Summary
Unlike television shows and movies, which must adhere to special effects budgets and the laws of physics, manga and anime creators are free to let their imaginations run wild. This has led to the inception of some truly fantastic anime settings over the years, though not all of them arethe kind of places that the average anime fan would want to live.
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Some anime worlds are filled with famine and abject poverty, while others are home toterrifying creatures that enjoy snacking on innocent humans. In some cases, the threat posed by these creatures makes living a normal life more or less impossible, turning what might otherwise have been a fairly hospitable location into one of the worst anime worlds to live in.
7Dragon Ball
At a glance, the world ofDragon Ballmight seem like a pretty sweet place to live. They have hover cars and collapsable capsules containing other awesome technology, not to mention the annual martial arts tournaments in which everyday people can kick back and enjoy some truly out-of-this-world displays of power and skill. However, there is a much darker side to living in the world ofDragon Ballthan first meets the eye.
The people of Earth are frequently faced with extinction-level threats, whether they be from a giant pink puffball who wants to turn them into candy or an ill-tempered God of Destruction who could eradicate them with little more than a snap of his fingers. The planet and everybody on it have been wiped from existence on several occasions and are only around today due tothe power of the titular Dragon Balls.
6Demon Slayer
Though perhaps not as bad as a series likeCastlevania, in which humanity’s greatest threat has openly seized control of the planet, the world ofDemon Slayeris no less terrifying for those who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, nowhere is truly safe from the threat of Muzan’s demonic forces, nor can any regular human hope to stand up to their immense power.
A lot of anime series are set in worlds in which a demonic threat gradually feeds on humanity, but few have made quite as big of an impression on viewers asDemon Slayerhas. Its stylish visuals and captivating storylines have led to it becoming one ofthe best-selling manga series of all timeand one of the most popular anime series of the twentieth century.
5Hunter X Hunter
Living inHunter X Hunter’s Neo-Green Life has always been pretty terrible due to the lack of modern technology and the strict totalitarian rules. However, things took a turn for the worse after the arrival of the Chimera Ants, who treat the autonomous region as their own personal feeding ground. Unsurprisingly, this has helped to turn it into one of the very worst anime worlds to live in.
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Hunter X Hunteris an incredibly dark anime when it comes to both its general tone and its narrative. Innocent people are regularly killed off, while those that survive are never too far away from the threat of mortal danger. The likes of Meruem and Neferpitou made it a truly hellish world to live in, helping to cement their place amongthe bestHunter X Villains.
4The Promised Neverland
Written by Kaiu Shirai,The Promised Neverlandis in many ways a tale of two very different worlds. After a long and brutal war between demons and humanity, the two warring factions eventually struck a deal known as The Promise, which ensured that each side would be free live peacefully in its own separate world. This was great for all those who ended up in the human world, but not everybody did.
In the demon world, humans grow up in special orphanages where they’re raised to be as intelligent as possible. They’re then “adopted” by high-ranking demons, who devour them and absorb their attributes to prevent themselves from turning into mindless beasts. It’s a terrible fate for those unlucky enough to be chosen, and one that series protagonist Emma and her friends are very keen to avoid.
3Alice in Borderland
There are plenty ofterrible locations to be isekai’d away to, but some are objectively worse than others.Sword Art Onlineis one of the more notable examples of this, taking place in a video game world in which the only way to escape is to finish the game or die trying. However, the world ofAlice in Borderlandjust about edges out Aincrad due to the twisted nature of some of its games.
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Both worlds allow players to team up and make alliances, butAlice in Borderland’s comes with something of a sting in the tail. Should players find themselves playing a Hearts game, there’s a good chance that they’ll need to watch their friends and allies die; in some cases, at their own hands. Games of other suits can be just as deadly, whilethe King of Spadesensures that nowhere in the hub world is safe.
2Neon Genesis Evangelion
Of all the post-apocalyptic anime to have been released over the years,Neon Genesis Evangelionis probably the biggest. Set in an alternate version of reality in which civilization has been brought to its knees by nuclear war and the arrival of a race of mysterious creatures known as Angels, those residing in Tokyo-3 live in a constant state of panic and uncertainty.
Although the series never delves too deeply into the lives of the average civilian - instead choosing to focus onthe internal and external struggles of the show’s main cast- it seems fair to say that the constant threat of Angel attacks makes Tokyo-3 a pretty terrible place to live. It doesn’t quite meet the definition of a dystopia, but the sheer scale of the threat must surely drown out any kind of hope of ever returning to a normal state of existence.
1Attack on Titan
Even for those lucky enough to be living behind the walls, life inAttack on Titanis pretty awful. Conditions are cramped, resources are limited, and, as viewers learn in the very first episode of the show, those walls are far from impenetrable. On the rare occasions when they are breached, the devastation that pours through the cracks is usually too terrible to comprehend.
Even in the very worst anime worlds, there are at least brief moments of respite for those who reside within them, if not extended periods of peace. For the people ofAttack on Titanthough, pretty much every waking moment is a living nightmare, andthe ever-present threat of the titular titansdemands a near-constant state of vigilance for anyone wishing to avoid a brutal and bloody death.
