Anime Newbie Looking For a Political Anime?

[Marshenheim]

Hey everyone,

I'm a relative newbie to anime and just finished watching Death Note. (Absolutely loved the mind-games element of it!) :)

After a bit of googling I got the impression that anime covers a vast range of genres, and discovered that there are literally thousands of series.

So, I decided I needed a bit of help tracking down an anime that I would enjoy.

The loves of my life are politics, economics and law. I was wondering if anyone on here would be able to recommend me a good anime that incorporates any of the following themes:

1. International relations (War, trade deals, etc. Anything like that)
2. A political election
3. A revolution
4. A legal anime (An anime centering around a trial, a court case or a lawyer? Something like the Phoenix Wright game?)

I'd appreciate any help you can give;

thanks in advance,

Marshenheim :)

[Gjallarhorn]

It was never animated, but the Akumetsu manga is probably right up your alley. Giving too much of a summary will spoil a good amount of the beginning, but it's about a young man who uses terrorism and assassination to incite a political revolution in the midst of an election in order to "destroy all evil"; there's a very big twist here, but it's introduced early on, so it's best to read and find out. Most of the political figures shown are based on actually Japanese politicians from before and during the time the manga was published.


Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and the sequel series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GiG follow a elite, top-secret intelligence agency called Section 9. The first series has them dealing with a mysterious individual ("terrorist", if you use the term loosely) known as the Laughing Man and his connection to a kidnapping and corporate profiteering. The second series has Section 9 dealing with an anti-government terrorist group called the Individual Eleven, and an uprising by World War IV refugees in Japan partially orchestrated by a member of the Individual Eleven.

[mrpineapple]

Check out jinroh, it's all about secret political factions, revolting and etc.


It's available dubbed and subbed. And pretty easy to grab a copy of.

[Sparks Of Logic]

If you want a really good political anime: Code Geass. This has to be by-far my favorite anime about a revolution. There is also Gundam Seed (though the plot gets a bit complex toward the end), Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (regarding the Ishbal), Spice and Wolf (a decent chunk of the anime revolves around the economy), and Origin: Spirits Of the past (the battle between humans and nature could be seen as an international relation although it's more of a cultural value kind of thing).

[ParaParaJMo]

Gundam 00, especially season 1, relates to modern day politics in a post 9-11 sense.

Code Geass is certainly something I strongly recommend.

Berserk also has some political undertones as well, mostly in the Golden Age story arc.

I also recommend a manga called Adolf which takes place in WWII.

Akira addresses World War II Japan in its own kind of way, but I strongly recommend you read the manga.

[AshureeChan]

Like a couple others. I'd recommend Code Geass it has quite a few similarities to DN.

[Kona Chan]

You should watch Zipang. I don't have watched it yet but a friend who learn political sciences had recommand it to me. If I remember well, the main subject is a war in south america.
I think that it's what you're looking for.

[Alice Lost]

I would recommend Madlax if you are looking for an Anime on DVD. It's about a war in a fictional country.

[marvel_phoenix]

Maybe Pumpkin Scissors? It's about a propaganda field team during what looks to be WW2-esque Europe. I've only watched the first episode, but I got the feeling that it might pick up after a bit.

Also Ghost in the Shell. I watched it when I was younger, and didn't quite get some of it, but watched it again more recently and caught much of what had gone over my head before. Just some warning if you're a younger viewer.

Maybe Baccano. I haven't really watched it, but it sounds like political espionage.

And Hetalia! Haven't wat he'd it at all, but want to. (Some people on here have made it sound pretty good.)

[Timekiller]

Jormungand. Adventures of a band of arms dealers selling military weaponry stuff around the globe. Contains wars, lots of gunfire and IRL weaponry references. Reminds me of Black Lagoon. Might be something you'd fancy.

I'll also vouch for Code Geass being a good recommendation on account that it satisfies points 1 and 3 of your list, and is awesome on its own.

You guys seem to be pushing it a little bit, by the way. Baccano, while a great anime I would recommend everyone should watch - does not have what they're looking for. It's a prohibition-era comedy gangster anime. Same with FMA - the Ishval war is just something that's mentioned throughout the whole series, while the anime isn't strictly speaking about it.

By the way, shouldn't this entire thread be part of this sticky: http://www.animeforum.com/showthread.php?85734-Recommendation-Request-Thread.-Read-the-first-post ?