Anime like PERFECT BLUE

Paprika

Also known as Paprika.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Sony Pictures Entertainment , Techno Sound , Chaos Union , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Prepare to enter the realm of fantasy and imagination where reality and dreams collide in a kaleidoscopic mindscape of sheer visual genius. The magical tale centers on a revolutionary machine that allows scientists to enter and record a subject's dream. After being stolen, a fearless detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device before it falls into the hands of a dream terrorist.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2006.

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Philosophy , Body Horror , Denpa , Crime , Conspiracy , Mythology , Meta , Software Development , Detective , Terrorism , Cyberpunk , Circus , Police , Heterosexual , Unrequited Love , Nudity , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , 4-koma

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

[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 , Time Skip , Orphan , Pregnancy , Age Regression , Tsundere , Filmmaking , Seinen , Bullying , Love Triangle , Fake Relationship , Unrequited Love , Primarily Female Cast , Family Life , Urban Fantasy , Suicide , Fashion , School , Otaku Culture , Female Harem

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 , Episodic , Satire , Suicide , Male Protagonist , Disability , Female Protagonist , Dissociative Identities , Bullying , Fugitive , Hikikomori , Cosmic Horror , Ghost , Nudity , Chuunibyou , Primarily Adult Cast , Prostitution , LGBTQ+ Themes , Achronological Order

Sennen Joyuu

Also known as Millennium Actress.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Genco , WOWOW , KLOCKWORX , Kadokawa Shoten , Bandai Visual , Techno Sound , Chaos Union
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Millennium Actress blurs the lines between the past and the present, and truth and fiction, when a documentary filmmaker fulfills his quest to find the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, and learn why she mysteriously vanished at the height of her brilliant career. When Chiyoko grants the filmmaker’s request, he, in turn, presents her with a token – a key she had lost and thought was gone forever. The filmmaker could not have imagined that the key would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life, but also his own.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 28, 2001.

Tags: Acting , Biographical , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Meta , Work , Time Skip , Filmmaking , Heterosexual , Unrequited Love , War , Coming of Age , Anachronism , Fugitive , Snowscape , Class Struggle , Denpa , Swordplay , Age Gap , Trains

Shin Seiki Evangelion Movie: Air / Magokoro wo, Kimi ni

Also known as Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion.

Studio: Gainax , Production I.G , TV Tokyo , Toei Animation , Kadokawa Shoten , Movic , Sega Games , TV Tokyo Music , Selecta Visión
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Psychological , Sci-Fi

NERV faces a brutal attack from SEELE, but with Asuka in a coma, and Shinji in a nervous breakdown, things soon turn into the surreal. This movie provides a concurrent ending to the final two episodes of the show Neon Genesis Evangelion.



Tags: Philosophy , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Post-Apocalyptic , Dystopian , Denpa , Meta , Male Protagonist , Gods , Body Horror , Super Robot , Psychosexual , Conspiracy , Gore , Cosmic Horror , Afterlife , Primarily Teen Cast , Kaiju , Mythology , Robots , Religion , Female Protagonist , Nudity , Mixed Media , Clone , Masturbation , Tsundere , Guns , Politics , Space , Kuudere , Boys' Love , Angels , LGBTQ+ Themes , Bisexual

Tokyo Godfathers

Also known as Tokyo Godfathers.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Sony Pictures Entertainment , Dentsu , Genco , Techno Sound
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama

In modern-day Tokyo, three homeless people’s lives are changed forever when they discover a baby girl at a garbage dump on Christmas Eve. As the New Year fast approaches, these three forgotten members of society band together to solve the mystery of the abandoned child and the fate of her parents. Along the way, encounters with seemingly unrelated events and people force them to confront their own haunted pasts, as they learn to face their future, together.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Big Apple Anime Fest on August 30, 2003.

Tags: Found Family , Homeless , Estranged Family , Urban , Family Life , Snowscape , Primarily Adult Cast , Transgender , Class Struggle , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Surreal Comedy , Delinquents , Ensemble Cast , Rotoscoping , Female Protagonist , Suicide , Language Barrier , Tanned Skin , Nudity , Guns , Yakuza

NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE

Also known as NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE.

Studio: Yostar Pictures , Aniplex , Yostar , TOKYO MX , BS11 , WOWOW
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Psychological , Slice of Life

OMGkawaiiAngel, affectionately known as "KAngel", is the top streamer girl with 10 million subscribers, and not a day goes by without seeing her in action. Whether online, on TV, or at a live show, she is always surrounded by her cheering fans.

Striving to catch up with KAngel's popularity is a three-girl streaming unit called Karamazov.

And far removed from the world of these streamers is Kache, a girl who lives with her freeloader boyfriend while working at a theme cafe.

The story of the "Internet Angel" who captivated the world, woven by a girl who shines like a star and girls who reach for that brilliance, and the story of "you" on the other side of the screen, begins here.



Note: Prior to broadcasting, "NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE -OVERTURE-" — a theatrical pre-screening of the first 3 episodes rearranged and edited together— debuted in Japan on March 6, 2026.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Denpa , Otaku Culture , Philosophy , Drugs , Idol , Body Image , Tragedy , Suicide , VTuber , Mixed Media , Yuri , Urban , Bullying , Psychosexual , CGI , Crime , Angels , LGBTQ+ Themes , Work , Disability , Nudity , Masturbation , Polyamorous , Yandere , Tomboy , Video Games

Sonny Boy

Also known as Sonny Boy.

Studio: MADHOUSE , BS Asahi , Shouchiku , Marui Group
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

It’s an ordinary summer vacation...except for the fact that Nagara’s high school has mysteriously drifted into another dimension. As the students begin to develop strange new powers, will they work together to survive the alien environment and find a way home, or will their newly formed factions and rivalries turn on each other?



Note: The first episode received an advance release on YouTube on June 19, 2021. The regular TV broadcast started on July 16, 2021.

Tags: Alternate Universe , Philosophy , Denpa , Coming of Age , Super Power , Survival , Primarily Teen Cast , Isekai , Travel , Meta , Achronological Order , Cosmic Horror , Mixed Media , School , Episodic , Tragedy , Gods , Unrequited Love , Wilderness , Male Protagonist , Animals , Heterosexual , Desert , Baseball , Space , Suicide

MEMORIES

Also known as Memories.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Horipro , Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Memories is a compilation of three standalone short films encompassing different genres.

Magnetic Rose — a science fiction tale that tells a chilling story of love, loss, and the unwillingness to forget.
Stink Bomb — a tongue-in-cheek story of a chemical researcher who is just looking for a way to get rid of his cold... so why is everybody around him dying?
Cannon Fodder — an introspective tale about modern wars and simply following orders.

Tags: Anthology , Steampunk , Dystopian , Politics , Seinen , Space , Cyberpunk , Military , Primarily Male Cast , War , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Episodic , Work , Guns , Mopeds , Memory Manipulation , Tanks