Top 10 Most Thematically Depressing Animated Television Shows.
Bumming yourself out can be kind of cathartic.
Despite frequently involving bright colors, cartoon animals, and cutesy aesthetics, not all animated television shows are made to make you happy. Some shows are very intentionally created to make you feel terrible, and we’re going to look at the ten animated t.v shows that accomplish that task most successfully.
10. Avatar: The Last Airbender
The majority of Avatar: The Last Airbender is pretty uplifting, but that’s exactly what makes the times that its not uplifting hit so hard. Avatar also involves some very mature theme for a show intended for children, such as oppressive military regimes and state-sponsored forceful re-education camps.
9. Over The Garden Wall
Disguised as an inane, fairytale-esque journey of two young boys (one of whom is voiced by Elijah Wood, which pretty dang cool), Over The Garden Wall doesn’t dress up it’s undertones of death and decay. This show is willing to march right down the uncanny valley.
8. Adventure Time
Although it usually ends on a positive note and is intended for younger audiences, Adventure Time is another show that manages to tackle some very dark and challenging themes. Reckoning with death and struggles for purpose and self-worth are very prominent themes throughout the show. Then again, so are talking candy people.
7. Megalobox
A modern animation given a particular 90’s aesthetic reminiscent of shows like Cowboy Bebop, Megalobox lulls the viewer into comfort with a good, old-fashioned story about boxing in it’s first season and then strips the wool away for it’s second season when it reminds us that violence has deep consequences, even when its for sport. Themes such as addiction, class-oppression, and post-traumatic stress take center stage.
6. Castlevania
Okay this one’s pretty obvious if you’ve seen it. Lending itself generously to a 16th century Gothic aesthetic, Castlevania skillfully represents the bleakness of the time period, all with— you know —vampires and monsters and what not thrown in.
5. Death Parade
Death Parade explores what constitutes morality in the eyes of divine judgement and asks if even God is capable of truly determining an action as right or wrong. Yeah I’ll just let that one hang in the air for a second.
4. Bojack Horseman
A harrowing tale of addiction, selfishness, and failure dressed up with bright colors and talking animals. Bojack Horseman has a particular way emphasizing the worst parts of human nature and vigorously explores the fallout of leaving this nature unchecked. Which is somewhat ironic, because again, most of the characters are animals.
3. Rick and Morty
Cosmic Nihilism is at the forefront of Rick and Morty, a show that asks what is truly significant in the face of the infinite. Characters in Rick and Morty struggle to find meaning in a world that aggressively strips away any illusions of sanctity and significance.
2. Invincible
Based off a graphic novel series of the same name, Invincible asks the viewer very difficult questions about the nature of power and the righteousness of its application. It also seems to hold a mirror up to our cultural obsession with violence and demands to know if we’re really so fond of it. It’s also animated exactly like the old DC Justice League cartoons, so it can ruin your childhood at the same time.
1. Attack on Titan
Japanese writing and culture has historically had a deep respect and reverence for sadness, often finding a profound beauty in it. Attack on Titan embodies this wholeheartedly as it closely examines the nature of war and suffering that results from it. In fact, it’s so sad that I wasn’t even able to prepare a quip for the end of this paragraph.
So yeah, there you have it. 10 thematically depressing animated television roughly put into an ordered list. I don’t really know which is the most depressing, it’s pretty difficult to compare types of grief, but either way, this list provides a pretty comprehensive start if you ever feel inclined to make yourself just a bit sad. Check me out right here on substack if you want to read more.
I liked that you kept a lighthearted voice for the topics you chose, and that you didn't try to stay serious along with the topic, because it would've been hard to get through otherwise. I liked your formatting and how you went from ten to one, because it made me want to stick around until the end, and I'm glad I did because Attack on Titan is awesome. Very, very sad. But awesome. I liked all of the gifs that you chose because it helped with the lighthearted, funny tone! 😊
Hello Teo! I thought your voice was great, but was a little unclear at times. You started off with a little humor and would go to sarcastic so I would pick either one and start strong with that voice. You would also tend to get wordy at times. Like instead of saying, "a show intended for children" I would just say "a children's show". This was very hard for me too so don't worry! It's really hard to get out of that habit and "let go" a little. I really enjoyed your topic and I thought you were engaging. The format did make sense and was clear and consistent throughout. The images you chose were great! I like that they seemed to play off of each other like how you chose Zuko saying "that's rough buddy" as you are taking about serious topics just in the paragraph above.