Anime like Boogiepop wa Warawanai: Boogiepop Phantom

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 , Death Game , Age Gap , Bullying , Zombie

Mousou Dairinin

Also known as Paranoia Agent.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Asmik Ace , Geneon Entertainment , Tohokushinsha Film Corporation , WOWOW , Techno Sound , Chaos Union
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

An elementary school kid dubbed with the title "shounen bat" or "lil slugger" has been going around attacking people with his bent, golden bat. Now, two detectives are investigating so they can stop this kid from making any more attacks, but they will find out soon enough... that this case is much more than they expected.



Tags: Denpa , Crime , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Urban Fantasy , Police , Female Protagonist , Meta , Urban , Episodic , Nudity , Dissociative Identities , Disability , Satire , Suicide , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Prostitution , Chuunibyou , Ghost , Cosmic Horror , LGBTQ+ Themes , Bullying

TEXHNOLYZE

Also known as Texhnolyze.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Group TAC , Funimation , Rondo Robe , Fuji TV , Pioneer LDC
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In a man-made underground society, descendants of a banished generation vie for control of the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, an orphan turned prize fighter, loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged fight promoter. On the brink of death he is taken in by a young woman doctor and used as a guinea pig for the next evolution of Texhnolyze. With his new limbs, Ichise is taken under the wing of Oonishi, a powerful leader of Organ, an organization with some hold on Lux. As Ichise is drawn deeper into a war for territorial control of the city, he learns of his possible future from the young girl prophet Ran, who guides him from the shadows in his darkest times. With the explosion of the warfare, Ichise must uncover the truth about Lux and fight for his survival as he realizes his destiny.



Tags: Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Philosophy , Noir , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Survival , Mafia , Denpa , Post-Apocalyptic , Class Struggle , Gangs , Crime , Disability , Male Protagonist , Cyborg , Guns , Terrorism , Amputation , Primarily Male Cast , Gore , Lost Civilization , Female Protagonist , War , Conspiracy , Cult , Suicide , Afterlife , Heterosexual , Drugs , Boxing

Shinreigari: Ghost Hound

Also known as Ghost Hound.

Studio: Production I.G , Pony Canyon , Sentai Filmworks , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

In an isolated region of Kyushu lies the town of Suiten. Though seeming small and modest, Suiten is not a picturesque place for a vacation, unless it is from the “Unseen World”. Taro, Makoto and Masayuki, three boys with traumatic pasts, learn to let their souls cross between the two parallel worlds. However, the Unseen World is no mere copy of the real Apparent World. The Unseen World is the home of ghosts, but changes are now allowing the souls of the dead to pass over into the Apparent World, with unpredictable effects. Follow the journey of Taro, Makoto and Masayuki, as they cross between the two worlds, trying to unravel a great mystery.



Tags: Denpa , Ghost , Rural , Dissociative Identities , Cosmic Horror , Rehabilitation , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Cult , Kuudere , Conspiracy , Mythology , Seinen , Bullying , Philosophy , Love Triangle , No Dialogue , Nudity

Black★Rock Shooter (TV)

Also known as Black Rock Shooter.

Studio: Aniplex , Dentsu , Funimation , Ordet , SANZIGEN , Ultra Super Pictures , Sony Music Entertainment , Fujipacific Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Slice of Life

It isn't the world you know. There wanders a girl with jet-black hair, ebony clothes, and a strikingly blue, glowing eye. Her name is Black★Rock Shooter. With a huge cannon in hand, she throws herself into a fierce battle...

Meanwhile, in another world, middle-school student Mato Kuroi is drawn to Yomi Takanashi, her classmate with an unusual family name. Mato does her best to talk to Yomi, who just won't open up. Yu Koutari mocks her best friend Mato's efforts but at the same time, supports her. Mato also finds herself surrounded by other colorful characters at school, like the eccentric school counselor, Saya Irino, and the hot-blooded captain of her club club, Arata Kohata.

Then, one day, the window of opportunity opens. After Mato sees that Yomi has her favorite picture book, "Li'l Birds At Play", they strike up a conversation and Mato is invited to come over to Yomi's house. There, they gradually break the ice, until a girl in a wheelchair appears. This is Yomi's best friend, Kagari Izuriha...

Two worlds. Mato and Black★Rock Shooter. This is the story of their "pain".



