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Time of India
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
10 best anti-romance anime that ditch the clichés
Tired of love triangles, sudden blushing, and last-minute love confessions? You're not alone. While romance dominates a huge chunk of anime, sometimes you just want a break from the clichés. That's where anti-romance anime comes in, shows that reject, subvert, or downright avoid romantic drama altogether. Whether it's cold protagonists, unrequited feelings, or stories that focus on literally anything else, these anime prove you don't need a love story to tell a compelling tale. Watch these anti-romance anime instead of another rom-com Mob Psycho 100 Source: IMDB Mob's got psychic powers strong enough to level cities but zero interest in dating. While a crush on Tsubomi is mentioned early on, romance is never the focus. Instead, Mob Psycho 100 explores self-worth, emotional growth, and finding purpose without needing a romantic partner. The Tatami Galaxy Here's a story about wasted college years, choices, and parallel timelines but no happy love endings. Despite a recurring crush subplot, The Tatami Galaxy dismantles the idea that romance = fulfilment. It's intellectual, fast-paced, and delightfully existential. Attack on Titan Let's be honest, Attack on Titan has bigger problems than dating. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Libas Purple Days Sale Libas Undo While some characters have subtle feelings, romance is never the core focus. This series is too busy throwing political mind games, titan wars, and soul-crushing trauma at you to waste time on love stories. Made in Abyss Emotionally intense and narratively deep, Made in Abyss centres on a dangerous journey through a deadly abyss. There's no space for romantic subplots, just curiosity, survival, and emotional devastation. It's beautiful, haunting, and completely anti-romance. Paranoia Agent Created by the legendary Satoshi Kon, Paranoia Agent is a surreal social thriller. Romance doesn't just take a backseat, it's often portrayed as toxic or delusional. If you're into cerebral narratives that dismantle traditional character dynamics, this one's for you. Bocchi the Rock! Friendship, music, and social anxiety, Bocchi the Rock! hits all the emotional beats without relying on romantic tropes. It's refreshingly focused on personal growth, artistic expression, and platonic bonds. Land of the Lustrous With genderless characters and a narrative that dives into identity, loss, and rebirth, Land of the Lustrous steps far away from traditional romance. It's stunning, philosophical, and deeply introspective, romance doesn't belong here, and that's the point. Death Note Sure, Misa's in love with Light but he couldn't care less. In fact, Light's manipulation of romance as a tool highlights just how anti-romantic this show really is. Power, justice, and ego rule here, not love. Girls' Last Tour Source: IMDB In a bleak post-apocalyptic world, two girls wander through ruined cities with no one left to love or fight. Their quiet bond is deeply emotional but never romantic. It's about companionship, survival, and existential dread, zero love triangles, guaranteed. No Game No Life Sibling duo Sora and Shiro dominate strategy and logic in a colourful world ruled by games. While other anime would force a romance subplot, this one keeps it platonic, chaotic, and focused on mind games rather than heartstrings. Anti-romance anime offers a refreshing alternative for viewers burnt out on forced love stories. These shows prove you can tell powerful, emotional, and mind-blowing stories without centring romantic tension. Whether you're craving action, psychology, or just something deeper than a will-they-won't-they subplot, these titles deliver. Also read| 5 anime that beautifully explore friendship : More than fights and feels
Time of India
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
5 deep psychological anime that blur the line between real and imagined
Source: IMDb Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the surface of the human mind? Psychological anime delve into the complexities of the human mind, weaving intricate narratives that challenge conventional perceptions of reality. These series explore profound themes such as identity, consciousness, time, and the fragile boundary between truth and illusion. Each title featured here offers a thought-provoking experience that engages viewers intellectually and emotionally. From the intricate consequences of time manipulation in Steins;Gate to the existential inquiries posed by Neon Genesis Evangelion, these anime exemplify storytelling that goes beyond entertainment to provoke reflection on the nature of reality, the self, and the human psyche. 5 Psychological anime that will mess with your mind Steins;Gate Source: Crunchyroll Steins;Gate centers on Rintarou Okabe and his group of friends who accidentally invent a time machine and begin sending messages to the past. What starts as a fun experiment quickly spirals into chaos, as they realize the horrifying consequences of altering time. As Okabe tries to undo the damage, he's forced to grapple with the psychological toll that time manipulation takes on him and those around him. The mind-bending concept lies in the intricacies of time travel, the butterfly effect, and how small changes to the past can dramatically alter the future. The show delves deep into the tension between fate, free will, and the heavy price of tampering with reality. Paranoia Agent (Mousou Dairinin) Paranoia Agent follows a mysterious figure known as "Lil' Slugger," who attacks random people, causing them to spiral into madness. As the story unfolds, a detective investigates these bizarre events, but the deeper he dives, the more the lines between reality and delusion blur. The mind-bending theme of Paranoia Agent challenges the viewer's understanding of reality, as the series explores how paranoia and societal pressure can distort perception. As the characters' mental states unravel, the audience is forced to question what is real and what is merely a manifestation of their subconscious fears. The Tatami Galaxy (Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei) Source: Crunchyroll The Tatami Galaxy follows an unnamed college student who repeatedly relives his university years, each time making different choices in an attempt to find the "perfect" college life. With each reset, he experiences the consequences of his decisions, offering a new perspective on the same events. The mind-bending concept here revolves around parallel universes where each choice leads to vastly different outcomes, forcing both the protagonist and the viewer to confront the consequences of every small decision. The anime plays with the idea of fate versus free will, questioning whether one can ever truly find fulfillment or if we're always chasing something elusive. Serial