Anime like Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation

Sword Art Online

Also known as Sword Art Online.

Studio: Aniplex , A-1 Pictures , Genco , DAX Production , Aniplex of America , ASCII Media Works
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Romance

In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...



Tags: Virtual World , Isekai , Death Game , Video Games , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Primarily Female Cast , Female Harem , Unrequited Love , Artificial Intelligence , Travel , Fairy , Time Skip , Found Family , Tragedy , Incest , Prison , Fishing , Amnesia , Primarily Male Cast , Inseki , Rescue

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!

Studio: Toei Animation , NAS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Fantasy

Yuugi is a somewhat frail young boy who happens to be a big fan of gaming of any kind. But when he solves an ancient egyptian puzzle he is granted all the powers of darkness. Now when confronted with danger and injustice, he transforms into a much darker and dangerous form, and proceeds to dish out the justice and punishment for those who so richly deserve it.



Tags: Death Game , Dissociative Identities , Shounen , Card Battle , Henshin , Reincarnation , Gambling , School , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Urban Fantasy , Mythology , Delinquents , Bullying , Isekai , Video Games

Shangri-La

Also known as Shangri-la.

Studio: GONZO , Funimation , NTT Docomo
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi

In the distant future, earthquakes and the effects of global warming have splintered Japanese society. Some struggle hand-to-mouth in the jungle-tangled ruins of civilization. Some live comfortably within the closed-off city of Atlas. Others lurk online, anonymously hacking the global economy. As nature grows more violent and the divide between classes expands, one spirited girl – Kuniko – must face her destiny and lead her people into the utopia of Atlas. The city's ruthless government isn't going to welcome them with open arms, but Kuniko won't give up until the gates of Atlas are kicked open for good – even if it means discovering that the promised land she dreamed of is built upon a foundation of twisted secrets and lies.



Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Espionage , Otaku Culture , Female Protagonist , CGI , Transgender , Hikikomori , LGBTQ+ Themes , Urban Fantasy , Adoption , Denpa

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

Also known as Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse.

Studio: TV Tokyo , Satelight , Avex Entertainment , AT-X , Magic Capsule , aNCHOR , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Since 1973, an invasion of aliens known as BETA upon Earth is driving human civilization into nearly collapse. Facing an enormous mass of enemy force, mankind has developed large humanoid arms called as Tactical Surface Fighters and deployed them to its defense lines through out the world. However, all those efforts could slow down defeats but could not stop BETA, and mankind is forced to abandon major area of the Eurasian Continent. For 30 years, mankind is bogged down in an endless war against BETA without any hopes of victory.

In 2001, the Imperial Japan faces difficulties in the development of a next-generation main Tactical Surface Fighters (TSF) as it defends the front lines of the Far East. The UN has proposed a joint development program between the Imperial Japan and the United States as a part of its international mutual development project of TSF, the Prominence Project.

Yui Takamura, a surface pilot of the Imperial Royal Guards of Japan, is given responsibility for the project and sets off to Alaska. Meanwhile, Yuya Bridges, also a surface pilot of the US Army, was heading to the same destination.

Yet they never knew that their encounter would change their destiny drastically.

This story with exciting human dramas and robot actions takes place in the development of a new Tactical Surface Fighters, the most important and effective weapons against BETA, at a crisis of human extinction.



Tags: Real Robot , Military , Aliens , Politics , Terrorism , Gore , Love Triangle , Memory Manipulation , Tragedy , Nudity , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Guns , Heterosexual , Twins , War , Suicide

PERSONA 3 THE MOVIE: #1 Spring of Birth

Also known as Persona 3 the Movie: #1 Spring of Birth.

Studio: AIC A.S.T.A. , Yomiko Advertising , Aniplex , Atlus , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , Movic
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Terrible creatures lurk in the dark, preying on those who wander into the hidden hour that lies between one day and the next—the Dark Hour. A secret school club known as SEES defends humanity from horrors and disasters while working to solve the mystery of the Dark Hour once and for all.

A movie based on the 2006 RPG Persona 3, announced at the end of the Persona 4 movie, The Factor of Hope.

Tags: Male Protagonist , Gods , Cosmic Horror , Super Power , Urban Fantasy , Guns , Mythology , Robots , Demons , School , Philosophy , Kuudere , School Club , Tomboy , Trains

Shangri-La Frontier

Also known as Shangri-La Frontier.

