Anime like Zettai Shounen

Shinreigari: Ghost Hound

Also known as Ghost Hound.

Studio: Production I.G , Pony Canyon , Sentai Filmworks , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

In an isolated region of Kyushu lies the town of Suiten. Though seeming small and modest, Suiten is not a picturesque place for a vacation, unless it is from the “Unseen World”. Taro, Makoto and Masayuki, three boys with traumatic pasts, learn to let their souls cross between the two parallel worlds. However, the Unseen World is no mere copy of the real Apparent World. The Unseen World is the home of ghosts, but changes are now allowing the souls of the dead to pass over into the Apparent World, with unpredictable effects. Follow the journey of Taro, Makoto and Masayuki, as they cross between the two worlds, trying to unravel a great mystery.



Tags: Denpa , Ghost , Rural , Dissociative Identities , Cosmic Horror , Rehabilitation , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Cult , Kuudere , Conspiracy , Mythology , Seinen , Bullying , Philosophy , Love Triangle , Nudity

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 , Primarily Female Cast , Suicide , Rural , Family Life , Religion , Delinquents , Drawing

Kamichu!

Also known as Kamichu!.

Studio: Aniplex , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Funimation , Brain's Base , Ashi Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

What would you do if you suddenly became a god?

When little Yurie, a junior high school student, discovers that she is a god, she is beside herself in indecision and asks her friends. Thus begins her new life exploring what it means to be a god and her struggle to properly fulfill all the responsibilities it entails. From finding stray gods to dealing with Martians, her life is about to become more than ordinary.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Gods , Urban Fantasy , Iyashikei , Episodic , Primarily Female Cast , Youkai , Primarily Child Cast , School , Mythology , Rural , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Shrine Maiden , Magic , Aliens , Anthropomorphism

Tonari no Youkai-san

Also known as Tonari no Yokai-san.

Studio: LIDENFILMS , ABC Animation , East Press
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Welcome to Engamori, the cozy town where supernatural beings are your friendly neighbors. For generations and to this day, the otherworldly Yokai and humans have continued to protect their easygoing way of life. Enjoy the mountain breeze and uncover the mysterious bonds that lie within.



Tags: Youkai , Urban Fantasy , Rural , Josei , Heterosexual , Alternate Universe , Iyashikei , Anthropomorphism , Family Life , Tragedy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Amnesia , Gods , Ensemble Cast

Natsume Yuujinchou Go

Also known as Natsume's Book of Friends Season 5.

Studio: Shuka , NAS
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

The fifth season of Natsume Yuujinchou.

Tags: Iyashikei , Youkai , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Adoption , Shoujo , Rural , Primarily Teen Cast , Urban Fantasy , Shapeshifting , Estranged Family , School , Exorcism

Mokke

Studio: MADHOUSE , Kodansha , Tezuka Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Slice of Life , Supernatural

This is a story about two sisters: Shizuru, is a high school student who is able to see ghosts while her younger sister, Mizuki, is haunted by these apparitions. Frustrated by their abilities, their parents decided to entrust the sisters into the care of their grandparents who live in the countryside. As they adapt to life in the countryside, Shizuru and Mizuki begin to learn about the importance of coexisting nature with these apparitions.



Tags: Iyashikei , Female Protagonist , Rural , Episodic , Urban Fantasy , Youkai , Demons , Seinen

Natsume Yuujinchou

Also known as Natsume's Book of Friends Season 1.

Studio: Aniplex , Brain's Base , NAS , NIS America Inc. , TV Tokyo Music , Sony Music Entertainment , Trilogy Future Studio
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Natsume has always been an outcast because he inherited his grandmother's ability to see yokai. After moving to his grandmother's hometown and accidentally releasing a yokai imprisoned in a Lucky Cat statue, he learns about his grandmother's "Book of Friends," which contains the names of the yokai she defeated, and allows its wielder to command the yokai named within. Since then, yokai now visit him on a daily basis, seeking to either get their names back or take possession of the Book of Friends.



Tags: Youkai , Iyashikei , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Adoption , Found Family , Rural , Shoujo , Urban Fantasy , Estranged Family , Bullying , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Shapeshifting , Outdoor , Exorcism , Tsundere , Coming of Age

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

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

Asatte no Houkou

Also known as Living for the Day After Tomorrow.

Studio: J.C. Staff , Bandai Visual , Lantis , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

There are far worse things than having to deal with your ex-boyfriend's little sister or your older brother's ex-girlfriend. But that's something Karada Iokawa and Shoko Nogami have to learn the hard way when a magic wishing stone inexplicably grants Karada's wish to be older - and does it by stealing the years from Shoko! Now Shoko, who's already graduated and studied overseas, is Karada's age, just about to enter junior high school. Meanwhile Karada must suddenly face the real facts about what being grown up entails. And just to make a bizarre situation even more awkward, there's the issue of how to handle their existing romantic interests!



Tags: Age Regression , Female Protagonist , Rural , Body Swapping , Family Life