Best tv shows like Mushi-Shi
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
They are neither plants nor animals. They differ from other forms of life such as the micro-organisms and the fungi. Instead they resemble the primeval body of life and are generally known as "Mushi". Their existence and appearance are unknown to many and only a limited number of humans are aware of them. Ginko is a "Mushi-shi" who travels around to investigate and find out more about the "Mushi". In the process, he also lends a helping hand to people who face problems with supernatural occurances which may be related to the "Mushi".
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, manga, atmospheric, serious, philosophical, bleak, inspirational, psychedelic, mysterious
Best tv shows and movies like Mushi-Shi (2005):
Similar in 87%
Mushishi Tokubetsu-hen: Hihamukage (2014)
Plot Summary:
A powerful mushi appears during an eclipse, drawing other mushi to form a huge shadow that blocks the sun over a small village. Looking for clues about the mushi, Ginko meets a child who is afflicted by a strange disease that manifests itself when she is exposed to sunlight, and it does not take long for him to find out that both facts are related.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: anime, philosophical, psychotronic
Similar in 78%
Mushi-Shi: The Next Chapter - Drops of Bells (2015)
Plot Summary:
On a warm summer day, a boy heard the sound of bells ringing, as if in celebration, in the mountain near his home. Several years later in that same mountain, the mushishi Ginko stumbles upon a young girl in a mountain with branches and leaves growing out of her body. He later realises that she is the lord of that mountain but finds it strange that a human like her was chosen as the lord. He meets her older brother who has continued to search for her ever since she disappeared while accompanying him on a stormy day. The story is about Ginko’s peculiar journey amidst the occult to unravel the mystery behind the enigmatic girl called Kaya and the mountain that has become her home.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: anime, seinen, inspirational, atmospheric, bleak
Similar in 78%
Mononoke (2007)
Plot Summary:
Mononoke is a spin-off of the Bakeneko story arc of Ayakashi - Japanese Classic Horror. It follows the Medicine Seller as he deals with various spirits or "Mononoke" in feudal Japan. Just like in the Bakeneko story, he combats with a series of tools and his vast knowledge of the supernatural on his side, but can only slay the Mononoke when he uncovers its form (Katachi), the truth behind its appearance (Makoto) and the reason for its unusual behavior (Kotowari). In other words : Truth, Form and Regret.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, tense, suspense, adult animation, deep, seinen, manga, bizarre
Similar in 87%
Red Garden (2006)
Plot Summary:
Four students of the same age have nothing in common except that they attend the same elite New York City school. Kate, Rose, Clare and Rachel all belong to different cliques and hardly notice each other's existence. Then one day they gain something in common, something very important, something mysterious. They find themselves drawn together by the death of a fellow student and the secret of their own missing memories. Suddenly they are thrown into a world of hidden warfare on the city streets and are caught up in secrets which would not be believed by others. These four all have their own problems to struggle with, things that seem more important than such strange conflicts. Can they escape from this fate? The only thing they know is that despite coming from four different worlds they now have to rely on each other or die without a hope.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 210
Genere: Animation, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, scary, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, mind bending, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette (2004)
Plot Summary:
Eiri, a talented art student, works part-time in an antique shop in a quiet part of town. One afternoon, he uncovers a delicate Venetian glass that holds a startling secret. When Eiri peers into the glass, he can see a young blond girl, her life playing out like a movie solely for him to see. Curious, he stares into the glass, hoping to learn more about the enchanting girl inside. She is Cossette, a mysterious beauty who haunts the glass, waiting 250 years for someone to finally see her, and set her free. Eiri is soon obsessed with Cossette, determined to do anything he can to help her. Will Eiri see past all the illusions and discover the tragic truth about Cossette, or will he be consumed by anguish and obsession?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 545
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: anime, gothic, psychological, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, psychedelic, surreal, psychological thriller, seinen
Similar in 81%
The Ancient Magus' Bride (2017)
Plot Summary:
Chise Hatori, 15 years old. Lost, without hope, and without family, she is bought for money – not by another person, but by a non-human sorcerer named Elias. Though she hesitates, she begins life anew as his apprentice and future wife.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, enigmatic, romantic, captivating, dark fantasy, stylized, manga, shounen, exciting
Similar in 90%
Requiem from the Darkness (2003)
Plot Summary:
Momosuke is a young man with a dream: to travel Japan and collect one hundred stories. He journeys from place to place, searching for tales of the paranormal and bizarre, hoping to collect tales to publish in his book. However, the calm of Momosuke's life soon is shattered by a chance meeting with three sinister beings: Mataichi the priest, Nagamimi the bird-caller, and the beautiful Ogin. Soon, Momosuke learns that there might be more to his newfound comrades than first meets the eye.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 295
