Anime That Makes You THINK?

[Tanis]

Currently re-watching 'Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex' and I realized how few 'cerebral' anime I seem to have found...

So...ya'll have any you can think of?

 

[Nouw]

Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I discovered it when I was 14 and funnily enough it struck a unique note with me. It makes me ponder my own life and even though I don't have to pilot giant mecha to save the world I find myself relating with Shinji.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Tis the Cowboy Bebop. It's rather straightforward in terms of plot, but it's narrative is absolutely packed with subtle commentary. I adore the intentional vagueness of the series, with nothing spelled out, you are left to fill in the blanks, encouraging you to watch for the minor details that could give you the bigger picture.

 

[Angie7F]

Eva for me too.

Eva has a cool theme, but is also makes you think hard to understand what is going on.
My guess is that many of the "mysteries" are just loose ends, but it adds up to the overall effect of the anime and I think it is irreplaceable.

 

[TehCookie]

Cased Closed/Detective Conan if you like mystery, every case can be solved before the reveal if you think hard enough. Serial Experiments Lain is another biggie and probably closer to what you're looking for, if you're not thinking when you watch that you won't get it. Spice and Wolf is a good show about midevil economics, and Moyashimon is an entertaining SoL that teaches you about fermenting foods (including booze).

I'd also say Monster, although I haven't seen it but I hear it's one of the best seinen.

 

[Eddie the head]

I watched one where I had to think really hard about who the bad guy was and who the good guy was. I don't think that's what you where asking for, but I don't watch a lot of Anime.

 

[Hagi]

I found Welcome to the NHK to be a rather thoughtful Anime with a deeper point to make.

It's hilariously pathetic, especially the main character, but not in any bad way and it does make you think.

 

[Casual Shinji]

NGE

I know it's seen as pretentious and full of itself, but I fucking love wrapping my mind around this crazy show and its selfishly screwed up inhabitants. Which is why I found the Rebuild movies not as engaging... They were just too lean on the nitty gritty mind probing.

Also Berserk. The manga, not the anime - I never saw that one, except for the newer movies which were incredibly lame.

As much as I love thinking about both these properties, I also love talking about them.

 

[Ultress]

NGE

I know it's seen as pretentious and full of itself, but I fucking love wrapping my mind around this crazy show and its selfishly screwed up inhabitants. Which is why I found the Rebuild movies not as engaging... They were just too lean on the nitty gritty mind probing.

Also Berserk. The manga, not the anime - I never saw that one, except for the newer movies which were incredibly lame.

As much as I love thinking about both these properties, I also love talking about them.

The anime[for Berserk] was okay but the ending was just awful, but yeah Berserk is what I think about often. Which helps fill the void while waiting for new chapters.


OT:The Skullman,I'm still trying to figure out if it's good or not but it has some interesting points and a very dense plot.

Usagi Drop and Time of Eve, usually makes me reflect on life more than they should.

Penguin Drum and Utena give me a feast of food for thought as well.

 

[Casual Shinji]

NGE

I know it's seen as pretentious and full of itself, but I fucking love wrapping my mind around this crazy show and its selfishly screwed up inhabitants. Which is why I found the Rebuild movies not as engaging... They were just too lean on the nitty gritty mind probing.

Also Berserk. The manga, not the anime - I never saw that one, except for the newer movies which were incredibly lame.

As much as I love thinking about both these properties, I also love talking about them.

The anime[for Berserk] was okay but the ending was just awful, but yeah Berserk is what I think about often. Which helps fill the void while waiting for new chapters

Well, atleast shit is getting back on track again. If I had to suffer through more of that seamonster/mermaid crap I would've gouged out my eye and chopped off my arm.

 

[Smertnik]

That's a really vague definition. If you mean animation with some kind of message or deeper meaning behind it, then these would be probably fitting in one way or another:

Texhnolyze
Kino's Journey
Tatami Galaxy
Haibane Renmei

 

[SckizoBoy]

You can separate it quite a bit...

