10 eye-opening anime that you should watch

Anime has the remarkable power to make us view life from entirely new perspectives. Some series use complex themes and morally ambiguous characters to challenge the audience's beliefs. They explore intricate philosophical questions and ethical dilemmas and evoke deep introspection in the viewer.

Beyond just escapist fantasy and entertainment, it can teach us profound lessons about the human condition. The speculative fiction lens allows creators to hold a mirror up to humanity's faults, weaknesses, and inner demons. Eye-opening anime can awaken empathy for people living vastly different lives from our own.

It transports us across the chasms that divide cultures, nations, and religions. In a media landscape saturated with homogeneous stories and tropes, it offers a refreshing burst of perspective. The following 10 eye-opening anime deliver that one-two-punch combo of riveting entertainment paired with introspective themes.

10 must-watch eye-opening anime

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Image via Gainax, Tatsunoko Production)

This genre-redefining, eye-opening anime focuses on anxious teenager Shinji Ikari. He's forced to pilot giant bio-mech robots called Evas to battle mysterious beings known as Angels who threaten humanity’s existence. But the show uses its action sci-fi premise to explore the damaged psyches of its protagonists.

Shinji and the other Eva pilots suffer deep trauma, depression, and feelings of inadequacy stemming from childhood. Neon Genesis Evangelion peels back those emotional layers in an uncompromising character study about mental illness and the human condition.

The series asks introspective philosophical questions about identity, connection, and finding life's purpose amid suffering. It culminates with Shinji being forced to confront his worst fears and insecurities that his fragile ego buried deep within. Its bold visuals and raw themes resonated with disaffected Japanese youth.

2. Monster

This dark psychological thriller anime chronicles Japanese neurosurgeon Kenzo Tenma practicing medicine in Germany. His decision to save a young boy instead of a prominent hospital figure dramatically alters Tenma's future.

Years later, Tenma suspects that the very boy he saved—Johan Liebert—has reemerged as a ruthless serial killer behind a string of murders. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between doctor and patient. But the bigger mystery is whether true evil is innate or shaped by trauma and abuse.

Monster compellingly analyzes concepts of morality and conscience through its grounded character writing. Is human life inherently valuable? Can someone be born evil? The anime offers no clear answers amid cycles of vengeance. Its complex questions about predestination versus free will haunt long after the credits roll.

3. Serial Experiments Lain

Serial Experiments Lain (Image via Triangle Staff)

This eye-opening anime focuses on introverted girl Lain Iwakura. Her mundane life gets upended when she learns about The Wired—an immersive virtual network connecting human consciousness. Lain becomes obsessed with The Wired as surreal events blurring virtual and reality begin happening around her.

She increasingly questions her identity as these events blur the line between her online and real-life selves. The series uses fragmented storytelling and motifs of communication technology to simulate a postmodern world losing grip on objective truths.

It tackles themes of consciousness, perception, and simulated reality years before The Matrix film or our current internet age. It offers an ominous warning about society restructuring itself to mediate life exclusively through computer screens—and humans losing anchor with their physical world in the process.

4. Steins;Gate

This sci-fi thriller focuses on "Mad Scientist" Rintarou Okabe, who accidentally invents time travel technology and plunges the world into chaos. His attempts to undo the unintended consequences of changing the past end in tragedy.

Okabe experiences timeline divergence and convergence as he helplessly watches his friends die in some iterations. Meanwhile, a shadowy organization hunts Okabe after discovering his experiments with time travel. Steins;Gate profoundly explores philosophical ideas about fate and human anguish.

Are random life events part of a destined plan? Okabe’s time meddling seeks a miracle but reveals the inescapable loss and mortality of being human. His journey conveys poignant themes about how the integrity of time and space gives deeper meaning to existence.

5. Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan (Image via Wit Studio / MAPPA)

This brutal military dark fantasy anime conveys the raw desperation of an endless war between giant man-eating Titans and remnant human civilization struggling to avoid extinction after near annihilation by the savage Titans.

Young soldier Eren Yeager joins the Survey Corps military regiment, which conducts high-risk expeditions outside the walled enclaves protecting humankind's last sanctuaries. He aims to enact bloody vengeance upon the Titans for eating his mother.

