Anime like B: The Beginning

Zankyou no Terror

Also known as Terror in Resonance.

Studio: MAPPA , Aniplex , Fuji TV , Dentsu , KYORAKU
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Painted in red, the word "VON" is all that is left behind after a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility in Japan. The government is shattered by their inability to act, and the police are left frantically searching for ways to crack down the perpetrators. The public are clueless—until, six months later, a strange video makes its way onto the internet. In it, two teenage boys who identify themselves only as "Sphinx" directly challenge the police, threatening to cause destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. Unable to stop the mass panic quickly spreading through the city and desperate for any leads in their investigation, the police struggle to act effectively against these terrorists, with Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki caught in the middle of it all.

Zankyou no Terror tells the story of Nine and Twelve, the two boys behind the masked figures of Sphinx. They should not exist, yet they stand strong in a world of deception and secrets while they make the city fall around them, all in the hopes of burying their own tragic truth.



Tags: Terrorism , Anti-Hero , Detective , Tragedy , Crime , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Orphan , Urban , Police , Politics , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Mythology , Motorcycles , Suicide , Software Development , Guns , Time Skip

Tokyo Ghoul

Also known as Tokyo Ghoul.

Studio: Studio Pierrot , Marvelous
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

The suspense horror/dark fantasy story is set in Tokyo, which is haunted by mysterious "ghouls" who are devouring humans. People are gripped by the fear of these ghouls whose identities are masked in mystery. An ordinary college student named Kaneki encounters Rize, a girl who is an avid reader like him, at the café he frequents. Little does he realize that his fate will change overnight.



Tags: Gore , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Survival , Torture , Male Protagonist , Body Horror , Anti-Hero , Seinen , Coming of Age , Urban , Police , Cannibalism , Detective , Crime , Henshin , Primarily Adult Cast , Mythology , Heterosexual , College

Death Parade

Also known as Death Parade.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , DAX Production , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

When two people die at the same time, they’re sent to a place that’s neither heaven nor hell—a lavish bar between worlds where the stakes are high and the rules are simple: if you win you live again, if you die… you’re gone for good.

Decim is the bartender charged with serving the souls who enter Quindecim. He may make a mean cocktail, but his true profession is to play the role of arbiter—a judge who determines whether or not a soul is worthy of reincarnation. To aid in his judgment, the bar’s patrons are forced to play simple games laced with sadistic twists designed to bring their true natures to light. To Decim, judgment has always been black and white—that is—until he meets a mysterious young woman whose fate seems impossible to decide. His indecision shakes the very foundation of the games and raises the biggest question of all: Who is fit to judge the dead?



Tags: Death Game , Afterlife , Philosophy , Tragedy , Amnesia , Memory Manipulation , Reincarnation , Bar , Primarily Adult Cast , Episodic , Suicide , Gambling , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Mythology , Kuudere , CGI , Ice Skating , Revenge , Bowling , Gyaru , Tanned Skin

PSYCHO-PASS

Also known as PSYCHO-PASS.

Studio: Production I.G , Fuji TV , Nitroplus , Sony Music Entertainment , KYORAKU , Toho , Funimation , Dentsu
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Justice, and the enforcement of it, has changed. In the 22nd century, Japan enforces the Sibyl System, an objective means of determining the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors uphold the law by subjugating, often with lethal force, anyone harboring the slightest ill-will; alongside them are Enforcers, jaded Inspectors that have become latent criminals, granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the Inspectors' dirty work.

Into this world steps Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with an honest desire to uphold justice. However, as she works alongside veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is, and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt.



Note: In the Summer 2014 season, Psycho-Pass was rebroadcast and re-edited to fit into an hour time-slot, ending up in 11 one-hour episodes. This edit included added scenes at the beginning and middle of the episodes, as well as fixing and improving animation.

Tags: Detective , Police , Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Crime , Primarily Adult Cast , Philosophy , Urban , Female Protagonist , Artificial Intelligence , Conspiracy , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Guns , Anti-Hero , Terrorism , Augmented Reality , Gore , Class Struggle , Tragedy , Robots , Body Horror , Nudity ,

Ajin

Also known as AJIN: Demi-Human.

Studio: POLYGON PICTURES
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Horror , Mystery , Supernatural

Kei Nagai’s body should have died when a truck slams into his body, but instead, he finds himself resurrected with all of his wounds healed. Now revealed to be an Ajin, one of a mysterious new breed of immortal demi-human, he’s been marked with an international bounty, and in the eyes of the world, Kei is a specimen to be taken by any means possible. Now he’s on the run, and his only hope is to discover the terrifying secrets behind his new abilities before he’s forced to use them in battle!



Tags: Super Power , Anti-Hero , Crime , Terrorism , Fugitive , Full CGI , Police , Urban Fantasy , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Gore , Body Horror , Dystopian , Torture , Cosmic Horror , Video Games

Babylon

Also known as BABYLON.

