1. The Leader: Karl Marx (2019)
The Leader centers on the life of German thinker Karl Marx, focusing on his political and economic theories, his romance with Jenny von Westphalen, and his friendship with Friedrich Engels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T0a_jXHiDo
Chinese propaganda, is it good? Bad? IDK!
Is it even anime?
2. Castle in the Sky (1986)
The idea of working class as life restoring power is motor of this story. Marxist Miyazaki at his best!
To acquire inspiration for the films environments Miyazaki twice visited Rhondda, Wales, right during and after the great coal mine strike. In an interview with Helen McCarthy in 1999 he explained how the struggle of the workers affected the film:
"I was in Wales right after the miners' strike. I admired the way the miners' union fought until the bitter end, for their workers' and communities' sake, and I wanted that the film would mirror the power of those communities."
3. Future Boy Conan (1978– )
Without a doubt, Conan has a Marxist bent. While it makes no attempt to defend the USSR’s own developmental urges, it alters the novel’s portrayal, in which High Harbor is the West’s successor while Industria is the Soviets’. Indeed, Industria in the anime represents not the sins of some supposed communism, but instead the faults of industrial society as a whole; there’s no indication, compared to the novel, of who began the war, but it didn’t matter much by the time the bombs dropped. Industria’s class structure, in which a great many workers are forced to slave away underground, all while the nation colonizes abroad in order to forcibly gather more resources and workers, is more reminiscent of the US than the USSR, but clearly, neither nation is meant to be viewed positively here.
4. Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968)
The story was also inspired by the intention to address an adult audience, to reflect societal changes in contemporary Japan and to portray the socialist ideals in the portrayed village community, where the protagonists not only improve their own lot in a coming of age story but where their personal growth benefits society at large as well. The film shows a place where the people are able to shake off oppressive forces and derive pleasure from their communal efforts such as subsistence fishing.
5. Ninpû Kamui gaiden (1969– )
Kamui den (カムイ伝) is a manga series written and drawn by Sanpei Shirato. Set in feudal Japan, it tells the story of a low-born ninja who has fled his clan. The series combines historical adventure with social commentary and themes of oppression and rebellion that reflect Shirato's Marxist convictions.
The manga was adapted into an anime series
6. Lupin the 3rd (1977–1980)
Episode: Wings of Death: Albatross (1980)
Critique of Imperialism and arms business
7. Lupin the 3rd (1977–1980)
Episode: Farewell My Beloved Lupin (1980)
An armoured robot soars through the skies of Tokyo, demonstrating amazing capabilities that would make it a valuable weapon... then Arsène Lupin III demonstrates a more peaceful and beneficial use for the robot.
Antimilitarist message
8. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
In one low-key scene near the middle of Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, our two protagonists are talking in a desolate pocket park. Kei, a former left wing revolutionary who has fallen in love with the male lead, a member of a ruthless paramilitary group, notices a crumpled heap of debris. It’s the remains of an old building. She asks him what used to stand there; what building used to occupy the empty space? He can’t remember, and she opines that, perhaps, they never noticed it in the first place, much less remembered it. In the midst of a vast construction boom, the film forces us to take notice of the wreckage and entropy left behind by “creative destruction.” It’s one of a handful of subtly profound moments that make the work of Mamoru Oshii worthy of attention.
9. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The story of a post-apocalyptic world being swallowed by a poisonous jungle was obviously inspired by the environmental disaster in Minamata.
The young female protagonist, the madness of war and nature that strikes back when it's threatened.
10. Metropolis (2001)
Fight against those upper classes!
11. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989– )
The franchise is famous for its criticisms of war and militarism and given that its been in existence since 1979 and is still going strong today, it maybe the longest running criticism of war and militarism in existence.
12. Berserk (1997–1998)
TV-14 | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
![[Image: 57jd2f50nao21.jpg?auto=webp&s=48e8484df3...5b5bcd5ce3]](https://preview.redd.it/57jd2f50nao21.jpg?auto=webp&s=48e8484df3749c4b4a658cd4c1e2a25b5bcd5ce3)
13. Neo Yokio (2017–2018)
Neo Yokio does eventually come down on the side of condemning capitalism, but only after it luxuriates in the nice things that capitalism can produce. In Neo Yokio’s version of New York, Long Island City is a decrepit, cramped slum with the upper class running extravagant Formula 1 races down its narrow streets. The rich are so desperate to cling to what’s theirs that they continue to live in neighborhoods that are completely underwater, and the underclass are absent from their lives until they appear as literal demons. In the very last episode, Kaan races through Queens and ends up in a wrong turn where he is assaulted by the residents there. “Can’t you see we’re dying down here?” they yell. This moment of realization for Kaz, and the audience, that there is a whole class of people in Neo Yokio that they have never encountered would have more weight if the show wasn’t just as invested in suits, cocktails and elegance as Kaz is. Kaz is the Caprese Boy, the number one bachelor, a magistocrat—a buffoon, but at times a loveable one. By the end of Neo Yokio, he has started to realize that the nice things he has surrounded himself with won’t make him happy. But to the people in the slums of Long Island City, or the demons he banishes, “nice things” don’t matter as much as human dignity.
14. Ashita no Jô (1970–1971)
"Tomorrow's Joe" is a young boxer fighting against all odds, while the protagonist of Star of the Giants, also popular among activists, is a young baseball player; both are youths from impoverished backgrounds who undergo intense spiritual and physical training in order to win glory by triumphing over rich-kid rivals. Although these characters did strive for upward mobility, the rigorous asceticism emphasized in the manga recalled an ethics of self-restraint that was vanishing from Japan at the time, and the opponents toppled were from the bourgeoisie
15. Little Witch Academia (2017)
Comrade Akko and her solidarity with the oppressed faerie workers!
