Casshern Sins

insert wojak meme

Worldbuilding - "the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe." These kinds of shows are usually set in a fantasy and/or sci-fi world, and excel at establishing & showcasing the rules/history/economy of their fictional universe. List was created through collective data from multiple websites of people's answers as to what shows are considered to have great world building.

Anime with great worldbuilding, or the development of the fantastical environment and world! None of these anime take place in what you would call 'our universe', rather taking place in an alternative universe or fantasy/ sci-fi setting with amazingly well-tailored and fitting details in technologies and architecture that makes every world unique.


Feel free to DM or message me about any questions, suggestions, or opinions about this stack!

Interested in the genre? Despite what people might say, mecha is a rich character focused genre with a variety of incredibly unique stories to tell. Here's a collection of shows with short, straight-to-the-point descriptions about each. Note that some of these were translated by fans, and aren't available officially/legally. A good amount of these are available on various streaming services, tho as for all well you might have to sail the high seas a bit. Disregard my personal scores, as its subjective at end of the day and you might like it. Also please don't dismiss some of these just because they're really old, they pretty much all hold up well even today. Check each out, and see what strikes your fancy. Any shows I personally haven't watch I got info on from fellow mecha friends of mine:

While mostly known today as the character designer for My Hero Academia, Yoshihiko Umakoshi's recognition as one of anime's finest predates it by quite a lot. Getting his start as an animator at Toei Animation, Umakoshi was involved in some of Toei's biggest shoujo manga adaptations in the 90s, translating the shoujo aesthetic, with its quirks and all, onto the TV screen. This would culminate in Umakoshi's designs for Ojamajo Doremi, which sees his mastery of creating memorable characters, striking a fine balance between cute and cartoonish.

His versatility extends beyond cute characters, however—Umakoshi's involvement in now-iconic shows such as the first Berserk adaptation and Mushishi showcases his ability to design and appropriate serious-looking characters vastly different from his magical girl character designs. The following list is a selection of his most significant works.

Blogpost about Ojamajo Doremi: https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2020/12/05/20-years-of-ojamajo-doremi-the-ideal-kids-anime-grows-up-with-its-audience/
Umakoshi interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xix6NUavVCQ

Every animated media that has been made has the idea to tell a story and to express a feeling on the watcher. But then, there are some series which has a particular way to evocate their sentiments and they use different tools to do that. Thought provoking writing, displaying the characters' internal monologues, their struggles and fears, using particular cinematographic angles and by blending contrasting styles of animation, coloring and highly symbolical and metaphorical imagery - these are some of the many hallmarks signifying the said animation has psychological themes, and that it is avant-garde in it's approach. This method of expression is not limited to any genre, as well.

I do realize that animation like this may not be for everyone, but I firmly believe in it's artistic merits and integrity. Media like this allows us to peek into the human psyche and probably our own too, and it provides us with often interesting viewpoints of our world, even if fractured through the prism of the animated fiction. Shows like that also likes to ask us questions without answers, to give us moral dilemmas without solid conclusion or in summary, to provoke us to think.

The shows that were picked follow a pattern - the ones which are more straightforward, less abstract and easier to get into will be first and the more complex and obscure the works will be at the end.

This list consists of psychological titles, which helped me to accept inevitability and cope with fears, thus affected my personality above all others. Anime that makes you realise a lot about the meaning of human life and death, relationships, principles and most important: "self-concept".

Nearly all of them induce depressive thoughts, portray social problems that we face IRL, have biblical references and slow pacing. So be sure that you are in the right mood and prepared to face dark side of reality.

P.S. Despite the hopelessness and predestination you may feel while watching, these works of art still bestow warmth and hope through understanding the uniqueness of existence. The world is truly a cruel place and life is lacking meaning and purpose, yet we got the flustering chance to experience ourselves and the universe we share.

English dubs that I found to be really good and are at least comparable to (if not better than) their subbed counterparts. Part 1 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/885


PM me if there are titles that I've missed.

Tokusatsu (特撮) is a term originally coined to describe to a specific brand of special effects-heavy live-action movies and television (in fact, the word translates directly as "special effects"). The genre was popularised by Godzilla (1954), though the term actually predates it slightly.

In modern times, the word is often instead used to describe a particular sort of superhero series, featuring one, two or several characters who can transform into outfits that cover the entire body, concealing their identity and provide them with various abilities, either magical or through advanced technology. When there are multiple characters, such as the long-running Super Sentai series, they tend to each have a different theme colour.

There is quite a large crossover between Mecha (almost always of the Super Robot variety), as often Tokusatsu heroes will be able to either grow to giant size or command Mechas (often that can combine into increasingly powerful forms) in order to combat giant monsters. Another big area of overlap is with Mahou Shoujou, as both typically feature a multicoloured group of characters with flamboyant attacks. To that end, Tokusatsu is sometimes considered the "male equivalent" of Mahou Shoujou, though of course both have examples of going against this stereotype.

The following list is non-exhaustive. Should a significant number of additional titles be found, an addendum may be made. There is no real order other than keeping series together and prioritising more notable titles.

Post-apocalyptic anime.

Some are franchises, so only one entry per franchise.

Arranged by score

List of anime for "elitist". These anime have been considered as "deep" animations by various critics and analysts.

In this compilation there are animes with quite complicated stories that are not recommended for all audiences. As they are: cult, artistic, experimental, avant-garde, underrated, psychological, philosophical, unique or mind-blowing anime.

This list has a part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/4197

Anime with morally gray characters

100% purity here! Not a single bit of nonsense relating to sex.

I can't believe I had such a hard time making this stack >:'[ I'm a poor Christian boy


((If you find anything here with a sex joke please contact me immediately I want this place to be a light in the ecchi-filled darkness))

Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/11405


Feel free to DM or message me about any questions, suggestions, or opinions about this stack!

Anime with weird / surreal imagery. Picked purely on visuals, quality of these shows may vary (but most are good).

Animes set in desert or isolated areas

Avoided a bit of the really obvious ones (The Big 3 and Death Note) and some that were really similar to something already present on this list. These are anime I recommend you not miss out on in your lifetime.