Anime Like B: The Beginning

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.

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.

After high school student Kaname Sudou accepts a peer’s offer to test out Darwin’s Game, a mysterious mobile app, his curiosity drives him to install it. The moment he launches the program, a digital green snake jumps from the display to bite his neck, rendering him unconscious. He regains consciousness in the school clinic without any visible injuries, and upon being told to rest, he rationalizes the incident as a hallucination before going home. Yet, unable to shake his intrigue, Kaname reopens the application. What begins as a presumed standard fighting game takes a terrifying turn when his virtual opponent appears in the real world and assaults him with a blade. As he runs for his life, Kaname realizes that Darwin’s Game is not a casual hobby, but a lethal battle royale.

In late 1990s Japan, newspaper headlines are filled with a string of suicides that share an eerie pattern. Among the many unsettling similarities, one detail is especially striking: every victim leaped to their death from the Fujou building, a dilapidated abandoned skyscraper looming over the city. Shiki Ryougi, a cold-hearted girl residing in a vacant apartment, believes these grim events have a supernatural origin. She herself wields a mystical power, and together with Touko Aozaki—a detective who crafts dolls and specializes in magic—and her friend Mikiya Kokotou, who serves as Touko's assistant, Shiki sets out to investigate the incidents. As she navigates a mysterious world, Shiki pieces together the puzzle to reveal the dark truths hidden behind the bizarre occurrences.

When 16-year-old Yuri Honjou sees a man’s skull split open by an axe, she runs in panic only to realize she is trapped inside an abandoned building with all exits mysteriously blocked. Desperate to get out, she makes her way to the rooftop, only to find herself stranded in a barren world of endless high-rises with no sign of life. Despite the crushing despair, Yuri decides to survive and search for her brother after learning he is trapped in this same strange reality. But masked killers who take pleasure in terror and violence make her question whether she will ever escape alive.

After escaping from Hope's Peak Academy, Makoto Naegi and his fellow survivors join the Future Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting despair. But the situation takes a turn when Naegi is arrested for treason after defending the Remnants of Despair. Alongside Kyouko Kirigiri and Aoi Asahina, he appears before the Foundation's executives, facing an uncertain fate. Things worsen when Monokuma infiltrates the organization's supposedly impenetrable security, immediately announcing the start of a new killing game. As the first victim appears as an omen of renewed despair, Naegi, the Super High School-Level Lucky Student, must once again solve the mystery while his comrades fall one by one. However, without class trials, the rules have changed: among the sixteen desperate participants, there is only one killer, and their death will finally bring this hellish game to an end.

The unusual Class 77-B at Hope's Peak Academy gets a new homeroom teacher, Chisa Yukizome, a former student known as the Super High School-Level Housekeeper. Full of energy and skill, she works to heal the broken relationships among her varied students, who include a princess, a nurse, a yakuza member, and an incredibly lucky person. Trusting in the strength of hope, she tries to steer them through their disputes. At the same time, Hajime Hinata, a Reserve Course student who feels he lacks any special ability, meets Chiaki Nanami, the Super High School-Level Gamer. Through their time together, she gives him a new way of looking at life. But without Hajime's knowledge, the school's administration is engineering a dark scheme involving him that could bring down Hope's Peak and devastate the world. Zetsubou-hen follows the daily life at the famous academy while dark forces work in the background. As despair slowly takes over hope, those responsible for the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History start their plan, marking the start of the end.

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.

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 winter of 1995, Mikiya Kokutou encounters a young woman while taking a late-night walk through the snow. Dressed in a striking white kimono with an enigmatic expression, Shiki Ryougi smiles at Mikiya, who looks back with curiosity. The following spring, Mikiya spots Shiki at his high school entrance ceremony, and they become acquaintances through lunches spent talking. As Shiki gradually opens up to him, Mikiya learns about her unusual childhood. Meanwhile, a string of unprecedented murders occurs across Mifune City. These killings appear connected and are especially vicious, prompting a large-scale police investigation. Because his cousin works as a police investigator, Mikiya gains insight into the case. Worried for Shiki's safety, he decides to keep an eye on her actions, but in doing so, he makes a truly shocking discovery that alters his life forever.

