Anime like Good Night World

Sword Art Online

Also known as Sword Art Online.

Studio: Aniplex , A-1 Pictures , Genco , DAX Production , Aniplex of America , ASCII Media Works , Bandai Namco Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Romance

In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...



Tags: Virtual World , Death Game , Video Games , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Isekai , Urban Fantasy , Primarily Female Cast , Rescue , Unrequited Love , Fairy , Artificial Intelligence , Found Family , Prison , Time Skip , Tragedy , Travel , Fishing , Amnesia , Medieval , Inseki

.hack//SIGN

Also known as .hack//SIGN.

Studio: Bee Train , Bandai Visual , Yomiko Advertising , Bandai , CyberConnect2 , Bandai Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery , Sci-Fi

A young wavemaster, only known by the alias of Tsukasa, wakes up in an MMORPG called The World, with slight amnesia. He does not know what he has previously done before he woke up. In The World, he is suspected to be a hacker of the Crimson Knights, as he was seen accompanying a tweaked character in the form of a cat. Unable to log out from the game, he wanders around looking for answers, avoiding the knights and other players he meets along the way.

As Tsukasa explores The World, he stumbles upon a magical item that takes the form of a 'guardian', which promises him protection from all harm. Subaru, the leader of the Crimson Knights, along with several other players who became acquainted with Tsukasa, set out to investigate why Tsukasa is unable to log out, and attempt to get to the bottom of the problem before it gets out of hand.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Virtual World , Female Protagonist , Video Games , Anti-Hero , Dissociative Identities , Gender Bending , Isekai , Amnesia , Magic , Ensemble Cast , Tragedy , Denpa , Tanned Skin , Super Power , LGBTQ+ Themes , Dungeon , Yuri , CGI

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 , Philosophy , Detective , Urban Fantasy , Ensemble Cast , Police , Amnesia , Homeless , Memory Manipulation , Office , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Meta , Suicide , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Disability , Satire , Dissociative Identities , Bullying , Female Protagonist , Fugitive , Hikikomori , Cosmic Horror , Nudity , Primarily Adult Cast , Chuunibyou , Ghost , Prostitution , LGBTQ+ Themes , Achronological Order

Summer Wars

Also known as Summer Wars.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Yomiuri TV , Funimation , Kadokawa Shoten , Warner Bros. Japan , GKIDS , D.N. Dream Partners , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Romance , Sci-Fi

When timid eleventh-grader and math genius Kenji Koiso is asked by older student and secret crush Natsuki to come with her to her family's Nagano home for a summer job, he agrees without hesitation.

Natsuki's family, the Jinnouchi clan, dates back to the Muromachi era (1336 to 1573), and they've all come together to celebrate the 90th birthday of the spunky matriarch of the family, Sakae. That’s when Kenji discovers his "summer job" is to pretend to be Natsuki's fiance and dance with her at the birthday celebration.

As Kenji attempts to keep up with Natsuki's act around her family, he receives a strange math problem on his cell phone which, being a math genius, he can't resist solving. As it turns out, the solution to the mysterious equation causes Oz, the program that controls nearly every aspect of life to be hacked into, it's up to Kenji and his new "family" to stop the hacker before it's too late.



Tags: Family Life , Virtual World , Artificial Intelligence , Ensemble Cast , Software Development , Rural , Male Protagonist , Terrorism , Female Protagonist , CGI , Coming of Age , Matriarchy , Estranged Family , Card Battle , Heterosexual , Military , Robots , Tanned Skin , Kemonomimi , Alternate Universe , Fake Relationship , Work , War , Baseball , Revenge , Anthropomorphism , Space , Gods

Shangri-La Frontier

Also known as Shangri-La Frontier.

Studio: C2C , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

"When was the last time I played a game that wasn't crap?" This is a world in the near future where games that use display screens are classified as retro. Anything that can't keep up with state-of-the-art VR technology is called a "crap game," and you see a large number of crap games coming out. Those who devote their lives to clearing these games are called "crap-game hunters," and Rakuro Hizutome is one of them. The game he's chosen to tackle next is Shangri-La Frontier, a "god-tier game" that has a total of thirty million players. Online friends... An expansive world... Encounters with rivals... These are changing Rakuro and all the other players' fates! The best game adventure tale by the strongest "crap game" player begins now!



Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Male Protagonist , Otaku Culture , Anthropomorphism , Swordplay , Shounen , Travel , Animals , Slapstick , Unrequited Love , Curses , Anachronism , Kemonomimi , Primarily Animal Cast , Assassins , Heterosexual , Gender Bending , Shapeshifting , POV , Dullahan , Goblin , Fugitive , CGI , Samurai

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 , Cyberpunk , Software Development , Conspiracy , Gods , Cosmic Horror , Cult , Suicide , Religion , Meta , Urban , Tragedy , Video Games , Primarily Female Cast , Orphan , Amnesia , Adoption , Afterlife , POV , Yuri , Drugs , Trains , School , Aliens , Death Game , Zombie , Age Gap , Bullying , Anachronism

Mirai Nikki

Also known as The Future Diary.

Studio: Funimation , Lantis , Kadokawa Shoten , Asread , Rakuonsha , Kadokawa Pictures Japan , KLOCKWORX , chara-ani.com , 12 Diary Holders , Dwango , Sakura Create
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

This psychological thriller, based on the manga written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno, is about Yuki, a loner who's not very good with people. He prefers to write a diary on his cell phone and talk to his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina – The God of Time and Space. However, Yuki soon learns that Deus is more than a figment of his imagination when he makes Yuki participate in a battle royale with eleven others. The contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future, each diary possessing unique features that give it both advantages and disadvantages. Within the next 90 days, the contestants must try to survive until there is only one left standing. The winner will become the new God of Time and Space.



Tags: Battle Royale , Death Game , Survival , Yandere , Tragedy , Alternate Universe , Psychosexual , Body Horror , Gore , Gods , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Anti-Hero , Crime , Heterosexual , Urban , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Terrorism , Clone , Guns , Super Power , CGI , Netorare , Meta , Adoption , Orphan , Slapstick , LGBTQ+ Themes , Bisexual , Tanned Skin , Prophecy

Shangri-La Frontier 2nd Season

Also known as Shangri-La Frontier Season 2.

Studio: C2C , Kodansha , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Netmarble , Crunchyroll , Tencent , Dentsu , Sammy
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

Rakuro Hizutome only cares about one thing: beating crappy VR games. He devotes his entire life to these buggy games and could clear them all in his sleep. One day, he decides to challenge himself and play a popular god-tier game called Shangri-La Frontier. But he quickly learns just how difficult it is. Will his expert skills be enough to uncover its hidden secrets?



Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Shounen , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Anthropomorphism , Magic , Martial Arts , E-Sports , Otaku Culture , Hikikomori , Animals , Travel , Pirates , Superhero , Curses , Kemonomimi , Unrequited Love , Real Robot , Mermaid , Gender Bending