Anime like Koukaku Kidoutai: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Also known as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

Studio: TRIGGER , CD PROJEKT RED , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

An original anime series set in in the universe of Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he chooses to stay alive by becoming an edgerunner—a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.



Note: The first episode received a pre-screening at Anime Expo on July 2, 2022. The first 3 dubbed episodes were streamed on Twitch as part of a co-stream promotion on September 12, a day before the show’s premiere.

Tags: Cyberpunk , Tragedy , Crime , Dystopian , Cyborg , Male Protagonist , Class Struggle , Gangs , Urban , Body Horror , Orphan , Guns , Gore , Revenge , Anti-Hero , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Drugs , Terrorism , Nudity , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Time Skip , Artificial Intelligence , Time Manipulation , Robots , Space , Software Development , Age Gap , Cars , Tomboy , Bar

AKIRA

Also known as Akira.

Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha , Funimation , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Kodansha , Bandai Entertainment , Toho , Madman Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

It's the year 2019, thirty-one years have passed since the start of World War III. A top-secret child with amazing powers of the mind breaks free from custody and accidentally gets a motorcycle gang involved in the project. This incident triggers psychic powers within one of the gang members, Tetsuo, and he is taken by the army to be experimented on. His mind has been altered and is now on the path of war, seeking revenge on the society that once called him weak.



Tags: Cyberpunk , Post-Apocalyptic , Dystopian , Super Power , Urban , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Delinquents , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Urban Fantasy , Body Horror , Motorcycles , Anti-Hero , Conspiracy , Gangs , Gore , Military , Philosophy , Crime , Orphan , Guns , Politics , Mythology , Aliens , Nudity , Human Experimentation

PSYCHO-PASS

Also known as PSYCHO-PASS.

Studio: Production I.G , Fuji TV , Nitroplus , Sony Music Entertainment , KYORAKU , Toho , Funimation , Dentsu
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Justice, and the enforcement of it, has changed. In the 22nd century, Japan enforces the Sibyl System, an objective means of determining the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors uphold the law by subjugating, often with lethal force, anyone harboring the slightest ill-will; alongside them are Enforcers, jaded Inspectors that have become latent criminals, granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the Inspectors' dirty work.

Into this world steps Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with an honest desire to uphold justice. However, as she works alongside veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is, and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt.



Note: In the Summer 2014 season, Psycho-Pass was rebroadcast and re-edited to fit into an hour time-slot, ending up in 11 one-hour episodes. This edit included added scenes at the beginning and middle of the episodes, as well as fixing and improving animation.

Tags: Detective , Police , Dystopian , Crime , Cyberpunk , Philosophy , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Artificial Intelligence , Female Protagonist , Conspiracy , Fugitive , Augmented Reality , Revenge , Terrorism , Guns , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Gore , Class Struggle , Robots , Body Horror , Tragedy , Politics , Nudity ,

GUNNM

Also known as Battle Angel Alita.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Animate , Movic , KSS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi

Doc Ido, a doctor and mechanic who lives and works in the hellish, postapocalyptic "Scrapyard", finds the—miraculously preserved—remains of a female cyborg in a junk heap. After he revives and rebuilds her, the preternaturally strong, amnesiac "Gally" begins to forge a life for herself in a world where every day can bring a fight for life. Adapts the first two volumes of the "Battle Angel Alita" manga.

Tags: Cyberpunk , Dystopian , Cyborg , Tragedy , Guns , Post-Apocalyptic , Robots , Gore , Urban , Amnesia , Nudity , Female Protagonist , Crime , Fugitive , Body Horror , Shounen

Cowboy Bebop

Also known as Cowboy Bebop.

Studio: Sunrise , Bandai Visual , Bandai Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi

Enter a world in the distant future, where Bounty Hunters roam the solar system. Spike and Jet, bounty hunting partners, set out on journeys in an ever struggling effort to win bounty rewards to survive.

While traveling, they meet up with other very interesting people. Could Faye, the beautiful and ridiculously poor gambler, Edward, the computer genius, and Ein, the engineered dog be a good addition to the group?

Tags: Space , Crime , Episodic , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Philosophy , Tragedy , Travel , Found Family , Noir , Anti-Hero , Guns , Male Protagonist , Cyberpunk , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Terrorism , Martial Arts , Cyborg , Tomboy , Cowboys , Amnesia , Work , Gambling , Police , Yakuza , Drugs , Nudity , Cult , Tanned Skin , Circus , CGI , LGBTQ+ Themes

Akudama Drive

Also known as Akudama Drive.

