Dystopian anime come in many forms. Some are near-future and utterly possible while others are set well in the past and utilize fantastical beasts and phenomena to show just how bad the places our heroes occupy really are.
The best all have many things in common: a brutal, crushing reality that everyone is forced to accept; omnipresent oppression or struggle from forces greater than the protagonists; and, above all else, heroes who dare to defy that status quo and try to find a way to make society, or even the world, better. With a little luck, the strongest heroes in dystopian anime are capable of changing their worlds.
10 Akane Tsunemori Never Lets Her Psycho-Pass Cloud (Psycho-Pass)
In the near-future world of Psycho-Pass, Japan is a police state run by an omnipresent AI known as the Sibyl System that measures everyone's potential to be a criminal via their Crime Coefficient. Those with high Crime Coefficients are often assigned to police squads under the supervision of someone with an impeccable Psycho-Pass, like heroine Akane Tsunemori. Even after suffering numerous tragedies, she holds fast to her morals and does her best to do everything by the book, inspiring those under her command to do — and be — better.
9 Guts Withstands The Horrors Of His World & Never Backs Down (Berserk)
In Berserk, brutal deaths, demons, or the cruelty of your fellow humans are upsettingly commonplace for many people and the citizens of this world have come to accept that. It's an effective dystopic setup. But Guts, the greatsword-wielding hero, is brave enough to challenge that status quo.
Guts never stops in his quest to slay demons and protect his allies, even when misfortune befalls him at every turn. His mastery of sword-fighting, great strength, steadfast spirit, and arm-mounted auto crossbow make him one of the toughest protagonists in the genre.
8 Major Kusanagi Stands Up To Cybercrime Of All Kinds (Ghost In The Shell)
In the futuristic dystopia of Ghost in the Shell, Section 9 are the first line of defense against cybercrime and their field commander is "Major" Motoko Kusanagi. Major is a cyborg. The only pieces remaining of her human body are her brain and spinal cord, but while her prosthetic body appears generic, she possesses incredible skills. A proficient hacker, she's also a formidable hand-to-hand combatant and an expert marksman who's capable of shooting down bullets in flight.
7 Reg Is Strong Enough To Withstand The Abyss & Destroy The Indestructible (Made in Abyss)
The Abyss is a multilayered pit in the ground in Made in Abyss, with strange monsters and inexplicable phenomena populating its deepest levels. The further you descend, the likelier you are that the Abyss will change you in some way, and everyone in this world knows someone who was lost exploring. Reg, a mysterious boy with no memories who possesses an arm cannon, somehow survived deep levels of the Abyss alone. His Incinerator is powerful enough to destroy monsters and even end the tortured existence of Nanachi's immortal friend Mitty.
6 Senku's Brain Is His Most Powerful Weapon (Dr. Stone)
When everyone in the world of Dr. Stone is suddenly petrified, Earth essentially stands still for nearly four thousand years. The first to awaken from this stone sleep is Senku, a teen genius who quickly sets about finding a cure for the world's ails.
He finds himself in opposition very quickly to the anarcho-primitivist Tsukasa, who believes that the world is better off without adults in it, as they already ruined it once. Senku has a scientific solution to every problem he faces, always knowing the perfect formula or chemical reaction to save the day.
5 Vash The Stampede Is The Humanoid Typhoon Of The Wasteland (Trigun)
In Trigun, power is failing across the world and lawless gangs control small frontier towns. Bounty hunters run wild, hoping to find someone worth kidnapping or killing. It's every man for himself — but Vash the Stampede is no everyman. Incredibly quick and bullseye precise with his signature revolvers, Vash doesn't kill, but it doesn't mean he's easy to beat. His Angel Arm is capable of incredible destruction, too, destroying whole cities with just one blast. It's no wonder he can take down gangs of assassins singlehandedly.
4 Kenshiro Can Destroy Anyone In The Wastes With His Bare Hands (Fist of the North Star)
The post-apocalyptic nightmare world of Fist of the North Star is littered with lawlessness and violence, with everyone out to save their own skin — save for our hero, Kenshiro, master of the Hokuto Shinken.
This deadly martial art focuses on attacking the vital weak points of one's opponent, causing near-instantaneous (and gratuitously violent) deaths. Kenshiro uses his skills for good, beating up on the ne'er-do-wells of the wasteland, and his command of instant kills makes him a tough opponent even for other practitioners of the art.
3 Eren Jaeger Possesses The Most Powerful Titan (Attack on Titan)
The world of Attack on Titan is nightmarish at best, with the ever-present threat of the Titan menace keeping ordinary citizens in fear for their lives. Despite facing personal heartbreak and grief as he watched his family and everything he knew destroyed by Titans, Eren Jaeger (with the help of friends Mikasa and Armin) never lets it keep him down. When he realized the power of the Titan lurking within him, he used it to change the world, becoming the most feared person on the globe — and for good reason.
2 Asuka Is Strong Enough To Stand Up To The Angels (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Neon Genesis Evangelion is about a world falling to ruin. Mysterious destructive entities known as Angels wreak widespread devastation on the world as humanity looks on in horror — except for NERV, a special team of pilots capable of controlling mechs known as Evangelion.
Asuka Langley-Sohryu is a very capable pilot, and when she's in her EVA unit, she can go toe-to-toe with the toughest Angels. She's not infallible, but while she may falter, her indomitable will and control of her mech make her a force to be reckoned with.
1 Simon's Mastery Of Spiral Energy Lets Him Fight Enemies Who Use Galaxies As Weapons (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)
In Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Simon's true strength is arguably the power of friendship, but his master of Spiral Energy is what allows him to perform incredible feats in his mech, Gurren Lagann. Spiral Energy is the power of living beings, and it gives Simon the strength to use Gurren Lagann's powerful drill and save the world from the monstrous Beastmen. As the series progresses, he grows the mech to gargantuan sizes and wields immense power to defeat his enemies and protect the entire universe.