[Drama Fall 2016] Like Steins;Gate? Watch This!

6:00 AM December 27, 2016

Anime Recommendations [Article Category]
Drama Anime, Sci-Fi Anime, Psychological Anime, Thriller Anime [Genres]

The year is almost over, but that doesn’t mean the current anime season has to end.

In fact, there are still so many great new anime out there that deserve a shout-out on our website. Today, we want to venture into the world of Drama anime and introduce you to two of our favorite dramatic stories of this season. And what better show to help us make our decisions than all-time favorite Steins;Gate? We’re bringing back the old masterpiece and explain what makes our two recommendations similar to Steins;Gate.

So what are we waiting for? Grab a pack of tissues and get ready for some dramatic stories. Enjoy!

About Steins;Gate

SteinsGate-dvd-20160815005133-300x405 [Drama Fall 2016] Like Steins;Gate? Watch This!

Episodes: 24
Aired: April 2011 – September 2011

For those of you that don’t know, Steins;Gate is THE time-travelling anime out there. It follows scientist Rintarou Okabe who walks the thin line between genius and madness on his daily adventures. So far, his scientific endeavors haven’t proven to be too successful. Let’s just say that a “Phone Microwave” which turns bananas into slimy green masses won’t earn him the respect of his colleagues. But soon enough, Okabe gets drawn into a series of strange events and his weird invention might be the centerpiece of the great adventure awaiting him. If you haven’t watched Steins;Gate yet, it’s about time to do so!

Liked Steins;Gate? Watch Occultic;Nine!

Episodes: 12
Aired: October 2016 – December 2016
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Our first recommendation is Occultic;Nine from the house of A-1 Pictures. Nine teenagers have been linked together by fate and are about to venture into the biggest adventure of their lives. 17-year-old Yuuta Gamon is the one who gathers these strange individuals around himself with the help of his blog covering everything occult and paranormal. Soon enough, strange events start happening around the main cast and they have to decide how to deal with them. Occultic;Nine turns into a major Sci-Fi/Mystery adventure that will make you question the reality of our world.

Three Major Similarities Between Steins;Gate and Occultic;Nine

1. Dynamic Main Cast

The main cast of a show is always important and many anime are great because they excel at character development. Steins;Gate and Occultic;Nine both put lots of effort into creating an unique group of friends.

In the case of Steins;Gate, this means the crazy stuff that makes up the lab of Okabe. They might be a little bit peculiar, a little bit off, but they are definitely likeable and Steins;Gate just wouldn’t be the same story without them. The story doesn’t simply revolve around Okabe alone, but rather around his interactions with other people and how they drive the story forward. Similar things are going on in Occultic;Nine. As you can probably already tell from our short synopsis, Occultic;Nine is all about friendship - or if not necessarily friendship, at least teamwork between the main cast. The characters are thrown into the same situation and the story only keeps moving forward with the help of their interactions and personal developments. If you enjoy a dynamic main cast, both Steins;Gate, and Occultic;Nine are must-watch recommendations.

2. Alternate Realities

As we’ve already established, Steins;Gate features time traveling as one of its key elements. Does Occultic;Nine do the same? Not really, but the group of friends stumbles into their own supernatural adventure.

The story of Steins;Gate starts with the routine of everyday life as we all know it. Okabe might be a weird character, but his universe still moves inside the realm of the possible. It’s only later on in the story that new technologies are introduced and suddenly a window into the past opens up. After that, you cannot be sure of what might happen next in Steins;Gate. In the case of Occultic;Nine, paranormal and impossible things are already featured from the very beginning. There are fortune telling, undead people, lots of blood and other obscure events. From the first episode, you can tell that Occultic;Nine’s story won’t be a boring one and we couldn’t help ourselves but be reminded of all the twists and turns that made watching Steins;Gate so enjoyable.

3. Darker Twists

We all like cuteness and innocence, right? Right, but sometimes a few dark twists here and there can make a story even more enjoyable.

