When you think of anime, people will probably mention titles like Naruto, My Hero Academia, or One Piece. While these titles are a hit with kids and teenagers, older viewers might not always find them to their tastes. As it turns out, there is a genre of anime that would better suit the adult taste: seinen. Let’s take a look at some of the best seinen anime that would fascinate you and other older viewers.
Seinen anime no. 1: Psycho-Pass
Psycho-Pass is a seinen anime that aired in 2012. Set in the year 2112, the series follows rookie inspector Akane Tsunemori as she starts work in the Public Safety Bureau. She is aided by enforcer Shinya Kogami in investigating various crimes happening in the city.
While it might seem like your regular cop show in the beginning, the series presents an intriguing premise. In its vision of the future, Japan is ruled by the Sibyl System, a supercomputer that oversees every aspect of people’s lives, including marriage and job assignments. Sibyl also constantly measures the stress levels of every citizen. Anyone whose stress levels go beyond the accepted norms is branded as potential criminals and arrested before they even commit a crime.
This opens up the question of how much people are willing to follow an oppressive system in exchange for personal safety. Akane also soon finds herself asking whether the system’s idea of justice is indeed right. All of these as she confronts different threats to the city’s peace that puts her loyalty to the system in question.
Psycho-Pass consists of three different seasons. There are also everal movies that serve to bridge the story between seasons. Additionally, there are several OVA (original video animation) side stories that focus on the other members of Akane’s team. Note that not all of these are available yet on streaming sites but they don’t affect the viewing experience.
Seinen anime no. 2: Inuyashiki
Most of the heroes that you see in anime shows like Naruto or Attack on Titan are teenagers or young adults. Rarely will you see anyone older. Inuyashiki is one such rarity that seinen anime lovers will like a lot.
In the series, Ichiro Inuyashiki is a downtrodden 58-year old man. He constantly struggles in finding the approval of his wife and children. Making matters worse is that he found out that he only has a few months to live.
His fate suddenly changes when he is accidentally killed by extraterrestrial beings. Feeling sorry for him, the aliens rebuilt Inuyashiki’s body into a cyborg. He soon awakens to find out that his body is now nearly indestructible and is armed with various weapons. The old man then decides to use his powers to help others.
Despite an outlandish premise, Inuyashiki presents an interesting question about what it means to be human. Inuyashiki later meets teenager Shiro Shishigami, who also became a cyborg after being caught in the same incident. But unlike him, Shiro uses his new powers to go on a killing spree, stating that it is his way of keeping his humanity. This creates an interesting reversal of roles where the young one goes on to become the villain while the older man takes on the mantle of the hero.
Seinen anime no. 3: Paprika
If you are the type of viewer who is into psychological stories, then Paprika is one seinen anime film you should watch. Helmed by famed anime director Satoshi Kon, the movie imagines a future where people can enter and interact with other people’s dreams using a device called DC Mini.
Dr. Atsuko Chiba, one of the scientists who developed the DC Mini, soon uses it to help people through dream therapy. She enters patients’ dreams as the perky character Paprika. However, things start to get worse when several prototypes of the device are stolen and used to hack into people’s dreams. Chiba must then use her expertise to prevent more people from falling victim to the dream attacks.
Paprika is brimming with Kon’s surrealist style, resulting in a visually stunning film. It also features some pretty mind-bending twists as the dream world and reality becomes harder to distinguish. One thing that you might notice is that it bears a similarity to Christopher Nolan’s 2010 sci-fi film Inception. This isn’t all that surprising, as Paprika is said to have a major influence on that film.
Seinen anime no. 4: Space Brothers
While you might think that seinen anime mostly focus on outlandish premises, that is not always the case. You will also find a lot of stories that are more grounded. One such example is Space Brothers, a show that aired from 2012 to 2014.
In the series, brothers Mutta and Hibito Nanba have always dreamed of becoming astronauts ever since they were kids. However, it was only Hibito who managed to fulfill the dream after being chosen as the first Japanese astronaut to land on the moon. Meanwhile, Mutta had to be content with working as a regular employee in a car company.
After an altercation with his boss over Hibito’s accomplishment, Mutta gets fired from his job. He then receives a call from Hibito, which encourages him to pursue his dream again. But it is going to be an uphill challenge, as he hasn’t even passed the astronaut entrance exam yet.
One thing that will draw you to this title is the absolute amount of realistic detail that it puts into its presentation of spaceflight. Manga author Chuya Koyama did extensive research and even visited NASA’s headquarters in Houston just for the work. This will surely be to the liking of anyone interested in the subject.
Beyond that, people will love the character drama present in the show. Both Mutta and Hibito undergo a significant amount of character development as they reach out for their dream. Be ready, though, as the series is a long watch at 99 episodes.
Enjoy these anime shows made for adult viewers
Seinen anime proves that anime isn’t just for the kids or kids at heart. These shows have stories and characters that will fascinate older audiences a lot. Check them and other shows and be ready to have an enjoyable anime marathon during your free time.