Top 10 Best Anime About Politics and Government
Anime does tackle the complexities of Politics and government in its story from time to time. Below are some of the best series to do that.
10. Aldnoah.Zero
In 1972, the human race discovered a hypergate on Moon which allowed them to go to Mars and they later discover a technology far advanced called “Aldnoah”. This was followed by the founding of the Vers Empire on Mars and a declaration of war against the “Terrans”, the people who stayed on Earth. Though the war on the moon caused the moon’s destruction, leading to an uneasy ceasefire, peace was a fragile one.
Peace is shattered when the princess of Vers, Asseylum Vers Allusia is assassinated on Earth. Now the story revolves around the conflict between the two empires to settle the war.
It isn’t the greatest of anime but in terms of using politics in its plot, it hits its mark.
9. GATE
In modern-day Tokyo, a gate appears that leads to a fantasy world. Supernatural animals and medieval armored warriors emerge from this gate, rampaging across the city, killing and destroying everything in their path. To build linkages between the two worlds, a Japanese military group is formed and tasked to go to that side.
8. Arslan Senki
The Royal Capital of Ecbatana, ruled by King Andragoras, is located in the rich kingdom of Pars. Arslan is the prince of Pars who, despite his best attempts, lacks the qualities necessary to succeed his father as king. At the age of 14, Arslan fights his first war and loses everything, bringing his once-proud empire to an end. Arslan’s destiny, however, is to be a ruler, and despite the challenges he faces, he must now begin on a journey to restore his lost kingdom.
This series touches on various themes such as internal conflicts, betrayal, internal conflicts within a kingdom, and also external conflicts between kingdoms. It also explores the war and its intricacies.
7. Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex
In the year 2030, people have become cyborgs with prosthetic bodies. Set in the fictional city of Niihima, the series follows the Public Security Section, a special task force consisting of former military members and police detectives. They investigate various crimes with success but face their toughest task when they face a hacker named “The Laughing Man”.
The series tackles government conspiracies, pharmaceutical lobbyists, issues of refugees, nationalism, etc and it is ahead of its time considering it was released in 2005.
6. Gundam
The plot follows the battle between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation in the futuristic calendar year “Universal Century” 0079, with the latter releasing a new massive robot known as the RX-78-2 Gundam controlled by the teenage civilian mechanic Amuro Ray.
Several Gundam series have a good political theme around them. Gundam 0079 has the Federation fight against Zeon proper, an ‘evil’ empire. Gundam 00 has villain protagonists, who knowingly use the Gundams to cease war with force. Iron-Blooded Orphans has child soldiers who’re hired out to fight the war against a ‘not’ Federation.
5. One Piece
Onepiece tells the adventure of Luffy and his friends searching for the ultimate treasure “Onepiece”. Even though the story is about finding a treasure, it is also a story of the throne war of who is going to rule the seas.
It might seem like a fun adventure series from the outside but it is essentially a power struggle between various factions in the world. World Government, Yonko, Revolutionary Army, and tons of pirates are all in this power struggle. Marines each have their own way of justice and so do the pirates.
The reason I placed it low is that the story doesn’t go to internal conflicts and issues in politics but rather shows just the overall power struggle and ideological battles.
4. Legend of Galactic Heroes
Two interplanetary empires — the monarchical Galactic Empire and the democratic Free Planets Alliance – are locked in a never-ending war in the far future. The plot follows rivals Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-li as they ascend through the ranks of the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, respectively.
The story isn’t as simple as a war between two empires but has much more complicated than that. Internal conflicts, coups, revolutions, different types of governments, etc are some of the things the story tackles.
3. Magi
The series follows Aladdin who is a Magi and his adventures in search of his true self. He is accompanied by a djinn called Ugo, who is his friend. Later he befriends Alibaba and a great journey starts. Magi is a magician who chooses a worthy candidate to become a king and supervises the elected representative as they build a country.
Magi is a story about what makes a good king. It handles the tough subjects of politics, country, kingship, etc in a great way.
2. Code Geass
The series follows Lelouch vi Britannia, an exiled prince who gets the “power of absolute obedience” from a mysterious woman named C.C. He leads a rebellion against the sovereignty of the Holy Britannian Empire, leading a series of mecha fights, using this supernatural ability known as Geass.
There is a struggle between three world powers: The Holy British Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the European Union are all examples of empires. These three factions are always at odds with one another, protecting their domains and attempting to take more from their adversaries. However, as they fight, a fourth significant power emerges, the Order of the Black Knights.
Based on the premise itself, it is obvious that the story will involve a heavy political undertone to it. The series is basically a game of political chess. The finale of the series is one of the best in anime history.
1. Kingdom
The story is about Ei Sei who intends to unify all the states of China and Hi Shin who aims to become a great general. There are seven states – Qin, Qi, Chu, Zhao, Han, Yan, Wei, and the King of Qin dreams to unite them all under a single nation China.
Since the goal is to unify all states of China, the story is bound to have a plot revolving around politics, government, law, nationalism, etc. Kingdom actually gives an idea of how government evolved in history. King’s idea of a unified nation is a very idealistic goal that will have a lot of collateral damages and the series doesn’t hide that fact.
The idea of Law being the key to ruling people instead of a King is actually one of my favorite political idea shown in any anime. It is so obvious in our day-to-day life nowadays but it is a revolutionary idea at that time period.
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