Haruyuki Arita is an overweight, bullied middle schooler who finds solace in playing online games. But his life takes a drastic turn one day, when he finds that all his high scores have been topped by Kuroyukihime, the popular vice president of the student council. She then invites him to the student lounge and introduces him to "Brain Burst," a program which allows the users to accelerate their brain waves to the point where time seems to stop. Brain Burst also functions as an augmented reality fighting game, and in order to get more points to accelerate, users must win duels against other players. However, if a user loses all their points, they will also lose access to Brain Burst forever.
Kuroyukihime explains that she chose to show Haruyuki the program because she needs his help. She wants to meet the creator of Brain Burst and uncover the reason of why it was created, but that's easier said than done; to do so, she must defeat the "Six Kings of Pure Color," powerful faction leaders within the game, and reach level 10, the highest level attainable. After the girl helps Haruyuki overcome the bullies that torment him, he vows to help her realize her goal, and so begins the duo's fight to reach the top.
Accel World has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: アクセル・ワールド, Accelerated World
Genres: Science Fiction , Action , Fantasy World , Middle School , Future , School Life , Virtual Reality , Romance , Friendship
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Top 10 Anime Like Accel World [2024 List]
10. Black★Rock Shooter (TV)
On the first day of junior high school, Mato Kuroi happens to run into Yomi Takanashi, a shy, withdrawn girl whom she immediately takes an interest in. Mato tries her best to make conversation with Yomi, wanting to befriend her. At first, she is avoided, but the ice breaks when Yomi happens to notice a decorative blue bird attached to Mato's phone, which is from the book "Li'l Birds At Play." Discovering they have a common interest, the two form a strong friendship.
In an alternate universe, the young girls exist as parallel beings, Mato as Black★Rock Shooter, and Yomi as Dead Master. Somehow, what happens in one world seems to have an effect on the other, and unaware of this fact, the girls unknowingly become entangled by the threads of fate.
Black Rock Shooter has finished airing and it has 8 Episodes. It is also Known as: ブラック★ロックシューター, BRS (TV)
9. .hack//Sign
Tsukasa wakes up inside The World, a massive online role-playing game full of magic and monsters, and finds himself unable to log out. With no knowledge of what's happening in the real world, Tsukasa must discover how he ended up stuck in the game, and what connection he has with the fabled Key of the Twilight—an item that's rumored to grant ultimate control over the digital realm.
.hack//Sign has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: .hack//SIGN, .hack//Sign
8. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
The story centers around Akihisa Yoshii, the "baka" of the title. His academy rigidly divides up the student body into classes based on the results of tests. The prodigies are in the A class with reclining seats complete with air conditioning, but Akihisa is in F class, the lowest rung of the school ladder which is furnished only with low, decrepit tables and worn-out straw tatami mats. A girl named Mizuki Himeji is actually one of the smartest girls in Akihisa's sophomore year, but she had a fever on test day and was pigeonholed into the F class. Besides Mizuki (who Akihisa secretly adores), the F class also has Yuuji Sakamoto, the class president who has been Akihisa's friend and partner-in-crime since the freshman year.
The school happens to have developed experiments to summon fantasy creatures, and Akihisa decides to rally F class to take on the higher-tiered classes and seize their perks. The F class uses the summoned creatures in an all-out battle for school supremacy.
Baka & Test - Summon the Beasts has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: バカとテストと召喚獣, The Idiot, the Tests, and the Summoned Creatures, Baka to Test to Shokanju, BakaTest, The Idiot, the Tests, and the Summoned Creatures
7. Selector Infected WIXOSS
It's hard being the new girl, and Ruuko Kominato knows this better than anyone. She has yet to make any new friends after moving to a new town. Her brother sees her struggling and gives her a deck for the popular trading card game WIXOSS, hoping that it would help Ruuko connect with other people and forge new friendships.
In Selector Infected WIXOSS, each WIXOSS deck comes equipped with a LRIG card, which serves as a player's avatar during matches. It all seems pretty straightforward…except for one thing. The girl drawn on Ruuko's card moves and talks! Is that normal? She soon finds out when a fellow student at her school approaches her and challenges her to a WIXOSS battle. Over the course of their match, Ruuko learns a few things. First of all, she is a Selector, a special girl who is gifted with a living LRIG. Secondly, Selectors have the opportunity to make a wish come true. But, finally, if they lose three matches, they forfeit their chance to realize a wish and instead become cursed. Ruuko's fight for her heart's desire begins now!
selector infected WIXOSS has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: selector infected WIXOSS, Selector Infected WIXOSS
6. Btooom!
Ryouta Sakamoto is unemployed and lives with his mother, his only real achievement being that he is Japan's top player of the popular online video game, "Btooom!" However, his peaceful life is about to change when he finds himself stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, with a small, green crystal embedded in his left hand and no memory of how he got there. To his shock, someone has decided to recreate the game he is so fond of in real life, with the stakes being life or death.
