Anime shows that deals with the philosophy of Utilitarianism.

LostMujahid said:
Utilitarianism eh I did this exact assignment 2 semesters ago in college. We even had to choose an anime and portay it using utilitarian principles. I chose code geass because it was easiest. Here are some examples but there no as strong as those you already seen. Not spoiling anything just watch and see

https://myanimelist.net/anime/6547/Angel_Beats

Sacrifice for others

https://myanimelist.net/anime/8074/Highschool_of_the_Dead

https://myanimelist.net/anime/13601/Psycho-Pass

Here ya go. Not trolling we had some guy talk about the second show and drew comparisons and everything. Teacher loved it.

Fario-P said:
Huh... interesting criteria...

• +1 Angel Beats!
  
• Weathering With You
  
• Sailor Moon—particularly the third season, Sailor Moon S.
  
• Haven't watched the anime yet, but I think Monster also fits in this category somewhat
  

LostMujahid said:
Since you saw them I will explain why high school of the dead is utilitarian. Now mind you I did not present this but here is a basic rundown. [/Spoiler] Takashi pretty much is the glue the holds the group together. He goes out of his way to keep the group together and maximizes the value they all have to help them survive. Despite rei and saya's lack of fondness for him he still keeps them around. There are other examples in the manga that my classmate mentioned but thats what I remember now.[/Spoiler] If I ever see the guy in my college again I will ask him for his paper and send it you but I doubt it he probably went to another school. Its not a good example but it is I guess an example.

NothingFound said:
Zegapain The anime gets into some philosophy topics you can say the MC or the main villian are Utilitarian, though you may not like the Mecha stuff idk.

FinalReality56 said:
+1 Zegapain

Infinite Ryvius deals with some utilitarian principles as it deals with a group of teenagers as they struggle to maintain order and control when they're left stranded aboard an experimental spaceship

chrispandey said:


Thank you so much for the recommendations.
I haven't seen sailor moon YET. I always thought of it as episodic anime more targeted for general audience like Dragon Ball Z or Naruto. I will surely give it a shot.

I have seen weathering with you but it doesn't present much with philosophy of utilitarianism to me atleast.
I have also seen monster & it plays with a lot of philosophical ideologies including utilitarianism. But It's devoid of a character that shows & uses these ideological views.
Monster shows

Thanks for your valuable suggestions. :)

Best Regards.

SeijiSensei said:
The characters in Hyouge Mono generally act as utility-maximizers. It takes place during the Sengoku, or "Warring States," period and depicts competing warlords and those around them trying to advance in rank.

If you want to try an existentialist anime some time, I recommend Black Lagoon.

8oomer said:
Shinsekai yori -- The whole society has been set up as a utilitarian one -- for reasons. Of the three shows I've listed Shinsekai is probably the most suited for your project.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji_Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen -- Kenshin's decision to become an assassin for the greater good (ie. taking the side of the Imperialists to put an end to the Bakufu).

This last one would be a hard one to present as it's not apparent until the very end of the Refrain sequel. As such there would be a lot of viewing before arriving at what you're after. While watching the sequel you could study the actions of Kyousuke Natsume for possible clues ;)
Little Busters
Little Busters: Refrain

Thanakos said:
Fate/Zero -- Emiya Kiritsugu. The others have already been mentioned.

N30-R3TR0 said:
@chrispandey hey! I think all the best suggestions have already been mentioned! I think Fate/Zero, Shinsekai Yori, and Psycho-Pass are the best examples.

I can't think of anything else that delves into utilitarianism well.

deg said:
Askeladd of Vinland Saga lol

vivi_chan_ said:
seikai no monshou might fit your criteria

Safeanew said:
Caligula is one of the most direct criticism of utilitarianism.
Happiness being one example of the measurements for utility.

Then the movie Harmony deals with the gamified point system, that rewards people for doing good, in the case of Harmony the measure is being healthy and social.