Tags: Primarily Female Cast , Alternate Universe , Female Protagonist , Body Swapping , Coming of Age , School , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Urban , Disability , Yandere , Swordplay , Bullying , Vocal Synth , Dissociative Identities , CGI , Rehabilitation , Reincarnation , Guns , Primarily Teen Cast , Spearplay , Tanned Skin , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossover , Drawing , Skeleton , Isekai , Gore , Basketball , Nudity

PERFECT BLUE

Also known as Perfect Blue.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Rex Entertainment , ONIRO , Techno Sound , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Psychological , Thriller

Rising pop star Mima has quit singing to pursue a career as an actress and model, but her fans aren’t ready to see her go... Encouraged by her managers, Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima’s reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia. As her stalker closes in, in person and online, the threat he poses is more real than even Mima knows, in this iconic psychological thriller that has frequently been hailed as one of the most important animated films of all time.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 5, 1997.

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Denpa , Female Protagonist , Acting , Idol , Primarily Adult Cast , Meta , Work , Filmmaking , Philosophy , Tragedy , Gore , Nudity , Noir

Sonny Boy

Also known as Sonny Boy.

Studio: MADHOUSE , BS Asahi , Shouchiku , Marui Group
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

It’s an ordinary summer vacation...except for the fact that Nagara’s high school has mysteriously drifted into another dimension. As the students begin to develop strange new powers, will they work together to survive the alien environment and find a way home, or will their newly formed factions and rivalries turn on each other?



Note: The first episode received an advance release on YouTube on June 19, 2021. The regular TV broadcast started on July 16, 2021.

Tags: Alternate Universe , Philosophy , Denpa , Super Power , Coming of Age , Survival , Primarily Teen Cast , Travel , Isekai , Meta , Achronological Order , School , Cosmic Horror , Episodic , Tragedy , Mixed Media , Male Protagonist , Gods , Animals , Heterosexual , Baseball , Suicide , Desert , Unrequited Love , Wilderness , Space

Mouryou no Hako

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Supernatural , Thriller

Between August and October, 1952, a series of unusual crimes takes place in Musashino and Mitaka: the attempted murder of 14-year-old Kanako Yuzuki, Kanako's abduction from the strange research "hospital" where she was recovering, then abductions of other girls, followed by their severed limbs in custom-fitted boxes being placed in surrounding towns. News editor Morihiko Toriguchi and crime fiction writer Tatsumi Sekiguchi investigate with the help of onmyōji Akihiko Chūzenji. Meanwhile, Tōkyō police detective Shutaro Kiba searches for Kanako, despite Kanagawa police having jurisdiction; and the lawyer for the estate of Kanako's grandfather hires private investigator Reijiro Enokizu to find Kanako, as well. Their investigation uncovers bizarre truths and dark family secrets along the way.



Tags: Historical , Achronological Order , Ensemble Cast , Police , Primarily Adult Cast , Detective , Philosophy , Denpa , Rural , Body Horror , Youkai , Incest

Jigoku Shoujo

Also known as Hell Girl.

Studio: Aniplex , Studio DEEN , Funimation , SKY Perfect Well Think
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Somewhere in the vast sea of the Internet, there's a website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Known as the Jigoku Tsushin, rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, the Jigoku Shoujo will appear and drag whoever torments you into the inferno. Very little is known about the girl - all we know for sure is that she lives with her equally enigmatic grandmother, that three magical straw dolls accompany and serve her, and that whenever a posting on the Jigoku Tsushin moves her, she becomes the Jigoku Shoujo.


Tags: Revenge , Episodic , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Bullying , Afterlife , Curses , Ghost , Urban , Oiran , Detective , Gore , Crime , Conspiracy , Cosmic Horror , School , Blackmail , Rural , Torture , Aliens , Circus , Twins , Veterinarian , Kuudere ,

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Also known as When They Cry.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Frontier Works , Sotsu , DAX Production , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 07th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios.

Tags: Denpa , Time Loop , Alternate Universe , Ensemble Cast , Time Manipulation , Tragedy , Rural , Conspiracy , Achronological Order , Gore , Chibi , Body Horror , Bullying , Torture , Yandere , Urban Fantasy , Twins , Male Protagonist , Mythology , Pandemic , Primarily Female Cast , School Club , Shrine Maiden , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Police , Historical , Crossdressing , Board Game