These give you an illusion of normalcy only to shatter it later.
Sometimes a seemingly normal start for an anime is only a facade. In reality, the plot is far more complex than it looks like at first — making fans even more interested in the series. If you want to watch such an anime, look no further than this list.
If you go into Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shinseiki Evangelion) expecting the mind screw plot it is famous for, you’ll be incredibly confused. At first, the series isn’t exactly complicated — it’s a fairly straightforward mecha drama. The only confusing element is the worldbuilding, a lot of which never really gets properly explained.
The further you watch, the more bizarre Evangelion gets, though. This culminates in the last 2 episodes of the series, which were made with almost no budget — and were absolutely incomprehensible. The movie, End of Evangelion, is needed to understand the series fully.
Higurashi: When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) is a mystery horror anime adapted from a visual novel. Its beginning looks like a generic horror setup at first, but the viewer gets very confused later, as events start to repeat.
We don’t really get many explanations during the first season. Thankfully, Season 2 answers pretty much all of the questions, wrapping the plot threads together beautifully.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann doesn’t have a complicated plot. It’s mostly a hype action series which we love for its cast of characters and memorable quotes.
However, the beginning of the anime is rather tame. The further it goes, the more and more over-the-top it gets — culminating in crazy space action involving characters throwing entire galaxies.
Revolutionary Girl Utena (Shoujo Kakumei Utena) doesn’t exactly start out normal — it’s already pretty trippy in the first episode — but it seems like a usual school drama at first. This idea proves to be wrong the more you watch.
The overcomplicated web of relationships between the characters and the heavy symbolism make the series hard to understand. It’s an extremely rewarding watch, though, and the anime is considered a classic for a very good reason.
Durarara!! starts out as a normal urban fantasy series with a decently sized ensemble cast. As the series progresses, the cast grows — and so do the insane plot twists that challenge the viewer’s entire perception of certain characters.
Many supernatural elements are added, which add extra tension to the series. Despite that, Durarara!! never really betrays its tradition of showing events from multiple points of view, something viewers praise it for.
These give you an illusion of normalcy only to shatter it later.
Sometimes a seemingly normal start for an anime is only a facade. In reality, the plot is far more complex than it looks like at first — making fans even more interested in the series. If you want to watch such an anime, look no further than this list.
If you go into Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shinseiki Evangelion) expecting the mind screw plot it is famous for, you’ll be incredibly confused. At first, the series isn’t exactly complicated — it’s a fairly straightforward mecha drama. The only confusing element is the worldbuilding, a lot of which never really gets properly explained.
The further you watch, the more bizarre Evangelion gets, though. This culminates in the last 2 episodes of the series, which were made with almost no budget — and were absolutely incomprehensible. The movie, End of Evangelion, is needed to understand the series fully.
Higurashi: When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) is a mystery horror anime adapted from a visual novel. Its beginning looks like a generic horror setup at first, but the viewer gets very confused later, as events start to repeat.
We don’t really get many explanations during the first season. Thankfully, Season 2 answers pretty much all of the questions, wrapping the plot threads together beautifully.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann doesn’t have a complicated plot. It’s mostly a hype action series which we love for its cast of characters and memorable quotes.
However, the beginning of the anime is rather tame. The further it goes, the more and more over-the-top it gets — culminating in crazy space action involving characters throwing entire galaxies.
Revolutionary Girl Utena (Shoujo Kakumei Utena) doesn’t exactly start out normal — it’s already pretty trippy in the first episode — but it seems like a usual school drama at first. This idea proves to be wrong the more you watch.
The overcomplicated web of relationships between the characters and the heavy symbolism make the series hard to understand. It’s an extremely rewarding watch, though, and the anime is considered a classic for a very good reason.
Durarara!! starts out as a normal urban fantasy series with a decently sized ensemble cast. As the series progresses, the cast grows — and so do the insane plot twists that challenge the viewer’s entire perception of certain characters.
Many supernatural elements are added, which add extra tension to the series. Despite that, Durarara!! never really betrays its tradition of showing events from multiple points of view, something viewers praise it for.
