Tea Monogatari series is a tricky one to describe. It’s a unique story that puts character growth before the overarching plot. It’s a character drama focusing on a main character that is becoming human again after being a vampire. Soon after different odd girls start showing up, leaving him to help them.
Anyone who is a fan of this series that is a subversion of many different anime tropes may be looking for more anime that give the same feeling it does. Well, look no further than this list where we’ll be listing ten anime you’ll enjoy if you liked Monogatari.
10 ARAKAWA UNDER THE BRIDGE
If you enjoyed the comedy and atmosphere of Monogatari then the anime Arakawa Under the Bridge might be the one for you. It features a story similar to Monogatari‘s with a main character that just wants to be left alone but ends up becoming a pillar in a woman’s life after a weird run-in with her.
However, Arakawa offers a change of pace as the series deals more with the extraterrestrial instead of the supernatural like Monogatari does. Also don’t worry about the animation because both series were handled by studio SHAFT.
9 NORAGAMI
If you fell in love with the characters of Monogatari it might just be impossible for you to resist the ones in Noragami. This story is about Yato, a small-time god with big-time aspirations of having his own shrine and millions of followers. He meets a girl that saves him, leaving her with the ability to have her soul leave her body. To get her back to normal, the two will have to encounter other gods and spirits.
Both these stories revolve around a lot of Japanese folklore, and the plot progression is quite similar as well.
8 PUELLA MADOKA MAGICA
This series has a completely different plot to it than Monotagari, but where the two anime do intersect is in the character-driven plot and the subversive nature they both have. Where Monogatari can be seen as a subversion of your typical harem tropes in anime, Madoka Magica does the same with the common tropes of magical girl anime.
This makes Madoka Magica into a much darker and more serious series than your average magical girl show. If you liked being taken for a ride in Monogatariyou’ll love this one just as much.
7 THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA
If your love of Monogatari comes from the crazy occurrences that are thrust upon the relatively lowkey main character then The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an anime you should add to your radar. It all begins when our main character, Kyon, joins Haruhi’s SOS Brigade. A club dedicated to the supernatural and extraordinary.
After initial disbelief in everything the club is about Kyon finds out that the other members consist of a time traveler, an esper, an alien android, and Haruhi, who herself is a god.
6 NICHIJOU
Oh, your favorite part of the Monogatari series was the humor? Well then, you’d probably fancy a visit to the world of the anime Nichijou. This classic comedy anime focuses on the daily lives of three high school girlfriends. Seems basic right? Well, that’s until they befriend a genius, her robot, and her talking cat.
Nichijou is a series that is nothing like Monogatari, but it does have a very similar comedic style. If you were into Monogatari for the laughs then move on over to Nichijou next.
5 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
If what you enjoyed the most about Monogatari was the visuals, cinematography, and the atmosphere, then there’s no reason you shouldn’t be looking into Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion next. A show that focuses on characters before plot and revolves around Shinji Ikari trying to live up to the endless expectations of a life where he’s expected to step headfirst into a mech to fight a dangerous war.
evangelion has a weird atmosphere that Monogatari fans will instantly fall in love with.
4 YOJOUHAN SHINWA TAIKEI
What would you do if you had the chance to redo a time in your life that you wish that you could have changed? Well Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei gives us a look into how something like that could go in anime form. While this doesn’t sound similar to Monogatari we still believe that fans of the series will find something to love through the familiar territory in Yojouhan.
Much like Monogatari, Yojouhan is a very artsy anime with similar humor. It also has that character-driven progression we’ve brought up so much.
3 OREIMO
The classic anime that’s both famous and infamous. Whatever your classification for Oriemo is, there’s no denying that it hits a few of the same bells that Monogatari does and that means that some fans of Monogatari may enjoy a look at the Oriemo series.
Oreimo is a series about a big brother learning about his sister’s secret life and being dragged deeper and deeper into the unknown while trying to form more of a connection and protecting her. The interaction with a big brother and younger sister puts these two anime in the same ballpark.
2 BEYOND THE BOUNDARY
Beyond the Boundary takes place in a world where negative emotions of humans can manifest into living evil creatures called youmu. Of course we’re going to need a hero to stop these creatures. That’s where Mirai Kuriyama of the spirit warrior clan comes in. Soon she finds she’s not alone as she meets a half youmu named Akihito.
Much like Monogatari, we have a character that is thrust into a life of supernatural occurrences they didn’t wish for but were simply born into. The appearance of an extraordinary girl starts the true story in both these anime.
1 KATANAGATARI
This anime gets our highest recommendation for anyone who wants a new anime to watch after their trip through Monogatari. However, in the case of Katanagatari we really don’t want to explain everything to keep everything surprising and fresh for you. However, we do want to let you know that this series comes from the creator of Monogatari.
Knowing this, you can already tell that all the same beats will be there: action, character progression, fantastic art, unique atmosphere, and of course, the subversion of harem tropes.
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