Life is not only the sun and the rainbow.
In fact, sometimes we get stuck in eternal darkness and we have to fight our way through it. In other words, depression is a bitch.
The anime, despite its variety, has touched on the topic of depression (and general mental health) more than once. But what anime will really bring these themes home?
This is my pick of the best anime dealing with depression, mental health, and anxiety. Keep tissues handy.
15. WataMote
If we are talking about social anxiety, the need to fit in, feelings of inferiority and loneliness, then WataMote is a pretty strong candidate.
It's about a teenage girl who's just trying to be popular, make friends, get a boyfriend - typical teen business.
However, this show is not as upbeat as most slice-of-life shows tend to be.
WataMote is almost uncomfortable to watch as it presents this bumbling character clinging to the homeless in a very realistic way. That's why I think it's important to watch, even if it looks like a compilation.
14. Desire for scum
You can already guess the tone of this show from the title.
It's all about unrequited love and how we try to fill that void in our heart.
After our two main characters end up getting hurt (their lovers have fallen in love with others), they decide to replace each other.
This may sound like a typical high school plot hook. But everything is not so smooth.
So in terms of youthful love and lack of it, this show is pretty cathartic.
13. Quiet voice
Now this movie touches on quite a lot of topics.
Because the lead man was ostracized for bullying a deaf girl, he was left all alone, a victim of similar bullying.
It hits him hard. On the verge of even thinking about ending it all.
But he prefers to make amends and find the girl he has been belittling for a long time.
We can also see her side of the story; the story of a man who is not like the others, but tries to fit in with everyone.
The Silent Voice is simply a masterpiece. So even though it touches on quite a few topics, I still think they are all valid.
12. Honey and clover
Similar to the previous entry, Honey and Clover tackles several key issues.
And that's the key word: struggle.
All those minor or major hardships that may not end for us but leave us torn from within.
There are five main characters, each of which solves his own problems. Whether it's unrequited love, choosing between relationships and dear friendships, your own future, or what success means, you're bound to find a fundamental relationship with at least one of these characters.
Also, because the show is centered around college life, it can hit a little harder than a high school show if you're a college student (or close to college age).
11. 3-gatsu no lion (March enters like a lion)
At first glance, this show seems pretty niche. It's all about the shogi player trying to live alone in Tokyo.
However, the point is that heone of the best shogi playersand also the fact that he is only 17 years old.
This leads him to a life where he has no friends, doesn't know how to take care of himself properly, and frankly doesn't know how to be happy.
The pressure to be the best continues to undermine his mental health.
It's like the final stage of burnout. And these days, I think many of us can sympathize with his problems.
10. Sayonara, Zetsubo-sensei
Now this series is a little different from the rest on this list.
In fact, this is a comedy, and very painful.
For most people who watch the series, the series is immediately associated with depression, as one of the main characters literally wears a rope around his neck at the slightest inconvenience.
However, it is important to note that the show does not make fun of these feelings. Rather, it is an easier way to talk about them and understand them.
The suicidal teacher is just one of many problematic characters in this anime. So for sure you will find some useful tips that you can apply in your life.
9. Series “Aoi Bungaku”
A fairly short series that actually contains 6 different stories, each set in its own universe, independent of each other.
Moreover,they are all adapted from highly regarded Japanese literature. So the quality of the story is extremely high.
The first story, No Longer Human, is the best on this list. As they say about a guy who is suppressed by his own ego, and his life in complete social isolation.
His survival mechanisms weren't the safest, let's just say.
And by the end of the arc, you feel like you really understand this person.
The remaining 5 stories also deal with mental health and similar issues. But No Longer Human definitely hits the mark.
8 Neon Genesis Evangelion
If you've ever studied philosophy, you're sure to find every nihilistic and painful talking point imaginable in this series.
Although at first glance, this is just an amazing mecha show with bloody battles. But it's a really depressing show filled with depressed people.
Whether it's the struggle for intimacy and acceptance, puberty, inferiority complexes, survival guilt, or anything else that is doom and gloom.
You can bet that Evangelion has probably covered this topic.
There are no Disney happy endings here. And it makes me hug.
7. Sins of Casshern
What would you do when faced with your own mortality?
The world of Casshern Sins is a ruined world where robots have taken over the Earth. Robots are sentient and were originally immortal until that stopped.
Now that everyone is facing the possibility of death, every robot is trying to either accept the inevitable or place their hopes on an urban legend that says that immortality can be achieved by eating someone named Casshern.
This is a rather slow show that really reveals all the horror associated with the beauty of life... death itself.
6. Galaxy tatami.
This show is not as heavy as some of the others on this list.
But he demonstrates a very true and yet often forgotten principle: every little choice you make affects your life.
It's like a compilation where the protagonist chooses different outcomes in pursuit of what he thinks will make him happy. He thinks that this could happen due to popularity and the appearance of a girl.
I think this show will hit especially hard if you're going through (or have already gone through) depression. Because sometimes it's really important to remember that even the smallest choice matters, even if it doesn't.
5. colorful
Unfortunately, taking one's own life can be the result of extremely negative feelings and a lack of support to cling to.
Colored is about a simple concept: trying to understand a boy who has decided that life is no longer worth living.
An impure soul is given the boy's body and given the task of finding out his "greatest sin", while the complexities of his life quickly become apparent.
The movie may not be for everyone, as suicide at such a young age can be a hard pill to swallow. But still, I think it's a great movie.
4. Mushisi
Okay, I think it would be nice to add a lighter candidate here. The whole list can't be pathetic, can it?
Musishi is mainly engaged ineveryone .
Its central premise is the mushis, beings (or spirits) who tend to interfere in human affairs and create unfavorable circumstances.
The protagonist is Mushishi, and he travels the world in search of Mushi. His purpose?
To help suffering people, as well as to understand the very essence of the existence of mushi.
The Mirror Lake episode in particular provides a crack in depression if you're only concerned with that topic and not the entire show.
3. Your lie in April
And now we're back to the hard stuff.
Your April lie is an infamous teardrop. It tells the story of two musicians who have each struggled with a very dark and depressing past.
However, the two seem to deal with this sadness and despair in polar opposite ways, making them a good balancer for the other.
I don't want to go into details what exactly is bothering them, I definitely don't want to spoil anything. But let's just say it wasn't as great as "my lover doesn't like me."
Thisreal problemsand the problems are hard enough that they can easily break most people.
2. Rainbow
The rainbow depicts a very tragic life. A life that I would never wish on anyone, and a life that is very important in today's society, associated with the abuse of power.
He talks about the seven prisoners and the torture they endure at the hands of the guards.
And this is torture in the truest sense of the word.
The show poses the question "how do you get back to normal after they've been so traumatized?"
And even deeper: how can one fight against one militant force as part of a discriminated group?
It gets heavy, it gets sad, it gets real.
1. Welcome to NHK
For anime veterans, this is probably one of the first shows that comes to mind when you think of depression.
It follows NEET's hikikomori as he tries to get his life back on track.
But getting from point A to point B is not easy, not in the least.
It just keeps falling over and over again. Unfortunately, the world doesn't help you just because you have good intentions.
This series touches on quite a few aspects of mental health such as ambition, paranoia, love, peer pressure, loneliness, and more.
If you were to pick just one anime from this list where you would like depression to be a central theme, I think Welcome to NHK is the best place to start.
