Anime like NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE

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 , Primarily Adult Cast , Meta , Work , Filmmaking , Philosophy , Tragedy , Gore , Nudity , Noir

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 , Philosophy , Virtual World , Dissociative Identities , Augmented Reality , Female Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Artificial Intelligence , Cyberpunk , Software Development , Gods , Cosmic Horror , Conspiracy , Cult , Meta , Suicide , Religion , Urban , Tragedy , Video Games , Primarily Female Cast , Afterlife , Amnesia , Adoption , Orphan , POV , Anti-Hero , Trains , Drugs , Zombie , School , Aliens , Death Game , Age Gap , Bullying , Anachronism , Yuri

Bakemonogatari

Also known as Bakemonogatari.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Kodansha , Aniplex of America , Hanabee Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Romance , Supernatural

First season of the Monogatari Series, part 1/6. Contains the arcs Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Snail, Suruga Monkey, Nadeko Snake, and Tsubasa Cat from the Bakemonogatari light novels.

Thanks to Meme Oshino, Koyomi Araragi, a high school student, is able to remain a human after coming across a female vampire... However, since the incident, Koyomi seems to meet girls who have an apparition-related issue. Hitagi Senjougahara doesn’t weigh anything, Suruga Kanbaru’s right arm becomes like that of a monkey’s, and a young girl, Mayoi, cannot find her way home no matter how many times she tries. Koyomi, a Mr. Nice Guy, ends up helping each and every girl solve her problem with the help of Meme Oshino.



Note: Only the first 12 episodes were broadcast on television; the remaining three episodes were distributed on the anime's website between November 3, 2009, and June 25, 2010.

Tags: Youkai , Ensemble Cast , Urban Fantasy , Surreal Comedy , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Kuudere , Coming of Age , Vampire , Ghost , Satire , Primarily Female Cast , Meta , Heterosexual , Dissociative Identities , Primarily Teen Cast , Seinen , Psychosexual , Curses , Exorcism , Monster Girl , Gore , Rotoscoping , Gods , Yandere , Love Triangle , Mixed Media , Parody , Tomboy , Nekomimi , Female Harem , Nudity , Tsundere , CGI , School , Amnesia , Rehabilitation

[Oshi no Ko]

Also known as Oshi No Ko.

Studio: Doga Kobo , KADOKAWA , Shueisha , Doga Kobo , CyberAgent
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

When a pregnant young starlet appears in Gorou Amemiya’s countryside medical clinic, the doctor takes it upon himself to safely (and secretly) deliver Ai Hoshino’s child so she can make a scandal-free return to the stage. But no good deed goes unpunished, and on the eve of her delivery, he finds himself slain at the hands of Ai’s deluded stalker — and subsequently reborn as Ai’s child, Aquamarine Hoshino! The glitz and glamor of showbiz hide the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry, threatening to dull the shine of his favorite star. Can he help his new mother rise to the top of the charts? And what will he do when unthinkable disaster strikes?



Note: Episode 1【推しの子】Mother and Children was pre-screened in advance in Japanese theaters on March 17, 2023. The regular TV broadcast began on April 12, 2023. The first episode has an extended runtime of ~82 minutes.

Tags: Acting , Tragedy , Idol , Revenge , Twins , Male Protagonist , Urban , Reincarnation , Heterosexual , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Orphan , Pregnancy , Time Skip , Age Regression , Tsundere , Filmmaking , Seinen , Fake Relationship , Love Triangle , Bullying , Primarily Female Cast , Family Life , Urban Fantasy , Suicide , Fashion , School , Otaku Culture , Female Harem

Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu.

Also known as SHIBOYUGI: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table.

Studio: Studio DEEN , KADOKAWA , Nippon Columbia , ABC Animation , Studio DEEN , WOWOW , Culture Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mystery , Thriller

At just seventeen, Yuki is a professional death game player. She’s survived enough rounds to know that survival is calculation, not luck—and that failure is final. For most players, the games are a nightmare with no escape. For Yuki, they’re simply business. Yet in a world where rooms turn into graves and every choice could be her last, even experience offers no protection.



Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of ~47 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Death Game , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Philosophy , Achronological Order , Kuudere , Body Horror , Ojou-sama , Mixed Media , Suicide , Battle Royale , Amputation , LGBTQ+ Themes , Maids , Cosmic Horror , CGI , Yuri

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

Mousou Dairinin

Also known as Paranoia Agent.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Asmik Ace , Geneon Entertainment , Tohokushinsha Film Corporation , WOWOW , Techno Sound , Chaos Union
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

An elementary school kid dubbed with the title "shounen bat" or "lil slugger" has been going around attacking people with his bent, golden bat. Now, two detectives are investigating so they can stop this kid from making any more attacks, but they will find out soon enough... that this case is much more than they expected.



Tags: Denpa , Crime , Philosophy , Detective , Urban Fantasy , Ensemble Cast , Police , Amnesia , Homeless , Memory Manipulation , Office , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Meta , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Satire , Suicide , Female Protagonist , Disability , Bullying , Dissociative Identities , Nudity , Fugitive , Hikikomori , Ghost , Primarily Adult Cast , Prostitution , Chuunibyou , Cosmic Horror , LGBTQ+ Themes , Achronological Order

BanG Dream! Ave Mujica

Also known as Ave Mujica - The Die is Cast -.

Studio: Bushiroad , SANZIGEN , TOKYO MX , Good Smile Company , Horipro International , Ultra Super Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Psychological

"Will you give me the rest of your life?"

After losing everything in a single night, Sakiko Togawa reaches out toward an even deeper abyss, one that will drag everyone around her down as well. Gathering the lives of girls burdened with their own troubles and desires, Sakiko raises the curtain on a perfect masquerade.

"Welcome to the world of Ave Mujica."

On a stage where sorrow, death, fear, love—even the solace of forgetting—are stripped away, will their masks be torn off and shatter into oblivion, or will they….



Tags: Primarily Female Cast , Band , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Tragedy , Dissociative Identities , Estranged Family , Full CGI , Metal Music , Acting , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Rock Music , Musical Theater , Incest , Disability , Ensemble Cast , Urban , Orphan , Ojou-sama , Adoption , Yandere , Anti-Hero , Kuudere , Tsundere

Chou Kaguya-hime!

Also known as Cosmic Princess Kaguya!.

Studio: Studio Colorido , Studio Chromato , Twin Engine
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Music , Sci-Fi

A tale of otherworldly beauty and celestial secrets unfolds in this new take on Japan’s oldest folktale.

Inspired by The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, the film reimagines Japan’s oldest folktale with a modern touch by integrating music, fantasy, and contemporary animation.

Set in the virtual realm of Tsukuyomi, the story unfolds as a live performance marrying original music with Yamashita’s signature style of polished visuals, emotive pacing, and dynamic 3D camerawork to boldly transform this classic tale for a new generation.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Virtual World , Coming of Age , Fairy Tale , Idol , Urban Fantasy , Yuri , Aliens , Otaku Culture , Time Skip , VTuber , Video Games , Time Manipulation , Estranged Family , Urban , LGBTQ+ Themes , Artificial Intelligence , Tragedy , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , CGI , E-Sports , Nekomimi , Vocal Synth , Swordplay , Kemonomimi , Software Development , Robots , Food , Fugitive , School , Femboy , Archery , Spearplay , Surreal Comedy , Satire , Mythology , Reincarnation

Wonder Egg Priority

Also known as WONDER EGG PRIORITY.

Studio: CloverWorks , Aniplex , D.N. Dream Partners , NTV Music , Nippon Television Network , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

This is the story of Ai, an introverted girl whose fate is forever changed when she acquires a mysterious “Wonder Egg” from a deserted arcade. That night, her dreams blend into reality, and as other girls obtain their own Wonder Eggs, Ai discovers new friends—and the magic within herself.



Tags: Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Urban Fantasy , Suicide , Bullying , Coming of Age , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Denpa , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Hikikomori , Afterlife , Body Horror , Artificial Intelligence , Transgender , School , LGBTQ+ Themes , CGI , Tomboy , Kuudere , Age Gap , Episodic , Gore , Isekai , Idol , Yuri , Guns