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I've actually not read the Plague by Camus or Nausea by Sartre. The Stranger is a very interesting novella that fits in a lot of ideas despite its short length. It's also one I would like to read again sometime soon since it's a quick read! Meursault is one of very few literary main characters to have full blown sociopathy. There are tons of aloof, Byronic heroes who seemingly care little about their fellow man. There's Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and Pechorin, the main character of Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time". However, neither of those have the sheer nihilism and indifference that Meursault displays. The Stranger was written as a companion piece to "The Myth of Sisyphus" which I have yet to read. Together, they help explain Camus's philosophy of absurdism and how it differs from both Nihilism and Existentialism. What were your thoughts on The Stranger? Do you think Meursault committed the murder because he sub-consciously wished to be executed? Camus writes that human experience is absurd because we naturally desire meaning in our lives, yet we live in a meaningless universe that doesn't care about us. While most people never think about it and remain happy in ignorance, those aware of the absurdity often choose to commit suicide in response. However, Camus instead recommends challenging the absurd and creating your own meaning, even though your own meaning is meaningful only for you and will die with you. Absurdism is essentially a bleaker version of existentialism to grossly oversimplify.

If you're looking for something short that's a nice introduction before hitting the heavy stuff, try the short story "The Guest"

Crime and Punishment is one of my all time favorites! It's complex novel that can appreciated on many levels. Firstly, it's a Christian redemption story that's meant to display the values of Eastern Orthodoxy. The idea that even a crime as horrible and unforgivable as a double murder can be atoned for if the killer is truly penitent through God's limitless mercy.

Secondly, the novel is a political attack on Western Europe's post-Christian philosophies of the 19th century including what would become Nietzschean philosophy, social Darwinism, and all the others that tried to set aside traditional morals. The killer believes that as a superior person, he has the right to kill a shitty pawnbroker and steal her money. The law only applies to lesser people. However, he still has a conscious and is unable to fully convince himself that his murders were justified because such thinking is fundamentally inhuman. In Goethe's Faust, which was written 30 years before Crime and Punishment, the hero kills a number of people in his pursuit of power and that's portrayed as totally fine because to strive for greatness is all that matters for a great man. What happens to lesser people is none of his concern. Goethe was writing in the abstract and never really thought of applying this philosophy to his real life, but others took the idea and ran with it. Dostoevsky recognized immediately this could only lead to great evil and suffering.

Finally, the novel can be appreciated as a psychological drama showing the incredible suffering of a guilt ridden conscience. As Raskolnikov suffers, we the reader suffer alongside him. When he finally confesses his guilt and is forgiven by the friend of one of his victims, it is almost as much a relief to the reader as to him. Few novels ever written are quite as emotionally moving and impactful.

you are my idol <3 >_<

Cool. Always nice to see another 3-gatsu no lion lover.

Hey man, thanks for the friend request. To what do I owe the honour?

I actually prefer the manga. A lot of people like the anime though.

No problem bro! And I know right it frustrates me to no end😣

I’d be happy to give my thoughts on various anime, thanks for the FR!

"Which Youtuber do I go to when I seek out full analysis?"

None. I personally wouldn't look to Youtube for the best of high-brow analysis or character dissections. I rarely ever go out of my way to find analytical content anyways, much less about anime. But from my experience the most insightful commentaries and descriptions for anime have come from various blog posts. If you are looking for Youtubers to follow though, I'd probably recommend:

- Pause and Select (the only anime youtuber I've seen take an academic approach to his videos)
- Bonsai Pop (fairly comprehensive videos on all kinds of shows, both recent and classic)
- Digibro (inconsistent but has made some really great videos over the years)
- Best Guy Ever (similar to Digibro but more lively, passionate presentation and tackles shows you probably wouldn't expect)
- Craftsdwarf (haven't seen much of his but has some good character studies from long-running shounen)
- Matthwiz (same deal as Craftsdwarf but isn't as active anymore)
- SuperEyepatchWolf (his criticisms of shows aren't good but arguably has the most accessible videos in the "anitube" sphere)
- Caribou-coon (interesting focus of specific shows and people in the industry)
- Mr. Cynical (by far the best video on Monster I've seen. Also makes videos about films and hot topics in the anime community)
- WatTheWut (also makes good videos about hot topics in the community)
- The Canipa Effect (actually taks about the production/technical aspects of anime

There's also guys like Aleczandxr, Kato and Hiding in Public that you might enjoy and I know they all have quite a few videos about FMA:B

Sorry, but to be honest I have no interest in reviewing an anime as popular as FMA: Brotherhood at the moment, much less to want to try writing an analysis on its philosophical content. Most if not all of my thoughts about the show have been mentioned before by other people, and if you're looking for analytical content on the series, I think you'll be able to find plenty in either YouTube videos or Reddit/blog posts.

NO!

Both are really good, but unlike Kill la Kill I wouldn't call Penguindrum very accessible. With Penguindrum it's probably better to watch one of the director's other shows like Utena or Sarazanmai to get a feel for his style and specifically what he tries tackling in his work.

thank you too for the request ^^

Awesome to hear! All of those are great picks