Anime like Grimm Kumikyoku

Aoi Bungaku Series

Also known as Blue Literature Series.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

The series consists of adaptations of six modern classics of Japanese literature: Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) & Run Melos! (Hashire Melos!), Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) & The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito), and Ango Sakaguchi's In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita).

No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) - A high school student becomes lost and alienated. Despondent and aimless, he falls into a cycle of self abuse, depression and drugs that taints his life for years. Told in three chapters, each chapter deals with a different point in his life and the final chapter leaves him standing alone - an empty and hollow charicature of his former self.

In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita) - A love story between a 12th-century woman and a mountain bandit who abducts her.

Kokoro - A 1914 tale of a young man's life journey during the Meiji era. The work deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls "Sensei". It continues the theme of isolation developed in Soseki's previous works, here in the context of interwoven strands of egoism and guilt, as opposed to shame.

Run Melos! (Hashire Melos!) - An updated retelling of a classic Greek tale of the story of Damon and Pythias. The most prominent theme of "Run Melos!" is unwavering friendship. Despite facing hardships, the protagonist Melos does his best to save his friend's life, and in the end his efforts are rewarded.

The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito) - The Buddha Shakyamuni chances to notice a cold-hearted criminal suffering in Hell. But this criminal did perform one single act of kindness in not stepping on a spider in a forest. Moved by this selfless act, Shakyamuni takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell, but it falls upon the criminal to seize the opportunity and pull himself out - if he can.

Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) - A famous artist is commissioned by a great lord to create a series of paintings depicting scenes of the 'Buddhist Hell'. The artist is unable to paint scenes that he has not seen himself, prompting him to torture and torment the Lord's staff to create his imagined images of hell. His creative efforts taint the household, as the story descends into madness and destruction.



Tags: Classic Literature , Tragedy , Philosophy , Anthology , Historical , Suicide , Autobiographical , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Drawing , War , Gore , Trains , Politics , Rural , Demons , Ojou-sama , Female Harem , Writing , Fairy Tale , Afterlife , Delinquents , Psychosexual

Itou Junji: Collection

Also known as Junji Ito Collection.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Crunchyroll
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Anime adaptation of stories from both the 11-volume Ito Junji Kessaku-shuu series and the Fragments of Horror book.

Tags: Anthology , Episodic , Gore , Body Horror , Tragedy , Ghost , Demons , School , Super Power , Cosmic Horror , Crime , Urban , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Monster Girl , Josei , Suicide , Alternate Universe , Circus , Filmmaking , Nudity , Unrequited Love

Itou Junji: Maniac

Also known as Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre.

Studio: Netflix , Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

From the horror master of manga comes a new anime series: JUNJI ITO'S MANIAC

A Netflix produced anime series adapting 20 stories chosen by Junji Ito, including from:
Tomie
Souichi
The Hanging Balloons
The Strange Hikizuri Siblings: The Séance
Unendurable Labyrinth
The Long Hair in the Attic
Bullied
Where the Sandman Lives
Ice Cream Truck
Tomb Town
Library Vision
Headless Statue

Tags: Anthology , Episodic , Cosmic Horror , Tragedy , Ghost , Denpa , CGI , Suicide , Monster Girl , Body Horror , Bullying , Revenge , Ensemble Cast , Religion , Urban , Alternate Universe , Photography , Josei

Grimm Masterpiece Theater

Also known as Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics.

Studio: Nippon Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

The series consists of mostly stand-alone episodes which retell different fairy or folk tales. Despite the title, they are not all based on fairy tales collected by the Grimm Brothers.

Note: As streaming on RetroCrush, the multi-part episodes of 'Puss in Boots', 'Snow White', & 'Cinderella' are combined.

Tags: Classic Literature , Fairy Tale , Anthology , Foreign , Animals , Kids , Magic , Anthropomorphism , Rural , Witch

xxxHOLiC

Also known as xxxHOLiC.

Studio: Production I.G , Funimation , BMG Japan , Kids Station , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Watanuki Kimihiro can see spirits and other assorted supernatural creatures, which is quite a bothersome ability he strongly dislikes. On the way home one day, while plagued by some spirits, he is inexplicably compelled to enter a strange house. There, he encounters Yuuko, a mysterious woman who claims to be able to rid him of the ability to see and attract the troublesome creatures – for a price. She demands for him to work at her "store" that grants wishes to people, and thus begins Watanuki's adventures through weird and wonderful events.