That’s exactly what we can find in Occultic;Nine and Steins;Gate. Fair enough, you might already expect something darker from a show named Occultic;Nine, but the story has more to offer than just its premise. It progresses at a good pace and slowly but surely the innocence and fun jokes of the first few episodes are replaced by darker ideas. And don’t forget about Steins;Gate! Everyone who’s watched the show will agree that the later events of the story were not predictable from the beginning. Just like Occultic;Nine, it starts out as a fun comedy show with interesting ideas, but sooner or later things start happening that will make you look at your screen twice. If that’s what you’re looking for in a good show, then you definitely cannot go wrong with Occultic;Nine.

Liked Steins;Gate? Watch Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku!

Episodes: 12
Aired: October 2016 – December 2016
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Our second recommendation takes you into a completely different universe. From paranormal events, we are moving to the colorful world of magical girls. But is it really as innocent as you expect it to be? Definitely not in Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku, where the main cast of magical girls has to eliminate each other if they want to survive and keep their powers. What started as a fun social game soon turns into a battle for survival. Fans of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica will definitely enjoy this new little gem!

Three Major Similarities Between Steins;Gate and Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku

1. Mixture of cute and sinister

What’s cuter than magical girls dressed in colorful outfits trying their best to make the world a better place? Not much, we’d say, but Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku doesn’t stop there and adds some elements to the mix that are anything but cute.

This mixture of cute with sinister first struck as when the idea of killing each other in order to survive was introduced almost nonchalantly. Here you have an adorable little avatar jumping on your phone screen instructing you to take out your competition. The rest of the story, too, keeps combining dark themes with the cute setting of a magical girl anime. In the case of Steins;Gate, the cuteness factor might be a little bit harder to spot, but it’s definitely there. The producers made sure to first introduce you to lovable characters and innocent jokes before mixing them up with dark action. Both of these shows definitely took us by surprise.

【本日、TOKYO MX＆BS11！】土曜から放送がスタートしました、『魔法少女育成計画』。本日はTOKYO MXとBS11にてオンエアいたします！ともに24時から！どうぞお見逃しなく！ https://t.co/vop9PCEzVw #mahoiku pic.twitter.com/ilIrqpu5V5
— TVアニメ「魔法少女育成計画」 (@mahoiku_anime) October 3, 2016

2. Attachment to the Main Cast

Speaking of adorable characters, both shows will make you fall in love with the main cast.

Steins;Gate doesn’t hide the fact that all characters are a little bit off and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. But that’s exactly where their charm comes in! By being unique you start caring about them and their problems. You’re given more than enough time to form an attachment to them before the actual story kicks in, so that when events start unfolding you actually feel for the characters. It’s similar in Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku. It’s clear that the producers want you to be attached to the magical girls so that their struggles will actually make you feel something. Not many shows succeed at this, so check Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku out if you’re interested to see how they do it.

【間もなく第１話！】AT-Xでの第１話、間もなく放送開始！これから始まる魔法少女たちの活躍をお楽しみにしてくださいませ！ https://t.co/vop9PCEzVw #mahoiku pic.twitter.com/ied9BrhrfN
— TVアニメ「魔法少女育成計画」 (@mahoiku_anime) October 1, 2016

3. Intricate Plots

Do you like twists and turns? Do you enjoy well-paced stories? Are you a fan of good storylines? Then give Steins;Gate as well as Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku a try!

Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku reminded us of Steins;Gate in the way its plot progresses. We are not only talking about unexpected twists and turns that make these shows more interesting; rather, we mean their pace and direction. Let us explain. Both shows find a good balance between quick-paced and slower scenes: there is action right when you begin to drift off and calm scenarios when you want to relax. This dynamic keeps driving the plot forward and makes for two well-paced shows. Sometimes it’s not necessarily the story that makes a show interesting, but rather how the story is told. And both Steins;Gate and Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku do a pretty decent job, at least in our eyes.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today! Those were our two recommendations from the current drama anime of Fall 2016. They couldn’t be more different from each other, but both shows have impressed us with their novelty and attention for detail. The season is already almost over, so if you’re now looking for some new shows to try out over the holidays, here are two recommendations to check out.

Thanks for sticking through until the end and let us know what you think in the comment section down below. What are your opinions on Occultic;Nine and Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku? Do you agree with our reasoning? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.