Anime like TEXHNOLYZE

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 , Virtual World , Philosophy , Dissociative Identities , Augmented Reality , Female Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Artificial Intelligence , Software Development , Cyberpunk , Gods , Cosmic Horror , Conspiracy , Cult , Video Games , Suicide , Religion , Urban , Meta , Tragedy , Primarily Female Cast , Amnesia , Afterlife , Adoption , Orphan , POV , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Trains , Aliens , School , Isekai , Death Game , Age Gap , Bullying , Zombie

Ergo Proxy

Also known as Ergo Proxy.

Studio: NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Manglobe , WOWOW , Funimation , Sakura Create , Selecta Visión
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Something is wrong in the perfect domed city of Romdo. Between the sudden rash of murders and a virus affecting all AutoReivs-cyborg companions and workers who assist the people of Romdo - all is not right in their dome home. Detective Re-l Meyer begins to investigate, seeking answers to the weird occurrences that are happening more and more around her. But when she begins to uncover the truth, her world is turned upside down.

First, the strange immigrant Vincent Law goes missing and then a monster appears before her, shaking her to her core. But this monster is something more, something dangerous and sinister. With each question and mystery, she is led back to the creature. But what is it really? What purpose does it serve? A sign of the end or a sign of a new beginning? Whatever it is, it repeatedly brings her back to Vincent and soon, alongside his journey back to another dome world called, Mosk. As they make their way across scarred and deserted Earth, Re-l and Vincent will learn more about the monster and the "awakening"-which could be more of an ending than a beginning.



Note: Episode 1 received an advanced broadcast on channel WOWOW on February 5, 2006. The start date reflects the start of the regular series broadcasting.

Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Philosophy , Clone , Dissociative Identities , Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Robots , Primarily Adult Cast , Amnesia , Conspiracy , Artificial Intelligence , Noir , Lost Civilization , Fugitive , Female Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Travel , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Found Family , Denpa , Kuudere , Anti-Hero , Detective , Revenge , Pandemic , Angels , Heterosexual , Gods , Aviation , Survival , Police , Unrequited Love , Guns , Coming of Age , Meta

Haibane Renmei

Also known as Haibane Renmei.

Studio: Radix , Funimation , Fuji TV , Kourin Mitsuzou Koubou
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life

A dream of falling from the sky... and then birth. Rakka is born from a large cocoon into the Old Home, greeted by a group of girls with small wings on their backs and shining halos above their heads. Soon Rakka’s own wings grow, a halo is placed on her head and she is told that she must work in the nearby town of Grie. She soon realizes that the town and the entire world they live in are confined behind the Wall, a tall, impenetrable wall that none except the mysterious Toga are allowed to exit.



Tags: Angels , Philosophy , Found Family , Female Protagonist , Afterlife , Amnesia , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Primarily Female Cast , Suicide , Rural , Family Life , Religion , Delinquents , Drawing

Casshern Sins

Also known as Casshern Sins.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Funimation , Tatsunoko Production , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In the distant future, where cyborgs and humans struggle to survive after the war which destroyed the world, a being in white suit awakens. His name is Casshern and he remembers nothing of his own past.

In barren and dark dystopian world, where every being alive seems to hate his existence and the evil from his past wants him dead, Casshern, haunted by the flashes of his past memories has to survive and figure out who or what exactly he is and how he got to where he is now. But he does not know that he might not like the horrible truth of the past, hidden deep inside his mind...

Created as an intended reboot of Casshern franchise.

Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Philosophy , Dystopian , Robots , Tragedy , Pandemic , Super Power , Episodic , Amnesia , Male Protagonist , Twins , Disability , Cyberpunk , Superhero , Lost Civilization

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

JIN-ROH

Also known as Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Entertainment , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

In a very different Tokyo from the one we know today, the totalitarian government rules with an iron fist. But a group called "the Sect" is staging demonstrations and challenging the government's martial law. Constable Fuse of the Capital Police's Special Unit is on a mission to stop a Sect demonstration when he encounters a girl in the sewers under Tokyo.

