Recommended Movies to Enjoy the Season No. 8] Before the harsh winter arrives. Extreme anime to enjoy the feeling of being on the edge with no time to spare.

Each season has its own anime that can be enjoyed only at this time of year!　Our anime writers will introduce you to good new and old works on seasonal topics.

With the temperature getting colder by the day and the cold winter season approaching, the time left in the year is getting shorter. Once December rolls around, the year will soon be almost over. Do you have any unfinished business?　Are you prepared for the harsh cold weather?　You can't just sit still, hang on in a pinch, and start running!　Here is a collection of extreme anime that will drive you to the edge of your seat.

Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion (aired in 2006) / Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (aired in 2008)

Lelouch, a high school student living in Japan called Area 11, a territory of the Holy Britannia Empire, meets a mysterious girl named CC and acquires the "ability to control others" called "Geass. He is actually the former 11th Prince of the Britannian Empire, who was sent to Japan as a hostage and thought to have died. Lelouch takes the name "Zero," a masked man, and leads the resistance to form the "Black Order. He challenges his motherland, Britannia, to a rebellious battle.

This is the first work in a series that is linked to the latest "Code Geass: Akito the Exiled," and it is a really interesting work with developments that do not let you read what is coming next. In addition to the development of military operations and their results, the main character, Lelouch, has both a cool-headedness and a human emotion and sweetness that are very appealing. While his deceptive plans are successful and he wins many victories, he also loses people he cares about, and the way he moves forward while being hunted down leaves a strong impression.

The relationships surrounding Lelouch change one after another, and various love-hate relationships develop. He is confronted by and becomes enemies with his friends, his former enemies become powerful allies, and he is unable to protect his kind friends, cousins, and younger sister. The drama of friendship and conflict with childhood friend Kururugi Suzaku is also a sight to behold. It is a painful reminder that hatred is the opposite of love and vice versa.

Infinite Leviathan (broadcast in 1999)

In the year 2225, a training school for navigators in Earth's satellite orbit loses control and begins a countdown to collapse. All of the instructors have died in the line of duty, and the only survivors are 487 boys and girls who have boarded the ocean-going navigable submarine "Leviathans. In the closed space, the children decide on their own command of the ship and distribution of supplies, and try to survive while living together. However, in the harshness of space, where just surviving is tough enough, the Leviathans, seeking rescue, are somehow attacked and eventually isolated from the rest of the world, which treats them as terrorists.

In any case, it is a stifling drifting survival story. The ensemble drama of children trying to protect themselves and survive is vivid. How can they protect themselves and their loved ones? What is the best way to keep the whole order and satisfy each and every one of them as well?　It is painful to see children facing situations to which even grown-ups cannot give answers, and to see their righteous arguments and half-hearted kindness trampled upon. But that is why, if I were faced with such a situation, I can't help but think of ...... if it were me.

There is the indecisive pacifist, the snappish clumsy one, the cheating defender, the honor student who is useless in a crisis, the delinquent who goes wild with glee at the chaos, and the weak who can do nothing but be swept away by the situation. Among the finely drawn characters, there is sure to be a type you can relate to somewhere.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)

Madoka Kaname, a very ordinary junior high school student, gets into trouble one day and learns of the existence of "witches" who bring misfortune to mankind and "magical girls" who fight witches and protect the world. A mascot-like animal named Kyubey appears before Madoka and asks her to become a magical girl who fights witches, the enemies of humanity, in exchange for granting her one wish. Madoka yearns to become a magical girl, but is unable to make up her mind. However, the horrifying reality surrounding magical girls soon becomes clear.

The first "wish" that the magical girls want to fulfill is not a grandiose one, but a small and warm wish. Nevertheless, once they become magical girls, their minds and bodies are exhausted by an inescapable structure, and despair consumes their hearts. No one can escape the harsh reality. In a sense, the irrationality of the story is very realistic, and after the TV series became a big boom, the story was interpreted in many ways.

For those who will watch it anew now, I recommend "Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Part 1 - Begginings" and "Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Part 2 - Eternal", which are very well made compilation films. For those who want to further master despair, "Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie [New Part]: Rebellion" is also available.

PSYCHO-PASS: Psycho-Pass (broadcast in 2014)

The story takes place in a society where human psychological states and personality tendencies can now be measured and quantified. The numerical value related to crime is called the "crime coefficient," and people are judged according to this value. Akemi Tsunemori, a rookie "watchdog" assigned to Section 1 of the Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division, leads Shinya Kugami, an "enforcement officer" with a high crime rate, and his team to confront a variety of cases. However, it soon becomes clear that Seigo Makishima is committing heinous acts with a crime rate of zero. In a world where "crime" is determined by the "Sibura System," which controls the crime coefficient, what is right and what is wrong?　The ideas of Shu and Cunningham gradually diverge.

