As of 2019, 31 years have passed since the outbreak of World War III. In Neo-Tokyo, the underground is effectively ruling the shattered city.
After watching Akira, where do you go? The question is not easy to answer, as even many anime similar to Akira likely fall short. With its amazing and innovative animation, Akira redefined animated movies in more than just Japan. In addition to becoming a hit in Japan, it served as a gateway for future anime fans worldwide.
Having finished Akira’s anime and manga versions, you probably want to find other anime like it. There are plenty of similar titles available to fans, even if they do not measure up to Katsuhiro Otomo’s masterpiece.
Slick animation, cyberpunk elements, and philosophical conundrums all mark an anime with a similar vein to 1989’s classic. Although Akira occupies a class of its own, its influence gave these titles and series a chance to shine.
1. Koukaku Kidoutai
As of 2029, Niihama City is a technologically advanced metropolis. With the advancement of cybernetics, its citizens can replace their limbs with robotic ones. As the world becomes more interconnected, the city’s Public Security Section 9 combats corruption, terrorism, and other dangerous threats as a result of this shift.
Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 leads a case involving a mysterious hacker known only as the “Puppet Master,” who erases the memory of his victims. The Puppet Master’s body is nearly entirely robotic, giving him incredible power like many other people in this futuristic world.
The enigmatic criminal’s trail is followed by Motoko and her subordinates, but other parties, including Section 6, begin to get involved, forcing her to face extremely complicated circumstances. While pondering numerous philosophical questions, Motoko realizes that it is none other than the Puppet Master themself who is capable of providing answers to her questions.
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion
The world is now faced with a new threat 15 years after a cataclysmic event called the Second Impact: monstrous celestial beings called “Angels” are creeping into Tokyo-3. Despite the most advanced munitions and military tactics, mankind cannot defeat the Angels.
Only NERV, a mysterious organization led by the cold Gendou Ikari, can save humanity. With state-of-the-art advanced weaponry and protective barriers called Absolute Terror Fields, NERV employs giant humanoid robots dubbed Evangelions to battle the Angels.
Shinji Ikari, the 14-year-old son of Gendou, returns to Tokyo-3 after years of being abandoned by his father. The loss of his mother and his father’s neglect of him have left Shinji facing a perpetual internal struggle against deep-seated trauma. As Shinji is terrified of opening himself up to another, he is forever changed when he gets to know 29-year-old Misato Katsuragi, a high-ranking NERV officer who shows him a free-spirited maternal kindness he has never experienced before.
In the aftermath of an Angel attack, Shinji must act as Gendou discloses his true reason for calling his son back to Tokyo-3: Shinji is the only child capable of effectively piloting Evangelion Unit-01, a new robot that is synchronized with Shinji’s biometrics. Shinji defends Tokyo-3 against the angelic threat despite the psychological trauma brought about by piloting an Evangelion, blissfully unaware of his father’s dark plots.
3. Elfen Lied
Lucy is a unique breed of human known to as “Diclonius,” born with invisible telekinetic hands and short pair of horns that lands her as a victim of cruel scientific experimentation by the government. Nevertheless, once circumstances offer her an opening to escape, Lucy, changed by the imprisonment and torture, releases a torrent of bloodshed as she flees her captors.
When she breaks out, she receives a crippling head injury that leaves her with a split personality: a childish mind with limited speech abilities. In this position of instability, she happens upon two college students, Kouta and his cousin Yuka, who negligently take an injured fugitive into their care, oblivious of her murderous tendencies.
As a byproduct of this act of kindness, they soon find themselves entangled in a shadowy world of government secrecy and conspiracies.
4. Jin-Rou
An alternate history depicts Japan under foreign occupation after the Second World War in a state of civil unrest and terrorism. In the midst of a botched interception of underground munitions being transferred by a terrorist organization, Constable Kazuki Fuse discovers the true horrors of human nature.
His failure to prevent a teenage girl from carrying out a suicide bombing causes Tokyo to suffer immense destruction. Due to mental scarring and his competence being questioned, Kazuki is sent back to the academies for re-evaluation. Unbeknownst to him, he will soon be involved in a web of government conspiracies that will determine the future of the entire country.
The story of Jin-Rou is one of a man treading the fine line between man and beast and ultimately discovering which side he truly belongs on.
