Anime Like Enzai

Kousuke Mikado has possessed the ability to see spirits since he can remember, a fact that terrifies him deeply. He attempts to suppress this gift by wearing glasses. While working at a bookstore, he draws the attention of Rihito Hiyakawa, an eccentric medium who believes their meeting was fated. Hiyakawa’s antics drag Mikado into the paranormal world, with the medium promising to help him overcome his fears if he stays by his side. As the pair collaborate, they uncover a string of malicious curses all linked to a single individual: Erika Hiura. The mystery deepens as they try to determine her motives and her connection to both Mikado and Hiyakawa.

Lucy belongs to a subspecies of humanity known as Diclonius, characterized by small horns and invisible telekinetic limbs—traits that make her a target for brutal government experimentation. When a chance to flee arises, the years of confinement and torture have twisted her, and she slaughters her way through her captors in a bloody escape. During the breakout, a severe head injury fractures her psyche, creating a second personality resembling a childlike innocent with barely any speech. In this vulnerable state, she crosses paths with Kouta and his cousin Yuka, two college students who take in the wounded fugitive, having no idea of her lethal nature. Their compassion sets off a chain of events that plunges them into a hidden world of government secrets and conspiracy.

J-pop idol group CHAM! has been entertaining its fans for the past two years. However, all good things must eventually come to an end, and one of its members, Mima Kirigoe, decides to leave the group to pursue acting. Although her decision receives mixed reactions, Mima hopes her fans will continue to support her. But after leaving the group, Mima's life starts to change dramatically. Determined to shake off her pop-idol image, she accepts a role in a crime drama series, and her acting career becomes increasingly demanding and stressful for both her and her manager, Rumi Hidaka. Adding to Mima's growing anxiety, an obsessed fan who cannot accept that she has quit being an innocent idol begins stalking her, a mysterious new website starts impersonating her life with precise details, and CHAM! seems to be doing better without her. Each disturbing development pushes Mima further toward instability, making it harder for her to tell reality from fantasy.

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.

Guts, who will later be known as the Black Swordsman, is a young mercenary traveling from place to place, recognizable by the enormous greatsword he carries. He takes on jobs that pay the most, but never stays with any group for long—until he comes across the Band of the Falcon. After completing a job, Guts is ambushed and defeats many members of the band in combat. Griffith, the founder and leader of the Band of the Falcon, becomes interested in Guts and challenges him to a duel. Though the other members are no match for Guts, Griffith defeats him with a single blow. Incapacitated and brought to the Band of the Falcon's camp to recover, Guts awakens two days later. He confronts Griffith, and they duel again, this time under a condition: if Guts loses, he must join the Band of the Falcon. Because of his still-healing injuries, Guts loses the fight and is inducted by Griffith. Over the next three years, Guts rises to become one of the Band of the Falcon's commanders. On the battlefield, his combat skill is second only to Griffith's, as he takes on large groups of enemies by himself. With Guts' immense strength and Griffith's leadership, the Band of the Falcon dominate every battle they fight. But something sinister lurks in the shadows, threatening to change Guts' life forever.

Clutching his Gibson guitar tightly, Mafuyu Satou leaves his dim apartment to start another day of high school. While dozing off on a quiet stairwell in the gymnasium, he stumbles into fellow student Ritsuka Uenoyama, who scolds him for letting his guitar strings rust and snap. Seeing Uenoyama's familiarity with the instrument, Satou begs him to repair it and teach him to play. Uenoyama eventually consents and asks him to join a jam session with his two bandmates: bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji. Satou's voice is stunningly beautiful, driving Uenoyama to make him the band's lead singer. Though hesitant at first, Satou accepts after an emotional encounter with an old friend. With his new companions' support, Satou must learn to play guitar and also confront the mysterious circumstances that made him its owner.

