Anime Like Ninja Gaiden

Ganta Igarashi's day starts out ordinarily enough as he and his classmates prepare for a field trip to Deadman Wonderland, a prison-themed amusement park where inmates perform dangerous stunts for the crowd's entertainment. But everything changes when a mysterious man dressed in red slaughters the entire class. Framed for the crime and handed a death sentence, Ganta is sent to the very prison he was supposed to visit. His ordeal has only just begun. Thrust into a brutal world of sadistic prisoners and strange supernatural abilities, Ganta lives under the constant threat of a lethal collar around his neck—a device that can only be slowed by winning the prison's deadly games. He must risk his life to survive in a ruthless environment where friends and enemies are hard to distinguish, all while searching for the enigmatic "Red Man" to prove his innocence.

Ageha Yoshina is a self-assured high schooler who aids people for payment. After completing a job, he finds a calling card marked with "Psyren" in a phone booth and keeps it without knowing its significance. The following day, he learns that his classmate Sakurako Amamiya possesses an identical card. When he confronts her, she begs for his help, marking the start of his troubles. Baffled by the situation, Ageha grows concerned when Sakurako disappears. To uncover the truth, he dials the number on the card and answers questions from a mysterious voice, culminating in the offer: "Would you like to go to Psyren?" This initiates their involvement in a deadly game within a bizarre world populated by creatures known as Taboo. Empowered with PSI abilities, the pair battle to return to their home.

Yukiteru Amano is a timid middle school student who habitually records everything he does in his daily life on his phone—a digital diary. At school, he has no friends, but he is often seen talking to his supposed imaginary companions: Deus Ex Machina, the god of time and space, and Deus' servant, Mur Mur. One morning, Yukiteru wakes up to find that certain events of his day are already appearing on his cellphone ahead of time. At first he dismisses it as coincidence, but he slowly realizes that the incidents written on his phone actually occur in the near future. After benefiting from this new ability throughout the day, he discovers that his classmate Yuno Gasai owns a similar diary. When the two team up to fend off a strange pursuer and return home, Deus Ex Machina reveals that they—along with ten other participants—have been forced into a survival game where the winner becomes the deity's successor. Left with no other choice, Yukiteru and Yuno must rely on their phones, now called "Future Diaries," to survive this merciless battle royale.

Parasitic aliens suddenly descend upon Earth, infiltrating humanity by burrowing into the brains of vulnerable targets. These insatiable creatures seize complete control of their hosts and can morph into various forms to hunt unsuspecting prey. Sixteen-year-old high school student Shinichi Izumi is attacked by one of these parasites, but it fails to take over his brain, ending up in his right hand instead. Unable to move to its intended location, the parasite, named Migi, must rely on Shinichi to survive. This forces the duo into an uneasy coexistence as they defend themselves against hostile parasites determined to eliminate this new threat to their kind.

Justice and its enforcement have evolved. In the 22nd century, Japan operates under the Sibyl System, an objective method to assess each citizen's threat level by analyzing their mental state for criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors enforce the law by subduing—often lethally—anyone showing the slightest ill will; alongside them work Enforcers, citizens who have become latent criminals, given limited freedom in return for carrying out the Inspectors' grim tasks. Into this world enters Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with a sincere wish to uphold justice. But as she collaborates with veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon discovers that the Sibyl System's verdicts are not as flawless as her fellow Inspectors believe. With everything she once trusted turned upside down, Akane struggles with the nature of true justice and whether it can be achieved through a system that might already be flawed.

Fourteen-year-old Lain Iwakura, a shy and socially awkward student, receives a peculiar email from Chisa Yomoda, a classmate who has recently taken her own life. Despite having no interest or experience with technology, Lain opens the message, which transports her into the Wired, a digital communication network akin to the real-world internet. Her existence is upended as she faces a series of enigmatic puzzles. Individuals known as the Men in Black start appearing in her vicinity, interrogating her with knowledge of her life that surpasses her own self-awareness. As the line between physical reality and cyberspace grows increasingly indistinct, Lain is drawn into increasingly surreal situations that challenge traditional notions of identity, consciousness, and perception. Created by Chiaki J. Konaka, the creator of Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments Lain is a psychological, avant-garde mystery that tracks Lain’s pivotal decisions, which resonate across both the tangible world and the Wired. Only Lain can grasp the true weight of these dual existences as one realm closes and another opens.