Genere: Animation, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, serious, scary, suspenseful, captivating, rough
Similar in 84%
Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales (2006)
Plot Summary:
A collection of three classic Japanese horror stories: "Yotsuya Kaidan," the story of a wife betrayed by her husband who seeks vengeance even in death, "Tenshu Monogatari," the story of forbidden love between a goddess and a human, and "Bakeneko," the story of a mysterious cat monster with a vendetta against a certain family.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 638
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, anthology, psychological, captivating, atmospheric, unusual plot structure
Similar in 78%
XXXHOLiC (2006)
Plot Summary:
Kimihiro Watanuki, a high-schooler, is troubled by monsters and spirits who are magically attracted to him. However, nobody else can see them but him. One day, Watanuki stumbles into a shop that grants wishes, and encounters Yuko Ichihara, a beautiful, seemingly all-knowing witch. Yuko doesn't waste time, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to not be able to see those bothersome monsters and spirits any longer, however, there is a price. Yuko soon sees that Watanuki is a hard worker and would be useful for housework and other chores Yuko wishes for him to do until he works off enough to pay for the amount of power that needs to be used to grant his wish.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, stylized, atmospheric, suspenseful, semi serious, psychological, gothic, manga, seinen, scary
Similar in 75%
Boogiepop Never Laughs: Boogiepop Phantom (2000)
Plot Summary:
Boogiepop Phantom is a twelve-episode anime television series produced by Madhouse Studios, based on the Boogiepop light novel series by Kouhei Kadono, particularly that of Boogiepop and Others and Boogiepop At Dawn. The series is directed by Takashi Watanabe, from a screenplay by Sadayuki Murai, with original character designs by novel illustrator Kouji Ogata, and sound direction by Yota Tsuruoka. The story takes place in an unnamed Japanese city, a month after a pillar of light appeared in the night sky and five years after a string of serial killings. Boogiepop Phantom follows an ensemble cast of characters, mostly high school students, who are witnesses to the incident and its consequences. At the time of the series, high school students have started to disappear again and the blame is placed on Boogiepop, an urban legend who is said to be the personification of Death. Each episode centers on different characters who sometimes have just a short involvement in the major events of the series. For this reason, many scenes are seen twice, from different perspectives, and some episodes are out of sequence, although there is a slow general time progression. An unusual visual style is employed wherein, for all but the last episode, a much reduced color palette is used in conjunction with a vignette effect. The sound design features many varied music genres from Gregorian to electronic, and even some sounds that appear to be unique to the show. Through the non-linear style of the series, the characters are used to develop the central themes of the series: Change, Escapism, Memory, and Relationships.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, scary, atmospheric, bleak, suspenseful, psychological horror, adult anime, seinen, detective, serious
Similar in 81%
Corpse Princess (2008)
Plot Summary:
Corpse Princess is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshiichi Akahito. Premiering in Monthly Shōnen Gangan on April 12, 2005, the series centers around the "Corpse Princess" Makina Hoshimura, an undead girl who is hunting down 108 undead corpses in order to gain entry into heaven with the help of a secret society of anti-corpse Buddhist monks. Feel and Gainax partnered together to adapt the series into a thirteen episode anime series. The first season, Aka, premiered on AT-X on October 2, 2008. A second season, Kuro, aired between January and March 2009. The anime is licensed for North American distribution and release by Funimation Entertainment, which has already started releasing the episodes in subtitled form as Shikabane Hime through various online distribution companies and through its own website. The series made its North American television debut on the FUNimation Channel on November 15, 2010.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 469
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, tense, captivating, psychological, suspense, scary, serious, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 89%
Pet Shop of Horrors (1999)
Plot Summary:
Welcome to the most magnificent pet shop in Chinatown! Operated by the shadowy Count D, the shop specializes in rare and hard to come by pets... but with each sale comes a contract. And if that contract is broken, watch out! Detective Orcott has linked many odd and unexplained deaths to Count D's shop. Will he solve the mystery or fall prey to it?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, psychological, manga, detective, super sentai, dark fantasy, weird, josei
Similar in 89%
Natsume's Book of Friends (2008)
Plot Summary:
Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, serious, suspenseful, adult animation, deep, crying, iyashikei, shoujo
Similar in 76%
Kemono Jihen (2021)
Plot Summary:
