Anime like Muv-Luv Alternative

Shingeki no Kyojin

Also known as Attack on Titan.

Studio: WIT STUDIO , Pony Canyon , Kodansha , Production I.G , Dentsu , Pony Canyon Enterprise , Mainichi Broadcasting System
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans.

Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind.



Tags: Revenge , Kaiju , Male Protagonist , Military , Tragedy , Post-Apocalyptic , Primarily Teen Cast , Super Power , Steampunk , Henshin , Swordplay , Gore , Memory Manipulation , Dystopian , Ensemble Cast , Orphan , Kuudere , Espionage , Cannibalism , Coming of Age , Shounen , Survival , Medieval , Vore , Time Skip , Amnesia , Rural , Suicide , CGI , Primarily Male Cast , Adoption

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien

Also known as Rumbling Hearts.

Studio: Studio Fantasia , Funimation , Lantis , Media Factory , Age
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

At first, Takayuki Narumi is befriended by Mitsuki Hayase only because Mitsuki's best friend, Haruka Suzumiya has a crush on him; however since then, Takayuki, his pal Shinji Taira, and Mitsuki have grown to be the best of friends. Then one day, Haruka confesses to Takayuki her love for him. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Takayuki agrees to go out with her. After a few incidents, their relationship gets intimate, even while Takayuki and Mitsuki begin to realize their feelings for each other. But suddenly, when tragedy strikes, things are never the same for these four friends again.


Tags: Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Hikikomori , Tragedy , Netorare , Rehabilitation , Work , Time Skip , Amnesia , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , School , Cars , Nudity , Swimming

86: Eighty Six

Also known as 86 EIGHTY-SIX.

Studio: A-1 Pictures , Aniplex , KADOKAWA , BANDAI SPIRITS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Called “Juggernaut,” these are the unmanned combat drones developed by the Republic of San Magnolia in answer to the attacks by the autonomous unmanned drones of the neighboring Empire of Giad, the “Legion”. But they’re only unmanned in name. In reality, they are piloted by the Eighty-sixers—those considered to be less than human and treated as mere tools.

Determined to achieve his own mysterious ends, Shin, the captain of Spearhead Squadron, which is comprised of Eighty-sixers, continues to fight a hopeless war on a battlefield where only death awaits him.



Tags: War , Class Struggle , Military , Tragedy , Dystopian , Survival , Politics , Proxy Battle , Female Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Memory Manipulation , Robots , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Real Robot , Guns , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Achronological Order , Ghost , Artificial Intelligence , CGI , Gore , Necromancy , Unrequited Love , Lost Civilization , Kuudere , Travel , Super Power , POV , Nudity , Body Horror

Soukyuu no Fafner

Also known as Fafner.

Studio: Xebec , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Funimation , TV Tokyo Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Tatsumiyajima is the central island in the middle of a small cluster of islands, in a sleepy backwater of the Japanese isles. Not much happens there, and the island's young people go to school knowing that their lives are likely to remain peaceful and undisturbed. Or so they have been taught... but the truth is different. The fate of mankind is on the line, and Tatsumiyajima is the last line of defense against a hostile and incomprehensible enemy. At the center of it all, fighting for Humanity's continued existence, is the giant robot Fafner, the dragon that guards this final treasure of mankind.



Note: The last episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode. In the DVD release and subsequent home video releases of the series, the final episode was split into two separate ~24 minute long episodes.

Tags: Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Post-Apocalyptic , Real Robot , Tragedy , Aliens , War , Male Protagonist , Robots , Cosmic Horror , Military , Kuudere , Dystopian

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

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

BLUE GENDER

Also known as Blue Gender.

Studio: AIC , Funimation , Youmex , Toshiba EMI
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Horror , Mecha , Psychological , Romance , Sci-Fi

Imagine waking after spending more than two decades in suspended animation. You awaken to a world more terrifying than your worst nightmare. A world where human beings are hunted down by giant insect-like creatures called the Blue. Welcome to Earth in the year 2031...a time when the planet is no longer ours. Earth's very survival now rests in your hands.



