Who put politics in my anime?
Anime
Anime that comes packaged with socio-political commentary. Sometimes as subtext or metaphor, sometimes screamed out loud with abandon.
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
TV, 2011,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:10
This deconstruction of its subgenre serves as a brutal indictment of value extraction. Madoka Magica is a story of naive protagonists coerced into reinforcing an exploitative system, while themselves being exploited as both workers and as products. This system, which mirrors real-life relationships between the working class and those we work for, creates the underclass it must oppress. In exploitative structures isolation and dehumanization is a motivating feature, not a bug, and compassion is revolutionary. To quote Karl Marx, who may as well have written this show's script: "The proletarians do not fight their enemies, but the enemies of their enemies."
Ookami to Koushinryou
Spice and Wolf
TV, 2008,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:8
This series' world is a fictionalized yet frank indictment of the corruption of the Ancien Régime. Spice and Wolf explores its topics through the lens and concerns of a small-time merchant and portrays the administrative centralization, growing clerical power, urban-rural divide, dying folk traditions and the impact of mercantilism in post-Renaissance Europe without pulling too many punches.
TV, 1998,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:10
Among the many topics explored in Serial Experiments Lain, the impact of the internet on human society and individual identity, and even mental health, has only become more and more relevant since the 90s. The density of thought-provoking scenes and themes makes it one of the most re-watchable on this list.
Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san
Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie
TV, 2022,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:6
This show is a positive portrayal of a relationship where one partner has a disability. Izumi, who is cursed with such supernaturally bad luck it becomes an allegory for disability, does his best to persevere and have the humility to lean on others. His doting and protective girlfriend Shikimori refuses to allow Izumi to apologize for his own constant misfortune. The relationship is non-transactional; Shikimori helps Izumi because she loves him. Izumi struggles with insecurity, feelings of bringing less to the relationship than his partner, and both characters struggle with their own identity in relation to gender norms.
Kanojo mo Kanojo
Girlfriend, Girlfriend
TV, 2021,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:6
This is the best exploration of polyamorous relationships I've seen in anime. That's a pretty niche topic, so Girlfriend, Girlfriend doesn't have a lot of competition, but it still goes that little extra to portray three people who are trying to make their unconventional relationship work.
ONA, 2022,
10 eps
Me:-
Author:9
Having been a fan of Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk RPGs for decades, I am ecstatic at how well this anime managed to deliver the high-octane, punk-rock tragedy that the source material demands. Edgerunners has all the political commentary inherent to the genre: the systemic poverty, the impossible ethical choices, the dehumanization and objectification inherent to a capitalist model of transhumanism, the struggle against pervasive and violent authority. What the world of Cyberpunk does not have is hope; it's not about smashing the system, the system has won, it's a more personal story wherein our protagonists defy the dominant hierarchy by seizing what happiness, camaraderie and love they can in the margins of society.
Kurenai no Buta
Porco Rosso
Movie, 1992,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:8
A Byronic hero, stripped of his humanity by combat, struggles in isolation and destitution as he makes a career of fighting the breakdown of law and civility in the inter-war Adriatic. The real villains of the story aren't the boisterous flying bandits, however, but his own trauma and the ever-looming shadow of fascism.
Tenshi no Tamago
Angel's Egg
OVA, 1985,
1 ep
Me:-
Author:9
Being that this movie is such a densely metaphorical arthouse piece, it's really hard to confidently assert what themes it explores. This movie more than most is in the eye of the beholder and open to wide interpretation. That said, I think it's heavy use of biblical references to explore the nature of hope, transition and loss can be easily digested as either social commentary or purely personal. This one you'll just have to watch yourself, and make up your own mind about what it says to you.
TV, 2005,
24 eps
Me:-
Author:-
You can feel the disdain, the disgust this series has for the grotesquely wealthy beneficiaries of neoliberal markets and the inevitably corrupt politicians, police and media captured by corporate domination of society. Speed Grapher delivers its themes and narratives through a deeply psychosexual lens which adds visceral weight to both the conspicuous display of power on the part of the villains, and also the actions and motives of the protagonist.
Gi(a)rlish Number
Girlish Number
TV, 2016,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:-
This anime doesn't have heavy socio-political commentary, sure, but it does take a critical look at some issues within the anime industry. It's always great to be able to enjoy a critique of a medium presented in that same medium, and for that reason I'd count it as a key series for anime fans.
Yuurei Deco
Yurei Deco
TV, 2022,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:-
The classic cyberpunk dystopia of oppressive corporate control is modernized in this series that adds a layer of slick and poppy social media hyperreality straight out of Jean Baudrillard's worst nightmares. A society that has completely censored negativity and conflict has produced a heroine who, so conditioned, meets existential horror and mounting adversity with boundless, enthusiastic joy.
TV, 1999,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:8
Our heroine is the product of Nazi science and must feed on her fellow creations for the chemicals she requires, stalking these living tools of fascism becomes not just a duty but a necessity and a hunger. Even still, she will always strive for a compassionate resolution, empathizing with her fellow monsters and extending them sororal love. Her identity hidden, only revealed in the moonlight hours of her hunt, provides a strong queer allegory as she lives by day pretending to be a mild-mannered man and rebuffs romantic affections.
TV, 1981,
75 eps
Me:-
Author:-
This is a surprisingly grounded tale of violent, anti-colonial resistance. A sober story of both the technicalities of armed conflict with an oppressor, such as the logistics and politics of rebellion, as well as the personal toll.
Kidou Senshi Gundam 0080: Pocket no Naka no Sensou
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
OVA, 1989,
6 eps
Me:-
Author:-
