10 Trippy Anime Series You Can Get Lost In (2024)

More often than not, anime crosses the creative borders and defies all logic to create something truly impossible but breathtaking. It’s a realm where imagination and innovation reign supreme, but only a few anime series stand out as true mind-benders. Ones that take audiences on a trippy, psychedelic journey beyond reality.

For anime fans, the term “trippy” is actually appealing because it proves just how far the medium is willing to push the limitations of storytelling and conventional narratives. From the surreal landscapes of Paprika to the cyberpunk fever dreams of Akira, anime movies have long been a canvas for daring stories. It’s the vibrant palette of colors, the fluid animation, the themes of the subconscious and metaphysical, that make an anime trippy. And within the vast world of anime, these 10 trippy series are sure to leave you lost in a sea of wonder, confusion, and awe.

10 ‘Flip Flappers’ (2016)

Flip Flappers is an underrated coming-of-age anime that centers around a curious but cautious girl named Cocona who stumbles upon a popular and energetic girl named Papika and is unexpectedly swept into a fantastical realm known as “Pure Illusion.” In this bizarre parallel world, the girls collect crystal shards that transform them into magical girls and try defeating deadly creatures. But against them are three girls from a rival organization.

A Surreal Kaleidoscope

While the premise of Flip Flappers is fairly normal, it’s the kaleidoscope of ever-shifting landscapes that makes it mind-bending and trippy to watch. The visual artistry and imaginative world-building is starkly different in each episode, with the design elements lacking detail or preciseness to give it a dreamscape-like aesthetic. Overall, the anime is an exhilarating mix of coming-of-age, magical girl tropes, a subtle romance, and psychological exploration.

9 ‘Mononoke’ (2007)

Mononoke

TV-MA

Animation

Fantasy

Horror

Mystery

Release Date

July 12, 2007

Cast

Takahiro Sakurai , Michael C. Pizzuto , Eiji Takemoto , Yukana , Aiko Hibi , Ryûsei Nakao , Daisuke Namikawa , Tomokazu Seki , Daisuke Sakaguchi , Yasuhiro Takato , Aki Sasaki , Sarah Hauser , Yōko Sōmi , Minoru Inaba , Seiji Sasaki

A horror anime with vibrant visuals, Mononoke takes place in feudal Japan, where evil spirits known as “mononoke” torment the country. The only man responsible, brave, and skilled enough to vanquish these spirits is the “Medicine Seller,” who, when encountering one, must uncover the spirit’s Form, Truth, and Reason, and confront their dark secrets to free them of their pain and nature of existence.

Captivates With Its Unique Art Style

Mononoke is a deeply unsettling anime that delves into Japanese folklore and the supernatural. Each episode sees the Medicine Seller use his unconventional and dangerous methods to explore the darkness within the malevolent spirits and create a self-contained mystery around them. It’s intriguing to watch, but the surreal elements and colorful backgrounds and two-dimensional designs make it all the more haunting and mesmerizing.

8 ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’ (2011)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

TV-14

Action

Where to Watch

• stream
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*Availability in US

Release Date

January 7, 2011

Cast

Christine Marie Cabanos , Cristina Vee , Carrie Keranen , Sarah Anne Williams , Cassandra Lee Morris

A list of trippy anime series would be incomplete without including Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The series starts off normally by introducing us to a middle school student named Madoke Kaname and her ordinary life. But a strange encounter with Kyubey lands her with the prospect of becoming a magical girl in exchange for a wish. Soon, Kaname discovers that her newfound abilities take her to worlds far more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

Takes You to a Harrowing New World

Renowned for its deconstruction of the magical girl trope, this subversive masterpiece challenges the very foundation of the genre. It features surreal, dreamlike sequences with a more immersive and futuristic art style, and the contrast is intriguing. The trippy visuals, particularly when Kaname enters the witches’ labyrinth, are weird and eerie. The series also explores the fears, insecurities and underpinnings of its characters, which makes you root for them.

7 ‘Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo’ (2003)

In the realm of weird and trippy anime series, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo definitely deserves a special place. Based on the manga by Yoshio Sawai, it takes place in a futuristic world where hair is a precious commodity and the Maruhage Empire, a ruthless militant organization, is out to make everyone bald. But Bo-bobo, a trained but utterly nonsensical hero with a golden afro, uses his nose hair to battle against the empire’s forces.

An Absurd Assault on the Senses

In his absurd adventures, Bo-Bobo, the self-proclaimed defender of justice, is not alone. He’s accompanied by a group of oddballs and misfits, including the jelly-like Don Patch and the naive Beauty. His random and weird attacks in battle, including Fist of the Nose Hair, result in the most hilarious gags. That said, Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo basically thrives on surreal humor, offbeat visuals, and storytelling that defies all logic and challenges your own perception of reality. If that isn’t trippy, what is?

6 ‘Pop Team Epic’ (2018)

Pop Team Epic

TV-MA

Animation

Comedy

Release Date

January 7, 2018

Cast

Shunsuke Itakura , Tōru Adachi , Fanny Bloc , Christine Bellier , Shinnosuke Ogami , Masashi Ebara , Shouta Aoi , Yuichi Nakamura , Mizuki Saiba , Sumire Morohoshi , Yuji Mitsuya , Hochu Otsuka , Noriko Hidaka , Aoi Yuki , Toshio Furukawa , Ayana Taketatsu , Shigeru Chiba , Mikako Komatsu

Just to get it out of the way first, Pop Team Epic is not an anime series; it’s more of a sketch-comedy series trying very hard to be a real anime. Absurd and hilarious, it follows the misadventures of two 14-year-old girls – the short and easily irritable Popuko and the tall and irrational calm Pipimi – as they go on with their daily lives parodying various anime genres, studios, and pop culture.

