Anime like Sonny Boy

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei

Also known as The Tatami Galaxy.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Funimation , Sony Music Entertainment , Fujipacific Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Mystery , Psychological , Romance

When a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous “black cupid.”



Tags: Coming of Age , College , Surreal Comedy , Time Loop , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Alternate Universe , Primarily Adult Cast , Episodic , School Club , Time Manipulation , Achronological Order , Hikikomori , Meta , Cult , Mixed Media , Heterosexual , Satire , Ensemble Cast , Mythology , Proxy Battle , Cowboys , Cycling , Tennis , Gods , LGBTQ+ Themes

FLCL

Also known as FLCL.

Studio: Gainax , Production I.G , Starchild Records , Funimation , GANSIS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Naota is a detached sixth grader afflicted by the pangs of puberty. He's fooling around with his brother's ex-girlfriend when a crazed girl on a motor scooter runs him over, brains him with a bass guitar, and moves into his house. This pink-haired girl, Haruko - who claims she's an alien - hurls Naota into the middle of a mega-corporation's secret agenda. Oh, and now giant battling robots shoot from his skull. Mix in mind-bending animation and tunes that echo through your cerebellum to top off the trip that will have you falling hard for FLCL.



Tags: Coming of Age , Surreal Comedy , Psychosexual , Male Protagonist , Age Gap , Meta , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Robots , Primarily Teen Cast , Slapstick , Denpa , Love Triangle , Aliens , Parody , Mopeds , Heterosexual , Vore , Amnesia , Guns , Kaiju , Urban , Gods , Super Robot , Real Robot , Nudity , Body Horror , Episodic , Baseball , CGI , Mixed Media

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

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

Shin Seiki Evangelion

Also known as Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Studio: Gainax , TV Tokyo , ADV Films , Kadokawa Shoten , NAS , Tatsunoko Production , GKIDS , Madman Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind's survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion's one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything.



Note: Later releases include edited versions of Episodes 21-24 called the "Director's Cut" with some visual editing and adding extra scenes that appeared in the theatrical recap 'Death'.

Tags: Philosophy , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Super Robot , Dystopian , Post-Apocalyptic , Angels , Cosmic Horror , Psychosexual , Kaiju , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Meta , Denpa , Aliens , Suicide , Mythology , Body Horror , Military , Religion , Clone , Kuudere , Tokusatsu , Tsundere , Politics , Found Family , Estranged Family , Spearplay , Gore , Bisexual , Trains , Espionage , LGBTQ+ Themes , Boys' Love , Episodic , Nudity , Family Life , Artificial Intelligence , Foreign , Real Robot , Hikikomori , Office Lady

Ping Pong THE ANIMATION

Also known as Ping Pong the Animation.

Studio: Tatsunoko Production , Aniplex
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

Tsukimoto Makoto (nicknamed Smile) is a quiet high-schooler who's been friends with the loud and energetic Hoshino Yukata (nicknamed Peko). They're both in the table tennis club and are very good at it, though Smile's personality prevents him from winning against Peko. The club teacher however notices Smile's talent and tries to make him gain some sportive tenacity.



Tags: Coming of Age , Table Tennis , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Rotoscoping , School , Teacher , Language Barrier , CGI , Bullying , Coastal , Time Skip , Delinquents , Anti-Hero , Suicide , Flash

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

Yojouhan Time Machine Blues

Also known as The Tatami Time Machine Blues.

Studio: Science SARU , KADOKAWA , Fuji TV , Asmik Ace
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Mystery , Psychological , Romance , Sci-Fi

Spin-off of Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei.

It is August 12th. After the remote control to his boarding house's only air conditioning unit is inadvertently destroyed by spilled cola, "I" devises a plan to return to yesterday in a time machine to recover the remote before it breaks. However, his friend Ozu cannot resist playing with past events, even when it means bringing the universe to the brink of destruction. Now "I" finds himself racing through time to avoid disaster.



Note: Released in Japan as a standalone film on September 30, 2022 with the same content as episodes 1-5. The anime has an earlier episodic release on Disney+ starting September 14, 2022 and with an exclusive episode 6.

Tags: Time Manipulation , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , College , School Club , Trains

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

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