The Leader centers on the life of German thinker Karl Marx, focusing on his political and economic theories, his romance with Jenny von Westphalen, and his friendship with Friedrich Engels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T0a_jXHiDo
Chinese propaganda, is it good? Bad? IDK!
Is it even anime?
2. Castle in the Sky (1986)
The idea of working class as life restoring power is motor of this story. Marxist Miyazaki at his best!
To acquire inspiration for the films environments Miyazaki twice visited Rhondda, Wales, right during and after the great coal mine strike. In an interview with Helen McCarthy in 1999 he explained how the struggle of the workers affected the film:
"I was in Wales right after the miners' strike. I admired the way the miners' union fought until the bitter end, for their workers' and communities' sake, and I wanted that the film would mirror the power of those communities."
3. Future Boy Conan (1978– )
Without a doubt, Conan has a Marxist bent. While it makes no attempt to defend the USSR’s own developmental urges, it alters the novel’s portrayal, in which High Harbor is the West’s successor while Industria is the Soviets’. Indeed, Industria in the anime represents not the sins of some supposed communism, but instead the faults of industrial society as a whole; there’s no indication, compared to the novel, of who began the war, but it didn’t matter much by the time the bombs dropped. Industria’s class structure, in which a great many workers are forced to slave away underground, all while the nation colonizes abroad in order to forcibly gather more resources and workers, is more reminiscent of the US than the USSR, but clearly, neither nation is meant to be viewed positively here.
4. Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968)
The story was also inspired by the intention to address an adult audience, to reflect societal changes in contemporary Japan and to portray the socialist ideals in the portrayed village community, where the protagonists not only improve their own lot in a coming of age story but where their personal growth benefits society at large as well. The film shows a place where the people are able to shake off oppressive forces and derive pleasure from their communal efforts such as subsistence fishing.
5. Ninpû Kamui gaiden (1969– )
Kamui den (カムイ伝) is a manga series written and drawn by Sanpei Shirato. Set in feudal Japan, it tells the story of a low-born ninja who has fled his clan. The series combines historical adventure with social commentary and themes of oppression and rebellion that reflect Shirato's Marxist convictions.
The manga was adapted into an anime series
6. Lupin the 3rd (1977–1980)
Episode: Wings of Death: Albatross (1980)
Critique of Imperialism and arms business
7. Lupin the 3rd (1977–1980)
Episode: Farewell My Beloved Lupin (1980)
An armoured robot soars through the skies of Tokyo, demonstrating amazing capabilities that would make it a valuable weapon... then Arsène Lupin III demonstrates a more peaceful and beneficial use for the robot.
Antimilitarist message
8. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
In one low-key scene near the middle of Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, our two protagonists are talking in a desolate pocket park. Kei, a former left wing revolutionary who has fallen in love with the male lead, a member of a ruthless paramilitary group, notices a crumpled heap of debris. It’s the remains of an old building. She asks him what used to stand there; what building used to occupy the empty space? He can’t remember, and she opines that, perhaps, they never noticed it in the first place, much less remembered it. In the midst of a vast construction boom, the film forces us to take notice of the wreckage and entropy left behind by “creative destruction.” It’s one of a handful of subtly profound moments that make the work of Mamoru Oshii worthy of attention.
9. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The story of a post-apocalyptic world being swallowed by a poisonous jungle was obviously inspired by the environmental disaster in Minamata.
The young female protagonist, the madness of war and nature that strikes back when it's threatened.
10. Metropolis (2001)
Fight against those upper classes!
11. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989– )
The franchise is famous for its criticisms of war and militarism and given that its been in existence since 1979 and is still going strong today, it maybe the longest running criticism of war and militarism in existence.
12. Berserk (1997–1998)
TV-14 | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
13. Neo Yokio (2017–2018)
Neo Yokio does eventually come down on the side of condemning capitalism, but only after it luxuriates in the nice things that capitalism can produce. In Neo Yokio’s version of New York, Long Island City is a decrepit, cramped slum with the upper class running extravagant Formula 1 races down its narrow streets. The rich are so desperate to cling to what’s theirs that they continue to live in neighborhoods that are completely underwater, and the underclass are absent from their lives until they appear as literal demons. In the very last episode, Kaan races through Queens and ends up in a wrong turn where he is assaulted by the residents there. “Can’t you see we’re dying down here?” they yell. This moment of realization for Kaz, and the audience, that there is a whole class of people in Neo Yokio that they have never encountered would have more weight if the show wasn’t just as invested in suits, cocktails and elegance as Kaz is. Kaz is the Caprese Boy, the number one bachelor, a magistocrat—a buffoon, but at times a loveable one. By the end of Neo Yokio, he has started to realize that the nice things he has surrounded himself with won’t make him happy. But to the people in the slums of Long Island City, or the demons he banishes, “nice things” don’t matter as much as human dignity.
14. Ashita no Jô (1970–1971)
"Tomorrow's Joe" is a young boxer fighting against all odds, while the protagonist of Star of the Giants, also popular among activists, is a young baseball player; both are youths from impoverished backgrounds who undergo intense spiritual and physical training in order to win glory by triumphing over rich-kid rivals. Although these characters did strive for upward mobility, the rigorous asceticism emphasized in the manga recalled an ethics of self-restraint that was vanishing from Japan at the time, and the opponents toppled were from the bourgeoisie
15. Little Witch Academia (2017)
Comrade Akko and her solidarity with the oppressed faerie workers!
![[Image: z839mDR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/z839mDR.png)
