For those of you who enjoy a good story about conspiracies, corrupt governments, and motivational mysteries, you can’t go wrong with Higashi no Eden. The story revolves around Saki Morimi, a Japanese university senior student, as the female lead. As the male lead, there is a nude, gun wielding, cellphone toting, amnesia inflicted young man who goes by the name Akira Takizawa. At the start of the series, young and naive Saki is saved by Akira from police trouble, eventually resulting in the both of them getting swept up in a literal game of life and death. Akira discovers his cellphone not only contains over 8 billion yen in a digital bank, but that he has to use the money to “Save Japan”, lest he be eliminated, both from the game and in real life. But can Saki and Akira truly save Japan? Especially since neither know what they have to save Japan from in the first place?

While Higashi no Eden contains more comedic moments than Zankyou no Terror, it still gives a serious and thought provoking story line, talking about issues such as government/political corruption, unemployment (especially in Japan’s younger adults), an unfair social system and how different ideologies/solutions aren’t exactly right or wrong. Aside from its political theme, Higashi no Eden also shares a similarity with Zankyou no Terror in its artwork. Higashi no Eden has beautiful backgrounds, with details carefully added in to the smallest of items. This is a must watch for those who want to see a story with a statement.

When it comes to the game of cat-and-mouse, no anime quite does it like Death Note. Death Note is often listed in most top 10 recommendations for psychological thrillers in both anime magazines as well as anime websites (including here, on Honey’s Anime), and for good reason. With it’s unique story, interesting characters and complex acts of subterfuge, someone can easily get sucked into the world of Death Note.

When Light Yagami, a high school student with his whole life mapped out, comes across a mysterious black notebook called a “Death Note”, which contains the power to kill anyone he wishes, as long as he writes their name within the notebook’s pages while picturing his target in his mind, he becomes overwhelmed with a god complex and decides to rid the world of all those he decides are “morally corrupt” such as criminals or those who threaten his goals. Upon receiving the Death Note, Light meets new and unique allies such as Ryuk, a shinigami and original owner of the Death Note, as well creating new foes, specifically the famous detective, known only by the name of “L”. Prepare to see some real ingenious ideas and detailed plans in this anime.

Zankyou no Terror and Death Note share strong similarities due to the psychological thriller aspect with one another. In both anime, the main characters are pitted against a foe of equal intelligence, whose goal is to find the culprit’s true identity, while the culprit is trying to achieve their own goals before being stopped. Also, like Zankyou no Terror, there is no real 100% villain or hero in Death Note. You find yourself starting to understand, if not agree with, each characters point of view. If you enjoyed the mind games in Zankyou no Terror, you will absolutely love them in Death Note.

Want more anime about corrupt government or messed up societies? You got it. Allow us here at Honey’s Anime, to introduce you to Psycho-Pass, a psychological crime drama, guaranteed to make you think about what it means to have free will and what makes you a good or bad person in society.

Unlike modern police officers, in Psycho-Pass, officers use advanced technology called the Sibyl System, which has the power to read anyone’s emotional state, their personality and can even calculate the chance a person will commit a crime, even before the criminal can even consider committing one. Psycho-Pass revolves around Akane Tsunemori, a newly hired police inspector for the Criminal Investigation Division, who must come to terms with this new “justice system” or risk the repercussions. It doesn't help that there is now a criminal who can bypass the Sibyl System, killing at will while remaining undetected. Now it is Akane’s job to stop him. But can she do it with a gun that only kills what the system detects as a criminal?

Psycho-Pass is similar to Zankyou no Terror, as both essentially are about corrupt governments, hidden societies, and people who wish to “fight the system” or stop illegal/immoral practices. Both anime also contain possible “criminal” or “terrorist” characters who may or may not be as evil one might think, while the “good guys” in each series aren’t exactly noble heroes who are fair and just. Aside from their thought provoking story lines, both Psycho-Pass and Zankyou no Terror share a similar art style with one another, with large emphasis on background details and unique art styles to bring each character to life. If you want to watch something close to Zankyou no Terror, but with more blood and gore, you can’t go wrong with Psycho-Pass.

No. 6 is another anime chock full of conspiracy and hidden political agendas. No. 6 is a shounen-ai, drama and science fiction themed anime. Despite being only 11 episodes long, the show manages to tell a compelling story of two friends who are pulled into a dark world masked by their utopian city.

