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Best Psychological Anime
19
Sep
Sep
For the times when you are in a mood to satiate your mental appetite, we have picked some of the all-time best psychological anime.
These psychological anime will tinkle with your psyche, disturb your deep-rooted beliefs and provoke your thoughts to think beyond the ordinary.
With stunning animation, enthralling story-line and suspense these psychological anime will keep you at the edge of your seats
Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War(2018/2019)
Episodes: 24
Genre: Psychological Fiction/Romantic Comedy
Avg. Episode Runtime: 12 minutes
Time to watch 24 episodes:4 hrs 48 min
A hilarious and romantic battle of wits between two outstanding individuals for making each other confess their love first. A very pleasant change in the psychological anime scene.
Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya are the envy of the entire prestigious Shuchin Academy
Miyuki, son of Middle-Class parents, is the top student in the country and President of the Student Council
Best all-round student Kaguya, eldest daughter of the wealthy Shinomiya family is the Vice President of the Student Council
In spite of being in love, both are reluctant to confess, as the first to do it will be considered inferior.
Their ego and self-pride make both, Miyuki and Kaguya dead set to come out victorious in the contest of love.
Read Also: Best War Anime
2. Erased (2016)
Episodes: 12
Genre: Drama, Psychological
Avg. Episode Runtime: 30 minutes
Time to watch 12 episodes: 6 hrs
Time travel may not be a unique idea, but this top psychological anime has used it smartly by adopting a moderate pace, simple storyline, and strong character development
The story is simple yet it will keep you on the edge of your seat from the start till the end. A must-watch for all age groups.
The story is set in Chiba in the year 2006, around the central character, 29- year old Satoru Funinuma
Funinuma experiences what he calls “Revival, an instant before the occurrence of a fatal incident, whereby he is able to go a few minutes back in time to prevent it.
He uses “Revival” to save a boy from a runaway truck. While trying to prevent the murder of his mother, Sachiko, through “Revival”, Funinuma is transported back 18 years.
With the mind of a 29-year old and the body of a ten-year-old, Funinuma now must change the past events to not only save his mother, but also the lives of his childhood friends.
3. Parasyte- the maxim (2014/2015)
Episodes: 24
Genre: Drama, Psychological Fiction
Avg. Episode Runtime: 25 minutes
Time to watch 24 episodes:10 hrs
This psychological anime will challenge your perceptions about friendship, love, instinct, and relationships
Earth is invaded by parasitic creatures that take control of the human body by entering through the nose and ears and drilling themselves into the brain.
One night, while sleeping 17-year old Shinichi Izumi is attacked by the alien creature.
Upon Izumi’s intervention, the creature fails to enter his nose and instead drills itself into his right hand.
Unable to either control Izumi from the hand or move from there, Migi, the parasite, has to rely on Izumi’s order to survive.
This creates an unusual bond between Izumi and Migi for their mutual survival.
Other parasitic creatures consider this bond as a threat to their existence and therefore they attack the duo.
The pair at the same time must now defend themselves against the aliens for their own survival
4. Psycho-Pass (2012)
Episodes: 41(All three seasons)
Genre: Drama, Psychological
Avg. Episode Runtime: 12 minutes
Time to watch 41 episodes: 9hrs
This is a brilliant anime with a strong plot and storyline. It questions the inhumane use of technology even for a seemingly noble cause.
The story is about Japan which is governed by a powerful bio-mechanical computer network called the Sibyl System.
Using Cymatic scan, the Sibyl System prepares crime propensity assessment or psycho pass of each Japanese citizen represented by Crime Coefficient index.
Individuals having a Crime Coefficient Index greater than 100 are apprehended or decomposed by field officers of the Ministry of Welfare and Public Safety.
Elite field Officer, called, Inspectors visit the crime scene and evaluate all the individuals directly or indirectly involved
Inspectors are assisted by Enforcers, who are latent criminals trusted to protect the Inspectors.
Psycho-pass is an anime portraying the life of a rookie Inspector Akane Tsunemori and an Enforcer Shinya Kogami under her watch.
Over the course of the anime, Tsunemori examines the moral and ethical issues connected to the Sibyl System.
5. Magi Madoka Majica (2011)
Episodes: 12
Genre: Thriller, Psychological thriller
Avg. Episode Runtime: 60 minutes
Time to watch 12 episodes:12 hrs
Madoka is a psychological thriller anime about comradeship, aspiration, and the price one pays to save a life
One night 14-year old Madoka has a nightmare about a lone girl fighting a losing battle against a dreadful creature.
A cat-like magical creature tells her that the only way for her to reverse the situation is to become a magic girl and fight the creature responsible for the despair.
The next day Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki find the same magical creature Krubey.
