In the colorful and exciting world of anime, the human condition of loneliness is a theme often presented in unique and insightful ways. The feeling isn’t seen just as a state of physical solitude and separation from others, but also as a state of mind. Different anime tell stories that cover a range of effects of loneliness on people. From stories about a loner exorcist exploring and entangling with the supernatural to students suddenly adrift with newfound powers, or even just the longing for companionship among high school students.

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These powerful anime provide their own spins on loneliness, showing not just the challenges people can face when afflicted with the feeling, but also how they tackle it and overcome the daunting state of their lives. As such, these shows offer different perspectives on the topic, showing not just the dread associated with the feeling of being lonely, but also the positive aspects and transformation that one can undergo when faced with overcoming it.

10 My Teen Romantic Comedy - SNAFU

Different Perspectives Aiming To Change One Person

My Teen Romantic Comedy - SNAFU is a romantic comedy anime that follows a cynical and self-isolated high school boy, Hachiman Hikigaya, who has a distorted view of life, causing him to have no friends or relationships. After writing an essay making fun of modern social relationships, Hachiman is forced to join a volunteer service club led by Yukino Yukinoshita, who, despite being beautiful and intelligent, keeps to herself.

The two of them, together with the help of a cheerful and upbeat Yui Yuigahama, go around the school helping other students with their problems. The story explores their lives, highlighting issues that the people they help face, the trio’s problems in aspects like solitude, romance, and the understanding of others, as well as their interpersonal relationships with each other, in a comedic and occasionally serious manner.

9 5 Centimeters Per Second

Loneliness Meets Love

5 Centimeters Per Second is an anime movie revolving around the life of a young man, Takaki Tono. It shows his life from childhood to adulthood across three stories, each with different titles, exploring themes of love, time, and space. The title refers to the speed at which cherry blossoms fall, symbolizing the slow drifting apart of people one holds close.

The three parts take viewers to specific points in Takaki’s life where themes of love, admiration, and separation are portrayed, showing how Takaki is affected and how he deals with his ordeals and eventually reaches an age where he self-reflects on these core moments of his life; hence, showing viewers the adult he becomes after some time has passed.

8 Sonny Boy

Students And The Quest To Form An Understanding Of The World

Shingo Natsume is the creator of the anime series, Sonny Boy. It kicks off with some 36 students and their entire school building being suddenly teleported to a strange dimension. As they try to navigate this situation, they discover they all have unique new powers.

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The story of this anime covers themes of surrealism and science fiction in a coming-of-age frame. The students struggle to understand all that goes on as the situation drastically changes; they find themselves facing challenges of individuality and pondering deep existential questions as they try to adjust to the new social order that emerges as a result of their current position. Sonny Boy takes an interesting approach to highlighting the problems that teenagers face in a thought-provoking manner, as these students try to understand and survive their current reality.

7 The Wallflower

Loneliness Originating From Appearance

Tomoko Hayakawa's manga series served as the inspiration for this anime. The Wallflower follows a young girl named Sunako Nakahara, who embraces solitude and seclusion after the first and only person she confessed to called her ugly. After this, there came a drastic life change in which Sunako shunned all forms of beauty in both herself and the world around her.

Her aunt, worried about her negative transformation, extends an invitation to Sunako to come live in her spacious mansion, home to four attractive and well-liked high school boys. The plot thickens when Sunako’s aunt tasks the boys to transform Sunako into a lady befitting the mansion, changing not just her appearance but also her personality. The story explores topics like self-esteem and acceptance and shows the dynamic between the four boys, whose qualities represent everything Sunako has come to despise, and Sunako, who is content with her current life. The teens interact with each other, learn valuable lessons about each other, and gain new perspectives over time through their forced cohabitation.

6 Welcome To The N.H.K.

Isolation And Its Effects

Tatsuhiko Takimoto's novel serves as the basis for the anime Welcome to the N.H.K. The story follows Tatsuhiro Sato, a 22-year-old college dropout and ‘Hikikomori,’ a Japanese term for an anti-social recluse. He has lived in his apartment alone for years, causing him to have social anxieties and paranoid delusions. One of his prominent delusions is about an organization called the N.H.K. (Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai), a fictional group responsible for the Hikikomori phenomenon in Japan, causing people like himself to become shut-ins.