Ichirou Inuyashiki, a 58-year-old man, is struggling through a difficult phase in his life. While his chronic back pain is agonizing, it pales in comparison to the cold indifference and disdain shown by his wife and children. Despite this, Ichirou finds comfort in Hanako, an abandoned Shiba Inu he takes in. His situation worsens when a routine check-up reveals he has stomach cancer with only three months left to live; though he attempts to stay strong, his family's apathy drives him to an emotional collapse. Fleeing to a nearby field, he embraces his dog and cries—until he spots a strange figure standing before him. Then, a blinding flash of light engulfs Ichirou in smoke and debris. When he regains consciousness, he realizes something has changed—he has been transformed into a mechanized weapon concealed beneath his original appearance. Though initially startled, the kind-hearted Ichirou quickly uses his new abilities to rescue someone, an act that fills him with joy and renewed purpose. Yet, the source of these powers remains a mystery. Who was the enigmatic figure at the explosion site, and do they share Ichirou's benevolent intentions when wielding this dangerous force?

A year and a half after the events of the original sci-fi psychological thriller, Akane Tsunemori continues her work as an inspector—carrying out the Sibyl System's rulings. She is joined by new enforcers and junior inspector Mika Shimotsuki, a young woman fiercely and unbendingly loyal to Sibyl. As Akane reflects on both the essence of her role and the justness of Sibyl's decisions, a new and unsettling threat emerges. A shadowy figure has uncovered a method to manipulate the Crime Coefficient—a value derived from mental scans that enables Sibyl to evaluate psychological well-being and flag potential criminals. Using this technique, he murders an enforcer, leaving behind an enigmatic clue: the letters "WC?" daubed in blood on a wall. Akane and the rest of Division 01 soon find themselves caught in a deadly struggle against this new antagonist, confronting a conspiracy that challenges not only the Sibyl System's authority but also the very core of Akane's own principles.

When advanced AIs launch a campaign to wipe out humanity, the resulting slaughter leaves the air thick with the smell of blood and charred flesh. To stop this apocalypse from ever happening, a scientist stakes everything on a relic from history. Traveling back a century, AIs are deeply embedded in society, operating under specific directives. Vivy, the inaugural autonomous AI, is a singer programmed to spread joy through her voice. Performing in a theme park with a sparse audience, she dedicates herself to each show, repeating the same routine daily. Her monotony is shattered when a future AI arrives, recruiting her to prevent a catastrophic war that unfolds over the next hundred years. Thrust into a century-spanning mission to change a violent fate, Vivy must navigate a timeline that has already gone awry.

In the neon-drenched metropolis of Kansai, cybernetic displays dominate the landscape, creating an illusion of a technological paradise. Yet lurking in the shadowy alleys behind the gleaming buildings, a ruthless criminal underworld thrives, inhabited by fugitives labeled "Akudama." The Kansai police, well-acquainted with these criminals, initiate the countdown for the public execution of the notorious Akudama known as "Cutthroat," who has slain 999 people. But a cryptic message reaches several elite Akudama, offering them a hefty reward to break Cutthroat free. An unseen force orchestrates the gathering of these dangerous individuals, ensuring that the execution rapidly spirals into a bloody chaos.

After giving his life to rescue a homeless man from a speeding train, Kei Kurono regains consciousness in a peculiar room alongside several other freshly dead individuals and a mysterious black orb. While they attempt to make sense of their situation, the sphere unveils a collection of weapons and black bodysuits, then orders them to eliminate an alien before teleporting them to an unfamiliar destination. With few explanations, Kei teams up with his childhood friend Masaru Katou and an unnamed woman. As they explore their surroundings, they soon understand that they have entered a grim and treacherous realm filled with constant threats.