Just like the dream, Krubey offers Madoka and Sayaka magical powers and grant of a wish if they agree to become magic girls to fight witches which are the source of anguish and depression.
Maimi Tomoe, a friend of Krubey befriends Madoka and Sayaka and tries to persuade them to accept Krubey’s offer.
At the same time another magic girl Homura Akemi tries her best to prevent Madoka and Sayaka from accepting Krubey’s offer.
6. Death Note (2006)
Episodes: 37
Genre: Drama, Psychological Fiction
Avg. Episode Runtime: 30 minutes
Time to watch 37 episodes:19 hrs
Death Note is a captivating anime that poses lots of questions about the justice system and dispensation of justice. The brilliant storyline and suspense make it stand out among psychological anime.
Shinigami (god of death) can kill any person if he sees the person’s face and writes the person’s name in a book called Death Note.
The story is set in motion when Ryuk, a Shinigami bored of the Shinigami lifestyle drops the death book in human space.
Light Yagami, a high school student, stumbles upon the book and being upset about the crime, tests the book by writing the name of a criminal.
Upon immediate death of the criminal, Light gets excited and consigns several criminals to death by writing their names in the Death Note.
The police are alerted after several deaths and a serial killer is suspected. The unknown suspect is given the name Kira
An enigmatic Inspector by the name of L is assigned the case. Watch the anime to know the fate of Light.
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7. Welcome to NHK8(2006)
Episodes: 24
Genre: Psychological Drama
Avg. Episode Runtime: 25 minutes
Time to watch 24 episodes:9 hrs 36 min
Although aired in 2006, but the central idea of the anime is very much valid in today’s world.
It deals with the issue of individuals known as hikikomori (condition of acute social withdrawal)
The story follows a college dropout, Satou Tatsuhiro.
Satou is a hikikomori. He is an obsessive conspiracy theorist, a trait he acquired in the company of a high school friend, Kashiwa Hitomi.
He believes a Universal Organization NHK(Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai or Japan Hikikomori Society) is responsible for his condition.
He wants to get out of his condition but doesn’t know how to do it.
However, one day Satou meets a girl Nakahara Misaki, who offers to save him from hikikomori lifestyle if he agrees to sign a contract to become part of her project.
8. Monster (2005)
Episodes: 74
Genre: Drama, Psychological Fiction
Avg. Episode Runtime: 25 minutes
Time to watch 74 episodes:30 hrs
Monster is a compelling life-like psychodrama set up in a thrilling story line.
It follows a renowned Japanese neurosurgeon Dr. Kenzou Tenma, living in Germany.
Dr. Tenma has been living with the guilt of being responsible for the death of a person he opted to operate after a famous singer.
Few years later when faced with a similar situation Dr. Tenma, listens to his conscience and prefers to operate a gun-shot wound patient before the city Mayor.
Although he is able to save the life of the gun-shot wound patient, Johan, at the expense of the Mayor, but little does he know that the same patient will throw his life in turmoil
Johan turns out to be a serial killer, a victim of years of orphaned childhood spent in East German psychic programming facility for producing perfect soldiers
Having killed one of Dr. Tenma’s patient, and the foster parents of his sister, Johan is on the run ready to strike again.
Dr. Tenma must find a way to get Johan apprehended to not only prevent further loss of innocent lives, but also to absolve himself of being falsely implicated in the case.
9. Steins Gate (2009)
Episodes: 24
Genre: Drama, Psychological Fiction
Avg. Episode Runtime: 29 minutes
Time to watch 24 episodes:11 hrs 36 min
Steins Gate is about time travel. It is a good psychological anime with thrilling story line and strong character development. Slow at the start but fascinating till the end.
It is set in 2010 and follows Rintaro Okabe, who together with his friends accidentally discovers a method of time travel through which they can send text messages to the past, thereby changing the present.
The machine can also receive message from the future thus allowing Okabe to visit the past and change the present, based on the messages received from the future.
However, he realizes that travelling in the past to save his friends in the present and to prevent a future event like WWIII happening, is not that easy and he may have to lose his friends in the process
10. Neon Genesis- Evangelion (1995-96)
Episodes: 26
Genre: Drama, Psychological Fiction
Avg. Episode Runtime: 12 minutes
Time to watch 26 episodes:14.5 hrs
This is a mind-blowing anime. Although it starts of slowly as another planet saver story but it later morphs into a harrowing psychological drama full of overpowering emotions and exceptional fight scenes.
The story is set in 2015 when the world in on the verge of annihilation by Angels, a race of giant monstrous beings.
The only hope for the mankind is Evangelion, huge bio-machines connected to the nervous system of its pilot and managed by Nerv, a United Nations organization
The anime follows Shinji Ikari, who is called by his estranged father who is the Head of Nerv, to pilot an Evangelion, without any formal training
14 Angels must be destroyed to salvage mankind
Shinji along with other pilots must overcome their own mental demons to destroy the Angels and save the mankind.
