The End Days Suck
There’s something oddly irresistible about setting a series after the world has gone to hell. When it comes to anime, you can always bet that giant monsters, unending despair and the savage side of humanity will be on full display. Just check out these five for further proof!
“Blame!†(2017)
Ever wondered what would happen if the Matrix and Skynet had a kid? The answer might look a little like The City; a techno-world that’s constantly expanding, and as a result is driving humans towards extinction. Though that’s mainly due to it creating the horrifying automatons. Amongst this chaos is one man, Killy and the most OP gun of all time. It didn’t quite qualify since the Earth meets it’s complete demise before the show even starts, but for those that enjoy Blame’s style of despair, you may want to check out the same author’s Knights of Sidonia.
“Trigun†(1998)
With sand and bullet-shell casings as far as the eye can see, it can be pretty tough just trying to find a way to survive in this dusty old world. This is made infinitely worse if your name happens to be Vash the Stampede and you just so happen to have a 60 billion double dollar bounty on your head. As bounty hunters and all other manner of lowlifes continually try to hunt down the Humanoid Typhoon, the unusually upbeat and cheerful Vash tries his best to help those in need, while also trying to dispatch his foes using non-lethal means. At least he’s chipper in the face of so many guns.
“Fist of the North Star†(1984-87)
Now here’s a world that has truly gone to shit. After nuclear war has devastated practically everything, the only survivors are either victims or the gruesome raiders who prey on the weak however they can. The downtrodden have only one champion, and his name is Kenshiro. Now normally just one man wouldn’t be much of a match for legions of musclebound freaks, but then again this is the guy who can literally make your face explode by poking you. With a strong sense of justice, a body with more muscles than thought possible, as well as an awesome catchphrase, Kenshiro makes being a shirtless nomad look badass!
“Akira†(1988)
Oh sure, Neo-Tokyo looks beyond stunning and we just can’t get enough of all those sci-fi motorcycles, but this is definitely not a future we would want to live in. Following World War III, corruption, gang violence and anarchy run amok, all leading to the fateful moment where friends Kaneda and Tetsuo’s lives are changed forever. After gaining immense psychic abilities, Tetsuo soon starts to go on an ungodly rampage, eventually bringing him into contact with his old biker pal. We can’t imagine being a Neo-Tokyo civilian is much fun with these two around.
“Neon Genesis Evangelion†(1995-96)
A cataclysmic event, humanity squashed into sprawling cities, giant robots, alien angels, one boy who has way too many daddy issues. Evangelion is this and so much more, but we’ll take any chance to include it as a post-apocalyptic anime. However, there might be times you forget, given how often it seems to focus on Shinji’s girl problems and the Eva-Units tearing apart Angels, but just to make sure you remember how all life is worthless and can easily be annihilated, the series gave us End of Evangelion. Nothing spells obliteration quote like seeing humanity reduced to orange soda.
Be sure to check out the video below to see our picks for the Top 10 Most Influential Anime.
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