Virtual reality is a common concept that is often explored frequently in science fiction. Video games are the most obvious implementation, but many different applications for virtual reality are explored in both fiction and the real world.

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Virtual reality is used fairly often in science fiction media, and anime is no different. A good deal of anime that get involved with future technology often touch on virtual or augmented reality in some way, with some interpretations being darker than others. Here are some VR anime that explore the darker side of technology.

Updated January 3, 2024 by Danny Guan:Virtual reality continues to be a common subject in popular media, especially as the technology becomes more and more viable. There are many questions and worries that people have about virtual reality that have been explored in many different stories, and anime is home to plenty of them. Here are some more anime that take a look at the dark side of virtual reality.

1 Expelled From Paradise

A Look At Life In Virtual Reality

In the space station DEVA, all inhabitants have no physical bodies and instead live as data in a virtual world. Angela Balzac is an agent of DEVA sent out to a ruined Earth to find the hacker Frontier Setter, gaining a physical body to do so. As Angela gets used to life in a physical body, she starts to learn the value of living in an organic world.

Expelled from Paradise is a sci-fi anime film that explores a world where most of humanity now lives in a virtual world. While there are benefits, there are aspects of human life that are lost, such as the need or desire to eat food.

2 Log Horizon

The Ramifications Of A Virtual Existence

While playing the immensely popular MMORPG Elder Tale, thirty thousand players are transported into the game's virtual world as their avatars, with no way of escaping the game. As confusion and worry about their possible fates spreads, Shiroe and his guild Log Horizon do their best to make the most of their new life for the foreseeable future.

Log Horizon is an isekai anime that sees its main characters sucked into a virtual reality world. Much of the story focuses on the consequences of living in a virtual world, such as a lack of permanent death, leading to a rise in player killings.

3 Zegapain

A Sense Of False Reality

Kyo Sogoru lives a normal life until he discovers a girl named Shizuno Misaki, whom only he can see. In exchange for a favor, Kyo begins piloting a giant robot and fighting against aliens called Gards-orm. As he engages in life-or-death battles, he starts to realize that the place he called home may not have been real at all.

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Zegapain is a mecha anime that initially does not seem like it has much to do with virtual reality. However, fans soon realize that's not the case, as Kyo slowly learns that his world is not real. This existential look at what it is to live in a virtual world without knowing is quite an interesting look at the concept.

4 Real Drive

A Reality Affected By The Virtual World

In the year 2061, human society and civilization have become completely synchronized with a massive network called the Meta-Real Network, usually referred to as the Metal. As the Metal grew into a sea of information, the virtual world and reality began to merge, creating aberrations. To investigate these aberrations, cyber diver Masamichi Haru braves the sea that is the Metal, searching for the answer.

Real Drive is a sci-fi anime created by Masamune Shirow, the legendary creator behind the Ghost in the Shell franchise. While the technological aspects are not as cyberpunk as the 1995 classic, it still provides an incredibly interesting look at virtual reality and the problems it represents.

5 Den-noh Coil

A Dark Mystery In Augmented Reality

In the near future of 2026, virtual reality glasses known as Den-noh Megane have become all the rage, allowing its wearer to impose artifacts in the Den-noh world on the real world. Yuko "Yasako" Okonogi moves to Daikoku City, a city with the best technological infrastructure. She soon joins a group of kids in exploring cases surrounding the corruption of the virtual world, and as she continues to explore these mysteries, she realizes that she is missing memories of her previous time in this city.

At first, Den-noh Coil starts as a sort of slice-of-life style anime with very little stakes. However, the story slowly begins to delve into the various mysteries behind the virtual world the series is set in, and the story takes dark turns at times.

6 Robotics;Notes

A Conspiracy Hidden In Augmented Reality

Akiho Senomiya's dream is to create a real giant robot in the image of her favorite anime, Gunvarrel. However, the only other club member is her childhood friend, Kaito Yashio, who is only interested in playing games with his PokeCom. As Kaito is roped into helping Akiho build her robot, he becomes wrapped up in a conspiracy involving an AI he can only see in augmented reality.

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Robotics;Notes is an anime based on a visual novel from the same company that created the legendary Steins;Gate, though it is focused on different elements of science fiction. While the series might seem to be more focused on robots, the core of this series' story involves augmented reality.

7 Sword Art Online

A Virtual Trap Where Death Is A Real Danger

Sword Art Online is a brand-new virtual reality MMORPG utilizing the NerveGear, a virtual reality headset that stimulates all five of the user's senses. On launch day, a large number of players log in, only to discover that they are unable to log out. They are told that they must beat all 100 floors of Aincrad to be free and that dying in the game or removing the headset forcefully means dying in real life.

Sword Art Online is an incredibly popular anime series that has spawned several series, all based around virtual reality MMOs. While the idea behind its main premise isn't exactly original, its exploration of these concepts is quite dark.

8 .hack//Sign

Trapped In A Virtual Reality

After a catastrophic event that involves a virus attacking and locking off access to the internet, a virtual reality MMORPG known as The World is launched along with the return of the internet, allowing players to delve into a fantasy world where they can make their character however they want. A player named Tsukasa wakes up one day and discovers that he has been trapped within the game, with no way of logging out. As he searches for the reason why he is stuck in the game, he starts to learn about the secret mysteries behind The World.

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.hack//Sign is a part of the .hack multimedia project and is a direct precursor to the .hack video games. The series focuses less on the fantasy world of the game and more on the mystery of Tsukasa's current identity and why he ended up this way.

9 Ghost In The Shell

A World Where Digital And Physical Are Ambiguous

In the future, cybernetic technology has become incredibly commonplace. Most humans have undergone some kind of cyberization, with the most extreme examples leaving some cyborgs with no human parts except for their brains. As a high-ranking member of Public Security Section 9, Major Motoko Kusanagi encounters a bizarre case that causes her to question the depth of her humanity.

Ghost in the Shell is a sci-fi series that explores many aspects of science fiction, including cybernetic enhancement and digitization. Virtual reality is touched on when some of the characters discuss leaving the physical world behind and becoming a being of pure information, existing only in the world of data.

10 Serial Experiments Lain

A Dark Journey To The Virtual World

Lain Iwakura is a reserved and quiet girl who one day receives a bizarre message from her former classmate Chisa Yomoda, who claims that she gave up her physical body so that she could exist in the Wired, a virtual world where God exists. Intrigued by the message, Lain decides to attempt to access the world herself.

Serial Experiments Lainis a sci-fi horror series that explores the concept of virtual reality in many thought-provoking ways. Surreal, strange, and experimental, the series was almost certainly ahead of its time in both concept and execution.