Many of these require multiple rewatches — and they’re absolutely worth it in the end.
Neon Genesis Evangelion has a reputation in the anime fandom for being confusing. However, it’s actually easier to understand if you know the message behind it; most of the confusion comes from the last 2 episodes (and that was elaborated on in the sequel movie) and from the worldbuilding being intentionally vague.
There are many series that are actually way harder to understand — all for different reasons. Here are 5 anime that are very hard to fully follow on the first watch — and are extremely rewarding when you actually get them.
This anime focuses on Lain, a girl who has been avoiding tech for all her entire life — yet when her friend commits suicide, she’s forced to find answers on the Wired. Wired is like the internet of today, which is quite insane — the anime came out in the late 90s, but predicted many of the trends that came later. A commentary on the development of technology and societal trends, Lain is very confusing (in a good way!), and it’s possible to find something new in it with every rewatch.
Concrete Revolutio
Concrete Revolutio is an original anime project by studio Bones. It’s famous for its colorful designs and breathtaking action — and for sheer confusion it caused in the anime fandom when it aired. The anime is set in the parallel universe and loosely follows the sociopolitical events in the 60s-70s Japan, jumping between dates as many as four times per episode. Many of this you’d only understand by being a history nerd — but it’s still an extremely fun watch, although the plot can only be fully understood after you finish both seasons. Consider it an anime version of Watchmen — with kaiju, mecha and whatnot.
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
Now, this one isn’t hard to understand on the surface. It’s a black comedy centering on the teacher and his class of unusual students, criticizing many societal trends in both Japan and the whole world. However, it’s nigh-impossible to fully comprehend it — many fansub groups dropped the series because many jokes required thorough explanations of the references made and the Japanese wordplay behind them. A lot of the things in the anime are obscure even to the Japanese watchers, as they often make shoutouts to lesser known works and personalities from years ago. Despite all of this, it’s still an incredibly entertaining watch.
RahXephon
RahXephon is the second Bones original on this list — and while it doesn’t assault your mind with crazy pace or timeline jumps, it’s still incredibly convoluted. While it was obviously inspired by Evangelion, it’s largely its own thing, focusing more on the relationships between the characters than on any kind of philosophical message. These relationships are often complicated, the cast is very large, and many things are not what viewers initially expect them to be like. It might require multiple watches to fully grasp the plot behind the anime, but it’s absolutely worth it.
Touka Gettan
Touka Gettan is a project the very existence of which is baffling. It adapts the visual novel of the same name — except it doesn’t exactly do that, and the VN actually came out after the show started airing. It’s set in the same multiverse as Yamibo: Darkness, The Hat and the Travelers of the Books (another very obscure 00s anime) — and doesn’t mention that until the characters of it appear. And most importantly, Touka Gettan is made in (almost) reverse chronological order — yes, that’s how you are supposed to watch it. Despite that, it’s an incredibly beautiful tale of two reincarnated lovers — just one that’s very hard to understand on the first watch.
Many of these require multiple rewatches — and they’re absolutely worth it in the end.
Neon Genesis Evangelion has a reputation in the anime fandom for being confusing. However, it’s actually easier to understand if you know the message behind it; most of the confusion comes from the last 2 episodes (and that was elaborated on in the sequel movie) and from the worldbuilding being intentionally vague.
There are many series that are actually way harder to understand — all for different reasons. Here are 5 anime that are very hard to fully follow on the first watch — and are extremely rewarding when you actually get them.
This anime focuses on Lain, a girl who has been avoiding tech for all her entire life — yet when her friend commits suicide, she’s forced to find answers on the Wired. Wired is like the internet of today, which is quite insane — the anime came out in the late 90s, but predicted many of the trends that came later. A commentary on the development of technology and societal trends, Lain is very confusing (in a good way!), and it’s possible to find something new in it with every rewatch.
Concrete Revolutio
Concrete Revolutio is an original anime project by studio Bones. It’s famous for its colorful designs and breathtaking action — and for sheer confusion it caused in the anime fandom when it aired. The anime is set in the parallel universe and loosely follows the sociopolitical events in the 60s-70s Japan, jumping between dates as many as four times per episode. Many of this you’d only understand by being a history nerd — but it’s still an extremely fun watch, although the plot can only be fully understood after you finish both seasons. Consider it an anime version of Watchmen — with kaiju, mecha and whatnot.
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
Now, this one isn’t hard to understand on the surface. It’s a black comedy centering on the teacher and his class of unusual students, criticizing many societal trends in both Japan and the whole world. However, it’s nigh-impossible to fully comprehend it — many fansub groups dropped the series because many jokes required thorough explanations of the references made and the Japanese wordplay behind them. A lot of the things in the anime are obscure even to the Japanese watchers, as they often make shoutouts to lesser known works and personalities from years ago. Despite all of this, it’s still an incredibly entertaining watch.
RahXephon
RahXephon is the second Bones original on this list — and while it doesn’t assault your mind with crazy pace or timeline jumps, it’s still incredibly convoluted. While it was obviously inspired by Evangelion, it’s largely its own thing, focusing more on the relationships between the characters than on any kind of philosophical message. These relationships are often complicated, the cast is very large, and many things are not what viewers initially expect them to be like. It might require multiple watches to fully grasp the plot behind the anime, but it’s absolutely worth it.
Touka Gettan
Touka Gettan is a project the very existence of which is baffling. It adapts the visual novel of the same name — except it doesn’t exactly do that, and the VN actually came out after the show started airing. It’s set in the same multiverse as Yamibo: Darkness, The Hat and the Travelers of the Books (another very obscure 00s anime) — and doesn’t mention that until the characters of it appear. And most importantly, Touka Gettan is made in (almost) reverse chronological order — yes, that’s how you are supposed to watch it. Despite that, it’s an incredibly beautiful tale of two reincarnated lovers — just one that’s very hard to understand on the first watch.
