Anime like Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

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 , Medieval

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Also known as Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear.

Studio: EMT Squared , KADOKAWA , Shufu to Seikatsusha , Nippon Columbia , AT-X , Kadokawa Media House , TOKYO MX , Good Smile Company , CREST , Kanon , Nihon Narration Engi Kenkyuujo
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Slice of Life

Yuna's not your typical 15-year-old. First, she's crazy rich from playing the stock market. Second, she's a recluse obsessed with a VRMMO game, and she's really good at that too. Her life is pretty much perfect—until she wakes up one day inside the game she loves and back at level one. She has to start over, but this time, she has a powerful bear suit that's guaranteed to take her places!



Note: The first episode was streamed on Abema TV on September 19, 2020. The regular TV broadcast started on October 7, 2020.

Tags: Primarily Child Cast , Female Protagonist , Isekai , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Female Cast , Magic , Medieval , Food , Video Games , Henshin , Virtual World , Animals , Augmented Reality , Iyashikei

Lycoris Recoil

Also known as Lycoris Recoil.

Studio: A-1 Pictures , Aniplex , ABC Animation , BS11
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Slice of Life

“LycoReco” is a café with a traditional Japanese twist located in downtown Tokyo. But the delicious coffee and sugary sweets are not the only orders this café takes! From delivering packages short distances, to pick-ups and drop-offs on the lonely streets at night, to zombies and giant monster extermination…?! Whatever your problem, we're here to help! We will solve any kind of "trouble" you may have!

Waiting for you are the ever-smiling poster-girl and the cool, serious newcomer. A petite girl who never wants to work and a young woman approaching thirty who wants to get married. And the manager is a nice guy who’s obsessed with Japan!

Whatever your order is, leave it all up to us♪



Tags: Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Crime , Guns , Assassins , Terrorism , Conspiracy , Urban , Found Family , Work , Kuudere , Orphan , Espionage , LGBTQ+ Themes , Ensemble Cast , Restaurant , Boys' Love , Politics , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Parenthood , Bar , Yuri , Philosophy

Itai no wa Iya nano de Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu. 2

Also known as BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Season 2.

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

The second season of Itai no wa Iya nano de Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu.

The best offense is a great defense, and for VRMMO gamer Kaede Honjo, her defense is the best. Under her alias Maple, she and her guild journey through NewWorld Online gaining friends and foes through new battle-filled quests. All those skill points, new defensive techniques, and no pain—Maple can’t be stopped!



Note: Episode 1 was streamed in advance on December 17, 2022 on the KADOKAWA Anime YouTube Channel. The regular TV broadcast began on January 11, 2023.

Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Magic , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Animals , Twins , Henshin , Shapeshifting , CGI , Dungeon , Tentacles , Monster Girl , Ninja , Creature Taming , Anti-Hero , Vore

Sword Art Online II

Also known as Sword Art Online II.

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

One year after the SAO incident, Kirito is approached by Seijiro Kikuoka from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Department "VR Division" with a rather peculiar request. That was an investigation on the "Death Gun" incident that occurred in the gun and steel filled VRMMO called Gun Gale Online (GGO). "Players who are shot by a mysterious avatar with a jet black gun lose their lives even in the real world..." Failing to turn down Kikuoka's bizarre request, Kirito logs in to GGO even though he is not completely convinced that the virtual world could physically affect the real world.

Kirito wanders in an unfamiliar world in order to gain any clues about the "Death Gun." Then, a female sniper named Sinon who owns a gigantic "Hecate II" rifle extends Kirito a helping hand. With Sinon's help, Kirito decides to enter the "Bullet of Bullets," a large tournament to choose the most powerful gunner within the realm of GGO, in hopes to become the target of the "Death Gun" and make direct contact with the mysterious avatar.



Tags: Virtual World , Video Games , Primarily Female Cast , Male Protagonist , Battle Royale , Guns , Primarily Teen Cast , Swordplay , Female Protagonist , Death Game , Tragedy , Unrequited Love , Bullying , Kuudere , Assassins , Female Harem , Crossdressing , Tomboy

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

Darwin's Game

Also known as Darwin's Game.

Studio: Nexus , Aniplex , Magic Capsule , Madman Entertainment , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Kaname Sudou, an ordinary high school student, receives an invitation email to try a mysterious app called "Darwin's Game." Kaname, upon launching the app, is drawn into a game where players fight one another using superpowers called Sigils. Without knowing the reason for all this, can Kaname survive furious battles against the powerful players who attack him?



Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Death Game , Survival , Super Power , Battle Royale , Male Protagonist , Yandere , Shounen , Urban , Gangs , Gore , Augmented Reality , Philosophy , Guns , Conspiracy , Martial Arts , Swordplay , Dissociative Identities , Twins , Gambling , Samurai

Shangri-La Frontier 2nd Season

Also known as Shangri-La Frontier Season 2.

Studio: C2C , Kodansha , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Netmarble , Crunchyroll , Tencent , Dentsu , Sammy
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

The second season of Shangri-La Frontier.

Rakuro Hizutome only cares about one thing: beating crappy VR games. He devotes his entire life to these buggy games and could clear them all in his sleep. One day, he decides to challenge himself and play a popular god-tier game called Shangri-La Frontier. But he quickly learns just how difficult it is. Will his expert skills be enough to uncover its hidden secrets?



Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Shounen , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Anthropomorphism , Magic , Martial Arts , Kemonomimi , Travel , Hikikomori , Pirates , Animals , E-Sports , Otaku Culture , Superhero , Curses , Real Robot , Gender Bending , Mermaid

Gakkou Gurashi!

Also known as SCHOOL-LIVE!.

Studio: Lerche , Nitroplus , Sotsu , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Why would anyone form a School Living Club? Could four girls, their advisor, and a puppy really love their school so much that they’d want to live in it? Or is there another reason, something that lurks behind the façade of their comfortable existence? Something that waits outside their school’s doors. Something that has already robbed one girl of her sanity? While the others try to come to grips with a dark new reality, the rest of the world falls to ruin at the hands of a ravenous force, and insanity may be the last hope for survival. Shocks, heartbreak and stunning revelations await as the twisted tale unfolds.



Tags: Survival , School , Post-Apocalyptic , School Club , Tragedy , Zombie , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Memory Manipulation , Achronological Order , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Gore , Teacher , Animals , CGI , Nudity

Net-juu no Susume

Also known as Recovery of an MMO Junkie.

Studio: Signal.MD , flying DOG , comico , Crunchyroll
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Romance , Slice of Life

Moriko Morioka is a 30-year-old single NEET woman. After dropping out from reality, she has taken off in search for a fulfilling life and ended up in a net game or "netoge." In the netoge world, she began her new life as a refreshing and handsome character named Hayashi. While starting out as a beginner, a pretty character named Lily reached out to help her. Meanwhile, in the real world, awaits a shocking encounter with a good-looking elite company employee, a mysterious blue-eyed blonde.



Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Hikikomori , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Otaku Culture , Gender Bending , Josei , Parody , Konbini