My other favorites touch on similar philosophical questions, but these two are the most focused on this.

katsucats said:
I think it would be a stretch to say that any self-sacrificial character or character who has ever killed anyone deals in utilitarianism, whether the character believes it, or the show was trying to depict it. Of course, as a third-party looking in onto an event, you could inject a utilitarian narrative over nearly anything. Naruto kills bad guy "for the greater good". Goblin enslaves woman "for the greater good". Someone endures pain to save his friends "for the greater good". Askeladd orders the slaughter of a village "for the greater good".

But was Askeladd a utilitarian, or did he just not give a fuck, or did he just want to protect his own life, so he could enact revenge? I suppose in that instance, (spoilers) his argument about killing someone who would die otherwise suffer a prolonged death could be utilitarian, in that it minimizes pain, but I would hardly use that example to illustrate utilitarianism. There's too much else going on here.

Is anyone who has ever crossed off the organ donation box at the DMV a utilitarian? No, I would suggest that is mostly motivated by virtue ethics than anything.

Is anyone who suffered a blow to protect his group from zombies, villains or ninjas a utilitarian? No, I would suggest that the character thinks that's what he should do -- deontology.

Is anyone who ever killed for pleasure a utilitarian? No, I would suggest most such characters lack moral guidance.

Unfortunately, I cannot come up with any clear utilitarian examples, but I'm sure they exist. In my mind, it must be a character who explicitly states his actions lend to longer term consequences over near-term consequences, and that he believes it not due to some angsty misguided history (e.g. Kiritsugu), and that he actually follows through to the best of his ability (e.g. not Kiritusgu), and that his actions can actually be considered a reasonable possibility of a best outcome -- that the character is congruent to the world and not just crazy.

Unfortunately in anime, a lot of characters are just crazy or a selfless cliche, written with some contrived motivation. The villain in Psycho-Pass wanted to destroy the world to rebuild it. Is that utilitarian? No. Light from Death Note wanted to kill all the "bad" people in the world for the greater good. Is that utilitarian? No, he considered it his duty. Monster is almost an antidote to utilitarianism, since none of the main characters act in any calculated way. Johan just wanted to see the world fall into disarray as a consequence of the psychological trauma he was subjected to. Kenzou just wanted to right his past mistake and bring justice to his name. Maybe you could say his actions are for a greater good, but none of the characters work for a greater good.

Anyways, you get my point.

chrispandey said:

Some examples would be:
1) Code geass; Utilitarian-Lelouch lamperouge.
2) Madoka Magica; Utilitarian-Kyubey.
3) Berserk; Utilitarian-Griffith.
4) Death Note; Utilitarian-Light Yagami
5) Legend of the galactic heroes; Utilitarian- Reinhard & Oberstein

popolu said:
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1747/Freedom
https://myanimelist.net/anime/2158/Terra_e_TV

In both of these anime there is a utopian society with some dark secrets that threaten its existence.

Also check these links

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TotalitarianUtilitarian
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans

chrispandey said:

How ? Here's a little example,
Eg; Would you nuke a country ? Ofcourse No.
But what if that country is a threat to humanity itself & somehow you know for sure that it is going to destroy & kill everyone.
Then what ? I think then the Extreme act is maybe the only option you have & can be looked as an act of "Utilitarianism".

chrispandey said:

Thanks for your valuable suggestion & for taking the time out! :)

Always wanted to start Fate series, guess I'll have to give it a go!

Best Regards.

katsucats said:
In the case of Kiritsugu, it was clear that the (in my opinion, pseudo-intellectual) author wanted him to be utilitarian, but it was driven by an angsty motive that, at the end, proved in my mind that he either didn't understand what he was spouting or he didn't truly believe in it. It was almost like when deontology ethicists strawman utilitarianism to show why it's bad.

