Editing Approved Anime (section)

==Horror, Grimdark, & Mindfuckery==
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*'''''Akira''''' - Famous for being THE Japanese animation that introduced its kind into the West, as well as being a cornerstone in the foundation of the cyberpunk genre. Japan gets nuked again, but not by an actual nuke but by the eponymous [[Psyker|psionic superhuman]]. A dystopian Neo-Tokyo is created from the ashes, only to be destroyed again due to one of the MCs becoming a psychic as well and [[Exterminatus|unleashing another death blast]]. Unfortunately the movie gimps a lot of content from the manga to fit into the standard 2-hour runtime of a film and thus compresses a lot of themes, and also came out before the manga actually concluded, so it's best to bust out those reading glasses if you want the full story. It's a huge inspiration for many works internationally including several tabletop games, and broke the Western mold of animation being only for kids - it's only natural /tg/ enjoys it. ['''READ THE MANGA'''] [1 movie]
:Related games: [[Shadowrun]], [[Mutants and Masterminds]], playing [[Psyker]]s in [[40k]]

*'''''[[Berserk]]''''': Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: The Anime. Guts, a brutal and unstoppable swordsman, walks the land of grimdark as he recounts his impossibly bad-assed past. Noted for being GUTS HUEG because GUTS is HUEG, meaning he has [[Rip and Tear|HUEG GUTS]]. Includes copious amounts of rape, extreme violence, a guy ([[Magnus the Red|who did nothing wrong]]) selling the souls of his friends to the local version of the Chaos Gods and tons of general badassery. [TV series: 25 episodes]['''READ THE MANGA''']
**'''''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc Movie Trilogy''''': This focuses on the Manga's Golden Age Arc only. The whole trilogy is currently on Netflix (added bonus: it's dubbed in ''english''). [3 movies]
**'''''Berserk (2016)''''': Building largely on the achievements of the aforementioned movie trilogy, the latest incarnation of Berserk finally explores a more monstrous and demon-infested setting set two years after the Golden Age Arc. While despised by many fans for its terrible CG animation and skipping major character moments, it's the only thing you're going to get for a long while. Made by the same people that gave you Teekyuu, the ''nine season'' shitpost. (also shows you one of the many ways of how to not introduce characters to a fanbase that would ''probably'' have given their organs to the author to keep him alive.)
**Unfortunately the author of the manga died prematurely in May 2021, leaving the story ''technically'' unfinished (though the point at which it ended conveniently was "good enough", making some think he saw his demise coming) - any adaptations now will have to take liberties if they plan to go beyond where the manga stopped. Keep that in mind for any adaptations below this.
** Fortunately, the author's best friend, also an accomplished manga author, took the reins of the studio and is determined to finish the manga according to the notes of the original author. There is hope for Berserk yet!
:Related games: [[Warhammer Fantasy]]

*'''''[[Cyberpunk 2020#Cyberpunk 2077|Cyberpunk: Edgerunners]]''''': The ''only'' reason Cyberpunk 2077 isn't remembered as an embarrassing failure, to the point where they eventually backported the Sandevistan effects from this series into the game. This awesome cyberpunk anime tells the story of one David Martinez, a boy living in Night City who has his life systematically destroyed by the cruel and uncaring nature of the Cyberpunk setting in a way most cyberpunk fiction at best hints at. He responds to this in the only way he can: becoming an Edgerunner, getting chromed to the gills and barely fighting off cyberpsychosis, living fast and finally dying brutally when he bites off more than he can chew. Also his sidekick is a blue-skinned shortstack solo who dual-wields giant fuckoff pistols and blatantly lusts for his cock, which is both awesome and true to the RPG. Pretty much all of the goodwill CD Projekt RED earned back after the disastrous launch of 2077 can be traced back to people watching this series and being motivated to give the game a second chance. [TV Series: 10 episodes]

:Related games: [[Cyberpunk 2020]]
 
*'''''Death Note''''': A random high schooler finds a book that lets him kill anyone whose name is written in it. What does he do with it? He tries to become a god by killing criminals. Only one dares oppose him: the mysterious detective L. An exciting game of "He knows that I know that he knows," ensues. Originator of [[Just as planned]] thanks to an especially shitty translation. [TV Series: 37 episodes + 2 movies + 2 live-action movies + [[wikipedia:Manga Murder|one real-life murder case]]]

:Related games: [[Esoterrorists]], [[Kult]], [[Hunter: The Reckoning]], [[Delta Green]]

*'''''Devilman CRYBABY''''' (2018): An adaptation of Go Nagai's ''Devilman'' (published 1972) aka ''the'' '''OG''' grimdark. Simply put, virtually none of these examples would exist without Devilman. It's arguable that 40K would be somewhat different without Devilman. A high school boy named Akira Fudo gets sucked into the world of demons and merges with a demon but somehow keeps his humanity. As he fights the demons on behalf of his [[Gay|boyfriend]] Ryo Asuka, Ryo reveals the existence of the demons to humanity at large, which plunges the whole world into hell, ultimately culminating in a three-way battle between humanity, Akira and Ryo (who reveals himself to be Satan) and his legion of demons. The battle ends in the death of everyone but Ryo, only for God to reset the world. [TV series: 10 episodes..]

