Top 10 Psychological Anime of 2021
1. Fruits Basket The Final Season
After last season’s revelations, the Soma family moves forward, but the emotional chains that bind them are not easily broken. Unable to admit why she wants the cure, Tohru wrestles with the truth, aware that time is running out for someone close.
And a secret still lurks that could break another’s heart. But hope is not lost—a clue to the curse is found. Could their imprisonment’s end be near?
(Source: Funimation)
Note: This season premiered on Funimation and AnimeLab on March 20, 2021. The Japanese broadcast started two weeks later on April 6, 2021.
2. Revue Starlight: The Movie
The stage emulates life and compresses it, setting free skills learned over lifetimes in brief but dazzling displays for the amusement and judgment of others. For the performers, it is the ultimate risk, and some will rise while others must fall. Nowhere is this truer than at the Seisho Music Academy, where music, dance and real weapons all come into play in the creation of the next great Star. Karen and Hikari’s destinies have been linked since a childhood promise, but their journeys here have taken very different paths. Now, after Hikari leaves, Karen must discover who she is without her opposite, while Hikari must rediscover her own course.
(Source: Sentai Filmworks)
3. ODDTAXI
The taxi driver Odokawa lives a very mundane life. He has no family, doesn't really hang out with others, and he's an oddball who is narrow-minded and doesn't talk much. The only people he can call his friends are his doctor, Gouriki and his classmate from high school, Kakihana.
All of his patrons seem to be slightly odd themselves. The college student who wants the world to notice him online, Kabasawa. A nurse with secrets named Shirakawa. A comedy duo that just can't catch a break named the Homosapiens. A local hoodlum named Dobu. An idol group that's just starting out named Mystery Kiss... All these mundane conversations somehow eventually lead to a girl who's gone missing.
(Source: Crunchyroll)
4. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
In the aftermath of the Fourth Impact, stranded without their Evangelions, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei find refuge in one of the rare pockets of humanity that still exist on the ruined planet Earth. There, each of them live a life far different from their days as an Evangelion pilot. However, the danger to the world is far from over. A new impact is looming on the horizon—one that will prove to be the true end of Evangelion. Finally, the Human Instrumentality Project is set in motion, and WILLE makes one last grueling stand to prevent the Final Impact.
Note: Exists in multiple versions, as denoted by the version number:
- 3.0+1.0: March 8, 2021 - Original theatrical release
- 3.0+1.01: June 12, 2021 - A second theatrical release which features updated cuts of various scenes while not changing the overall story of the film.
- 3.0+1.11: March 8, 2023 - A home media release scheduled for the film's two-year anniversary.
5. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2 Part 2
After learning more behind the Death Loop and Witches of Sin, Subaru vows to save Emilia and his friends from further doom.
(Source: Crunchyroll)
6. Moriarty the Patriot Part 2
The second cour of Yuukoku no Moriarty.
In the late 19th century, the British Empire nobility reigns while its working class suffers at their hands. Sympathetic to their plight, William James Moriarty wants to topple it all. Frustrated by the systemic inequity, Moriarty strategizes to fix the entire nation. Not even consulting detective Sherlock Holmes can stand in his way. It’s time for crime to revolutionize the world!
(Source: Funimation)
Note: The anime received a special premiere on Funimation on March 28, 2021.
7. To Your Eternity
In the beginning, an "orb" is cast unto Earth. "It" can do two things: change into the form of the thing that stimulates "it"; and come back to life after death. "It" morphs from orb to rock, then to wolf, and finally to boy, but roams about like a newborn who knows nothing. As a boy, "it" becomes Fushi.
Through encounters with human kindness, Fushi not only gains survival skills but grows as a "person". But his journey is darkened by the inexplicable and destructive enemy Nokker and cruel partings with the people he loves.
(Source: Crunchyroll)
8. BEASTARS Season 2
"Beastar"—a title awarded to beasts who prove their excellence through fighting inequality to unite carnivores and herbivores in an anthropomorphic animal society. Cherryton Academy has gone five years without one such leader. However, following the murder of an alpaca within the school boundaries, the growing tension between the different species poses a greater need for a Beastar to ensure peace and harmony.
When Louis, the prime candidate for this prestigious role, rejects the offer and leaves the academy, the student council declares to honor any student who captures the culprit of the aforementioned murder as Beastar. Meanwhile, Legoshi's sense of duty as a strong wolf who must protect the weak pushes him to investigate the incident. To further complicate his life, he struggles to manage his complex feelings for the white rabbit, Haru.
(Source: MAL Rewrite)
Note: The first episode had an early delivery on Netflix Japan on January 5, 2021. The regular TV broadcast started on January 7, 2021.
9. Sonny Boy
It’s an ordinary summer vacation...except for the fact that Nagara’s high school has mysteriously drifted into another dimension. As the students begin to develop strange new powers, will they work together to survive the alien environment and find a way home, or will their newly formed factions and rivalries turn on each other?
(Source: Funimation)
Note: The first episode received an advance release on YouTube on June 19, 2021. The regular TV broadcast started on July 16, 2021.
10. DARKEN
Music video directed and animated by Koudai Watanabe for the song DARKEN by ZUTOMAYO.