The story begins in “No. 6”, an utopian city where everything seems perfect in the world. In this perfect city, is a 12 year old boy named Shion, who seems to have his perfect life planned out for him. He has a good school, he is a gifted student, and is ready to become an Ecologist when he grows up. That is, until one rainy night, his house is broken into by wounded and on the run convict identified as Nezumi. After deciding to treat Nezumi’s wounds, Shion is arrested for aiding a convict and loses everything, including his massive home. We fast forward several years later, and discover that a mysterious sickness is killing all of No.6’s inhabitant. Can Shion and Nezumi discover the secret behind the sickness? And will they find a way to stop it before their own government stops them? In a city full of secrets, No.6 is far from perfect, and much farther from safe.

Both No. 6 and Zankyou no Terror share a love for hidden political conspiracies. Both contain two intelligent but very different personalities from each character’s respective partner. And despite the serious theme of both anime, both No. 6 and Zankyou no Terror have great moments of comedy as well, allowing it’s audiences to laugh while keeping the humor somewhat realistic. Also, like all other recommendations so far, No. 6 share with Zankyou no Terror its beautiful artwork. Background art looks amazing, capturing the smallest detail. But No.6 takes it to the next level by capturing beautiful and realistic sounds in each episode. Rain and thunder sound realistic, beds creak as characters turn over, and the music is top notch.

One part of Zankyou no Terror may have caught your attention specifically; The scenes of Nine and Twelve growing up in Zankyou no Terror may have raised a few eyebrows and left you wanting to see more anime similar to Nine and Twelve’s childhood. To help with this, we at Honey’s Anime recommend Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is about a young teenage boy who suffers from amnesia. Upon awaking inside an empty room, the boy is instructed to act as an assassin with the code name “Zwei” or else he will be killed. Zwei decides to become an assassin and is trained by the equally mysterious “Ein” to become a lethal killing machine for the criminal organization known only as Inferno. Eventually, Zwei becomes one of the top operatives, but soon he wishes to learn how he became an assassin, and why he doesn’t remember anything. But what will happen once he learns his identity? And what will happen afterwards? Will Inferno let their top operative go, or try to stop him at all costs from learning the truth?

While Zankyou no Terror revolves around hidden government agendas and their dirty secrets, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom revolves more about hidden criminal agendas and protecting secrets. However, Phantom manages to capture Zankyou no Terror’s drama and artwork. Each scene is beautifully drawn in great detail, with action/fight scenes being fluid and fun to watch. While not as much as a psychological thriller or even as thought provoking as Zankyou no Terror, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom still feels like it’s in the same world as Zankyou no Terror, with government/secret societies, deceit and contains prior victims/products of each hidden organization who wish to “right their wrongs” and bring down their evil organization. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is a great watch for those who want to capture the general essence of Zankyou no Terror, but desire more action scenes and character development in a series.

When it comes to Zankyou no Terror, no anime contains such a similar essence than Naoki Urasawa's “Monster”. Monster is full of twists and turns, with complex stories, great characters, memorable moments, and a world so greatly detailed, you could swear you were there.

Monster is the story of Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a young and promising brain surgeon in Germany, who genuinely seems to care about people and wants to do whats right. Sadly, the hospital he works at seems to think otherwise. It becomes clear that the hospital prioritizes patients who have political or monetary ties over the less wealthy or non-important patients. Sick of this, Dr. Tenma decides to conduct surgery on a young boy brought in with a headshot wound instead of a Mayor who arrived later that evening. Dr. Tenma manages to save the boy’s life, but due to the incompetence of the other doctors, the mayor dies, with everyone blaming Dr. Tenma as the sole person at fault, resulting in him losing his chance to practice medicine, his fiance, and essentially the rest of his life. That is, until people start dying. People once close to the Doctor. Now as a result, the doctor is starting to get everything he wanted. Is Dr. Tenma the one conducting these killings? Or is someone else to blame? If so, then who is the real monster?

Zankyou no Terror is strongly similar to Monster in many aspects. Both are psychological thrillers, with secret societies/groups who conduct child experimentation and other illegal/immoral activities, detectives trying to catch the criminal, and all the major characters aren't exactly heroes or villains, but complex characters, with their own history and agenda. The artwork in Monster is older (10 years to be exact) but it still captures the same gorgeously detailed backgrounds and unique character art style as Zankyou no Terror. Keep in mind, Monster is a much more darker anime than Zankyou no Terror, but it is still highly recommended to those who loved Zankyou no Terror as well as though who just want to watch a great story.