Anime like Haibane Renmei

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 , POV , Orphan , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Trains , Aliens , School , Isekai , Death Game , Age Gap , Bullying , Zombie

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou

Also known as Girls' Last Tour.

Studio: White Fox , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they're sucking down their fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing, the experiences and feelings the two share give them something to live for…



Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Lost Civilization , Philosophy , Episodic , Tragedy , Iyashikei , Travel , Female Protagonist , Environmental , Urban , Survival , Primarily Female Cast , Chibi , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Military , Seinen , Robots , Tanks , Snowscape , Artificial Intelligence , Kuudere , Aliens , CGI , Guns , Photography

Kino no Tabi: the Beautiful World

Also known as Kino's Journey.

Studio: WOWOW , Genco , A.C.G.T. , Sentai Filmworks , Studio Wombat
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Slice of Life

Based on a hit light novel series by Keiichi Sigsawa, the philosophical Kino's Journey employs the time-honored motif of the road trip as a vehicle for self-discovery and universal truth. Deeply meditative and cooler than zero, the series follows the existential adventures of the apt marksman Kino along with talking motorcycle Hermes as they travel the world and learn much about themselves in the process. Imaginative, thought-provoking, and sometimes disturbing, Kino's journey is documented in an episodic style with an emphasis on atmosphere rather than action or plot, though still prevalent.

Tags: Philosophy , Episodic , Travel , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Tragedy , Meta , Motorcycles , Achronological Order , Dystopian , Guns , Rural , Steampunk , Agender , Denpa , Snowscape , Seinen , Mopeds , Politics , Cannibalism , Robots , Kuudere , Battle Royale , Aviation , War , Tanks

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

Houseki no Kuni

Also known as Land of the Lustrous.

Studio: Orange , Sentai Filmworks , Kodansha , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Movic , AT-X , Toho , Q-Tec
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological

In the mysterious future, crystalline organisms called Gems inhabit a world that has been destroyed by six meteors. Each Gem is assigned a role in order to fight against the Lunarians, a species who attacks them in order to shatter their bodies and use them as decorations.

Phosphophyllite, also known as Phos, is a young and fragile Gem who dreams of helping their friends in the war effort. Instead, they are told to compile an encyclopedia because of their delicate condition. After begrudgingly embarking on this task, Phos meets Cinnabar, an intelligent gem who has been relegated to patrolling the isolated island at night because of the corrosive poison their body creates. After seeing how unhappy Cinnabar is, Phos decides to find a role that both of the rejected Gems can enjoy. Houseki no Kuni follows Phos' efforts to be useful and protect their fellow Gems.

Tags: Full CGI , Philosophy , Tragedy , Agender , Anthropomorphism , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Coming of Age , CGI , Memory Manipulation , Body Horror , Survival , Amnesia , Conspiracy , Time Skip , War , Swordplay , Shapeshifting , Language Barrier , Tsundere , Astronomy , Twins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Slapstick

So Ra No Wo To

Also known as Sound of the Sky.

Studio: Aniplex , A-1 Pictures , The Right Stuf International
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

In a lonely corner of the world, on the edge of No Man’s Land, sits Clocktower Fortress. It’s home to the 1121st Platoon of the Helvetian Army, and their newest member is a 15-year-old volunteer named Kanata Sorami, who enlisted to learn how to play the bugle. When she was a child, Kanata was saved by a beautiful soldier and found inspiration in the clear, golden sound of her trumpet. From that day forward, Kanata decided music would be her life.

As the other platoon members train her how to be a bugler and a soldier, Kanata's enduring optimism will inspire them to look for happiness and beauty, even in a world haunted by war.



Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Military , Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Lost Civilization , Episodic , Primarily Female Cast , Steampunk , Iyashikei , Kuudere , Philosophy , War , Ensemble Cast , Tragedy , CGI , Tsundere , Nun , Tanks , Language Barrier

Shinsekai yori

Also known as From the New World.

Studio: Aniplex , TV Asahi , A-1 Pictures , Pony Canyon , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Following a sudden outbreak of psychokinesis in 0.1% of the population, a rapid transformation swept the world. The godlike ability to manipulate matter remotely turned many power wielders to violence, inciting a long period of upheaval. Finally, after a chaotic era shaped by the rise and fall of oppressive regimes, the psychic humans were able to achieve a fragile peace by isolating their society, creating a new world bound by complex rules.

In the town of Kamisu 66, 12-year-old Saki Watanabe has just awakened to her powers and is relieved to rejoin her friends—the mischievous Satoru Asahina, the shy Mamoru Itou, the cheerful Maria Akizuki, and Shun Aonuma, a mysterious boy whom Saki admires—at Sage Academy, a special school for psychics. However, unease looms as Saki begins to question the fate of those unable to awaken to their powers, and the children begin to get involved with secretive matters such as the rumored Tainted Cats said to abduct children.

Shinsekai yori tells the unique coming-of-age story of Saki and her friends as they journey to grow into their roles in the supposed utopia. Accepting these roles, however, might not come easy when faced with the dark and shocking truths of society, and the impending havoc born from the new world.



Tags: Class Struggle , Dystopian , Lost Civilization , Post-Apocalyptic , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Super Power , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Female Protagonist , Slavery , Conspiracy , Memory Manipulation , Politics , Revenge , Bisexual , Survival , War , Animals , Cosmic Horror , Magic , Rural , Environmental , Amnesia , Cult , Gore , Body Horror , LGBTQ+ Themes , Fugitive , Chimera , Heterosexual , Religion , Love Triangle , Torture , Anthropomorphism , School , Boys' Love , Aviation

Mushishi

Also known as MUSHI-SHI.

Studio: Artland , Marvelous Entertainment , Funimation , Delfi Sound
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Neither good nor evil, they are life in its purest form. Vulgar and strange, they have inspired fear in humans since the dawn of time and have, over the ages, come to be known as "mushi." The stories of the Mushi and the people they affect are all linked together by a traveling Mushi-shi, or "Mushi Master," who seeks rare Mushi sightings and uses his shaman-like knowledge of Mushi to help the affected people.

What are the Mushi and what do they want?



Tags: Environmental , Youkai , Mythology , Episodic , Philosophy , Rural , Male Protagonist , Travel , Snowscape , Tragedy , Outdoor , Seinen , Historical , Coastal , Primarily Adult Cast , Amnesia , Urban Fantasy , Cult , Suicide , Exorcism

Tenshi no Tamago

Also known as Angel's Egg.

Studio: Studio Gallop , Studio DEEN , Studio Hibari , Tokuma Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological

In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life... and they discuss the world around them.



Tags: Philosophy , Dystopian , Lost Civilization , Mythology , Post-Apocalyptic , Tragedy , Religion , Cosmic Horror , Female Protagonist , Angels , Amnesia , Coming of Age , Urban Fantasy , Survival , Fairy Tale , Foreign , Tanks , Cultivation

NieA Under 7

Also known as NieA_7.

Studio: Genco , Triangle Staff , Kadokawa Shoten , SynergySP , Pioneer LDC , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

In the 21st century, aliens have arrived on Earth and live among humans. In sleepy Enohana, the dirt-poor student Chigasaki Mayuko finds herself living together with NieA, a low-caste ("Under Seven") alien. While Mayuko struggles diligently to make ends meet, NieA seems to be totally unconcerned with the consequences of her actions. As the odd couple throws off the expected sparks, the wrecked alien mothership looms in the background...



Tags: Slapstick , Aliens , Female Protagonist , Family Life , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Surreal Comedy , Work , Rural , Restaurant , Denpa , Terrorism