Jin-Roh (1999)

Make no mistake, Jin-Roh is definitely NOT for children. This would be the second darkest title featured on this list. It features terrorism, suicide bombings, political tension and tough choices when you’re pushed into a desperate corner.

Subtlety, quiet dialogue and a chilling stillness are aesthetic signatures of veteran director Mamoru Oshii. He forces you not only to listen to the spoken lines but also to pay attention to visual cues, lighting, leading lines all in the service of metaphors that speak of the inner struggles of the main character stuck in an uncompromising series of events. Jin-Roh is unapologetic in its execution of brutal and violent sequences with blood sprays and body parts flying around.

Even the audio is designed to lull you into a false sense of peace until the guns start firing and gets you jumping in your seat. I personally rate it as “Oof, that’s intense” out of 10.

Genshiken (2004)

Genshiken is the acronym for Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai, or Society for The Study of Modern Visual Culture. It’s a mouthful of a name for a university club made up of some hardcore otaku. At first glance, it seems like a light-hearted college comedy but one would quickly realize that Genshiken only uses that setting to tell a deeper story about being passionate about something, even if society at large laughs at you for it.

It’s a very familiar story for any millennial who grew up with unconventional hobbies. We get called immature, are stereotyped to be gross, and generally looked down upon. Thankfully that’s no longer the case, but Genshiken looks at the time when the public didn’t look too kindly if you were neck-deep about your passions. There’s a relatable character for every nerd, and every type of bullying and snark that always comes their way.

Ultimately, Kio Shimoku wrote the original manga to be a story of hope, of accepting one’s self and to make the best out of the talents we would otherwise suppress without the company of like-minded friends. This writer’s career is wholly inspired by Genshiken and he is eternally grateful for it.

Ichi The Killer (2002)

The movie opens with an intense masturbation. A lone man stroking away at the sight of a pimp violently assaulting a prostitute. Our main character is a psychopath, tangled in a clusterfuck of drugs, sex rings, and merciless yakuza prowling the streets. You’re looking down a barrel of bloody killings, brutal rape, and deception from multiple angles.

Visually, the film relies heavily on the interplays of light and shadow. Tight, close-up shots create a sense of claustrophobia that raises your heartbeat and prepares you for the inevitable gore that soon follows. If Jin-Roh is the second darkest title on this list, Ichi the Killer is undoubtedly number one.

Trigger warning: watch only if you are prepared to deal with the mental trauma afterwards.

Seikai Saga (1999)

Space elves. That’s it. That’s the pitch.

Okay, that may have oversimplified it too much. Space opera anime are few and very far in between, much less good ones. Sitting at the higher level of space opera hierarchy, alongside Space Battleship Yamato and Legend of Galactic Heroes, the Seikai Saga is an epic adventure of a space opera that one should not miss. Two titles in the novel series have been animated to date, Crest of the Stars followed by Banner of the Stars.

Against a backdrop of intergalactic politics, space chess and McGuffin technology, we follow the story of a viscount in exile and his escort, an imperial space elf princess. From gallivanting across star systems to maneuvering ship battles in warp space, our heroes find themselves on a stage way bigger than they could possibly tackle on their own. Be sure to watch Crest and Banner, then hope to God someone would animate Fragments of the Stars.

Ghost In The Shell (1995)

Before there was Black Mirror, nay, before there was The Matrix, there was Ghost in the Shell. The English title is so much more dramatic compared to its original Japanese title 攻殻機動隊 (Koukaku Kidoutai) which directly translates to Mobile Armored Riot Police. The former being an homage to Ghost in the Machine and the latter, of course, is a helpful description of the leading characters in this story.

Taking centre stage is Section 9, a unit of mobile armoured riot police (bet you didn’t see that one coming). Unlike the charming air of Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell takes a completely opposite tone. Across three animated films, two TV adaptations (plus an upcoming Netflix original!), you are about to be thrust in a future that is almost utopian, and at the same time almost dystopian.

All the wonders and miracles achieved through technology, its consequences as well as the environmental and human costs that come with it. There’s political intrigue, terrorism, questionable ethics and sometimes a metaphorical poker game between two snipers.

And for the record: Ignore the Hollywood adaptation at all costs.