Armed with a bag full of unique bombs known as "BIM," the players are tasked with killing seven of their fellow participants to obtain their green crystals, used as proof of their victory, in order to return home. Initially condemning any form of violence, Ryouta is forced to fight when he realizes that many of the other players are not as welcoming as they may seem. Teaming up with Himiko, a fellow Btooom! player who turns out to be his in-game wife, they attempt to get off of the island together, slowly coming closer and closer to the truth behind this contest of death.
BTOOOM! has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: BTOOOM!, Btooom!
5. No Game No Life
No Game No Life is a surreal comedy that follows Sora and Shiro, shut-in NEET siblings and the online gamer duo behind the legendary username "Kuuhaku." They view the real world as just another lousy game; however, a strange e-mail challenging them to a chess match changes everything—the brother and sister are plunged into an otherworldly realm where they meet Tet, the God of Games.
The mysterious god welcomes Sora and Shiro to Disboard, a world where all forms of conflict—from petty squabbles to the fate of whole countries—are settled not through war, but by way of high-stake games. This system works thanks to a fundamental rule wherein each party must wager something they deem to be of equal value to the other party's wager. In this strange land where the very idea of humanity is reduced to child’s play, the indifferent genius gamer duo of Sora and Shiro have finally found a real reason to keep playing games: to unite the sixteen races of Disboard, defeat Tet, and become the gods of this new, gaming-is-everything world.
No Game, No Life has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ノーゲーム・ノーライフ, NGNL
4. Log Horizon
In the blink of an eye, thirty thousand bewildered Japanese gamers are whisked from their everyday lives into the world of the popular MMORPG, Elder Tale, after the game's latest update—unable to log out. Among them is the socially awkward college student Shiroe, whose confusion and shock lasts only a moment as, a veteran of the game, he immediately sets out to explore the limits of his new reality.
Shiroe must learn to live in this new world, leading others and negotiating with the NPC "natives" in order to bring stability to the virtual city of Akihabara. He is joined by his unfortunate friend Naotsugu, having logged in for the first time in years only to find himself trapped, and Akatsuki, a petite but fierce assassin who labels Shiroe as her master. A tale of fantasy, adventure, and politics, Log Horizon explores the elements of gaming through the eyes of a master strategist who attempts to make the best of a puzzling situation.
Log Horizon has finished airing and it has 25 Episodes. It is also Known as: ログ・ホライズン, Log Horizon
3. Guilty Crown
Japan, 2039. Ten years after the outbreak of the "Apocalypse Virus," an event solemnly regarded as "Lost Christmas," the once proud nation has fallen under the rule of the GHQ, an independent military force dedicated to restoring order. Funeral Parlor, a guerilla group led by the infamous Gai Tsutsugami, act as freedom fighters, offering the only resistance to GHQ's cruel despotism.
Inori Yuzuriha, a key member of Funeral Parlor, runs into the weak and unsociable Shuu Ouma during a crucial operation, which results in him obtaining the "Power of Kings"—an ability which allows the wielder to draw out the manifestations of an individual's personality, or "voids." Now an unwilling participant in the struggle against GHQ, Shuu must learn to control his newfound power if he is to help take back Japan once and for all.Guilty Crown follows the action-packed story of a young high school student who is dragged into a war, possessing an ability that will help him uncover the secrets of the GHQ, Funeral Parlor, and Lost Christmas. However, he will soon learn that the truth comes at a far greater price than he could have ever imagined.
Guilty Crown has finished airing and it has 22 Episodes. It is also Known as: ギルティクラウン, GUILTY CROWN
2. C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Description: Kimimaro works two jobs to make ends meet. He could go from pauper to prince in a parallel world called the Financial District—if he’ll invest his future as collateral in a dangerous game. Winning gets you more wealth, but losing could erase you from existence. When the destructive forces at play compel Kimimaro to confront the most powerful player, can he save the real world from total collapse?
C - Control has finished airing and it has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: 「C」 THE MONEY OF SOUL AND POSSIBILITY CONTROL, [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control, [C] CONTROL - The Money and Soul of Possibility
1. Sword Art Online
In the year 2022, virtual reality has progressed by leaps and bounds, and a massive online role-playing game called Sword Art Online (SAO) is launched. With the aid of "NerveGear" technology, players can control their avatars within the game using nothing but their own thoughts.
Kazuto Kirigaya, nicknamed "Kirito," is among the lucky few enthusiasts who get their hands on the first shipment of the game. He logs in to find himself, with ten-thousand others, in the scenic and elaborate world of Aincrad, one full of fantastic medieval weapons and gruesome monsters. However, in a cruel turn of events, the players soon realize they cannot log out; the game's creator has trapped them in his new world until they complete all one hundred levels of the game.
In order to escape Aincrad, Kirito will now have to interact and cooperate with his fellow players. Some are allies, while others are foes, like Asuna Yuuki, who commands the leading group attempting to escape from the ruthless game. To make matters worse, Sword Art Online is not all fun and games: if they die in Aincrad, they die in real life. Kirito must adapt to his new reality, fight for his survival, and hopefully break free from his virtual hell.
Sword Art Online has finished airing and it has 25 Episodes. It is also Known as: ソードアート・オンライン, S.A.O, SAO