Anime And Weed: A Surprising Guide To High Viewing - Experts Share Their Top Picks

By Hernán Panessi via El Planteo

Japanese animation, always vast, deformed and brilliant, tends to fold over intense edges. And delirium, a sexy fuel for enjoyment, is situated on these edges, finding novel places for experimentation, comedy, madness and even introspection.

What!? All that happens with anime and smoke swirls? Yes, all that and much, much more.

Marijuana and anime, anime and marijuana, a pairing that the West has embraced wholeheartedly, which most of the East (especially Japan) forbids but, honestly, it suits it well.

Consciously or unconsciously, many works of Japanese anime express the most psychedelic side of society, the most unhinged of the mind and the most effusive of creativity. There are works that "self-activate" and others that "need to be activated." Works that, in their own nature, carry psychoactive components and others that, on the flip side, the "420" stimulus enhances, waters or revitalizes.

And in this article, an exclusive selection is proposed by various connoisseurs of the subject. A cartography full of data—authors, series, and movies— that arises from a question. From a doubt that is concrete and also everyday. Here, then, a kind of trippy and Japanese guide: What is the best anime to watch high?

Anime to enjoy while smoking marijuana:

• Agustín Gómez Sánz, from Ivrea: Paprika
• Alune, from Malditos Nerds: Akira
• Aye Zabaleta, from Infobae Latin Power: Pokémon
• Diego Labra, from La Batea Podcast: Devilman Crybaby
• Ezequiel Schapira, streamer: Dotto! Koni-chan
• Martín Fernández Cruz, from La Nación and Video Manga: FLCL
• Tomi Noxico, from Cortina de Humo: Mob Psycho 100
• Vicky, from About a Geek Girl: Excel Saga

Anime to enjoy smoking marijuana Agustín Gómez Sánz, from Ivrea: Paprika

The choice was not very difficult. I think the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw this film was precisely "this is like being high."

The story is about a psychologist who uses a novel device called the "DC Mini" that allows her to enter her patients' dreams, assuming the identity of "Paprika," and thus treat their particular disorders. Obviously, it doesn't take long for others to start abusing this device, and eventually, the barriers between reality and dreams break down, giving rise to a sort of demonic procession that sweeps through the city and that, surely, will be appreciated twice as much with a pipe in hand.

If this type of multicolored and bizarre experience had good results in combination with weed, then I recommend continuing with a pair about cyberspace by director Mamoru Hosoda: Summer Wars and Belle.

Alune, from Malditos Nerds: Akira

I recently watched Akira while high, when it was re-released. Although I had seen it many times, it was like watching a new movie. Honestly, the experience of the action scenes, the motorcycle chases, the philosophical moments, the questions and all the futuristic setup is enjoyed much more. It blows your mind. And it has music that accompanies all that in a great way.

It's a totally incredible experience to watch this movie while high. I highly recommend it.

Aye Zabaleta, from Infobae Latin Power: Pokémon

You finish work, have dinner and, before you get to the chocolate you saved for dessert, you decide to smoke. Your brain automatically shuts down, and you think, "I need to watch something that requires almost no effort."

Let's go with something you've already seen: Pokémon.

For many, it's one of the first anime we watched. The best part? Discovering a lot of details that, as kids, we didn't notice.

But there's a particular episode that is perfect for this moment: "Showdown at Dark City." Pikachu falls in love with a bottle of ketchup.

Forget completely about the main plot because the best happens in the background. Probably, when the episode ends, you won't have any idea what happened, but you'll discover that all the interaction of Pikachu with the condiment will be one of the funniest moments of the anime. Well, I think so. Maybe having smoked made everything seem better.

Diego Labra, from La Batea Podcast: Devilman Crybaby

I recommend Devilman for two reasons. One, because the original material, the manga by Gō Nagai, one of the most impressive authors of the '70s, is very psychedelic. It has a whole element of fights between good and evil, ultra-violent, with Dantean images, which is like looking at a painting by Hieronymus Bosch.

