Anime like Aku no Hana

Aoi Bungaku Series

Also known as Blue Literature Series.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

The series consists of adaptations of six modern classics of Japanese literature: Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) & Run Melos! (Hashire Melos!), Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) & The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito), and Ango Sakaguchi's In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita).

No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) - A high school student becomes lost and alienated. Despondent and aimless, he falls into a cycle of self abuse, depression and drugs that taints his life for years. Told in three chapters, each chapter deals with a different point in his life and the final chapter leaves him standing alone - an empty and hollow charicature of his former self.

In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita) - A love story between a 12th-century woman and a mountain bandit who abducts her.

Kokoro - A 1914 tale of a young man's life journey during the Meiji era. The work deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls "Sensei". It continues the theme of isolation developed in Soseki's previous works, here in the context of interwoven strands of egoism and guilt, as opposed to shame.

Run Melos! (Hashire Melos!) - An updated retelling of a classic Greek tale of the story of Damon and Pythias. The most prominent theme of "Run Melos!" is unwavering friendship. Despite facing hardships, the protagonist Melos does his best to save his friend's life, and in the end his efforts are rewarded.

The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito) - The Buddha Shakyamuni chances to notice a cold-hearted criminal suffering in Hell. But this criminal did perform one single act of kindness in not stepping on a spider in a forest. Moved by this selfless act, Shakyamuni takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell, but it falls upon the criminal to seize the opportunity and pull himself out - if he can.

Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) - A famous artist is commissioned by a great lord to create a series of paintings depicting scenes of the 'Buddhist Hell'. The artist is unable to paint scenes that he has not seen himself, prompting him to torture and torment the Lord's staff to create his imagined images of hell. His creative efforts taint the household, as the story descends into madness and destruction.



Tags: Classic Literature , Tragedy , Philosophy , Anthology , Historical , Suicide , Autobiographical , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Drawing , War , Gore , Trains , Politics , Rural , Demons , Ojou-sama , Female Harem , Writing , Fairy Tale , Afterlife , Delinquents , Psychosexual

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

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 , Primarily Teen Cast , Survival , Isekai , Meta , Achronological Order , School , Cosmic Horror , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Mixed Media , Gods , Animals , Heterosexual , Baseball , Suicide , Desert , Unrequited Love , Wilderness , Space

Kuzu no Honkai

Also known as Scum's Wish.

Studio: Lerche , Kansai TV , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Ecchi , Psychological , Romance

Hanabi has loved her older friend Narumi for years, but she’s still in high school and not only is Narumi now her new homeroom teacher, he’s also clearly in love with the music teacher, Akane. And as awkward as being the unwanted third in a romantic triangle can be, things become even more twisted for Hanabi when she learns that another student, Mugi, is in love with Akane. That leads to a strange idea: since the ones that Mugi and Hanabi are in love with aren’t available, the two unrequited thirds start to explore the idea of becoming each other’s substitute surrogate relationship. It’s not about romance, of course. Just sex and convenience.



Tags: Love Triangle , Unrequited Love , Netorare , Coming of Age , Heterosexual , School , Female Protagonist , Age Gap , Fake Relationship , Tragedy , Philosophy , Nudity , Primarily Teen Cast , Seinen , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Female Cast , Male Protagonist , Inseki

Ping Pong THE ANIMATION

Also known as Ping Pong the Animation.

Studio: Tatsunoko Production , Aniplex
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

Tsukimoto Makoto (nicknamed Smile) is a quiet high-schooler who's been friends with the loud and energetic Hoshino Yukata (nicknamed Peko). They're both in the table tennis club and are very good at it, though Smile's personality prevents him from winning against Peko. The club teacher however notices Smile's talent and tries to make him gain some sportive tenacity.



Tags: Coming of Age , Table Tennis , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Rotoscoping , School , Teacher , Language Barrier , CGI , Bullying , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Delinquents , Coastal , Suicide

NHK ni Youkoso!

Also known as Welcome to the N-H-K.

Studio: GONZO , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life

Satou’s life – or what’s left of it – is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He’s terrified of the outside world; his apartment is overflowing with the remnants of cheap take-out food; and his retinas have been permanently scarred by a steady diet of internet porn. But maybe it’s not all his fault. After all, the nefarious N-H-K is out there, and they’re determined to turn society’s fringe-dwellers into a brainwashed lot of jobless, hopeless, futureless recluses.

