Forum - View topicPhilosophical Anime anyone?
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sporkydorky
 Posts: 5 Location: san ho, CA |
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Hey guys im new to the ANN forum but have been using its vast knowledge to aquire only the best animes on the market. So far the best anime's ( No this is not a reference to another top 10 request or whatever your favs might be) that I have seen all coincide with different philosophies. I find that exostentialistic animes have proven to breed some of the best anime's, through the best writers and directors. *insert homage to watanabe*. Its interesting how most of us dont notice the different standpoints anime has to offer us like relativism, idealism, surrealism, and existentialism. Instead of looking for "action packed, arse kicking anime in the top ten". Lets look for anime's with interesting philosophical value.
Here are some of the good ones we've come to know and love: 1.Cowboy Bebop-Different scenes are interepreted differently by each one of us, the characters are well developed and no doubt defines exostentialistic views. Each character searches for meaning and purpose throughout the series, within a dank and solemn universe of people who have forgotten their 'purpose' in life. 2.Black Lagoon-In the end another reference is made that we are the choices we make. (Plus the action is astounding) 3.Ergo Proxy-Ergo Proxy is definetley one of my favorites. A perfect society encouraged to be the average consumer with the average thought process with a twist of futuristic equilibrium-esque government bodies and law enforcement. This series reminds us of the importance of self-identity and democracy. 4.Samurai Champloo-surreal interpretation of the hip hop world. While im not a fan of hip hop samurai champloo provides some interesting views on the way people deal with the situations they're put in. Anyone else got any good ones?(Mentally enriching, and thought provoking) Last edited by sporkydorky on Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:02 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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For thought provoking anime, look no further than Haibane Renmei. A lesson that teaches us that what choices we make, and decisions we take can cause much pain to our loved ones. Also that a problem shared is a problem halved if we only but take the hand being offered.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11507 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Wow not only does this user have Bebop as his avatar, he also made an much better recommendation thread than all of the other crap I've seen as of late
 . I'll allow this to stay open, so don't report it.
As for the topic, a few titles I can think of off the top of my head are: Monster -- More of a crime thriller and drama, but uses a lot of psychological elements to captivate the audience. It instills a few ideas like "can naiveity and kindess ultimately lead to the wrong decision"" or "can you make up for those mistakes by becoming the complete polar opposite of who you already are?" And this is only the conflict of the protagonist. On top of that, you also have a very involved plot of tracking down the antagonist, diving into his psyche, examing his past and the past of his experimenters (all I'll say is that they're Nazis), and a whole bunch of other stuff I can't begin to spoil. Great voice acting, haunting music/sound effects, and very down-to-earth art make it quite possibly the best crime/mystery series I've seen to date. Jin-Roh -- Many people found it boring and full of political hogwash, but it's actually a pretty simple theme: is human nature closer to men (in the social sense) or beasts (in the instinctual sense)? Very, very dark movie, literally. If you ever watch it, please do so at night time, as it uses a heavy amount of dark color palletes for characters and backgrounds. Can't say much else since I don't want to spoil it. But overall, I found the movie to be a nice reminder of how we sometimes need to reflect on that aspect. Mind Game -- This is currently my favorite anime movie of all-time. As dark and depressing as a lot of other psycholgoical/philosophical anime are these days, Mind Game is all comedy. And boy, is it a feel good movie. This title carries the theme of living a good life, getting a second chance, and that general perspective of finding a sense of happiness within yourself. But the theme itself isn't the real eye-catcher, it's the way they present it. The unorthadox art/animation style does wonders for conveying this extemely light amtmosphere, and you can't help but feel good about yourself after watching it just one time through. Highly, highly recommended. EDIT: Just noticed a grammar boo-boo. Last edited by Tony K. on Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Rozzer
 Posts: 344 Location: So Cali |
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A great philosophical anime that happens to be so depressing it feels real at times, would have to be Now and Then, Here and There.
