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3%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
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9* ''Anvilicious/DragonBall''
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12* ''Anime/AyakashiAyashi'' is pretty unsubtle about telling people to stop daydreaming and focus exclusively on real life. It's about giant monsters coming to life when someone is dissatisfied with living in a CrapsackWorld.
13* To sum up, the writers of ''Anime/{{Blassreiter}}'' would like you to know that anyone who is mean to immigrants is pure evil, the media is full of idiot sensationalists, and if God is there He does not like you.
14* ''Anime/DancougarNova'' got pretty {{Anvilicious}} in one episode, which made oblique references to the War on Terror being fought solely over oil, and featuring [[{{Eagleland}} a nearly rabid, transparently American commander]] crushing the titular robot while declaring that [[MightMakesRight because his nation is strong, it gets to decide what justice is]].
15* The most notable one is ''Anime/CrossAnge'', ''never ever'' mistreat anyone or anything, whether it's one person or an entire race, ''especially'' if it's ForTheEvulz, [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]] or placing them as TheScapegoat. Otherwise, [[LaserGuidedKarma you're as good]] [[KarmicDeath as dead]] [[TheDogBitesBack by the same person or people.]]
16** So many examples: Angelise herself in the ''very first'' episode, Zola, Rosalie, Hilda, [[spoiler:Julio, Jill, the ''entire Mana society'' and finished with Embryo.]]
17* ''Manga/DeathNote'' gives hints that having the power to kill humans (simply by knowing their name and face) is bad, such as when Soichiro remarks that "The real evil is the power to kill people" early on in the series, though it only heavily goes the "It's really bad" route in the final stretch of the story.
18* ''Anime/EarthMaidenArjuna'' is the anime version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain Planet|and the Planeteers}}'', with the superhero replaced with a MagicalGirl as well as with more psychological angst.
19* ''Manga/FairyTail'': The series is infamous for laying the "friendship solves everything" moral rather thick. While ThePowerOfFriendship is common amongst shonen, ''Fairy Tail'' in particular earns scorn for frequently using the "friendship" speech to have the protagonist pull a HeroicSecondWind to suddenly beat an opponent that was just curb-stomping them moments ago. It's even {{justified|Trope}} in-series by many types of magic receiving a boost in power from willpower and strong emotions, of which friendship is often one of the strongest they draw on.
20* In ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the episode in which [[spoiler:Mr. Colbert]] dies was a ''very'' thinly veiled message about why war is bad, the entire second season being about how WarIsHell.
21* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': WarIsHell and you cannot escape responsibility for your actions. Even when it's revealed that the war in Ishval was started as part of an ancient conspiracy (and the order for outright genocide given by a key player ''of'' that conspiracy), Mustang, Hawkeye, and the other sympathetic veteran characters point out that they felt their orders to be wrong and carried them out anyway. Mustang's own ultimate goal is to get himself to the top of the military dictatorship, then end it so that he can be put on trial for war crimes. On the personal responsibility end, the Elric brothers refuse to take any route back to fixing themselves that would hurt other people when it was their own actions that caused their misfortunes. [[spoiler:They even refuse to let their father expend his own energy towards it--Ed sacrifices his own ability to do alchemy instead.]]
22* Being about how war affects humanity, the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise has dropped many anvils over the years.
23%% ** The original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', including its subsequent sequels had a minor subversion by dropping opposing anvils at the same time.
24%% ** ''Gundam 0080''. War is NotAGame, and a [[{{mook}} Zaku]] can never beat a [[SuperPrototype Gundam]].
25** Much of the protagonists' angst in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'' comes from the fact that they have to fight each other for reasons they don't know. Then the second half of the series comes and practically every second sentence that comes out of Lacus' mouth is relentless bashing of the CycleOfRevenge. Then ''SEED Destiny'' comes along and drops the same anvil all over again, along with a second anvil bashing Shinn's [[BlackAndWhiteMorality views of the world]].
26** In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'', the moral is "if you kill someone because you hate the person, [[FreudianExcuse no matter the reason,]] good chance that you end up ''[[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim worse]]'' than him".
