Anime Like Gilgamesh

Inventive scientist Rintarou Okabe possesses an unquenchable drive for scientific discovery. Alongside his scatterbrained yet good-hearted friend Mayuri Shiina and his roommate Itaru Hashida, Okabe establishes the Future Gadget Laboratory, aiming to create technological breakthroughs that defy human understanding. Despite lofty ambitions, the team's only noteworthy invention so far is a microwave with the peculiar ability to turn bananas into a green sludge. When Okabe attends a time travel conference, he encounters a chain of odd occurrences that suggest the "Phone Microwave" gadget hides far more potential than initially assumed. Capable of sending text messages to the past via the microwave, Okabe delves deeper into this makeshift time machine, drawing the hostile attention of the shadowy organization SERN. This groundbreaking discovery plunges Okabe and his friends into constant peril. As he struggles to repair the damage his invention has inflicted on the timeline, Okabe fights not only to protect those he cares about but also to hold onto his own unraveling sanity.

Fifteen years after the catastrophic Second Impact, humanity is under siege from colossal angelic beings known as Angels, who attack Tokyo-3 one after another. Despite deploying their most advanced weapons and military strategies, mankind is powerless against them. The only hope lies with NERV, a secretive organization led by the cold-hearted Gendou Ikari. NERV operates giant humanoid robots called Evangelions, equipped with cutting-edge weaponry and protective barriers called Absolute Terror Fields, to fight the Angels. After years of abandonment by his father, 14-year-old Shinji Ikari returns to Tokyo-3. He constantly struggles with deep-seated trauma from losing his mother and the emotional neglect from his father. Afraid to form connections, Shinji's life changes when he meets 29-year-old Misato Katsuragi, a high-ranking NERV officer who offers him the maternal warmth he has never known. A sudden Angel attack forces Shinji into action, revealing Gendou's true reason for summoning him: Shinji is the only one who can effectively pilot Evangelion Unit-01, a new robot that syncs with his biological signals. Despite the severe psychological torment of piloting an Evangelion, Shinji defends Tokyo-3 from the angelic threat, unaware of his father's dark schemes.

Following the death of a close friend, Shinji Ikari falls into an emotional coma. Because his son is mentally incapable of piloting Evangelion Unit-01, Gendou Ikari’s NERV engages in a race against the shadow organization SEELE to execute their respective ultimate plans first. SEELE intends to create a godlike entity by merging their souls into an Evangelion unit, whereas Gendou aims to revert all of humanity into a single primordial form so he can reunite with Yui, his late wife. SEELE deploys its military to launch a deadly assault on NERV headquarters. As SEELE’s troops massacre NERV scientists and security staff, Asuka Langley Souryuu pilots Evangelion Unit-02 in a final, desperate defense against SEELE’s most powerful weapons. The conflict intensifies while a despondent Shinji hides deep inside NERV. With the world’s fate in Shinji’s hands, Captain Misato Katsuragi searches for the teenager as society collapses around them.

Rintarou Okabe, the eccentric self-proclaimed mad scientist, has been reduced to a hollow shell following the trauma of failing to save Makise Kurisu. Overcome by depression, he abandons his scientist persona to live as an ordinary college student, attempting to bury the horrors of his time travel experiences while surrounded by friends who remain unaware of his past. While working as a receptionist at a technology forum, Okabe encounters Maho Hiyajo, a spirited young woman who later serves as the interpreter for a presentation by Professor Alexis Leskinen. During the event, Alexis and Maho unveil Amadeus, a groundbreaking AI capable of simulating a person’s memories, personality, and quirks with perfect fidelity. After the presentation, Okabe discovers that Maho and Alexis were Kurisu’s university colleagues and have created a digital simulation of her. Tasked by Alexis with researching the AI’s behavior, Okabe gains the opportunity to interact with the digital echo of his lost friend. Caught in a dangerous entanglement with the past, he must confront harsh realities and navigate the perilous consequences of altering the natural flow of time.

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.

Around the year 2011, a small portion of humanity began awakening psychokinetic abilities known as Cantus. Over a thousand years later, in the village of Kamisu 66, Saki Watanabe is the last among her friends to manifest her powers and enroll at the Sage Academy, a school for psychics. Although all students there possess Cantus, they are not treated equally; soon after Saki starts, a classmate considered weaker than the rest suddenly disappears. One day while walking home with her friends—the determined Maria Akizuki, the intelligent Shun Aonuma, the observant Satoru Asahina, and the timid Mamoru Itou—she encounters two unfamiliar creatures called Monster Rats. These mole-like beings worship those who wield Cantus as gods. When Saki uses her ability to help one of them out of a predicament, she is met with profound gratitude. Now questioning the Monster Rats' place in society, Saki and her companions discover another disappearance. As time passes, they gradually seek answers to the mysteries surrounding them and begin to realize that this seemingly perfect new world conceals humanity's dark history.

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?