Studio: Twin Engine , REVOROOT , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

The suspense story centers around Zen Seizaki, a prosecutor with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office. While investigating illegal acts by a certain pharmaceutical company, Seizaki stumbles across a conspiracy over an election for an autonomous "new zone" established in western Tokyo.



Tags: Suicide , Urban Fantasy , Police , Philosophy , Urban , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Politics , Crime , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Denpa , Educational , Espionage , Dissociative Identities , Memory Manipulation , Foreign , Primarily Male Cast , Revenge , Gore , Anti-Hero

Ergo Proxy

Also known as Ergo Proxy.

Studio: NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Manglobe , WOWOW , Funimation , Sakura Create , Selecta Visión
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Something is wrong in the perfect domed city of Romdo. Between the sudden rash of murders and a virus affecting all AutoReivs-cyborg companions and workers who assist the people of Romdo - all is not right in their dome home. Detective Re-l Meyer begins to investigate, seeking answers to the weird occurrences that are happening more and more around her. But when she begins to uncover the truth, her world is turned upside down.

First, the strange immigrant Vincent Law goes missing and then a monster appears before her, shaking her to her core. But this monster is something more, something dangerous and sinister. With each question and mystery, she is led back to the creature. But what is it really? What purpose does it serve? A sign of the end or a sign of a new beginning? Whatever it is, it repeatedly brings her back to Vincent and soon, alongside his journey back to another dome world called, Mosk. As they make their way across scarred and deserted Earth, Re-l and Vincent will learn more about the monster and the "awakening"-which could be more of an ending than a beginning.



Note: Episode 1 received an advanced broadcast on channel WOWOW on February 5, 2006. The start date reflects the start of the regular series broadcasting.

Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Philosophy , Dissociative Identities , Clone , Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Primarily Adult Cast , Robots , Amnesia , Conspiracy , Noir , Artificial Intelligence , Fugitive , Lost Civilization , Memory Manipulation , Female Protagonist , Travel , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Found Family , Denpa , Kuudere , Anti-Hero , Detective , Revenge , Pandemic , Angels , Heterosexual , Gods , Aviation , Survival , Police , Unrequited Love , Guns , Coming of Age , Meta

DEATH NOTE

Also known as Death Note.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Viz Media , Nippon Television Network , Konami , Ashi Productions , Shueisha , Selecta Visión
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

Light Yagami is a genius high school student who is about to learn about life through a book of death. When a bored shinigami, a God of Death, named Ryuk drops a black notepad called a Death Note, Light receives power over life and death with the stroke of a pen. Determined to use this dark gift for the best, Light sets out to rid the world of evil… namely, the people he believes to be evil. Should anyone hold such power?

The consequences of Light’s actions will set the world ablaze.



Tags: Crime , Detective , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Police , Philosophy , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Unrequited Love , Kuudere , Fugitive , Memory Manipulation , Gods , Urban Fantasy , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Yandere , Amnesia , Espionage , Shounen , Suicide , Tennis , Acting , Time Skip , Feet , Assassins , Achronological Order , Asexual

Cop Craft

Also known as Cop Craft.

Studio: Millepensee , Pony Canyon , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , WOWOW
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

The story is set in San Teresa City on the fictional Pacific island of Kariaena. The "buddy police action" series follows the detective Kei Matoba and the alternate-world knight Tirana.

15 years ago, an unknown hyperspace gate opened over the Pacific. Beyond this gate lies Reto Semaani, a strange alternate world where fairies and demons live.

San Teresa City — a city where over two million immigrants live from both worlds. As a result, there are the haves and the have-nots. Here is the world's newest "city of dreams." But in the shadow of the chaos, crime is rampant: drugs, prostitution, and weapon trafficking. The detectives who stand up to these heinous crimes are in the San Teresa City Police. When the detective Kei Matoba and the alternate-world knight Tirana — two individuals who differ in gender, personality, and even world of origin — meet, an incident erupts. Two worlds. Two justices. From this, the curtain rises on a buddy police action story!



Tags: Police , Crime , Urban Fantasy , Magic , Detective , Noir , Gangs , Guns , Foreign , Politics , Swordplay , Isekai , Demons , Language Barrier , Drugs , Mafia , Aliens , Cars , Vampire , Body Swapping , Henshin , Episodic , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Survival

ID: INVADED

Also known as ID: INVADED.

Studio: NAZ , Funimation , KADOKAWA
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Welcome to Kura, an organization that investigates crime using the Mizuhanome system which senses the drive to kill. Sakaido is a brilliant detective and pilot of the Mizuhanome. To solve a case, he enters the world of the killer's unconscious mind: the id well. In the shadows of brutal and puzzling cases lurks John Walker, the Serial Killer Creator. Where will Sakaido's pursuit lead?



Tags: Detective , Virtual World , Crime , Alternate Universe , Police , Tragedy , Memory Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Augmented Reality , Primarily Adult Cast , Prison , Meta , Revenge , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Amnesia , Cyberpunk , Gore , Time Manipulation , CGI , Suicide , Guns