Throughout the ages, anime has produced some pretty strange content. From the confrontational and the outright bizarre to the shockingly violent, there are an array of entries in the medium to satiate the tastes of those fans looking to dip their toes into something experimental, surreal, and utterly unique.
Many credit Neon Genesis Evangelion for kicking off this trend in the late '90s and setting a new standard for what studios could get away with in TV anime. As such, in many instances, it's possible to trace that show's DNA into many of the surrealist anime that would come out later. Similar to Evangelion, many of these shows don't reveal all of their secrets at first glance, forcing the viewer to draw their own conclusions from an opaque plot.
Mawaru Penguindrum
Although the setup to Mawaru Penguindrum seems relatively simple at first (two brothers need to find a mythical item to save the life of their sick younger sister), it's laced with bizarre imagery and directorial choices that make the whole experience seem like a fever dream, and that all happens before things get truly weird towards the end of the show.
Despite its unwillingness to commit to the linear progression of time or a coherent reality, Penguindrum still manages to tell an emotional and affecting story despite (or perhaps, because of) the surrealist veneer, which speaks to the strength of the characters and screenplay that constitute the emotional core of the show.
Haibane Renmei
Haibane Renmei is a show about an assortment of girls who live in, presumably, some kind of afterlife purgatory. Rakka, the main character, wakes up one day without any memory of her past, and after she undergoes a painful metamorphosis, she must learn about her fellow Haibane and the new environment in which she lives.
Haibane Renmei is very tight-lipped about the true nature of its setting. Are these characters dead? If so, how did they die, and where are they going? The show elects to reveal some mysteries to the audience while keeping others under wraps which, when coupled with an excellent cast, makes for a deeply intriguing viewing experience.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Evangelion. It seems like this show is nearly every anime fan's first foray into the weird, confrontational, and edgy elements of anime as a medium. Every time a first-time viewer thinks they have a handle on what Evangelion is all about, director Hideaki Anno pulls the rug out from under them with some violent, upsettingly strange episode.
This is particularly true of the later episodes of the show and the climactic film End of Evangelion, which crank up the nightmare fuel and "please help me what am I even seeing" factor to 11. The hellish tour de force that is End of Evangelion is something of a right of age for newcomers to anime and one of the best old anime that's still great today, as is the equally important role of the more experienced fan poised to explain the ending to anyone who will listen.
Boogiepop Phantom
An unseen threat stalks the streets of Tokyo at night, violently dispatching unsuspecting victims. Existing at once in the real and the imagined, this not-so-legendary urban legend, Boogiepop, plants a gnawing fear in the minds of the show's characters. Strange things are happening, and they might not all be related to the titular phantom who stalks the night.
Told in a non-linear episodic structure, Boogiepop is a strange, creepy urban horror story. On of the lack of clear-cut exposition, it can be difficult for the audience to nail down exactly what's happening in the story (and when) from episode to episode, which adds to the spookily surreal atmosphere.
Alien 9
Alien 9 is a short, relatively unknown anime that first came out in 2001. In a deceptively simple "magical girl" setup, a young girl named Yuri becomes the unexpected recipient of a strange power that she must use to protect Earth from evil (aliens, in this case) with her friends. This conventional setup rapidly collapses into a much darker narrative, though, so viewers should settle in for a bizarre and unsettling experience.
Anime fans with a sharp eye might note a striking similarity between the premise to Alien 9 and the mega-hit Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which would debut nearly a decade later. Although one can only speculate as to the influence Alien 9 may have had on the latter work, the thematic similarities between the two anime make it a perfect show for Madoka fans.
Ergo Proxy
Set in a dark, dystopian future, Ergo Proxy is a show that barrels headlong into questions about the essence of being, with little regard for itself and its audience along the way. In this future, androids are becoming self-aware and it's up protagonist Re-I to find out why.
Philosophy students are sure to have a field day with this one, as it deliberately invokes references to famous philosophers of the mind, namely Descartes. This has led some to compare Ergo Proxy unfavorably to Ghost in the Shell, and although it might not have that anime's narrative elegance, it still does a good job of exploring the themes it sets itself up with and is sure to leave viewers with some interesting questions to chew on.
RahXephon
RahXephon is often treated by anime fans like Evangelion's weird cousin, in that they're both odd mecha shows and some of the best mecha anime to watch if you don't like mecha. They play fast and loose with viewer expectations and the fabric of reality itself. As such, it's been difficult for RahXephon to carve out an identity of its own, which is a shame because the show is pretty good on its own .
The true nature of the setting, the role of the protagonist and his enemies, and the mysterious power of the show's lead robot are all up in the air for much of RahXephon's runtime, which means that audiences will have the task of putting together the pieces of the story from what's revealed to them, bit by bit.
FLCL
One of Studio Gainax's more overtly surrealist projects, FLCL feels something like an extended music video about becoming an adult, coupled with an absurd amount of highly Freudian symbolism. The animation and characters are utterly outrageous, with some experimental sequences really pushing the envelope for what animation can look like, but behind all the insanity, there's a surprisingly grounded and well-realized coming of age story.
Beyond the audacious characters and hyperactive animation, the core of FLCL is somewhat melancholic and touches on elements of life that basically everyone struggles with. Even for those who don't feel like digging deeper into the themes of the show, FLCL is still worth a watch on of its sheer visual splendor.
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Kunihiko Ikuhara's masterpiece Revolutionary Girl Utena is an allegorical tale that sets out to throw a bomb into established shoujo anime genre norms, all while waging a frontal assault against the rigidity of gender, sexuality, and identity. Utena's rich symbolism and abstract narrative have made it one of the most vigorously interpreted works in the medium, and at times, it can feel like everyone and their mother has some wildly divergent Utena theory.
It seems that was the point -- Utena is a show that isn't interested in dictating its literal meaning to the audience. Through its ample space for interpretation, Utena invites the viewer to consider the internal meaning of the work on their own , making it a deeply personal experience for many fans.
Serial Experiments Lain
Serial Experiments Lain is one of the weirdest shows out there, featuring an abstract plot, surrealist visuals, and a stingy approach to exposition. It's also an excellent exploration of the paradoxical isolation that an increasingly interconnected society can impose on its inhabitants, and for that, it's considered an all-time classic among connoisseurs of the bizarre.
Lain feels prescient for a show from 1998, foreseeing with great accuracy what the (at the time) fledgling internet would do going forward, which only adds to the eeriness of the story. It's a creepy, allegorical tale of an increasingly interconnected world, finding both hope and fear in the future that seems to inch closer every day.