Kuuchuu Buranko

Fuji TV's noitaminA (ノイタミナ) late night programming block which currently broadcasts on Fridays from 00:45 to 1:45.

Looking to expand your horizons? This list will introduce you to a few anime with unconventional art styles that will surely take you on an unexpected journey.

From using 3D techniques, hand drawing, colourful or muted palettes, these anime will transport you into a world of their own through the use of those brilliant techniques and styles.
Those different characteristics will help broaden your opinion on how art can help enhance story telling by providing context clues crucial to the story, or strengthen a character's particular personality trait.
Pushing beyond the boundaries of what traditional anime should look like and what most are used to, these works are surely going to leave you with a lasting impression and possibly drive you towards more fantastically creative anime!

Series featuring abstract/experimental portrayal of characters or other aspects of the series.

A small collection of visually distinct anime to feast your eyes on.

short anime with less than the standard 12 episodes, including some movies under an hour long and a select few ONA projects

These anime have bizarrely unique, wildly niche, or oddly specific concepts. From sentient clothes, to vampires in space, to undead idols, some of these anime may leave you wondering, "who even came up with this idea?..."

These are some pretty good psychological anime series and movies.. Some are new and some are a little older. Enjoy!

Anime with characters who consistently show actually autistic traits - stimming, obsession with very specific things and themes, social phobia, unwillingness to change routines, monotone or stereotyped speaking, strict habits, lack of interest in personal exchanges, difficulty building/maintaining relationships, unusual manners and gestures, selective but very strong empathy etc.

Curated by yours truly, late-diagnosed autistic male in his 30's, eager to see more adult autistic representation.

⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶⩶

As this list becomes more and more popular (thanks everyone! Feedback appreciated!), I'm adding a friendly reminder: Autistic people are as diverse as neurotypical people are. This list could contain every character from every anime ever made and still be accurate as autistic rep! I just add the ones who "score higher" in showing more common autistic traits.

Are you a fellow autistic person and your most relatable ASD anime fav isn't here? PM me/comment on my profile; I'll appreciate if you add a small (4-5 lines at best) profile focusing on their neuroatypical traits. Try not to add spoilers, though!

This is the kind of stuff you'll want to show to your older relatives or a friend / significant other who isn't into anime in particular but is open to new experiences. Not necessarily to hook them on anime but simply to share a good time together.

What helps an anime end up on this list:
* either subdued or distinctly avant-garde appearance that transcends common anime design sensibilities;
* mature, adult-life-related themes;
* well-crafted, compelling story and character interactions;
* fresh and daring ideas or their execution;
* being otherwise remarkable as an art piece;
* moderate length.

What DOESN'T help an anime end up on the list:
* referencing or pandering to otaku culture, incessant fan service, and all that crap;
* slow-burn slice-of-life narrative;
* overly random, absurdist, reference-heavy humor;
* being too long or narratively incomplete;
* being too tropey;
* not being very good in general (regrettably, this includes bad and mediocre adaptations of good manga/LNs, so no Berserk, My Home Hero, or Golden Kamuy on the list).

These aren't absolute rules but they're hard enough that I would only consider minor exceptions. There is most certainly not enough room for every single piece that fits the bill, so take this as my personal, heavily curated top-50. If there is a sequel or a side-story that also deserves attention (or, conversely, one you should skip), I will mention it in the annotations, so please watch them.

List is subject to revisions and reordering.

A list of anime I believe share a similar style of storytelling to the works of highly revered author, Haruki Murakami.

I drew upon the subject matter and allegories frequently covered by Murakami in his stories. Those of escapism, eroticism, surrealism, loss, depression, loneliness, identity, and redemption.

More titles will be inducted over time, suggestions are welcome.

What I look for the most in an anime above everything else is high-quality writing. That's not to say that manga, visual novel, and light novel adaptations are written poorly; in fact, there are some that have incredible, masterfully-crafted storylines. I have simply personally found that some of the most unforgettable series for me have been novel adaptations.

Given that there currently exists no anime search option for this, the basis of this interest stack is to provide a list of full-length novels that have been adapted into series or movie format.

*Disclaimer: not enough space to add children's classics to this, go check out Nippon Animation's studio page if you want more!

Wacky and Trippy Anime

Anime with unique art-style/premise and or surreal/dreamlike sequences

Denpa as a genre usually refers to Japanese artistic works with themes associated with social isolation, existentialism, insanity that stems from living modern society, and the glorification of otaku/outsider cultures. Examples of denpa in other mediums include the films of Hideaki Anno (Love and Pop, Ritual) and the films of Shunji Iwai (All About Lily Chou-Chou), as well as the visual novel Wonderful Everyday Down the Rabbit-hole.

For more about denpa, check out this excellent blogpost about the genre: https://ontheones.wordpress.com/2019/06/29/on-denpa-a-guest-article-by-kenji-the-engi/

List of anime for "elitist". These anime have been considered as "deep" animations by various critics and analysts.

In this compilation there are animes with quite complicated stories that are not recommended for all audiences. As they are: cult, artistic, experimental, avant-garde, underrated, psychological, philosophical, unique or mind-blowing anime.

This list has a part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/4197

Surreal anime that have an upbeat tone!


Feel free to DM or message me about any questions, suggestions, or opinions about this stack!

the ultimate chronically online girl stack

Art house, in relation to cinema, is a genre of films that are intended to be serious artistic works rather than merely popular entertainment but the descriptor can also be applied to anime. Furthermore, avant-garde refers to innovative, experimental, radical or unorthodox concepts and techniques. This can of course also be used in reference to anime and manga.

As MAL currently sadly only allows a max of 50 entries on interests stacks this list mainly prioritises the stand out and most high quality examples of avant-garde and art house anime television shows, feature films, OVAs and short film compilations. For a more comprehensive list which features the numerous experimental short films on the site as well as manga, I direct you to my accompanying Art house, Avant-Garde and Experimental club of the same name.