Dragon Ball notwithstanding, most anime deaths are for keeps. That means anime shows can end in ways that would make even Thanos depressed. They don’t just kill off half the cast, they kill off the entire cast. Then, sometimes the entire human race goes with them. Maybe reality itself is blown to oblivion for good measure.So, here are five anime series to watch if you really want to feel terrible for about a week.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Evangelion is the most obvious choice for an apocalyptic anime, and for good reason. You don’t need me to recommend Evangelion to you. If you’re even remotely interested in anime you’ve probably had this show pushed on you a dozen times already. Evangelion is an all-time classic of the genre. It is also truly impressive something this odd became as popular as it did.
Shinji Ikari is not the kind of hero that fits in popular fiction. He’s a deeply depressed preteen who is just as likely to wallow in bed than actually fight aliens in his giant robot. Plus the Armageddon depicted in this series requires a dual degree in existentialist philosophy and early Christian Gnosticism to fully understand. Finally, to like Evangelion you’ll want a high tolerance for experimental arthouse filmmaking.
Nothing about Evangelion is easy. The hero is annoying if you’re looking for action, the story is a confusing muddle even on your tenth rewatch, and infamously the original TV ending was pure nonsense. Even the anime’s production was a giant mess. Yet somehow it all works. Despite the many issues, or more likely because of them, Evangelion is one of the greatest anime TV shows ever made.
RahXephon
Evangelion is the kind of show that casts a big shadow. One of the series unfortunately covered in that shadow is RahXephon. Despite its reputation, this is no cheap Eva rip-off. RahXephon still has great animation 16 years later, its storyline is not half as messy as its predecessor, and the cast is actually stronger here. Yes, both shows are surreal psychological takes on giant robot apocalypses, yet RahXephon is its own unique experience.
Evangelion is about depression. RahXephon is about a hero, Ayato falling in love with another person. Both shows have huge robots fighting big freaky aliens in the middle of incomprehensible conspiracies. They’re both leading up to huge apocalypses. But RahXephonnever gets as bleak as its more famous counterpart. The anime series has bitterly sad moments involving certain characters (dear lord, Asahina), but Ayato never loses hope, even while the world is ending. He’s a more complete person than Shinji, and RahXephon is a more complete story.
You can compare the surface details of RahXephon and Evangelion, but you can’t compare the tones or the goals. Maybe RahXephon is less memorable. It is not inferior though.
Texhnolyze
Texhnolyze opens with its protagonist, Ichise getting two of his limbs chopped off after a night of really bad sex. He spends the next few episodes struggling to walk, getting raped until he is finally granted some cybernetic limbs. Are things looking up now? No. Texhnolyze only gets worse from there. This is a very slow-paced experiment in how utterly miserable anime can be. Our hero is practically silent, the art direction is dark and gray, and the story is not explained for many episodes. Texhnolyze is a tough investment and in return, you’ll get only despair.
In the far-off future, humans have settled an underground city called Lux. The city is made up of cyborg mafias, their victims, and people too depressed to move. Maybe the last group read ahead and spoiled the ending. As grim anddark as Texhnolyze starts, it still manages to pull off the grand champion of awful heartbreaking endings.
Texhnolyze does not end like the previous two shows with massive robot god assaults on reality. Instead this time the human race goes out with the saddest of whimpers. We simply fail as a species and the characters get to watch as we fall apart.
Basilisk
In a change of pace, Basilisk does not annihilate all of humanity. It does, however, kill off everybody that matters.
Basilisk is a ninja tragedy set in early 1600s Japan. The Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, decides to settle his family’s succession crisis by having two rival ninja clans fight to the death. Never mind that those ninja clans were trying to settle peacefully by having their youngest members marry. The Iga and Kouga clans each have ten warriors with absurd ninja magic, and once the truce is over, they gleefully use their powers to kill each other off. The oldest members of each clan were once in love themselves. They start off the war by finishing their Romeo and Juliet story by murdering each other.
Meanwhile, the latest Romeo and Juliet, Oboro of the Iga and Gennosuke of the Kouga, are reflections of their grandparents. The first episode shows the audience exactly what fate is in store for these lovers. You can expect some over-the-top ninja action, but don’t expect a happy ending for anybody.
Devilman Crybaby
Devilman Crybaby is the newest show on this list and also the oldest anime here by far. The original Devilman is a classic Go Nagai manga from 1972. Crybaby isjust the latest of many retellings and remakes. Before Evangelion blew up the Earth in a Judeo-Christian horror, Devilman did it first. This is the great granddaddy of depressing anime endings.
Devilman Crybaby is what people who don’t watch anime think anime is. It is all gratuitous violence and sex. However, it is also beautiful gratuitous violence and sex thanks to the fluid art style of director Masaaki Yuasa. An early scene in Crybaby features an orgy that turns into a bloody Cronenbergian body horror massacre. That’s this show: sex, horror, and violence. (Not necessarily in that order.)
Akira Fundo is a superhero, Devilman, out to save us all from the demons. Only mankind in this universe cannot be saved. As the ten episodes progress, Devilman Crybaby goes from a monster of the week formula to a complete social meltdown in frightening speed. Just a few episodes from fighting demons secretly, Devilman is watching all his friends and loved ones die horribly. Devilman Crybaby starts like horny exploitation, then turns into a true tragedy.
