Anime like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu

Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica

Also known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Movic , Nitroplus , Aniplex of America , Madoka Partners , Houbunsha , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Thriller

One night, 14-year-old Madoka Kaname has a terrible nightmare - against the backdrop of a devastated city, she witnesses a girl fight a losing battle against a dreadful being lingering above, while a cat-like magical creature tells Madoka the only way to change such tragic outcome is for her to make a contract with him and become a magical girl.

The next day, the teen's dream seemingly becomes reality as the girl she saw in her dream - Homura - arrives at Mitakihara Middle School as a transfer student, mysteriously warning Madoka to stay just the way she is; but when later on she and her best friend Sayaka encounter the same cat-like magical creature from her dream - who introduces himself as Kyubey - the pair discovers that magical girls are real, and what's more, they can choose to become one. All they must do is sign a contract with Kyubey and agree to take on the duty to fight abstract beings called 'witches' that spread despair to the human world, and in return, each one of them will be granted any single wish they desire. However, as Homura's omen suggests, there might be far more to becoming a magical girl than Madoka and Sayaka realize...

Notes:
Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the broadcasts of episodes 11 and 12 were delayed and were later aired as a double feature on April 21, 2011.

Tags: Tragedy , Magic , Female Protagonist , Witch , Primarily Female Cast , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Yuri , Time Loop , Coming of Age , Henshin , Kuudere , Survival , Aliens , Urban , Primarily Child Cast , Ensemble Cast , Gods , Anti-Hero , Suicide , Love Triangle , Guns , Spearplay , School , Tomboy , Anthropomorphism , Achronological Order

Steins;Gate

Also known as Steins;Gate.

Studio: Frontier Works , Funimation , Media Factory , Movic , AT-X , White Fox , Kadokawa Pictures Japan , Nitroplus
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Self-proclaimed mad scientist Okabe Rintarou lives in a small room in Akihabara, where he invents "future gadgets" with fellow lab members Shiina Mayuri, his air-headed childhood friend, and Hashida Itaru, an otaku hacker. The three pass the time by tinkering with their latest creation, a "Phone Microwave" that can be controlled through text messages.

The lab members soon face a string of mysterious incidents that lead to a game-changing discovery: the Phone Microwave can send emails to the past and thus alter history. Adapted from the critically acclaimed visual novel by 5pb. and Nitroplus, Steins;Gate takes Okabe to the depths of scientific theory and human despair as he faces the dire consequences of changing the past.

Tags: Time Manipulation , Alternate Universe , Conspiracy , Time Loop , Tragedy , Memory Manipulation , Denpa , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Dissociative Identities , Philosophy , Chuunibyou , Tsundere , Otaku Culture , Heterosexual , Kuudere , Suicide , Amnesia , Ensemble Cast , Transgender , War , Gender Bending , Post-Apocalyptic , Maids , Shrine Maiden , Cosplay , Trains

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: Denpa , Alternate Universe , Time Manipulation , Ensemble Cast , Tragedy , Rural , Conspiracy , Achronological Order , Gore , Time Loop , Chibi , Body Horror , Bullying , Torture , Male Protagonist , Yandere , Twins , Urban Fantasy , Mythology , Pandemic , Primarily Female Cast , Cosmic Horror , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Shrine Maiden , Police , Female Protagonist , Historical , Board Game , Crossdressing

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Also known as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

Studio: White Fox , Funimation , Kadokawa Shoten , Media Factory , AT-X , TV Tokyo , Magic Capsule
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

In the story, Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.



Notes:
The first episode aired with a runtime of ~50 minutes as opposed to the standard 25 minute long episode.
In the Winter 2020 season, Re:ZERO was rebroadcast and re-edited to fit into an hour time-slot. This edit included the first OVA and added slight modifications to certain scenes throughout. It also added an additional scene at the end of the final episode.

Tags: Isekai , Time Manipulation , Time Loop , Tragedy , Alternate Universe , Male Protagonist , Witch , Magic , Gore , Cult , Body Horror , Love Triangle , Maids , Suicide , Heterosexual , Primarily Female Cast , Unrequited Love , Elf , Yandere , Demons , Politics , Hikikomori , Coming of Age , Butler , Femboy , Tomboy , Travel , Twins , Assassins , Kemonomimi , Meta , Kuudere , Nekomimi , CGI , Dragons , Body Swapping , Crossdressing , Foreign , Tsundere

Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica: Hangyaku no Monogatari

Also known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: Rebellion.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Movic , Nitroplus , Madoka Partners , Houbunsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Were all the magical girls truly saved from despair? Now, the great "Law of Cycles" leads the magical girls to their new fate. Madoka Kaname, a girl who once led an ordinary life, sacrificed her very existence to set every magical girl free from their cruel destiny. Homura Akemi, another magical girl who was unable to keep her promise with Madoka, continues to fight in the world in which Madoka left her behind.
"I dream of the day when I can finally see your dear smile again."
Madoka Kaname has changed the world. In this new world, is what the magical girls see a world of hope... or despair?