The terrifying Titans bring gory death, while humans debate sacrificing morality to survive—becoming monsters themselves in their fight for life. Attack on Titan explores cycles of violence fueled by fear, hatred, and humanity’s tendency to justify cruelty while fighting monsters.

6. Death Note

How far would you go to create a "perfect" world free of evil? Death Note offers a cautionary tale of good intentions gone catastrophically wrong. The suspenseful cat-and-mouse anime chronicles a young genius named Light Yagami. He obtains a supernatural Death Note, allowing him to kill anyone by writing their name.

Light takes it upon himself to rid the world of criminals and create a crime-free utopia. But he slowly descends into megalomania as justice becomes mingled with godhood. Death Note will have you questioning your own morals and sympathies. It blurs the line between good and evil.

Light believes himself the hero—but his ruthless execution methods also make him a villain. This thrilling, eye-opening anime shows how the noblest goals can justify incremental atrocities.

7. Paranoia Agent

The human mind often constructs illusions to cope with suffering. Paranoia Agent explores this theme in a postmodern psychological thriller series. A serial attacker dubbed Lil' Slugger becomes an urban legend in Tokyo.

But the disturbing assailant seems to only target those overwhelmed by psychological stress and personal crises. It suggests Lil' Slugger may be a psychological projection—a physical manifestation of human vices. Paranoia Agent exposes the deep anxiety and helplessness lurking under society's façade.

Each character harbors painful secrets, weaknesses, and guilt behind their everyday public personas. Lil' Slugger draws out those repressed inner demons. This avant-garde anime utilizes an array of animation styles and allegories. It offers an uncompromising examination of the human psyche under duress.

8. Made in Abyss

It enchants with its whimsical fantasy worldbuilding. But beneath its childlike wonder lies a dark origami of philosophical themes. It follows young cave raider Riko and her robotic companion, Reg. Together they descend through the mysterious Abyss—a fantastical pit filled with treasure and strange creatures.

But the deeper one goes, the more a sinister curse called the "Curse of the Abyss" threatens their lives. Made in Abyss uses the Abyss as an allegory for life itself—how beauty, ugliness, and adversity all originate from the same source. Like the cave raiders, viewers are drawn deeper into the Abyss.

We discover that true courage comes from confronting fear and vulnerability. The anime's jaw-dropping visuals contrast with its traumatic emotional landscape. Made in Abyss offers youthful optimism punctuated with profoundly mature themes on existence, purpose, and the cycle of life.

9. Akira

Akira depicts a dystopian vision of a futuristic Neo-Tokyo destroyed by war, chaos, and anarchy. This seminal classic film tackled complex philosophical themes well ahead of its time. The cyberpunk movie focuses on biker gang leader Kaneda and his friend Tetsuo, who awakens powerful telekinetic abilities.

As Tetsuo's supernatural powers grow out of control, the authorities, who have already weaponized other psychics, desperately try to contain him. Akira is ultimately a coming-of-age tale warning against totalitarian regimes exploiting youth.

It also contains anti-war messages while showing the horrific scale of atomic weapons. The iconic hand-drawn animation set a visual benchmark for anime films. But Akira’s take on politics, terrorism, and human rights still resonates, showing how authoritarian regimes justify force through promises of order.

10. Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy takes place in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where humans and androids called AutoReivs coexist. It follows Re-l Mayer, a human inspector whose investigation into a series of murders leads her to uncover the existence of powerful beings known as Proxies.

The noir-inspired anime masterfully juggles sci-fi, gothic horror, and philosophical themes. Much like the replicants in Blade Runner, the androids in Ergo Proxy develop emotional awareness and question their existence. Ergo Proxy broadly contemplates what it means to be human.

This series pairs stylish visuals with references to philosophy and psychology. It asks introspective questions about self-actualization, social purpose, and humanity's self-destructive tendencies. This cerebral cyberpunk thriller reflects today’s anxieties about AI, climate change, and human identity.

Conclusion

Anime may just seem like cartoons on the surface. But many eye-opening anime tackle profound themes through their speculative fiction lens. They compel audiences to reflect deeply on philosophical ideas and ethical quandaries.

So expand your media horizons by checking out these 10 eye-opening anime. Immerse yourself in the incredible stories and surreal animation that make Japanese anime an impactful contemporary artform. You'll likely discover some new all-time favorites—and also learn something about yourself along the way.