Saya Otonashi leads an ordinary life with her adopted family in Okinawa City, appearing to be a typical high school girl. Her only unusual traits are a tendency toward anemia and a complete lack of memories from before the past year. But Saya's forgotten history resurfaces when she is attacked at school by a blood-drinking creature. A mysterious man named Haji intervenes to drive the monster away. When he forces her to drink his blood, Saya enters a trance and uses her own blood as a weapon to easily kill the beast. Saya discovers the existence of Red Shield, an organization created specifically to combat these monstrous beings. Together with Haji, she must join forces with Red Shield to battle the terrifying creatures and uncover the truth behind her lost memories.

Marked for death and doomed to be pursued by demons until his last breath, Guts resolves to challenge this terrifying fate as endless waves of monsters chase after him. With his resolve steeled, he brandishes the enormous Dragonslayer and vows vengeance against the man he once admired and considered a friend. Along his journey, he encounters unexpected allies such as the tiny elf Puck and Isidro, a young thief eager to learn the art of the sword from the former mercenary. As this unlikely band comes together to accompany Guts on his mission, they must face threats more horrifying than any they have encountered before.

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.

Satou Matsuzaka is a beautiful high school student known for being easygoing with guys. But a chance meeting with a young girl named Shio Koube makes Satou realize this is her first ever true feeling of love. While telling others she lives with her aunt, Satou secretly shares an apartment with Shio. Despite her innocent looks, Satou will do anything to protect her beloved, going to desperate lengths to keep their "happy sugar life" intact.

High school student Misaki Takahashi comes home to find his older brother being caressed by a stranger. Shocked by this scene, Misaki learns the man is Akihiko Usami, a famous novelist and his brother's closest friend. As the two grow closer, Akihiko becomes Misaki's private tutor. But after Misaki discovers the author's latest boys-love novel, he starts to doubt Akihiko's intentions regarding his friendship with the student's brother. Meanwhile, Hiroki Kamijou, a university professor of classical literature and Akihiko's friend, mourns a failed relationship. On the verge of a mental collapse, he meets student Nowaki Kusama, who seeks his help for an upcoming exam. Despite repeatedly turning Nowaki down, Hiroki eventually agrees to assist. As they grow closer, more truths about the student come to light. Furthermore, wealthy teenager Shinobu Takatsuki learns that his older sister has divorced Hiroki's coworker You Miyagi. He immediately wants to date the same man—who saved Shinobu from a robbery three years prior. However, You does not reciprocate and tries to drive him away. But the educator soon realizes that Shinobu will stop at nothing for their fated romance. Junjou Romantica gathers three love stories, chronicling each couple's romance.

Adjusting to a new school can be tough, especially when you have no interest in making friends, as is the case with Nobuaki Kanazawa. The reason behind his standoffish behavior becomes apparent when his entire class receives a text from an unknown sender calling themselves "The King." The message outlines the rules of the "King's Game," which all students are forced to participate in. Anyone who refuses, drops out, or fails to complete an order within 24 hours faces a lethal consequence. Having experienced this game before and witnessed the deaths of those around him, Nobuaki tries to warn his unsuspecting classmates. However, they only take him seriously after the King's Game claims its first victims. Trapped in a nightmarish scenario with no way out, Nobuaki must decide whether to prioritize his own survival or attempt to rescue his classmates—something he failed to do in the past.

Every day, Aya Asagiri contemplates suicide. She faces relentless bullying at school, and at home, her older brother Kaname physically abuses her to vent the academic pressure their father places on him. One night, while lying awake wishing for death, a mysterious website named Magical Girl Site appears on her laptop, offering to grant her magical powers. Initially, she dismisses it as a creepy prank, but when she discovers a magical gun in her shoe locker the next day, she is uncertain what to believe. Deciding to take it with her, she soon encounters her bullies again. This time, desperate for anything to rescue her, she uses the gun—and her attackers are teleported to a nearby railroad crossing, where they are struck by a train. Aya's conscience cannot bear the fact that she killed two of her classmates with magic, and she frantically tries to make sense of the situation. However, when she finds herself in danger once more, she is rescued by Tsuyuno Yatsumura, a classmate who can stop time using magic. This duo has much to accomplish: not only must they fight alongside and against other magical girls, but they also need to uncover the truth behind the website and the impending apocalyptic event known as "The Tempest."