11. Ping Pong-The Animation (2014)
Episodes: 11
Genre: Sports Psychology
Avg. Episode Runtime: 23 minutes
Time to watch 11 episodes:4 hrs 13 min
A beautiful anime depicting the emotions of four characters that play the sport at different levels and for different reasons.
Peco, Smile, Ruichi and Kong are the four characters that have been playing the sport since their childhood and have continued to play as they enter adulthood.
Each of the character has his own reason to play the sport.
All the characters must overcome emotions and mental blocks to continue to play the sport they love.
12. Terror in Resonance (2014)
Episodes: 11
Genre: Drama, Psychological Thriller
Avg. Episode Runtime: 21 minutes
Time to watch 11 episodes:4 hrs
This is a fantastic psychological thriller full of suspense and emotions, with excellent animation and superb sound.
The story is about two teenage boys Nine and Twelve who call themselves Sphinx.
Sphinx steal an atomic bomb prototype and through social media threaten to destroy Tokyo.
Sphinx are survivors of the Rising Peace Academy, an organization, which had experimented to develop orphans like them into human weapons
Nine and Twelve are now determined to expose the illegal activities of the Rising Peace Academy.
13. Perfect Blue (1997)
Episodes: 11
Genre: Drama, Psychological Thriller
Avg. Episode Runtime: 54 minutes
Time to watch 11 episodes:10 hrs
The anime is about a girl Mima who leaves a J-pop group to become an actress
Reaction of her fans disapproving her switch in career makes her doubt her decision to become actress
A fan letter leads Mima to a website which accurately depicts her life as if the content were written by her. This causes Mima to go in depression
The death of several people involved in tarnishing Mima’s image as actress and the website makes her determined to uncover the person behind the crime.
14. Flowers of Evil (2019)
Episodes: 11
Genre: Thriller, Psychological Thriller
Avg. Episode Runtime: 28 minutes
Time to watch 11 episodes:5 hrs 11min
This is a anime is one of the best psychological anime. It is about relationships and throw light on teenage psyche. Rotoscoping gives natural punch to the animation. Breath of fresh air in the anime scene.
The anime is about a Middle School student Takao Kasuga who is forced into a pledge by a classmate Sawa Nakamuro, after being caught stealing the gym cloths of the another classmate Nanako Seiki.
The series is about the events that take place the three characters, with love, jealousy and intrigue.
15. Ergo Proxy (2006)
Episodes: 23
Genre: Adventure, Psychological Thriller
Avg. Episode Runtime: 25 minutes
Time to watch 23 episodes:9 hrs 35min
This is a highly enjoyable anime set up in a futuristic story line with great animation and terrific sound.
The anime is set up in a future era rendered inhabitable by an atmospheric disaster thousands of years earlier.
Humans and androids, called Autorevs and special humanoid lifeforms called proxies live together in domed cities
While investigating the murders committed by virus-infected Autorevs, hidden truth about two proxies is revealed, which is vital for the survival of mankind
16. Paranoia Agent (2004)
Episodes: 13
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Avg. Episode Runtime: 34 minutes
Time to watch 13 episodes:6 hrs 13min
Parnoia agent start of normally and then takes a wild turn. Several stories of similar outcome are combined at the end to lead to a conclusion.
Tokyo residents are terrorized by an attacker, his victims describe as a boy on inline skates and hitting his victims with a bend baseball bat wearing a baseball cap.
None of the victims can recall the face of the attacker dubbed as Lil Slugger(Bat boy
Two police detectives assigned the case are out to capture the attacker.
17. Eden of East (2009)
Episodes: 11
Genre: Thriller, Psychological Thriller
Avg. Episode Runtime: 25 minutes
Time to watch 26 episodes:4 hrs 35min
This anime is fast-paced full of intrigue and suspense. With great animation and good character development, it is worth watching.
The story follows a naked man with no memory of his past outside White house with only a gun and a special cell phone on him with two billion yen of digital currency in the phone
The naked man saves a girl Saki Moromi from the police when she throws a coin at the white house gate.
The naked man through directions received on his phone is told that he is one of the ten other persons called Salecao, with the same phone and money.
The task of the Salecaos,is to save Japan from another missile attack as the one they had three months ago.
With a passport and a new identity of Akira Takizawa, the naked man along with Saki returns to Japan only to know about more missile attacks.
Akira now with the help of other Salecaos and Saki’s company Eden of East must try to save Japan and at the same time dig out his past and true identity.
Conclusion
The collection of best psychological anime has something for everyone. Whether you are fan of thriller, romance, drama, humor or horror you will find an anime of your taste in the list.
