Anime like THE Big O (2003)

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 , POV , Orphan , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Trains , Aliens , School , Isekai , Death Game , Age Gap , Bullying , Zombie

Ginga Tetsudou 999

Also known as Galaxy Express 999.

Studio: Toei Animation , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi

After witnessing the death of his mother and being left for dead at the hands of Count Mecha, ten-year old Tetsuro Hoshino is awakened by a mysterious woman, Maetal. In exchange for only his company, Maetal offers him the ride of his life on the Galaxy Express 999. It is said that those who travel aboard the legendary train to the end of the line can receive a free mechanical body and with it, immortality. Impoverished and alone, Tetsuro leaps at the opportunity and joins Maetal on a quest that will span the cosmos. As the Galaxy Express 999 makes its way across our solar system and beyond, Tetsuro is drawn deeper into a dangerous universe where peril lurks at every stop.



Tags: Space , Dystopian , Trains , Robots , Space Opera , Coming of Age , Episodic , Philosophy , Travel , Tragedy , Environmental , Male Protagonist , Cyborg , Shounen , Guns , Crossover , Time Manipulation

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 , Dissociative Identities , Clone , Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Primarily Adult Cast , Robots , Amnesia , Conspiracy , Noir , Artificial Intelligence , Fugitive , Lost Civilization , Memory Manipulation , Female Protagonist , 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

Batman: Gotham Knight

Also known as Batman: Gotham Knight.

Studio: Bee Train , Production I.G , MADHOUSE , Horipro , Warner Bros. Japan , Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure

Batman animated anthology based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name.

Episodes
1) Have I Got a Story for You (俺たちのスゴい話) - Shoujirou Nishimi (STUDIO 4℃)
2) Crossfire (クロスファイア) - Futoshi Higashide (Production I.G.)
3) Field Test (フィールドテスト) - Hiroshi Morioka (Bee Train)
4) In Darkness Dwells (闇の中で) - Yasuhiro Aoki (Madhouse)
5) Working Through Pain (克服できない痛み) - Toshiyuki Kubooka (STUDIO 4℃)
6) Deadshot (デッドショット) - Jong-Sik Nam (Madhouse)


Tags: Detective , Urban , Anthology , Superhero , Male Protagonist , Police , Gangs , Episodic , Crime , Mafia , Foreign , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Guns , Butler , Assassins , Rural , Skateboarding , Cult

Shoujo Kakumei Utena

Also known as Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Studio: J.C. Staff , TV Tokyo , The Right Stuf International , Central Park Media , Yomiuri Advertising , SoftX
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Romance

Just after Utena's parents died she was consoled by a prince who gave her a ring with a rose crest on it. Utena was so impressed by the Prince that she vowed to become one herself one day. A few years later Utena is attending Ohtori Academy where she gives all the teachers headaches because she dresses in a boys uniform so she can be like the prince she met long ago.

After Utena's friend is insulted by a member of the Student Council, Utena fights in a duel for her friends honor. Utena's rose crest allows her to enter the dueling arena where Utena wins the duel and becomes engaged to the Rose Bride. Unknowingly, Utena is pulled into a series of duels with other members of the Student Council for the possession of the Rose Bride. As she becomes fond of Anthy, the Rose Bride, she must fight to keep her friend safe and to discover the horrifying secret behind Ohtori Academy.



Tags: Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Philosophy , Fairy Tale , Tomboy , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Swordplay , Yuri , Incest , Bisexual , Tragedy , Psychosexual , Time Loop , Surreal Comedy , Age Gap , School , Witch , Ojou-sama , Memory Manipulation , Henshin , Conspiracy , Fencing , Love Triangle , Meta , Episodic , Crossdressing , Bullying , Magic , Kuudere , Boarding School , Twins , Suicide , Astronomy , Boys' Love , Aliens , Athletics , Body Swapping , Politics

UN-GO

Also known as UN-GO.

Studio: bones , Dentsu , Fuji TV , Toho , Sentai Filmworks , Sony Music Entertainment , Fujipacific Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

He pursues his job as the "Last Great Detective". Others call him the "Defeated Detective". What's certain is that he's Shinjurou Yuuki, a young man with a passion for mysteries and a talent for solving them that has made him the target of dark forces now stirring within the sinister underworld of a near future Tokyo. That could prove lethal, given that not even the other "good guys", including the police, are exactly on Shinjuro's side. Fortunately Yuuki's not completely on his own, and with the aid of his uniquely talented associate Inga, he's ready to cut a swath through the veils of secrecy that have been laid before him.

Get ready for mind against matter and a lot of cloak and dagger as the ultimate battle of clue and deduction begins in UN-GO!



Tags: Detective , Dystopian , Urban , Monster Boy , Work , Urban Fantasy , Guns , Shapeshifting , Police , Military , War , Crime , Terrorism , Politics , Artificial Intelligence , Post-Apocalyptic , Male Protagonist , Satire , Primarily Adult Cast , Monster Girl , Conspiracy , Super Power , Robots , Gods , Gender Bending , Prison , Ojou-sama , Idol , Writing , Suicide , Found Family , Cyberpunk

Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor 2: the Movie

Also known as Mobile Police Patlabor 2: The Movie.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Visual , VAP , Touhouku Shinsha , Shouchiku , Ashi Productions , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mecha , Mystery , Sci-Fi

The date is 2002, three years after the events of PATLABOR 1 – Mobile Police. The destruction of a United Nations Labor team in South East Asia begins the build-up to a deadly terrorist plan that threatens to send shockwaves throughout Japan's military. With evidence of an impending military takeover, the scattered members of the original SVD (Special Vehicle Division) must gather to defend the city against danger. To make matters worse, the mastermind behind the operation is none other than Nagumo's former teacher and ex-lover Tsuge.



Tags: Terrorism , Noir , Conspiracy , Police , Philosophy , Military , Politics , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Real Robot , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist

Choujikuu Yousai Macross: Ai Oboete Imasu ka

Also known as Macross: Do You Remember Love?.

Studio: Mainichi Broadcasting System , Tatsunoko Production , Artland
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mecha , Music , Romance , Sci-Fi

A.D. 2009 - The human race is in the middle of a three-way war with a race of giant humanoid aliens called the Zentraedi (male) and Meltrandi (female). After executing a space fold that sent it and part of South Atalia Island to the edge of the Solar System, the space fortress Macross is on its way back to Earth. During a small skirmish with Zentraedi forces, young pilot Hikaru Ichijo rescues idol singer Lynn Minmay and their relationship develops as they're stranded somewhere within the ship. But shortly after returning to Macross City, Minmay is captured by the Zentraedi, and Hikaru and female officer Misa Hayase end up back on Earth - only to view the aftermath of the destruction of their civilization. Only a song discovered eons ago - along with Minmay's voice - can determine the outcome of the war.



Tags: Space Opera , Space , Aliens , War , Heterosexual , Aviation , Love Triangle , Idol , Real Robot , Military , Lost Civilization , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Ships , Language Barrier , Nudity