Korishi said:
in Death Note, I'd say Mello is more of a utilitarian than Light. I consider Light to be more of an anti-villian than an anti-hero (where all utilitarian characters are anti-heroes, but not all anti-heroes are utilitarian). As the black sheep of the detective family, Mello goes further than either L or Near to thwart Light. Partnering with the mafia, kidnapping... Whatever it takes in the name of justice. Mello's actions ultimately lead to Light's downfall.

katsucats said:

Most anime characters espouse duty and virtues. Light from Death Note certainly thought he was improving the world, but he considered it his duty, even going as far as referring to himself as some deity, a moral judge. In his mind, criminals should die by virtue of the crime they commit, regardless of any future result. If a reformed criminal is now doing community service, do you agree that Light would kill him regardless? He certainly has never stopped to consider the side effects of his actions, often killing people based on some label in the news.

Is it possible to see a utilitarian perspective from Death Note? Absolutely. But I would argue Light is not himself a utilitarian. He didn't ask himself, If I kill this guy, would it cause sadness through his family, or rejoice through his victims, and which is outweighed by the other? He killed even petty bullies. He's more of a, This guy did something bad so he deserves death, kinda guy.

Railey2 said:
I second this recommendation, but you might get disappointed at the end. I sure was. Still, fate zero is probably your best bet. That show even has a really edgy trolley problem in it, and the MC actually chooses correctly too. Who would've guessed. In any case, Fate Zero is the only show I remember that explicitly dealt with utilitarianism as a philosophy.


There's a few anime with characters who act utilitarian in a way, although they rarely maximise for happiness, as you'd do in classic utilitarianism. Kiritsugu is one example of a happiness-maximizing MC, but there's also Inuyashiki, where one of the two MCs tries to maximise happiness as well. Although he's not that good at it, I have to say.

For characters with other aims than maximising happiness, try the following:

The most utilitarian character I can think of is Migi, one of two MCs in the anime Parasyte. https://myanimelist.net/anime/22535/Kiseijuu__Sei_no_Kakuritsu
His utility function is all about survival and (somewhat) peaceful coexistence with his host.

Another MC who is similar to Migi in the sense that his sole goal is a peaceful life, is the MC of Ajin. He's far less rational, but if you've watched both you can definitely see the similarities. https://myanimelist.net/anime/31580/Ajin

Then there's Baby steps, where the MCs utility function revolves around getting better at tennis. Most rational sports anime out there for sure.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/21185/Baby_Steps

Goblin Slayer is a show where the MCs utility function is all about eradicating goblins.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37349/Goblin_Slayer

honorable mention goes to Log Horizon, which has a pretty rational MC as well. He tries to build a flourishing society after a bunch of people have been transported into a game world, with the end goal of somehow getting back to earth.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/17265/Log_Horizon


Agreed 100%. They realls went with a utilitarian MC just to set him up at the very end and then go "haha, this is why utilitarianism is bad/doesn't work, sucka!!" I'm leaning more towards fucked up strawman than fundamental misunderstanding of the philosophy, which makes it even worse in my mind.

maddest I've ever been watching a show. No idea how you can run so far with a concept and come to the wrong conclusion at the very end, it was incredibly frustrating to watch.

Korishi said:
@chrispandey is it considered utilitarian if the person's actions are selfishly motivated? for example, in Ajin, the main character has a goal of living a peaceful life only. he doesn't care about the world or anyone else, just himself; he's a real piece of shit in the first season, but the second season is better.

there's many interpretations of utilitarianism so I was wondering which is your preferred definition?

Korishi said:
@chrispandey
hm..ok your above post clarifies some misconceptions I had, such as a utilitarian not having to be self-sacrificing since he/she should look after themselves first and foremost in order to carry their plan to fruition.

I think my definition is the same or similar to yours; I always just have had a preconception that a utilitarian sets out to look after other people, but now I'm thinking they are simply looking after their own happiness (be it in the form of friends, family, a nation, or simply a peaceful life for themselves).

You should also really consider reading the short manga I recommended you earlier.