Slightly Unhinged and Very Unforgettable

Pop Team Epic stands out because of its chaotic and unpredictable storylines. It breaks the fourth wall frequently and uses different animation styles in each of its sketches and parodies, leaving viewers in a perpetual state of awe. The humor, however random, is definitely meme worthy and unique. In a way, Pop Team Epic challenges the very notion of what an anime can be, and for that, it is a must-watch.

5 ‘Space Dandy’ (2014)

Space Dandy

TV-14

Comedy

Where to Watch

• stream
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Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

January 4, 2014

Cast

Ian Sinclair , Alison Viktorin , Joel McDonald , J. Michael Tatum , Micah Solusod , Kent Williams , Alexis Tipton , Colleen Clinkenbeard , Johnny Yong Bosch

Space Dandy revolves around Dandy, an eccentric and pompadour-wearing alien hunter who traverses the cosmos in search of rare and elusive alien species to catalog for his employer and earn rewards in exchange for his services. He has a quirky robot assistant QT and a cat-like alien companion Meow to accompany him on missions that sound exhilarating but are almost always bizarre and dangerous.

Hilarious, Genre-Bending, and Trippy

Directed by the legendary Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo), Space Dandy is celebrated for its stunning animation and whimsical storytelling. Narratively, it defies genre conventions and combines the best elements of sci-fi, comedy, space opera, action, and surrealism to create a one-of-a-kind series that’s also a feast for the senses. The series is also a must watch if you’re a fan of the 1950s aesthetic.

4 ‘Welcome to the N.H.K.’ (2006)

A complex and psychologically intense series, Welcome to the N.H.K. captures the life of Tatsuhiro Satou, a 22-year-old hikikomori (a shut-in or a person undergoing severe social withdrawal) who believes in various conspiracy theories and has thus trapped himself in a self-imposed exile. Satou’s reality takes an unexpected turn when he meets Misaki Nakahara, a mysterious girl who claims she can cure his hikikomori lifestyle through a series of "therapeutic" sessions.

Explores Difficult Topics Truly Well

Welcome to the N.H.K. is a profoundly unsettling anime series because it explores the main character’s mental health in extreme detail. It is raw and honest about his social anxiety, depression, isolation, and his delusions about the people around him, like his otaku neighbor and his high school senpai. It is fascinating to watch the episodes capture the claustrophobia and the disorientation, the line between reality and fantasy, and just how much your mind can change when you condition it to.

3 ‘Serial Experiments Lain’ (1998)

After one of her classmates takes their own life, a shy and introverted 14-year-old girl named Lain finds herself entangled in the mysterious and unsettling world of the Wired, which is a vast and interconnected network similar to the internet but parallel to the physical world. The same classmate, Chisa, sends Lain an email posthumously, drawing Lain deeper into this digital world and altering her perception of reality.

Seminal Work in Anime

While some consider Serial Experiments Lain as an overrated classic anime, it’s still one of the most intense, groundbreaking, and cerebral anime of all time. Its existential themes and exploration of identity and human consciousness, paired with how technology can impact us, is anchored by the use of a precise visual style and haunting imagery. Through a series of nonlinear sequences, we see Lain enter the Wired and it’s a metaphor for how the line between the physical and virtual is slimming.

2 ‘Paranoia Agent’ (2004)

Paranoia Agent

TV-PG

Drama

Release Date

April 14, 2011

Cast

Tara Sands , Griffin Burns , Xanthe Huynh , Erica Lindbeck , Michelle Ruff , Ray Chase , Erica Mendez

Paranoia Agent thrusts you into the fast-paced city of Tokyo, where a series of attacks by a mysterious and unstoppable assailant known as “Lil’ Slugger” has sparked a way of panic and paranoia among people. The investigation to track down the young boy with rollerblades is led by detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa, who discover something that connects all the victims together and end up in a place where reality and delusion coexist.

A Dizzying Psychological Horror Anime

What begins as a straightforward mystery-solving in Paranoia Agent soon descends into a disturbing and horrifying exploration of the human psyche. The series is known for its suspenseful elements as well as its fantastical ones, because under the visionary direction of Satoshi Kon, the series takes little effort in transitioning from gritty to dreamy. Overall, it’s a highly acclaimed anime with a lot of interesting plot twists.

1 ‘FLCL’ (2000)

FLCL

TV-14

Animation

Action

Comedy

Where to Watch

Season

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Not available

• stream
• rent
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*Availability in US

Release Date

August 5, 2003

Cast

Jun Mizuki , Mayumi Shintani , Izumi Kasagi , Suzuki Matsuo , Hiroshi Ito , Mika Itô , Kazuhito Suzuki , Sho Miyajima

The original six-episode anime series centers on Naota Nandaba, a 12-year-old boy whose mundane life in the sleepy suburban town of Mabase is disrupted by the arrival of Haruko Haruhara. The free-spirited woman rides a yellow Vespa and wields a yellow electric guitar, crashes into Naota and triggers a series of bizarre events. Before he knows it, Naota finds himself battling mecha robots and intergalactic enemies.

An Animated Fever Dream to Get Lost In

Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by Gainax, FLCL is a short-lived series that came and went and few people know about it until it spawned four spin-off series and two movies. Known for its rock-infused soundtrack, chaotic coming-of-age themes, and rapid-fire animation, the anime abandons all logic and surrenders to the sheer madness of its own narrative. A sensory overload, filled with absurd scenes, FLCL is a cult classic.