Anime like Jigoku Shoujo

Death Parade

Also known as Death Parade.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , DAX Production , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

When two people die at the same time, they’re sent to a place that’s neither heaven nor hell—a lavish bar between worlds where the stakes are high and the rules are simple: if you win you live again, if you die… you’re gone for good.

Decim is the bartender charged with serving the souls who enter Quindecim. He may make a mean cocktail, but his true profession is to play the role of arbiter—a judge who determines whether or not a soul is worthy of reincarnation. To aid in his judgment, the bar’s patrons are forced to play simple games laced with sadistic twists designed to bring their true natures to light. To Decim, judgment has always been black and white—that is—until he meets a mysterious young woman whose fate seems impossible to decide. His indecision shakes the very foundation of the games and raises the biggest question of all: Who is fit to judge the dead?



Tags: Death Game , Afterlife , Philosophy , Tragedy , Amnesia , Memory Manipulation , Reincarnation , Bar , Primarily Adult Cast , Episodic , Suicide , Gambling , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Mythology , Kuudere , CGI , Ice Skating , Revenge , Bowling , Gyaru , Tanned Skin

xxxHOLiC

Also known as xxxHOLiC.

Studio: Production I.G , Funimation , BMG Japan , Kids Station , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Watanuki Kimihiro can see spirits and other assorted supernatural creatures, which is quite a bothersome ability he strongly dislikes. On the way home one day, while plagued by some spirits, he is inexplicably compelled to enter a strange house. There, he encounters Yuuko, a mysterious woman who claims to be able to rid him of the ability to see and attract the troublesome creatures – for a price. She demands for him to work at her "store" that grants wishes to people, and thus begins Watanuki's adventures through weird and wonderful events.

Tags: Mythology , Urban Fantasy , Youkai , Male Protagonist , Football , Curses , Episodic , Philosophy , Seinen , Denpa , Work , Animals , Ghost , Ensemble Cast , Orphan , School , Gods , Twins , Archery

Petshop of Horrors

Also known as Petshop of Horrors.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Trans Arts , TBS , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Count D, a quite interesting pet shop owner from an area called Chinatown, sells rare and hard to come by pets to people longing for something special, but with each sale comes a contract. If the rules of the contract are followed, everything goes fine, but if someone should break the rules of the contract, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for anything unfortunate that might happen. Leon Orcot, a homicide detective, has linked many odd and unexplainable deaths together; they all were customers of Count D's pet shop, and he intends to find out why.



Tags: Urban Fantasy , Animals , Foreign , Episodic , Mythology , Philosophy , Shapeshifting , Detective , Josei , Tragedy , Mermaid , Male Protagonist , Crime , Body Horror , Magic , Anthropomorphism , Police , Monster Girl , Nudity , Love Triangle , Urban , Necromancy , Body Swapping

Shigofumi

Also known as Shigofumi.

Studio: J.C.STAFF , Bandai Visual , Genco , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

When someone dies, what should their final words be? Words that couldn't be said while still alive - of love, hate, hope, regret or perhaps words without any importance. These words are sent through letters called "shigofumi" from the recently deceased to the living. Mikawa Fumika is a mail carrier of these shigofumi, delivering them alongside staff and her partner Kanaka. However, there must be something more behind Fumika's silent exterior; shigofumi mail carriers are deceased humans with the same appearance they had just before death. Despite this, Fumika is still aging...

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Suicide , Denpa , Tomboy , Amnesia , Work , Tragedy , Tennis , Afterlife , Conspiracy , School , Magic , Episodic , Gods , Bullying , Kuudere , Disability , Writing , Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Revenge , Crime , Heterosexual , Guns , Office Lady , Family Life , Police , Detective

Boogiepop wa Warawanai: Boogiepop Phantom

Also known as Boogiepop Phantom.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , d-rights , The Right Stuf International , Triangle Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop... Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she can possibly exist in this day and age. Still, strange things appear to be going on and the darkness is taking on many forms. Something is out there. Are you safe?



