Since its very beginning, anime and manga have been the designated mediums for channeling the darkest instincts of human nature, from violence to sexual appetites, from fears to yearnings. Films such as Akira and Ghost in the Shell gave names, faces and bodies to fear and trauma, becoming the recipients of social discontent or deep existential questions. Even works that can appear shallower, such as Dragon Ball, show a peculiar obsession with the body, muscles, flesh and overpowering physical strength.

In this cultural context, the concept of sin starts to emerge as a strong narrative tool with the ability to shape meaningful stories revolving around transgression, pain and atonement. Deeply existential and overwhelmingly human, these stories provide the audience with a cathartic experience that comes at the end of a long journey of suffering. In some cases, the characters are paying for the sins of the fathers that fall on their shoulders; in others, they committed a terrible act of transgression that they have to atone for. Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan are prime examples of this, together with other anime, old and new, that exploit the same compelling premise to investigate human nature.

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Edward and Alphonse Elric's Sin in Fullmetal Alchemist Is an Act of Hubris

ed and al burning down their home fullmetal alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist’s opening scene might be one of the most disquieting and strongest incipits in the history of manga -- and anime, if one looks at the 2003 version. Left to fend for themselves after the death of their mother, Edward and Alphonse Elric, living in a world where alchemy exists in place of science, decide to try and resurrect her. After months of research, with Edward pushing his brother to keep going, they finally arrive at a formula that might work. However, as they start the 'ritual,' it is immediately evident that it won’t. The price they have to pay is losing their bodies -- or parts of them -- in the process.

Edward and Alphonse’s transgression is all the more heartbreaking because it was borne out of grief in a moment of extreme childhood vulnerability. Their actions, similar to those of the protagonists of Greek tragedies, are understandable but still the product of hubris, the arrogance of going beyond what humans are allowed to do -- in this case, it’s a sin against the natural order of things, life and death.

In the aftermath of their unforgivable offense, their atonement is a life spent in search of a way to get their bodies back, while working like 'dogs' for the army as alchemist soldiers. Despite their young age, both Edward and Alphonse have learned a lesson that took away their innocence and turned them into adults. As adults, they are taking responsibility for their mistakes. Edward’s especially is a painstakingly slow and torturous journey to pay back his brother for what he feels was his fault.

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In Death Note, Light Yagami Believes He Can Replace God

Light Yagami laughs at the Task Force after admitting he is Kira in Death Note

Similarly, Light Yagami’s decision in Death Note is an even worse act of hubris. While lacking the intense pain of immediate physical punishment, Light’s sin still is very much an act against God. Even more than Edward and Alphonse, Light decides to act as supreme judge of right and wrong, life and death, effectively replacing God itself. While he is given the death note by a shinigami, the decision to use it and take on the role of executioner is his own.

Light’s punishment comes late and is perhaps harsher than that delivered to Edward and Alphonse Elric. Arguably discarded like an old toy, he is killed by the shinigami Ryuk when he stops being of interest to him. Once the entertainment is over, as promised, Ryuk takes his life and effectively delivers divine justice over Light’s indefensible trespassing into God’s territory -- the worst sin imaginable.

Both Death Note and Fullmetal Alchemist share similarities with classic Greek tragedies. However, they resemble the tale of Oedipus in different ways. While Light Yagami’s ascent to power is alike Oedipus’s journey to kingship, Edward and Alphonse’s crime-and-punishment arc is reminiscent of Oedipus’s acknowledgment of his incest and his consequent atonement through self-inflicted blindness and banishment. It’s a corporal act that gives his suffering additional potency.

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The Sins of the Fathers Haunt Their Children in AoT, Promised Neverland and Terror in Resonance

Silhouettes of the Survey Corps with their hearts glowing from Attack on Titan.

Something slightly different happens in other works. In Attack on Titan, an anime whose central plot revolves around cross-generational guilt, the sins of the fathers are unwillingly taken up by their children in punishment for an original sin that seemingly cannot be atoned for. Eren and the other descendants of Eldia are paying for their ancestors’ lust for power, which drove them to war and genocide. It is interesting to note that a lot of the characters’ names in the series are German, perhaps suggesting a link between Eldia and a guilt-ridden post-WWII Germany.

Children are paying for their fathers’ sins in another anime of recent years, The Promised Neverland. Although, in this case, they are being sacrificed for the sake of world peace, the children are shouldering the weight of a war that happened before they were even born and that they are being used to avoid.

A final sublime instance of this concept comes from Terror in Resonance, where contemporary younger generations are made to suffer because of their grandfathers' and great-grandfathers' obsession with war, victory and power. Victims of Japan’s unwillingness to let go of the shame of WWII’s defeat, the protagonists of this anime sacrifice their lives to make themselves heard, forcing the public to acknowledge what has been done to them and the future they were denied because of a generation’s inability to overcome trauma.

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Stories of Sin Act as Catalysts for a Cathartic Experience

Terror in Resonance Lisa and Twelve

Considering how much they draw from Greek tragedies -- Terror in Resonance actively quotes Oedipus’s story -- these anime might also share those stories’ function. Going to the theater to watch a tragedy was a civic responsibility for Ancient Greeks, an act of communal acknowledgment of the fragility of human nature. Through Oedipus’s journey, the audience had the chance to commit a terrible transgression, admit to it and eventually atone. Similarly, anime like these offer the viewer an opportunity for darkness, viciousness and violence in a safe space that also provides them with a cathartic experience. When the last episode is over, the viewer can take a breath and go back to their life changed, almost purified.

This willingness to bend the material to the most atrocious, hidden human instincts is what makes anime so interesting and successful. It is these stories’ cathartic nature, their ability to shock and disquiet, that makes the best anime series so overwhelmingly powerful.