Anime like Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Bakemonogatari

Also known as Bakemonogatari.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Kodansha , Aniplex of America , Hanabee Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Romance , Supernatural

First season of the Monogatari Series, part 1/6. Contains the arcs Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Snail, Suruga Monkey, Nadeko Snake, and Tsubasa Cat from the Bakemonogatari light novels.

Thanks to Meme Oshino, Koyomi Araragi, a high school student, is able to remain a human after coming across a female vampire... However, since the incident, Koyomi seems to meet girls who have an apparition-related issue. Hitagi Senjougahara doesn’t weigh anything, Suruga Kanbaru’s right arm becomes like that of a monkey’s, and a young girl, Mayoi, cannot find her way home no matter how many times she tries. Koyomi, a Mr. Nice Guy, ends up helping each and every girl solve her problem with the help of Meme Oshino.



Tags: Youkai , Ensemble Cast , Urban Fantasy , Kuudere , Male Protagonist , Surreal Comedy , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Vampire , Ghost , Primarily Female Cast , Satire , Primarily Teen Cast , Meta , Heterosexual , Dissociative Identities , Psychosexual , Curses , Monster Girl , Yandere , Female Harem , Love Triangle , Tomboy , Parody , Gore , Rotoscoping , Mixed Media , Nekomimi , Gods , LGBTQ+ Themes , Tsundere , CGI , School , Amnesia , Rehabilitation , Aliens

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 , Denpa , Conspiracy , Philosophy , Suicide , Primarily Adult Cast , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Psychosexual , Disability , Video Games , Heterosexual , Software Development , Nudity , Politics , Drugs , Trains , Youkai , Female Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast

FLCL

Also known as FLCL.

Studio: Gainax , Production I.G , Starchild Records , Funimation , GANSIS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Naota is a detached sixth grader afflicted by the pangs of puberty. He's fooling around with his brother's ex-girlfriend when a crazed girl on a motor scooter runs him over, brains him with a bass guitar, and moves into his house. This pink-haired girl, Haruko - who claims she's an alien - hurls Naota into the middle of a mega-corporation's secret agenda. Oh, and now giant battling robots shoot from his skull. Mix in mind-bending animation and tunes that echo through your cerebellum to top off the trip that will have you falling hard for FLCL.



Tags: Coming of Age , Surreal Comedy , Psychosexual , Male Protagonist , Age Gap , Female Protagonist , Meta , Philosophy , Robots , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast , Denpa , Aliens , Love Triangle , Parody , Heterosexual , Mopeds , Vore , Amnesia , Guns , Kaiju , Urban , Gods , Super Robot , Body Horror , Real Robot , Nudity , Episodic , Baseball , CGI

Kakushigoto

Also known as Kakushigoto.

Studio: Ajiado , Funimation , A-Sketch , Studio Mausu , Dentsu , AT-X , TOKYO MX , Kodansha , GREE
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Single father Kakushi Gotou has a secret. He’s a top-selling artist of popular erotic manga, but his impressionable young daughter, Hime, can never find out! Now he’s having to bend over backwards just to keep her inquisitive little mind from discovering what he does for a living. A father-daughter tale of love and laughter.



Tags: Family Life , Work , Drawing , Coming of Age , Parenthood , Time Skip , Meta , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Slapstick , Female Protagonist , Amnesia , Male Protagonist , Achronological Order , Shounen

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei

Also known as The Tatami Galaxy.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Funimation , Sony Music Entertainment , Fujipacific Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Mystery , Psychological , Romance

When a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous “black cupid.”



Tags: Coming of Age , College , Time Loop , Surreal Comedy , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Alternate Universe , Primarily Adult Cast , Episodic , School Club , Time Manipulation , Achronological Order , Cult , Meta , Heterosexual , Satire , Ensemble Cast , Mixed Media , Proxy Battle , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cowboys , Mythology , Cycling , Tennis , Gods , Hikikomori

Isekai Shikkaku

Also known as No Longer Allowed in Another World.

Studio: KADOKAWA , Atelier Pontdarc , Movic , AT-X , BS11
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Pulled into an otherworldly adventure with cute sidekicks and superpowers, you’d think Osamu hit the jackpot. Nope! From a time before pixels, the early 20th-century gloomy author just wants to find a quiet place to meet his maker, not to rack up XP. Sadly, his poetic demise is constantly thwarted by inconvenient heroics. Dive into the hilariously tragic life of the most reluctant hero!



Tags: Isekai , Suicide , Male Protagonist , Travel , Seinen , Satire , Philosophy , Magic , Nekomimi , Writing , Elf , Heterosexual , Drugs , Royal Affairs , Gore , Werewolf , Disability , Desert , CGI , Medieval

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Also known as Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The story revolves around a mature prisoner who was released on good behavior during Japan's Shouwa Genroku era (1960s to early 1970s). He is called Yotarou by others, a term that means an "anti-hero" or a "dim-witted man." When he returns to society, he starts a new life in rakugo (comic storytelling). Touched by Yakumo's role as the "grim reaper," he asks the master to take him in as an apprentice. Most of the season delves into Yakumo's own past during World War II and the years afterward.



Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of 48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Rakugo , Tragedy , Acting , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Love Triangle , Time Skip , Josei , Male Protagonist , Disability , Meta , War , Suicide , Elderly Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast