Anime like Mai-HiME

Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight

Also known as Revue Starlight.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , Pony Canyon , OVERLAP , APDREAM , TBS , Sound Team Don Juan , Nelke Planning , Bushiroad , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Music , Psychological

The franchise centers on "Starlight" — the song and dance revue troupe loved throughout the world. Karen and Hikari make a promise with each other when they're young that one day they'll stand on that stage together. Time passes, and now the girls are 16 years old. Karen is very enthusiastic about the lessons she takes every day, holding her promise close to her heart. Hikari has transferred schools and is now away from Karen. But the cogs of fate turn, and the two are destined to meet again. The girls and other "Stage Girls" will compete in a mysterious audition process to gain acceptance into the revue.



Tags: Musical Theater , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Acting , Meta , Female Protagonist , Fairy Tale , Battle Royale , Unrequited Love , Philosophy , Animals , School , Coming of Age , Boarding School , Henshin , Time Loop , Swordplay , Dancing , Time Manipulation , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Revenge , Tomboy , Archery , Urban , Love Triangle , Writing , Baseball , Motorcycles , Foreign

Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku

Also known as Magical Girl Raising Project.

Studio: Lerche , flying DOG
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Horror , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Thriller

A social game called The Magical Girl Raising Project allows one in tens of thousands of people to be a "magical girl" — possessing extraordinary physical capabilities and looks, as well as special magical powers that set them apart from the rest of the human race. But one day, in a district containing 16 magical girls, the administration announces that it must halve the number of magical girls to solve the problem of magical energy.



Tags: Magic , Battle Royale , Death Game , Tragedy , Primarily Female Cast , Urban Fantasy , Kuudere , Witch , Robots , Swordplay , Urban , Video Games , Spearplay , Elf , Tsundere , Revenge , Super Power , Superhero , Chibi , Henshin , Female Protagonist , Gore , Angels , Primarily Teen Cast , Suicide , Guns , Nun , Twins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Crime , Gender Bending , Transgender , Isekai , Ensemble Cast , Bullying , Tomboy

Kannazuki no Miko

Also known as Destiny of the Shrine Maiden.

Studio: Studio Fantasia , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Remic , Front Line , TNK , Kodansha , Rondo Robe , Sentai Filmworks , Memory-Tech , Toshiba Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mecha , Romance

The highborn Himemiya Chikane is cool and aloof, the perfect young lady of good breeding. Kurusegawa Himeko is devoted to her, and secretly her friend. Their lives are undisturbed in their school, until an ancient evil suddenly rears its head. To combat it, Chikane and Himeko must take on the roles of shrine maidens of the Moon and Sun.

Tags: Yuri , Super Robot , Shrine Maiden , Love Triangle , Magic , Mythology , Gods , Female Protagonist , Yandere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Shounen , Primarily Female Cast , Alternate Universe , Swordplay , Nudity , Nun , Bisexual

Shoujo Kakumei Utena

Also known as Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Studio: J.C.STAFF , TV Tokyo , The Right Stuf International , Central Park Media , Yomiuri Advertising , SoftX
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Romance

Just after Utena's parents died, she was consoled by a prince who gave her a ring with a rose crest on it. Utena was so impressed by the Prince that she vowed to become one herself one day. A few years later, Utena is attending Ohtori Academy where she gives all the teachers headaches because she dresses in a boy's uniform so she can be like the prince she met long ago.

After Utena's friend is insulted by a member of the Student Council, Utena fights in a duel for her friend's honor. Utena's rose crest allows her to enter the dueling arena, where Utena wins the duel and becomes engaged to the Rose Bride. Unknowingly, Utena is pulled into a series of duels with other members of the Student Council for the possession of the Rose Bride. As she becomes fond of Anthy, the Rose Bride, she must fight to keep her friend safe and to discover the horrifying secret behind Ohtori Academy.



Tags: Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Fairy Tale , LGBTQ+ Themes , Tomboy , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Incest , Swordplay , Yuri , Tragedy , Psychosexual , Time Loop , Bisexual , Surreal Comedy , Age Gap , School , Witch , Conspiracy , Memory Manipulation , Ojou-sama , Henshin , Meta , Love Triangle , Fencing , Episodic , Crossdressing , Magic , Bullying , Kuudere , Boarding School , Twins , Suicide , Boys' Love , Astronomy , Aliens , Athletics , Body Swapping , Politics , Cheating

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

Granbelm

Also known as GRANBELM.