The band "given"—made up of Ritsuka Uenoyama, Mafuyu Satou, Haruki Nakayama, and Akihiko Kaji—has made it to the final round of the Countdown-fes Amateur Contest, where their live performance will be the deciding factor. Despite their excitement, they are concerned about having just one original piece to play. Mafuyu is eager to deepen his understanding of music so he can craft new songs with emotional depth. In this effort, he gets surprising assistance from Ugetsu Murata, Akihiko's on-and-off partner. Ugetsu has been struggling to move on from Akihiko, who is caught between lingering feelings for his past and an uncertain commitment to the future. As the contest approaches, Haruki starts to question his role in the band and the bond he has with Akihiko, which is unusual for him. It is a given that not all connections last forever, but what can be salvaged from the wreckage of a broken heart—or if only regret will remain—is still unclear.

As the comforting warmth of daylight fades, ethereally beautiful beings become the unchallenged rulers of the night, striking terror into all living things. Water freezes solid at the approach of these blood-drinking monsters, and their victims recognize that this eerie cold signals their unavoidable end. Fortunately, the vampire population is shrinking, thanks to the fearless bounty hunters who pursue and destroy these nearly immortal predators. One night, tragedy strikes the Elbourne family when their daughter Charlotte is taken by Meier Link, a highly respected vampire lord protected by a horde of monsters. To rescue their beloved Charlotte, the family enlists the Marcus Brothers, a ruthless crew of vampire hunters, and D, a sword-wielding dhampir—a half-vampire, half-human possessing the strengths of both kinds and the weaknesses of neither. The hunters rush to save Charlotte, but if her captor decides to make her a vampire, they must kill her. Furthermore, their mission must succeed before Meier reaches the impenetrable vampire castle of Carmilla and takes Charlotte beyond humanity's grasp forever.

In the kingdom of Midland, a wandering mercenary named Guts chooses a life of battle over tranquility. Though the odds are stacked against him, he proves unstoppable against any foe, wielding an enormous sword far bigger than his own body. One day, Griffith—the enigmatic commander of the Band of the Hawk mercenaries—sees Guts’ combat skill and asks the drifter to join his group. Guts refuses, but when he challenges Griffith to a fight, he is unexpectedly beaten and forced to enlist. Now Guts must fight alongside Griffith and his troops to help Midland conquer the Empire of Chuder. Yet Griffith seems to have hidden ambitions, seeking something far greater than merely ending the war.

A year after Guts left them to pursue his own path, the Band of the Hawk has been reduced in number. Returning after hearing a rumor about their situation, Guts finds the Hawks—now commanded by his former ally Casca—fighting for their survival. Once hailed as the saviors of Midland, they are now hunted fugitives, desperately trying to free their leader Griffith, who was imprisoned for treason. But the man they rescue bears little resemblance to the Griffith they remember. Griffith is a shattered remnant of his former charismatic self after enduring a year of horrific torture. Unable to walk, speak, or even lift a sword, he clings only to the strange Crimson Behelit that refuses to leave him. The entire Band of the Hawk yearns to rise again, but the price of reclaiming their former glory may be steep. When Griffith's heart turns dark and a solar eclipse blots out the sky, the Behelit presents a choice that seals the Hawks in a blood-soaked fate that will haunt them forever.

In Kurouzu-cho, Kirie Goshima lives a fairly ordinary life alongside her family. One day, on her way to the train station to meet her boyfriend Shuuichi Saito, she spots his father staring at a snail shell in an alleyway. She thinks little of it and mentions it to Shuuichi, who reveals that his father has been acting strangely lately. Shuuichi confesses his growing urge to leave the town with Kirie, stating that the town is contaminated by spirals. But his father's obsession with the shape soon turns lethal, setting off a series of horrifying and inexplicable events that plunge the residents of Kurouzu-cho into madness.

