Fans of Shutter Island or Memento will love these mind-blowing anime series. Tired of predictable anime? Try one of these shows, which break free from cookie-cutter formulas with great plot twists. From Satoshi Kon's Paranoia Agent to modern cyberpunk anime like Psycho-Pass, they'll keep you guessing.
About this list
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Attack on Titan is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind.Mindless, man-eating giants called Titans terrorize a small, walled-in city. Eren Jaeger and his friends join the Survey Corps to stop the threat.Eren Jaeger and his friends join the Survey Corps.The more they fight Titans, the more they see the threat is much more complex than they first thought.
Titans have not destroyed humanity; they exist across the world. Titans are human. Those who can turn into them are the persecuted Eldians.Titans are human.The Survey Corps views the Eldians, who can transform into Titans, as friends. These friends betray them, and they find allies in unexpected places. Nearly every episode brings a new twist that flips your view of the series.
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On the surface, Steins;Gate is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind. Steins;Gate is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind.Young adults gather to invent "future gadgets" in a makeshift lab, like putting bananas in a microwave. But Steins; Gate is deeper.Steins;Gate is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind.Rintarou Okabe, a self-proclaimed mad scientist, designs the gadgets with his friends. His life changes when he sends texts to the past with his microwave, starting a chain of events that harms him.
Steins;Gate is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind.Steins; Gate is one of the most critically acclaimed anime ever made.Steins; Gate is one of the most critically acclaimed anime ever made.This anime delivers action, suspense, plot twists, and romance. It has everything.
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Dr. Kenzou Tenma, a brilliant brain surgeon in a German hospital, faces a tough choice. Tenma must choose between saving the city mayor or a small boy admitted before the mayor. Tenma chooses the boy against his boss's wishes.
Murders start after this. Evidence points to the boy Tenma saved as the suspect. A famous detective also suspects Tenma. Tenma seeks answers to solve the mysteries and face the "monster" he saved.
MonsterMonster is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind. Monster is a captivating story with great plot twists that keep you on edge. If you like thriller anime, watch this.
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The Promised Neverland is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind.The Promised Neverland opens with happy orphans living an idyllic life with their guardian, Isabella.
Their happy home is actually a farm for human children slated to become meat for demons. Emma, Norman, and Raye decide they will not accept this fate—they plan to escape, taking all the other children with them. The suspense of their escape and the plot twists will mess with your head.
Season 2 does not match the first season's quality. You might watch the manga after seeing Season 1.
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Psycho-Pass is on the list of 18 anime that will blow your mind.Psycho-Pass sets in a dystopian future. Japan enforces the Sybil system to control citizens. This system judges citizens' mental states to find crime threats before actions occur. Rookie inspector Akane Tsunemori teams up with former criminal Shinya Kougami. Akane trusts the Sybil System's efficiency. Her beliefs crack as she uncovers Japan's total control system's ugly truth.
Psycho-PassThis show is visually stunning. It is one of the decade's most ambitious. Expect plot twists; expect many.
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Neon Genesis EvangelionThis show features religious imagery and angsty teenage violence. Fifteen years after the world ended, Tokyo-3 seems normal. Then, cyborg monsters called Angels return to destroy everything again. The show offers viewers symbolism. The final episode sends protagonist Shini Ikari into a dreamlike slice-of-life.
Even after rewatching the showshowYou still pick out new subtle scripture references after watching it a few times.
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Ah, AkiraThis cult anime movie shaped many fans and creators. In 1988, a psychic boy's explosion caused WWIII, wiping out Tokyo. The year is 2019. The story is set in chaotic Neo Tokyo. Shoutarou Kaneda leads young delinquents fighting the "Clowns." Kaneda's life changes when his friend Tetsuo gets hurt in an accident with a mysterious boy, sparking his own psychic powers.
AkiraThis is a frantic, intense story that spirals into madness. If you don't mind this, nothing will stop you.
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What happens when you cram all of René Descartes' work into a cyberpunk anime? You get Ergo Proxy.
Ergo ProxyThis tells the story of humanity thousands of years after an ecological disaster. The last human civilization lives in the domed city of Romdo. Robots called Autoreivs were built to help humanity recover. Those Autoreivs start getting infected by the Cogito Virus, which makes them self-aware.
Ergo ProxyThis is a troubling journey that questions identity and consciousness. Some say small doses are better, but you cannot stop watching once you start.
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The 2003 anime moviePaprika This movie shows dream-jumping fromInceptionChild's Play looks like this. The film happens in the near future. Doctor Atsuko Chiba leads a team building a device letting people enter other people's dreams. Soon, Atsuko uses the machine for side jobs, which are not legal.
She uses the tech to enter psychiatric patients' dreams. This lets her see what happens in their minds. If that is wild enough, real life crashes into the dream world. Things get truly strange then.
