Best Psychedelic Anime

Anime is full of unique themes and characters that help make them stand out and be different from one another. But there are some shows out there that are unique and even downright strange for various reasons. Some of them have dark themes that play tricks on the mind and some have such wacky themes that they seem like something from a children’s cartoon show.

Whether fans are looking for something hilarious with out-there comedy, or something dark and deep, these psychedelic anime are some of the best. They range from strangely funny to dark and horrific. Regardless of what viewers choose to watch, these anime feel like a fever dream.

Updated December 21, 2024 by Mark Sammut: This article covering the best psychedelic anime has been expanded to include more specifications for each show, along with the introduction of a 2008 classic created by Masaaki Yuasa.

19

Redline

Race Car Action With A Psychedelic Twist

The Redline is a race that’s held every five years and it’s a race where anything goes i.e. there are no rules. Racer JP has qualified for the race and is eager to prove his skills against other drivers, especially the beautiful newcomer, Sonoshee. However, this year’s race is taking place in Roboworld where its trigger-happy military and deadliest criminals are looking to make this race more difficult than usual.

For fans who are looking for a great sci-fi race car movie, look no further. Redline is jampacked with action and has everything fans want. From intense action, a pretty good story, and insane characters, it’s going to be hard to look away from the screen.

18

Pop Team Epic

Two High Schoolers Living Life With Dark Humor and Foul Mouths

This anime follows the misadventures of two high school students, the short and short-tempered Popuko, and the tall and calm Pipimi. The two of them are just living their everyday lives, but their lives are full of crudeness, insanity, and absurdity. These girls are ready to take on life with foul mouths and pop culture knowledge.

Pop Team Epic doesn’t have a storyline to it and is a great choice for viewers who just want a show to laugh at. This anime is reminiscent of the longtime American sitcom South Park because of the number of pop culture references, dark and gag humor, and Popuko and Pipimi are usually cursing regularly.

A Trippy Coming-Of-Age Comedy Story

Satoshi “Sasshi” Imamiya is a 12-year-old boy who feels like his world is coming to an end. He’s lost his card collection and his best friend, Arumi, is going to move away soon. After an accident, the two of them find themselves in an alternate world built on pop culture references, sci-fi, and fantasy. Finding a way back to their home world is going to take some out-there knowledge and guts.

While it’s not as psychedelic as some other animes, this show still has some pretty crazy visuals. Not only is it a great comedy, but it’s also a good coming-of-age story and deals with some realistic issues.

16

Excel Saga

Two Ladies Who Hilariously Fail Completing Their Missions

Excel and Hyatt are two ladies who work as officers for the secret organization Across. Across has plans to conquer the world by targeting one city at a time. However, Excel and Hyatt’s missions tend to end in disaster, with the two of them being responsible for damage to the city or some other catastrophe.

This anime is full of dark humor and gags that will leave viewers wanting to look away due to how graphic some scenes are, or laugh at how over-the-top everything is. Between Excel and Hyatt failing at their missions, and their interactions with their neighbors, there’s no shortage of laughs in this anime.

15

Welcome to Irabu’s Office

An Eccentric Psychiatrist’s Interactions With His Patients

Dr. Ichiro Irabu is a psychiatrist at Irabu General Hospital. However, it’s a bit questionable if he does any good for patients and helps cure their health issues. He doesn’t have any sympathy for them and has drastic and unorthodox ways of helping them instead of counseling them. There are times he even forgets he’s a doctor and gives them some pretty out-there advice that puts them in awkward situations.

This anime follows Dr. Irabu, but it also spends a lot of time focusing on his patients and their different journeys of healing. The visuals might make some think this is a comedy, but while it does have funny moments, it’s mostly about the patients overcoming their issues even though their doctor has eccentric ways of helping them.

14

Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo

A Man Fights Against An Empire With His Nose Hair

The Maruhage Empire is a militant organization that terrorizes the population by invading settlements and shaving people’s heads. When all hope seems lost, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, a man with a golden afro and nose hair that like steel, rises to fight against the Maruhage. Traveling from settlement to settlement with his allies, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo’s quest takes him far as he battles the Empire’s tyranny and gains new allies to help him.

Using nose hair to fight is certainly a novel combat style, but it’s hilarious to watch. It’s not every day that nose hairs are a weapon of choice and it might make some viewers laugh or scratch their heads in confusion from seeing how effective they are.

13

Kaiba

Kaiba is a bit of an odd recommendation for a psychedelic anime as its animation style and color palette are more simplistic and muted than most other shows that fall within this bracket. However, Masaaki Yuasa’s series is nevertheless a must-watch, especially for those interested in experimental sci-fi.

