.
By Buronson. Sanctuary is a crime and political thriller about power, corruption and how old people suck. In 1996 it got an OVA, which covers about a fourth of the manga story, but to be honest, was the best part anyway.
Lesson of the Evil (2012-2015)
By Yusuke Kishi. Finally a teacher that can rival Onizuka!
A nice thriller, Seiji is just a great teacher trying to keep his students in line.
Keiichi Koike going full psychedelic as always. Mixing different timelines and concurrent events, from Amazon tribes to Space exploration. Just another great alternative reading
Keiichi Koike and his brain melting psychedelic trips full of beautiful artwork. Astroid doesn't even have dialogue, it's just a story of one guy tripping balls through space and time.
• More awesome shorts •
Puparia (2020): "Something is about to change drastically. We can only be witnesses of it."
By Shingo Tamagawa. Stunningly detailed, vibrant colors and fluid movement. Puparia is just a three minutes long animation, but a real eye candy.
• And cool music videos •
• The Breakaways ‑ Girl Electric (2016) •
• Dark Fantasy and Supernatural stories •
By Kentaro Miura, one of the most iconic manga ever, a shocking dark fantasy with gorgeous illustrations. Sadly the author passed away in 2021, but they decided to let his close friend and assistant Koji Mori to continue his work, following his notes.
Berserk had one of its arcs adapted by Naohito Takahashi in an anime series (1997-1998), and it was damn great! And, for some reason, Studio 4ºC decided to adapt the same arc again in the serie of CGI movies Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King (2012), Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey (2012), and Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent (2013). They improved the only weak point of the TV series, that was the battle scenes, but for the rest... well, they are fun movies to watch, but the TV series is way better.
Lastly, there were also some CGI TV series, but I will never talk about those.
Berserk had a few video games. They all had mixed reviews. I've never played any, nor I think I will.
Based on a series of novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi, Vampire Hunter D had one of its stories adapted by Toyoo Ashida in the 1985 movie, which is quite nice old school horror anime, but what I really have to talk about is Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000), directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Stunning animation, great atmosphere and soundtrack, a trully gorgeous dark fantasy anime!
There was a very nice manga (2007-2014) adaptation by Takaki Saiko, and also a Korean adaptation by Jerry Cho called Claws of Darkness (2006?) that is very hard to find information and didn't catch the interest of the weebdom. It appears a new manga called Vampire Hunter D: The Rose Princess (2024-????) is being published, but also very little info is available, and I hope weebs find a moment between scanlating whater new manga about a loser surrounded by lolis that like him to check this out.
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
Directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Mamoru Oshii, Blood: The Last Vampire is too damn short but just beautiful!
It got two increasingly embarassing silly TV alternative settings by other authors that are best to not be mentioned, but also a manga (2001) sequel by Bankyou Tamaoki.
By Yoshiaki Kawajiri. An absolute classic with badass ninja fights, a lot of gore violence and nudity. All that you need for proper family friendly entertainment!
It also got a very shitty TV show by other people years later, that I won't comment further.
By Q Hayashida. Horror, comedy, action, mystery with a gritty and chaotic surreal atmosphere, Dorohedoro is a pretty unique bizarre dark fantasy story.
The manga ran from 2000 to 2018, and an awesome anime adaptation started in 2020 - still in production.
By Gamon Sakurai. Mysterious immortal humans appear, a nice view of what would actually happen to people with super powers.
Ajin the manga ran from 2012 to 2021, but it got a very nice anime adaptation as well, which was summarized in three theatrical releases, but the whole story ran in TV and supplmentary OVA series from 2016 to 2017.
By Hajime Isayama. Attack on Titan starts with horror mystery, and develops into an action thriller that turns into a political and war drama, and end up questioning ethics, morality and human nature... also adapted to one of the most popular anime around, which I shall check one of these days, but that I know was toned down from the source material.
Twilight of the Dark Master (1998)
Direct by Akiyuki Shinbo, based on a manga by Saki Okuse, that unfortunately the weebdom never cared about. Twilight of the Dark Master is a bit of neonoir cyberpunk mixed with dark fantasy horror, and the OVA is damn too short! But a real underrated gem of trash.
By Hideyuki Kikushi. Darkside Blues, both the manga (1988) and the OVA (1994), got some great atmosphere mixing cyberpunk, horror and dark fantasy, with a great set of interesting character, but... it ends so abruptly! This story really should have continued.
From the classic fighting game banger, a very nice adaptation of the first two games showing the whole roster, with amazing animation and art. The very cool part is that in all the fights they use moves from the game, from special moves to combos, and even basic attacks. If you are a fan you going to really enjoy it.
By Shuhei Morita. Children enter a hidden city to play a mysterious game. Kakurenbo is a quite nice horror featurette with great animation and nice cel shaded visual.
Aragne: Sign of Vermillion (2018)
By Saku Sakumoto. Aragne: Sign of Vermillion is a nightmarish horror thriller anime that gets increasingly crazy and surreal as it goes. He later made its eye-candy prequel The Feast of Amrita. Two great picks if you want to see some more surreal horror.
Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (2004)
By Akiyuki Shinbo. A supernatural goth horror romance with fantastic visuals.
There was also a manga apadation (2004) by Asuka Katsura.
The Hell: Two Kinds of Life (2006)
A collection of two short horror stories by Yeon Sang-ho. In 2019 it was loosely adapted to a manhwa that became the 2021 Netflix series Hellbound, but The Hell is very very different from them, it's not some supernatural police drama, but a very psychological horror instead, which unfortunately had a too low budget, but is still awesome.