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Serial Experiments Lain appears in the list '18 Anime That Will Blow Your Mind'.This show follows 14-year-old Lain Iwakura's experience with the Wired, a strange virtual communication network. Lain accesses the Wired after opening an email from Chisa Yomoda, a classmate who committed suicide. Mysterious, cryptic events start unfolding for Lain.
Watch Serial Experiments Lain twice, or 2,000 times, to fully grasp its impact and the happenings. The anime addresses consciousness and identity, leaving you puzzled.Serial Experiments Lain is the type of show you need to watch twice, or 2,000 times, to fully experience its impact and keep up with what is happening. It tackles consciousness and identity issues that will make you question things.
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Paranoia Agent is in the list '18 Anime That Will Blow Your Mind'.This anime comes from late Satoshi Kon. If you know his work, you know a mindf*ck is coming.
Shounen Bat (or Lil' Slugger) causes chaos in Musashino City. Armed with a golden baseball bat and rollerblades, Shounen Bat attacks people seemingly at random and violently. Two detectives chase the attacker, but they struggle to catch him. Paranoia spreads across the city, perhaps more dangerous than Shounen Bat's attacks.
Paranoia Agent is in the list '18 Anime That Will Blow Your Mind'.This show is vivid and ambitious. It leaves you completely mind-f*cked by the end, in a good way.
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In the far future, psychic powers are normal. In Kamisu 66, a 12-year-old girl named Saki and her friends just woke up with them. They attend a training school to learn control. Things seem fine, but Saki starts questioning the futures of those without powers. Children vanish, and the local Monster Rat population acts weird; something strange is happening.
Saki soon finds that almost nothing she thought about her life is real. The truth brings real and immediate danger to her and everyone she cares about.
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Texhnolyze is in the list '18 Anime That Will Blow Your Mind'. This is set in Lux, a human-made underground city that collapsed after years of neglect. Three groups fight to control Lux: Organo, a group of "professionals" working with the underworld that controls Texhnolyze (prosthetics); the Salvation Union, a populist group trying to stop Organo's business; and Racan, young people with Texhnolyzes who use their abilities for personal gain.
Ichise, a former orphan, found a spot as a prizefighter in Lux. A fight promoter got angry with him. An altercation followed, causing Ichise to lose an arm and a leg. Before he died, scientist Eriko Kamata found Ichise. She used him as a test subject for her new Texhnolyze. Ichise got powerful new limbs and started working for Oonishi, the leader of Organo.
One cannot pass on.TexhnolyzeThis show has many plot twists. They will blow your mind in some way.
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The plot ofBattle Angel Alita is like that ofGhost in the Shellit adds more depth. The world ofAlitaCyborgs need human spines to work. This creates a huge black market for body parts. Characters also read well. This anime might question Nietzsche's eternal return concept.eternal returnin a way that isn't totally silly.
All the show's future tech uses pseudoscience. Still, it is well built out. You will enjoy learning about it.
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Sonny Boyit follows a group of students whoare moved to another worldand get superpowers. This seems like a regular isekai. The feeling is totally different. The students try to make order from nothing. Some try to find out how they got to this strange new world. Others try to keep order. Still others try to use their new powers. As they build a new society and learn about their world and how they got there, new conflicts appear.
This anime is emotional and philosophical. It makes you question everything you know about how society works.
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If the story ofThe MatrixIf the story of The Matrix is true, all of humanity lives in a huge computer simulation. If you are The One, you can bend space and time to defeat endless evil clones. But what about everyone else?The AnimatrixThis is a series of anime shorts. Many explore this exact question. They are as mind-bending as the original 1999 film. One story shows a young woman finding a "glitch" while looking for her lost cat.
She follows it into an empty factory. She finds gravity works differently in parts of the building. She can float or fall without injury. Minutes later, a group of men in hazmat suits enter and lock down the whole place.
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The Perfect Insiderhas to be one of themost underrated animeshows of the last few years.
Professor Souhei Saikawa and his student Moe Nishinosono want to meet Shiki Magata. Shiki Magata is a genius who has lived alone at a research facility on a remote island since childhood. Souhei and Moe do not expect things to go well. They get involved in a strange murder case upon arriving on the island.
This is The Perfect Insider in the list '18 Anime That Will Blow Your Mind'.This thriller offers witty dialogue and moody scenes. It acts like an Agatha Christie novel with a computer programming twist.
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It combines wild energy with deep philosophical questions.This is The Tatami Galaxy in the list '18 Anime That Will Blow Your Mind'.A nameless student seeks an ideal college experience. He does not know what that means. He knows he must leave Ozu, his seemingly demonic friend, to achieve it. After a chance meeting, he can relive his life repeatedly. Each time, he has increasingly surreal experiences.
As he tries to change his life for happiness, he confronts big questions. Is perfection achievable? What is he missing as he throws away everything chasing something new?
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