20 Best Anime series like Sword Art Online (2012)

The one adored as the mother is not the real parent. The people living here together are not actual siblings. The Gracefield House is where orphaned children live. An irreplaceable home where 38 siblings and Mom live happy lives, even with no blood relations. However, their everyday life suddenly came to an abrupt end one day...

Iwatani Naofumi was summoned into a parallel world along with 3 other people to become the world's Heroes. Each of the heroes respectively equipped with their own legendary equipment when summoned, Naofumi received the Legendary Shield as his weapon. Due to Naofumi's lack of charisma and experience he's labeled as the weakest, only to end up betrayed, falsely accused, and robbed by on the third day of adventure. Shunned by everyone from the king to peasants, Naofumi's thoughts were filled with nothing but vengeance and hatred. Thus, his destiny in a parallel World begins...

Invertia was a meteor storm that caused an unprecedented disaster during the 20th century. Because of this disaster, numerous cities around the world were destroyed. However, within the meteor, an unknown element called mana was discovered. It allowed human technology to make rapid strides giving rise to a new species of super-powered humans, the Star Pulse Generation (Genestella). The Festas (Star Warrior Festivals) host battles between Genestella at a city of six academies called “Rikka,” also commonly known as “Asterisk.”Scholarship student Ayato Amagiri transferred into Seidoukan Academy in order to fulfill his own wish, swearing he too will fight in this city.

Inuyashiki Ichirou is down on his luck. While only 58 years old, his geriatric looks often have him written off as a pathetic old man by the world around him and he’s constantly ignored and disrespected by his family despite all that he’s done to support them. On top of everything else, his doctor has revealed that he has cancer and it appears that he has little time left in this world. But just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, a blinding light in the night sky strikes the earth where Ichirou stands. He later wakes up to find himself unscathed, but he soon starts to notice that there’s something… different about himself. However, it turns out that these strange, new changes are just what Ichirou needs to take a new lease on life and now it seems like there’s nothing to stop him from being a hero worthy of the respect that he never had before… unless, that is, there was someone else out there with these same changes…

Seventeen-year-old Hajime Nagumo is your average, everyday otaku. However, his simple life of pulling all-nighters and sleeping in school is suddenly turned upside down when he, along with the rest of his class, is summoned to a fantasy world! They're treated like heroes and tasked with the duty of saving the human race from utter extinction. But what should have been any otaku's wet dream quickly turns into Hajime's nightmare. While the rest of his class are blessed with godlike powers, Hajime's job, Synergist, only has a single transmutation skill. Ridiculed and bullied by his classmates for being weak, he soon finds himself in despair. Will he be able to survive in this dangerous world of monsters and demons with only a glorified blacksmith's level of strength?

In the early 2050s, unknown life forms called “Oracle cells” begin their uncontrolled consumption of all life on Earth. Their ravenous appetite and remarkable adaptability earn them first dread, then awe, and finally the name “aragami”. In the face of an enemy completely immune to conventional weapons, urban civilization collapses, and each day humanity is driven further and further toward extinction. One single ray of hope remains for humanity. Following the development of “God Arcs”—living weapons which incorporate Oracle cells—their wielders are organized into an elite force.

In the year 2063, eight high school students and a kid are flown out to Planet Camp, tasked with surviving on their own for a few days. But shortly after arriving, an ominous glowing orb warps them to an unknown quadrant of space, nearly 5,012 light years away. Now, the only way back home is a slow, dangerous trek across the universe—a journey that’ll test them in ways Planet Camp never could.

The story revolves around Duke Fleed who is a survivor of the Vega Star, raised by Dr. Umon as his adoptive son, and known as Daisuke Umon on Earth. Years after his arrival, he's faced with the threat of King Vega and his army, who want to conquer the Earth. With his friends Koji and Hikaru (and later his kid sister Maria Grace), Duke decides to fight back using his best weapon, the almighty Grendizer.