When a series of animal bodies that rot away after a single night begin appearing in a remote mountain village, Inugami, a detective from Tokyo who specializes in the occult, is called to investigate. While working the case, he befriends a strange boy who works in the field every day instead of going to school. Shunned by his peers and nicknamed “Dorotabō” after a yokai that lives in the mud, he helps Inugami uncover the truth behind the killings — but supernatural forces are at work, and while Dorotabō is just a nickname, it might not be the only thing about the boy that isn’t human.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, detective, shounen, atmospheric, suspenseful, stylized, suspense
Similar in 89%
Lunar Legend Tsukihime (2003)
Plot Summary:
Shiki Tohno is a boy who, after an accident as a child, is able to see strange lines coming from objects and people. He has to wear special glasses to stop seeing them. If he cuts some of these lines, he destroys people connected to them. One day he meets a woman called Arcueid and together they start a journey that's going to reveal some secrets of his past.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 615
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, gothic, suspenseful, stylized, offbeat, manga, seinen, scary, serious, mind bending
Similar in 89%
Psychic Detective Yakumo (2010)
Plot Summary:
In order to help a friend possessed by a spirit, Ozawa Haruka knocks on the door of her university's movie research association. There she meets Saitou Yakumo, a rude, unkempt young man with a red left eye, who is said to have spiritual powers. At first Haruka is skeptical, but she comes to believe him when he conveys messages from her older sister, who died when she was a child. Together, they work to shed light on the terrifying events happening at their university. But this is only the prologue of what's to come.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Animation, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, serious, mind bending, suspenseful, stylized, captivating, atmospheric, bleak, humorous, detective
Similar in 76%
Haibane Renmei (2002)
Plot Summary:
A dream of falling from the sky...and then birth. Rakka is born from a large cocoon into the Old Home, greeted by a group of females with small wings on their backs and shining halos above their heads. Soon Rakka’s own wings grow, a halo is placed on her head and she is told that she must work in the nearby town of Grie. She soon realizes that the town and the entire world they live in are confined behind the Wall, a tall, impenetrable wall that none except the mysterious Toga are allowed to exit.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, emotional, serious, psychological, thought provoking, melancholic, adult animation, deep, seinen
Similar in 88%
Shiki (2010)
Plot Summary:
Sotobamura is a small village with around 1300 residents; so small the village isn't even connected to a single highway. An isolated village in which old customs, such as the burial of the dead, are still practiced. One day, the bodies of three people are found dead. Although Ozaki Toshio, the village's lone doctor, feels uncertain, he treats the deaths as a normal occurrence. However, in the days following, the villagers start to die one after the other.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, dark fantasy, scary, offbeat, suspenseful, manga, captivating, suspense, serious, psychological
Similar in 85%
Hell Girl (2005)
Plot Summary:
Hell Girl, also known as Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell, is an anime series produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. It focuses on the existence of a supernatural system that allows people to take revenge by having other people sent to Hell via the services of the mysterious titular character and her assistants who implement this system. Revenge, injustice, hatred, and the nature of human emotions are common themes throughout the series. It premiered across Japan on numerous television stations, including Animax, Tokyo MX, MBS and others, between October 4, 2005 and April 4, 2006. Following the success of the first season, the series was followed soon after into a second, Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori, which premiered October 7, 2006 across Japan on Animax. A live-action television series adaptation started airing in Japan on Nippon Television from November 4, 2006. A third season of the anime, further continuing the series, was first announced on the mobile version of the series' official website Jigoku Tsūshin. The official title of the third season was announced to be Jigoku Shōjo Mitsuganae. and began airing on Japanese TV October 4, 2008.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, exciting, scary, suspenseful, stylized, dark fantasy, psychological, manga, deep, seinen
Similar in 80%
Darker Than Black (2007)
Plot Summary:
Anime television series created, directed and written by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, manga, atmospheric, rough, suspenseful, stylized, mecha, deep, adult anime, seinen
Similar in 87%
X (2001)
Plot Summary:
Kamui Shirou and Fuuma Monou have been best friends ever since they were kids. Fate, however, separates them when Fuuma's mother died under a mysterious circumstances. Fast forward, 6 years later, a 16 year old Kamui has now returned to Tokyo with the intention of facing his 'destiny'. Little does he know that his destiny will collide with that of his best friend's.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, atmospheric, stylized, apocalyptic, adult anime, bleak, serious, psychological, dark fantasy
Similar in 82%
Serial Experiments Lain (1998)
Plot Summary:
Strange events begin to occur as a withdrawn girl named Lain becomes obsessed with interconnected virtual realm of "The Wired".