27** Another repeated message from ''00'' is that the only way to peace is through understanding others. It is repeated twice in the film's postcredits scene.
28** Also, a quote from the leader of the Union...
29--->"They're aggressively ending conflict all over the world. Isn't that our job?"
30** As said above, ''Gundam'' has dropped many anvils over its span. However, there is one common anvil that transcends each series: "If we all understand each other, we can all stop fighting, get along and be happy." This theme has existed since the first series (as it was the basis of Zeon Daikun's Newtype theory) and has been carried over the rest of UC (all the way to ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Gundam Unicorn]]'') and even further into the {{Alternate Universe}}s; among the latter, only ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'' subverts the message due to its kung fu action movie theme[[note]]which essentially claims understanding can only be achieved ''through'' fighting[[/note]]. Alongside, said message is usually presented as the basis of the resident universe's telepaths and their purpose; this is especially the case with the Innovators of ''Gundam 00''[[note]]in which Setsuna's ultimate attack is causing spontaneously generated telepathy among those in range so that automatic understanding can be achieved[[/note]] and the X-Rounders of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE Gundam AGE]]''[[note]]which was the whole reason Kio went through the [[FanNickname Vagan Magical Mystery Tour]] arc[[/note]].
31* While plenty of Japanese stories have made very notable {{Take That}}s at the {{Workaholic}} nature of Japanese society, ''Literature/IveBeenKillingSlimesFor300YearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'' takes this to especially heavy-handed levels, as both the premise and most of the plot revolve around protagonist Azusa Aizawa reincarnating due to ''karoshi'' (death by overwork), and she not only has made it her goal to live an [[TheAgeless unaging]] slow life where she never overworks herself again, but she also frequently defies many people's beliefs that pushing oneself for the sake of another is in any way noble. It's very much a strongly pushed message, but the story wouldn't really work without it, and given how it's still such a major thing in Japanese work culture, definitely a worthwhile {{Aesop}}.
32* ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' was not subtle with many of its messages. Any lesson it had became a focal point of the whole episode and usually was a [[AuthorTract major part of the entire narrative]], such as an episode about whaling taking place entirely in the water and on a whale. Furthermore, King Dedede--CardCarryingVillain and Dream Land's [[IOwnThisTown troublesome ruler]]--was the one who would cause these problems, making him the scapegoat for "Don't be like this guy" messages. It tackled the topic of dentistry with the fact that you should brush well or else [[ItMakesSenseInContext little purple men will destroy your teeth from the inside of your mouth]], [[GreenAesop evil people pollute and destroy the ozone, industry causes acid rain and destroys plant life]], it's wrong to make a collectible toy line in which every figure doesn't have an equal chance of being found (and thus all would be the same value), [[OldMediaAreEvil television lies and sucks people's life away]], illegal dumping is wrong, tourists destroy landmarks and towns, lying about historical accuracy is wrong, and [[AWeightyAesop you should eat properly]].
33** In "Fitness Fiend", Dedede gets addicted to snacks and becomes grossly fat, unable to even stand up. This is followed by two characters announcing out loud [[AWeightyAesop this that is what happens if you only eat snacks]], and [[OldMediaAreEvil stay up all night watching television]], while Dedede is being [[HumiliationConga paraded through the town and laughed at]]. All of this before the episode is even halfway through.
34* ''Manga/Life2002'' keeps no subtlety in any of its themes. The whole manga is about a girl who is bullied, and the bullies themselves are two-faced {{Jerkass}}es.
35* The work of ''Miura Koizumi'' often has characters speak out at length against discrimination against same-sex couples in Japan.
36** Toward the end of ''Manga/MrRightTurnedOutToBeAYoungerWoman'', Haruki Shiina, one half of the main couple, [[spoiler:is injured in an auto accident]]. Her girlfriend Risa Takagai then spends most of a page talking about how some hospitals won't let same-sex couples visit their partners, even if one is dying, and that renters also discriminate against same-sex couples. In the final scene, [[spoiler:Risa and Haruki attend a coworker's wedding, with Risa complaining about how they can't get married just yet, while Haruki, who has gotten over her desperate need to get married soon, proposes living somewhere that accepts their relationship]].
