Anime like Sword Art Online: Progressive - Hoshinaki Yoru no Aria

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

Also known as The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , Crunchyroll , Glovision , Nippon Columbia , Kadokawa Media House , Good Smile Company , Frontier Works , Sammy , KADOKAWA , AT-X , NTT Plala
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

Naofumi Iwatani, an uncharismatic Otaku who spends his days on games and manga, suddenly finds himself summoned to a parallel universe! He discovers he is one of four heroes equipped with legendary weapons and tasked with saving the world from its prophesied destruction. As the Shield Hero, the weakest of the heroes, all is not as it seems. Naofumi is soon alone, penniless, and betrayed. With no one to turn to, and nowhere to run, he is left with only his shield. Now, Naofumi must rise to become the legendary Shield Hero and save the world!

Note:
The first episode was pre-aired on December 27th, 2018. Regular broadcast began on January 9th, 2019.
The first episode aired with a runtime of ~47 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Isekai , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Travel , Revenge , Magic , Crime , Anti-Hero , Tragedy , Kemonomimi , Bullying , Henshin , Matriarchy , Language Barrier , Slavery , Villainess , Female Harem , Cult , Politics , Spearplay , Swordplay , Seinen , Cultivation , Ojou-sama , Religion , Tsundere , Economics , CGI , Medicine , Nekomimi , Monster Girl , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Afterlife , Gore

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

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar

Also known as Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash.

Studio: A-1 Pictures , Funimation , Madman Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

Fear, survival, instinct. Thrown into a foreign land with nothing but hazy memories and the knowledge of their name, they can feel only these three emotions resonating deep within their souls. A group of strangers is given no other choice than to accept the only paying job in this game-like world—the role of a soldier in the Reserve Army—and eliminate anything that threatens the peace in their new world, Grimgar.

When all of the stronger candidates join together, those left behind must create a party together to survive: Manato, a charismatic leader and priest; Haruhiro, a nervous thief; Yume, a cheerful hunter; Shihoru, a shy mage; Mogzo, a kind warrior; and Ranta, a rowdy dark knight. Despite its resemblance to one, this is no game—there are no redos or respawns; it is kill or be killed.

It is now up to this ragtag group of unlikely fighters to survive together in a world where life and death are separated only by a fine line.

Tags: Isekai , Survival , Tragedy , Goblin , Ensemble Cast , Magic , Alternate Universe , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Amnesia , Dungeon , Kuudere

Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica: Hajimari no Monogatari

Also known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part I: Beginnings.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Movic , Nitroplus , Madoka Partners , Houbunsha , Aniplex of America , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Thriller

The first movie in the Madoka trilogy; a recap of the first eight episodes of the series.

Tags: Magic , Tragedy , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Henshin , Urban Fantasy , Aliens , Primarily Child Cast , Witch , Urban , Time Manipulation , School , Kuudere

Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita

Also known as Reincarnated as a Sword.

Studio: C2C , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

Some isekai protagonists are reincarnated as powerful warriors or skilled wizards, but our protagonist was reborn in another life as a sentient sword! He’s taken up by Fran, a desperate girl fleeing evil-doers intent on selling her into slavery. With her new weapon’s help and guidance, she’s able to strike down her captors and secure her freedom. Together, this unconventional master-student duo embark on an epic journey to liberate those in need and exact justice on the cruel of heart.



Note: Episode 1 was streamed in advance on September 28, 2022 on AbemaTV. The regular TV broadcast began on October 5, 2022.

Tags: Orphan , Swordplay , Reincarnation , Nekomimi , Isekai , Found Family , Female Protagonist , Magic , Dungeon , Gore , Food , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Kemonomimi , Slavery , Goblin , Demons

No Game No Life Zero

Also known as No Game, No Life Zero.

Studio: MADHOUSE , AT-X , Movic , Kadokawa Pictures Japan , Sentai Filmworks , Frontier Works
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

A movie adaptation of the sixth volume of the light novel series announced at the MF Bunko J Summer School Festival 2016 event.

Six thousand years before Sora and Shiro were even a blink in the history of Disboard, war consumed the land, tearing apart the heavens, destroying stars, and even threatening to wipe out the human race. Amid the chaos and destruction, a young man named Riku leads humanity toward the tomorrow his heart believes in. One day, in the ruins of an Elf city, he meets Schwi, a female exiled "Ex Machina" android who asks him to teach her what it means to have a human heart.



Tags: War , Gods , Post-Apocalyptic , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Espionage , Dystopian , Class Struggle , Heterosexual , Magic , Elf , Survival , Kuudere , Robots , Artificial Intelligence , Board Game , Super Power , Reincarnation , Isekai

THE NEW GATE

Also known as THE NEW GATE.

Studio: CLOUDHEARTS , Yokohama Animation Lab , Mainichi Broadcasting System
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

When an online game turns real, trapping its players in its virtual space, the strongest of them, Shin, rises up to put a stop to the madness. But just moments after defeating the game’s final boss, Origin, and freeing everyone, Shin is transported 500 years into the future of the in-game world. Armed with unrivaled strength, the young swordsman embarks on a legendary journey.



Tags: Isekai , Magic , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Elf , Post-Apocalyptic , Kemonomimi , Video Games

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 , Psychosexual , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Denpa , Super Robot , Dystopian , Post-Apocalyptic , Angels , Primarily Teen Cast , Suicide , Kaiju , Conspiracy , Male Protagonist , Aliens , Body Horror , Religion , Mythology , Military , Clone , Tokusatsu , Kuudere , Tsundere , Politics , Bisexual , Gore , Trains , Boys' Love , Espionage , Nudity , LGBTQ+ Themes , Episodic