Psychological disorders or psychological issues include depression, mental illness, or a suffering mental state. Depression, or People lacking mental health, is a concept experienced by everyone nowadays. The hesitating to express the issues and feelings is hard in real life, but animes have made a way to portray a glimpse of such people and along a method to overcome if the storyline goes. Anime now delivers some stories/sensitive topics. Anime is a whole different world to melt in subtly. And if this genre is to help you feel better, here are some anime to watch.
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion
This movie touches on various psychological themes, from depression and trauma to struggles and pressures. The anime has many aspects, considering Shiniji's depression and anxiety due to his loneliness. He also has to make decisions that can affect human life directly when the giant mecha, the supernatural beings, are back to destroy humankind, creating- The Third Impact, the end of humanity. Earth has a secret military organization- NERV, to fight back.
2. Orange
A second-year high school student, Naho Takamiya in Matsumoto, receives a letter from her future self about self-hating Kakeru Naruse, a recent transfer student from Tokyo. To avoid having her worst regrets come by, she tries to save him. Though the anime reflects the depressing phase, it also includes a spice of romance and slice-of-life genres.
3. Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
The series attends Nozomu Itoshiki, a pessimistic coach who generally tries to resolve things by trying to kill himself. But he tries to help his students to look out for their issues positively, and as a result, the series fills with references to literature, culture, anime, etc. Every student follows their strange experiences with despair, just like this anime follows dark comedy and satire.
4. Your Lie In April
Kousei Arima, a young piano prodigy, gave up on his talent after his mother passed away and suffered a mental collapse. He starts overcoming this despair because of his friends, especially Kaori, the pianist herself. Kousei and Kaori's romance is only one aspect of the plot, but it's about how Kousei learned to be himself and not just live for himself. Your Lie in April is a very famous Manga and Anime series.
5. March Comes In Like A Lion
Rei, a 17-year-old lone shogi player, is trying to regain after a breakdown when he lost his family in an accident. Struggling and living with loneliness, he now has three sisters, because of whom he gradually starts to transform. This anime gives attention to the depression conveyed through Kiriyama's inside thoughts. This anime was a manga series and being as a movie portrayal in 2017.
6. Welcome To The NHK
Young man Satou Tatsuhiro, 22, is a hikikomori who believes everything around him is a conspiracy. Due to this, he also assumes an odd conspiracy theory that mentions the Nihon Hikikomori Kykai (NHK), a covert organization to create a world filled with hikikomori. This psychological drama has Misaki help him conquer Satou's fears.
7. Blue Period
Yatora Yaguchi is a popular student who seems to be bored by life and struggles with loneliness and disappointments inside. One day he gets inspired by a picture and decides to enter into artist world by joining the art club and applying to art universities. This anime name may be a reference to the term used to describe the monochromatic paintings made by Pablo Picasso between 1901 and 1904 using blue and blue-green shades.
8. Aoi Bungaku
Aoi Bungaku Series features adaptations of six short stories from Japanese literature with twelve episodes. The stories include titles 'No Longer Human,' 'Run, Melos!,' 'In the Forest, Under the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom,' 'Kokoro,' 'The Spider's Thread,' and 'Hell Screen.' These six tales are adaptations of well-known classic Japanese folktales, which present various aspects of depression.
9. Colorful
The story revolves around a spirit who wakes up from the body of a man who just committed suicide, a 14-year-old boy Makoto Kobayashi. It must use this as an opportunity to discover why Makoto committed suicide. Based on the novel, the Colorful movie conveys the message and emotionally troubled interaction. It won awards- Excellent Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Academy Prize, Animation Film Award at the 65th Mainichi Film Awards, Audience Award, and Special Distinction prize at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
10. Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue is a psychological piece by Satoshi Kon. A J-pop singer diverts her tracks to he acting career. She finds it difficult to pursue the field. Adding to her mental condition, a fan, more likely a psychopath, starts stalking her. The visuals in the anime could be disturbing but worth watching because it deals with the theme of depression.