:Related games: [[CthulhuTech]]

*'''''Ergo Proxy''''': What if [[Cthulhu]] was in Ghost in the Shell? Starts out like as a fairly political investigation story set in a distopian city, evolves into one hell of a journey in the post-apocalyptic world outside filled with acid trips. Like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with a story. [TV series: 23 episodes]
 
:Related games: [[Dark Heresy]], [[Shadowrun]], [[Dark Sun]], [[CthulhuTech]]

*'''''Ghost in the Shell''''': This was the big Cyberpunk (the genre, not the setting) Anime before Cyberpunk Edgerunners. The 1995 film is about a sexy cyborg federal agent and her pursuit of a hacker who's targeting the minds of cyborgs, alongside a poignant question about the meaning of humanity. Features all the cyberpunk tropes, set in a dense city full of skyscrapers and slums, lots of rain and fog sequences, spider-legged tanks, creepy cybernetics, and all of the hallmarks of the 1980s and 90s — Neon lights, hacking sequences, CRT televisions, bodysuits, and big hair. After the original 1995 movie, there was a sequel movie and several re-adaptations, including the Scarlett Johansson live-action movie that was limited by the human body. Just compare [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpqdYt9hw2g 1995] to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5X4gEB7i94 2017]. [Original: 2 movies, Stand Alone Complex: 52 Episodes + 1 movie + wack Netflix version, Arise: 10 Episodes + 1 movie, Dreamworks: 1 movie]

*'''''[[Goblin Slayer]]''''': I'm Goblin Slayer, I hunt goblins. The epic tale of a hardcore autistic adventurer who refuses to fight anything other than goblins, even when the BBEG is about to take over the world. Notable for a surprisingly [[Old School Roleplaying]] take on medieval adventuring: D&D-style darkvision monster spam is a plot point, weapon lengths are taken into account, what magic exists is highly limited and time-consuming, and the titular goblins are [[Tucker's Kobolds]] gone grimdark with the shit-covered prison shankings and whatnot. Also lots of rape. Also we eventually learn the world is literally [[Neckbeard|the gods']] RPG campaign, with the Slayer himself as their own [[Old Man Henderson]]. Started as a web story on 2ch that immediately took off and transformed into the modern inheritor to Berserk's grimdark crown. [TV Series: 12 episodes and counting]

:Related games: [[The Riddle of Steel]], [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], a theoretical good version of [[FATAL]], [https://yenpress.com/9781975318314/goblin-slayer-tabletop-roleplaying-game/| Goblin Slayer TRPG]

*'''''[[Hellsing]]''''': An action horror centering around the Hellsing organization: a secret agency who uses vampires to protect the British Crown from other supernatural forces. Alucard, a gun-toting vampire who is possibly one of the most powerful in all of fiction (basically he's fucking Dracula at full power and not stuck in a shitty old man body; at one point they give him an SR-71 to possess into his personal batplane), and his new big-titted, former cop, fledgling Seras are their main agents. Their enemies include rogue vampires, [[Ecclesiarchy|a homicidal <s>Scottish</s> Irish priest]] from the Catholic Church, and Millenium: a psychotic group of <s>neo-Nazis</s> Actual OG Nazis (1,000+ Waffen-SS volunteers to create the Letzte Bataillon) who want to take over Europe through [[wat|a battalion of artificially-created Nazi Vampires.]] Mostly known for its Biblical references and imagery and abnormal amounts of blood spewing out of anything and anyone like a bunch of Fruit Gushers (though nowhere near as [[Grimderp]] as Devilman or Violence Jack.) Divided into two continuities; the original, 13 episode, TV series (which overtook the manga and so went in an entirely different direction, and has lackluster animation, but also deeper characters, a more even theme, and a rocking soundtrack) and the "Ultimate" OVA series (totally faithful to the manga, but that also means it keeps ping-ponging between beautifully animated guro and cutesy-poo chibi "comedy" sections). [TV Series: 13 Episodes, OVA series: 10 Episodes]
 
:Related games: [[Dark Heresy]], maybe [[Achtung! Cthulhu]], [[Vampire: The Requiem]] + [[Hunter: The Vigil]] + [[Deviant: The Renegades]] (TV series only), some batshit insane fusion of [[Vampire: The Masquerade]] and [[Scion]] or [[Exalted]] (Ultimate)

* '''''Laughing Salesman''''': ''"My name is [[Tzeentch|Moguro Fukuzou]]. People call me the [[Genie|Laughing Salesman]]. However, I am no ordinary [[Demon|salesman]]. Because the product I trade in is hearts. [[Grimdark|Human hearts, that is.]]"'' [[Troll|AAAAHOHOHOHAHAHA!]] A masterclass in asshole genies, cursed artifacts, and other forms of giving your players enough rope to hang themselves with. It's a slave to formula, and prone to [[FATAL|impressively fucked up]] endings even when Moguro isn't just being a dick, but what more can you expect from the creator of Doraemon? Best watched in small doses. [TV series: 103 shorts + 2 specials]
:Related games: [[Trail of Cthulhu]], [[World of Darkness]], [[Unknown Armies]]

