Various anime series that portray intriguing and mind-bending conspiracies are popular among anime fans, as they show a world where the unexpected is often commonplace. With twists and turns at every corner, anime series portraying conspiracies tend to put fans on their toes, excited and, at times, fearful of what dark mystery will be revealed.

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Shows like Psycho-Pass and Code Geass portray the government as the sovereign form of justice and order; however, institutions with the most power seldom have the best interests of their citizens at heart, and so they often have deep, dark conspiracies in place so that they can control the masses.

10 Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex

In a futuristic world where cybernetics can be fully transplanted to replace human flesh, humans now roam the streets with enhanced strength and reflexes. While this has brought untold benefits to humanity, it has also increased the crime rate as many criminals take advantage of the enhanced prowess machine transplants produce to commit crimes.

To curb the growing crime rate, the Japanese government created Section 9, an independent police unit made purposefully to defeat such dangerous criminals. However, as Section 9 investigates various crimes and apprehends various criminals, they discover a ton of government cover-ups.

9 Steins; Gate

Inventing various futuristic gadgets, Okabe Rintaro, Mayuri, and Daru come together to form the Future Gadget Research Laboratory. However, the most interesting of these gadgets is undoubtedly the Phone Microwave. A device capable of sending and receiving messages from the future.

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While an interesting piece of tech, being able to interact with the future puts Rintaro and his friends at risk as the international organization SERN seeks to monopolize time travel. With his greatest invention becoming a danger to even himself, Rintaro must find a way to deal with the various organizations that want his technology.

8 Code Geass

Lelouch Vi Britannia, a prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, revolts against his father after Japan, now known as Area 11, is overtaken by the Britannian Empire. With the country in decline under Britannia’s tyrannical rule, Lelouch stands up.

At first, Lelouch is powerless to face the Britannian Empire; however, after getting the mysterious ability of Geass, which allows him to bend others to his will, Lelouch takes on the identity of Zero, a masked vigilante. As Lelouch gets closer to freeing Area 11, he realizes that things are not what they seem, and he is embroiled in a conspiracy like no other.

7 Monster

The genius surgeon Dr. Kenzo Tenma has his life set up for success as he is admired by his family and peers and is set to marry a beautiful wife. However, after saving an orphaned boy named Johan Liebert, who was wheeled into his hospital, Tenma’s world comes crashing down as the boy goes on to unleash a murderous rampage.

With Johan revealed to be a psychopath, Tenma would take it upon himself to stop him and free himself of his guilt. Unfortunately, Tenma discovers a conspiracy at hand when he discovers the dark organization that links him and Johan together.

6 The Heroic Legend Of Arslan

Young prince Arslan suddenly has his home taken over after his father is betrayed and the neighboring kingdom of Lusitania takes over. Running from his pursuers, Arslan gathers allies who will fight with him to take back his country.

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However, as a young and naive prince, Arslan faces a ton of hardship as he navigates his way through the immense politics and betrayal that come with ruling a kingdom. While the young ruler simply strives for justice, he must experience war and deadly politics while trying to retain his benevolence and principles.

5 Terror In Resonance

Through a series of terrorist attacks carried out in Tokyo by two teenagers known as Nine and Twelve, this anime series depicts a conspiracy. Using the moniker sphinx, the teenagers carry out a series of attacks but leave riddles and clues for the police and investigation authorities to find.

As the police solve these mystery riddles, they find a web of hidden experiments and government cover-ups. Racing against time, Nine and Twelve are determined to expose the corrupt government system that created them and the purpose behind their actions.

4 Ergo Proxy

After a global catastrophe doomed humanity thousands of years ago, humans now live inside domes, with life outside being impossible. Now, in a post-apocalyptic world, AutoReivs, human-like robots, have been created and live alongside humans. However, after the Cogito Virus spreads, these robots gain sentience, and they threaten to disrupt the delicate balance between humans and machines.

Sent to investigate this phenomenon, Re-I Mayer quickly finds that a deeper conspiracy heralded by the government is at play. This becomes particularly obvious when Re-I uncovers the true mystery behind beings called Proxies and their origins.

3 Psycho-Pass

After the enactment of the Sibyl System, the way threats to society were ascertained and neutralized changed. The Sibyl System determines the threat level of an individual by scanning their mental state—the psychopass—and determining a threat based on that.

While this means that even before a crime is committed, those who have a chance of committing such a crime are already apprehended, very few seem to object to it. However, after Inspector Tsunemori Akane discovers that the Sibyl System is not what many think and has a lot of loopholes, she begins to question the true nature of justice.

2 Eden Of The East

The incident that would later go on to be known as ‘Careless Monday’ had various missiles hit Japan; however, as no casualties were incurred, people quickly forgot about the incident. Three months later, Saki Morimi goes to Washington, DC, and is confronted by the police. She is then saved by Takizawa, a mysterious guy whom she found naked with a gun in one hand and a phone containing billions of digital yen in another.

As Takizawa has lost his memory, Saki takes him back to Japan. However, the duo quickly finds that Takizawa is involved in a dangerous game of money and a conspiracy linked to the Careless Monday incident.

1 ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept

The national Kingdom of Dowa is split into 13 states, and ACCA, a national body that was established years ago to ensure peace, protects the country from external threats while ensuring that peace ensues. Now, 100 years after the establishment of ACCA, rumors of a coup d'etat fill the air.

The vice chairman of ACCA’s inspection department, Jean Otus, is a man like no other with his wits and cunning nature. Now, Jean Otus is given the task of investigating and finding out the true nature of the rumors behind the supposed coup d'etat. And as expected, there is no smoke without fire.

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