Anime like Palme no Ki

Fantastic Children

Also known as Fantastic Children.

Studio: Nippon Animation , Bandai Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Romance , Sci-Fi

A group of enigmatic white-haired children has been spotted at different times and places in Europe for over 500 years. Always with the appearance of 11-year-olds, they behave far more mature than they should be, never grow old, and seem to have supernatural power. What they have been seeking is a girl, and the only clue they have is a picture with a crescent moon. Now, in the year of 2012, an athletic boy named Tohma is about to be involved in this centuries-long mystery.



Tags: Foreign , Reincarnation , Tragedy , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Child Cast , Lost Civilization , Historical , Philosophy , Detective , Urban Fantasy , Space , Rural , Male Protagonist , Love Triangle , Amnesia , Orphan , Age Regression , Astronomy , Heterosexual , Fugitive , Guns , Robots , Torture

Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku

Also known as Now and Then, Here and There.

Studio: AIC , Pioneer LDC , Central Park Media
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

Shu is a typical Japanese boy, but has an unbeatable, optimistic and determined attitude. However, when he sees a mysterious girl with strange eyes named Lala-Ru up on a smokestack, he is soon pulled into a strange desert world. Shu soon discovers the true terrors of war, which includes genocide, brutal torture, hunger, thirst, and child exploitation. Now Shu is trying to save Lala-Ru, as well as his hard earned, and often relunctant, new friends from the insane dictator, Hamdo. Whether Shu can possibly accomplish saving those he cares about while still holding up to his values remains to be seen.



Tags: Tragedy , Dystopian , War , Slavery , Survival , Fugitive , Primarily Child Cast , Post-Apocalyptic , Coming of Age , Military , Isekai , Desert , Philosophy , Guns , Male Protagonist , Torture , Orphan , Gore , Kuudere , Prison , Real Robot , Time Manipulation

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä

Also known as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Studio: Studio Hibari , Topcraft , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

A thousand years after a global war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley Of The Wind remains one of only a few areas still populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth. Nausicaä and her brave companions, together with the people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and the Earth.



Tags: Environmental , Post-Apocalyptic , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Lost Civilization , War , Aviation , Military , Eco-Horror , Kaiju , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Cosmic Horror , Travel , Anachronism , Guns , Politics , Orphan , Tanks , Cult , Revenge , Nudity , Elderly Protagonist

serial experiments lain

Also known as Serial Experiments Lain.

Studio: TV Tokyo , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Genco , Funimation , Triangle Staff , Pioneer LDC , TV Tokyo Music , Fujipacific Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

We're all connected... There is the world around us, a world of people, tactile sensation, and culture. There is the wired world, inside the computer, of images, personalities, virtual experiences, and a culture all of its own. The day after a classmate commits suicide, Lain, a 14-year-old girl, discovers how closely the two worlds are linked when she receives an e-mail from the dead girl: I just abandoned my body. I still live here...

Has the line between the real world and the wired world begun to blur?



Tags: Denpa , Virtual World , Philosophy , Dissociative Identities , Augmented Reality , Female Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Artificial Intelligence , Software Development , Cyberpunk , Gods , Cosmic Horror , Conspiracy , Cult , Video Games , Suicide , Religion , Urban , Meta , Tragedy , Primarily Female Cast , Amnesia , Afterlife , Adoption , Orphan , POV , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Trains , Aliens , School , Isekai , Death Game , Age Gap , Bullying , Zombie

Tenshi no Tamago

Also known as Angel's Egg.

Studio: Studio Gallop , Studio DEEN , Studio Hibari , Tokuma Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological

In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life... and they discuss the world around them.



Tags: Philosophy , Dystopian , Lost Civilization , Mythology , Post-Apocalyptic , Tragedy , Religion , Cosmic Horror , Female Protagonist , Angels , Amnesia , Coming of Age , Urban Fantasy , Survival , Fairy Tale , Foreign , Tanks , Cultivation , Body Horror

Innocence

Also known as Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Sci-Fi

The year is 2032. With the advancement of medical technology humanity has grown into a more technologically driven creature, creating a breed of cyborg citizen. Along with the development of cybernetics the world has seen rapid development in the field of artificial intelligence, making androids a commercially viable venture.