Set in a devastated future where the sole surviving human stronghold in Japan is the heavily defended metropolis of Tokyo-3, the story follows fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari. He is summoned to the underground headquarters of NERV, an organization commanded by his estranged father, Gendou. Shinji is asked to pilot an Evangelion, a giant humanoid mecha designed to combat the Angels, monstrous extraterrestrial beings causing widespread destruction and endangering humanity's existence. Though hesitant at first, Shinji is persuaded by the prospect of reconnecting with his father and agrees to join the desperate fight against the alien menace as the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. Placed directly in the heat of a perilous conflict, he must summon the strength and determination to confront the Angels' attacks before time runs out.

As the Angel threat intensifies, humanity's defense forces, led by NERV, are stretched to their breaking point. Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami receive reinforcements from two new pilots: the passionate Asuka Langley Shikinami and the enigmatic Mari Illustrious Makinami. Piloting their Evangelion units, which are outfitted with specialized weaponry for battling these colossal foes, the four teenagers struggle valiantly to safeguard their loved ones and avert an imminent apocalypse. However, the revelation of shocking truths may force them to confront a daunting reality: their most formidable adversary might not be the Angels, but humanity itself.

Fourteen years have passed since the Third Impact, leaving Earth a desolate wasteland and human society in shambles. The people Shinji Ikari once knew are now nearly strangers to him. After being trapped inside Evangelion Unit-01, he is retrieved from space by Asuka Langley Shikinami and Mari Illustrious Makinami, only to discover he is now a prisoner of WILLE, a military organization commanded by his former guardian Misato Katsuragi. Cold and resentful, his old allies regard him with distrust and refuse to support him as he grapples with the repercussions of his past deeds. Confused and hurt, Shinji is rescued from WILLE by Rei Ayanami and brought back to NERV headquarters. There, he meets and quickly forms a bond with the mysterious Kaworu Nagisa, who provides him with warmth and understanding about NERV's ongoing conflict with the Angels. However, this brief period of peace for Shinji and Kaworu comes on the verge of a new battle, where Shinji realizes his opponents are no longer Angels but his former comrades. In this harsh struggle to decide the world's fate, Shinji learns firsthand that the past can never be reversed.

Following NERV's unsuccessful mission to retrieve the Spears of Longinus and execute the Human Instrumentality Project, the devastation from the Fourth Impact is mostly prevented. In a state of confusion, Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Shikinami, and Rei Ayanami arrive at Village 3—a haven for survivors untouched by the planet's destruction. There, Shinji gradually reconciles with his history, building a completely new existence apart from his time as an Evangelion pilot. Meanwhile, NERV readies itself to advance the Instrumentality Project through a new Impact. When WILLE's primary aerial battleship reaches the village, Shinji chooses to board, believing he can contribute by piloting an Evangelion. As fresh revelations come to light and a conflict between WILLE and NERV looms, Earth's destiny hangs in the balance. Can Shinji rescue humanity and the entire world one final time?

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.

In the subterranean city of Lux, shrouded in darkness, its inhabitants live under constant dread and subjugation by competing criminal syndicates. Cut off from the world above, these gangs interact with the surface solely through the mining of "raffia," the city's sole reason for existence. This rare mineral, found only in Lux, serves as the foundation for "texhnolyze" transplants, which allow humans to replace body parts with cybernetic limbs. These prosthetics uniquely avoid immune rejection, and the mysterious "Class" organization holds the privilege of researching them. The Class, which also oversees raffia production, entrusts its executive power to a group called Organo, led by Keigo Oonishi—a self-righteous man with texhnolyzed legs, rumored to hear the "voice of the city." The fragile power balance in Lux shatters when a mysterious newcomer, Kazuho Yoshii, begins a series of crimes that incite conflict among the gangs. Amid the ensuing chaos, new figures emerge: Ichise, a former boxer mutilated by Organo and recently fitted with texhnolyzed limbs by Eriko "Doc" Kamata; and Ran, a young florist with the ability to see the future. As Lux spirals into madness, both Ichise and Ran become entangled in the greatest crisis the city has ever faced.

In 2015, over ten years have passed since the Second Impact devastated humanity. In the aftermath, a select group becomes aware of the Angels—massive, malevolent beings intent on triggering the Third Impact to annihilate the rest of humankind. Teenager Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his father, Gendou Ikari, and thrust into the struggle against these creatures. Having been estranged from Gendou since his mother's death, Shinji hopes for a reconciliation of their broken family. Instead, he learns he was brought there to pilot a giant machine designed to combat the Angels: Evangelion Unit-01. Forced to fight wave after wave of humanity's greatest threat, the young boy finds himself entangled in a scheme that could determine the future of all people.

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.

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.

Fifteen kids enjoying a summer camp stumble upon a small cave by the shore while spending their carefree days together. Deep inside the caverns, they discover a mysterious room where they meet a strange man named Kokopelli. He invites them to play a game that involves taking turns piloting a giant robot to defend Earth from alien threats. Believing it to be some kind of interesting computer game, all but one of the children sign a contract agreeing to participate. Later that day, the giant robot appears in reality, and the children are teleported into its cockpit. There they find Kokopelli, who pilots a battle against a similar robotic creature that has suddenly emerged nearby. After winning the fight, Kokopelli tries to apologize, but the children are teleported back to the ground amid the wreckage before he can finish. Once the shock of the battle subsides, the robot vanishes without warning, leaving the kids scared and bewildered. Though it seemed like a harmless game at first, they never imagined the true stakes involved—or how their pasts would become intertwined with the choices they must now make.

