Diving deep into an entertaining and mysterious world, High-Rise Invasion gives us a truly unique anime experience. At its core, the show is a story of survival, as a group of people find themselves thrust into a bizarre and oftentimes cruel world. We follow them and see the vastness of the world from their eyes. However, despite the dark setting, this show manages to treat us with lots of comedy, drama, and fan service. If you’ve finished watching High-Rise Invasion and are scouring the corners of the internet in hopes of finding a similar anime, this is the list for you. Here are the best anime similar to High-Rise Invasion.
Yuri, a sixteen-year-old girl, is terrified when she finds a masked assailant cracking a man’s head open with an axe. She flees the scene and enters an abandoned building when the murderer comes running behind her. Here, Yuri finds all the doors to be mysteriously locked, and thus she makes her way up the rooftop of the building. This is where she realizes that there’s no one else in this bizarre world. Her adventure and growth as she fends for herself and makes discoveries about this vicious world. Now, let’s take a look at some other anime like High-Rise Invasion.
10. The Future Diary
- Episodes: 26
- Studios: asread.
- Genres: Action, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller, Shounen
- Aired: Oct 9, 2011, to Apr 15, 2012
Yukiteru Amano is a lonesome high school kid who spends most of his time writing a diary on his phone. He has no friends except two imaginary ones- Deus Ex Machina, a God of time and space, and God’s servant, Murmur. Yukiteru’s life is completely changed when Deus reveals that he is a real entity. He gives Yukiteru a “Random Diary” that shows him his future. However, he is also forced into a Battle Royale with 11 other contenders with powerful diaries of their own.
Yukiteru learns that the winner of the battle will be made the new God of time and space and begins his quest along with an obsessive stalker, Yuno. Yuno also has a diary but seems to have a deep urge to protect Yukiteru. However, as he gets to know her, Yukiteru sees a side of Yuno that is darker. And just like him, we are left to wonder, just what is her plan? The anime has a few filler episodes that you can find here.
Future Diary is nothing short of High-Rise Invasionwhen it comes to absurd characters, bizarre and hazardous situations, and lots of fan service. If you’re looking for some good mindless fun, this anime is an excellent choice for you. It’s got a lot of the good stuff from High-Rise Invasion and makes for perfect entertainment.
9. High School of the Dead
- Episodes: 12
- Studios: Madhouse
- Genres: Action, Horror, Supernatural, Ecchi, Shounen
- Aired: Jul 5, 2010, to Sep 20, 2010
The world is sent into chaos as people begin to turn into zombies mysteriously. A high school in Japan is also being terrorized. In this anime, we follow the adventures of Takashi Kimuro along with other students and the hot nurse of his school. After a lot of challenges, they’re able to make their way out of the school. However, the outside world isn’t forgiving either.
High School of The Dead is all about a dark plot with enough gore and ecchi to keep you occupied. The action scenes are plentiful and well animated. If you’re looking for something that has lots of mindless fun in a horror setting sprinkled with lots of fan service, this is an anime you should definitely consider watching.
8. Alice in Borderland
- Episodes: 3
- Studios: SILVER LINK., Connect
- Genres: Action, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller, Shounen
- Aired: Oct 15, 2014, to Feb 16, 2015
Here we have an unenthusiastic protagonist who is yanked away from his unexciting world and dropped into a more dangerous one. Arisu, a high school student, witnesses a blindingly bright firework. Once the light clears and he is able to see again, he finds himself in an entirely different world. In this world, he must play with and against other participants. They will be given deadly tasks to survive. In such a dangerous world, where the others can’t wait to get out, Arisu feels alive for the first time ever.
Alice in Borderland is also an anime of a group of people being transported to an alternate world, forced into a more brutal way of living. Like High-Rise Invasion, it’s very entertaining to view. If you’re a fan of survival anime and games to the death, this anime must be next on your list. It’s short, with only three episodes, and doesn’t have an ending in the anime as of yet. However, if you take a liking to the story after watching the anime, you can experience the rest of it from the manga, which is fortunately completed with eighteen volumes.
7. Fate/Stay Night
- Episodes: 24
- Studios: Studio Deen
- Genres: Action, Supernatural, Magic, Romance, Fantasy
- Aired: Jan 7, 2006, to Jun 17, 2006
This anime follows a battle royale setting, and the story revolves around Shiro Emiya, a boy who lost his parents in a massive fire. He was taken in by a retired mage who took care of him for many years. A few years after the mage’s death, Shiro, who has grown up to be an honest and hardworking teenager, is forced into the Fifth Holy Grail war. A war whose winner will be granted any wish that they desire.
Many fans consider this anime as the best battle royale anime. It is similar to High-Rise Invasion, as it follows a protagonist who unwillingly participates in a competition of death. It is a story about the struggles, relationships, and survival within the race. This is not only a battle of raw power but of making the right decisions and teaming up with the right people.