5. Serial Experiments Lain
Fourteen-year-old Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted girl, received a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda, a suicide victim. While Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology, when she opens the email, she enters the Wired, an internet-like virtual world of communication networks.
As Lain encounters cryptic mysteries one after another, her life is turned upside down. Everywhere she goes, strange men called the Men in Black appear, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than she knows herself. Identities, consciousness, and perception take on new meanings as the boundaries between reality and cyberspace blur rapidly.
Serial Experiments Lain follows Lain as she makes crucial decisions that affect the real world as well as the Wired in an avant-garde psychological mystery series. Only Lain will realize the importance of their presence when one world closes, and another opens.
6. Psycho-Pass
There has been a change in the way justice is administered and enforced. Japan enforces the Sibyl System in the 22nd century, which is an objective method of determining a citizen’s threat level by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent.
It is the Inspectors who uphold the law, subduing anyone harboring the slightest ill-will, often with lethal force; alongside them are the Enforcers, jaded Inspectors who have transformed into latent criminals granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the dirty work of the Inspectors.
As Akane Tsunemori enters this world, she holds the desire to uphold justice with all her heart. As she works closely with veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System’s judgments are not as perfect as everyone believes. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt.
7. Devilman: Crybaby
Without a living host, devils cannot take form. A Devilman can, however, be made if a person’s will is strong enough to overcome the demon.
Akira Fudou is a weak and unassuming character with a bleeding heart. Akira accepts Ryou Asuka’s request without hesitation to help uncover devils. However, Akira is surprised to learn they are going to Sabbath, an immoral party of degeneracy and debauchery.
In the midst of bloodshed and death, demons possess the partygoers, transforming them into grotesque monsters. When Akira merges with Amon, the devil, in a reckless attempt to save his best friend, he gains the power to defeat all the remaining demons.
It grants him great power, but it awakens a part of him that is insatiable and primal. While having a devil’s body, Akira has a crybaby’s heart and works alongside Ryou to destroy those who cause harm to humanity.
Every character in this anime is so well done, deliberate, consistent, and interesting.
8. Zankyou no Terror
Following a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility in Japan, all that is left behind is the word “VON” painted in red. As the government fails to act, the police are left foraging for ways to deal with the perpetrators.
The public remains clueless until, six months later, a bizarre video emerges online. It features two teenage boys who call themselves “Sphinx,” threatening the police with destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. As panic quickly spreads through the city and the police desperately seek any leads in their investigation, Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki is caught up in the confusion as they struggle to act effectively against the terrorists.
The story of Zankyou no Terror is told through the eyes 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.
9. Ergo Proxy
The domed city of Romdo is home to one of the last human civilizations on earth. It is virtually impossible to live outside these domes today due to a global ecological catastrophe thousands of years ago. “AutoReivs,” humanoid-like robots created to assist humans in their day-to-day lives, have been developed in order to accelerate mankind’s recovery.
An enigmatic disease called the “Cogito Virus” is causing AutoReivs to become self-aware. Assisted by her AutoReiv partner Iggy, Re-l Mayer, granddaughter of Romdo’s ruler, investigates this phenomenon. Re-l is confronted with humanity’s darkest sins during what begins as a routine investigation.
Elsewhere in Romdo, an AutoReiv specialist by the name of Vincent Law must also face his demons when surreal events begin occurring around him. Re-l, Iggy, Vincent, and the child AutoReiv named Pino, will form an unlikely faction as they struggle to uncover Romdo’s mysteries and ultimately, discover the true purpose of the mythical beings called “Proxies.”
10. Paprika
Oftentimes, dreams are a window into the psyche, showing the deepest desires, aspirations, and repressed memories. “DC Mini” is a device capable of examining others’ dreams, developed by a hopeful tech lab. Dedicated to developing this technology, Atsuko Chiba and Kosaku Tokita have worked tirelessly to help patients understand their minds and overcome psychological disorders.
It comes with tremendous responsibility, however, to be able to peek into the most private corners of a person’s mind. Applied incorrectly, the DC Mini could cause mental breakdowns in targets as a form of psychological terrorism.
When this technology is stolen, and people around them start acting strangely, Atsuko and Kosaku know they have a serious problem on their hands. Enlisting the help of Officer Konakawa, who has been receiving this experimental therapy, they search both the real and dream worlds for their mental terrorist.