Anime Like PHOENIX: EDEN17

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The rare and inexplicable Puberty Syndrome is often dismissed as a myth. It is an unusual condition that only affects teenagers, and its symptoms are so supernatural that hardly anyone acknowledges it as a real phenomenon. However, high school student Sakuta Azusagawa knows from personal experience that it is very real and is surprisingly common in his school. Mai Sakurajima is a third-year high school student who was famous as a child actress in her youth but recently put her promising career on hold for reasons unknown to the public. With an unapproachable demeanor, she is well-known throughout the school, yet no one dares to interact with her—until Sakuta sees her wandering the library in a bunny girl costume. Despite the outfit, nobody seems to notice her, and after confronting her, he realizes she is another victim of Puberty Syndrome. As Sakuta tries to help Mai with her situation, his actions bring him into contact with more girls affected by this elusive condition.

In a far-off future, humanity has been pushed to the edge of extinction by enormous creatures called Klaxosaurs, forcing the survivors to dwell inside massive fortified cities known as Plantations. Children raised in these cities are trained to pilot giant mechas called FranXX—the only weapons capable of fighting the Klaxosaurs—in male-female pairs. Created solely for the purpose of operating these machines, these children have no knowledge of the outside world and can only justify their existence by protecting their species. Hiro, a would-be FranXX pilot, has lost his drive and self-assurance after failing an aptitude test. Skipping his class's graduation ceremony, he goes to a forest lake, where he meets a mysterious girl with two horns protruding from her head. She introduces herself by her codename Zero Two, known to belong to a notorious FranXX pilot called the "Partner Killer." Before Hiro can process the meeting, the Plantation is suddenly attacked by a Klaxosaur. Zero Two engages the creature in her FranXX, but the mecha sustains heavy damage and crashes near Hiro. Finding her partner dead, Zero Two asks Hiro to pilot the mecha with her, and together they easily defeat the Klaxosaur. With a new partner at his side, Hiro has been given a chance to redeem his past failures—but at what price?

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.

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.

Tokyo is plagued by incessant rain showers that disrupt the daily rhythm of its inhabitants. Into this seemingly endless downpour steps Hodaka Morishima, a runaway high school student struggling to survive on his own. He finds work at a small publishing company. Meanwhile, the orphaned Hina Amano searches for a job to support herself and her younger brother. Their paths cross when Hodaka rescues Hina from suspicious men, and they decide to flee together. Soon after, Hodaka learns that Hina possesses a strange but incredible gift: she can summon clear skies by praying. Recognizing Tokyo's unusual weather, Hodaka sees a chance to use this ability. He proposes that Hina become a "sunshine girl"—someone who brings sunlight to people in their moments of need. At first, things improve for them. But everyone knows that such power comes with a heavy price.

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.

After failing his university entrance exams, eighteen-year-old Tsukasa Mizugaki secures employment at the Sion Artificial Intelligence Corporation by leveraging personal connections. This organization manufactures Giftias, sophisticated androids nearly indistinguishable from humans, though they possess a limited lifespan of 81,920 hours, roughly nine years and four months. Tsukasa is assigned to Terminal Service One, a unit tasked with retrieving Giftias that have reached their expiration date to prevent them from losing their memories and turning hostile. Shortly after starting, he is paired with Isla, a stunningly beautiful Giftia and a veteran of the Terminal Service. Despite her small stature and calm demeanor, she is regarded as the top expert in Giftia retrievals. As their time together draws to a close, Tsukasa must confront his growing affection for Isla, realizing that no matter one's wishes, nothing endures forever.

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.

Tooru Honda has always been captivated by the Chinese zodiac tales her beloved mother shared with her as a child. But a sudden family tragedy upends her life, leaving her entirely on her own. Forced to live in a tent, Tooru unknowingly sets up camp on land belonging to the prestigious Souma family. One day, she stumbles upon their home and meets Shigure, an older Souma cousin, and Yuki, the "prince" of her school. She tells them she resides nearby, but the Soumas soon uncover her hidden plight of homelessness when they spot her returning to her tent one night. Things begin to improve for Tooru when they kindly offer her a place to stay after learning of her situation. However, she quickly gets caught in a quarrel between Yuki and his short-tempered cousin, Kyou. In trying to intervene, she discovers the Souma family’s own deep secret: whenever they are embraced by a member of the opposite sex, they transform into the animals of the Chinese zodiac. With this newfound knowledge, Tooru realizes that living with the Soumas will be an unexpected journey filled with laughter and romance.

