Anime like Penguindrum | Anime Like List

What is Penguindrum about?

Studio: Brain's Base
Status: Finished

Once you make a decision, does the universe conspire to make it happen? Is destiny a matter of chance, a matter of choice or the complex outcome of thousands of warring strands of fate? All twins Kanba and Shoma know is that when their terminally ill sister Himari collapses at the aquarium, her death is somehow temporarily reversed by the penguin hat that she had asked for. It's a provisional resurrection, however, and it comes at a price: to keep Himari alive they need to find the mysterious Penguin Drum. In order to do that, they must first find the links to a complex interlocking chain of riddles that has wrapped around their entire existence, and unravel the knots that tie them to mystifying diary and a baffling string of strangers and semi-acquaintances who all have their own secrets, agendas and "survival strategies." And in order for Himari to live, someone else's chosen destiny will have to change. It's a story of love, fate, life, death... and Penguins!

Tags: Philosophy , Found Family , Family Life , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Terrorism , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Politics , Denpa , Parody , Trains , Heterosexual , Inseki , Henshin , Surreal Comedy , Yandere , Crime , Memory Manipulation , Magic , Satire , Fairy Tale , Ghost , Cult , Primarily Teen Cast , Tsundere , Achronological Order , Love Triangle , Psychosexual , Twins , Age Gap , Incest , LGBTQ+ Themes , Animals

Where to watch?

No streaming links available

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

Where to watch?

YouTube

Crunchyroll

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Sarazanmai

Also known as Sarazanmai.

Studio: MAPPA , Lapin Track , Aniplex , Dentsu , Movic , Fuji TV , Crunchyroll
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Supernatural

The stage is Asakusa. One day, three 2nd-year middle school students — Kazuki Yasaka, Tooi Kuji, and Enta Jinnai — meet a mysterious kappa-like creature named Keppi, who forcibly takes their shirikodama (a mythical organ kappa steal through a person's anus) and transforms the boys into kappa.

Keppi informs them, "If you wish to return to your former selves, you must connect in 'that way' and bring me the shirikodama of zombies." Will the three boys be able to connect as they steal shirikodama from zombies?! Meanwhile, two policemen — Reo Niiboshi and Mabu Akutsu — are up to something at the police box where they are stationed.

Tags: Shapeshifting , Surreal Comedy , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Youkai , Coming of Age , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Satire , Boys' Love , Philosophy , Primarily Teen Cast , Henshin , Police , Meta , Slapstick , Musical Theater , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Crime , Crossdressing , Tanned Skin , Zombie , Episodic , Idol , Football , Suicide , Guns , Delinquents , Bisexual , Nudity , Drugs

Where to watch?

Crunchyroll

Amazon Prime Video

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

Where to watch?

HIDIVE

Hoopla

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Yuri Kuma Arashi

Also known as Yurikuma Arashi.

Studio: SILVER LINK.
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Romance

At some point, somewhere in outer space, the small planet Kumalia exploded. As the particles of what used to be Kumalia showered upon Earth as a meteor shower, for some reason all the bears on earth stood up to attack humanity! In due time, a great "Wall of Extinction" was built between humans and bears, and they could no longer show aggression towards one another... One morning, Kureha Tsubasa and Sumika Izumino were alone watching lily flowers blooming. Just then, a Bear Warning pierces loudly through the air! Mystery brings on more mysteries, a series of one raging blow after another!

Tags: LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Primarily Female Cast , Bullying , Love Triangle , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Satire , Achronological Order , Fairy Tale , Henshin , Nudity , School , Anthropomorphism , Meta , Animals , Amnesia , Guns , Tragedy , Gods , Cohabitation , Religion

Where to watch?

YouTube

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Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru

Also known as Night on the Galactic Railroad.

Studio: Group TAC , TV Asahi , Nippon Herald Eiga , Asmik Ace , Asahi Shimbun
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

Based on a short story by the popular children’s writer Kenji Miyazawa, Galactic Railroad offers viewers a slow-paced, dreamlike journey through space and time. When Giovanni, a lonely boy in a hill town, goes to get milk for his ailing mother, he finds himself crossing the Milky Way on a faster-than-light steam railroad. The stations he visits in various constellations, like the planets explored by St. Exupery’s Little Prince, offer curious adventures and an assortment of human "types." Reality and fantasy blur aboard the train, and its travels across the light-years sometimes suggests the journey through life. The characters are depicted as cats, presumably to avoid the problems of animating humans.

Tags: Afterlife , Trains , Philosophy , Classic Literature , Anthropomorphism , Primarily Animal Cast , Travel , Astronomy , Space , Animals , Tragedy , Religion , Mythology , Male Protagonist , Kids , Cosmic Horror , Historical , Bullying

Where to watch?

Amazon Prime Video

Crunchyroll

RetroCrush

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Kyousougiga (TV)

Also known as Kyousougiga.

Studio: Toei Animation , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Supernatural

In Kyoto, nothing changes. No, not that Kyoto, but rather the Mirror Capital Kyoto, the world inside of a painting! Colorful, beautiful, but static, the people of this world live an idyllic, if boring life. That is, until Koto appears, like a wrecking ball slamming into still waters.

Koto's never met her mother, and in search of clues about her missing parent, she winds up in the very place she's supposed to be, yet least expected. What unfolds is a tale of a crazy, mixed-up family, where the father has mysterious powers, the mother is a goddess, and the siblings have an intense rivalry that will finally see its conclusion... even if that conclusion brings about the attention of the Shrine, an organization dedicated to protecting the multiverse.

Tags: Family Life , Alternate Universe , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Gods , Female Protagonist , Adoption , Suicide , Achronological Order , Drawing , Reincarnation , Anti-Hero , Isekai , Super Power , Demons , Twins , Shrine Maiden , Historical , Youkai , Magic

Where to watch?

Crunchyroll

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Wonder Egg Priority

Also known as WONDER EGG PRIORITY.

Studio: CloverWorks , Aniplex , D.N. Dream Partners , NTV Music , Nippon Television Network
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 , Artificial Intelligence , Body Horror , School , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , CGI , Tomboy , Kuudere , Age Gap , Isekai , Episodic , Gore , Idol , Guns , Yuri

Where to watch?

Crunchyroll

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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.

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

Where to watch?

Crunchyroll

Netflix

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Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Movie

Also known as Revue Starlight: The Movie.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Music , Psychological

The stage emulates life and compresses it, setting free skills learned over lifetimes in brief but dazzling displays for the amusement and judgment of others. For the performers, it is the ultimate risk, and some will rise while others must fall. Nowhere is this truer than at the Seisho Music Academy, where music, dance and real weapons all come into play in the creation of the next great Star. Karen and Hikari’s destinies have been linked since a childhood promise, but their journeys here have taken very different paths. Now, after Hikari leaves, Karen must discover who she is without her opposite, while Hikari must rediscover her own course.

Tags: Acting , Coming of Age , Musical Theater , Ensemble Cast , Yuri , Primarily Female Cast , Meta , Female Protagonist , Swordplay , Primarily Teen Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , CGI , Classic Literature , Love Triangle , Spearplay , Desert , Boarding School , School , Trains , Dancing , Archery , Henshin , Urban , Animals , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Yandere , Athletics , Foreign

Where to watch?

HIDIVE

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Flip Flappers

Also known as FLIP FLAPPERS.

Studio: Studio 3Hz , Infinite , Happinet , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , GAGA , Lantis , Medicos Entertainment , AT-X , Sotsu , BS Fuji , TOKYO MX , Ray
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Sci-Fi

As a middle school student, Cocona has been trying to decide what to do with her life. Magical Girl, however, wasn’t a career path that she’d ever considered. When suddenly a strange girl named Papika thrusts her into a secret organization called Flip Flap, Cocona’s outlook does a radical flip-flop. Her views start to change when she is dragged into an alternate dimension called Pure Illusion where she’s charged with gathering crystal shards and fighting strange creatures. Now, between running missions and facing off against a rival organization, Cocona doesn’t have much time to consider alternate career choices. What are these shards, and why is gathering them so important? There’s a mystery to be solved and multiple worlds to be saved in FLIP FLAPPERS!

Tags: Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Henshin , Yuri , Meta , Magic , Kemonomimi , Archery , Guns , Urban , Urban Fantasy , Swordplay , Robots , Primarily Female Cast , Surreal Comedy , Memory Manipulation , Super Power , Dissociative Identities , Cult , Time Manipulation , Episodic , Age Regression , Isekai , Tragedy , Twins , Desert , Surfing , School , Love Triangle , Tsundere , Super Robot , Parody , Yandere

Where to watch?

No streaming links available

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