Anime like GHOST IN THE SHELL: Koukaku Kidoutai

AKIRA

Also known as Akira.

Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha , Funimation , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Kodansha , Bandai Entertainment , Toho , Madman Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

It's the year 2019, thirty-one years have passed since the start of World War III. A top-secret child with amazing powers of the mind breaks free from custody and accidentally gets a motorcycle gang involved in the project. This incident triggers psychic powers within one of the gang members, Tetsuo, and he is taken by the army to be experimented on. His mind has been altered and is now on the path of war, seeking revenge on the society that once called him weak.



Tags: Cyberpunk , Post-Apocalyptic , Dystopian , Super Power , Urban , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Delinquents , Body Horror , Urban Fantasy , Motorcycles , Anti-Hero , Conspiracy , Gangs , Military , Gore , Philosophy , Crime , Orphan , Politics , Mythology , Aliens , Nudity

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Also known as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

Studio: TRIGGER , CD PROJEKT RED , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

An original anime series set in in the universe of Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he chooses to stay alive by becoming an edgerunner—a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.



Note: The first episode received a pre-screening at Anime Expo on July 2, 2022. The first 3 dubbed episodes were streamed on Twitch as part of a co-stream promotion on September 12, a day before the show’s premiere.

Tags: Cyberpunk , Tragedy , Crime , Dystopian , Cyborg , Class Struggle , Orphan , Gangs , Male Protagonist , Urban , Body Horror , Guns , Gore , Revenge , Anti-Hero , Primarily Adult Cast , Drugs , Terrorism , Coming of Age , Nudity , Artificial Intelligence , Ensemble Cast , Tomboy , Time Skip , Time Manipulation , Software Development , Space , Robots , Cars , Age Gap

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

Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song

Also known as Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-.

Studio: WIT STUDIO , Aniplex of America , Aniplex
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Music , Sci-Fi , Thriller

An AI named Matsumoto appears before Vivy, the world’s first autonomous humanoid AI. Matsumoto’s mission is to rewrite history together with Vivy, in order to stop the war between AI and humans that will happen one century later.



Tags: Artificial Intelligence , Robots , Female Protagonist , Time Manipulation , Tragedy , Time Skip , Philosophy , Terrorism , War , Guns , Dystopian , Musical Theater , Cyberpunk , Primarily Female Cast , Kuudere , Memory Manipulation , Anthropomorphism , Idol , Conspiracy , Politics , Dissociative Identities , Rehabilitation , Primarily Adult Cast , Amnesia , Martial Arts , Suicide , Body Swapping , Nudity , Heterosexual , Marriage , Space , CGI , Gangs

JIN-ROH

Also known as Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Entertainment , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

In a very different Tokyo from the one we know today, the totalitarian government rules with an iron fist. But a group called "the Sect" is staging demonstrations and challenging the government's martial law. Constable Fuse of the Capital Police's Special Unit is on a mission to stop a Sect demonstration when he encounters a girl in the sewers under Tokyo.

When he fails to shoot as ordered, he is put on trial, questioned, and "re-conditioned" as a soldier. But the dead girl haunts him, both in his dreams and in the face of her sister, whom Fuse has befriended. But Fuse has made himself a target for some very powerful men... And as the world comes crashing down around him, Fuse is continually challenged to decide what is real and what is right.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 6, 1999.

Tags: Conspiracy , Tragedy , Police , Philosophy , Espionage , Terrorism , Military , Dystopian , Noir , Politics , Seinen , Fairy Tale , Fugitive , Guns , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Gore , Nudity , Body Horror

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

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

Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor 2: the Movie

Also known as Mobile Police Patlabor 2: The Movie.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Visual , VAP , Touhouku Shinsha , Shouchiku , Ashi Productions , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mecha , Mystery , Sci-Fi

The date is 2002, three years after the events of PATLABOR 1 – Mobile Police. The destruction of a United Nations Labor team in South East Asia begins the build-up to a deadly terrorist plan that threatens to send shockwaves throughout Japan's military. With evidence of an impending military takeover, the scattered members of the original SVD (Special Vehicle Division) must gather to defend the city against danger. To make matters worse, the mastermind behind the operation is none other than Nagumo's former teacher and ex-lover Tsuge.



Tags: Terrorism , Noir , Conspiracy , Police , Philosophy , Military , Politics , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Real Robot , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist

Shin Seiki Evangelion

Also known as Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Studio: Gainax , TV Tokyo , ADV Films , Kadokawa Shoten , NAS , Tatsunoko Production , GKIDS , Madman Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind's survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion's one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything.



Note: Later releases include edited versions of Episodes 21-24 called the "Director's Cut" with some visual editing and adding extra scenes that appeared in the theatrical recap 'Death'.

Tags: Philosophy , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Super Robot , Denpa , Dystopian , Post-Apocalyptic , Angels , Psychosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Suicide , Kaiju , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Cosmic Horror , Aliens , Body Horror , Mythology , Religion , Military , Clone , Kuudere , Tokusatsu , Tsundere , Politics , Gore , Trains , Bisexual , Espionage , LGBTQ+ Themes , Nudity , Episodic , Boys' Love

Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG

Also known as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Visual , Dentsu , Victor Entertainment , Bandai Entertainment , Tokuma Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In a futuristic world where the internet and cybernetics has blurred the borders between societies; the members of Public Security Section 9 are reinstated to assist in solving numerous cases of cyber crime.

A spate of similar crimes committed by separate suicidal groups known as "The Individual Eleven" becomes the core focus for Section 9 as war approaches in the form of refugees flooding into the country.



Tags: Police , Cyberpunk , Politics , Terrorism , Military , Philosophy , Conspiracy , Episodic , Urban , Artificial Intelligence , Seinen , Cyborg , Female Protagonist , Robots , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Guns , Dystopian , Real Robot , CGI , Memory Manipulation , Kuudere , Drugs , Gore