Thoughtful anime
Ideas and questions that linger.
These are shows with an argument to make. They ask a question, take it seriously, and do not always answer it. You finish an episode and find yourself still thinking about it on the bus the next morning.
Watch one when you want something to chew on, or when you are between big shows and want a change of pace. They reward attention and rewatch, and they tend to be the ones people bring up in conversation years later.
Serial Experiments Lain is the difficult one. Mushishi is the gentle one. Ping Pong the Animation is the one that surprises people who think they do not like sports anime. Ghost in the Shell still holds up.
Worth knowing: thoughtful is not the same as confusing. A show that hides its meaning behind obscurity is not asking you a question, it is refusing to have one.
Ranked by what viewers logged on Nikkilog — not by score, and not copied from anywhere.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Strike Anime: Masamune - Shimei no Akaki Yaiba
1 person says thoughtful
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
1 person says thoughtful
Steins;Gate
1 person says thoughtful
March Comes In Like a Lion 2nd Season
1 person says thoughtful
Violet Evergarden: The Movie
1 person says thoughtful
Monster
1 person says thoughtful
A Silent Voice
1 person says thoughtful
Cowboy Bebop
1 person says thoughtful
Violet Evergarden
1 person says thoughtful
Princess Mononoke
1 person says thoughtful
Mushi-Shi
1 person says thoughtful
Mushi-shi: Next Passage Part 1
1 person says thoughtful
Mushi-shi: Next Passage Part 2
1 person says thoughtful
Mushishi Zoku Shou: Suzu no Shizuku
1 person says thoughtful
Ping Pong the Animation
1 person says thoughtful
Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu
1 person says thoughtful
Steins;Gate 0
1 person says thoughtful
Mushi-shi: The Shadow that Devours the Sun
1 person says thoughtful
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
1 person says thoughtful
Violet Evergarden: Recollections
1 person says thoughtful
March Comes In Like a Lion
1 person says thoughtful
Violet Evergarden: The Day You Understand "I Love You" Will Surely Come
1 person says thoughtful
Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll
1 person says thoughtful
Mushi-shi Path of Thorns
1 person says thoughtful
Steins;Gate: Egoistic Poriomania
1 person says thoughtful
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
1 person says thoughtful
Kino's Journey
1 person says thoughtful
Steins;Gate: Open the Missing Link - Divide By Zero
1 person says thoughtful
Honey and Clover II
1 person says thoughtful
Girls' Last Tour
1 person says thoughtful
The Eccentric Family 2
1 person says thoughtful
Honey and Clover
1 person says thoughtful
Haibane Renmei
1 person says thoughtful
Violet Evergarden CMs
1 person says thoughtful
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day The Movie
1 person says thoughtful
The Eccentric Family
1 person says thoughtful
Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Byouki no Kuni - For You
1 person says thoughtful
Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation
1 person says thoughtful
Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Nanika wo Suru Tame ni - Life Goes On.
1 person says thoughtful
Honey and Clover Specials
1 person says thoughtful
Kino's Journey: Tower Country
1 person says thoughtful
Kino's Journey -the Beautiful World- the Animated Series
1 person says thoughtful
Cowboy Bebop: Session XX - Mish-Mash Blues
1 person says thoughtful
Steins;Gate: The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing
1 person says thoughtful
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Mini Anime
1 person says thoughtful
Steins;Gate 0: Valentine's of Crystal Polymorphism -Bittersweet Intermedio-
1 person says thoughtful
A Silent Voice Specials
1 person says thoughtful
March comes in like a lion meets Bump of Chicken
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls OVA
1 person says thoughtful
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.: Menma e no Tegami
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Rancher
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Strike the Animation
1 person says thoughtful
March Comes in Like a Lion: Omnibus Special Episode
1 person says thoughtful
MONSTER GENERATiON
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Rancher (2000)
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Strike the Movie: Lucifer - Zetsubou no Yoake
1 person says thoughtful
Monster Strike The Movie: To The Place of Beginnings
1 person says thoughtful
Mushishi Recap
1 person says thoughtful