Title Recommendations based on Nozomu Itoshiki

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Following the manga of the same name,?Sayonara, Zetsubo-Sensei?is an odd, off-beat comedy of the darkest type. With surreal animation and a black sense of humor, it follows the adventures of a suicidal schoolteacher and his mentally unstable students, each a caricature of a topical Japanese social issue. While its dark subject matter may not be for everyone,?Zetsubo's?idiosyncratic style and tone are sure to win over viewers looking for something dark and different.

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Rose of Versailles

Rose of Versailles is set in France on the brink of upheaval. Poverty racks the streets, the peasants are grossly overtaxed, and the nobles are indifferent. Princess Marie Antoinette has just arrived in Paris, and Oscar Jarjayes's job is to protect her. Born a female but raised as a male because her parents wanted a boy, Oscar is uniquely suited to care for the Princess.

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Rozen Maiden

Jun is a total recluse who won't take a step outside his house and only loves online shopping. When Jun winds up a doll that suddenly appears in his room because of his mail-orders tendencies, he has no idea what he's in for. The doll comes to life and proclaims herself to be 'Shinku'. She later binds Jun to her as a medium, her counterpart, and her magical power source, in an attempt to save his life. And so starts the beginning of a chaotic life for the Sakurada household as more Rozen Maidens arrive on their doorsteps. But what are the Rozen Maidens and why do they exist? And will Jun learn to open up his heart and face his fears?

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Mekakucity Actors

The incidents which occurred on August 14th and 15th bring a group of young boys and girls together. They are members of a group they call themselves the "Mekakushi Dan" (Blindfold Organization), and each member possesses a strange power involving their eyes.

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Mushi-Shi

They are neither plants nor animals. They differ from other forms of life such as the micro-organisms and the fungi. Instead they resemble the primeval body of life and are generally known as "Mushi". Their existence and appearance are unknown to many and only a limited number of humans are aware of them. Ginko is a "Mushi-shi" who travels around to investigate and find out more about the "Mushi". In the process, he also lends a helping hand to people who face problems with supernatural occurances which may be related to the "Mushi".

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Lupin the Third

Arsene Lupin III is the grandson of the master thief Arsene Lupin. With his cohorts Daisuke Jigen and Goemon Ishikawa XIII and his love interest Fujiko Mine, he pulls off the greatest heists of all time while always escaping the grasp of Inspector Koichi Zenigata.

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Baccano!

Baccano! focuses on various people, including alchemists, thieves, thugs, Mafiosi and Camorristi, who are unconnected to one another. After an immortality elixir is recreated in 1930 Manhattan, the characters begin to cross paths, setting off events that spiral further and further out of control.

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Higurashi When They Cry

After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 07th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios.

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Welcome to the N.H.K.

Focusing on the attempts of hikikomori recluse Tatsuhiro Sato to reintegrate into normal society, Welcome to the NHK is one part slice-of-life adventures, another part dark comedy. Dealing seriously with themes like social anxiety and depression, Welcome to the NHK can be a heavy series to watch. But with its self-aware humor and satiric view of Japanese fan culture, the show manages to be deeply funny.

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Serial Experiments Lain

Serial Experiments Lain focuses on Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl living in suburban Japan, and her introduction to the Wired, a global communications network similar to the Internet. Lain lives with her middle-class family, which consists of her inexpressive older sister Mika, her cold mother, and her computer-obsessed father. The first ripple on the pond of Lain's lonely life appears when she learns that girls from her school have received an e-mail from Chisa Yomoda, a schoolmate who had committed suicide. When Lain receives the message at home, Chisa tells her that she is not dead, but has merely "abandoned her physical body and flesh", and is alive deep within the virtual reality-world of the Wired itself and that she has found the almighty and divine god there. From then on, Lain is bound to a path which will take her ever deeper into both the network and her own subconscious thoughts and sensations.

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Akira

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.

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Bakuman.

Moritaka Mashiro, a junior high school student, content to live out a relatively normal life as any other does, is persuaded by his classmate, Akito Takagi, to become an aspiring mangaka when the latter realizes his natural talent as an artist. However, Moritaka is reluctant to pursue his dream as his uncle, once a mangaka with his own serializations, died from overwork trying to regain his lost status. With Akito's help, Takagi gets another classmate and his school crush, Azuki Miho, who is an aspiring voice actress, to voice in the anime adaptation of their future manga once it is completed. However, Mashiro also proposes to Azuki, who surprisingly accepts only on the condition she will marry him when both of them have achieved their dreams. With a goal set before him, Mashiro begins a long and struggling path to become a famous mangaka.

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Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto

First year high school student Sakamoto isn't just cool, he's the coolest! Almost immediately after starting school, he began attracting everyone's attention. The girls love him, and most of the boys resent him. There's even a boy in the class who works as a model, but who is constantly upstaged by Sakamoto. No matter what tricks the other boys try to play on him, Sakamoto always manages to foil them with ease and grace. Though Sakamoto may seem cool and aloof, he helps others when asked, such as in the case of the boy in his class who was being constantly bullied. No matter what difficulties Sakamoto encounters, he moves through his high school life with confidence and class.

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Revolutionary Girl Utena

As a child, Utena Tenjou was rescued by a mysterious prince—but instead of choosing to become a princess, she decided to become a prince herself. Now fourteen and a student at Ohtori Academy, Utena seems to have found a perfect princess in Anthy Himemiya, a mysterious girl who apparently possess "the power of revolution."

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Princess Tutu

Princess Tutu follows Duck, a duck who was transformed into a young girl and takes ballet at a private school. She becomes enamoured of her mysterious schoolmate Mytho, and transforms into Princess Tutu to restore his shattered heart. Mytho's girlfriend Rue transforms into Princess Kraehe to frustrate Tutu's efforts, and Mytho's protective friend Fakir discourages Mytho's burgeoning emotions. When it becomes apparent that Duck, Rue, Mytho, and Fakir are meant to play out the characters in a story by a long-dead writer named Drosselmeyer, they resist their assigned fates and fight to keep the story from becoming a tragedy.

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