Top Software Development Anime Recommendations

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maidragon

Also known as Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Slice of Life

What happens when a drunken promise leads to living with a dragon? That’s Miss Kobayashi’s new reality when Tohru appears in her life. With a maid-slash-dragon in her home, she’s experiencing a whole new level of domestic bliss! But the dragons don’t stop there. On a mission to find Tohru appears Kanna, a little dragon with a big attitude. Before she knows it, Kobayashi’s got a house full of dragons—one serving tail and the other serving serious moe! Together, they live side by side with only the occasional disaster…well, maybe. But nothing beats coming home to the warm welcome of a dragon maid!



Tags: Found Family , Dragons , Monster Girl , Family Life , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Maids , Magic , Episodic , Urban , Yuri , Urban Fantasy , Seinen , Large Breasts , Primarily Adult Cast , Office Lady , LGBTQ+ Themes , Otaku Culture , Kuudere , Isekai , Software Development , Bisexual , Philosophy , Nudity

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Also known as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

Studio: Trigger
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 , Class Struggle , Gangs , Male Protagonist , Urban , Orphan , Body Horror , Guns , Gore , Revenge , Primarily Adult Cast , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Heterosexual , Terrorism , Coming of Age , Nudity , Artificial Intelligence , Ensemble Cast , Time Skip , Time Manipulation , Software Development , Space , Cars , Age Gap , Robots

Zankyou no Terror

Also known as Terror in Resonance.

Studio: MAPPA
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Painted in red, the word "VON" is all that is left behind after a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility in Japan. The government is shattered by their inability to act, and the police are left frantically searching for ways to crack down the perpetrators. The public are clueless—until, six months later, a strange video makes its way onto the internet. In it, two teenage boys who identify themselves only as "Sphinx" directly challenge the police, threatening to cause destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. Unable to stop the mass panic quickly spreading through the city and desperate for any leads in their investigation, the police struggle to act effectively against these terrorists, with Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki caught in the middle of it all.

Zankyou no Terror tells the story of Nine and Twelve, the two boys behind the masked figures of Sphinx. They should not exist, yet they stand strong in a world of deception and secrets while they make the city fall around them, all in the hopes of burying their own tragic truth.



Tags: Terrorism , Anti-Hero , Detective , Tragedy , Crime , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Orphan , Urban , Police , Politics , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Mythology , Motorcycles , Suicide , Software Development , Guns , Time Skip

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Also known as The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.

Studio: J.C. Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

The first time he saw her, it was love at first sight. Unfortunately for Sorata Kanda, "she" was a cat named Hikari and his school's rules forbid keeping pets in the regular dorms. As a result, Sorata is banished to the infamous Sakura Hall alongside other troublesome and unusual students like Jin, overzealous playboy, Ryuunosuke, the reclusive hermit, and Mashiro, a brilliant artist who's so unfocused and clueless about the real world that dorm supervisor Ms. Sengoku assigns Sorata the task of taking care of her along with his ever-growing collection of stray cats!



Tags: Kuudere , Heterosexual , School , Coming of Age , Work , Love Triangle , Ensemble Cast , Drawing , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Nudity , Tsundere , Female Protagonist , Software Development , Family Life , Video Games , Hikikomori , Crossdressing , Yandere , Disability , Boarding School , Ghost

serial experiments lain

Also known as Serial Experiments Lain.

Studio: Triangle Staff
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

Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

Also known as Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest.

Studio: White Fox , Asread
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Psychological

When a classroom of students is transported to another world to act as its saviors, Hajime Nagumo finds himself the weakest link. As his friends and classmates are granted strong classes and impressive abilities due to their existing skills, he is given the weak title of Synergist. When a dungeon quest leaves him separated from his group, Hajime must discover his own talents or be left to rot in this world forever.



Tags: Isekai , Male Protagonist , Magic , Alternate Universe , Dungeon , Anti-Hero , CGI , Nudity , Cosmic Horror , Female Harem , Conspiracy , Primarily Female Cast , Vampire , Monster Girl , Guns , Software Development , Revenge , Demons , Kemonomimi , Chuunibyou , Anachronism , Tragedy , Dragons , Drugs , Kuudere , Battle Royale , Cannibalism , Death Game , Primarily Teen Cast , Tsundere , Pirates , Swordplay , Gore

NHK ni Youkoso!

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

Studio: GONZO
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

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

Also known as Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

The life of Tomoyo Aki, a highschool otaku working part time to support his BD hoarding. With remarkable luck, he bumps head-first into Megumi Kato, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Naturally, the meeting twists his life into a complicated torrent of relationships. Eriri Spencer Sawamura, his half-foreigner childhood friend who’s always valued her relationship with MC. Kasumigaoka Utaha, a cold, composed renowned literary genius who shoves everyone aside from our protagonist. What is this? An eroge introduction?

