Summary
It used to be that animated movies had a consistent G rating, with little variation other than unrated or niche movies likeFritz The Cator the occasional bootlegged anime. In the last two generations, however, the attitude towards anime as a way to entertain kids has changed and there areplenty of animated moviesdesigned and intended solely for adults.
The R rating applies to movies that are “restricted” to viewers 17 years of age or older, but it’s not the same as NC-17, which is what replaced the old “X” rating. Don’t be lulled into complacency by the fact that these are cartoons and must be less shocking than live-action movies with the same rating.
6Batman: The Killing Joke
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Violence, sex, torture, nudity, andthe festering criminal underworldof Gotham City are no joke, and neither is this adaptation of the comic book by the same name. The written version is equally infamous for its brutal and unapologetic subject matter and could be the most visceral superhero movie ever made.
The plot of the story revolves around Barbara Gordon and her alter ego, Batgirl, and how she eventually became the Oracle, a different kind of crimefighter than the typical masked vigilante. Her journey begins when she catches a criminal with Batman’s help and then shifts to the Caped Crusader’s pursuit of the Joker after an attack that leaves her paralyzed.
5Heavy Metal
IMDb Rating: 6.6
A cult classic in every sense of the word, from the unique animation to the soundtrack and memorable characters,Heavy Metalalso has its share of extreme violence and gratuitous nudity. It’s science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a rockin' soundtrack and a crazy story about a magical space-time fluid that grants the imbiber immortality, and it was popular enough to inspire a sequel that was released in 2000.
The appearance of the Loc-Nar, a mysterious green orb that calls itself “the sum of all evils” is what drives this plot, and if that sounds odd, buckle up because it only gets exponentially weirder and more complicated. This evil orb has influenced various people and cultures throughout space and time, and the key to its demise is a magic sword, a mute warrior, and the power of reincarnation.
4A Scanner Darkly
IMDb Rating: 7.0
This movie is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the same author responsible forWhen Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which has been adapted into theBladerunnerfranchise. Technically, thisis an animated movie, but it’s not done with conventional cells. Instead, it was shot digitally and animated using interpolated rotoscope that animators drew over frame by frame.
The plot revolves around a drug called Substance D, a highly addictive substance that causes bizarre and grotesque hallucinations. Bob Arctor, played by Keanu Reeves, is an undercover agent tasked with infiltrating the drug’s criminal underworld but is dealing with being addicted to it himself.
3Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
IMDb Rating: 7.6
More than two decades later, theanimation in this classicaction and horror movie is still gorgeous. There’s the usual Gothic vampire aesthetic mixed in with the same weird, post-apocalyptic science-fiction setting from the first movie, which was released in 1985,Vampire Hunter D.
The main storyline is about the doomed love between vampire lord Meier Link and his human fiancé, Charlotte, and their attempt to escape the hunters and flee to the City of Night. Nobody escapes D, however, and the ending is a bitter one.
2South Park: Bigger, Longer, And Uncut
IMDb Rating: 7.7
On top of being a raunchy satire that is peppered liberally with curse words and gross-out jokes,South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncutis also a great musical. Its liberal use of swear words is what gives it an R rating, as if swearing was as bad as gore or sex, which was part of the point that Trey Parker and Matt Stone were trying to make.
Terrance and Philip, those raunchy Canadian comedians, are spreading foul language and toilet humor to the otherwise innocent pure minds of this quiet mountain town. While the kid’s parents are off fighting a cause, however, Satan and Saddam Husseinhave their own plansto exploit the political turmoil.
1Akira
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Akirais one of the first movies that most people think of when it comes to the strange, extreme, or horrifying. The setting is a post-Apocolyptic version of Tokyo that’s ruled by violent motorcycle gangs, and what bubbles underneath in a secret government lab is even more grotesque and sinister.
As the movie unfolds and leans even more into body horror and psychological strain, more of the mystery unfolds. It seems that the use of atomic weapons has mutated some people to have devastating psychic powers, and the movie is named for the person that the government was trying to groom as their ultimate weapon until he chose otherwise.