On the other hand, because Devilman has many adaptations. The last one is by Masaaki Yuasa, who does experimental animation. He is an author who has been called from the United States and Europe, who deviates a bit from the norm of more commercial anime. The guy takes this experimental and strange work and lowers experimentation in the visual aspect.

So, in this series, you have two layers of psychedelia: the original content, at the level of plot, character design and developments; and then at the visual and musical level. It's an explosive cocktail.

Related content: Experts Recommend the Best Video Games to Play While High

In the prospectus, in the contraindication, it would say that you have to approach with caution because it is a series that delves into the depths of the psyche and how twisted human beings can be. A situation that, easily, can give a bad trip to someone who is ill-disposed.

But if it catches you in a good place, you will reach the stratosphere. There are 13 episodes on Netflix, you can watch them in one go, and you will be really crazy.

Ezequiel Schapira, streamer: Dotto! Koni-chan

I'm going to say it from personal experience. An anime to watch while high is Koni-chan, one that I really enjoyed as a kid. I loved it. Nowadays, already older, I went back to watch the episodes to understand why I liked it so much. And I came to the same conclusion: it makes absolutely no sense.

Watching this anime while high is a complete experience. From the side of the characters who make no sense, to the absurdity of the show and the animation itself: it keeps you trapped at all times.

We're talking about an anime where the character can be a girl who has a TV for a head and in which there are episodes like the one that takes place entirely in the Star Wars universe without any rights paid. It's wonderful. I highly recommend the experience of watching Koni-chan while high.

And I understand that it is a series that, having so much jargon, inside jokes and things from Japan... the dubbing makes much less sense because they invented jokes and dialogues to fill in things that could not be translated. Whatever. I strongly recommend it.

Martín Fernández Cruz, from La Nación and Video Manga: FLCL

The series I want to recommend is FLCL, released in 2001 and produced by Gainax, the same ones from Evangelion. At that time, Gainax was a studio that was on fire.

FLCL has a very interesting logic to watch while high. It has to do with the idea of going full throttle and resting, going full throttle and resting: it oscillates all the time between those two polar opposites.

The story is about a boy who, suddenly, has a robot come out of his skull. And that robot starts to battle with other robots and with other characters. And, beyond the aesthetics, those strident colors, and the soundtrack by The Pillows, the idea of a series that is constantly exploding and then rests, gives it a very interesting rhythm.

There aren't many animes that manage to sustain over six OVAs that energy of being so full throttle and, suddenly, stopping. With characters that have an evolution, a logic and an emotional universe. And also sensory, because it is a series that has a lot to do with the perception of how things work around us.

Tomi Noxico, from Cortina de Humo: Mob Psycho 100

When I think of an anime to watch while one is really high, I think of one that makes me laugh like an idiot drooling watching the screen, but that also gives me moments where I am completely perplexed looking at the monitor saying: "What the f*ck!" - not understanding anything at all.

There is an anime called Mob Psycho 100, which is from the same creator as One Punch-Man, that has a lot of humor, very funny, very ridiculous, in the best style of One, the author. And it also deals with a very humble, very pure, super honest character.

It's the anime that best deals with the concepts of "humility" and "sensitivity," from the story of the strongest psychic in the world, who actually just wants to do things without powers to have a normal and full life.

High anime, very good to watch high: it has everything.

Vicky, from About a Geek Girl: Excel Saga

Definitely, my answer is Excel Saga, a very bizarre anime with a villain and two protagonists that make no sense. Poor Hayt is constantly dying every other moment. I can't smoke because of my medication but I assume that watching this very flashy anime that has thousands of references and mocks the classic animes of the '80s and '90s must be a great experience.

Especially if you are a fan of classic anime and catch these references at once. Also, both its opening and its ending are not to be missed or make any sense. In short, I think if you are going to smoke and watch anime, this is my final recommendation.

This article is from an external unpaid contributor. It does not represent Benzinga's reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Image generated by AI.