Experiments Lain Source: Crunchyroll Serial Experiments Lain is a psychological thriller that follows Lain Iwakura, a shy high school girl who gets pulled into the virtual world of "The Wired" after the death of a classmate. As Lain dives deeper into the digital realm, she starts questioning her own identity and the very nature of reality. The mind-bending theme of Lain revolves around the merging of physical and virtual spaces, exploring what it means to be truly 'real' in a world dominated by technology. The anime blurs the boundaries between consciousness and the digital world, leaving viewers to question whether our understanding of self and reality is entirely shaped by the systems we create. Neon Genesis Evangelion Source: Crunchyroll Neon Genesis Evangelion follows 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, who is recruited to pilot a giant bio-mechanical robot to fight mysterious beings called Angels in a post-apocalyptic world. However, the show quickly transcends typical mecha action, diving deep into the psychological struggles of its characters. The mind-bending concept of Evangelion lies in its exploration of existential themes, depression, and the human psyche. The series uses abstract imagery and philosophical dialogue to tackle deep questions about identity, self-worth, and the meaning of existence, leaving viewers questioning the nature of reality and the human condition itself. Also Read: Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie ending explained: Who lives, who dies and what's next
Winnipeg Free Press
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Blunt-force trauma
It's a beautiful morning in the 21st century and the trains and streets are packed in Tokyo, but no one is talking to or even looking at one another — nearly everyone has earbuds in, or their eyes are cast down at small flip-phone screens. So begins Paranoia Agent, which finished its 13-episode run in the West in 2005 — one year before the first version of Twitter went live — and has proven oddly prescient, 20 years later, about the atomized, digitized lives we're now living. Paranoia Agent was the lone full-run anime series helmed by the late Satoshi Kon, a visionary writer, director and animator who tragically died of pancreatic cancer in 2010 at just 46 years old. While his body of work was limited, most of it stands out in a crowded field, particularly his features Perfect Blue (1997), Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003) and Paprika (2006). IMDB The mysterious Shonen Bat wields his weapon on the poster for the surreal thriller Paranoia Agent, which turns 20 years old this year. Kon's work reveals an interest in looking at where the technology of the hyper-connected internet age might take us — and what it might do to us. Paranoia Agent makes for a great sampler of his observations, about not just growing social anxiety, but the specific ways in which the internet era has put us in a panopticon. Looking back on it with the benefit of hindsight, it's surprising how well Kon foresaw the conflict and unease to come in the then-nascent social media era. It all begins when Tsukiko Sagi, a character designer whose previous puppy-dog creation is an enduring mixed-media hit, faces pressure at work to create another star. Walking home at night — and dreading an important presentation for which she's wholly unprepared — she is assaulted by what she describes as a young boy wearing golden inline skates and wielding a bent golden baseball bat. When news of the attack breaks, it doesn't take long for the rumour mill to spring to action: speculation, finger-pointing and dehumanization are the name of the game. Gossipers start adding their own details to descriptions of 'Shonen Bat' (Bat Boy), subtly transforming the public's conception of him. Many are quick to blame an aimless young generation for the attack. The show makes a point of showing Tsukiko perusing a web forum dedicated to her character, only to find some users accusing her of fabricating the attack for attention. As police investigate, victims pile up, many of whom are fearful of some personal weakness being exposed. A popular schoolboy is ostracized after classmates note his resemblance to Shonen Bat, triggering paranoid anger which leads him to target what he sees as a jealous rival; a young woman's plans to marry are compromised by the alter ego of her split personality, who takes over at night to do escort work; a crooked cop gets in debt to gangsters to build a house for his family and is pressed into committing robberies to cover that debt. All of them end up getting the business end of the golden bat when at their lowest. That each of these victims is the centre of an episode is prescient in itself: in 2025, it's normal to call a newly minted online punching bag the 'main character' of a given social media platform. Get caught doing something embarrassing? Take a nasty dig at someone for no reason? Thwack. Police eventually arrest a suspect, but he's a copycat — a child under the delusion he is living inside a fantasy role-playing game. Everywhere, alternate worlds are eroding real-world connections and some people are more than ready to see strangers as monsters worth slaying. Citizens discussing the case offer conflicting views of Shonen Bat's nature: most say he goes after people who feel 'cornered,' while others suggest his victims call to him, demanding punishment. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Eventually, a maddened detective realizes Shonen Bat is not a person but a social contagion, a bogeyman made flesh — the ultimate Other and scapegoat, skating at high speed to dish out cruelty to anyone who might feel vulnerable, for any reason. As tales of his menace spread, he grows larger and more demonic, enveloping the country. Paranoia Agent isn't without its faults. It can become too abstract for its own good, and its resolution is a little bit pat. But the series' strengths more than make up for its low points. When a creator dies at a young age, it's easy to wonder what they might have thought of the current day. Paranoia Agent, 20 years later, shows us clearly what Kon saw in the future we now inhabit: a world of people who fear they're being watched and who defensively clutch their bats, even as they look over their shoulders and listen for the sound of skates. Paranoia Agent can be viewed on anime streaming service Crunchyroll. Darren Ridgley is a copy editor for the Free Press. Darren RidgleyCopy editor Darren Ridgley is a copy editor and member of the adjunct editorial board at the Free Press. Darren has previously worked as a reporter, photographer and editor at weekly newspapers in Drumheller, Alta., Manitoba's Interlake region and at Canstar Community News. He joined the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Darren. Every piece of reporting and analysis Darren produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
