The infamous Shounen Bat (Lil' Slugger) is terrorizing the residents of Musashino City. Flying around on his rollerblades and beating people down with a golden baseball bat, the assailant seems impossible to catch—much less understand. His first victim, the well-known yet timid character designer Tsukiko Sagi, is suspected of orchestrating the attacks. Believed only by her anthropomorphic pink stuffed animal, Maromi, Tsukiko is just one of Shounen Bat's many victims.
As Shounen Bat continues his relentless assault on the town, detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa begin to investigate the identity of the attacker. However, more and more people fall victim to the notorious golden bat, and news of the assailant begins circulating around the town. Paranoia starts to set in as chilling rumors spread amongst adults and children alike.
Will the two detectives be able to unravel the truth behind Shounen Bat, or will the paranoia get to them first?
Paranoia Agent has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 妄想代理人, Mousou Dairinin
Genres: Earth , Thriller , Law And Order , Japan , Asia , Violence , Present , Cops , Psychological , Mystery , Supernatural , Drama
Try our anime quiz: Anime Characters Guessing Quiz/Game
Top 10 Anime Like Paranoia Agent (Mousou Dairinin) [2024 List]
10. FLCL
Nothing interesting happens in Naota's life since his brother left for America, leaving him with his grandfather and father in their boring little town. On his way home with Mamimi—his brother's ex-girlfriend—a pink-haired, crazy woman riding a Vespa, named Haruko, suddenly slams into him, kisses him, and then bashes him in the head with her guitar before riding off. The next thing he knows, the crazy girl is working as his housekeeper, two robots sprout from his forehead to do battle, and the surviving one starts living with him as well. I think it's fair to say that Naota has parted ways with his old mundane life.FLCL is a kooky coming-of-age story with surprisingly deep undertones as the twelve-year-old Naota develops through the wild antics of Haruko and matures along the way into adulthood.
FLCL has finished airing and it has 6 Episodes. It is also Known as: フリクリ, Fooly Cooly, Furi Kuri
9. The Tatami Galaxy
One autumn evening at a mysterious ramen stand behind the Shimogamo Shrine, a lonely third-year college student bumps into a man with an eggplant-shaped head who calls himself a god of matrimony. Meeting this man causes the student to reflect upon his past two years at college—two years bitterly spent trying to break up couples on campus with his only friend Ozu, a ghoulish-looking man seemingly set on making his life as miserable as possible. Resolving to make the most out of the rest of his college life, the student attempts to ask out the unsociable but kind-hearted underclassman Akashi, yet fails to follow through, prompting him to regret not living out his college life differently. As soon as this thought passes through his head, however, he is hurtled through time and space to the beginning of his years at college and given another chance to live his life.
Surreal, artistic, and mind-bending, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei chronicles the misadventures of a young man on a journey to make friends, find love, and experience the rose-colored campus life he always dreamed of.
The Tatami Galaxy has finished airing and it has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, 四畳半神話大系, Yojo-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojou-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojohan Shinwa Taikei
8. ChäoS;HEAd
Shibuya, Japan, 2008. Takumi Nishijou, a high school student at the Private Suimei Academy, one day hears about the 'New Gen' murders that have been occurring around the city. Although dismissing the subject because it doesn't involve him, Takumi begins to experience strange mishaps around him, from a horrific picture he received while on his PC, to a mysterious Pink-Haired girl standing at a murder scene.
From there on Takumi struggles to cope with the events unfolding around him, and is soon unaware of what is real or a delusion. As his fate opens up before him, the perpetrator behind the 'New Gen' events attempts to find him, leading him into a world where nothing is as it seems.
ChäoS;HEAd has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: カオスヘッド, ChaoS,HEAd, ChaoS, HEAd
7. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Keiichi Maebara has just moved to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa in the summer of 1983, and quickly becomes inseparable friends with schoolmates Rena Ryuuguu, Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, and Rika Furude. However, darkness lurks underneath the seemingly idyllic life they lead.
As the village prepares for its annual festival, Keiichi learns about the local legends surrounding it. To his horror, he discovers that there have been several murders and disappearances in the village in the recent years, and that they all seem to be connected to the festival and the village's patron god, Oyashiro. Keiichi tries to ask his new friends about these incidents, but they are suspiciously silent and refuse to give him the answers he needs. As more and more bizarre events occur, he wonders just what else his friends might be keeping from him, and if he can even trust them at all.
When madness and paranoia begin taking root in Keiichi's heart, he will stumble straight into the mysteries at work in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, a story that is told across multiple arcs.