Quiet rumors circulate among the female students at Shinyo Academy about a mysterious supernatural being. This being is Boogiepop, a shinigami said to kill people at the peak of their beauty before their charm fades. Few know his true identity: a protector who, after periods of inactivity, emerges as the alternate personality of high school girl Touka Miyashita to battle "the enemies of the world." Now, a series of unexplained disappearances—dismissed by the school as mere runaways—has roused Boogiepop. But somewhere on the campus, a dangerous creature lurks, waiting for the right moment to strike. Boogiepop wa Warawanai gently examines the deep connections between human beings and their experience of time, while exploring the intricate relationships, emotions, memories, and pasts of its characters.

The Band of the Hawk and their mysterious commander Griffith continue their streak of victories, elevating their reputation across the kingdom of Midland. Their newest mission, however, has proven impossible for all who have tried: capturing the seemingly unbreachable fortress of Doldrey. With warriors like Guts—captain of the Hawks' raiders, capable of cutting down a hundred enemies with his massive sword—such obstacles become manageable. Yet following the triumph, Guts resolves to leave the Hawks to chase his own ambitions and says goodbye to his comrades, ignoring Griffith's requests to remain. This single departure shatters Griffith's self-control and drives him to a choice that will forever change both his destiny and that of the Band of the Hawk.

A bus carrying a group of eccentric individuals is traveling toward the urban legend known as Nanaki Village—a place where one can supposedly start over and live a perfect life. Many of them have different theories about why the village appears on no map and why even the police cannot locate it, but they all look forward to their new lives and what awaits them at their destination. After a few mishaps, they successfully arrive at Nanaki Village only to find it completely abandoned. Based on the state of disrepair, it has been vacant for at least a year. However, secrets soon emerge as some of the group begin to go missing while exploring the village, and amid the confusion, they discover bloody claw marks in a forest. As mistrust and in-fighting erupt, will they ever uncover the truth behind this lost village?

Demons are now a regular sight across the kingdom of Midland, which has descended into disorder. The swordsman Guts remains unable to settle anywhere for long because of his cursed brand. When he was by himself, he could always fend off danger, but now he faces the additional burden of protecting former Commander Casca, who is a shadow of her former self—she neither remembers him nor trusts him. They get no respite from the constant demon attacks, and they need a place where Casca can be secure until they find a way to restore her. Their elf ally, Puck, speaks of the mysterious land of Elfhelm, said to be a refuge from the demons plaguing the world. Exhausted and clinging to faint hope, they press on in search of a place to live—and they still must track down those responsible for the suffering they endure.

After being accepted into the Kaede Inn, Nana tries to find some way to be useful, though she unintentionally creates more trouble than help. But Nana's main anxiety is directed toward her fellow resident Nyu, whom she previously knew only as Lucy, the violent Diclonius. Fearing that Nyu might unleash the same horrific brutality—violence that still haunts Nana—on those close to her, Nana is torn: either try to live peacefully alongside Lucy, with all the uncertainty that brings, or remove the source of her worry, thereby destroying the relationships she has built at the inn. As Nana wrestles with this decision, Nyu recalls a painful memory of one of her dearest friends and one of her greatest rivals.

Both day and night, unexplainable horrors lurk in the darkest corners, waiting to strike. They cannot be escaped or defeated—only endured. Prepare yourself, or you might be their next victim. Settle in for a collection of chilling tales that will leave you horrified: a cursed jade figurine that bores holes into its victims' bodies; a nightmare that stretches across decades; a beautiful spirit at a foggy crossroads who offers cursed advice; and a slug that grows inside a girl's mouth. Tread with caution, for the supernatural terrors of the Junji Ito Collection are not meant for the faint-hearted.