Even though Kei Kurono, Masaru Katou, and Kei Kishimoto thought they had returned to their ordinary lives, they are pulled back into the deadly game due to Gantz's renewed activity. The black sphere keeps summoning people who have recently died to fight alien invaders. And because they survived the previous two encounters, the trio is far more ready for the missions ahead. As they advance through the tournament's stages, the three continue their effort to earn 100 points, which is believed to be the only way to permanently leave the parallel dimension. However, with the relentless assault of alien invaders and the constant danger of death, they must first concentrate on the immediate task: staying alive.

Memories gathers three separate short films, each with its own genre. Magnetic Rose Deep in space, engineers Heintz Beckner and Miguel Costrela follow a distress signal to a vast, abandoned space station. Inside, they discover a decaying mansion and decide to investigate on foot. Their exploration uncovers a dark secret involving Eva Friedel, a famous opera singer with a tragic past. As hallucinations start to torment them, they must struggle to hold onto their sanity to survive and escape the station. Stink Bomb Nobuo Tanaka, a hapless lab technician, takes some pills from his laboratory to treat a cold. Unbeknownst to him, the pills are experimental drugs that amplify his flatulence to lethal levels. The toxic gas escaping him kills everyone nearby, and his superiors order him to retreat to the company headquarters in Tokyo. The journey becomes increasingly difficult as Nobuo battles his deadly odor, all while the police, military, and foreign enemies pursue him relentlessly. Cannon Fodder In a fortress city packed with cannons, a young boy dreams of surpassing his father and becoming a respected artillery officer. Even though there is no evidence of an enemy nation, he cannot resist joining the daily bombardment routines organized by the city. Whether at school or just before bed, his only desire is to one day fire a cannon for the sake of his homeland.

Picture this: you are going about your ordinary daily life—maybe hanging out with friends, enjoying a home-cooked meal with your family, or spending time with your significant other. Then, the next time you open your eyes, you find yourself thrown into a bizarre, unfamiliar world, stranded with five strangers on a boat that is rapidly sinking in the middle of a storm. For Natsu Iwashimizu, this is her new reality. Humanity has been wiped out, and the only remnants of Japan's population are five groups of men and women selected to be sent into the future in a desperate bid to ensure the continuation of the human race. While every other chosen individual possesses a practical skill—such as martial arts, specialized knowledge, or architectural expertise—Natsu is merely a timid high school girl who cannot even raise her voice to shout. This new world is perilous beyond imagination, and although Natsu appears to lack any useful abilities, she must press on with the others as they journey toward the "Seven Fuji" in order to survive.

Ayato Kamina's peaceful life as a high school student is thrown into turmoil when futuristic fighter jets suddenly attack Tokyo. In the chaos, he meets a woman named Haruka Shitow, who claims to be from a government organization called TERRA. She reveals that Ayato has been living inside a time bubble called Tokyo Jupiter, created by the Mulians—humanoids from another dimension—to isolate and conquer Tokyo. TERRA has been trying to break through the city's barrier ever since. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Ayato panics and flees. He runs into his classmate Reika Mishima, who leads him to the Shrine of Xephon, where a large egg slumbers. She begins to sing, and an unknown power awakens within Ayato, connecting him to a being called RahXephon that breaks out of the egg. Haruka soon finds him again and urges him to join her cause of fighting the Mulians. Caught between the crosshairs of the Mulians and TERRA, Ayato begins to question his purpose, grappling with altered memories and ultimately his very identity in this chaotic new world.

A young girl named Zuru embarks on an expedition through a post-apocalyptic city controlled by machines, desperately searching for food. Her team accidentally triggers the city's AI defense program, the Safeguard, and things go wrong. As the machines attack and her companions are about to be destroyed, a mysterious man named Killy arrives and wipes out the hostile units. Despite his heroic act, Zuru is wary of Killy and questions his intentions. He reveals that he has traveled from thousands of levels below the city to find humans with the Net Terminal Genes—a trait that would allow humanity to regain control of their civilization and shut down the Safeguard. After hearing his story, Zuru and the rest of her team join Killy on a journey to search for the Genes, which could be mankind's last hope for survival.

Death does not have to be final; resurrection is possible, but only by conquering the challenge set by the mysterious black sphere known as Gantz. On his way home to celebrate his younger brother's birthday, the courageous and kind-hearted student Masaru Katou is fatally stabbed. He regains consciousness in a small room overlooking Tokyo's skyline—and finds others there as well. To his surprise, this is no afterlife; it is a waiting room for a deadly game where their lives are at stake. Before Masaru can fully grasp what is happening, he receives a gun and is instantly transported to the center of Osaka with a single directive: eliminate any alien on sight. Together with the elderly Yoshikazu Suzuki, the gorgeous idol Reika Shimohira, and the cold yet seasoned Jouichirou Nishi, Masaru must conquer his fears to survive the game and return home to his waiting brother.

Second season of 7 Seeds.