Tags: Achronological Order , Urban Fantasy , Denpa , Philosophy , Dissociative Identities , Bullying , Crime , Episodic , Female Protagonist , Suicide , Drugs , Agender , Kuudere

Shiki

Also known as Shiki.

Studio: Aniplex , Daume , Dentsu , Fuji TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Supernatural , Thriller

During a fiercely hot summer in Sotoba, a peaceful and quiet village with a population of 1300 people, a series of bizarre deaths begin to occur. At the same time, a strange family moves into a long abandoned mansion in the region. After supposedly visiting this strange family, the fashionable Shimizu Megumi goes missing and the entire village goes out in search for her.

Tags: Vampire , Survival , Tragedy , Rural , Anti-Hero , Ensemble Cast , Zombie , Philosophy , Denpa , Gore , Pandemic , Urban Fantasy , Medicine , Male Protagonist , Revenge , Religion , Achronological Order , Yandere , Writing , Guns , Primarily Teen Cast , Werewolf , Foreign , Monster Girl

Kuroshitsuji

Also known as Black Butler.

Studio: Aniplex , A-1 Pictures , Square Enix , Yomiko Advertising , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Movic , Trinity Sound , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Fantasy , Mystery , Supernatural

In Victorian-era Europe, a young boy loses everything he once held near and dear to a vicious plot. In his moment of death, he strikes a deal with a demon: his soul, in exchange for revenge. Ciel Phantomhive is now the head of the Phantomhive corporation, handling all business affairs as well as the underground work for the Queen of England. His new partner is a demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, whose powers as a butler is only surpassed by his strength as a demon.

The story follows the two along with their other servants, as they work to unravel the plot behind Ciel's parents' murder, and the horrendous tragedies that befell Ciel in the month directly after.

Tags: Butler , Crime , Tragedy , Demons , Revenge , Historical , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Foreign , Gender Bending , Detective , Assassins , Mythology , Transgender , Food , Kuudere , Angels , Primarily Male Cast , Episodic , Urban Fantasy , Shounen , Agender , Crossdressing , Ninja , Chibi , Urban , Ghost

Vampire Miyu (TV)

Also known as Vampire Princess Miyu (TV).

Studio: AIC , Arts Pro , Victor Entertainment , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Horror , Supernatural

Evil Shinma (shape-shifting monsters and vampires) roam the Earth on a mission to unleash their darkness upon the Human race. Miyu Royal Princess from the dark is the Chosen One—the one being who must banish the Evil Shinma from the Earth. She has the power to offer Humans the gift of eternal happiness, yet is herself, trapped between two worlds; destined for perpetual solitude and internal conflict.

Miyu's only companion is Larva, once an evil Shimna; now her devoted guardian. Together they share a dark journey through the weakness of the human heart and the tragic loss of innocence. Cut off from humanity by the knowledge of what she is, Miyu lives an endless quest as both the hunter and the hunted, on the edge of darkness.



Tags: Demons , Episodic , Anti-Hero , Vampire , Youkai , Shoujo , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Body Horror , Primarily Female Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Urban Fantasy , Gore

Death Billiards

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

Two men have just arrived at a location known as Quindecim and are unable to remember how they got there. They are immediately greeted by a young woman who escorts them to a small bar, where a bartender awaits them. They are told that they will have to participate in a game, randomly chosen by roulette, and will be unable to leave until its completion; if they refuse, the consequences will be dire. In addition to the rules of the game, the two men are told to play as if their lives are at stake.
The game that has been chosen is billiards. But there's more to it than just pocketing pool balls, as the two are about to find out the outcome could mean life or death.
Death Billiards is one of the four anime works that each received 38 million yen (about US$480,000) from the "2012 Young Animator Training Project." Just like in 2010 and 2011, the animation labor group received 214.5 million yen (US$2.65 million) from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and it distributed most of those funds to studios who train young animators on-the-job.


Tags: Afterlife , Philosophy , Gambling , Primarily Adult Cast , Bar , Death Game , Elderly Protagonist , Amnesia , Primarily Male Cast , 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: Time Loop , Denpa , 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