A near future, where humans have been defeated by the viral parasites named Gastrea. They have been exiled into a small territory and live in despair, side-by-side in terror.In this world trapped in darkness—Rentaro, a boy living near Tokyo and member of the "Civil Security"—an organization specializing in fighting against the Gastrea—is used to accomplishing dangerous tasks. His partner is Enju, a precocious young girl. They fight thanks to their peculiar powers until one day, when they receive a special assignment from the government. This top secret mission is to prevent the destruction of Tokyo...Set in a near future, this thrilling heroic-action story... starts now!

The protagonist, Baki Hanma, trains with an intense focus to become strong enough to surpass his father, Yujiro Hanma, the strongest fighter in the world. Five of the world's most violent and brutal death row inmates are gathering to face Baki. Their objective is to taste defeat -- their unmatched strength and skill have led them to grow bored of life itself, and they now seek out Baki in the hopes that he can overwhelm and utterly crush them. In this crisis, other underground martial art warriors gather to fight by Baki's side: Kaoru Hanayama, Gouki Shibukawa, Retsu Kaioh, and Doppo Orochi. An epic showdown between violent death row inmates and Baki and his friends begins.

Ergo Proxy is a science fiction suspense anime television series, produced by Manglobe, which premiered across Japan on 25 February 2006 on the WOWOW satellite network. It is directed by Shukō Murase, with screenplay by Dai Satō et al.. Ergo Proxy has been described as a dark sciencefiction mystery with philosophical underpinnings. It features a combination of 2D digital cel animation, 3D computer modeling, and digital special effects.

The story centers around two fiercely fighting schoolgirls, Ryuuko Matoi and Satsuki Kiryuuin. On a campus ruled by force, a transfer student wielding a Basami sword brings about upheaval.

The story is set in the distant future. The land is ruined, and humanity establishes the mobile fort city Plantation. Pilots produced inside Plantation live in Mistilteinn, also know as the "birdcage." Children live there knowing nothing of the outside world or the freedom of the sky. Their lives consist of battling to carry out missions. Their enemies are mysterious giant lifeforms known as Kyouryuu, and the children pilot robots called Franxx to face off against them. For the children, riding the Franxx proves their existence. A boy named Hiro is called Code:016, and he was once known as a prodigy. However, he has fallen behind, and his existence seems unnecessary. Not piloting a Franxx is the same as ceasing to exist. One day, a mysterious girl known as "Zero Two" appears before him. Two horns grow out of her head.

In Japan in the year 2035, an accident known as the "Burst" occurs during a research project, spawning an out-of-control artificial life form called "Matter" that has spread throughout the Kurobe Gorge. The research city that was once hailed as the hope for humanity is cordoned off by the government. Two years later, 15-year-old Aiko Tachibana, who lost her family in the Burst, learns something unbelievable from Yuya Kanzaki, a new student at her school. A secret is hidden within her body, and the answer to the puzzle lies at the "Primary Point" that was the center of the Burst. Aiko resolves to infiltrate the restricted area, escorted by a team of divers and with Yuya as her guide. When boy meets girl with the fate of humanity in their hands, what new truth will come to light?

The Shaman King is the one who can contact the king of spirits and reshape the world. Every 500 years, shamans, who can commune between the worlds of the living and dead, compete in the Shaman Fight to become the next Shaman King.Among those aiming for the top is a young shaman named Yoh Asakura.

Mugen is a ferocious, animalistic warrior with a fighting style inspired by break-dancing. Jin is a ronin samurai who wanders the countryside alone. They may not be friends, but their paths continually cross. And when ditzy waitress Fuu gets them out of hot water with the local magistrate, they agree to join her search for the "samurai who smells of sunflowers."

During the construction of the Kurobe Dam, an ancient artifact was discovered, and so the United Nations Kurobe Research Institute was established. Intellectuals from all over the world gathered to study the object, and the children of those researchers attend Mt. Tate International Senior High School, including the institute head's daughter, Yukina Shirahane. In the summer of 2016, a lone samurai once again awakens.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

Many years have passed since humanity was driven to the brink of extinction by the sudden emergence of the unknown life forms Gadoll. Those humans that survived now dwell in a 3000m-high mobile fortress Deca-dence built to protect themselves from the Gadoll threat.Denizens of Deca-dence fall into two categories: Gears, warriors who fight the Gadoll daily, and Tankers, those without the skills to fight. One day, Natsume, a Tanker girl who dreams of becoming a Gear meets surly Kaburagi, an armor repairman of Deca-dence.This chance meeting between the seemingly two opposites, the girl with a positive attitude who never gives up on her dreams and the realist who has given up on his, will eventually shake the future course of this world.

