Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji is one of MADHOUSE’s many masterpieces. Some people may not be acquainted with this show since there really isn’t a big fanbase for gambling shows. Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji is the story of Kaiji Itou, a good-for-nothing young man who one day finds himself owing a lot of money to the wrong people. His only chance to repay his debt is by participating in underground gambling events, where his own life will be at stake. Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji is definitely aimed at a mature audience for its highly psychological content. This show explores the darkest and scariest corners of the human mind, such as greed, perversion, dishonesty and despair. Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji is a show where we’ll see the main character being beaten, humiliated and taken advantage of constantly, and even though he never loses hope and has his little victories, Kaiji is definitely not the typical triumphant hero.

Mushi are basic and mysterious forms of life that transcend what humans regard as good or evil. These entities have no purpose of being and they take many different forms. Ginko is a mushi-shi, someone who studies mushi in order to find more about them and their existence. Mushi-Shi is one of those mind-blowing shows that make you meditate on some of the deepest and most philosophical aspects of life. It has a combination of mystery, fantasy, slice of life and adventure that make for a complex and meaningful high-quality show. Mushi-Shi is a beautiful seinen anime that can teach us a lot about life.

Seinen also has a place for romance, and as it turns out, 5 Centimeters per Second is one of the best romantic seinen out there. This is the story of Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara, two middle school kids who begin to develop strong feelings for each other. Eventually, Akari has to move to a distant town, so she and Toono keep in touch mostly through mails, rarely visiting each other. The longer they are apart, the more they realize they love each other, but they also find out the distance is too great and life goes on. Will they ever be able to meet again? 5 Centimeters per Second is one of those stories that will make you cry your eyes out. Just keep in mind that this is not the typical high school love story that ends in a “happily ever after”. 5 Centimeters per Second presents a more down to Earth story that portrays in a very realistic way how love and relationships actually work… or should I say how they don’t work. Anyway, this romantic seinen is meant to appeal to those who are more emotionally mature and especially to those who’ve had some relationship experiences (whether good or bad).

Boku dake ga Inai Machi (or Erased for short) was one of this last winter’s highlights. It is about Satoru Fujinuma, a young man in his twenties who has a rather peculiar ability; every time there’s an accident around him, he’s taken back in time a few minutes to prevent it. To his surprise however, one day he’s sent back 18 years in the past into his 11 year old self. Satoru realizes he has to prevent a series of murders that occurred when he was a child in order to make his present time right. More than half of this show revolves around Satoru as a kid and his childhood friends, although that doesn’t mean this show is aimed at a young audience. Boku dake ga Inai Machi is clearly not the usual kawaii show about cute children playing around and holding hands in the park (well, they do hold hands in the park, but that’s not what this show’s about!). Boku dake ga Inai Machi is a dark and complex mystery show that will play with your mind until the very end.

An all-time classic, Berserk, tells the story of Guts (or Gatsu in Japanese), a young warrior who fights for profit, selling his sword to the highest bidder. Being a skilled and promising fighter, he is eventually recruited by the Band of the Hawk, led by the unrivaled Griffith. In his long journey alongside Griffith, Guts will finally find a purpose to fight for. Berserk is almost unarguably one of the most legendary seinen shows ever. It just has it all, a bunch of gory action, a really dark atmosphere and the most twisted and dramatic turns of events. Berserk is a magnificent tragic tale about greed, ambition, lust for power and finding one’s own path. It’s obviously no surprise why we’re so excited about Berserk 2016.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is an epic badass seinen anime. It is set in a future where humans can be transplanted from machines, enhancing their physical and cybernetic abilities. Motoko Kusanagi is a police woman belonging to the elite Section 9 unit, which fights against criminals who use this sort of cybernetic enhancements. Motoko will have to face a dangerous hacker known as The Laughing Man, who poses a real threat to everyone in Japan. GITS is a fantastic sci-fi seinen filled with action and underlying moral themes. It deals a lot with the concept of humanity and what it means to be human. Furthermore, GITS provides some insight about such philosophical and moral themes in a very dark way as it blurs the line between man and machine. The awesome action in GITS may appeal to all kinds of audiences, but its complex plot is aimed at those who are mature enough to follow it closely.

One Punch Man is an extraordinarily original show and one of the highlights of 2015. This show gives us the lamest superhero (in appearance only) we’ve seen so far. However, this bald guy with an awful taste for costumes, known as Saitama, hides the kind of power we’ve only witnessed in Dragon Ball Z. Saitama is in fact so strong that he always defeats his enemies with just one punch, regardless of how terrible they are. This is his main cause of frustration as he can no longer have a proper battle he can enjoy, and of course, it’s also what triggers the comedy in this show. Obviously, seinen is not only about gore, tragedy and dark themes. Seinen come in all genres, and comedy is not the exception. One Punch Man is an action comedy and a parody of the usual superhero show. As we would expect from a seinen anime, the comedy in One Punch Man is not silly or kawaii as in most of the shows aimed at a younger audience, but it’s rather sour and filled with irony, often mocking the traditional canon of superpowered heroes. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a sophisticated comedy with subtle humor. One Punch Man may appeal more to young adults, but it’s still absolutely ridiculous and absurd.

Steins;Gate is probably one of the most celebrated seinen anime ever. It presents a fascinating sci-fi story in which a mad scientist, Rintarou Okabe, with the help of his two friends, Mayuri and Daru, creates a machine he baptized as the Phone Microwave. It’s not long before they realize this machine can do something they never expected: send emails to the past and change the course of history. Steins;Gate is an original high-quality show that will blow your freaking mind. It deals a lot with the concepts of time travel and alternative realities or universes. Of course, the way Steins;Gate approaches these ideas are not as simple and linear as in… say, Back to the Future, but they are much more complex, mysterious and unpredictable. Steins;Gate is a brilliant adventure that is meant to captivate a mature audience with its intricate and well-developed storyline.

Psycho-Pass is a brilliant sci-fi police seinen. It takes place in Japan in the near future, where criminals are identified by special devices that analyze their mental state, known as their psycho-pass. In this way, the police can apprehend or neutralize criminals before they actually commit any crime, pretty much like Minority Report (has anyone seen that awful movie?). Psycho-Pass is the perfect example of the gray morality concept portrayed in seinen shows. One of the main themes in this anime is the fine line between good and evil, between what sets the law-abiding citizens apart from the criminals. The highly psychological content of Psycho-Pass is one of its strongest points and what mostly defines it as a seinen.

As you probably know, Tokyo Ghoul tells the story of Kaneki Ken, an 18 year old boy who’s deceived and ambushed by a female ghoul, a flesh-eating demon. Kaneki barely manages to make it out of that situation, but not without turning into a half-ghoul half-human hybrid. As such, he begins his new life trying to cope with his new self. Tokyo Ghoul’s huge success may give the idea that this show is not aimed specifically at young adults, especially considering the amount of both male and female teens that watch it. Although it is true that Tokyo Ghoul appeals to a broad audience, this is intrinsically a seinen show. And it’s not just the gore and the disturbingly peculiar characters that make it fall into this category. Tokyo Ghoul is a well-developed show with a rather complex storyline and psychological themes. There’s also hardly a distinction between good and evil, as the two races (ghouls and humans) fight each other not for justice but for their own survival. These are all particular traits of most seinen shows and they make Tokyo Ghoul one of the most representative anime of this demographic.