Tags: Survival , Military , Dystopian , Kuudere , Post-Apocalyptic , Travel , Heterosexual , Tomboy , Real Robot , Space , Male Protagonist , Gore , Primarily Adult Cast , Nudity

Suisei no Gargantia

Also known as Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Visual , Yomiuri TV , Lantis , Viz Media , Nitroplus , Bushiroad , Hanabee Entertainment , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Mecha , Sci-Fi

The story begins in the distant future in the far reaches of the galaxy. The Human Galactic Alliance has been constantly fighting for its survival against a grotesque race of beings called "Hidiaazu." During an intense battle, the young lieutenant Ledo and his humanoid mobile weapon Chamber are swallowed up into a distortion of time and space. Waking from his artificially induced hibernation, Ledo realizes that he has arrived on Earth, the planet on the lost frontier. On this planet that was completely flooded by the seas, people live in fleets of giant ships, salvaging relics from the seas' depths in order to survive. Ledo arrives on one of the fleets called Gargantia. With no knowledge of the planet's history or culture, he is forced to live alongside Amy, a 15-year-old girl who serves as a messenger aboard the Gargantia fleet. To Ledo, who has lived a life where he knows nothing but fighting, these days of peace continue to surprise him.



Tags: Environmental , Lost Civilization , Artificial Intelligence , Post-Apocalyptic , Male Protagonist , Ships , Real Robot , Isekai , Language Barrier , Military , Aliens , Pirates , Super Robot , Tanned Skin , Space , Heterosexual , CGI , Philosophy , Guns , Disability , Cult , Revenge

Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch

Also known as Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Studio: Sunrise , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Bandai Entertainment , Sony Music Entertainment , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi , Thriller

On August 10th of the year 2010 the Holy Empire of Britannia began a campaign of conquest, its sights set on Japan. Operations were completed in one month thanks to Britannia's deployment of new mobile humanoid armor vehicles dubbed Knightmare Frames. Japan's rights and identity were stripped away, the once proud nation now referred to as Area 11. Its citizens, Elevens, are forced to scratch out a living while the Britannian aristocracy lives comfortably within their settlements. Pockets of resistance appear throughout Area 11, working towards independence for Japan.

Lelouch, an exiled Imperial Prince of Britannia posing as a student, finds himself in the heart of the ongoing conflict for the island nation. Through a chance meeting with a mysterious girl named C.C., Lelouch gains his Geass, the power of the king. Now endowed with absolute dominance over any person, Lelouch may finally realize his goal of bringing down Britannia from within!



Tags: Anti-Hero , War , Class Struggle , Military , Politics , Super Power , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Terrorism , Tragedy , Real Robot , Dystopian , Boys' Love , Philosophy , Super Robot , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Foreign , Boarding School , Amnesia , Urban Fantasy , Drugs , Disability , Heterosexual , Nudity , School Club , Kuudere , Masturbation , Age Gap , Female Harem , Tanned Skin , CGI , Swordplay , Gambling

Kidou Senshi Gundam: Suisei no Majo

Also known as Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.

Studio: Sunrise , Bandai Namco Filmworks , Sotsu , Mainichi Broadcasting System
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mecha , Sci-Fi

A.S. (Ad Stella) 122

An era when a multitude of corporations have entered space and built a huge economic system. A lone girl from the remote planet Mercury transfers to the Asticassia School of Technology, run by the Beneritt Group which dominates the mobile suit industry.

Her name is Suletta Mercury. With a scarlet light burning in her pure heart, this girl walks step by step through a new world.



Tags: Real Robot , Female Protagonist , Space , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Yuri , Politics , Revenge , Clone , Artificial Intelligence , Class Struggle , Super Robot , Cyborg , Guns , Conspiracy , Terrorism , Tsundere , Boarding School , Love Triangle , Mixed Gender Harem , Bisexual , Cyberpunk , Kuudere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Witch , Bullying