* '''''M.D. Geist''''': A psychotic super soldier is released on a post-apocalyptic abandoned colony to breach a former governmental compound and prevent the activation of an army of killer robots that are programed to exterminate all surviving humans on the planet. He blasts his way in, slaughtering the cybernetic defenders... then releases the army himself so he can fight forever, and if the rest of humanity is wiped out, who cares? [[Khorne]] approves! [1 OVA + 1 movie]
:Related games: [[Black Crusade]]

*'''''Made in Abyss''''': Aka ''Hunter x Hunter'''s seinen cousin. What happens when you cross Studio Ghibli with the lovecraftian horror of ''Madoka Magica'', the brutality of ''Berserk'' and the psychological horror of ''Digimon Tamers''? You get Made in Abyss that's what! Made in Abyss is set in a pseudo-fantasy/adventure genre that is populated by <u>''a lot''</u> of [[Loli|moe lolis]] mining and excavating ancient relics of a past civilization found scattered in a giant, deep fucking hole in the middle of the island. Like Digimon Tamers and Madoka Magica, it starts off cute and whimsical with absolutely ''gorgeous'' background art that would make the Great Hayao Miyazaki proud. But partway through the plot, the series turns into a very dark turn, and we mean <u>'''DARK'''</u>. The way the anime (and manga) handled its mature themes, its art design, the musical score, a well paced story progression and conclusion as well as not treating its audience like they are a bunch of mindless, horny basement dwellers earned it critical acclaim to not only anime elitists, but normal plebs as well. Furthermore, the fantastic world building of Made in Abyss has made it popular for D&D conversions. That and the fact that it gave /tg/ a bucket load of [[Meme|memes]] thanks to a certain bunch of characters, the series also hosts the only [[furry]] you should not kill on sight... [TV Series: 26 episodes + two movies]

:Related games: [[Dungeons and Dragons]]

*'''''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''''': A philosophical character drama and Lovecraftian Horror Mindrape that pretends to be a mecha anime for its first half.  Either one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) anime ever produced, or an overrated piece of tripe that collapsed under the weight of its own pretentiousness and awful budgeting, depending on who you ask; there is no middle ground.  Rumored to have originally been a "next generation" sequel to Anno's earlier work ''Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water'' but the producers wouldn't allow it. Inspiration for [[Adeptus Evangelion]], obviously. [TV series: 26 episodes + 2 movies, Reboot (Rebuild of Evangelion): 4 movies]
 
:Related games: [[Adeptus Evangelion]], [[JAEVA Project]], [[CthulhuTech]]

*'''''Now and Then, Here and There''''': A young Japanese boy and American girl are transported through time and space to a dying world orbiting a dying star, and are forced to fight as a child soldier for evil men who rape and breed them, while the humans of the planet slowly fight themselves to extinction over water. Not for the faint of heart, or for anyone who thinks [[Warhammer 40k]] is as grimdark as humanly possible. This is true, hardcore grimdark. [TV series: 13 episodes]
 
:Related games: [[Dark Sun]] so very much, [[FATAL]], [[Gamma World]]

*'''''Psycho-Pass''''': Classic cyberpunk dystopia from Gen "The Butcher" Urobochi. Japan has once again isolated itself from the world after a poorly defined apocalypse and is now governed by the SYBLE System, which tracks everybody based on their "Crime Coefficient," [[Grimdark|imprisoning anybody who shows the potential for antisocial behavior.]] The series follows a squad of investigators and the "latent criminals" forced to work with them as they hunt down the people at the margins of the system with guts and giant fuck-off handguns that can disintegrate solid steel but are programmed to only kill bad people. An absolute goldmine for cyberpunk imagery somewhere in between the black-trenchcoat look of [[Cyberpunk 2020]] and the post-cyberpunk iPod future. [TV series: 22 episodes + 1 movie (named ''Mandatory Happiness'' of all things)]
**'''''Psycho-Pass 2''''': Sequel series without Urobochi. Takes away everything that made Psycho-Pass interesting and replaces it with guro. Avoid.
:Related games: [[Paranoia]], [[Shadowrun]]

*'''''Puella Magi Madoka Magica''''': A middle school girl gets approached by a magical girl mascot animal with an offer to join a secret war between the grotesque witches and the magical girls that fight to curb their destructive influence. Naturally, it's a trap. Also the music is great. [TV Series: 12 episodes + 2 compilation movies and one expansion movie][watch the first compilation movie or first 3 episodes. If you aren't hooked, drop it]

:Related Games: [[Liberi Gothica]], [[Magical Girls - The Game]], [[Magical Burst]], [[Princess: The Hopeful]], [[Quest:Magical Girl Noir Quest]]

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