For second-year economics university student Kimimaro Yoga, money is power—and without it, life holds no value. Living in a country plagued by economic collapse, he struggles to get by while watching his peers enjoy relatively comfortable lives. Everything changes when a man in a top hat named Masakaki appears at his door late one night. Masakaki invites Yoga to the Eastern Financial District, a place overflowing with money for those willing to put up their "future" as collateral. Though hesitant, his greed overcomes his caution, and he accepts, becoming an Entre. Unbeknownst to him, this world of wealth is actually an alternate realm modeled after his own, where Entres are forced into weekly battles called Deals, wagering their collateral. Facing off against his fellow countrymen and fate itself, Yoga must quickly learn to survive in this new reality—fighting to protect both his fortune and his future, and discovering what money is truly worth.

In Shibuya, a string of murders known as the "New Generation Madness" has become a major topic of conversation among locals as the crimes grow in notoriety. However, these "New Gen" killings fail to interest Takumi Nishijou, a high school otaku prone to delusions who feels like he is always being watched. With no concern for the real world, Takumi spends his days playing online games and watching anime. But his mundane life is shattered when he receives a gruesome image of a man impaled on a wall from a user named Shogun. After calming down at an internet cafe, Takumi witnesses the exact murder scene from the image unfold right before his eyes, alongside a pink-haired girl covered in blood calling his name. Struggling with the nature of reality, Takumi finds it hard to decide where to place his trust as he becomes entangled in the "New Gen" murders, convinced that the killer is after him.

The Sibyl System now allows society to measure mental states on a numerical scale. By using these "crime coefficients," authorities can apprehend a criminal before they actually commit a crime. But is this truly a flawless system? For Inspectors Kei Mikhail Ignatov and Arata Shindou, that question remains unanswered as they begin their careers with the Public Safety Bureau's Crime Investigation Department. Shindou and Ignatov are tasked with investigating the crash of a ship carrying immigrants, and they start to suspect that the incident was not an accident. At the same time, a mysterious group known as Bifrost watches them from the shadows, and they are not the only ones keeping an eye on the two new Inspectors.

In the quiet town of Inaba, a string of serial murders has baffled the police, who have made little progress. Amidst this unsettling atmosphere, Yuu Narukami relocates to the area to stay with his uncle for a year while his parents work abroad. He begins attending Yasogami High School, where he quickly becomes friends with Yousuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, and Yukiko Amagi. One day after school, the group tells Yuu about an urban legend called the "Midnight Channel"—a TV show that supposedly airs only at midnight on rainy nights when the viewer is alone. Intrigued, Yuu decides to check it out that night. Instead of the expected broadcast, he sees the face of the next murder victim. Stranger still, he feels a strange pull toward the television, which sparks the curiosity of his friends and leads them to investigate further. Yuu eventually tumbles into the strange realm inside the TV, a place shrouded in thick fog and filled with dangerous beings known as "Shadows." Convinced that this alternate world holds the key to the murders, the group forms the Investigation Team, determined to solve the mystery behind the horrifying incidents.

In the year 5053, French aristocrats Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Epinay attend the Carnival festival on the moon city of Luna. While Franz simply wants to enjoy himself, Albert seeks something more fulfilling in his life—but he gets more than he expected when he locks eyes with the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious and charismatic self-made nobleman, during an opera performance. After a series of events, Albert befriends the Count and brings him into French high society. However, the Count has motives beyond friendship; he is planning to finally carry out his revenge on those who wronged him years ago. Gankutsuou follows the intertwined fates of Albert and the Count, and the ultimate cost of exacting vengeance.

A short OVA that was bundled with the limited edition of the eleventh volume of the manga.

Gesicht, an android detective working for Europol, is assigned to track down the killer of Montblanc, a retired robot war hero. While the crime seems to have been committed only by another robot, the murder of a prominent robot rights advocate raises questions about who the perpetrator really is. Except for one isolated, unexplained incident eight years ago, robots are programmed so they cannot kill humans. Yet the scene of the crime shows no human evidence, and the method matches closely enough that Gesicht suspects the same entity—whether human or robot—is responsible for both deaths. Not long after Montblanc is killed, another retired elite war robot is eliminated under mysterious circumstances. Gesicht spots a pattern: both victims were among the seven most powerful war machines ever built. Determined to prevent the killer from taking out the remaining five veterans, Gesicht enlists the help of Atom, a state-of-the-art android who looks like a human boy. Together they must hunt down the rogue murderer before the killings continue, or risk causing irreparable damage to society.