Many years ago, a Great Civil War ravaged Japan, leaving the country fragmented between two regions: Kansai and Kanto. In Kansai, a group of six Akudama carry out missions given to them by a mysterious black cat, while evading the police. But a dangerous journey is about to unfold when a civilian girl becomes twisted into the Akudama's way of life and witnesses their criminal drives.

In 1972, the Apollo 17 mission discovered a hypergate to Mars on the surface of the moon. Soon a war breaks out between Earth and Mars, and Martian soldiers begin to descend from the sky, riding steel giants, intent on exterminating humanity.

Tokyo is abuzz with persocoms – humanoid computers that are virtually perfect. The socially and technologically inept Hideki is dying to get his hands on one. When he finds Chii abandoned in the trash, she’s cuter than any current model he’s ever seen before. But when he gets her home and turns her on, she has no data and only a single learning program installed. While Hideki puts his whole heart into teaching Chii the ins and outs of humanity, a mystery unfolds as a dark secret within her awakens.

In the 2030s Earth has been overrun by the Blue, which are mutated insect-like creatures that kill and harvest humans for food. Most of the surviving human race has moved to Second Earth, a huge spaceship that orbits the planet. Yuji and Marlene must work together to reach Second Earth and fight against the Blue.

For Brandon Heat, death doesn't matter. Driven by his need for revenge, he returns from beyond the grave to cripple Milleneon, the huge mafia organization which uses undead monsters as its enforcers. His ultimate goal is to destroy Harry MacDowel, the leader of Milleneon and, at one time, Brandon's best friend...

Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by Titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest Titans. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a Titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a Colossal Titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller Titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single Titan and take revenge for all of mankind.

Saichi Sugimoto is a tough soldier who participates in the Russo-Japanese War and who earned the nickname "Sugimoto the Immortal." Honors in combat are of little use to him when he is expelled from the army for a certain incident, but he has a goal to fulfill, a promise to keep, and for that he will need money. His first idea to get it will be to join the recent Hokkaido gold rush and try his luck, but destiny prepared him a more interesting challenge and at the same time, more profitable. When a strange man tells the story of how a thief stole a large amount of gold from a group of Ainu to later hide his booty, his eyes light up. Is it a false story? The man tells him that the only way to find the stolen gold is to locate a number of men who were in prison with the thief and who carry the tracks tattooed on their own bodies. But Hokkaido is a tough region and its relentless nature, so when you're still deciding if such a story is more than a Chinese tale, you'll have to fight to protect your life from a huge bear ... and who will come to your rescue is a Ainu girl who seems to know something about the story told by the old man.

Forty years ago, the minds of Paradigm City's inhabitants were wiped clean of all recollections of the past. Now, ruled by a powerful corporation and cut off from the rest of the world by desolate wastelands, Paradigm has become a virtual police state where Negotiators like Roger Smith keep the wheels of progress, commerce, and society turning.

15 years ago, an unknown hyperspace gate opened over the Pacific. Beyond this gate lies Reto Semaani, a strange alternate world where fairies and monsters live.San Teresa City—a city where over two million immigrants live from both worlds. As a result, there are the haves and the have-nots. Here is the world's newest "city of dreams." But in the shadow of the chaos, crime is rampant: drugs, prostitution, and weapon trafficking. The detectives who stand up to these heinous crimes are in the San Teresa City Police. When the detective Kei Matoba and the alternate-world knight Tirana—two individuals who differ in gender, personality, and even world of origin—meet, an incident erupts. Two worlds. Two justices. From this, the curtain rises on a buddy police action story!

Ren Amamiya is about to enter his second year after transferring to Shujin Academy in Tokyo. Following a particular incident, his Persona awakens, and together with his friends, they form the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts” to reform hearts of corrupt adults by stealing the source of their distorted desires. Meanwhile, bizarre and inexplicable crimes have been popping up one after another… Living an ordinary high school life in Tokyo during the day, the group maneuvers the metropolitan city as Phantom Thieves after hours. Let the curtain rise for this grand, picaresque story!