The anime takes place in a world where memories are commodities that can be removed, stolen, and implanted, and the main plot follows Kaiba as he tries to regain his lost past. While there is an overarching storyline, most episodes have an almost standalone quality to them, telling smaller-scale personal stories that inject flavor and depth into this universe.

12

Dead Leaves

Two Prisoners Orchestrate A Prison Break Because They’re Bored

Retro and Pandy are two people who woke on an unknown street with no clothes or memories. They discover that they have superhuman abilities and team up to go on a short crime spree in Tokyo. However, they’re ultimately caught by police and locked up in Dead Leaves, a high-security prison located on the half-destroyed Moon. The two of them learn that the prison doubles up as a human cloning facility and decide to lead a prison break since they have nothing better to do.

This short movie is a pretty wild and nutty adventure for viewers. The visuals might look insane, but this anime is an underrated gem from the early 2000s that’s full of hilarity, action, and violence that’s great entertainment.

11

Flip Flappers

Two Magical Girls Must Learn To Synchronize Their Transformations

Cocona and Papika are two middle school students who are in the organization known as Flip Flap. This organization specializes in gathering wish-granting crystals from other dimensions. After a dangerous creature attacks them, another group of magical girls kills it and takes its crystal. Seeing this group as their rivals, Cocona and Papika make it their goal to have better teamwork so they can transform more effectively.

A magical girl anime with a mix of sci-fi, adventure, and fantasy that has some pretty strange visuals. But this anime also has some coming-of-age elements when Cocona realizes her true feelings for Papika.

10

Space Dandy

An Alien Bounty Hunter’s Adventures With His Vacuum Cleaner Robot And Cat

A space opera that follows the misadventures of Space Dandy and his crew. Space Dandy is an alien bounty hunter whose job is to discover new alien life forms and deal with wacky tasks. With his vacuum cleaner robot, QT, and an alien in the form of a cat, Meow, Dandy’s not-so-simple life is something to behold. It’s even funnier that he doesn’t realize he’s being tracked by the evil scientist Dr. Gel of the Gogol Empire.

This is a great choice for anyone wanting to watch a comedy anime in space with some pretty out-there adventures. The show references a lot of pop culture, music, and other anime shows with fun little Easter egg moments that’ll leave viewers laughing.

9

Cat Soup

A Cat Tries To Save His Sister’s Soul

Nyatta is the younger brother of a cat named Nyako, who is very ill. After drowning, Nyatta sees his sister leave with a mysterious being and follows. He tries to take her back, but this ends up splitting her soul into two and the mysterious being takes the other half with him. After he’s revived, Nyatta and his family learn that Nyako is dead. Still holding half of her soul, Nyatta gives it back, but now she’s living in a half-dead state. Nyatta sets off to retrieve the other half.

The story might sound simple, but it’s far from it. For only being a short film, this anime takes viewers on a visual journey that certainly leaves an impression. Though it looks cute and strangely innocent, there are some horror elements that viewers should be prepared for.

8

Serial Experiments Lain

The Line Of Real Life And Virtual Reality Affect A Young Girl’s Mind

Lain Iwakura is an introverted girl who doesn’t really fit in with anyone at school but finds her life turned upside down after receiving an email from her dead classmate, Chisa. The Chisa that emailed her claims she’s not dead but living in a virtual reality known as The Wired. Though not tech-savvy, Lain finds herself becoming more curious about The Wired, and the lines between real life and virtual begin to blur.

Serial Experiments Lain has maintained a strong presence in the cyberpunk anime world thanks to its themes of mental illness and virtual reality being front and center. Released in 1998, the internet was still a very new thing and Serial Experiments Lain offered a glimpse of what the world could become as technology progressed.

7

Mind Game

A Man Reunites With His Past Love, Dies, And Comes Back To Life

Nishi is a young man who dreams of being a manga artist one day. After reuniting with Myon, his former love, he finds out that she’s engaged to another man. After agreeing to meet her fiance, Nishi is killed when the yakuza attacks. In the afterlife, he meets a constantly shapeshifting god who tells him that he should enter a portal in which he’ll be erased from existence. But Nishi decides to enter another portal that will bring him back to life and the god decides to let him do it and watch what he does with his second chance.

Having a second chance at life isn’t new, but this movie takes viewers on a trippy visual experience. The way Nishi gets back at the yakuza member is pretty bizarre and it just gets crazier from there. This is one movie that will leave viewers feeling a mix of emotions from laughing and scratching their heads at what they just saw.