When he fails to shoot as ordered, he is put on trial, questioned, and "re-conditioned" as a soldier. But the dead girl haunts him, both in his dreams and in the face of her sister, whom Fuse has befriended. But Fuse has made himself a target for some very powerful men... And as the world comes crashing down around him, Fuse is continually challenged to decide what is real and what is right.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 6, 1999.

Tags: Conspiracy , Tragedy , Philosophy , Police , Espionage , Military , Terrorism , Dystopian , Politics , Noir , Fairy Tale , Seinen , Guns , Fugitive , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Gore , Body Horror , Nudity

Tenshi no Tamago

Also known as Angel's Egg.

Studio: Studio Gallop , Studio DEEN , Studio Hibari , Tokuma Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological

In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life... and they discuss the world around them.



Tags: Philosophy , Dystopian , Lost Civilization , Mythology , Post-Apocalyptic , Tragedy , Religion , Cosmic Horror , Female Protagonist , Angels , Amnesia , Coming of Age , Urban Fantasy , Survival , Fairy Tale , Foreign , Tanks , Cultivation , Body Horror

Shinsekai yori

Also known as From the New World.

Studio: Aniplex , TV Asahi , A-1 Pictures , Pony Canyon , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Following a sudden outbreak of psychokinesis in 0.1% of the population, a rapid transformation swept the world. The godlike ability to manipulate matter remotely turned many power wielders to violence, inciting a long period of upheaval. Finally, after a chaotic era shaped by the rise and fall of oppressive regimes, the psychic humans were able to achieve a fragile peace by isolating their society, creating a new world bound by complex rules.

In the town of Kamisu 66, 12-year-old Saki Watanabe has just awakened to her powers and is relieved to rejoin her friends—the mischievous Satoru Asahina, the shy Mamoru Itou, the cheerful Maria Akizuki, and Shun Aonuma, a mysterious boy whom Saki admires—at Sage Academy, a special school for psychics. However, unease looms as Saki begins to question the fate of those unable to awaken to their powers, and the children begin to get involved with secretive matters such as the rumored Tainted Cats said to abduct children.

Shinsekai yori tells the unique coming-of-age story of Saki and her friends as they journey to grow into their roles in the supposed utopia. Accepting these roles, however, might not come easy when faced with the dark and shocking truths of society, and the impending havoc born from the new world.



Tags: Class Struggle , Dystopian , Lost Civilization , Post-Apocalyptic , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Super Power , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Female Protagonist , Slavery , Conspiracy , Memory Manipulation , Politics , Revenge , Bisexual , Survival , War , Animals , Cosmic Horror , Magic , Rural , Environmental , Amnesia , Cult , Gore , Body Horror , LGBTQ+ Themes , Fugitive , Chimera , Heterosexual , Religion , Love Triangle , Torture , Anthropomorphism , School , Boys' Love , Aviation

Boogiepop wa Warawanai: Boogiepop Phantom

Also known as Boogiepop Phantom.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , d-rights , The Right Stuf International , Triangle Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop... Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she can possibly exist in this day and age. Still, strange things appear to be going on and the darkness is taking on many forms. Something is out there. Are you safe?



Tags: Denpa , Achronological Order , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , Dissociative Identities , Bullying , Crime , Female Protagonist , Episodic , Suicide , Drugs , Agender , Kuudere

Kino no Tabi: the Beautiful World

Also known as Kino's Journey.

Studio: WOWOW , Genco , A.C.G.T. , Sentai Filmworks , Studio Wombat
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Slice of Life

Based on a hit light novel series by Keiichi Sigsawa, the philosophical Kino's Journey employs the time-honored motif of the road trip as a vehicle for self-discovery and universal truth. Deeply meditative and cooler than zero, the series follows the existential adventures of the apt marksman Kino along with talking motorcycle Hermes as they travel the world and learn much about themselves in the process. Imaginative, thought-provoking, and sometimes disturbing, Kino's journey is documented in an episodic style with an emphasis on atmosphere rather than action or plot, though still prevalent.

Tags: Philosophy , Episodic , Travel , Foreign , Tragedy , Meta , Motorcycles , Female Protagonist , Achronological Order , Dystopian , Agender , Guns , Rural , Steampunk , Snowscape , Mopeds , Politics , Cannibalism , Robots , Kuudere , Battle Royale , Aviation , War , Tanks