This is a dystopian story that depicts a future world in which humanity is being pushed to the brink of extinction in a controlled society. In a nation ruled by law, it is the law that determines "crime. Murder and theft are sins because the law forbids them. In a world where the "system" determines crime, no matter what is done, it is not a "crime" unless the system determines a crime coefficient. Well, that's absurd!　As you watch this film, even your own sense of values will be shaken.

The main characters, Zhu, the "Observer," Cunningham, the "Enforcer," and Makishima, the terrorist, are similar to each other in that they all have doubts about the sibura system. The three are in different positions and pursuing their own justice, but they do not overlap into one. What is right and what is wrong? It is human beings who are lost and continue to think about it.

DEATH NOTE (broadcast in 2006)

Light Yagami, a high school student, picks up the Death Note dropped by the god of death, Ryuk, and becomes its owner. The Death Note was a tool that could kill people simply by writing their names in it. Tsuki decides to use the Death Note to create a new world without criminals and to become the god of it. Using his position as the son of the head of the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Bureau, he decides to become "Kira" and execute criminals. The world-famous detective L stands in his way, and the two engage in a stifling battle of wits.

The anime is a very popular work that has been made into a live-action movie and TV drama. The highlight of the anime is that it is more in line with the original comic than the live-action version. However, the scenes before and after the deaths of major characters are changed and adapted in a way that is unique to the anime, giving it a unique interpretation and feeling. This may be a point of difference in evaluation depending on one's taste.

Tsuki is unmistakably a ruthless villain without a shred of compassion, who uses the Death Note to murder everyone from criminals to those who are unfavorable to him. However, he is also a strong man who has followed his heart without hesitation and without wavering. What kind of final resolution is appropriate for such a man?　It will be interesting to compare the comic and the anime, as the impressions you receive are quite different.

Basilisk: Koga Ninpocho (broadcast in 2005)

The year is Keicho 19. Tokugawa Ieyasu decides to have 10 ninja from Kouga and 10 ninja from Iga fight to the death to determine the successor to the third shogun. Gennosuke, the heir to the Kouga Manjidani-shu, and Oboro, the heir to the Iga Tsubagakure-shu, are engaged to each other, having vowed to break the chains of their sworn grudge. However, their wishes are trampled upon, and a ninja-killing battle that transcends human knowledge begins.

This is an anime adaptation of a comic book based on "Koga Ninpocho" by Futaro Yamada, and the ninja duel is interesting in any case!　Even today, when we are accustomed to watching manga and video games, we are still amazed by the strange and unique ninjutsu users who put their pride on the line and fight each other with all their skills. The anime's depiction and speed are also breathtaking, allowing the viewer to experience the power of ninjutsu battles.

The battle is not over until the last man is defeated. At the beginning of each episode, the names of the 20 nominated ninjas are written in a "personal identification book," and as the battle progresses, the names are erased one by one in red ink, which is very poignant. Gennosuke and Oboro both "do not want to fight," but first of all, the mission given to them by Ieyasu does not allow them to do so. Furthermore, the situation becomes desperate as more and more of their comrades who believed in them and fought for them die. This sense of hopelessness and sadness, which gradually accelerates, enlivens the drama.

Millennium Actress (released in 2002)

Chiyoko Fujiwara, a legendary retired film actress, begins to talk about her past in front of an interviewer and cameraman in response to an interview. Her memories are triggered by an old key that was stored in a small box. Chiyoko's experiences are intermingled with the world of the film in which she appeared, and the story becomes a tumultuous tale that transcends time and space to the present, the past, and the future.

It would be difficult to explain, but in essence, it is the story of an actress who was in love with her first love, whom she met only once. Chiyoko plays a variety of roles in a mixture of real and fictional worlds, lightly crossing the boundaries of time and space as she runs. Her appearance is both the strength and freedom of her feelings of love. But in front of them, they face many obstacles in the real and fictional worlds.

Cruelest of all is "time. Chiyoko, a young girl longing for love, becomes a successful actress, appears in numerous films, and eventually retires. ...... The passage of time is unstoppable. The way the film depicts this "feeling of being chased and left behind by the passing time" is superb. Will Chiyoko ever be reunited with her beloved "you, the key"?　Was Chiyoko happy?　The answer that Chiyoko arrives at in the end is exhilarating.

These are the seven anime works that will keep you on the edge of your seat, unable to take your eyes off the developments that drive you to reality, to time, and to despair.

There are many harrowing horror and survival works, but the anime introduced here depict "extremes" that are more than just scary. Simply escaping and escaping is not enough to save you. There is a way out, even if it is from selfish motives, if you don't give up and step out. Let's get through the busyness and cold of the year-end season with such courage and energy for tomorrow.

(Text by YAMAYU YAMAYU)