Although the series starts out rather light hearted, it quickly becomes rather deep, giving insight on how war affects different people. Although the characters and the overall story is fictional, you can definitely see the realism in the fact that war does take place all over the world, and children are definitely a part of it. |
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Momoko_Yumi
 Posts: 98 Location: Heidenheim, Germany |
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You're wrong. spoiler[They are no Nazis. These Experiments startet in Czechoslovakia and then go on in the German Democratic Repuplik. And all that happend long after the second World War. And in this times these lands where ruled bye the Communists Party. All the experimenters then where Communists, no Nazis.] One more philosophical Anime is Ghost in the Shell. I think it's great stuff apart from the action. Think of the dialogues between the major and the puppetmaster. It's a movie about false memories and the question when is a man a man and could a machine become a human. [EDIT: Covered potential spoilers. -TK] |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11507 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Huh? I'm pretty sure spoiler[ Baby and his gang were a group of Neo-Nazis conspiring with those old generals to make Johan the next Hitler. Maybe I should've mentioned Neo-Nazi instead of the Nazis of old.] In any case, try consulting with this thread. But be warned that it's veeery long, detailed, and with NO spoiler tags (for those who don't to be spoiled yet). Also try here and here for further confirmation about the whole Nazi thing. |
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Momoko_Yumi
Posts: 98 Location: Heidenheim, Germany |
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Yes you're right: spoiler[Baby and his gang are Neo-Nazis. But the persons who started the experiments are not. These experiments were started bye Communists. After Johann comes to Germany he is involved in the Neo-Nazi movement, but he plays with them. Baby and his Gang didn't start this experiments. It was Franz Bonaparte who started it. ]
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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Kino's Journey hasn't been mentioned yet, so...
I'll talk briefly about it since I've already written pages and pages about it before. Basically it puts the main character Kino into all sorts of absurd worlds and situations which is supposed to be a mirror of some sort of problem or potential problem in our society today. If you like philosophy, witty satire, irony, and a slow-paced atmopshere in your anime, then Kino's Journey would be a very good choice. Ironic that the title includes the phrase "the beautiful world", as the world depicted in the series is anything but.
You mean the one that isn't more mature than Naruto? 
[/end sarcasm] |
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Eruanna
 Posts: 451 Location: Canada |
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No one has mentioned Angel's Egg? Angel's Egg is very thought provoking, and probably the most heavily symbolic thing I have ever seen, anime or otherwise. I rather like it, though it can get boring so I can understand why some wouldnt. You need alot of patience to get through it. But ifyou can, the reward is great. Its a great example of philosophicalism (real word?) in anime. Its very dark, and the ending is a confusing one at best, and nigh on indecipherable at worst. Its defonatly not one you watch when you want to zone out for some mindless action. Its rife with symbols, like a group of statues who wake up to throw spears at the shadows of whales, or the lone traveler with a gun shaped like a cross.
And apparently I like this one so much it's my avatar, Go figure. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16974 |
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Since someone already stole my answer to everything, I cast you into Hades Mohawk!!!!! (watch Rome for reference) I'll have to mention another anime. I'll just mention one for now so there's more for others to mention without constant repetition. Now keeping in mind the key word is Philosophical and not simply Inspirational there is one that must be mentioned without saying. The original Ghost In The Shell.
Ghost In The Shell, by which I mean the movie(s) not the tv show, was a journey into who man really is. This anime pushed the limits I think in terms of making you really take a look back at yourself as a human. At what point does humanity stop or begin? What is it that truly distinguishes us from machines? Just a few questions that this movie makes you consider. A topic we all might have to face sooner or later as technology develops more and more. |
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Amasa
 Posts: 340 Location: Japan |
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I'll agree with Haibane Renmei and Mind Game, they both made me think of things very differently. I learned a lot from both, but there are a couple of titles that really changed me. One such anime film Night on the Galactic Railroad has such a profound effect on it's viewers. At each stage of the journey we learn something new about life and death. There's metaphors in the film which I won't understand after a fourth or fifth viewing, but I believe that it's important message can be unlocked by anyone willing to learn something. It certainly has a very existential element in each character, and even verges on the absurd in a more subtle manner than Mind Game.