Within Japan, a government organization called the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division (SDCD) exists to safeguard citizens from invisible threats. They eliminate these monsters swiftly without alerting the public. However, a new problem emerges when one of their own betrays them. After losing her mother years ago, Kagura Tsuchimiya is taken in by the Isayama family and develops a close, sisterly bond with their daughter Yomi. The two become inseparable and serve the SDCD as talented exorcists. Yet as the pressure and repercussions of their sacred mission mount, and family conflicts arise, Kagura and Yomi begin to grow apart. One matures wholeheartedly into her role as an exorcist, while the other descends down a dark path from which escape may be impossible.

In the 21st century, humanity dispatched algae and cockroaches to Mars with the intention of terraforming the planet, as these species could withstand its harsh conditions. What was not foreseen was their extraordinary capacity for adaptation. By the 26th century, a lethal illness called the Alien Engine Virus is devastating Earth, with its potential cure believed to exist only on Mars. The problem is that Mars is now overrun by the "Terraformars"—highly intelligent, powerful humanoid cockroaches that mutated from the original specimens sent there. The Annex I team, composed of one hundred men and women who have undergone genetic enhancement with traits from formidable Earth organisms, has been dispatched to Mars on a mission to uncover the source of the Alien Engine Virus and aid in humanity's salvation, marking the beginning of the crew's desperate struggle for survival.

In Italy, the Social Welfare Agency takes in young girls from hospital beds and offers them a new life through advanced cybernetic enhancements. Their bodies artificially strengthened, the girls are brainwashed and trained as assassins to perform the Italian Government's covert operations. Despite these modifications, they remain children at heart, yearning for affection from those they care about, even knowing that love is artificially created. This tragic story follows the girls as they struggle with their emotions within an agency that views them merely as ruthless weapons.

Immortality is something many people might wish for. But would they still desire it if they knew it would subject them to endless attacks? That is the reality for Rin Asougi, an immortal private investigator—there is no shortage of individuals who want her dead. Over the centuries, she has met countless gruesome ends, only to return to life each time as if nothing happened. In 1990, while searching for a lost cat, Rin encounters Kouki Maeno, a man who believes his memories are faulty. Agreeing to assist him, Rin soon discovers that Kouki is not what he appears to be, all while moving closer to her true enemy. This foe knows Rin and her kind all too well, and if she dies by his hand, she may stay dead forever.

A while back, the massive corporation Toue Inc. acquired the Japanese island of Midorijima to construct Platinum Jail, an opulent utopian facility. Only the world's wealthiest individuals are fortunate enough to reside there. The island's original inhabitants were forced to move to the Old Residential District and were utterly forsaken once Platinum Jail was completed. "Rib" and "Rhyme" are the two most prevalent games on the island. Rib is a traditional pastime where gangs engage in territorial disputes, whereas Rhyme is a high-tech game where participants battle within a virtual reality. To take part in Rhyme, one must possess an "All-Mate" (an AI typically resembling a pet), and the match must be overseen by an "Usui." Aoba Seragaki has no desire to participate in either game; he simply wants to live quietly with his grandmother and his All-Mate, Ren. Yet after being forcibly dragged into a dangerous Rhyme match and catching wind of rumors about Rib players vanishing, all of Aoba's hopes for a normal life are completely shattered.

On a Sunday, the countdown to humanity's extinction begins as the Septentriones, invaders from another world, appear with the goal of wiping out all life. Hibiki Kuze and his companions find themselves caught in this conflict and make contracts with demons to become "Devil Summoners," joining the fight for survival. Their newfound abilities soon catch the eye of JP's, a secret organization led by Yamato Houtsuin. After being recruited, Hibiki and his friends fight alongside other ordinary civilians who have also become Devil Summoners, forming bonds through battle. But each new day brings another Septentrione to unleash destruction across Japan. Even when many lives are lost, the young summoners must defeat the invaders before nightfall, no matter the cost.