Sometimes, watching anime series where characters manipulate or fight others using only words and mind games is quite enjoyable.

Although there are many anime with psychological premises that revolve around mind games, not all of them manages to hook us in.

Here I bring ten best anime with mind games for those who want to stimulate their brains!

1. Shiki

Episodes: 22

Synopsis: Sotoba is a small village located in the middle of the mountains. The villagers lived in peace until strange events started to occur during summer, turning the peaceful town into a terrifying place. Out of nowhere, many people passed away, but the reasons remained unknown…

Coincidentally, a strange family recently moved into a castle on the outskirts of the village. Could it be that they have something to do with the series of fatalities that happened within the village?

Shiki allows viewers to embark on a great psychological thriller journey with many horrific situations that will make them question their morals. So, if you like horror series that will make you test your intellect, Shiki is the best choice for you!

2. Code Geass

Episodes: 54 (Two Seasons and OVA)

Synopsis: In 2010, the Empire of Britannia conquered Japan in less than a month using their powerful mecha known as Knightmares. Japan lost its freedom and rights, even its name. After losing, Britannia renamed the country Area 11.

Lelouch, an exiled prince of Britannia, is living in Area 11. He has a deep hatred for the Empire and has sworn that he’ll destroy it all.

One day, Lelouch meets a peculiar girl named C.C, who grants him the power called Geass, an ability that allows the user to control others’ minds at will.

Now, with the Geass in his hands, Lelouch is determined to go against the Empire of Britannia and destroy it.

Aside from its great amount of suspense and plot twists, Code Geass also offers us plenty of challenging mind games. Lelouch’s confrontations against the enemies and all the tactics he uses are amazingly executed, so it’s almost impossible to not get hooked with this anime.

3. Psycho-Pass

Episodes: 41 (Three Seasons)

Synopsis: In the future, a system called Sybil controls Japanese society. This system measures and determines the mental state of people as well as their propensity to become criminals. Sybil determines someone’s Psycho-Pass, a numeric value that goes up or down depending on people’s state.

Those in charge of controlling criminals with high Psycho-Pass values are the Public Safety Bureau department.

Akane is a new inspector in the department and will work alongside the Enforcers, people with a high Psycho-Pass who help officers to capture other criminals. With the help of the Enforcers, Akane will do her best to maintain the peace of the city.

Psycho-Pass also provides us with interesting mind games. Its plot also revolves around crimes, detectives and human psychology, so it’s worth giving this anime a chance.

Related: Top 10 best detective anime you should not miss!

4. Death Parade

Episodes: 12

Synopsis: After death, there’s no hell or heaven, only a bar named Quindecim, where the barman Decim waits for the souls of those who just passed away.

While Decim works as a barman, he also covers the role of a judge who decides whether a soul is worthy of reincarnation or not. To determine the soul’s fate, Decim forces them to play a game that will put their lives at stake. Once the soul’s true nature comes to light, Decim will decide who wins and who loses…

Death Parade is filled with battles of wits where the souls are putting their futures on the line in brutal yet fascinating games. I’ve watched Death Parade a couple of times and its story never tires me out, so I highly recommend this one!

Related: 6 best underrated anime series to check out!

5. Ergo Proxy

Episodes: 23

Synopsis: The story takes place in a dystopian future where people live inside domed cities that protect them from the devastating environment of the outside world.

In the domed city of Romdeau, humans and androids known as AutoReivs coexist peacefully under strict government control. But their peaceful lives are affected by a series of murders committed by the AutoReivs infected by the Cogito virus.

Meanwhile, the government decided to conduct secret experiments on a mysterious humanoid form known as Proxy. It seems that Proxies may be the key to the world’s salvation, but what is the truth behind the origins of these humanoids?

Ergo Proxy is an underrated anime that not many know. But let me say that its dark storyline with psychological undertones and great battles of wits are worth watching.

6. Death Note

Episodes: 37

Synopsis: The shinigami, as the Gods of Death, can kill anyone, as long as they know their victim’s name and write it on their Death Note.

One day, Ryuk, a shinigami bored with his lifestyle, dropped a Death Note in the human world just to see how they’d use it. The one who found the Death Note was Light Yagami, a prodigy who despised the world’s corruption.

With the Death Note in his hands, Light decides to eradicate all criminals to create a utopia and become the God of the new world. But his actions won’t go unnoticed. Soon, the renowned yet mysterious detective L will get involved in the case to help the police catch Light.

When it comes to mind games, Death Note is one of the best anime. This anime will give you a great dose of fights where, instead of physical force, one’s intellect is the best weapon to outplay the enemy. It’s a must-watch if you like psychological anime with a gripping story.

Related: Death Note Anime Review: Brief insight to a cult anime

7. Monster

Episodes: 74

Synopsis: Dr. Kenzou Tenma is a renowned Japanese neurosurgeon living in Germany. He led a successful life and had a bright future ahead of him or so he thought…

Kenzou’s life changed forever on the night he made a fateful decision. He needed to choose between performing surgery to save the life of a young boy or another to save the town’s mayor’s life.

Torn between ethics and morals, Kenzou decided to save the little boy’s life. But little did he know that his decision would bring him a series of horrific events… Now, he must embark on a terrifying journey that will challenge his morals and mental sanity.

Although Monster focuses more on a psychological storyline that has the potential to mess with your head, it also involves some mind games. It casually leaves you with an eerie feeling lingering around you, but that makes the watching experience even better!

8. Serial Experiments Lain

Episodes: 13

Synopsis: Several days after the death of the student Chisa Yomoda, her classmates began to receive disturbing emails forwarded by her… Among them, we can find Lain Iwakura, an introverted 14-year-old student.

Lain doesn’t know how to handle technological devices like a computer, yet she opened the email from Chisa. After opening the email, she goes directly to a virtual world of Wired.

As Lain ventures deeper into this unknown world, she discovers many cryptic mysteries. Soon the line between reality and the Wired slowly begins to break down.

Serial Experiments Lain was produced by the same author as Texnolyze, so it’s kind of obvious how deep and staggering the story of this anime can be. If you want to watch an anime that will be intellectually challenging for you, there’s no better choice than this one.

9. Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

Episodes: 52 (Two Seasons)

Synopsis: Kaiji Ito is a good-for-nothing who spends his days doing useless things like stealing hubcaps, pricking tires or gambling. That’s until one day, a mysterious man visits him, claiming that Kaiji must pay his friend’s debt. But he’s unable to pay the debts and as a solution, the man makes a shady deal with him.

Kaiji must participate in illegal underground gambling on a cruise ship called Espoir. Desperate, he accepts to gamble without knowing that this will push him into hell itself.

If we talk about anime with mind games, the ones that revolve around gambling can’t be left out because sometimes they are the best covering this field. In this anime, the protagonist’s survival instincts will be at stake while gambling his life away to survive.

10. Steins;Gate

Episodes: 24

Synopsis: The mad scientist, Rintarou Okabe, along with his fellow lab members, spends his days trying to invent futuristic yet useless gadgets. Still, their only “interesting” invention is the one called Phone Microwave, which transforms bananas into green gel.

But while conducting experiments on the Phone Microwave, they discovered that the machine can send messages to the past and with it, they can affect the flow of time. What kind of consequences will bring this discovery to them?

Steins;Gate revolves around the time-travelling premise and I think it’s clear that this will also involve a lot of mental challenges. The protagonist will solve many problems using his intellect and along the way, that will also test ours. The character development is also noteworthy, so it won’t disappoint you at all!

 Do you know any other best anime with mind games?

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