Naho Takamiya's first day of her second year of high school gets off to a rough start. After waking up late, she discovers a mysterious letter addressed to her—one that comes from herself ten years in the future. At first, Naho is doubtful, but when the events described in the letter begin to unfold exactly as written, she accepts that it truly came from her 26-year-old self. The letter explains that her future life is full of regrets, and she wants her younger self to correct the mistakes of the past. It also warns her to keep a close eye on the new transfer student, Kakeru Naruse, because he is no longer around in the future. With the letter as her guide, Naho now has the chance to protect Kakeru before she ends up regretting it all over again.

Five students at Yamaboshi Academy find themselves without a club that suits them, so they create the Student Cultural Society, nicknamed StuCS. The members are Taichi Yaegashi, a devoted wrestling enthusiast; Iori Nagase, a cheerful but perpetually uncertain girl; Himeko Inaba, a level-headed computer expert; Yui Kiriyama, a small but skilled karate user; and Yoshifumi Aoki, the group's joker. One day, Aoki and Yui are suddenly forced to swap bodies without warning, leaving them bewildered. As this bizarre supernatural occurrence keeps happening at random among the five friends, they realize it is far more serious than simple fun. Compelled to grow far closer than they ever intended, they gradually uncover each other's hidden secrets and emotional wounds, threatening to shatter both the StuCS and their bond.

During a summer holiday stay at her grandfather's place, six-year-old Hotaru Takegawa becomes lost in a forest said to be haunted by spirits. As she cries out in distress, a mysterious masked boy named Gin appears and offers to guide her. Overjoyed to see another person, Hotaru rushes toward Gin with open arms, only to be sharply pushed away. She soon discovers the harsh reason for his reaction: Gin is under a terrible curse—if a human ever touches him, he will vanish forever. Although Gin tells her never to come back, Hotaru does the opposite, and before long the two form a close bond despite his fragile condition. Yet as the years go by and their feelings deepen, Hotaru and Gin begin to struggle with the barriers that fate has placed between them.

In the small village of Pasloe, Holo, a mighty wolf god, is honored for blessing the yearly harvest. Over time, however, the townspeople grow more self-reliant, and Holo fades into nothing more than a legend. When the wandering merchant Kraft Lawrence stops in the village, Holo suggests a business arrangement: she will help him if he brings her to her northern homeland, Yoitsu. The shrewd trader realizes Holo has a special talent for reading people's true natures and agrees to her offer. Armed with keen deal-making skills and a persuasive companion, Lawrence moves closer to his dream of owning his own store. But as he journeys across the countryside with Holo, searching for profitable ventures, he starts to realize that his ambitions are gradually changing into something unforeseen.

Makoto Konno is a high school senior struggling to decide her future path. Caught between the pressure from her teachers and passing time with her closest friends, her life takes an unexpected turn when she accidentally discovers she has the ability to literally leap through time. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo follows Makoto as she experiments with her newfound power. However, she soon learns the hard way that every choice comes with a consequence, and time is far more complicated than it seems.

After the suicide of her only close friend, Koito Nagase, Ai Ooto struggles to find meaning in her empty life. Following instructions from a mysterious being, she obtains and purchases a Wonder Egg. When she breaks the egg inside a realm that appears during her sleep, Ai begins rescuing individuals from their personal hardships. Through these actions, she feels she is drawing closer to saving her best friend. With this dangerous yet alluring opportunity in her grasp, Ai enters a space where she must confront the connection between others' inner demons and her own. As past trauma, lingering regrets, and deep-seated fears emerge within the bizarre world of Wonder Egg Priority, a young girl uncovers the various internal conflicts plaguing humanity and frees them from their worst nightmares.

Six months after his unexpected encounter with a bunny girl in a library, Sakuta Azusagawa is living happily with his girlfriend, Mai Sakurajima—the very same bunny girl. However, the return of Shouko Makinohara, his mysterious first crush now grown up, introduces a fresh challenge to his relationship with Mai. Compounding the issue, he meets a middle school version of Shouko in the hospital, battling a serious illness. Strangely, his old scars begin aching whenever he is near her. Since Shouko’s bizarre situation somehow revolves around him, Sakuta must accept his own conflicted feelings, whatever the outcome. With a young girl’s fate resting on his decisions, what actions can he possibly take?

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.

Katsuhira Agata is a reserved and introverted high school student who has almost completely lost the ability to feel pain. His classmate, Chidori Takashiro, is one of the few people who remembers what Katsuhira was like before this drastic change. Because of his indifferent and subdued demeanor, Katsuhira becomes an easy target for bullies who extort large sums of money from him; they can hit him without getting much of a reaction, as he remains emotionally detached. One day, Katsuhira, Chidori, and four other teenagers are abducted and forced to take part in the Kizuna System as designated "Kiznaivers." This network connects participants through shared pain, so when one member is injured, the others feel the same level of agony. Assigned to be test subjects for a flawed system meant to create worldwide peace, these teens are bound together by fate. To survive, they must show their true selves to one another, or face consequences that go far beyond the failure of the Kizuna System.