Cocona is your regular girl who one day meets another girl named Papika. Papika invites her to join some strange organization called Flip Flap. There, the girls end up in another world named Pure Illusion. They are to search for crystal shards. Full of danger, Cocona doesn’t know what to do, but once she sees Papika transform, she learns that she too, can have magical powers. They start to search for crystals, but it is not all easygoing as another organization is also in search of these crystals. The girls will have to fight now monsters and this organization. Through the power of teamwork, they will have to somehow win with so little information revealed. What is in store for them?

Flip Flappers and Akanesasu Shoujo share a lot in common. Both series feature girls who go to another world, of their own volitions at that, where they have special powers and fight. While Akanesasu has the girls awaken one by one through self-realization and development, Flip Flappers dives headfirst into it in order to give us longer fight sequences and strife. Both series have a great other-worldly setup and promise to give the viewer an excellent story.

Rintaro Okabe works out of his lab/office where he is investing items of the future he refers to as “future gadgets”. He has two assistants in Mayuri and Daru. The two assist him in varying capacities. One day though, he develops the “Phone Microwave” and as luck would have it, learns he can send messages back to the past. He starts to do so with the help of new lab members, but learns that for each action, there is a reaction. When those reactions create something that ends in tragedy, Okabe tries his hardest to get back to the original timeline he was in, but it turns out that he can’t. There is something that happens that must be undone, but he has to figure out what it is. Can he get back and fix a terrible tragedy?

Both Steins;Gate and Akanesasu Shoujo give us the multiple world setup. Steins;Gate is more about the existence of alternate timelines, but it is all over the place with them. Each world the girls drop into has some unifying theme, but all five know what is going on while only Okabe does. Both also rely on technology to make their journeys and the plot move forward. True, Okabe doesn’t necessarily fight supernatural battles, but he still does have his own struggles and has to rely on his mind to get him through things. Just be ready to cry with this show.

Satoshi is a 12 year-old boy who lives in the moment to say the least. Upset about a lost card collection, he is crushed when he learns his best friend Arumi is moving away. Through a tragedy, they are suddenly transported to a parallel world. They then journey through each of them desperately trying to get through to their home world. Every world though is their hometown, but in a bizarrely different setup. In each world, they meet a different person who looks like an incarnation of Eutus or Mune-Mune from a past world. Are they friend or foe? Can they make it home?

Now for a more lighthearted series. Abenobashi and Akanesasu take us through multiple different worlds where, while the characters are more or less the same, the worlds themselves change each time. Somehow, the girls are able to go home each time after they solve issues in the world they are in, while those from Abenobashi usually have to do something to get to the next world with no guarantee that they will make it home this time. They desperately try to adjust to each new world and with Abenobashi, you swap the sci-fi of the crystal radio for the supernatural ritual that Arumi and Satoshi have to perform to get home. The series is a lot more easygoing and funny, so don’t expect anything too dicey or dangerous here. Just kick back and enjoy!

Humanity is more or less cancelled. Completely on the decline, only a few actual humans are left. In this world, the few that do remain are surrounded by fairies, a technological advancement that is well-equipped, but obsessed with candy and doesn’t care about endangering humans. Our main character, Watashi, is a recent graduate and is now back home as an arbitrator for the UN. She is supposed to work to maintain the peace between humans and fairies, but it’s not as easy as she thought.

For this one, Jinrui is fully set in an alternate world where the MC cannot leave. So if the girls of Akanesasu Shoujo were trapped, it would be the exact same thing. Both series make use of vibrant coloring and somewhat decent art. The zany upbeat nature of Jinrui is akin to the cheerful, carefree attitude that Asuka embodies. Both also have highly advanced technology that is a pivotal plot point while also feeling very out of place. How did humanity make fairies while not accounting for the needs of their own safety? How are the girls able to transform with a Sony Walkman of all things?!

Takeru Amato has just moved into a new apartment in Akihabara assuming that everything was going go smoothly. He was wrong! His apartment is linked to another dimension where gods reside. There, he also meets Nyaa-tan, a cat girl who wants to become a zodiac sign. Nyaa-tan is going to need help because you see, she needs a relationship with someone to become one first. Then, she needs to get power from the humans who are a part of the sign she wants to become. Then, she has to fight her way in and defeat the other signs for a spot. Living with Nyaa-tan is more or less what Takeru has to do while cultivating a close relationship. There is going to be a festival soon to see if she will have a shot as the next member of the zodiac, so the two have their work cut out for them.

Starting out, Etotama and Akanesasu Shoujo rely on the core issues of friendship and teamwork. Every time they end up in another world, they have to work together to solve the issues that confront them. On top of this, both series have this upbeat, zany setting and cheerfulness about them. Both have ridiculous humor what with Nyaa-tan herself and Asuka’s obsession with Lord Chikuwa. Watching both will give you a lot of the same vibes, so be sure to check them both out!

Yuuta Gamon runs a popular blog that decries anything supernatural. He believes it is all a hoax. One day though, he comes into contact with a string of characters, all of whom do not seem like they should be connected, but fate has them connected for some reason. Then a creepy thing happens, someone is murdered. Then someone else dies. The deaths continue to pile up. Then people start acting like they do not see Yuuta. What is going on? There is something that is equal parts bizarre and horrifying bubbling under the surface of society. Either way, you will be banging your head against the wall trying to understand what is going on and learn more.

Occultic;Nine and Akanesasu Shoujo both rely heavily on the sci-fi genre. Both series also have a main character obsessed with technology. Asuka has her radio and walkman while Yuuta has the radio from his past. Both series also do an excellent job of bombarding you with information while also not telling you what the actual underlying plot is. You get crumbs, but both keep you at an arm's length in order to have you learn as little as possible while getting invested in the characters. There are allusions to an organization, but all is not connected until the end. Either way, if you do start Occultic;Nine, be prepared to be glued to your screen as the plot starts to be revealed. It’s something most people will not be able to predict!