I know that there are a number of VR anime out there; Accel World, .Hack, and Sword Art Online are probably the most well known. I’ve not seen a lot of VR anime, but it strikes me that there are many commonalities among them, first and foremost getting stuck inside them. It would be interesting to look at VR in Anime as a trend and a genre, and to explore how it reflects Japanese cultural perceptions of VR. It could also be interesting to draw a parallel or contrast to Western cultural perceptions on the same subject.
If you're going to do a comparison to western takes on the trope, one YA novel I heartily recommend is "Heir Apparent". – Winter9 years ago
I've actually read "Heir Apparent", although it was a few years ago now. That also draws upon the idea of being stuck in a virtual reality game. It's certainly worth the read. Another good comparison to make, though maybe a tad obvious, would be to the Matrix. – OddballGentleman9 years ago
Comparing movies such as "Inception" and "The Matrix Trilogy" with anime such as "Paprika" and "The Animatrix" would be an idea. Although this could also become a topic on VR portrayed in live action movies versus anime. – Quill9 years ago
The latest one is Overlord. I quite like it. It is about VR where the main gets stuck in the game and all the NPCs get come to life and start moving and thinking by their own liked. I personally quite enjoy anime that revolve around VRs. (ps, SAO II after the GGO arc, it got TOOOOOO bad... imo) – mekakushimegane9 years ago