Lost Media: Aum Shinrikyo - The Animated Series

For most cults, recruitment is one of the strongest tools employed to hold power. New membership often means more money, and more power. Aum Shinrikyo was no exception to this rule. Expanding beyond the standard tactics used to widen a cult’s reach, and after the success of numerous books, cassettes, and video tapes, they made the decision to seek a younger crowd. And what better way to target the youth of Japan than one of it’s biggest entertainment avenues, an anime series.

Chouetsu Sekai (English: Transcendent World) is a series shrouded in mystery. Unfortunately records of it’s history are hard to track down. Virtually all information of the production process have been lost. Previous uploads online have only shown snippets of the series. Even finding out how many episodes were produced is difficult. Information seems to dictate that Shoko Asahara, leader of the cult, did the voice work for his namesake character - but beyond this any kind of comprehensive picture of the production seems lost.

Cult Collectibles located and digitized an episode of this series which had been previously lost to the VHS format - an effort which brought forth a new 43 minute episode complete with intro and outro themes.

Below is a short scene from this episode which showcases Aum members in prayer.