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 316 min
Plot tags: psychological, anime, surreal, mind bending, atmospheric, bleak, serious, cyber, psychological horror, manga
Similar in 79%
Tactics (2004)
Plot Summary:
Tactics is a Japanese manga series written as a collaboration between Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama. It was serialized in Comic Blade Masamune. Kinoshita supplied the character "Kantarou," and Higashiyama supplied the character "Haruka." While the manga was previously licensed for released in English in paperback by both ADV Manga and Tokyopop, the manga is now only available in English in digital format on JManga. The animation studio Studio Deen adapted the Tactics manga into a 25-episode anime series, which ran on Japanese television from October 5, 2004 to March 29, 2005. The English dub of the anime was distributed by Manga Entertainment in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 113
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, History, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, suspenseful, captivating, shounen
Similar in 83%
Ghost Hunt (2006)
Plot Summary:
Ghost Hunt, originally titled Akuryō Series, is a light novel series written by Fuyumi Ono. It follows the adventures of the Shibuya Psychic Research Center as they investigate mysterious occurrences all over Japan with a team of other spiritualists and clever assistants. Although the last novel was published in 1994, the story was left incomplete. Speculation arose to the continuation of the series when the creator Fuyumi Ono stated in an interview that she was resuming work on a "girls' horror story" that she began long ago, even though Ono's statement has never been officially confirmed to be in reference to Ghost Hunt. The novels were adapted into a radio drama for Akuryō Series in 1997. A manga adaptation written and illustrated by Shiho Inada began serialization in Nakayoshi in the July 7, 1998 issue where it is still on-going. The individual chapters have been collected and published in eleven tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. It is licensed for English-language release, under the name Ghost Hunt in North America by Del Rey Manga and in the United Kingdom by Tanoshimi. An anime adaptation of the manga was created by J.C.Staff and premiered on October 3, 2006 in Japan on TV Tokyo where it ran for twenty-five episodes until its conclusion. The anime is licensed for English release on Region 1 DVD by Funimation Entertainment, which also used the name Ghost Hunt.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, suspenseful, captivating, disturbing, mind bending, offbeat, scary, detective, shoujo, serious
Similar in 78%
Over the Garden Wall (2014)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers find themselves lost in a mysterious land and try to find their way home.
IMDB Rating: 8.8
IMDB Votes: 68000
Genere: Animation, Short, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, atmospheric, enigmatic, period piece, adult animation, captivating, anime, cult classic, entertaining, philosophical
Similar in 90%
Monster (2004)
Plot Summary:
Kenzou Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon in Germany, finds his life in utter turmoil after getting involved with a psychopath that was once a former patient.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, serious, rough, manga, adult animation, depressing
Similar in 78%
Fate/Zero (2011)
Plot Summary:
War of the Holy Grail - Pursuing the power of the "Holy Grail" which grants a miracle, this is a contest in which seven magi summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete for it. In that battle whose conclusion was postponed three times, now, the fourth war commenced again. Entrusting their dearest wish of victory, the magi joined the battleground called "Fuyuki", but amongst them, there was a man who was always alone, and could not find out the meaning behind his fights. His name was Kotomine Kirei. Not comprehending the guidance of fate, Kirei was lost, and had kept questioning. Why someone like his was given the Command Seals. However, the fate of his fights crossed Kirei's path with a nemesis by chance. That person is - Emiya Kiritsugu. A man who was sterner than anyone else, more merciless than anyone else, and who sought the miracle of the Holy Grail.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, suspenseful, stylized, manga, intense, semi serious, humorous, epic, adult animation
Similar in 85%
D.Gray-man (2006)
Plot Summary:
Allen Walker, a young Exorcist with a cursed eye that can see the suffering of the Akumas created by The Millenium Earl, travels to England to the Headquarters of the exorcists, the Black Order, where his Master, General Cross Marian, has sent him to meet with the other exorcists. He battles the Millenium Earl and the Noah Family (which has sided with the Earl) alongside Yuu Kanda, Leenalee Lee, and Ravi, (fellow exorcists) as well as others. Along with his team, he travels the world fighting Akuma and searching for Innocence, the Anti-Akuma weapon exorcists use.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: anime, emotional, exciting, suspense, shounen, semi serious, manga, stylized, serious
Similar in 81%
ERASED (2016)
Plot Summary:
Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who has the ability to turn back time and prevent deaths. When his mother is killed he turns back time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary school, just before the disappearance of his classmate Kayo.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Animation, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 264 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, tense, captivating, psychological thriller, sentimental, manga, uplifting, philosophical, thought provoking
Similar in 87%
Supernatural: The Anime Series (2011)
Plot Summary:
After losing their mother to a demon, two brothers grow up fighting supernatural beings.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, rough, suspense, dark, adult animation, manga, detective, serious, suspenseful, scary