Domu: A Child's Dream (1980-1981)
A twisted old man with psychic powers play around his apartment block, but things are about to change...
A fantastic short story by Katsuhiro Otomo.
A collection of four stories by Katsuhiro Otomo and Satoshi Kon.
They made a live-action movie out of this partnership as well.
A surreal short story by Tatsuyuki Tanaka released on his art book Cannabis Works 2.
The text is the Buddhist Sutra "The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom"... it's a pain to translate...
Satoshi Kon's final manga was about making manga... I guess...
He never got to publish the final chapter, but he made a draft of a rushed conclusion just to close the story for the fans, it was found after his death and published in the omnibus collection.
• Some dark shorts •
Kikumana (2001): By Yasuhiro Yoshiura. Just some nice experimental short.
Noisy Birth (2000): Another Yasuhiro Yoshiura work, this one is more of a bizarre music video.
• And eerie music videos •
• Matryoshka ‑ Monotonous Purgatory (2012) • • Vampillia ‑ Endless Summer (2013) • • Vampillia ‑ Lilac Bombs (2014) •
• Kinda cute or heartwarming, I guess •
Ghibli Movies
Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Porco Rosso (1992), Spirited Away (2001), are all beautiful adventures by Hayao Miyazaki, that I'd take over anything Disney anyday. But I need to comment on Princess Mononoke (1997) separately. An amazing epic fantasy about nature and civilization, and my personal favorite Ghibli.
Fullmetal Alchemist (2001-2010)
By Hiromy Arakawa. Fullmetal Alchemist might be one of the most popular anime ever, and like Avatar: The Last Airbender, it's one of these special children's cartoon with amazing story and characters that one can really enjoy at any age.
The first anime adaptation (2003-2004) came very early, so it widely differed from the manga. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009-2010), however, follows it, but feels a bit rushed in some parts, and doesn't delve as deep on its characters. Still, it managed to add more impact to some key moments of the manga. Both are very fun to watch, and have unremarkable OVAs, movies and specials.
Miss me with Z, Super and all of that strongest-guy-ever showing up every other week crap. The original Dragon Ball run is a very fun adventure where Akira Toriyama shows all his creativity with great design and fun characters.
Original run? It's up to chapter 194. So Dragon Ball manga ran from 1984 to 1988 to me - and nothing after is worth it. And then, obviously, the anime series (1986-1989).
By Nagabe. A girl got lost in the Outside World, where creatures that curse humans by mere touch live. A cutesy and gloomy manga (2015-2021), that was shortly adapted into a nice OVA (2019) and movie (2022).
By Yoshitoshi Abe, based on a few concept manga (2001-2002) he published on his own. Many came here because of Serial Experiments Lain design, but this is actually a quite easy going series about angel-like beings who are born from cocoons in a mysterious walled town.
Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985)
Directed by Gisaburo Sugii, based on the classic novel by Kenji Miyazawa. A dreamy and increasingly surreal animation that through its beautiful art and symbolism may touch more themes than you realize.
There was later adaptation that is just a narration over some CGI backdrop, and there were also two older manga adaptations that you can barely find any info about, and the weebdom never cared to scanlate, but also another one made in 2007 that you can find online but that is just ok.
The Man of the Sun and the Woman of the Earth (2011)
A take on Navarro's creation myth by the psychedelic master Keiichi Koike.
• And of course, I love them anthologies! •
Amazing collection of 10 short animated stories expanding the universe of The Matrix, with only heavy weight directors working on it!
Episodes I posted in full:
The Second Renaissance Part I, and The Second Renaissance Part II: By Mahiro Maeda and Studio 4ºC.
Kid's Story: By Shinichiro Watanabe and Studio 4ºC.
World Record: By Takeshi Koike, Yoshiaki Kawajiri and Madhouse.
Beyond: By Koji Morimoto and Studio 4ºC.
Japan Animator Expo (2014-2015)
An awesome anthology of 35 different short animations!
Episodes I posted in full:
Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen: An adaptation of Moyoco Anno's manga of the same name.
A collection of three short stories by the heavy weight anime directors Rintaro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri and Katsuhiro Otomo.
A Studio 4ºC anthology of twelve short experimental animations by different director - seven in Genius Party, another five in Genius Party Beyond.
Episodes I posted in full:
Tojin Kit: By Tatsuyuki Tanaka, is a dark and disturbing story about a girl who can animate her stuffed toys with a mysterious device.
Dimension Bomb: By Koji Morimoto, is a surreal feast of stunning animation.
Another Studio 4ºC anthology series, with five experimental shorts from different directors, released between 2001 and 2006, but collected in 2007.
Episodes I posted in full:
End of the World: By Osamu Kobayashi, a surreal story of two girls that became friends in a punk concert - featuring the all-girl punk rock band Lolita No.18.
As far as I known, Robot Carnival is the first anime anthology ever made. A collection of seven short sci-fi stories by different directors, with an opening and ending by Katsuhiro Otomo.
Another Studio 4ºC project, a collection of four music-themed shorts.
Episodes I posted in full:
Global Astroliner: By Daisuke Nakayama, Global Astroliner is great - The rest not so much, I don't think I will be posting them.
A compilation of ten sci-fi pumped psychedelic spinned short stories by the master Keiichi Koike.
SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers (1996)
A collection of ten short stories by the master Katsuhiro Otomo, published between 1979 and 1995. Unfortunately the weebdom didn't take much interest on it and only three ever got scanlated.
The story that gives the title to the collection got an animated sequel, SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next (2007), that is a fun children's movie.