Enter Misaki – a mysterious girl-next-door type who is Satou’s last chance to beat down his inner demons and venture out into the light of day. She’s ready to help him overcome his crippling phobias, but Satou would rather cower in his existential foxhole and pretend to work on the demo for his virtual sex game.

He’s afraid to face the world. She’s strangely desperate to fix a total stranger. Maybe together they can be normal.



Tags: Hikikomori , Rehabilitation , Otaku Culture , Male Protagonist , Denpa , Conspiracy , Philosophy , Suicide , Primarily Adult Cast , Coming of Age , Psychosexual , Tragedy , Disability , Video Games , Software Development , Heterosexual , Nudity , Politics , Trains , Drugs

Kuuchuu Buranko

Also known as Welcome to Irabu's Office.

Studio: Toei Animation , Sony Music Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological

Many patients with different problems visit the psychiatric ward of Irabu General Hospital; a trapeze artist suffering from insomnia after suddenly failing his jumps, a gangster afraid of knives and sharp objects and a business man who has an erection 24 hours a day. They undergo counseling by Dr. Ichiro Irabu, who is the child-like son of the hospital director. His assistant is the sullen faced sexy nurse Mayumi. With his mysterious injections, and advice that does not make sense, Dr. Irabu confuses his patients. But at the end of his unique treatments, the patients are led to digging further into their souls to find peace of mind.



Tags: Denpa , Achronological Order , Surreal Comedy , Episodic , Medicine , Satire , Rotoscoping , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Meta , Primarily Adult Cast , Educational , Male Protagonist , Mixed Media , Baseball , Kuudere , Psychosexual , Yakuza

Dwaejiui Wang

Also known as The King of Pigs.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

After his business goes bankrupt, 30 something Kyung-Min (Oh Jung-Se) kills his wife impulsively. Hiding his anger, he seeks out his former middle school classmate Jong-Suk (Yang Ik-June). Jong-Suk now works as a ghostwriter for an autobiography, but he dreams of writing his own novel. For the first time in 15 years they meet. Kyung-Min and Jong-Suk both hide their own current situations and begin to talk about their middle school days.

At their middle school, they were classified by their wealth and grades. Kyung-Min and Jong-Suk were at the bottom. They were called pigs. They were bullied by a ruling class called dogs. When they were called pigs they got angry, but couldn't do anything against the dogs. Then a king of pigs appears - Chul (Kim Hye-Na). Kyung-Min and Jong-Suk became to rely on Chul-Yi.

Now, leading Jong-Suk to their middle school grounds, Kyung-Min discloses the shocking truth to Jong-Suk of what happened 15 years ago.



Tags: Bullying , School , Suicide , Denpa , Primarily Teen Cast , Full CGI

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 , Post-Apocalyptic , Denpa , Gangs , Disability , Crime , Male Protagonist , Guns , Cyborg , Terrorism , Amputation , Primarily Male Cast , Gore , Lost Civilization , Female Protagonist , War , Conspiracy , Cult , Suicide , Afterlife , Heterosexual , Drugs , Boxing

Bakemonogatari

Also known as Bakemonogatari.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Kodansha , Aniplex of America , Hanabee Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Romance , Supernatural

First season of the Monogatari Series, part 1/6. Contains the arcs Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Snail, Suruga Monkey, Nadeko Snake, and Tsubasa Cat from the Bakemonogatari light novels.

Thanks to Meme Oshino, Koyomi Araragi, a high school student, is able to remain a human after coming across a female vampire... However, since the incident, Koyomi seems to meet girls who have an apparition-related issue. Hitagi Senjougahara doesn’t weigh anything, Suruga Kanbaru’s right arm becomes like that of a monkey’s, and a young girl, Mayoi, cannot find her way home no matter how many times she tries. Koyomi, a Mr. Nice Guy, ends up helping each and every girl solve her problem with the help of Meme Oshino.



Tags: Youkai , Ensemble Cast , Urban Fantasy , Kuudere , Male Protagonist , Surreal Comedy , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Vampire , Ghost , Primarily Female Cast , Satire , Primarily Teen Cast , Meta , Heterosexual , Dissociative Identities , Psychosexual , Curses , Monster Girl , Yandere , Female Harem , Love Triangle , Tomboy , Parody , Gore , Rotoscoping , Mixed Media , Nekomimi , Gods , LGBTQ+ Themes , Tsundere , CGI , School , Amnesia , Rehabilitation , Aliens