Anime is not for children. Why should you definitely watch Attack on Titan and other films and series from the Land of the Rising Sun?

Attack on Titan was the biggest revelation of 2022 for your humble film editor, overtaking Fargo, Friends, and Twin Peaks on IMDb's list of the best series. This is the same anime that, like the masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki, should appeal to even not the biggest fans of the genre, who consider Japanese animation "an amateur" - for children, geeks, and fans of Asian culture. The stereotype that adaptations of manga, light novels, or computer games are not for everyone often deprives us of watching more than worthy projects, although traces of anime influence can be found even in Hollywood hits. So, for example, the scene with the destruction of the "dream" in Christopher Nolan's "Inception" is clearly inspired by Satoshi Kon's "Paprika", which was released four years before one of the main sci-fi films of the decade. And the Wachowski sisters - Lana and Lilly - when filming The Matrix were largely inspired by Ghost in the Shell. From here in the picture, there are episodes with spectacular jumping out of the window, flying columns and watermelons, and even those same titles with green symbols running across the screen. What can I say, even if the "Lion King" - a classic of Disney cartoons - was born thanks to Kimba from the "Emperor of the Jungle" and Shakespeare's Hamlet?

As part of popular culture, anime began to strengthen its position back in the 60s, when Astro Boy, the same Jungle Emperor, Speed Racer, first appeared on the screens. And although today it is one of the most sought-after genres, it originated as a cheap animation that can be put on stream due to low production costs. This is what dictated the abundance of static frames, non-standard angles, and bright facial expressions of the characters - a style recognizable all over the world.

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1. "Attack of the Titans"

The emotional Morse code also belongs to it, so in the anime, embarrassment is illustrated by red stripes on the cheeks, sadness - by a river of tears, confusion - by a drop of sweat - everything so that any viewer can easily read what is happening on the screen.

2. "Attack of the Titans"

For the same purpose, for example, all the heroes of Japanese animation are made, as it were, according to a template - these are typical images in which you can easily recognize yourself.

A serious boom in anime and its development occurred in the late 80s and early 90s when anime first began to be shown on large screens in the United States. At that time, no one seemed to have any doubts that Japanese animation was a serious matter.

3. "Your name"

It captivated with an abundance of adult themes, when all other cartoons "talked" primarily to children, unique drawing, genre flexibility, and versatility - in the abundance of projects released by Japanese studios, one could find something for science fiction lovers and the first fans of robots, as well as and for those who lacked stories about growing up and first love.

4. "Your name"

Moreover, often one did not interfere with the other and quite harmoniously coexisted within the framework of one series. In general, there seemed to be no boundaries for anime authors in terms of sources: they were both classic manga and European fairy tales, and in 1980, for example, the anime “Twelve Months” created by Soyuzmultfilm was born. in collaboration with the Japanese animation studio "Toei".

Today, anime is one of the main animation genres, which in the last few years has only increased its presence in the tops. Therefore, Netflix makes remakes of "Cowboy Bebop" and "Death Note" with real artists, and "Attack on Titan" deservedly bears the status of one of the best series of the 21st century, leaving no chance even for "The Sopranos" and "Game of Thrones" in the Kinopoisk rating. What to watch if you still doubt that anime is not only a childhood hobby?

Attack on Titan (2013 - ...)

For many years, humanity has been fighting the titans - huge unreasonable creatures that eat people just for fun. After a long struggle, the remnants of humanity erect three walls to protect against danger, but one day one of them is destroyed, and in front of the very children - Eren Yeager and his half-sister Mikasa Ackerman - the titans destroy their home. Thus begins one of the best anime in the world right now, a splendid example of Japanese animation, a gritty war drama that touches on so many philosophical themes that even Darren Aronofsky would envy. Social inequality, the search for right and wrong, the fragility of human life, references to mythology, and even the works of Francisco Goya - just believe that it's worth watching.

