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There are some anime that are so weird and psychedelic that they feel like fever dreams. These types of anime either fly by in a blur or are so bizarre that they appear to be elaborate illusions, and discovering that they are not often freaks out fans.
Whether it's the changing styles and parody show that is Pop Team Epic, the utterly surreal and prophetic Serial Experiments Lain, or the randomness of FLCL, plenty of anime have felt like they never happened or otherwise are strange enough to warrant a second look.
This list will reminisce about 10 anime that are so out there they might as well have been fever dreams.
Disclaimer: Spoiler warnings are included for all these anime. The opinions are reflective of only the author.
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FLCL, and 9 other anime so out there they feel like fever dreams
1) Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo
An anime where the main character fights using nose hair indeed belongs on a list like this. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo stars the titular Bo-Bobo as he and his unlikely group of friends fight off an empire determined to make everyone bald. It's about as much of a plot summary as can be given.
The series parodies everything at the time from Fist of the North Star to Toriyama directed anime like Dragon Ball. The crazy, zany story mixed with the ridiculous fighting styles and characters had watchers laughing. The anime lasted from 2003-2005 and probably got lost in the shuffle, but is still worth a second glance for how ridiculous it is.
2) Pop Team Epic
Another fever dream of an anime that surprisingly got a second season is Pop Team Epic. This is more of a sketch comedy show that doesn't really have a plot per say, save for it revolving around two high school girls named Popuko and Pipimi.
Together, they throw the world into complete chaos while having all sorts of hilarious misadventures. These include mocking anime tropes with a completely made-up anime for the series and parodying everything from Street Fighter to Toei Animation anime. It's considered a fever dream because it changes animation styles and changing voice actors for the two girls sometimes in the same sketch.
3) FLCL
If any early 2000s anime fans don't remember FLCL, that's not their fault. The original FLCL came and went from 2000 to 2001 in a six-episode-long OVA. It would indeed prove popular enough retroactively to receive four spin-off series and two movies. For the sake of brevity, this entry will focus on the original series.
The original series revolved around Naota Nandaba, a 12-year-old boy whose life was literally violently interrupted when a maniac on a Vespa named Haruko Haruhara collided with him. Haruko and Naota both then have to live together after surviving a monster attack, following one coming out of Naota's head. It's exactly as weird as it sounds.
4) Paranoia Agent
One anime that definitely hit people like Lil Slugger with his bent baseball bat and rolled off into the sunset the same way was Paranoia Agent. A horror anime regarding Lil Sluggers crimes, this series only lasted several months in 2004 and left people to believe it either never happened or went way too fast to leave any real impression.
As everyone and everything has a secret to conceal, the investigation becomes increasingly derailed as it progresses. While everything comes together in the end, and Lil' Slugger's ultimate goal is revealed, it's incredibly weird upon a first watch through and requires a second watch to get all the details into place.
5) Land of the Lustrous
Land of the Lustrous is best described as Steven Universe of anime, but more a Seinen manga and more gem focused. The similarities are obvious: both shows involve genderless crystalline lifeforms called gems that fight for survival, everyone is traumatized, and there are differences between Earth gems and gems of other places.
The gems reside on a planet devoid of humanity, the conflicts are with Moon people, fusion is the literal end of a personality, and the entire story is rated mature despite the absence of blood.
6) REDLINE
If anyone loves a good race in space, REDLINE is for them. This anime film bankrupted the production studio Madhouse because it did not recoup its budget, but it is widely regarded as a cult classic. The film is basically, as some people have lovingly described it - if Speed Racer, Space Dandy, Wacky Races, F-Zero, and Jet Set Radio all got together and took hallucinogens.
REDLINE is about a racer named Sweet JP, who ends up getting into the titular race almost by complete accident after his racer "malfunctioned" just shy of the finish line. He'll have to contend with other, better, dirtier racers to win. Also highly recommended for aficionados of hand-drawn animation, the production of this film took seven years.
7) Summertime Rendering
Living, dying, and repeating is both the plot of the live-action alien invasion movie Edge of Tomorrow and the surreal time-travel anime Summertime Rendering. Summer Time Rendering is an odd tale regarding a teen named Shinpei Ajiro who used to live on the island of Hitogashima. As he tries to attend his friend's funeral, he's haunted by rumors of a legend of supernatural beings that steal identities and take people's place.
He laughs it off as a bad joke, until his best friend's sister is killed right in front of him by a clone of hersel. He wakes up back on the ferry en route to the funeral and slowly realizes he's trapped in a loop. It takes a lot of skill and detective work to outwit the mysterious threat killing and replacing people. Well worth a watch for anyone who likes time loops.
8) Serial Experiments Lain
No list regarding the idea of strange or surreal would exist without Serial Experiments Lain. The entire anime is really, really considered prophetic about the internet and the nature of human communication and community. It's also considered extremely unconventional to the point where many were convinced it was some kind of prank.
But as the line from an e-mail sent by a recently dead student named Chia Yomoda states, it's no prank. 14-year-old Lain Iwakura quietly begins to investigate into a virtual world mainly used for communication called The Wired. Everything opens up with only one irrefutable truth: Nothing, and nobody is ever what they seem.
9) Welcome to the NHK
Welcome to the NHK is a series focusing on mental health and subverting the somewhat friendly expectations of introverted hikkomori by showcasing the damaging effects of isolation. The story primarily follows a young college dropout named Tatsuhiro Satou, gradually becoming delusional after his many years of isolation and his efforts to heal, thanks to friends and neighbors.
Tatsuhiro's struggles with becoming a normal, functioning part of society are incredibly relatable. Likewise, the story isn't afraid to showcase the harsh realities of mental illness through emotional narratives of struggling even with basic tasks like cleaning or making oneself presentable, or making real-life friends.
It likewise deals with self-harm topics, so a warning for those that want to watch it.
10) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Wait, why is Haruhi here? The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya made this list despite still being well known. It's here due to the fact that the "Endless Eight" series of episodes, where a very pleasant day was repeated with only slight differences every time in a time loop, happened and garnered a heavy negative reception.
Other things include Haruhi herself being incredibly powerful with all manner of things coming to life like aliens, espers, and time travel. This arguably contributes to people thinking Haruhi was only ever used for AMVs alongside Lucky Star and the like, but it's still fondly remembered by fans as a cute and random escapade.
Thus concludes the list of anime that were so weird and chaotic that they might as well have been fever dreams. Sometimes shows will come and go so quick or be so strange that people would think they were just tricks of the imagination given how weird they were. If any readers care to add any others, feel free to post them in the comments.
