There have been significant advancements in the medium of anime and each decade has a distinct feel when it comes to the look and story of its content. There are many formative anime series that made their debut in the 1990s, but it’s also a decade that feels like a real turning point when it comes to the tone of certain anime.
There is no shortage of edgy anime programs that indulge in particular stereotypes, and the ‘90s are a period of time where edginess reigned supreme. There are many shows from the decade that now stand out even more because of their aggressively edgy nature.
10 The Laughing Salesman Taunts His Clients Through Broken Opportunities
There are just slightly more than 100 episodes of The Laughing Salesman, an anthology series from the late 1980s and early '90s that operates like a much edgier version of The Twilight Zone. Every episode follows Fukuzou Moguro's attempts to improve the life of beleaguered individuals. However, the solutions he provides always have tragic twists that leave these individuals much worse off than where they started. The Laughing Salesman doesn't feel like a horror series or allude to the fact that darkness lies ahead, but Moguro definitely takes a vindictive glee in dooming his "clients."
9 The ‘90s JoJo's Bizarre Adventure OVA Lives In Darkness
Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the biggest anime series of all time, and its sixth saga, Stone Ocean, has received an anime adaptation while the manga continues to churn out new content. Before the "proper" JoJo's anime, two short OVA series were produced that specifically focus on Stardust Crusaders material. The 1993 OVAs mostly focus on DIO and the evils that fill his castle, which is highly edgy material. These OVAs also feature work from Satoshi Kon and Katsuhiro Otomo, who certainly have experience with edgy villains.
8 Yu Yu Hakusho Turns Punks Into Demon Slayers
Yu Yu Hakusho is a shonen series that’s highly emblematic of the ‘90s, right down to its character designs, color palette, and musical score. Yu Yu Hakusho never gets too aggressive with its edginess, but it’s still baked into the anime to some extent.
The whole adventure begins with juvenile delinquent Yusuke Urameshi getting run over by a car, and it doesn’t shy away from deaths that leave the main characters emotionally fragile. Yu Yu Hakusho’s later episodes focus on tournament battles, but ideas like Elder Toguro’s parasitic infection of his brother or how Yusuke wrestles with his demon form still feature heavily.
7 Blue Gender’s Fractured World Has Little Room For Joy
Blue Gender is a bleak hybrid of mecha and alien tropes that feels like the perfect series to end the '90s and transition into a new decade. Blue Gender looks at a world that's been so decimated by alien attacks that humans have run away and found solace on a Second Earth. The extraterrestrial Blue are still a devastating problem, and Blue Gender looks at displaced heroes who often let their faults and fears control them. These saviors aren’t seasoned veterans, but rather the last resort. There's an oppressive feeling that dominates the storytelling.
6 Berserk’s Brooding Hero And Bloody Battles Are Edge Incarnate
Kentaro Miura’s Berserk manga is mandatory reading for any dark fantasy fan, and while there have been multiple anime adaptation attempts, their middling success is a testament to how Miura’s detailed artwork is such a vital part of what makes Berserk work. The Berserk anime from the 1990s isn’t perfect, but it gets a lot right, including Guts’ stoic and reserved attitude as well as the brutal and exaggerated nature of his fights against demons. Berserk does well with these edgy stereotypes, but they’re still very much present.
5 Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective Follows An Amnesiac Vampire Detective
Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective is an anime from 1998 that often gets overlooked, but it presents a unique story that combines elements of the horror genre with a hard-boiled detective narrative. Shido Tatsuhiko is both a vampire and a private detective who works to take out the threat of the bloodsucking Nightbreed.
There's a dark atmosphere that Nightwalker is never able to escape from, and certain elements like Shido's amnesia and his complex relationship with Cain, the one who's responsible for turning him into a vampire, push the story into edgy territory.
4 Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Introduces Emo Mobile Suit Pilots
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has more than 50 years of a legacy to its name, and it continues to dominate the mecha genre with its constant expansions to its universe. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing has gained a large amount of success since it’s the first Gundam series to get major play in North America. Gundam Wing’s presence on Toonami’s late-night anime block speaks to its inherent edginess. Heero Yuy is the poster child for this, especially when the series begins and he rips up Relena’s invitation and proceeds to threaten to kill her.
3 Trigun’s Action Slowly Gets Consumed By Its Hero’s Paralyzing Guilt
Trigun begins as a very prototypical action series that introduces an astounding vigilante marksman who holds a mythic reputation and a tremendous bounty on his head. However, Trigun slowly begins to show that Vash the Stampede’s public image is very much a veneer for a tortured soul who laments the many lives that he’s taken. Trigun has some amazing fight sequences, but there are also scenes where Vash just cries over his pain while he’s alone in a room. Add to that the Gung-Ho-Guns, who are all extremely heightened and edgy mercenaries, and Trigun fits the edgy anime bill.
2 Serial Experiments Lain Proves The Digital Dangers Of Infinite Freedom
Serial Experiments Lain is a 13-episode meditation on identity, control, and one's legacy, yet it's expressed in a nihilistic and prescient manner. Lain Iwakura is a bored high school student whose life opens up after she joins The Wired and achieves a certain level of martyrdom as a digital figure who is far greater than her human form. Lain has a lot to say, but its look into how individuals can willingly disappear into the internet and find solace (or fear) in the existence of virtual avatars aligns with a lot of modern edgy behavior.
1 Neon Genesis Evangelion Is Filled With Broken, Fragile Characters
Neon Genesis Evangelion made its debut in the ‘90s, but it’s continued to amaze and confound audiences for decades, right up to 2021’s concluding Rebuild of Evangelion feature film series. Evangelion examines high-minded questions about power, grief, and sacrifice, all through the conduit of subversive mecha battles. Shinji Ikari, the show’s hero, is an endlessly lost and passive individual. There are incredible stakes at play in Evangelion, but the anime regularly retreats into its characters’ minds to analyze their trauma. Shinji’s self-destructive thoughts and the motivations that ultimately drive his father are the definitions of edgy.