A recent string of murders perpetrated by a prototype female android has drawn the attention of Section 9, a unit specializing in counter cyber-terrorism. With none of the victims' families pressing charges, suspicions arise regarding the nature of the androids and their production.

Months have passed since the end of the Puppet Master incident, and with the Major still missing investigative duties fall to her cyborg commando partner Batou and his newly recruited biological partner, Togusa. Can the two overcome their differences and discover the truth behind this string of murders?



Tags: Philosophy , Cyberpunk , Police , Memory Manipulation , Artificial Intelligence , CGI , Male Protagonist , Robots , Photography , Seinen , Noir , Cyborg , Primarily Adult Cast , Guns , Primarily Male Cast , Military , Female Protagonist , Kuudere , Urban

Unico Mahou no Shima e

Also known as Unico in the Island of Magic.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Sanrio , Tezuka Productions , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy

Based on "Unico and the Kingdom of the Sun," which was newly written as a theater version, this animated film features a battle between the wizard Kukuruku and Unico. Kukuruku builds a castle using dolls transformed from men as building parts. The story revolves around the sorrow and terror of men who have been transfigured into dolls, and a girl named Cherry who wishes to recover the kindness in her brother, who is a student of Kukuruku. This work reminds us of the fact that "transformation" or "transfiguration" - favorite themes of Tezuka Osamu - involves not only material aspects, but also man's immaterial heart.



Tags: Kids , Animals , Magic , Fugitive , Male Protagonist

Brave Story

Also known as Brave Story.

Studio: GONZO
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Supernatural

When 11 year old Wataru's father leaves home and his mother is taken ill to hospital, he decides to change his fate by travelling through the door shown to him by his friend Mitsuru. In a land of magic and monsters, Wataru must summon all his courage and embark on a journey with several comrades to meet the Goddess of Destiny and change this "mistaken fate".



Tags: Isekai , Kids , Male Protagonist , Magic , Dragons , CGI , Kemonomimi

Made in Abyss

Also known as Made in Abyss.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , Media Factory , AT-X , Sony Music Communications , Sentai Filmworks , Cygames
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Sci-Fi

The "Abyss" is the last unexplored place in the world. Strange and wonderful creatures roam within, and it is full of precious relics that present humans can't recreate. Those that dare to explore the depths are known as "Cave Raiders." An orphan girl named Riko lives on the rim. Her dream is to become a Cave Raider like her mother and solve the mysteries of the cave system. One day, Riko starts exploring the caves and discovers a robot who resembles a human boy.



Note: The last episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Environmental , Travel , Chibi , Body Horror , Tragedy , Lost Civilization , Outdoor Activities , Dungeon , Philosophy , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Curses , Cosmic Horror , Gore , Amnesia , Wilderness , Robots , Male Protagonist , Steampunk , Anthropomorphism , Orphan , Food , Tanned Skin , Agender , Crossdressing , Religion , Femboy , Rehabilitation , Dissociative Identities , Maids , Time Manipulation , School , Amputation

Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt

Also known as Catnapped! The Movie.

Studio: Triangle Staff , Pioneer LDC , AC Create , Bandai Visual
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure

Ever wonder where your cat runs off to when you let them out? There is a place, a whole world that belongs only to the cats. A hidden world known as Banipal Witt where the sun changes people into cats and dogs into monsters.

Travel there as two young children set off on a fanciful trip with a desperate group of feline engineers to save Banipal Witt from the evil sorceror cat Bubulina, whose very touch turns any living thing into a balloon!

With this talent and the monster dog, Papdoll, Bubulina hopes to control all of Banipal Witt and only Toriyasu, Papdoll's former owner, has a chance of returning Papadoll back to normal. But can they rescue Papadoll and defeat Bubulina before the sun rises?



Tags: Animals , Isekai , Coming of Age , Nekomimi , Kemonomimi , Primarily Animal Cast , Anthropomorphism