There's the straight up psyke/headfuck series like: NGE, RahXephon etc.
The reference heavy series: Ergo Proxy
The philosophical: Haibane Renmei, Kino no Tabi etc.
And the ones that question society: GitS:SAC, Infinite Ryvius.

This last one is not considered that 'good' per se, but watch it and think: could I really do any better? Nah, I couldn't, and you couldn't either...

 

[Chromatic Aberration]

From the top of my head:

[li]Texhnolyze [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/Texhnolyze?from=Main.Texhnolyze] (Mindfuck set in a dystopian future; themes include: the nature of technology and how humanity treats it)[/li]
[li]Serial Experiments Lain [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/SerialExperimentsLain?from=Main.SerialExperimentsLain] (General mindfuck that I haven't dared to completely watch yet. Still from what I've seen...very deep)[/li]
[li]Paranoia Agent [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/ParanoiaAgent?from=Main.ParanoiaAgent] (Mindfuck about the dangers of consumerism; very Lynchian, strong focus on "Paranoia" as a theme - hence the name)[/li]
[li]Monster [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/Monster?from=Anime.Monster] (Nightmare-Fuel rich crime drama; explores the nature of evil)[/li]
[li]NGE [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion?from=Main.NeonGenesisEvangelion] & Rahxephon [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/RahXephon?from=Main.RahXephon] (Mindfuck mecha shows laden with symbolism and a strong commentary about growing up among other things)[/li]
[li]Legend Of The Galactic Heroes [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes?from=Main.LegendOfGalacticHeroes] (Space opera. In essence a huge discussion about political systems, the morale of the soldier and the meaning of history)[/li]
[li]Kino's Journey [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/LightNovel/KinosJourney] (Quiet, episodic, road-movie-like show that is essentially just one large string of different metaphors and the questions they pose)[/li]

Also, Fullmetal Alchemist, Code Geass, Spice & Wolf, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Cowboy Bebop have some very deep themes going into them, too, but they usually take the back seat to action, character development or plain drama.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Steins;Gate

DAMN that was a good, smart anime.

Also, to a lesser extent, Gundam 00 season 1.

 

[Athefist]

xxxHolic. Interesting morality plays wrapped in an ultra stylized package. I love that anime.

 

[Talaris]

Out of the ones mentioned so far, Serial Experiments Lain is the example I agree with the most; after I watched it, it really made me question the worldwide repercussions of the internet, and the psychological consequences that occur when becoming dependent/addicted to technology. Amazing series.

DeathNote is another popular example that requires you to think throughout, if just to keep up with the overly complicated but smart twists and turns in the plot.


Finally, my notable mention goes to Higurashi - When They Cry. Watch season 1 for the mindfuck and twisted violence. Then watch season 2 for the dark and engaging story that explains it all. Then if you want to pass the time, and subsequently feel ashamed and embarrassed, watch the season 3 and 4 OVAs.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Mars of Destruction, probably the most thought-provoking anime of the century.

Alright, I kid.

My serious answer is Inferno Cop.

Alright, alright...

Steins;Gate
Kino's Journey
Evangelion
Serial Experiment Lain
Madoka Magica
The Tatami Galaxy
Kara no Kyoukai
Fate/Zero
Death Note
Haibane Renmei
Perfect Blue
Millenium Actress
Aoi Bungaku

 

[thesilentman]

The Berserk manga, like Casual Shinji said. For anime, I'd recommend the first season of Darker than Black. That and Stein's Gate were pretty smart as anime.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Persona 4 The Animation.
That anime is quite accurate to reality in that we all got something personal that we can't face the "truth" and that we rather face away from it and be ignorant about our woes and problems.
If we were all able to face the such truth head on (with help from others), we would be better with ourselves emotional and psychological side of things.

 

[destiaer]

Mushi-shi, by far. While not nearly as violent or technologically advanced, the strange scenarios and fascinating arcs hit much more than they miss. Go check it out. You'll like it, trust me.