The story takes a turn when he meets a woman who takes an interest in him and attempts to aid him, with the help of one of Tatsuhiro’s high school friends, in overcoming his Hikikomori lifestyle. The story portrays elements of depression, social anxiety, and mental health with a comedic spin, and shows how people overcome their struggles with these problems.

5 Mushi-Shi

• Japanese Title: Mushishi
• Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Slice of Life, Supernatural
• Number of Episodes: 26

The story of "Mushishi" takes place in a slightly altered version of Japan between the Edo and Meiji periods history. In this story, there is a most basic form of life called "mushi." They are primal and ethereal and may take any form or shape they please. This life form is not bound by things like “good" or “evil,” they cannot be seen by most people and can affect and interact with humans and the life around them. The existence and purpose of the mushi are things the protagonist constantly ponders throughout his journey.

Mushi-Shi follows Ginko, a calm, laid-back man with the ability to see and interact with mushi. He roams the countryside of Japan in solitude, studying the mushi and helping all those who have issues from interacting with the mushi, from benign to life-threatening. His journey is not one of exorcism but of discovery and understanding. The anime is serene and slow-paced, and showcases beautiful interactions between the mushi and humans, showing how the protagonists facilitate solutions for those affected by the mysterious beings.

4 Aoi Bungaku Series

Different Tales To Convey The Story Of The Human Condition

• Japanese Title: N/A
• Genre: Drama, Suspense
• Number of Episodes: 12

The Aoi Bungaku Series is a 12-episode anime that is based on six classical Japanese stories. This series offers a modern and unique spin on popular Japanese literature. The episodes tell heartfelt tales of tragedy, depression, and solitude, showing how the different protagonists dig deep and deal with tumultuous periods in their lives, and ask important existential questions that are still asked in present times.

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A story included in the anime is "No Longer Human" by Osamu Dazai, about a young man, Oba Yozo, who feels alienated from the rest of society. He claims he is something other than human, and it leads to depression and thoughts of suicide. Based on the author’s life experiences, "No Longer Human," and the other stories included, tell of the human condition, using the medium of anime to express these deep themes.

3 Serial Experiments Lain

Understanding The Lines Between Reality And The Virtual Realm In A Society

This anime is centered on a young girl, Lain Iwakura, who is introverted and quiet, living in a suburban Japanese home with her parents and sister in the 90s. The story gets underway after Lain receives an email from her classmate, who commits suicide.

After receiving the email from her classmate, Lain decides to explore the Wired, a large virtual network that allows people to interact and connect with each other easily. After her discovery of the Wired, strange phenomena start to occur, blending the events of the physical world with those of the Wired, and leading to problems differentiating what is real and what is not. Serial Experiments Lain tackles issues of people’s interaction with this network and ponders how it affects them, dealing with the modern questions and issues of the internet before they became a common topic of discussion.

2 Hyouka

Turns The Spotlight On A Character Who Is Lonely By Choice

The story is about Houtarou Oreki, a high school boy who attends Kamiyama Senior High School and follows his personal principle of energy conservation, believing in not doing things until it is absolutely necessary and tackling the things he does have to do with efficiency. This makes him avoid tedious and altogether unnecessary tasks that come his way. His way of life is cut short as his sister forces him to join his school’s Classics club.

Upon joining the club, he meets some club members, including Eru Chitanda, who has an inquisitive mind and a personality polar opposite to Houtarou. Together with the aid of the other club members, they engage in solving mysteries ranging from the origin of their club's anthology “Hyouka” to solving random problems that pique Eru’s interest. Hyouka focuses on friendship and understanding through the amazing interpersonal dynamics of the young and curious cast.

1 My Little Monster

Highlights Struggles And Human Connections

This is a romantic comedy anime series about the unlikely relationship of two high schoolers, Mizuku Shizutani, who is cold and solitary after the events of her middle school, and Haru Yoshida, who is impulsive, loud, and gets into constant altercations.

The unlikely pair meet when Mizuku goes to deliver notes to Haru, who was absent from the first day of class due to a suspension. Due to Haru's impulsive and straightforward personality, he confesses his love to Mizuku, and the pair begin an unlikely friendship. Because of the pair’s personalities, they have problems relating to others and sometimes each other. My Little Monster takes viewers through a journey of friendship and self-discovery, showing friendships and isolation and how they overcome each other through understanding and love, highlighting solid character development in the process.

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