A nuclear facility is attacked in Japan and the only clue is a word painted in red; “VON”. After being horribly mocked and ridiculed for failing to act and respond properly, the government of Japan tries to figure out what happened. The event begins to fade until a video surfaces of two men who claim that they will destroy parts of Tokyo if the inept police force cannot stop them. The police bumble their way through trying to stop these two terrorists but Nine and Twelve, two brothers, have other plans and poor Lisa Mishima is dragged into this tale of murder, terror, suspense, and death.

Of the shows on this list, Zankyou no Terror, and one other that you can catch below are probably the closest that you can get to an almost exact copy of the story of Ajin complete with similar themes and actions. The police and government are horribly inept in both series, which again, draws parallels to actual Japanese society. Terrorism is also a central theme shared with both along with the main characters fleeing from retribution. While Kei is aligned with the government, Lisa, Nine, Twelve are against it. But do not let that scare you away as the story is amazingly fantastic.

Aliens just started invading the Earth one day taking over the bodies of whatever living things that they land on. The thing is though, is that they need to land on the head of the creature in order to take over the brain and fully control them. Shinichi Izumi one day is sleeping when sadly one of the parasites lands on his right hand. Failing to reach his brain, it can only control his hand and make it take on different forms, shapes, and weapons. At first terrified, he learns to accept Migi in a world where not only does he have to hide this characteristic to himself, Shinichi must rely on Migi as other parasite-infected hosts come to hunt him down and kill him.

This was the other show that we previously mentioned that is just so similar to Ajin, it’s fantastic! Both shows are thrillers that make you wonder just what action either Kei or Shinichi is going to take next. There is also the darkness aspect as well as murder and death are common themes. There is also, until the fight against Satou comes into light, the battle between supernatural and human happens with most humans being unaware of what horrors are going on right around them. Both Kei and Shinichi are forced to become anti-heroes in order to survive becoming killers in the process. The overall dark theme and the fact that both Kei’s and Shinichi’s lives are changed in a second is a similarly shared theme.

Youjo Senki was the sleeper hit of Winter 2017. Tanya Degurechaff is a ruthless and cunning soldier in the military of her country that is essentially a re-telling of Germany in WWII. Previously, Tanya was a man who was too cruel and aggressive in her daily work life that she, or rather he, pissed off someone he fired and so to get revenge, this person shoves him in front of a train for revenge. In that moment, Being X as it is known, reveals itself to Tanya as God. Tanya vehemently denies it, and thus to show its power, he is reborn as Tanya in a poor country with exceptional magical prowess. She makes her way into the military using her skills and before she knows it, she is commanding a powerful platoon, but she just wants to live peacefully. However, she is willing to sacrifice even her own men, to achieve her goals, all while denying Being X as it reveals itself to her countless times.

Tanya, just like Kei, wants to be left alone to live in peace. Tanya is harassed by Being X while Kei is harassed by the actions of Satou and his cronies. Both are jam packed with action, explosions, and running. Tanya just wants to survive while Kei has to. Both are full too of death, and characters that must kill in order to survive. At the end of the day, morality is out and rationality is king for these two series.

In the 22nd century, all weapons are gone in Japan. Rather, every crime is evaluated by a system known as the Sibyl System. Police officers carry guns, but these guns with the help of the Sibyl System can judge if a criminal is going to actually pose a threat or not. Supposedly. Akane Tsunemori, fresh out of training joins a group of experienced officers and has one goal: uphold justice. The problem though is that the longer she works for the force, the more she realizes how subjective the Sibyl System can be and that there may be cracks in this purported perfect system. Struggling to learn the truth, Akane tries to make her place in this world.

Much like in Ajin with Kei, Akane in Psycho-Pass struggles with morality often. While the governments will say one thing in both series, we see that the underbelly of the government is not so clear cut as some things will be carried out for the sake of being carried out. This drives Kei to turn his back on his fellow Ajin, and Akane to question authority. Dark themes of murder, deceit, and hopelessness are rampant in this series. At the end of the day, Kei and Akane want to do the right thing, but they also want to do it their way which they are not always able to.

Satoru Fujinuma has a weird ability. When something bad is about to happen, he is transported back a few minutes in time to before the accident happens so that he can prevent whatever it about to transpire. When his mother is murdered and he is framed, he begins to run, but something happens and he is sent far back into time. So far back, he is now an elementary school student and placed right before his classmate, a rather shy girl named Kayo Hinazuki, is murdered. He gathers clues and information to save her jumping between present day and past to try and help, but can he save her while protecting others around him from being hurt?

If you have not seen Bokudake, NOW IS THE TIME. This excellent thriller anime, just like Ajin, has one fantastic characteristic, the main character is not some weepy, weak main character. Kei and Satoru both are determined to figure out what is going on. Abuse, lies, deceit, and death are also all shared themes. While Satoru is not hunted, Kayo is once she goes missing from her home just like how Kei is hunted. They also would not be supernatural without the time travel elements via Satoru and the Ajin-ness of Kei. While the stories by vary, the ride is the same. It is an excellent thriller anime that you should not miss out on! Also for what it is worth, both Ajin and Boku dake ga Inai Machi have excellent Opening songs.

Ryuk, a death god bored with life, decides to have some fun and drops a Death Note into the human world. It is picked up by Light Yagami who discovers that if he writes the name of a person, after seeing their face, within the note, they will die. He discovers this after killing a criminal. Thus Light takes it upon himself to dole out justice in the form of a “god”. However, the government senses that something is wrong when it is just too convenient that all of these criminals are dying. They bring in quirky genius detective L to solve the crimes. Suddenly it is a race to not only keep his identity hidden but continue to play god for Light.

Most people might not think about it right away, but Ajin and Death Note are very, very similar. Both are dark thrillers with action, suspense, and of course, murder. Kei and Light are true anti-heroes and the bumbling government struggles to try and solve a problem that they just cannot seem to do. Oddly too, the Shinigami of Death Note look a lot like the IBMs of Ajin. Both Kei and Light are fleeing from the police while also serving justice putting them in unique situations. Finally, the ideals of morality; what is good and what is bad, are blurred because the truth is not black and white.