6. Darwin’s Game
- Episodes: 11
- Studios: Nexus
- Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Super Power, Shounen
- Aired: Jan 4, 2020, to Mar 21, 2020
In Darwin’s Game, follow a high school student, Kaname, who downloads a mysterious game upon a friend’s recommendation. When he opens the app, a snake comes out of the screen and bites him, causing him to faint. Kaname wakes up in the school’s infirmary but finds that there are no bite marks on his body.
When he boards a train to go home, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he opens the app again. When he decides to participate in a battle, his opponent, wielding a knife, actually appears before him- ready to kill. What is this game, and will Kaname survive? If you liked the adrenaline rush of the perilous situation and the heated competition that came with it in High-Rise Invasion, make sure to check out Darwin’s Game.
5. ID: INVADED
- Episodes: 13
- Studios: NAZ
- Genres: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Police, Psychological
- Aired: Jan 6, 2020, to Mar 23, 2020
Dealing with alternate realities (in the minds of other people) and packed with malicious serial killers, this anime is a suspenseful thriller mystery. We are taken into the minds of various killers alongside the Kura police squad. The squad works with the help of a respected ex-detective, Akihito Narihisago. Akihito was once a prodigious detective in the police, but after a tragedy struck him and his family, he fell into the other side of the law.
Now, the excellent detective helps the Kura squad in confinement, using the Mizuhanome System, an advanced development that allows him into the psyche of various criminals, called their “id well.” The only people that can enter this psychological plane are those that have committed murder themselves. However, he soon learns that everything isn’t as it seems, and the seemingly one-of murders are actually linked to a much larger and darker threat.
4. Sonny Boy
- Episodes: 12
- Studios: Madhouse
- Genres: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Super Power
- Aired: Jul 16, 2021, to Oct 1, 2021
This anime follows a group of students as they are transported to an alternate world. The entire school building, in fact, is suddenly adrift in a different dimension altogether. Some of the students gain superpowers and begin quarrelling against the student council, desperately trying to maintain control.
As the situation worsens, the students must solve the quests and puzzles that come before them and find a way back home as soon as possible. They quickly realize that this mysterious world has its own rules, and it isn’t going to be easy.
3. Btooom!
- Episodes: 12
- Studios: Madhouse
- Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Psychological, Seinen
- Aired: Oct 4, 2012, to Dec 20, 2012
Ryouta Sakamoto is unemployed and lives with his mother. While he hasn’t had many achievements in his life, he is Japan’s top player in an online game, Btooom! His ordinary life is upturned one day when he finds himself on an island with a green crystal embedded in his arm.
He discovers that he is in a real-life remake of his favourite game and must fight against seven other players stranded on the island to return home. He teams up with a fellow player, Himiko, and the two try to make it out alive while slowly uncovering a mystery surrounding the game. High-Rise Invasion is a story of kids trapped in a world filled with skyscrapers. Btooom! has a very similar plot, set on an island where the players are stuck in and fight for their survival.
2. Gleipnir
- Episodes: 13
- Studios: Pine Jam
- Genres: Action, Mystery, Supernatural, Ecchi, Seinen
- Aired: Apr 5, 2020, to Jun 28, 2020
Gleipnir tells the story of Shuuichi Kagaya, who seems like an ordinary high schooler. But, he actually has a mysterious ability to turn into a monster. He has no clue why or how he has these powers. One day, upon witnessing a building fire, he saves a girl trapped within the building, leaving his phone inside. The girl, Claire Aoki, comes searching for him the next day.
After confronting him about his abilities, Claire realizes that Shuuichi has no knowledge of his powers. She tells him that she has been searching for her sister, a monster just like him, for a long time. Shuuichi decides to help her and find out the source of his own abilities, but the pair soon learns that they aren’t the only ones in the pursuit of this knowledge. Glepnir is wild and doesn’t shy away from much; it has lots of ecchi and gore, and like High-Rise Invasion, it is all about a survival game.
1. Angels of Death
- Episodes: 16
- Studios: J.C.Staff
- Genres: Adventure, Horror, Psychological, Thriller
- Aired: Jul 6, 2018, to Oct 26, 2018
Rachel Gardner doesn’t remember much about her life. She finds herself in the basement of a building, wishing only to die. This is when she comes across a masked murderer named Zack. He promises to kill her if she helps him escape. Soon, they begin ascending the floors of the building. However, as they get higher, they keep meeting new and deranged people.
Mysteriously, all the people seem to be linked to Rachel in some way. She is intrigued by the strange link she has with these twisted people. With each new level they ascend, they face a new boss.
Honourable Mentions-
- Uncharted Walker
- Eden of the East
- Zankyou no Terror/Terror in Resonance
- Danganronpa: The Animation
- Juni Taisen: Zodiac War
- The Promised Neverland
- Gantz
- Tiger & Bunny