The tale of a small not quite doujin circle, but not quite indie studio’s journey through the tough territory of comiket and beyond.

Note: Includes episode 0.

Tags: Otaku Culture , Female Harem , Heterosexual , Software Development , Male Protagonist , Meta , Primarily Female Cast , School Club , Writing , Video Games , Kuudere , Love Triangle , Tsundere , Ensemble Cast , School , Drawing , Nudity

Paprika

Also known as Paprika.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Prepare to enter the realm of fantasy and imagination where reality and dreams collide in a kaleidoscopic mindscape of sheer visual genius. The magical tale centers on a revolutionary machine that allows scientists to enter and record a subject's dream. After being stolen, a fearless detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device before it falls into the hands of a dream terrorist.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2006.

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Body Horror , Meta , Crime , Denpa , Software Development , Conspiracy , Terrorism , Philosophy , Detective , Police , Mythology , Heterosexual , Circus , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Nudity , Cyberpunk

NEW GAME!

Also known as NEW GAME!.

Studio: Doga Kobo
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Fresh out of high school, 18-year-old Aoba Suzukaze is bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready for her first day of work at her dream job. She’s joining the character design team at Eagle Jump, the company that makes her favorite video games! But the real world of office culture can be a challenge for a total noob. From her awkward first day to her first game’s debut, she’s got a lot of skills to master. Luckily, her charming determination wins over even her quirkiest of coworkers, and before she knows it, Aoba has joined the party!



Tags: Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Work , Primarily Female Cast , Software Development , Video Games , Office Lady , Female Protagonist , Seinen , Ensemble Cast , Office , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Drawing , LGBTQ+ Themes , Episodic , Tomboy , Tanned Skin , Politics , Tsundere , College , Cosplay

Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou 2nd season

Also known as Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Season 2.

Studio: Asread , studio MOTHER
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Psychological

The second season of Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou.

Transported to another world and left behind by his former friends, Hajime had to make his rise from literal rock bottom. It was in the labyrinth where he strengthened his weak magic and found several beautiful allies. Now after saving his classmates, he ventures for Erisen to escort Myuu and her mother. He'll fight and defeat anyone he has to in order to find a way home—including a god!



Tags: Isekai , Anti-Hero , Female Harem , Male Protagonist , Magic , Dungeon , Angels , Love Triangle , Guns , Demons , Monster Girl , Primarily Female Cast , Vampire , CGI , Kemonomimi , Software Development , Age Gap , Satire , Primarily Teen Cast , Necromancy , Yandere , Slavery , Cosmic Horror , Gore

Higashi no Eden

Also known as Eden of the East.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Romance , Sci-Fi , Thriller

On November 22, 2010 ten missiles strike Japan. However, this unprecedented terrorist act, later to be known as "Careless Monday," does not result in any apparent victims, and is soon forgotten by almost everyone. Then, 3 months later... Saki Morimi is a young woman currently in the United States of America on her graduation trip. But just when she is in front of the White House, Washington DC, she gets into trouble, and only the unexpected intervention of one of her fellow countrymen saves her. However, this man, who introduces himself as Akira Takizawa, is a complete mystery. He appears to have lost his memory, is stark naked, except for the gun he holds in one hand, and the mobile phone he's holding in the other. A phone that is charged with 8,200,000,000 yen in digital cash.



Tags: Amnesia , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Terrorism , Death Game , Battle Royale , Male Protagonist , Artificial Intelligence , Conspiracy , Memory Manipulation , Love Triangle , Denpa , Software Development , Crime , Heterosexual , Hikikomori , College , Politics , Nudity , Police , Josei

Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san

Also known as The Helpful Fox Senko-san.

Studio: Doga Kobo
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Sometimes the cure to a hard day’s work is the tender love and care of…a fox girl?! Salaryman Nakano’s stressful life is suddenly intruded upon by the fox, Senko-san, who is eager to help him heal his exhaustion. Whether she’s cooking, cleaning, or finding other ways to care for Nakano, she’s there to take away his stress!



Tags: Kemonomimi , Youkai , Iyashikei , Gods , Male Protagonist , Maids , Urban , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Food , Software Development , Monster Girl , Video Games

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ♭

Also known as Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend ♭.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

After finally completing the first route of his visual novel, Blessing Software's producer Tomoya Aki is optimistic about the future of his team and achieving their goal of creating the best game of the season.
However, they still have a long way to go. For one, Megumi Katou still has an incredibly flat personality and is unable to fit the role of Tomoya's ideal heroine. The other members of Blessing Software, Eriri Spencer Sawamura, Utaha Kasumigaoka, and Michiru Hyoudou, often forget she is even there due to her lack of presence and character.
Throughout the development of their game, Blessing Software learns the struggles of working in an industry where deadlines must be met and edits are made constantly, and the hardships of working in a group setting.
Note: Includes episode 0.