When They Cry has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: ひぐらしのなく頃に, When the Cicadas Cry, The Moment the Cicadas Cry
6. Kuuchuu Buranko
Many patients with different problems visit the psychiatric ward of Irabu General Hospital; a trapeze artist suffering from insomnia after suddenly failing his jumps, a gangster afraid of knives and sharp objects and a business man who has an erection 24 hours a day. They undergo counseling by Dr. Ichiro Irabu, who is the child-like son of the hospital director. His assistant is the sullen faced sexy nurse Mayumi. With his mysterious injections, and advice that does not make sense, Dr. Irabu confuses his patients. But at the end of his unique treatments, the patients are lead to digging further into their souls to find peace of mind.
Welcome to Irabu's Office has finished airing and it has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: 空中ブランコ, Kuchu Buranko, Trapeze, Flying Trapeze
5. Paprika
In the real world, she is the renowned and highly intelligent Dr. Atsuko Chiba. In the dream world, she is the spunky redhead Paprika. Thanks to a new technology developed at Chiba’s lab called a DC Mini, Paprika is able to jump into people’s dreams with the ease of a driver switching lanes. The dream machine allows her to see into the dreamers’ deepest thoughts by entering and analyzing their dreams, then using that information to resolve emotional and psychological issues. Even the inventors aren't sure of the true extent of the power of the DC Mini.
Just imagine the world of good this kind of technology can do… unless it falls into the wrong hands.
A prototype DC Mini has been stolen, and Paprika is on the case. It’s up to this dream detective to track down and stop the thief through the psychedelic backdrop of people’s dreams. Paprika will need to hurry, before the dream machine does some serious damage.
Paprika has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: パプリカ, Paprika
4. Welcome to the N.H.K.
Twenty-two-year-old college dropout Tatsuhiro Satou has been a hikikomori for almost four years now. In his isolation, he has come to believe in many obscure conspiracy theories, but there is one in particular which he holds unshakable faith in: the theory that the evil conspirator behind his shut-in NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) status is the Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai (NHK)—an evil and secret organization dedicated to fostering the spread of hikikomori culture.
NHK ni Youkoso! is a psychological dramedy that follows Tatsuhiro as he strives to escape from the NHK's wicked machinations and the disease of self-wrought isolation, while struggling to even just leave his apartment and find a job. His unexpected encounter with the mysterious Misaki Nakahara might signal a reversal of fortune for Tatsuhiro, but with this meeting comes the inevitable cost of having to face his greatest fear—society.
Welcome to the N.H.K. has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: NHK ni Youkoso!, N・H・Kにようこそ！, Welcome to the NHK
3. Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue revolves around the main protagonist, Mima Kirigoe, a member of a pop idol group named “CHAM!”. After evaluating her situation, she decides to give up her idol status to pursue a career as an actress, what she believes to be the next step in making a name for herself in the industry. However, one of her most hardcore fans, Me-Mania, is less than happy about the path she has decided to take.
Now reborn as an actress, Mima accepts an interesting role, ignoring her manager, Rumi Hidaka's reservations about it. While on set, strange things begin to happen to people who are involved with the film. As time goes on, Mima begins to break down mentally, struggling to distinguish fantasy from reality.
Will Mima be able to escape the grip of her stalker and turn in a break out performance, or will she descend into madness?
Perfect Blue has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: パーフェクト・ブルー, Perfect Blue
2. Boogiepop wa Warawanai: Boogiepop Phantom
Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop... Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she can possibly exist in this day and age. Still, strange things appear to be going on and the darkness is taking on many forms. Something is out there. Are you safe?
Boogiepop Phantom has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ブギーポップは笑わない Boogiepop Phantom, Boogiepop Never Laughs, Boogiepop Doesn't Laugh
1. Serial Experiments Lain
Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted fourteen-year-old, is one of the many girls from her school to receive a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda—the very same Chisa who recently committed suicide. Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology; yet, when the technophobe opens the email, it leads her straight into the Wired, a virtual world of communication networks similar to what we know as the internet. Lain's life is turned upside down as she begins to encounter cryptic mysteries one after another. Strange men called the Men in Black begin to appear wherever she goes, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than even she herself knows. With the boundaries between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurring, Lain is plunged into more surreal and bizarre events where identity, consciousness, and perception are concepts that take on new meanings.
Written by Chiaki J. Konaka, whose other works include Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments Lain is a psychological avant-garde mystery series that follows Lain as she makes crucial choices that will affect both the real world and the Wired. In closing one world and opening another, only Lain will realize the significance of their presence.
Serial Experiments Lain has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: シリアルエクスペリメンツレイン, Serial Experiments Lain