Studio: Studio Pierrot , Delfi Sound , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Many years ago, a Great Civil War ravaged Japan, leaving the country fragmented between two regions: Kansai and Kanto. In Kansai, a group of six Akudama carry out missions given to them by a mysterious black cat, while evading the police. But a dangerous journey is about to unfold when a civilian girl becomes twisted into the Akudama’s way of life and witnesses their criminal drives.



Note: On May 28, 2021, a director's cut of the final episode was released which included approximately 5 minutes of new content.

Tags: Anti-Hero , Crime , Urban , Cyberpunk , Fugitive , Dystopian , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Gore , Politics , Conspiracy , Prison , Yandere , Tomboy , Artificial Intelligence , Found Family , Unrequited Love , CGI , Motorcycles , Trains , Virtual World , Kuudere , Space , Tanned Skin

Animatrix

Also known as The Animatrix.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Horipro , Warner Bros. Japan , Studio 4°C , Square Enix , Square Pictures , DNA
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Final Flight of the Osiris
The crew of the Osiris discover an army preparing to invade Zion. While one crew member races inside the Matrix to get the message to Zion, the others try desperately to buy her enough time while fighting off an onslaught of Sentinels they can't possibly defeat.

2-3. The Second Renaissance Part 1 and 2
Humans have created the ultimate AI, which is just as smart as they are. But complications arise when these robots and the humans try to exist peacefully, and eventually all-out war breaks out. The humans ultimately lose the war, and become trapped in the Matrix as seen in the live-action films.

Kid's Story
A young man discovers that his world isn't real, that it's a computer-generated fantasy land created by robots using humans for energy. He escapes with the help of the hacker Neo. Based on the Matrix trilogy.

Program
Cis and Duo engage in battle in a virtual recreation of Feudal Japan.

World Record
While running the fastest race in his life, a champion track star breaks free of his computer-generated world for a small period of time. When he goes back to the real world, he has no memories and is placed in a nursing home. Based on the Matrix trilogy.

Beyond
While looking for her lost pet, a young woman meets up with some kids in Tokyo to play in a "haunted house", which is really a glitch in their computer world. Based on the Matrix trilogy.

Detective Story
A detective named Ash is called upon by a mysterious organization to hunt down the notorious hacker Trinity.

Matriculated
A group of scientists capture a robot and place it in a surreal fantasy world. When the robot's friends come in and kill most of the scientists, however, the robot and the last scientist remaining face isolation in the computer-generated world. Based on the Matrix trilogy.



Tags: Anthology , Cyberpunk , Virtual World , Artificial Intelligence , Dystopian , Robots , War , Gore , CGI , Skateboarding , POV , Nudity

Black Magic M-66

Also known as Black Magic M-66.

Studio: AIC , Animate Film , Movic
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Freelance video journalist Sybil bites off more than she can chew when she tangles with a top secret military combat robot programmed to kill the grand-daughter of its creator.




Tags: Robots , Military , Artificial Intelligence , Guns , Survival , Primarily Male Cast , Cyberpunk , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Nudity , Urban , Shounen

Appleseed

Also known as Appleseed.

Studio: Bandai Visual , Touhouku Shinsha , TBS , Movic , Gainax , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Earth's last city, Olympus, rose from the ashes of global war on the backs of Bioroids, artificial clones who make up half the city's population. Under the guidance of a supercomputer, humanity's last survivors enjoy peace, but only on the surface. Human terrorists within the military seek a return to power and clash with the government's forces led by the legendary soldier, Deunan Knute, and her boyfriend who is 75% machine.



Tags: Police , Cyberpunk , Terrorism , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Robots , Seinen , Real Robot , Urban , Post-Apocalyptic , Guns , Artificial Intelligence , Philosophy

PLUTO

Also known as PLUTO.

Studio: Studio M2 , Genco , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

A murder occurs in an orderly world where robots are unable to kill humans. The robotic Europol investigator Gesicht takes the case, but the mystery deepens when he finds no trace of a human at the scene of the crime. As he pursues the truth, Gesicht uncovers the most evil manifestation of hate that history has ever seen, one that is bent on bringing destruction to the world ...



Tags: Robots , Artificial Intelligence , Revenge , Detective , Seinen , Police , Ensemble Cast , Tragedy , Crime , Conspiracy , Memory Manipulation , Philosophy , War , Politics , Foreign , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Primarily Male Cast , Amnesia , Male Protagonist , Terrorism , Dystopian , Noir , Military , Guns , Travel , Adoption , Cyberpunk , Cult , Anachronism , Desert , Nudity , Proxy Battle