Anime like KEY THE METAL IDOL

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

PERFECT BLUE

Also known as Perfect Blue.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Rex Entertainment , ONIRO , Techno Sound , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Psychological , Thriller

Rising pop star Mima has quit singing to pursue a career as an actress and model, but her fans aren’t ready to see her go... Encouraged by her managers, Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima’s reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia. As her stalker closes in, in person and online, the threat he poses is more real than even Mima knows, in this iconic psychological thriller that has frequently been hailed as one of the most important animated films of all time.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 5, 1997.

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Denpa , Female Protagonist , Acting , Idol , Otaku Culture , Primarily Adult Cast , Meta , Work , Philosophy , Tragedy , Gore , Nudity , Filmmaking , Noir

GHOST IN THE SHELL: Koukaku Kidoutai

Also known as Ghost in the Shell.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Visual , Kodansha , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Sci-Fi

2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together with her fellow agents from Section 9, Kusanagi embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.



Tags: Cyberpunk , Artificial Intelligence , Philosophy , Urban , Robots , Cyborg , Police , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Noir , Dystopian , Crime , Guns , Espionage , Nudity , Gore , CGI

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 , Terrorism , Philosophy , 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

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 , Female Protagonist , Episodic , Suicide , Drugs , Agender , Kuudere

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

3x3 EYES

Also known as 3x3 Eyes.

Studio: Bandai Visual , Kodansha , Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Horror , Romance

3X3 Eyes is the story of a young man named Yakumo Fuuji, who through a strange series of events becomes the immortal slave of the last of a race of 3 Eyed immortals. The immortal absorbs his soul to save his life, making him immortal in the process. Now, he begins a journey with the female immortal in an attempt to find a way of becoming human. Of course, there are many complications along the way, not the least of which being that the immortal is a female with a split personality, one achingly cute and the other being no-nonsense destructive power, and the romances that develop between.


Tags: Demons , Dissociative Identities , Magic , Gore , Seinen , Foreign , Urban Fantasy , Body Horror , Mythology , Triads , School , Heterosexual , Crossdressing , Mopeds , Motorcycles

Kurau Phantom Memory

Also known as Kurau Phantom Memory.

Studio: bones , ADV Films , Funimation , Media Factory
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi

In a world of mercenary agents, Kurau is a martial arts master and elite thief—but she has a secret. Her body has been fused with a binary alien life form called the Rynax. Every moment Kurau lives is lived twice, one alien sharing her consciousness, the other still waiting to be born. The truth about Kurau has begun to spread, and now the ultimate agent is the ultimate target.



Tags: Fugitive , Space , Super Power , Philosophy , Aliens , Crime , Foreign , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Coming of Age , Episodic , Shapeshifting , Dissociative Identities , Kuudere , Nudity

Alien 9

Also known as Alien Nine.

Studio: J.C. Staff , Genco , MediaNet , Central Park Media , Nippon Columbia , AT-X , Bandai Visual , Hanabee Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Yuri Ootani, a girl who has been afraid of aliens, has been chosen to be on the alien party with the class president Kumi Kawamura, whose only intention to join the alien party is to get out of presidential duties, as well as Kasumi Tomine who is perfect at everything she does, including fighting all the aliens that come in their way. But can they defeat a massive alien who has already abducted Kasumi?

Tags: Aliens , Coming of Age , Body Horror , Denpa , Cosmic Horror , Primarily Child Cast , School , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , School Club , Tragedy , Philosophy , Seinen , Gore , Dullahan , Nudity , Vore

Nekojiru-sou

Also known as Cat Soup.

Studio: J.C. Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Horror , Psychological

Cat Soup is an extremely difficult film to describe, due to its awesome surrealism and almost nonexistant dialogue. It is more a work of art than an anime. There are many underlying themes, such as the transcience of man's existence, but it can be enjoyed without understanding any of them. The plot, though simple, isn't necessarily understandable without being explained. The main character, a cat named Nyatto, embarks upon a journey to save his sister's soul, which was ripped in two when Nyatto tried to save her from Death. She trails after him, brain-dead. They encounter many brilliant, mind-bending situations, beginning with a disturbing magic show.



Tags: Animals , Surreal Comedy , No Dialogue , Philosophy , Afterlife , Cosmic Horror , Urban , Survival , Primarily Animal Cast , Seinen , Anthropomorphism , Gods , Male Protagonist , Circus , Time Manipulation , Body Horror , Outdoor , Rural , Ships , Religion , Nudity , Cannibalism , Gore , Revenge