Interest Stacks

⚘ maybe a bit lesser known than the movie adaptation, but i personally prefer it, its more viewer-friendly id say, thanks to the evenly spread action and philosophy
⚘ strong main characters that get explored thoroughly
⚘ some episodes (especially at the beginning) digress from the main plot, however i didnt mind, it still served its purpose of exploring characters (i even liked the few tachikoma-focused episodes)
⚘ the main message/philosophy is very complex and it gets explored better than in the movie adaptation imo
⚘ motoko is an amazing female character (a thing rarely seen in anime)

⚘ an absolute classic
⚘ visually beautiful (especially the backgrounds)
⚘ self-identity as the main theme
⚘ philosophical
⚘ directors of The Matrix were inspired by this anime so i think that says a lot

⚘ very very deep and complex anime, needs more than one watch to fully understand it
⚘ philosophical
⚘ touching themes regarding reality (main theme here), perception of the world, boundary between the simulated world and the real world, God (not necessarily in a religious way) etc.
⚘ surreal and eerie atmosphere

⚘ another classic
⚘ quite a lot of action
⚘ a bit of politics, police brutality, riots etc.
⚘ the city is visually stunning

⚘ explores mental illnesses (depression, anxiety, social phobia, avoidant and borderline personality, narcissistic personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder etc.) mainly through teenagers
⚘ a lot of fight scenes which are enjoyable (coming from somebody who is not really into the action genre)
⚘ very interesting sci-fi concept, unlike anything ive ever seen before

⚘ basically the same thing as nge series, maybe a bit more (visually) insane

⚘ if you feel bored at first, you need to give this anime some time
⚘ a lot of references to philosophy
⚘ complicated and kinda confusing philosophy (frankly, i dare to say that it sometimes tries to be way too deep)
⚘ definitely worth a watch anyway

⚘ inequality between social classes
⚘ very unique and mesmerizing sci-fi city concept, i love it
⚘ i wish they had made a full series!
⚘ theres action (battles and such)

⚘ inequality between social classes again
⚘ cool sci-fi city concept

⚘ in order to fully enjoy this OVA, you need to watch The Matrix series first
⚘ if youre a Matrix fan, this is a must watch
⚘ various beautiful artstyles
⚘ concept of simulacra and simulation (as in The Matrix series)

im putting this anime here just to warn people about it because i see it quite often as a recommendation for this genre. i stumbled upon this while searching for something to watch. i was warned about some gore, alright, im fine with that. the first episode absolutely baffled me. as i progressed in the show i was questioning if the author is a pedo or has a piss kink or is into incest or likes lesbians (this all starts happening right in the very first episode, im not kidding). progressively the show got hilarious because of how bad it was. the psychological side is so shallow and stupid, it sounds like if a five year old gave philosophy and moralizing a try. if you want a good laugh, watch this show. i promise you that youll never forget about it and some scenes will be forever engraved in your brain.