Intellectual Anime

[themightyg]

Hi,

 

I'm new to the forums, and am looking for help in finding intellectual, thought provoking anime that I might have missed. My past favourites are Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii's films & Kenji Kamiyama's Stand Alone Complex TV series), Chiaki J. Konaka's Serial Experiment's Lain & Technolyze, all of Satoshi Kon's work, Dai Sato's Ergo Proxy, and I'm currently trying to get hold of a copy of Wolf's Rain.

 

I've watched other "intellectual" shows, but hopefully this initial list will give you an idea of the type of shows that I'm talking about, and am looking for. Please let me know which anime series have got you thinking.

 

Thanks.

[Koby]

*Moved to Recommendations board.

[Inverti]

Serial Experiments Lain (SEL) isn't an intellectual show. It's a show that makes no sense whatsoever. If you watch an entire show and then you wonder "What the fuck did I just watch? It made no bloody sense!" you know you've watched a mindfuck. 

 

And I could say the same about FLCL (though its sequels seem to be better at delivering the show's messages). Seems like you are into those mindfuck shows, so there's Evangelion and Mawaru Penguindrum - you are likely gonna get into those too. Evangelion >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SEL to me, though. Probs because it has mecha elements as well, so even if the viewer can't grasp the psychological elements of it, they could still immerse themselves in the action portion of the show.

 

I find overly abstract anime to be ridiculous - what's the point of making a show if most of your audience isn't gonna understand it, anyway? I could confidently tell you that Evangelion wouldn't have its own cult following if it wasn't a mecha show. Some of the messages it tried to deliver were easy to grasp, such as the harsh nature of humanity at its worst and ugliest. However, its other elements, such as its psychological mindfuckery? Not so much.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Inverti