In November 1998, a double murder takes place at the newly built Ogawa apartment complex in central Mifune City. The killer, Tomoe Enjou, flees in a state of panic. To his surprise, the police do not pursue him, and the incident receives no media coverage. After Shiki Ryougi protects Tomoe from a group of thugs, she lets him hide out at her place. A few days later, Tomoe is horrified to find that his mother is still alive, even though he is certain he killed her. Meanwhile, Mikiya Kokutou looks into a tip that his associate Touko Aozaki receives concerning the murder at the unusual apartment complex. As Mikiya uncovers more details about the incident, he becomes especially interested in Tomoe. Deciding to investigate him further, Mikiya soon learns the disturbing truth behind the ominous Ogawa complex. The fifth entry in the Kara no Kyoukai film series, Mujun Rasen blends an intricately constructed mystery with established themes and characters to create a dark, thought-provoking story.

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.

In July 1998, on a dark night, teenager Fujino Asagami is brutally assaulted and raped by a street gang inside an abandoned bar. No matter how much physical or sexual violence they inflict, the girl responds with the same blank, indifferent expression. The following day, mutilated bodies are discovered in that same location, torn apart so severely that investigators conclude the perpetrator could not possibly be human. Meanwhile, a client brings a request to Touko Aozaki's detective agency, assigning Shiki Ryougi to either capture or kill the one responsible for the previous night's massacre. Soon, rumors emerge that a single survivor escaped the carnage, and the murderer is now cutting down everything in their path to hunt down and eliminate that witness. A fierce race against time begins, as Shiki faces a dangerous enemy that remains invisible even to her legendary eyes.

After the events of Satsujin Kousatsu (Zen), Shiki Ryougi remains in a coma for two years following a traffic accident. When she finally regains consciousness, she finds herself with no recollection of her past and is overwhelmed by a deep sense of isolation. Even more unsettling, she perceives dark lines around objects in her surroundings; touching these lines allows her to dismantle the object—an ability that frightens her greatly. Her friend Mikiya Kokutou seeks the aid of Touko Aozaki, a mage who can assist Shiki in comprehending what her eyes—the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception"—truly entail and how to wield them correctly.

February 1999 sees Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou unsettled by a series of murders. These killings bear an unsettling likeness to a spate of homicides from 1995, the year Shiki and Mikiya first crossed paths, and they stir up a lethal, dormant craving within Shiki's spirit that has lingered since that time. As suspicion falls on Shiki because of her connection to the earlier deaths and her alleged similarity to the murderer, she and Mikiya launch their own hunt for the real culprit. While they investigate separately, Mikiya becomes more anxious about Shiki's safety and rushes to track down the killer, hoping to shield Shiki from her own inner urges. Following a clue from his cousin, police detective Daisuke Akimi, Mikiya descends into the shadowy depths of Mifune City, where the redemption of Shiki's soul hinges on his resolve to clear her name once and for all.

In a steam-powered Victorian era filled with dreadnoughts and occult terrors, Zhou Mingrui finds himself reborn as Klein Moretti. He treads a precarious line between light and shadow, caught up in the conflicts of warring Churches. This is the tale of boundless potential...and unimaginable peril.

During winter break, Reien Girls' Academy is plagued by a series of strange incidents. Azaka Kokutou, a student and apprentice mage, is dispatched by her master to look into the matter. She discovers that another mage has been stealing students' memories through fairies—entities that, despite her magical ability, remain invisible to Azaka. Consequently, Shiki Ryougi, an acquaintance gifted with unique eyes that can perceive what Azaka cannot, is also sent to the academy to assist. The two, however, struggle to cooperate, largely because Azaka regards Shiki as a romantic rival. But as the fairy situation rapidly escalates and deeper layers of the mystery come to light, Azaka must learn to work alongside Shiki to rescue her classmates.

The Future Foundation lies in ruins following the Final Killing Game and the exposure of the true mastermind. When one of the survivors devises a desperate scheme to eliminate despair from the world permanently, the remaining members of the Future Foundation must unite to prevent this catastrophe. Luckily, they receive assistance from a surprising group of unexpected allies as they hurry against time to keep their world from being altered forever. In this concluding chapter of the Hope's Peak story arc in the Danganronpa series, the participants of this endless killing game begin to grasp the true significance behind despair, hope, and the path to redemption.

