Even 41 Years Later, This 100%-Rated Gem Is Still the Best Surreal Anime Ever Made

In an anime world dominated by clear plots and accessible genre formulas, one work has stood apart for over four decades: Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg.

A product of the unique creative freedom of the OVA era, this movie eschews traditional narrative, becoming pure poetry in motion, a philosophical parable that remains an unrivaled benchmark for surreal animation.

What Is 'Angel's Egg' About?

In a silent, post-apocalyptic world filled with ominous shadows, a mysterious girl carefully guards a large, mysterious egg.

One day, during one of her explorations of the city's ruins, she meets a young man carrying an odd, cross-shaped weapon. Intrigued, he accompanies her on her aimless wanderings through the lifeless landscape.

'Angel's Egg' Doesn't Have a Standard Narrative, It's Full of Hints, References and Homages

Deliberately constructed not through logic, but through images and nuances, Angel's Egg demands active participation from the viewer. Mamoru Oshii created a visual world that blends Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, European Art Nouveau, and dark surrealism.

Allusions to Salvador Dalí, M. C. Escher, and H. R. Giger are discernible in the shots, and Christian iconography intertwines with Japanese aesthetics.

The movie's atmosphere is further enhanced by a limited, muted color palette, long, almost hypnotic takes, minimalist editing, and an almost complete absence of dialogue.

Angel's Egg is a work that should be contemplated and felt, like a dream or a mystical vision, rather than watched.

'Angel's Egg' Had a Huge Impact on Anime, Cinema, and Especially on the Gaming Industry

Although the project was considered marginal, even within otaku culture, at its release, it has grown in significance over time. Angel's Egg became a creative catalyst for Oshii, whose motives and philosophical quests later culminated in Ghost in the Shell.

Its aesthetics and non-narrative approach, in which the story is conveyed through environment and atmosphere, have inspired creators of anime such as Ergo Proxy and Made in Abyss.

However, the work had its most profound impact on the world of video games. The atmosphere of a solitary journey through a frozen world, narrative conveyed through environmental storytelling, and gothic melancholy are directly reflected in such titans as Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Hollow Knight, and Death Stranding.

The developers of Dark Souls III even included a direct reference in the DLC: a sleeping maiden holding a fragile egg.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Angel's Egg'?

• Angel's Egg has 100% from critics and 90% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the anime has a score of 7.5/10.

• On Letterboxd, Angel's Egg scored 4.1/5.0.