Tags: Anti-Hero , Alternate Universe , Memory Manipulation , Magic , Tragedy , Witch , Cosmic Horror , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Primarily Female Cast , Gods , Yuri , Henshin , Yandere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Urban Fantasy , Time Manipulation , Aliens , Demons , Guns , Kuudere , Mythology , Urban , School

Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Also known as Umineko: When They Cry.

Studio: NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Studio DEEN , Frontier Works , Movic , NIS America Inc.
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Considered as the third installment in the highly popular "When They Cry" series by 07th Expansion, Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place on the island of Rokkenjima (六軒島), owned by the immensely wealthy Ushiromiya family. As customary per year, the entire family is gathering on the island for a conference that discusses the current financial situations of each respective person. Because of the family head's poor health, this year involves the topic of the head of the family’s inheritance and how it will be distributed.

However, the family is unaware that the distribution of his wealth is the least of Ushiromiya Kinzo's (family head) concerns for this year's family conference. After being told that his end was approaching by his longtime friend and physician, Kinzo is desperate to meet his life's true love one last time: the Golden Witch, Beatrice. Having immersed himself in black magic for many of the later years in his life, Kinzo instigates a ceremony to revive his beloved upon his family's arrival on Rokkenjima. Soon after, a violent typhoon traps the family on the island and a string of mysterious murders commence, forcing the eighteen people on the island to fight for their lives in a deadly struggle between fantasy and reality.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Tragedy , Death Game , Achronological Order , Witch , Magic , Detective , Ojou-sama , Butler , Alternate Universe , Gore , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Maids , Male Protagonist , Dissociative Identities , Guns , Crossover , Demons , LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender , Kuudere , Time Skip , Tsundere

Gakkou Gurashi!

Also known as SCHOOL-LIVE!.

Studio: Lerche , Nitroplus , Sotsu , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Why would anyone form a School Living Club? Could four girls, their advisor, and a puppy really love their school so much that they’d want to live in it? Or is there another reason, something that lurks behind the façade of their comfortable existence? Something that waits outside their school’s doors. Something that has already robbed one girl of her sanity? While the others try to come to grips with a dark new reality, the rest of the world falls to ruin at the hands of a ravenous force, and insanity may be the last hope for survival. Shocks, heartbreak and stunning revelations await as the twisted tale unfolds.



Tags: Survival , School , Post-Apocalyptic , School Club , Tragedy , Zombie , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Memory Manipulation , Achronological Order , Ensemble Cast , Gore , Seinen , Teacher , Animals , CGI , Nudity

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

Also known as When They Cry Kai.

Studio: NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Studio DEEN , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

Continuing from the first series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai begins to shed some light on the dark mysteries prevalent in the preceding season. The young group of friends in the town of Hinamizawa continue to enter terrible conflicts with one another in their never ending summer of 1983, often ending with the brutal murder of one of their numbers. Furude Rika, with the help of her spiritual friend Hanyuu, tackles challenges over and over, trying her best to keep their lives from coming to a tragic end. With no end to the torture in sight, Rika must call upon the bonds of friendship and trust among her friends to discover the true villain of this eternal June.

Tags: Denpa , Time Loop , Alternate Universe , Conspiracy , Time Manipulation , Ensemble Cast , Rural , Torture , Female Protagonist , Gods , Twins , Urban Fantasy , Shrine Maiden , Primarily Female Cast , Body Horror , Gore , Kuudere , School , Historical , Politics , School Club , Mythology , Military , Primarily Teen Cast , Crossdressing

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

Jigoku Shoujo

Also known as Hell Girl.

Studio: Aniplex , Studio DEEN , Funimation , SKY Perfect Well Think
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Somewhere in the vast sea of the Internet, there's a website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Known as the Jigoku Tsushin, rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, the Jigoku Shoujo will appear and drag whoever torments you into the inferno. Very little is known about the girl - all we know for sure is that she lives with her equally enigmatic grandmother, that three magical straw dolls accompany and serve her, and that whenever a posting on the Jigoku Tsushin moves her, she becomes the Jigoku Shoujo.


Tags: Revenge , Tragedy , Bullying , Female Protagonist , Episodic , Afterlife , Detective , Oiran , Crime , School , Cosmic Horror , Kuudere , Aliens , Circus , Conspiracy , Gore