Honey and Clover II has some very philosophical themes. spoiler[Morita's analysis of his past and even Takemoto's review of his purpose in life challenge the cliche personal developments in most character-driven anime.] While at times taking away the likableness of the first season, the second season is interesting if not a bit intense at times - but it remains more thought provoking than any other series I've seen. |
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selenta
Subscriber Posts: 1774 Location: Seattle, WA |
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If someone else gives it the go... I guess I'll throw in my 2 cents.
Personally I wouldn't throw Monster in the philosophical category, as I'd put it more squarely in the psychological... but it's kind of one of those things I have a hard time arguing against  so I guess I'll second it.
GitS is another good one, and although it's not quite as deep as the others in my opinion (as I feel it tries far to hard sometimes and comes across as trying to cover every base, which makes any philosophical stance weaker) it fills the category quite nicely, seconded as well. Kino's Journey... YES. This is quite possibly one of the only shows I would say truly deserves the title of "philosophical", along with Haibane Renmei and Mushishi. These three titles are the epitome of what I consider to be philosophical titles. They delve into very deep territory in a way that isn't overdone, nor is it ever undercooked. You never walk away thinking that the author just threw in every possible option simply so they could appeal to everyone. Pale Cocoon - Not quite as strong as the last three... but it delves pretty deeply into the psyche of post-apocolyptic people, to the point that it probably is better described as a kind of philosophy. It's pretty recent, and the end is... a little esoteric and hard to follow... but it's very good over all. Not to mention short. Serial Experiments Lain - No one's mentioned this one yet... but I'm sure it at least crossed everyone's mind. To be honest, I need to watch this one again. Certainly fits the bill though, no matter how you look at it. |
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bonbonsrus
 Posts: 1537 Location: Michigan, USA |
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Wow, nobody has said Death Note? Talk about having a good philosophical disscussion...would you want to play God? When is it morally ok to kill another human being?...so much in this one. I have only seen thru ep 11 as I am now waiting for teh release to purchase like a good girl (so nobody spoil it for me!) but I love the suspence and thought that went into making this.
I think another one to put in this thread would be Barefoot Gen. It's pretty straight forward war and the effects it has on humanity, and I doubt you will see a much more moving story told in (or out to some degree) of anime. People talk about Grave of the Fireflies making them cry...this one is triple the emotion. Both sort of deal with the same subject, war, and tell the tale in their own way. I HIGHLY recomend people see this. Yes, it's older, so what. |
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Keonyn
Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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Well, selenta pretty much mentioned the top two on my list. Haibane Renmei is a very philosophical title, looking at the social side of humanity and how we deal with and face our own flaws and the importance of others during that time. On top of that you have the obvious religious slant and views on sin which is, thankfully, not heavy handed at all and is actually quite subtle for a series with people wandering around with wings and halo's.
Kino's Journey is also on top of the list. Each episode seems to be centered around some extreme of human behavior, often demonstrating how even a good concept can become a bad one when taken too far. Kino's point of view takes an outsiders perspective, and often a nearly neutral perspective, as well which really adds to the impact of each encounter and allows the viewer to relate more effectively. I'd also like to add Wolf's Rain to the list with its take on humanity in a world that's falling apart, ambition, the environment and a class system. Even it's views on good and evil took a different perspective. It painted a pretty bleak view of humanity in general, but a view that isn't entirely improbable. |
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hentai4me
 Posts: 1313 Location: England. Robin is so Cute! |
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Pretty much anything by Yoshitoshi Abe seems to be at least worth a look.
the afore mentioned Haibane Renmei and Serial Experiments Lain, but also, though I didn't really enjoy it that much, Neia_7, it has been a while since I've seen it but, looking past the obvious idea of racial integration and discrimination, there is the message in Haibane Renmei as well, namely thinking about how you should live your life. As philosophical and deep as Naruto may be it in no way compares to these kind of shows...though anything can be looked at philosophically...the real question is whether you're seeing what isn't really there. |
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