"Death Note" (2006 - 2007)

It seems that not a single conversation about anime is complete without the mention of Death Note. A cult series about a high school student Light Yagami, in whose hands Ryuk's shinigami notebook falls into his hands. Each person recorded in this notebook dies, so the main character decides to fight evil on earth with her help.

"Homeless God" (2014 - 2015)

A little-known God without his own temple decides to help everyone he meets in any desire in order to get at least some recognition. Once he saves a girl from a wealthy family from death - this is how the adventures of an unlucky deity in the unpredictable world of people begin.

Evangelion (1995 - 1996)

2015, Tokyo - 3. 15 years ago, the Second Impact occurred, as a result of which Antarctica melted, a global catastrophe covered the Earth, and most of humanity died. Now the planet is attacked by Angels - mysterious creatures that can only be resisted by giant robots of the Evangelion series created with the help of biotechnology. 14-year-old Shinji Ikari was on his way to meet his father, the leader of the powerful organization NERV when Tokyo 3 was attacked by an Angel. With the help of Captain Misato Katsuragi, the guy gets to the underground headquarters of NERV and the only thing he wants to tell his father is how much he hates him. But on the spot, it turns out that he must climb into the robot right now and fight with the Angel.

"Your Name" (2016)

For those who lack romance and drama in their lives. Tokyo boy Taki and provincial girl Mitsuha discover that there is a strange connection between them. In a dream, they switch bodies and live each other's lives. But one day this ability disappears as suddenly as it appeared. Taki decides to find the girl from his dreams by all means.

"Five Centimeters Per Second" (2007)

Incredibly beautiful anime, worth watching at least for the sake of the picture. These are three stories from the life of Takaka Tohno that begin in Japan in the mid-1990s. By the way, most landscape and everyday scenes were created on the basis of photographs of real places in Japan.

"One Punch Man" (2015 - 2019)

A guy named Saitama lives in a world ironically similar to ours. He is 25, he is bald and beautiful, and besides, he is so strong that with one blow he destroys everything that poses a danger to humanity. He is looking for himself in this life, simultaneously handing out cuffs to monsters and villains. Ideal for those who have watched The Avengers a million times and want something new.

"Garden of Fine Words" (2013)

A young man named Takao meets a mysterious young woman. Their casual and apparently pointless meetings in the park where Takao skips classes while working towards his strange dream of devoting his life to designing and making shoes are repeated over and over again, but only on rainy days. The end of the rainy season looms ahead, and they still have so much to say to each other.

"Cowboy Bebop" (1998 - 1999)

Former cop Jet Black and a man with a dark past, Spike Spiegel, had absolutely no plans to increase the crew of the Bebop spaceship, their home, and their vehicle. But the nets they have cast to capture the high-priced scum of society have brought them Faye Valentine, a charming gambler with a colossal debt, Ed, a lost computer nerd, and Ein, arguably the smartest dog in the world. It is in this composition that the crew of the Bebop continues its business - bounty hunting.

"Mob Psycho 100" (2016 - ...)

Shigeo Kageyama, also known as Mob, is an eighth-grader with psychic powers. He is able to bend spoons and lift things with his mind from an early age but then begins to refrain from using his powers in public. And now the only thing he wants is to make friends with his classmate Tsubomi. Together with his psychic guide (who has no abilities), he continues his daily life, trying to unravel the mystery of his destiny.

"Dorohedoro" (2020)

People are not lucky to live in a world called the Hole, where magicians from a parallel dimension visit to practice their skills on humanity. One day, a girl named Nikaido finds the victim of these terrible experiments - a man with the head of a crocodile and amnesia to boot. Nikaido names a new friend Kaiman, and now they catch the magicians, and Kaiman bites off their heads, thus trying to return the lost memories and his former appearance. Meanwhile, the supreme sorcerer En, obsessed with mushrooms, decides to track down and kill those who reduce the number of his kind. Breaking the pattern on all fronts.