When Arata shows up for his first day at his night-shift government job, everyone is in for a big surprise. Arata learns very quickly that the world is full of occult creatures called Anothers that his office is supposed to help keep from harming humans. And EVERYONE learns that he is not only a pretty dependable guy, but he can also communicate with these creatures unlike anyone else on Earth. As trouble unfolds around them, everyone will turn to the newbie for help only he can provide!

While Midnight Occult Civil Servants has more of a bureaucratic feel to it, it shares the same feeling of worldliness and cultural differences in spirits and ways of dealing with them as seen in Dr. Ramune. Instead of ambiguous grudges and feelings, this show takes a more scientific, zoological look at the supernatural. If you wanted less ambiguity with your phenomenon, try this one!

For a year and a half, Xiaotu has worked without his twin to uncover mysterious phenomena and has learned that most ‘ghosts’ are personal demons people find themselves haunted by. He thinks things should run smoother for his next case involving a troubled young woman when his brother Xiaohu decides to work together. But the more they delve, the surer they are that this case is far more complicated than it first appears. And worse yet, they have some intimate connection they cannot understand.

SPOILER ALERT
Dr. Ramune has a lot of hilarious moments intermixed with some painful and touching ones, but episode 5 takes a very dark turn with a child being kidnapped and mutilated while his mother hallucinates that he’s still there. The living brother almost loses his own life due to the mother’s hallucinations. For better or worse, Shuangsheng Lingtan mirrors this dark story tri-fold with frightening images and blood. The idea of the ghost of an aborted fetus haunting its would-be mother is similarly horrifying in a way anime doesn’t approach frequently. While it’s funny to watch the two main guys bickering as with Ramune and Kuro, Xaiotu and Xiaohu will leave you wondering if they even both exist.

When human Mana hopefully sends a letter to the Yokai Mailbox, she doesn’t expect to meet Kitaro and his eyeball-resembling father! But they’re the ones tasked with keeping humans and yokai from interfering with each other. It seems at every turn, Mana appears to warn them of danger or to be caught up in it herself! Kitaro might have to change his stance on not having human friends if he can just keep the numerous aggressive yokai at bay!

Gegege no Kitaro is a fun little anime with all kinds of mysterious monsters from Japanese folklore. Some being innocuous beings and some being straight-up vicious creatures! Dr. Ramune has similar creatures with varying wills and forms that most humans aren’t even aware of. It’s a little more battle-intense but it mixes dramatic moments with humor well as does Dr. Ramune.

Should a lucky person find themselves at an unfamiliar candy store with a wish in their heart, it may be the mysterious Zenitendou. Run by the kind but seemingly out-of-this-era Beniko, one person may enter and choose the sweet of their choice. But these sweets are imbued with very specific powers that can either grant the consumer amazing powers or plunge them into darkness. Don’t forget to read the warnings carefully.

It’s unfortunate that there aren’t more episodes out because Fushigi Dagashiya has a lot of specific similarities for being so different. Just as it seems only the afflicted find themselves pulled to Ramune, only the ‘lucky’ kids are able to find the disappearing Zenitendou. Both Beniko and Ramune want to teach their patrons a lesson as much as they want to help them. They both offer vague details and instructions and leave it to the client to make the best decision which could result in injury, maiming, or death. Since there’s not too much known, it’s fun to imagine Beniko is actually Ayame from her past life, and the Zenitendou was an earlier version of her Mysterious Wares Shop Akatsuki before she branched out into other tools.

High school student Ashiya has found himself mysteriously weighed down by a fluffball that keeps growing in size. With nowhere else to turn, he goes to the very serious exorcist Abeno in his disappearing Mononokean, a tea room where he conducts his supernatural business. As unusual as those circumstances are, the most shocking things are the crippling debt Ashiya finds himself in after receiving Abeno’s help and the fact that Abeno is also a student in his class! Now Ashiya has no choice but to work as Abeno’s assistant to help other unfortunate humans that find themselves plagued by yokai.

Abeno and Ramune couldn’t be less alike with Abeno being very serious and disinterested in friendship and relationships while Ramune fancies himself a handsome ladies man and has a hard time taking anything seriously. But Mononokean has the same fun, bickering dynamic between the pair of protagonists. It also shares the notion of trying to understand the will or reason behind the supernatural and working to respect both the mysterious beings and humans so harmony can be maintained.

The Bureau of Supernatural Investigation takes on cases no ordinary human can hope to comprehend on their own. Powerful exorcist Muhyo and his apprentice Roji mete out the law to vicious spirits, vengeful monsters, and parasitic ghosts. It’s not enough to simply dispel a ghost… the proper judgment must be made! And when you’re judge, jury, and executioner, things tend to go pretty smoothly.

Our best contender for similar anime to Kai Byouri Ramune is Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation! Muhyo and Roji are both goofy in their own right but just as Kuro takes care of mundane tasks like washing dishes and making tea, Roji also takes the housekeeping role for Muhyo. For powerful beings that have spent years studying how to help humans with malignant spirits, Muhyo and Ramune spend a lot of time messing around and losing their cool over small inconveniences. However distant they try to be, they all get more involved in their clients’ lives than they like to be because of their begrudgingly caring nature. There are also many creative ways in both Muhyo & Roji and Doctor Ramune in how these supernatural beings affect humans and in how they’re dealt with. They both have a lot of comedic moments and some very dark subject matter involving kids and young teens so you’ll be able to experience that same range of emotions!