Everything changed at the drop of a hat. Negotiator Koujirou Shindou was on a plane taking off with his assistant Shun Hanamori when a giant cube materialized over the airport and touched down over it. All attacks are simply absorbed by it. Humanity waits outside with baited breath while inside, things are just beginning. Koujirou meets Yaha0kui zaShunina, an alien from another plane of existence who has come to earth to analyze and then advance humanity. It’s not that easy though as he needs time. Yaha-kui starts to introduce things into humanity’s everyday lives, but it ends up being a lot more complicated than Koujirou realises. He needs to figure out what the right answer is to something that is not easily solvable.

To be honest, a lot of what connects Ingress and Kado is the art style, and one more thing. Full-CG anime, they are showing how far mainstream CG art has come. While it’s no Houseki no Kuni level of mastery, the art does quickly remind the viewer of the other. The other major aspect is the struggle behind the scenes that humanity does not realize. Serious stuff is going down for a small group of people inside the story while the larger part of the world has only a very small grasp, if at all, of what is actually going on. The outcome of the small struggle is what is going to determine the future of humanity at large.

Banana Fish is all about a mysterious drug that shares the name of the series. After it ruined the life of Ash Lynx’s brother, Ash has been on a warpath to find out more about it. He then meets Eiji Okumura, a pure-hearted Japanese young man here with his mentor here to interview Ash. When Dino Golzine, a man who groomed Ash to be his sex slave, starts making moves, Ash knows something is up. “Papa” is up to no good and Ash wants to know more about this mysterious drug…

Banana Fish might seem different at first glance, but when you go below the surface, a lot is shared. Ash and Eiji are basically having their lives threatened at every turn. They run around while being pursued by dangerous organizations like Makoto and Sarah are about Jack. Both face death more or less if they are caught and, for what it is worth, Banana Fish tells an excellent, gripping story. We absolutely recommend this one!

Kings are beings that live in our world. They look just like you and I, however they have incredible supernatural powers. They also have members as part of their groups or “clans” as they are called in the series. When a video surfaces showing a terrible murder, a viral hunt launches for this individual. Sadly, too, it happens that innocent bystander, Yashiro Isana, is accused of being the suspect for having a very similar face. He meets a terrifying assassin, but something is off about this… then at the same time, the Red and Blue kings are going at it. Something is going on and wouldn’t you know it? It’s all linked to Yashiro…

Ingress and K are a lot like Kado was here. There is a plot and much more brewing beneath the everyday surface that we see and it is only going to continue to grow. People want to kill Yashiro much like how Sarah is being hunted and Makoto is thrown in the mix. Ingress is more Sci-fi than K, but swap out the game for the supernatural powers and you have the same story. Needless to say too, the art is great here.

Ajin are beings that are completely unintelligible, but they exist in our world. Ever since they were discovered, humans have tried to learn more about them while condemning them at the same time. The issue, too, is that you cannot know who is one till they reveal themselves. When Kei Nagai, a high school student, is in a car accident one day, he recovers immediately and is revealed/discovered to be an Ajin! Kei is captured and taken in where experiments are performed on him. Trying to get away, he manages, but he is pursued by a ruthless investigator.

Ajin is probably the most like Ingress on this list. While Ingress throws us in without explaining anything, Ajin does give us the full backstory. Both are chilling and it makes no sense as to why society or organizations want our protagonists killed. Both are thrillers and make good use of all of their sci-fi elements.

Saki Watanabe is a girl who lives in Kamisu 66. Together with her friends at school, they are all learning how to develop their psychic powers. Then one day though, Shun, the friend in Saki’s group of five, starts acting weird. She starts to ask questions but is brushed off or ignored by her parents and peers. Then Shun just vanishes. Saki, while coming to terms with this reality, starts to investigate more into the peaceful life that she lives. What she finds, will blow her reality and truth out of the water as she stares into the abyss.

Shinsekai Yori is a lot like Ajin on this list. Swap the sci-fi from Ingress with supernatural and you have the shows. Saki is on the run frequently just like how Makoto and Sarah are. They are being pursued by something unknown to at least one of the group members and there is this whole power struggle/thriller bubbling under the surface of this idyllic life. While Ingress might not get your blood pumping like Shinsekai Yori does, there is still plenty of action and plot to keep you wondering what is coming next.

Zenji Banba is a detective who works with hitmen. In the seaside town of Fukuoka, Japan, many an organization runs things in the shadows. All are vying for power and it is only getting darker and darker. Then one day, Zenji meets a male, crossdressing assassin named Lin. Lin is searching for his sister and is employed by one such hitmen organization. However, when the job Lin was on goes south, he takes another to take out Banba. That is where the two meet. When Lin proposes that they end up working together, Banba agrees. However, when the two join hands and break bread, things will only get worse for the city.

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens takes us on the other side, essentially, of the story of Ingress. Rather than follow the hunted, we tend to follow those who hunt. Things get very dark right out of the starting gate which is great because the same is true with Ingress. Both feature organizations hunting down individuals to either bend them to the organization’s will or kill them. Hakata takes a more classical route to killings while the organizations in Ingress are trying to achieve something much more sinister.