Studio: Nexus , Infinite , Sentai Filmworks , ONE MUSIC
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Mecha

Was going back to school at night to retrieve a forgotten lunch box a really bad mistake? That's how it seems when Mangetsu Kohinata suddenly finds herself pulled into a strange world where girls in giant magical armor are engaged in a ferocious battle. While the timing was unfortunate, it turns out that Mangetsu's arrival in this strange realm was anything but a mistake, because Mangetsu appears to be a mage herself! Now, with the help of her mysterious new friend Shingetsu, Mangetsu must learn how to summon and control her own giant armor as they fight against other mages in a competition with an unbelievable prize - control of the lost magic that once ruled our planet!



Tags: Battle Royale , Magic , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Super Robot , Revenge , Memory Manipulation , Isekai , Tragedy , Henshin , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun

Also known as A Certain Scientific Railgun.

Studio: J.C.STAFF , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Funimation , Movic , AT-X , ASCII Media Works , Project Railgun
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

Academy City is a highly developed place in terms of technology. It is said to be 20 to 30 years ahead of the rest of the world, and 80% of its 2.3 million residents are students. The focus of studies here is directed towards esper powers. Misaka Mikoto, one of the top level espers in town, shares a room with Kuroko Shirai, another high level esper who is a member of Judgement, a law enforcing agency composed of students. Both attend Tokiwadai, a private school reserved for the high-leveled and the rich. Kuroko's partner at Judgement, Kazari Uiharu, is a low level esper who studies at Sakugawa middle school. Her best friend and classmate there is Ruiko Saten, a level zero, one who has no esper powers. Together, the four encounter several adventures in the exciting scientific town.



Tags: Super Power , Urban , Primarily Female Cast , Urban Fantasy , Tomboy , Female Protagonist , Gyaru , Boarding School , Superhero , Robots , Ojou-sama , Slapstick , Bisexual , School , Ensemble Cast , Artificial Intelligence , Shounen , Tsundere , Kaiju , Heterosexual , Gangs , Police , Orphan , Super Robot , Crossdressing , Maids

Bokurano

Also known as Bokurano.

Studio: GONZO , diomedéa
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mecha , Psychological , Sci-Fi

During a summer camp, 15 children, 8 males and 7 females, find a grotto by the sea. Deep within they discover working computers and some electronic equipment, and later the owner, a man called Kokopelli. Kokopelli claimed to be a programmer working on a brand new game, in which a large robot has to defend the Earth against alien invasions. He persuades the children to test the game and sign a contract. All but one of them signs, barely a moment later they mysteriously awaken on the shore believing what happened was just a dream.



Tags: Tragedy , Ensemble Cast , Super Robot , Alternate Universe , Philosophy , Denpa , Military , Death Game , Aliens , Politics , Seinen , Yakuza , Heterosexual , Age Gap , Tomboy , Love Triangle , Conspiracy , Nudity

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha

Also known as Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

Studio: Seven Arcs , Funimation , Omnibus Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo

3rd grader Takamachi Nanoha stumbled upon an injured talking ferret after hearing his telepathic cries for help. The ferret turned out to be Yuuno, an archeologist and mage from another world who had accidentally scattered the dangerous Jewel Seeds throughout Earth. Without the strength to collect the Jewel Seeds, Yuuno had resumed a ferret form and needed someone else to take on the task for him. He gave a red jewel to Nanoha explaining to her with this she could transform and use magic to combat the monsters that threatened them due to the Jewel Seeds. But the monsters are the least of their worries, as Yuuno and Nanoha are not the only ones out to collect the Jewel Seeds.

Tags: Magic , Super Power , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Henshin , Primarily Female Cast , Primarily Child Cast , Animals , Urban , Coastal , Spearplay , Kemonomimi , Robots , Military , Artificial Intelligence , Memory Manipulation , Space , Shapeshifting , Clone , Lost Civilization , Kuudere , Nudity

Futari wa Precure

Also known as Precure.

Studio: Toei Animation , Asahi Production , Asatsu DK
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo

Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro couldn't be more different. Nagisa is sporty and Honoka bookish, and while they attend the same school, they have very little in common - until one day, a shower of shooting stars brings two very unlikely visitors into their lives: Mipple and Mepple, refugees from the Garden of Light, which has been conquered by Darkness. Endowed with new and startling powers, Nagisa and Honoka become Cure Black and Cure White, magical defenders of the light - together, they are Pretty Cure.



Tags: Henshin , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Episodic , Urban Fantasy , School , Kids , Magic , Superhero , Primarily Child Cast , Lacrosse , Fairy , School Club , Tokusatsu , Urban , Aliens , Isekai , Card Battle , Suicide