Anime like Sky Crawlers

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 , Dystopian , Terrorism , Politics , Noir , Fairy Tale , Seinen , Guns , Primarily Adult Cast , Fugitive , Male Protagonist , Gore , Body Horror , Nudity

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

GHOST IN THE SHELL: Koukaku Kidoutai

Also known as Ghost in the Shell.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Visual , Kodansha , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Sci-Fi

2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together with her fellow agents from Section 9, Kusanagi embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.



Tags: Cyberpunk , Artificial Intelligence , Philosophy , Urban , Robots , Cyborg , Police , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Noir , Dystopian , Crime , Guns , Espionage , Nudity , Gore , CGI

TEXHNOLYZE

Also known as Texhnolyze.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Group TAC , Funimation , Rondo Robe , Fuji TV , Pioneer LDC
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In a man-made underground society, descendants of a banished generation vie for control of the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, an orphan turned prize fighter, loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged fight promoter. On the brink of death he is taken in by a young woman doctor and used as a guinea pig for the next evolution of Texhnolyze. With his new limbs, Ichise is taken under the wing of Oonishi, a powerful leader of Organ, an organization with some hold on Lux. As Ichise is drawn deeper into a war for territorial control of the city, he learns of his possible future from the young girl prophet Ran, who guides him from the shadows in his darkest times. With the explosion of the warfare, Ichise must uncover the truth about Lux and fight for his survival as he realizes his destiny.



Tags: Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Philosophy , Tragedy , Noir , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Survival , Mafia , Post-Apocalyptic , Denpa , Gangs , Disability , Male Protagonist , Crime , Cyborg , Terrorism , Guns , Amputation , Gore , Primarily Male Cast , Lost Civilization , Female Protagonist , War , Suicide , Cult , Conspiracy , Afterlife , Heterosexual , Drugs , Boxing

Toaru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku

Also known as The Princess and the Pilot.

Studio: MADHOUSE , TV Tokyo , TMS Entertainment , Movic , NIS America Inc.
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Romance

The war between the Levamme Empire and the Amatsukami Imperium has been raging for years. In the midst of this struggle, the prince of the Levamme Empire declares his love for Juana del Moral and vows to end the war in one year, as part of his marriage proposal. When the Amatsukami catch wind of this, they assault the del Moral residence, targeting Juana's life. As a last ditch effort to bring the prince his bride, the San Maltilia Airforce hires a mercenary of mixed blood—a bestado—to fly Juana to the Levamme capital in secret. The pilot, Charles, accepts the mission...but traversing an ocean alone, into enemy territory, proves a much more dangerous ordeal than anyone could have anticipated.



Tags: Aviation , Military , Male Protagonist , Survival , Female Protagonist , War , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast

Kaze Tachinu

Also known as The Wind Rises.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Walt Disney Studios
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Although Jirou Horikoshi's nearsightedness prevents him from ever becoming a pilot, he leaves his hometown to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple purpose: to design and build planes just like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid serving the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of over two decades of social unrest and malaise leading up to Japan's eventual surrender in World War II.

Tags: Aviation , Historical , Work , Biographical , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Time Skip , War , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Foreign , Drawing , Natural Disaster , Marriage , Trains , 4-koma

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 , Female Protagonist , Found Family , Afterlife , Amnesia , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Denpa , Primarily Female Cast , Suicide , Rural , Family Life , Religion , Cosmic Horror , Iyashikei , Delinquents , Drawing

Sentou Yousei Yukikaze

Also known as Yukikaze.

Studio: GONZO , Bandai Visual , Bandai Entertainment , Madman Entertainment , Viz Media
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

This full 3DCG digital animation has story takes place in the far future after a pillar of huge fog appeared suddenly in the South Pole. This pillar, known as Jam, is actually a passage for an earth invasion.

In order to oppose the threat, the United Nations established an earth defense mechanism. Fukai Zero is a hero registered to the main force of earth defense and the special 5th flight squadron. His reconnaissance plane, Yukikaze (windblown snow) is the best tactical reconnaissance plane. His job is to collect battle information return safely to the base with the information. But one day when he was about to finish his duty, an unidentified machine attacked him...



Tags: Aviation , Military , Full CGI , CGI , War , Conspiracy , Male Protagonist , Aliens , Artificial Intelligence , Space

Ouritsu Uchuugun: Honneamise no Tsubasa

Also known as Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise.

Studio: Gainax , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi

"I will not give up. I will realize my dream...even if it means death!"

When cadet Shiro Lhadatt signs up with the Royal Space Force, he encounters ridicule and apathy from manipulative leaders and a cynical public. But a chance encounter with a devout young woman spurs Shiro on towards his destiny: to become the first man in space! While military leaders conspire to use the space program to spark an all-out war, Shiro and a team of aging scientists race against time to complete the first launch.



Tags: Space , Aviation , Military , Male Protagonist , Astronomy , Religion , War , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast , Dystopian , Anti-Hero , Foreign , Environmental , Nudity , Coming of Age

Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor

Also known as Mobile Police Patlabor.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Touhouku Shinsha , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

In the future, rapidly advancing technology gives birth to giant robots known as "Labors," so named for their usefulness in heavy industry. However, this also gives rise to "Labor crimes," resulting the need for a new branch of law enforcement equipped with and dedicated to the policing of Labors. When Izumi Noa, a female police officer, becomes the newest recruit of Special Vehicles Division 2, she and her top of the line "Patrol Labor" (or "Patlabor") Alphonse are swept into a series of adventures featuring crazed construction workers, eco-terrorists, and sea monsters.



Tags: Police , Episodic , Real Robot , Primarily Adult Cast , Work , Terrorism , Ensemble Cast , Conspiracy , Kaiju , Satire , Female Protagonist , Shounen