Anime like Robot Carnival

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 , Space , Cyberpunk , Military , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , War , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Work , Guns , Primarily Male Cast , Mopeds , Memory Manipulation

Meikyuu Monogatari

Also known as Manie Manie: Neo Tokyo.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Kadokawa Shoten , Selecta Visión , Project Team Argos
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Horror , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

1) Labyrinth Labyrinthos
A girl and her cat fall through a looking-glass into a dark labyrinth full of strange people.

2) Running Man
In the distant future, a tough racer uses his psychokinetic powers against his opponents during his final race.

3) The Order to Stop Construction
A snooty salaryman is sent by his bosses to the jungle to stop a completely automated construction job, and spends several days there arguing with the robots.



Tags: Anthology , Cyberpunk , Circus , Work , Cars , Robots , Body Horror , Episodic , Gore , Male Protagonist , Super Power

Genius Party

Studio: Horipro , Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Mecha , Music , Psychological , Romance , Sci-Fi

An anthology of seven short animated films from Studio 4°C:

1.) Genius Party (directed by Atsuko Fukushima)
A bizarre bird-like creature runs through a barren desert and finds what seems to be a smiling egg lying on the ground.

2.) Shanghai Dragon (directed by Shouji Kawamori)
An imaginative Chinese boy finds a futuristic device that can make his own drawings come to life. After discovering the device, the town he lives in is about to be invaded by spaceships and machines of mass destruction that are all centuries ahead of Earth's time.

3.) Deathtic 4 (directed by Shinji Kimura)
A tale set in a world full of zombies, living their normal zombie lives. A living frog falls from the blackened sky of the zombie world, and a little zombie boy with his friends try to bring the living creature back to its own world.

4.) Doorbell (directed by Youji Fukuyama)
The main character is a ghost in his own world. He must outrun the other versions of himself, or they will take over his life.

5.) Limit Cycle (directed by Hideki Futamura)
An existential examination of the world as seen through the lens of a man seemingly trapped in an endless cycle of work.

6.) Happy Machine (directed by Masaaki Yuasa)
An infant who is happily secured in his own nursery suddenly discovers that everything about the nursery is fake. Soon the infant is forced out of the nursery into the world that exists outside, where adventure awaits, and there are many alien-like creatures to encounter.

7.) Baby Blue (directed by Shinichirou Watanabe)
A small adventure of two young students who decide to go anywhere they can for just one day, to enjoy that day without caring about the rest, and simply be together.



Tags: Anthology , CGI , Zombie , Aliens , Nudity , Episodic , Mixed Media

Animatrix

Also known as The Animatrix.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Horipro , Warner Bros. Japan , Studio 4°C , Square Enix , Square Pictures , DNA
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Final Flight of the Osiris
The crew of the Osiris discover an army preparing to invade Zion. While one crew member races inside the Matrix to get the message to Zion, the others try desperately to buy her enough time while fighting off an onslaught of Sentinels they can't possibly defeat.

2-3. The Second Renaissance Part 1 and 2
Humans have created the ultimate AI, which is just as smart as they are. But complications arise when these robots and the humans try to exist peacefully, and eventually all-out war breaks out. The humans ultimately lose the war, and become trapped in the Matrix as seen in the live-action films.

Kid's Story
A young man discovers that his world isn't real, that it's a computer-generated fantasy land created by robots using humans for energy. He escapes with the help of the hacker Neo. Based on the Matrix trilogy.

Program
Cis and Duo engage in battle in a virtual recreation of Feudal Japan.

World Record
While running the fastest race in his life, a champion track star breaks free of his computer-generated world for a small period of time. When he goes back to the real world, he has no memories and is placed in a nursing home. Based on the Matrix trilogy.

Beyond
While looking for her lost pet, a young woman meets up with some kids in Tokyo to play in a "haunted house", which is really a glitch in their computer world. Based on the Matrix trilogy.

Detective Story
A detective named Ash is called upon by a mysterious organization to hunt down the notorious hacker Trinity.

Matriculated
A group of scientists capture a robot and place it in a surreal fantasy world. When the robot's friends come in and kill most of the scientists, however, the robot and the last scientist remaining face isolation in the computer-generated world. Based on the Matrix trilogy.



Tags: Anthology , Cyberpunk , Virtual World , Artificial Intelligence , Dystopian , Robots , War , Gore , CGI , Skateboarding , POV , Nudity

Roujin Z

Also known as Roujin Z.

Studio: TV Asahi , Movic , Sony Music Entertainment , APPP , Kadokawa Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi

The Z Project was intended to give the new generation a break from caring for the old. The original intention was to create a machine to care for them without any intervention. At first glance, it looked like an excellent plan, and many of the younger generation approved of its application. But when old Mr. Takazawa became the test subject for the Z-001 machine, Haruko questioned both the tactics of the hospital and the moral implications of the machine. This is just the beginning, as Haruko has not just the hospital, but the odds against her. But then, she discovers an odd quirk about the machine: it uses a biochip, and it eventually acquires a mind of its own!



Tags: Cyberpunk , Artificial Intelligence , Satire , Real Robot , Rehabilitation , Robots , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast , Military , Female Protagonist , Fugitive , Elderly Protagonist , Male Protagonist , College

SHORT PEACE

Also known as SHORT PEACE.