Angel Beats takes place in the afterlife and focuses on Otonashi, a boy who lost his memories of his life after dying. He is enrolled into the afterlife school and meets a girl named Yuri who invites him to join the Afterlife Battlefront — an organization she leads which fights against God. The Battlefront fight against the student council president Angel, a girl with supernatural powers.

Following the success in the Camelot Singularity, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kyrielight are assigned to the last Singularity in the Grand Order initiative. In Ancient Babylonia, 2500 BCE, they embark on a mission to secure humanity's survival. Upon arrival, they learn that three gods have threatened Uruk, the Babylonian city ruled by King Gilgamesh. Ritsuka and Mash must work together to fend off the invasion of mysterious beasts in Uruk under Gilgamesh's orders while investigating the true nature of the three gods' actions against humanity; but unknown to Ritsuka, an ancient entity is slowly rising from its slumber.

One fateful day, all of humanity was petrified by a blinding flash of light. After several millennia, high schooler Taiju awakens and finds himself lost in a world of statues. However, he's not alone! His science-loving friend Senku's been up and running for a few months and he's got a grand plan in mind, to kickstart civilization with the power of science!

With a maintenance robot and a deadly fugitive tagging along, friendship droid S.A.M searches for its best friend, the heir to a kingdom under siege.

"Rimuru Tempest" is the new name of a slime in a fantasy world taken by a former 37-year-old human Satou Mikami after he is killed by a passing robber. Broken free from ordinary, stale past life, his fresh adventure in a fantasy world as a slime monster with unique abilities begins.

In the year 2138, virtual reality gaming is booming. Yggdrasil, a popular online game is quietly shut down one day. However, one player named Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become.

The year is Post Disaster 323. More than 300 years after a great war between Earth and Mars known as the "Calamity War", Mars has been successfully terraformed and colonized by humans. However even with the technological advancements, the humans on Mars crave freedom against the government of Earth and seek to improve their livelihoods. Furthermore, while most of Mars' nations have received autonomy, the planet is virtually dependent on Earth for economic development. A young orphan named Mikazuki Augus is part of a group of children who work for the civilian security company Chryse Guard Security, entrusted with the safety of the Martian Princess Kudelia Aina Bernstein, who has plans for her nation of Chryse to secure independence from Earth. One day, the group was attacked by the Earth Military organization Gjallarhorn, which aims to stop the Martian independence movement. During the attack, the leader of the children and the Third Army Division within CGS, Orga Itsuka, decides to rebel against the adults and higher-ups who had escaped and left the children and foot-soldiers to remain and fight as decoys. Augus must now choose to either follow his friends, or his mission as he stumbles into the legendary mobile suit: the Gundam Barbatos.

Jonah is a child soldier and the newest bodyguard for Koko, an international arms dealer with an entourage of hired guns. The cold-blooded kid hates Koko’s line of work, but following her into the darkest corners of the black market might be the only way he can find those responsible for his family’s slaughter. Besides, his employer isn’t like most merchants of death. She uses guile and cutthroat tactics to keep her clients armed to the teeth—all while cultivating her own warped plan for the future of world peace. With the CIA desperate for her capture, assassins eager to collect her head, and the potential for every contract to end in ultra-violence, Koko and her comrades in arms bring the boom to every corner of the world.

Since the Edo periods of Japan, gladiator arenas exist in certain areas. In these arenas, wealthy business owners and merchants hire gladiators to fight in unarmed combat where winner takes all. Toki Taouma, nicknamed "Ashura," joins these arenas and devastates his opponents. His spectacular ability to crush his enemies catches the attention of the big business owners, including the Nogi Group chairman, Nogi Hideki.

