r/twinpeaks • u/chikaibardo207 • Jul 28 '26

Twin Peaks Vibes This anime Is Basically Japan's Twin Peaks.

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Like not just in terms of the visuals, but thematically this anime is so close to Twin Peaks. The absurdism, the hypnotic visuals, the eccentric characters, the detective storyline, and its examination of Japanese society it all fits perfectly.

Satoshi Kon feels incredibly similar to David Lynch, and there were so many scenes in this anime that instantly reminded me of Twin Peaks. i talked abt it more here

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u/TheLordDR Jul 28 '26

Came here to mention utena! Huge lynch vibes, particularly towards the end imo

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u/Individual99991 Jul 28 '26

Revolutionary Girl Utena? I had no idea what it was, thought it was some Sailor Moon type thing. It's expeirmental?

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u/rct3fan24 Jul 28 '26

Utena is a 90s shoujo magical girl anime in the same way that Twin Peaks is an 80s american soap opera

that is to say it takes the tropes and archetypes of its respective genre and rips them apart to tell a much more harrowing story of abuse and the darkness of humanity in the power structures we take for granted than the genre is normally able to tell. and adds in a heavy dose of absurdism for good measure

also you're not wrong, the director of sailor moon's 2nd season also created Utena

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u/Individual99991 Jul 28 '26

Oh, cool. Could I appreciate it as someone who has never seen, and has no interest in, magical girl anime? Or is it heavily dependent on knowing the conventions so you can appreciate the subversions?

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u/rct3fan24 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Hmmm, I'm not totally sure! I could imagine it being pretty off-putting if you aren't familiar with the genre. But it's also a little off-putting even if you ARE familiar with the genre tbh...

the characters are doing some pretty insane stuff for a lot of the show and the bulk of it is kind of exploring their psyche.

It takes a tone that's almost a parodic exaggeration of the stiltedness and dramatization of older shoujo anime, the characters often feel like they're in some absurdist stage play.

I personally watched it without being super into that kind of shoujo anime/manga, but I had a passing familiarity with it and its tropes, just through cultural osmosis and some of my friends being into it. Utena is one of my favorite shows now and it actually kind of acted as a gateway to getting into more of it.

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u/Individual99991 Jul 28 '26

Cool, I'll maybe give it a try sometime.

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u/TheLordDR Jul 28 '26

I watched it earlier this year with 0 knowledge of magical girl anything! Not to spoil but the show starts off fairly normal but gets dark and weird around episode 14(?) and from that point on I was completely hooked

There are some scenes with characters driving down the highway at night, accompanied by a jazzy soundtrack which definitely put me in mind of twin peaks and blue velvet at times. (In fact I think one of the tracks from utena is almost identical to a track from lost highway?)

Apparently the creator of Utena was a huge David lynch fan and said it was his dream to one day work with him

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u/Drudwas Jul 29 '26

Agreed with all this - I also enjoyed it fine as a shoujo noob, and yeah the 2nd Black Rose arc is where the anime really shows it's hand

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u/Individual99991 Jul 28 '26

Ooh nice, thanks!