Summary
Before the world discovered this niche genre, Japanese animation was experimenting with concepts like cyberpunk anddark fantasy. Science fiction was often blended with the supernatural, perception was a matter of opinion, and the rules of reality would easily bend or break in the digital worlds of the future.
Mostanimated dark fantasyfrom Japan is for adults and never made it to theaters because of the dark, strange, or experimental subject matter. The 1990s was an especially prolific time for these kinds of movies, and they influenced the next generation of animated entertainment worldwide.
6The Last Unicorn
A Twisted Fairy Tale
A movie by Rankin Bass, with a script adapted from a book by Peter S. Beagle and animated by Topcraft,The Last Unicornis a classic from a unique era in animation. What makes this movie an anime production, despite the American casting and English-language storyline, is the role of Topcraft in the animation process. This company would go on to form Studio Ghibli not long afterThe Last Unicorn’s completion.
The story begins as one of lighthearted whimsy, featuring a talking butterfly reciting poetry to a unicorn in a magical wood, but a dark shadow hangs over this fairy tale. The Unicorn has realized that it’s been a very long time since she’s seen anyone else like her, and when she asks the butterfly, he tells her a terrifying story of an evil king, a demon that he keeps in his castle, and the forced bondage inflicted upon every other unicorn in the world.
5Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Futuristic Gothic Horror
The sequel to the 1985 hit that combined science fiction, dark fantasy, and Gothic horror,Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlustleans into the strengths of the first movie, plus is even more beautifully rendered with modern art and graphics. The only character that returns is D himself, the immortal Dhampir. Other characters includea gang of vampire hunters, and their quarry, Baron Meier Link, who has kidnapped Charlotte Elbourne to make her his new bride.
The twist is that Charlotte is in love with Link, and her kidnapping was staged to explain her absence and hide their real plan to return to the vampire’s home planet. The ambiguity of right and wrong is what makes the movie an interesting watch, in addition to the usual vampire-hunting intrigue.
4Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
Miyazaki’s Dark Vision
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Windis a dark vision of a possible future which also carries a powerful environmental message. This, combined with the female character as a lead, was so subversive at the time that the version of this movie that reached North America originallywas edited to a mere shadowof its former self.
The setting is based on a real location in Australia in which the wind is always steadily blowing in from the ocean. These winds keep the poisonous spores from the inland forests from reaching the coastline. The unique environment makes it one of the few places left on Earth that is safe for humans until a plane crash and an invasion bring both war and mutant bugs to Nausicaa’s doorstep. Only she and her glider, a simple but sleek contraption named Mehve, can stop them.
3Perfect Blue
Psychological Horror And Magical Realism
Perfect Bluestarts like a typical drama about a youthful pop star making the transition to a serious older performer, which is a common story in Japanese culture. Mima Kirigoe is the protagonist, and she decides to leave the J-Pop life when she’s offered a serious acting role. Not all of her fans are impressed though, with one in particular losing their mind over it.
The psychological trauma that Mima has to deal with in her new dramatic role, along with the danger of being stalked by a potentially dangerous fan, starts to take its toll on her mental state. Hallucinations and other disturbing visions start to invade her waking consciousness, confusing her old pop-star self with her new, more mature persona.
Broken mirrors, bright lights, and other visual tricks give Mima’s visionsa dark and twistedThrough the LookingGlass-esque quality,as things, people, and events from reality become distorted and strange. Then the murders start, and all the evidence seems to point to Mima, but the truth is much more sinister.
2Princess Mononoke
A Dark And Haunting Legend
Princess Mononokewas a massive hit outside of Japan, and anyone who didn’t know about Studio Ghibli by at the time of its release heard about it thanks to this film. A movie that adults and older kids can enjoy, the English dub included big-name Hollywood voice actors like Billy Bob Thorton and Claire Danes, and the music and animation were the best Studio Ghibli had to offer.
The story of Japanese myth and legend features the hero, Ahitaka, who is cursed when saving his village from a mysterious and malicious demon in the shape of a boar. He is destined to leave his village, now an outcast, and all he can do is follow the trail of the boar to the west and hopefully find a cure. The movie as a whole is about the strugglebetween old-fashioned beliefs meeting new ones, but the struggle on the ground is one of gods and magic versus an emperor who believes in eternal life.
1Ninja Scroll
Demons And Magic In Medieval Japan
At the time, Japanese animation had a global reputation for the science fiction aesthetic and futuristic settings. What setNinja Scrollapartfrom other anime of the timewas its Medieval setting, specifically the Edo Period. The movie’s dark fantasy elements were uniquely Japanese.
The main characters are Kagero, a ninja with a mission, and Jubei, a wandering ronin forced to work with a government agent who shares a common goal with Kagero. There’s some realistic political intrigue mixed in with the horror and fantasy of fighting demons and black magic, as the heroes use all their skills to survive and find the Shogun of the Dark.