Tags: Otaku Culture , Primarily Female Cast , Female Harem , Heterosexual , School Club , Video Games , Meta , Software Development , Tsundere , Male Protagonist , School , Writing , Kuudere

Bokutachi no Remake

Also known as Remake Our Life!.

Studio: feel.
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

28-year old Hashiba Kyouya has hit a new low after losing his job at a shady game developer. He originally quit his steady office job to work in the creative industries that he admires, but it's proving to be a challenge even for a motivated go-getter like him. As he finds himself back at his parents house, between jobs, he can't help but wonder what would happen if he had a chance to redo his collegiate studies. Maybe things would turn out differently if he had gone to art school instead... and, shockingly enough, he might just get a chance to test that theory.



Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of ~51 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: College , Age Regression , Coming of Age , Time Skip , Time Manipulation , Video Games , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Drawing , Otaku Culture , Male Protagonist , Female Harem , Work , Filmmaking , Software Development , Acting , Tragedy , Photography , School Club , Primarily Female Cast , Tsundere

GOLDEN BOY: Sasurai no Obenkyou Yarou

Also known as GOLDEN BOY.

Studio: APPP
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Ecchi

Kintarou Oe doesn't look like it, but he is a genius who completed all his university courses and then quit before graduating. He becomes a wandering student, going from place to place on his bicycle, seeking to learn what he can about life, the world, and women. He is willing and able to do any job he has to prove himself. His travels take him to a variety of locations and a variety of women, each who learns to love the hardworking guy, but not before he can run off.



Tags: Episodic , Work , Seinen , Satire , Male Protagonist , Travel , Female Harem , Cycling , Heterosexual , Nudity , Meta , Motorcycles , Software Development , Office Lady , Tanned Skin , Swimming , Yakuza , Primarily Adult Cast

Tonikaku Kawaii Season 2

Also known as TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You Season 2.

Studio: Seven Arcs
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

The sweet story of Nasa and Tsukasa continues! After surviving some awkward first nights together, dealing with doubters, and recovering from their apartment fire, it's clear the fate of these lovers was written in the stars. Now, they're ready to settle back into domestic bliss and finally plan their wedding ceremony! But with plenty of new friends on the way, what will their big day look like?!



Tags: Marriage , Family Life , Iyashikei , Heterosexual , Shounen , Age Gap , Mythology , Adoption , Primarily Adult Cast , Parody , Historical , Software Development , Aliens , Astronomy , School , Amnesia , VTuber , Meta

NEW GAME!!

Also known as NEW GAME!!.

Studio: Doga Kobo
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

The second season of New Game!.

Aoba Suzukaze starts another year designing characters at Eagle Jump, and she can’t wait to meet the newbie recruits…if any are hired. But before she can even unlock her senpai status, she finds herself in a lead designer position for the company’s newest game! Following in her manager’s footsteps, Aoba’s gotta get good if she wants her skills to compete with Ko Yagami’s. Working hard alongside some interesting new coworkers, only time will tell if Aoba gets her best ending.



Tags: Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Work , Video Games , Software Development , Primarily Female Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Office , Office Lady , Seinen , LGBTQ+ Themes , Drawing , Otaku Culture , Tomboy , Airsoft , Episodic , Cosplay , Tanned Skin , College

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Fine

Also known as Saekano the Movie: Finale.

Studio: CloverWorks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

After Eriri and Utaha leave Blessing Software, Tomoya and Megumi work alongside Izumi, Michiru, and Hashima in order to create their next game together: "How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend." However, Tomoya is stuck when it comes to writing the main heroine Meguri's route. And to make things even more complicated, Eriri and Utaha are encountering troubles on their own after a series of complications around their work on Fields Chronicle. Can Tomoya maintain his commitments to both Megumi and Blessing Software, as well as Eriri and Utaha?



Tags: Otaku Culture , Software Development , Meta , Heterosexual , School Club , Female Harem , Video Games , Primarily Female Cast , Male Protagonist , School , Tsundere , Time Skip , Drawing , Love Triangle , Writing

ChäoS;HEAd

Also known as ChäoS;HEAd.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Shibuya, Japan, 2008. Takumi Nishijou, a high school student at the Private Suimei Academy, one day hears about the 'New Gen' murders that have been occurring around the city. Although dismissing the subject because it doesn't involve him, Takumi begins to experience strange mishaps around him, from a horrific picture he received while on his PC, to a mysterious Pink-Haired girl standing at a murder scene.

From there on Takumi struggles to cope with the events unfolding around him, and is soon unaware of what is real or a delusion. As his fate opens up before him, the perpetrator behind the 'New Gen' events attempts to find him, leading him into a world where nothing is as it seems.

Tags: Memory Manipulation , Conspiracy , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Hikikomori , Super Power , Denpa , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Harem , Primarily Female Cast , Heterosexual , Software Development , Otaku Culture , Kuudere , Urban , School , Anti-Hero , Gore