Studio: C2C , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

"When was the last time I played a game that wasn't crap?" This is a world in the near future where games that use display screens are classified as retro. Anything that can't keep up with state-of-the-art VR technology is called a "crap game," and you see a large number of crap games coming out. Those who devote their lives to clearing these games are called "crap-game hunters," and Rakuro Hizutome is one of them. The game he's chosen to tackle next is Shangri-La Frontier, a "god-tier game" that has a total of thirty million players. Online friends... An expansive world... Encounters with rivals... These are changing Rakuro and all the other players' fates! The best game adventure tale by the strongest "crap game" player begins now!



Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Male Protagonist , Otaku Culture , Anthropomorphism , Travel , Swordplay , Slapstick , Shounen , Animals , Primarily Animal Cast , Anachronism , Kemonomimi , Assassins , Curses , Gender Bending , POV , Heterosexual , Shapeshifting , Unrequited Love , Dullahan , Goblin

Log Horizon

Also known as Log Horizon.

Studio: Satelight , NHK , NHK Enterprises , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

The online fantasy game Elder Tales is a worldwide phenomenon, immersing millions of players in its intricately conceived virtual world. However, the release of the game's twelfth expansion pack makes that immersion all too literal, as players from around the world are suddenly pulled into the game's no-longer-fictional universe! Now, eight-year ET veteran Shiroe, his friend Naotsugu, the beautiful assassin Akatsuki, and 30,000 other players are faced with the daunting task of learning how to deal with an entirely new reality, one where the Non-Player Characters are actually alive, and the tips and tricks learned while playing with a keyboard no longer apply.



Tags: Virtual World , Politics , Isekai , Video Games , Male Protagonist , Magic , Alternate Universe , Kingdom Management , Dungeon , Ensemble Cast , Anthropomorphism , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Kemonomimi , Love Triangle , Elf , Goblin , Twins , Kuudere , Samurai , Femboy , Skeleton , Episodic

BTOOOM!

Also known as BTOOOM!.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In the blink of the mind's eye, Ryouta Sakamoto suddenly finds himself transported from playing the hit Btoom! video game to being stranded on a mysterious island, equipped with a day's worth of provisions, a bag of bombs, a strange crystal embedded in his left hand and a huge gaping hole in his memory. But it doesn't take long to figure out what's going on, especially after the first person Ryouta meets tries to kill him. Someone is attempting to recreate the ultra-violent Btoom! game in real life, and the island has been filled with an army of other unwilling players, each armed with one of the multiple variants of explosive weapons called BIM. Fortunately, Ryouta's an ace Btoom! player, but this insane version of the game has no reset switch or second lives, and there's only one way off the island: kill seven other people before they can kill you! Can Ryouta repurpose his game based skills fast enough to survive?



Tags: Battle Royale , Survival , Death Game , Video Games , Hikikomori , Gore , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Achronological Order , Age Gap , Nudity

Itai no wa Iya nano de Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu.

Also known as BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense..

Studio: SILVER LINK. , AT-X , MAGES. , ABC Animation , Sammy , Docomo Anime Store , Kadokawa Media House , KADOKAWA , D-techno
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Slice of Life

The story centers on Kaede Honjou, who is invited by her friend Risa Shiramine to play a virtual reality MMO game with her. While Kaede doesn't dislike games, what she really, truly dislikes is being in pain. She creates a character named Maple, and decides to put all her points in VIT to minimize pain. As a result, she moves slowly, can't use magic, and even a rabbit can get the best of her. However, as it turns out, she acquires a skill known as "Absolute Defense" as a result of her pumping points into VIT, as well as a "Counter Skill" that works against special moves. Now, with her ability to nullify all damage, she goes on adventures.



Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Female Cast , Magic , Henshin , Parody , Animals , Swordplay , Primarily Teen Cast , Battle Royale , Twins , Episodic , Samurai , Monster Girl , Swimming , Steampunk , CGI , Robots , Fishing , Creature Taming

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

Also known as Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online.

Studio: Studio 3Hz , EGG FIRM , Aniplex , Bandai Namco Entertainment , ASCII Media Works , Straight Edge , Genco , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Sci-Fi

The story follows Karen Kohiruimaki, a 183-centimeter-tall (6-foot-tall) college student who's insecure about her height, and is bad at dealing with people in the real world. She enters the world of Gun Gale Online with her avatar, Ren, who is less than 150 centimeters (5 feet) tall and wears all pink. She meets a beautiful, brown-skinned female player who goes by Pitohui. They hit it off, but one day Pitohui pressures her to participate in "Squad Jam," a team battle royale variation of the Bullet of Bullets tournament.



Tags: Virtual World , Video Games , Guns , Female Protagonist , Battle Royale , Primarily Female Cast , Military , Yandere , Tomboy , Bisexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Age Regression , Death Game , CGI , Age Gap , Idol , LGBTQ+ Themes