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.

A decade after the Bubble War, the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished has widened globally, with Japan reflecting this trend. The affluent pursue their own gratification and pleasures, turning Tokyo into a city shaped by such desires. Saiga, a former war photographer, now works for Hibara Ginza within Tokyo's capitalist framework. He sneaks into the Roppongi Club, a covert establishment in the city's red-light district, aiming to gather intelligence on them. However, he is apprehended and brought before a girl named Kagura, who is performing a ritual. His encounter with Kagura triggers his latent ability: the power to cause explosions by photographing objects. Determined to uncover the secrets of the Roppongi Club and Kagura, Saiga embarks on a solitary struggle.

A vehicle driven by Izumi Yasaka, a counselor who recently fled from a latent criminal isolation and rehabilitation facility called Sanctuary, is reported as it races toward the Public Safety Bureau building before crashing into it. Just as Inspectors Mika Shimotsuki and Akane Tsunemori prepare to question the suspect, they receive an urgent order from the facility demanding that Izumi be returned immediately. Understanding this as a directive from the Sanctuary Chief and board, the inspectors comply but insist on personally escorting her back. Tsunemori plans to continue her investigation at the Bureau with the rest of the team. This case gives Inspector Shimotsuki the long-awaited chance to lead a major investigation as the primary officer. The story follows Shimotsuki and her team of Enforcers as they delve into the hidden truths of Sanctuary.

Kaito Daimon is a typical high school student, except for one remarkable trait: he is a "demon" when it comes to solving puzzles. His brilliance is such that when he is asked to take some "special" tests of his unique ability, he immediately suspects that the test itself is a riddle. Kaito suddenly finds himself swept into a deadly Philosopher's Puzzle created by the sinister group POG—a lethal maze of trap after trap, where failing to solve the secret correctly means death. Fortunately, Kaito's skills prove up to the first challenge, both for himself and for his childhood friend Nanoha, who is also caught in the deadly scheme. But now that he has been designated as a Solver, he is pulled into a new existence where he must travel the world alongside other Solvers, attempting to solve the latest deadly enigmas left by POG. There is a new conundrum around every corner, and each deception could lead to death, but once a riddle is presented, Kaito can be counted on to unfold, unravel, and unlock it.

Inspectors Arata Shindou and Mikhail Kei Ignatov have uncovered a dangerous conspiracy. The Sybil System, Japan's ultimate arbiter of human character, is being undermined by a criminal syndicate quietly amassing wealth and power in the shadows. Now, Bifrost agent Kouichi Azusawa launches a direct assault on the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) by seizing its headquarters and taking Inspector Shindou and everyone else inside hostage. The CID Unit 01 supervisor, along with Chief Mika Shimotsuki and former unit members Shinya Kougami and Nobuchika Ginoza, must retake the building and rescue all those trapped within. Beyond the hostage crisis and Azusawa's demand for Tokyo Governor Karina Komiya's resignation, a darker scheme unfolds in the background—a secret plan that will force Inspector Shindou to confront not only Azusawa but also his own past. These events slowly bring him closer to unveiling the mystery that has eluded both him and his best friend, Ignatov, for many years.

Shinya Kougami continues his travels through the Southeast Asian Union (SEAUn), far from the surveillance of the Sibyl System in Japan. While crossing the Tibet-Himalayan Alliance Kingdom, he meets Guillermo Garcia—the commander of a paramilitary organization working to unify the region's various factions and bring peace to the war-torn country. Cautious about joining another mercenary group, Kougami declines Garcia's offer but accepts a ride to the nearby Tibetan capital with one of Garcia's men. His intention to stay out of trouble is shattered when armed guerrillas ambush a bus full of refugees. Among them is Tenzing Wangchuck, a half-Japanese, half-Tibetan girl. Impressed by Kougami's combat skills as he single-handedly neutralizes the attackers, Wangchuck asks him to train her in fighting so she can take revenge on the warlord responsible for murdering her family. Knowing from personal experience that taking a human life changes a person irreversibly, Kougami hesitates to agree. Yet confronted by the girl's thirst for vengeance—which mirrors the dark void within his own soul—he must decide whether to train her or not.