Titles on environmental issues, the humanity of technological progress, the importance of forgiveness, and more.
Dystopia in anime is first and foremost a setting. A melodrama, a detective story, a thriller, or even a comedy can be set against the backdrop of a dystopia.
But it is unlikely that the viewer will want to spend even one day in these depressing worlds, where class stratification, environmental catastrophes, and totalitarian government have long since become commonplace.
1. Memories, 1995
An anime anthology that paints three unpleasant pictures of the future. In the first, a group of space scavengers are held hostage by the memories of an opera singer.
In the second, an unsuspecting lab assistant accidentally turns into a weapon of mass destruction. The third describes a city whose life is based on firing cannons at an unknown enemy.
The author of the collection of short stories is Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of Akira. Satoshi Kon co-wrote the script, and each short film was directed by a different person. The result is a stylistically diverse statement that unites the ideas of anti-militarism and technophobia.
2. Girls' Last Tour, 2017
Schoolgirls Yuuri and Chito travel through a war-torn civilization in search of supplies. They ride a caterpillar motorcycle, meet other survivors, remember the dead, and dream of a better life.
Girls' Last Tour is an unconventional and even provocative mix of dystopia and cozy anime. Who would have thought that life after the destruction of humanity could be filled with warmth and comfort?
This anime is an atypical representative of the genre, which cultivates a bright idea about the triumph of life even after global catastrophes.
3. Fist of the North Star, 1984-1988
After the devastating nuclear war of the 90s, most of the planet has turned into an endless desert. Humanity is forced to constantly fight for water and food in order to survive.
Kenshiro is the heir to an ancient martial art that can send an enemy to a quick and painful death. The man wanders through the ruins of civilization, trying to restore justice as best he can.
The scorched, cruel and unpleasant world of Fist of the North Star was a favorite of George Miller, the creator of Mad Max. The structure of the wasteland and the main character of the franchise are largely borrowed from this anime.
4. Texhnolyze, 2003
The underground city of Lux is a vast prison where antisocial individuals who are not welcome on the surface have been sent for many years. It is a filthy place, torn apart by a war between criminal gangs.
One day, Ichise, a fist fighter, gets involved with a woman from Organo, one of the three power gangs. Because of her, Ichise's arm and leg are cut off, and soon the man replaces them with technologically advanced prosthetics.
He sets out to avenge his pain and humiliation, but meets a girl named Ran and befriends Organo's leader, the honest and incorruptible Onishi.
Although the main topic of the anime is the humanity of technological progress, its style is more reminiscent of crime films and neo-noirs of the New Hollywood period.