Tags: Mythology , Urban Fantasy , Youkai , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Seinen , Philosophy , Animals , Ghost , Denpa , Work , School , Gods , Twins , Archery , Ensemble Cast , Football , Orphan

Howl no Ugoku Shiro

Also known as Howl‘s Moving Castle.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , d-rights , Tokuma Shoten , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie. In a life-changing adventure, Sophie climbs aboard Howl's magnificent flying castle and enters a magical world on a quest to break the spell.



Tags: Magic , Female Protagonist , Elderly Protagonist , Steampunk , Witch , War , Monster Boy , Shapeshifting , Heterosexual , Disability , Fairy Tale , Found Family , Travel , Philosophy , Rural , Politics , Time Manipulation , Maids , Demons , Aviation , CGI , Coming of Age

Shadows House

Also known as SHADOWS HOUSE.

Studio: CloverWorks , Aniplex , WOWOW , Shueisha , TOKYO MX , BS Asahi , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Slice of Life , Supernatural

High atop a cliff sits the mansion known as Shadows House, home to a faceless clan that pretends to live like nobles. They express their emotions through living dolls that also endlessly clean the home of soot. One such servant, Emilico, aids her master Kate as they learn more about themselves and the mysteries of the house.



Tags: Conspiracy , Slavery , Maids , Female Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Butler , Primarily Child Cast , Seinen , Ojou-sama , Fairy , Death Game , Drugs , Amnesia , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Kuudere , Demons

Yakusoku no Neverland

Also known as The Promised Neverland.

Studio: CloverWorks , Aniplex , Dentsu , Fuji TV , Shueisha , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.



Tags: Dystopian , Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Orphan , Tragedy , Found Family , Demons , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Tanned Skin , Gore

NHK ni Youkoso!

Also known as Welcome to the N-H-K.

Studio: GONZO , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life

Satou’s life – or what’s left of it – is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He’s terrified of the outside world; his apartment is overflowing with the remnants of cheap take-out food; and his retinas have been permanently scarred by a steady diet of internet porn. But maybe it’s not all his fault. After all, the nefarious N-H-K is out there, and they’re determined to turn society’s fringe-dwellers into a brainwashed lot of jobless, hopeless, futureless recluses.

Enter Misaki – a mysterious girl-next-door type who is Satou’s last chance to beat down his inner demons and venture out into the light of day. She’s ready to help him overcome his crippling phobias, but Satou would rather cower in his existential foxhole and pretend to work on the demo for his virtual sex game.

He’s afraid to face the world. She’s strangely desperate to fix a total stranger. Maybe together they can be normal.



Tags: Hikikomori , Rehabilitation , Otaku Culture , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Philosophy , Denpa , Suicide , Primarily Adult Cast , Coming of Age , Psychosexual , Tragedy , Video Games , Software Development , Heterosexual , Disability , Politics , Yandere , Trains

Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon

Also known as My Happy Marriage.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , KADOKAWA , Square Enix , Bandai Namco Music Live , Toy's Factory
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Despite being born into a noble family, Miyo lost her birth mother at a young age and grew up being abused by her stepmother, stepsister, and father.

When she finally receives news that she's to be married off, she finds out that her husband-to-be is Kiyoka, a soldier with a reputation for being cruel and heartless. In fact, he's had numerous previous fiancées who have all fled his household; none lasting even a mere three days.

Resigned to the fact that her family had abandoned her, Miyo knocks on the gate of the Kudou household to find herself greeted by a beautiful man with pale skin. Despite the poor treatment she receives from her husband-to-be during their first meeting, Miyo is unable to return to her old home and spends her time cooking and doing chores. However, as the days pass, Miyo and Kiyoka being to slowly open their hearts to each other...



Tags: Marriage , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Arranged Marriage , Historical , Bullying , Urban Fantasy , Kuudere , Super Power , Shoujo , Rehabilitation , Politics , Royal Affairs , Primarily Adult Cast , Military , Coming of Age , Age Gap , Fairy Tale , Guns , Clone , Makeup