Anime like Mardock Scramble: The First Compression

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

PSYCHO-PASS

Also known as PSYCHO-PASS.

Studio: Production I.G , Fuji TV , Nitroplus , Sony Music Entertainment , KYORAKU , Toho , Funimation , Dentsu
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Justice, and the enforcement of it, has changed. In the 22nd century, Japan enforces the Sibyl System, an objective means of determining the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors uphold the law by subjugating, often with lethal force, anyone harboring the slightest ill-will; alongside them are Enforcers, jaded Inspectors that have become latent criminals, granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the Inspectors' dirty work.

Into this world steps Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with an honest desire to uphold justice. However, as she works alongside veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is, and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt.



Note: In the Summer 2014 season, Psycho-Pass was rebroadcast and re-edited to fit into an hour time-slot, ending up in 11 one-hour episodes. This edit included added scenes at the beginning and middle of the episodes, as well as fixing and improving animation.

Tags: Detective , Police , Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Crime , Philosophy , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Female Protagonist , Artificial Intelligence , Conspiracy , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Guns , Anti-Hero , Terrorism , Augmented Reality , Gore , Class Struggle , Tragedy , Robots , Body Horror , Nudity ,

Koukaku Kidoutai: STAND ALONE COMPLEX

Also known as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Studio: Production I.G , Kodansha , Trilogy Future Studio , Bandai Entertainment , Tokuma Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In the not so distant future, mankind has advanced to a state where complete body transplants from flesh to machine is possible. This allows for great increases in both physical and cybernetic prowess and blurring the lines between the two worlds. However, criminals can also make full use of such technology, leading to new and sometimes, very dangerous crimes. In response to such innovative new methods, the Japanese Government has established Section 9, an independently operating police unit which deals with such highly sensitive crimes.

Led by Daisuke Aramaki and Motoko Kusanagi, Section 9 deals with such crimes over the entire social spectrum, usually with success. However, when faced with a new A level hacker nicknamed “The Laughing Man”, the team is thrown into a dangerous cat and mouse game, following the hacker’s trail as it leaves its mark on Japan.



Tags: Cyberpunk , Police , Politics , Episodic , Robots , Philosophy , Crime , Artificial Intelligence , Cyborg , Work , Urban , Military , Detective , Seinen , Conspiracy , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Guns , Primarily Adult Cast , Dystopian , Memory Manipulation , Real Robot , Ensemble Cast , CGI , Body Swapping , Kuudere , Bisexual , Gore

Kara no Kyoukai: Tsuukaku Zanryuu

Also known as the Garden of sinners Chapter 3: ever cry, never life. (Remaining Sense of Pain).

Studio: ufotable , Notes , Aniplex , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mystery , Supernatural , Thriller

July, 1998: One night, Mikiya helps a girl lying doubled over with stomach pains. Around that time, a number of dismembered bodies are found throughout the city. The murder victims are torn apart so badly that they don't seem like the work of a human.



Tags: Super Power , Female Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Revenge , Tragedy , Gore , Urban Fantasy , Crime , Primarily Adult Cast , Body Horror , Nudity , Kuudere , Female Harem , Dissociative Identities , Primarily Female Cast , Achronological Order , Amnesia , Urban

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Also known as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

Studio: TRIGGER , CD PROJEKT RED , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

An original anime series set in in the universe of Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he chooses to stay alive by becoming an edgerunner—a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.



Note: The first episode received a pre-screening at Anime Expo on July 2, 2022. The first 3 dubbed episodes were streamed on Twitch as part of a co-stream promotion on September 12, a day before the show’s premiere.

Tags: Cyberpunk , Tragedy , Crime , Dystopian , Cyborg , Class Struggle , Orphan , Gangs , Male Protagonist , Urban , Body Horror , Guns , Gore , Revenge , Anti-Hero , Primarily Adult Cast , Drugs , Terrorism , Coming of Age , Nudity , Artificial Intelligence , Ensemble Cast , Tomboy , Time Skip , Time Manipulation , Software Development , Space , Robots , Cars , Age Gap

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 , Philosophy , Terrorism , War , Guns , 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

Harmony

Studio: Studio 4°C , Kansai TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

In the future, utopia has finally been achieved thanks to medical nanotechnology and a powerful ethic of social welfare and mutual consideration.

This utopia isn't perfect, and three young girls stand up to totalitarian kindness and super-medicine by attempting suicide via starvation. It doesn't work, but one of the girls—Tuan Kirie—grows up to be a member of the World Health Organization. As a crisis threatens the harmony of the new world, Tuan rediscovers another member of her suicide pact, and together they must help save the planet...from itself.



Tags: Philosophy , Dystopian , Yuri , Female Protagonist , Cyberpunk , LGBTQ+ Themes , Augmented Reality , Suicide , CGI , Terrorism , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Conspiracy , Urban , Politics , Military , Police , Guns , Nudity

Neko no Ongaeshi

Also known as The Cat Returns.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

The Cat Returns is something of a loose spin-off of "Whisper of the Heart" as it features two characters from that film: Muta (the cat from "Whisper") and the Baron (the cat statue from "Whisper"). There is no other connection between the two movies and this is not a sequel. The story is based on Neko no Danshaku (Baron of Cat) by Hiiragi Aoi.

The main character of the story, Haru, is a clueless, ordinary 17-year-old girl. She has no special abilities and neither is she an extraordinary beauty. When faced with reality, she is unable to make decisions for herself, thus often sways to others' opinions to avoid challenge. One day, Haru saves the life of a cat without considering her own safety. The cat turns out to be the Cat Prince from the Kingdom of Cats, however as a result, Haru is trapped in the world of cats. Can Baron and Muta rescue Haru who has wandered into the world of cats?



Tags: Animals , Anthropomorphism , Nekomimi , Fairy Tale , Female Protagonist , Kemonomimi , Isekai , Primarily Animal Cast , Royal Affairs , Heterosexual , Arranged Marriage , Shoujo , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Crossover , Body Horror , School

Appleseed (Movie)

Also known as Appleseed (Movie).

Studio: NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Sentai Filmworks , Digital Frontier , Tohokushinsha Film Corporation , Madman Entertainment , Selecta Visión
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Growing out of the chaos of a global war, the city of Utopia is populated by humans and bioroids (artificial humans). On the surface, everything is harmonious, but tensions lurk. Into this seemingly perfect society comes a survivor of the wars, Deunan Knute, who carries a legacy that will turn out to be of critical importance to the future of humanity.



Tags: Military , Artificial Intelligence , Urban , Tomboy , CGI , Female Protagonist , Full CGI , Post-Apocalyptic , Primarily Adult Cast , Cyberpunk , Robots , Guns , War , Dystopian , Terrorism , Gore , Tragedy , Shounen