The Hidden Leaf Village has entered an era of peace and modernity. Tall buildings line the streets, giant screens flash with images, and the Thunder Rail runs through the village, connecting each district together. Though it's still a ninja village, the number of civilians has increased and the life of the shinobi is beginning to change. Boruto Uzumaki, son of Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki, has enrolled in the Ninja Academy to learn the ways of the ninja. The other students are ready to dismiss him as "just the son of the Hokage,” but Boruto’s heart and character blow all their assumptions away. As a series of mysterious events begins to unfold, it’s up to Boruto and his new friends to handle them. Like a gale-force wind, Boruto makes his own way into everyone's hearts; his story is about to begin!!

A samurai lord has bartered away his newborn son's organs to forty-eight demons in exchange for dominance on the battlefield. Yet, the abandoned infant survives thanks to a medicine man who equips him with primitive prosthetics—lethal ones with which the wronged son will use to hunt down the multitude of demons to reclaim his body one piece at a time, before confronting his father. On his journeys the young hero encounters an orphan who claims to be the greatest thief in Japan.

In a post-apocalyptic world dominated by the so-called "Numbers," each human will have their identity branded with their own "Count," which could define any number related to their life. May it be one's walked distance or amount of compliments given to them by others, this Count could lead them to the abyss when it has dropped to zero.In the year 305 of the Alcian calendar, Hina has inherited a mission from her Mother, whose Count has depreciated to zero, to search for the Legendary Red Baron. In her adventure, she meets a half-masked swordsman named Licht who tries to hide his identity, as he is known as a degenerate for having an incredibly low Count.

As regular high school students Taichi and Rin disappeared in a beam of light. When they came to, the two of them were already in a world of swords and magic. Finally getting away after experiencing an attack by monsters, following the suggestion of adventurers they headed on the path towards the guild. In the guild, the two of them found out that they possessed unbelievably powerful magic. Thus the regular high school students transformed into the strongest cheats...

Humans have created many stories. Joy, sadness, anger, deep emotion. Stories shake our emotions, and fascinate us. However, these are only the thoughts of bystanders. But what if the characters in the story have "intentions"? To them, are we god-like existences for bringing their story into the world? Our world is changed. Mete out punishment upon the realm of the gods. In Re:CREATORS, everyone becomes a Creator.

Sudou Kaname, an ordinary high school student, receives an invitation email to try a mysterious app called "Darwin's Game." Kaname, upon launching the app, is drawn into a game where players fight one another using superpowers called Sigils. Without knowing the reason for all this, can Kaname survive furious battles against the powerful players who attack him?

Most girls waking up without any memory and meeting a serial killer would panic, but not Rachel. In fact, far from being her biggest problem, killer Zack might just prove a convenient resource when it comes to finding a way out of the building in which they're both trapped!

Karen Kohiruimaki always felt out of place in the real world. Due to her extreme height, she found it hard to make friends with other girls her age. Everything changes when she's introduced to VR and Gun Gale Online. In GGO, Karen is free to play the cute, chibi avatar of her dreams! Can Karen find friendship in this bullet-ridden MMO...?

In 2019, Kaito Yashio and Akiho Senomiya are the sole members of the Robotics Club at Central Tanegashima High School in Kyushu, Japan. Kaito is a laid back student and a skilled gamer who is just trying to help Akiho, his childhood friend. She is an energetic positive-thinking girl who yearns to complete the ongoing project of the club: building a functional replica of Gunvarrel, the main robot of a once popular TV series. As they gather new members and try to assemble the robot, Kaito starts stumbling upon secret reports that might reveal a conspiracy of large proportions. Unaware of what he is actually dealing with, Kaito little by little starts discovering clues laid by the mysterious Ko Kimijima.

Lain is an avant-garde anime influenced by philosophical subjects such as reality, identity, and communication. The series focuses on Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl living in suburban Japan, and her introduction to the Wired, a global communications network similar to the Internet.

For a thousand years, the Vikings have made quite a name and reputation for themselves as the strongest families with a thirst for violence. Thorfinn, the son of one of the Vikings' greatest warriors, spends his boyhood in a battlefield enhancing his skills in his adventure to redeem his most-desired revenge after his father was murdered.

Legendary half-vampire, half-human vampire hunter Blade is tracking Deacon Frost, a very powerful and influential vampire who killed his mother and who heads Existence, a secretive vampire organization that operates in Southeast Asia.