Studio: Sunrise
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Sci-Fi

An anthology of four standalone films encompassing different genres.

Tsukumo (Possessions)
A lost wanderer seeks refuge inside a shrine where he finds lots of possessed objects.

Hi no Youjin (Combustible)
The movie depicts the events that led to the Great Fire of Meireki which destroyed more than half of the Japanese capital city of Edo.

Gambo (Gambo)
A young girl asks a white bear to defeat a vicious ogre that is kidnapping the first born girls of a small village.

Buki yo Saraba (A Farewell to Weapons)
In a post-apocalyptic future, a group of soldiers is sent to a ghost city to destroy an automated sentry.

Note:
Tsukumo and Hi no Youjin received advanced individual screenings at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in June 2012.
Hi no Youjin and Buki yo Saraba are based on Katsuhiro Ootomo's manga of the same name, whereas Tsukumo and Gambo are original stories.

Tags: Anthology , CGI , Historical , Post-Apocalyptic , Full CGI , Demons , Military , Gore , Desert , Samurai , Nudity

Ani*Kuri15

Studio: GONZO , Gainax , Production I.G , MADHOUSE , Horipro , Studio 4°C , CoMix Wave , Satelight
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

15 one-minute shorts created by various people from Japan's animation industry. The title of the collection, Ani*Kuri15, is abbreviated from the words "anime" and "creators".

Season One
1) Shinji Kimura - Attack of Higashimachi Ni Chome/Attack of Higashimachi 2nd Burough
2) Akemi Hayashi - Namida no Mukou/From the Other Side of the Tears
3) Yasufumi Soejima - Hyotoko/Blaze Man
4) Osamu Kobayashi - Sancha Blues/The Aromatic Tea Blues
5) Shinjiro Nishimi - Uchujin Raikou Hiroshi no Baai/Invasion from Space - Hiroshi's Case

Season Two
6) Mamoru Oshii - Project Mermaid
7) Kazuto Nakazawa - "yurururu" ~Nichijou Hen~
8) Range Murata and Tatsuya Yabuta - Gyrosopter
9) Tobira Oda and Yasuyuki Shimizu - Sport Captain Episode No.18: Assassin Descended from the Mountain Hunt!!
10) Atsushi Takeuchi - Wandaba Kiss

Season Three
11) Makoto Shinkai - Neko no Shuukai/A Gathering of Cats
12) Mahiro Maeda - Onmitsu Hime
13) Michael Arias - Okkakekko
14) Shouji Kawamori - Project Omega
15) Satoshi Kon - Ohayou/Good Morning

Tags: Anthology , Robots , CGI , Henshin , Meta , Flash , Historical , Nudity , Slapstick , Animals , Drawing , Work , Aliens , Episodic , Stop Motion , Kids

Star Wars: Visions

Also known as Star Wars: Visions.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , TRIGGER , Kamikaze Douga , Geno Studio , Studio Colorido , Production I.G , Science SARU
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Sci-Fi

An anthology of animated shorts celebrating Star Wars through the lens of the world's best anime creators and storytellers.

1) The Duel (Mizuno Takanobu, Kamikaze Douga)
2) Tatooine Rhapsody (Taku Kimura, Studio Colorido)
3) The Twins (Hiroyuki Imaishi, Trigger)
4) The Village Bride (Hitoshi Haga, Kinema Citrus)
5) The Ninth Jedi (Kenji Kamiyama, Production I.G.)
6) T0-B1 (Abel Gongora, Science SARU)
7) The Elder (Masahiko Ootsuka, Trigger)
8) Lop and Ochou (Yuuki Igarashi, Geno Studio)
9) Akakiri (Eun-Yeong Choi, Science SARU)

Note: A further batch of 9 episodes released on May 4, 2023 as Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 does not meet our eligibility requirements as only a single episode was animated by a studio meeting our Country of Origin criteria.

Tags: Space , Anthology , Swordplay , Space Opera , Aliens , Episodic , Artificial Intelligence , Robots , Tragedy , Fugitive , Cultivation , Military , Anti-Hero , Samurai , Archery , Ensemble Cast , Terrorism , Twins , Anthropomorphism , CGI , Adoption , Band , Parenthood , Marriage , Achromatic , Musical Theater

Amazing Nuts!

Also known as Amazing Nuts!.

Studio: Horipro , Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Music , Romance , Sci-Fi

Amazing Nuts! is an anthology of four animated shorts with each featuring its own distinct animation style and music by Studio 4°C.

Global Astroliner Gou
Glass Eye
Kung-Fu Love
Joe and Marilyn

Tags: Anthology , Foreign , Rotoscoping , Police , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , CGI , Space , Martial Arts , Heterosexual , Fugitive , Full CGI , School , Musical Theater

Genocyber

Also known as Genocyber.

Studio: Bandai Visual , Artmic , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Horror , Mecha , Psychological , Sci-Fi

As the nations of the world begin to merge, world peace is threatened by the private armies of individual corporations. The Kuryu Group has just discovered a weapon that will tip world power in their favor. The Genocyber: a nightmarish combination of cybernetics and psychic potential. Many desire to control this monstrosity, but can its hatred be contained... Battle erupts, and the cyberpunk world of the future is about to explode with violence.



Tags: Cyberpunk , Gore , Military , Tragedy , Body Horror , Female Protagonist , Seinen , Nudity , Mixed Media