37** ''For Some Reason Suddenly I Wanted to Kiss the Coworker Who Sits Next to Me'', another series by the same author, also briefly touches upon the problem. When Tomoka Hayami proposes moving in with her coworker and girlfriend Mami Kohashi, Kohashi spends an entire page telling Hayami that the office could find out if she changes her address and that renters discriminate against same-sex couples, as well ask asking if Hayami has considered her financial situation and whether properties will be available in April.
38* The author of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' can't seem to be subtle about the whole "REVENGE IS BAD" thing, to the point that, until he kick-started the big war event, it took over the story.
39* The [[GainaxEnding infamous final two episodes]] of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' are an {{Anvilicious}} AuthorFilibuster on the [[DysfunctionJunction rather extensive psychological issues]] of the main cast (particularly those of Shinji Ikari), as well as a discussion of how some people avoid human contact out of fear of being hurt by others. [[SarcasmMode Apparently we had not already seen enough of how screwed up the cast was]].
40* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Freedom is good, and taking away someone's freedom is [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil just about the worst thing you can do to someone]]. Nearly every story arc has this message front and center, but nothing comes as blatant and unsubtle as the ultra-privileged World Nobles who are basically living embodiments of this moral, as they treat other human beings as playthings and slaves at best, and are able to enslave anyone they want with no consequence, or just trash to be tossed aside - they're made so comedically heinous it winds back up into being horrible, and they're [[EvilMakesYouUgly drawn as ugly and uncool as possible]] so that there's not even a shred of EvilIsCool about them. Every single time the World Nobles appear it's as if Eiichiro Oda himself is repeatedly smacking you over the head with the core moral of the story.
41* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' and the first straight-to-DVD special, ''Mewtwo Strikes Back'' and ''Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns'' respectively, club the viewer over the head with their messages. Thanks for telling us that fighting to the death isn't fun, that judging someone or yourself by [[FantasticRacism the circumstances of birth is wrong]], and that [[GreenAesop it's a good idea to protect natural resources]]. [[SarcasmMode We would have never figured that out.]] They're not very hard to grasp, even before the giant swarm of killer bug Pokémon comes to help enforce the GreenAesop. Which then gets completely turned around when at the end of the first movie, [[spoiler: Ash and co. have their memories erased about the entire event]], making the lesson they learned forgotten and pointless.
42** Coupled with [[spoiler: a 20 minute prologue to explain Mewtwo's tragic backstory in the original Japanese version]], to REALLY make it clear that animal experimentation is bad. [[spoiler: Also serves the dual purpose of presenting the angst-filled Mewtwo as a tragic hero.]]
43* Arguably, the whole point of ''Manga/{{Saikano}}'' is to drop a 13-episode anvil of WarIsHell. For everyone, not just soldiers.
44* The {{Aesoptinum}} factor of ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'' is made particularly obvious when [[spoiler:not only is the research conducted on harmless aliens, but they look and act like little girls and anesthetic doesn't work on them. So every time one is dissected, they're being brutally tortured and the scientists just shrug and figure 'Hey, they'll get used to it eventually.']]
45* [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross Every]]. [[Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove Song]]. [[Anime/MacrossPlus In]]. [[BattleInterruptingShout Every]]. [[Anime/MacrossZero Single]]. ''Anime/{{Macross}}''. [[Anime/MacrossFrontier Title]]. If you still think ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption, then you're [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath not paying attention.]]
46* You don't have to be watching ''Anime/YuGiOh'' long to figure out that the main theme is [[ThePowerOfFriendship friendship]]. Not only do many of the main characters constantly make speeches about it (with Anzu/Tea being infamous for it, although there are many characters who are just as bad, if not worse), but there are also numerous motifs and symbols throughout the series which are meant to represent friendship. These include Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, the smiley face drawn on the hands of the main cast, and several different Duel Monsters cards. On top of that, the first syllables in Yugi's and Joey's/Jounouchi's names are purposely meant to spell out the word "Yujo", which means "friendship" in Japanese.
47** This is true for the whole '''franchise''', with ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' and ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' having friendship themes and motifs.
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