Texhnoloyze takes us into an apocalyptic world where most humans have taken on cybernetic components. It follows the journey of the underground fighter Ichise making his way in the city of Lux, where three major factions fight for control over the city.

As it details a young man’s journey of self-discovery in a world that has become detached from its roots, it also shows the collapse of society’s highest peak. It is carefully analytical in its portrayal of the society, which one can understand very quickly through the vertical scale of the main city, Lux, an underground city. It represents a sudden and unstoppable growth that may have grown too big and too fast for its own good. This is especially evident in how the city seems to be in a lot of disrepair.

The show also depicts how identity can be warped due to technology and the promises it can guarantee. In many ways, these are shown in promises of longevity and strength that humans are not quite prepared for. As an anime like Ghost in the Shell, you shouldn’t expect anything less than a world that has been molded by corruption and technological advancement.

Black Lagoon starts off with a white collar, office worker named Rokurou Okajima, who is acting as the spokesperson for his company in a trade deal. Well, the funny thing is that this job was given to him, because it’s essentially a black-market deal and he can basically be taken and killed as collateral. He does have a tad of luck though as the mercenary group he’s making the trade with, the Black Lagoon company, actually has a slightly soft heart and protect the poor sap instead of doing away with him. Though Rokurou is given the option of returning back to normal life, he instead joins the crew and is referred to as Rock.

Black Lagoon is easily one of the anime most like Ghost in the Shell. First off, both, have incredible female leads who kick ass and in many ways run the show with their abilities and personalities. Admittedly, Revy’s personality is about as different as the Major’s as you can get. Major is calculating and inquisitive while Revy is gun-ho and asks questions…never. Though, Black Lagoon’s setting is also visually different, it still captures similar issues of corruption. Each episode displays a world that built upon an infrastructure of the disenfranchised. It is powerful and makes you thinking twice about everything.

Psycho-Pass follows Akane Tsunemori as she becomes an Inspector for the police enforcement of Japan. In this world, Japan has become one of the most advanced societies in the world as it has become self-sustainable and uses the Sibyl system as a means to ensure safety and job growth. On the outside, everything looks good, but as Akame dives into the infrastructure of the society, she finds out that things are not so pretty.

This anime can also be found on the other list, as it really is one of the most recent anime like Ghost in the Shell. They both focus on futuristic worlds where technology has infected the discovery of identity. In fact, Pyscho-Pass’s season one antagonist is essentially trying to break apart the Sybil system because of how it determines life and does so without any true feeling. They both are also insightful enough to show that despite the corruption of the system, there are benefits that people enjoy, and to take down the system would result in the dismantling of such joys.

Both also feature strong female leads. Admittedly, in the first season of Pscyho-Pass, Akame takes backseat to Kogame. However, by the end of that season and the later additions to the series, we see Akame taking the lead and really pushes forward the plot.

When a 14-year-old girl receives an email from a classmate who recently committed suicide, life gets flipped on its head. Lain Iwakura is our protagonist in this world, and after receiving that email she becomes entangled in the Wired, a virtual world of communication. The more she is exposed to the Wired the more her world begins to peel apart.

Serial Experiments Lain was written by Chiaki J. Konaka, who was also behind the story of Texhnoloyze. As a writer, her focus clearly pursues the ways we perceive reality and how technology has affected the way we interact with the world about us. This makes the anime like Ghost in the Shell in so many ways. In what ways can technology directly and indirectly affect our daily lives? What information, false or true, are we being introduced to through technology and how is that changing us? Are we being overloaded with information? Who is controlling the influx of the media and for what reason? These types of questions are the foundation of each show, while they look at the changes in political and social infrastructure due to the connectivity of the web.

Paprika is a journey into a dream world, and it is fantastic. It follows the story of Dr. Atsuko Chiba, who has been the primary scientist involved in the creation of the DC Mini, which allows someone to travel into the subconscious of the other. The hope in creating this technology was for it be used to analyze and resolved subconscious issues in people. Well, this invention gets stolen and mental warfare is being waged on unsuspecting citizen instead. Now it is the doctor’s job to capture the thief.

Paprika is an anime like Ghost in the Shell because it dives straight into the dangers of technology. It brings us into a world where a massive scientific breakthrough is the cause for concern. Such ideas are discussed heavily in Ghost in the Shell and deeply reflect the human condition. We have a tendency to create things that we are not ready for. The main character is also a fully fleshed out character who goes through a pretty thorough examination of her own conscious and identity. The Major also walks a similar path as each mission, mystery, or event leads to more questions about what it means to be alive. Essentially, ideas about what makes up reality is heavily considered in both of these shows as everything single aspect of society seems to cover something up.

Rakuen Tsuihou: Expelled from Paradise brings us into a world where people have left their human bodies behind in order to be relocated as digital beings in DEVA, a space station orbiting Earth. To be clear, they are abandoning their bodies, because a disaster has ravaged Earth. In DEVA, people are free from hunger and death and so live in relative peace until a hacker starts terrorizing the system. That’s when the government sends Angela Balzac to track down this criminal.

Expelled from Paradise is this list’s final anime like Ghost in the Shell. The similarities between the shows are pretty straightforward. We have a skilled and powerful agent of law, who goes through a world that consistently makes her consider her position in the world. They both also detail worlds of corruption that are explored in depth. We see how the decrepitude at the bottom corresponds with the luxuries at the top. In other words, the care-free life is obtained through the fact that others are left to suffer. In this way, both incorporate a political commentary through their narratives.