6

Mononoke

A Medicine Seller Searches For Spirits

This anime follows a mysterious man simply known as “Medicine Seller.” Medicine Seller is a master of the occult and wanders around Feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits. When he finds one, he must learn its Form, Truth, and Reason to be able to fight and exorcise it with the mighty Exorcism Sword. It’s a dangerous but interesting process that has him learn a lot about the spirit and what they were like in life.

This anime is very bright and colorful with fantastic art that contrasts nicely with the dark nature of the story. If anything, it makes the horror elements even scarier and amps up the suspense. Mononoke certainly looks and feels different from most horror anime, but its art style, colors, and overall aesthetic make it one of the best in the genre.

5

Belladonna Of Sadness

A Young Woman’s Dark And Twisted Path For Revenge

A dark fantasy movie that is not for the faint of heart. Jeanne is a beautiful woman who just married Jean and is excited to start their life together. They go to make an offering to the Baron, the ruler of their town, in exchange for his blessing, but he refuses to give it to them. Desperate, Jean agrees to a deal to let the Baron have Jeanne for a night. Scarred by the experience and neglected by her husband, Jeanne meets a mysterious spirit that promises to give her power.

Belladonna of Sadness is a dark, twisted tale that is still considered graphic even in this day and age despite being released back in 1973. Though the story is horrific, it can’t denied that the visuals are beautifully illustrated, visceral, and surreal. Compared to modern anime, the animation might not be as smooth, and the art style is very different, but this anime movie is an underrated gem that is a great watch.

4

Paranoia Agent

A Boy With A Golden Baseball Bat Terrorizes The Public

Tsukiko Sagi is a character designer who’s attacked by a rollerskating elementary-aged boy wielding a baseball bat. The two police detectives assigned to her case, Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa, initially don’t believe her story, until a second attack happens. The attacker, now known as Lil’ Slugger, continues his reign of terror as more and more victims speak out about his attacks. Ikari and Maniwa desperately search for him with what little clues they have about him as public paranoia, and their own, rises.

Created by Satoshi Kon, who created popular psychological thrillers Perfect Blue and Paprika, this show has no shortage of mind games and twists that’ll leave viewers wondering what is real and what is fake. With only 13 episodes, Paranoia Agent takes viewers on a wild ride that’ll leave them feeling a rollercoaster of emotions and shaking in anticipation of what might happen.

3

Paprika

A Mind-Warping Trip With Stunning Visuals

Atsuko Chiba is a female psychiatrist who’s been working on a device known as the “DC Mini” that will allow her to view the dreams of others alongside her coworker, Kosaku Tokita. Their hope is to one day be able to use the device to help their patients with their mental illness, but they know that this device can be deadly if placed in the wrong hands. Their fears are realized when the device goes missing and people begin acting strangely as a mental terrorist begins attacking them in their dreams.

This is another great movie by psychological thriller master Satoshi Kon. Similar to his other works, this movie plays a lot of mind games with the viewers that’ll leave them entranced by the dark themes of the story and the bright colors that are used in some scenes.

2

FLCL

An Electric Bass-Wielding Woman Turns A Boy’s Life Upside Down

Naota Nandaba is a 12-year-old boy who finds his life turned upside down after getting run over by a Vespa-driving, electric bass-wielding woman named Haruko Haruhara. After this encounter, he is left with a giant horn on his forehead, and Haruko begins stalking him for unknown reasons. However, this encounter is going to drastically change the course of his mundane life and put him in the middle of a battle for Earth’s survival.

Wacky, trippy, and fast-paced, FLCL may only have six episodes, but that’s all it needed to cement its spot as one of the most psychedelic anime around. If viewers are looking for some pretty out-there comedy, this anime is a great choice.

1

The Tatami Galaxy

A Psychelic Time Loop Driven By Self-Exploration

The Tatami Galaxy follows an unnamed male college student who runs into a man with an eggplant-shaped head who calls himself the God of Matrimony. This run-in causes the unnamed male to question his life, as he’s spent the past two years trying to break up couples along with his friend, Ozu. Deciding to change his life, the unnamed male attempts to turn over a new leaf by asking out Akashi, a kindhearted female underclassman, but he fails to do so. However, a second chance is given to him when he’s sent back in time to the beginning of his college years.

Between the time travel story, the colors used, and the animation, this show is a sight to behold. The art style isn’t like most anime, but the overall presentation makes this show stand out from others thanks to its uniqueness.