20 anime similar to Heaven's Memo Pad based on genre, format, studio, and popularity
Looking for anime similar to Heaven's Memo Pad? Here are 10 anime recommendations that share similar themes, genres, or storytelling styles.
We selected these anime based on shared genres (Mystery), similar narrative structures, comparable art styles, and positive fan overlap. If you enjoyed Heaven's Memo Pad, these series should appeal to your taste.
Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind. (Source: MangaHelpers)
Chakuro is the 14-year-old archivist of the Mud Whale, a nigh-utopian island that floats across the surface of an endless sea of sand. Nine in ten of the inhabitants of the Mud Whale have been blessed and cursed with the ability to use saimia, special powers that doom them to an early death. Chakuro and his friends have stumbled across other islands, but they have never met, seen, or even heard of a human who wasn't from their own. One day, Chakuro visits an island as large as the Mud Whale and meets a girl who will change his destiny.
Energy-conservative high school student Houtarou Oreki ends up with more than he bargained for when he signs up for the Classic Literature Club at his sister's behest—especially when he realizes how deep-rooted the club's history really is. Begrudgingly, Oreki is dragged into an investigation concerning the 45-year-old mystery that surrounds the club room. Accompanied by his fellow club members, the knowledgeable Satoshi Fukube, the stern but benign Mayaka Ibara, and the ever-curious Eru Chitanda, Oreki must combat deadlines and lack of information with resourcefulness and hidden talent, in order to not only find the truth buried beneath the dust of works created years before them, but of other side cases as well. Based on the award-winning Koten-bu light novel series, and directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto of Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu, Hyouka shows that normal life can be full of small mysteries, be it family history, a student film, or even the withered flowers that make up a ghost story. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
In Tokyo's downtown district of Ikebukuro, amidst many strange rumors and warnings of anonymous gangs and dangerous occupants, one urban legend stands out above the rest—the existence of a headless "Black Rider" who is said to be seen driving a jet-black motorcycle through the city streets. Ryuugamine Mikado has always longed for the excitement of the city life, and an invitation from a childhood friend convinces him to move to Tokyo. Witnessing the Black Rider on his first day in the city, his wishes already seem to have been granted. But as supernatural events begin to occur, ordinary citizens like himself, along with Ikebukuro's most colorful inhabitants, are mixed up in the commotion breaking out in their city. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
Just after Utena's parents died, she was consoled by a prince who gave her a ring with a rose crest on it. Utena was so impressed by the Prince that she vowed to become one herself one day. A few years later, Utena is attending Ohtori Academy where she gives all the teachers headaches because she dresses in a boy's uniform so she can be like the prince she met long ago. After Utena's friend is insulted by a member of the Student Council, Utena fights in a duel for her friend's honor. Utena's rose crest allows her to enter the dueling arena, where Utena wins the duel and becomes engaged to the Rose Bride. Unknowingly, Utena is pulled into a series of duels with other members of the Student Council for the possession of the Rose Bride. As she becomes fond of Anthy, the Rose Bride, she must fight to keep her friend safe and to discover the horrifying secret behind Ohtori Academy. (Source: Anime News Network)
Light Yagami is a genius high school student who is about to learn about life through a book of death. When a bored shinigami, a God of Death, named Ryuk drops a black notepad called a Death Note, Light receives power over life and death with the stroke of a pen. Determined to use this dark gift for the best, Light sets out to rid the world of evil… namely, the people he believes to be evil. Should anyone hold such power? The consequences of Light’s actions will set the world ablaze. (Source: VIZ Media)
Kazuya Kujou is a foreign student at Saint Marguerite Academy, a luxurious boarding school in the Southern European country of Sauville. Originally from Japan, his jet-black hair and dark brown eyes cause his peers to shun him and give him the nickname "Black Reaper," based on a popular urban legend about the traveler who brings death in the spring. On a day like any other, Kujou visits the school's extravagant library in search of ghost stories. However, his focus soon changes as he becomes curious about a golden strand of hair on the stairs. The steps lead him to a large garden and a beautiful doll-like girl known as Victorique de Blois, whose complex and imaginative foresight allows her to predict their futures, now intertwined. With more mysteries quickly developing—including the appearance of a ghost ship and an alchemist with the power of transmutation—Victorique and Kujou, bound by fate and their unique skills, have no choice but to rely on each other. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
Yashiro Isana has lived a relatively ordinary, simple life. He lives in the technologically advanced Shizume City and attends Ashinaka High School, a notable high school that is located on an island just outside the areas. Yashiro is friendly with everyone. Nothing seems wrong about him, except perhaps his habit of forgetting where his school-issued PDA is. However, nothing normal has been happening since the recent murder of Tatara Totsuka, prominent member of the infamous HOMRA. No one knows who exactly killed him but the man responsible bears an uncanny, identical appearance to Yashiro. Seeking vengeance, the Red Clansmen of HOMRA set out to get Yashiro and kill him. Everyone suspects that Yashiro is the murderer. (Source: Wikipedia)
When the oddly peculiar Mikoto Urabe transfers into Akira Tsubaki's class, he finds that life has thrown him the weirdest curve ball ever. Because while Urabe may be an anti-social loner who sleeps on her desk, carries a pair of scissors in her underwear and breaks out in sudden fits of insane laughter, there's something about her that Tsubaki just can't quite put his finger on. Until he accidentally puts his finger in it, and suddenly the phrase "sharing spit with a girl" takes on an entirely new meaning! Before he can wipe her drool off his face, Tsubaki is mysteriously addicted to Urabe, which isn't half as strange as the fact that she not only finds this normal, but already seems to have plans for her new drooling boyfriend. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
This psychological thriller, based on the manga written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno, is about Yuki, a loner who's not very good with people. He prefers to write a diary on his cell phone and talk to his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina – The God of Time and Space. However, Yuki soon learns that Deus is more than a figment of his imagination when he makes Yuki participate in a battle royale with eleven others. The contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future, each diary possessing unique features that give it both advantages and disadvantages. Within the next 90 days, the contestants must try to survive until there is only one left standing. The winner will become the new God of Time and Space. (Source: FUNimation)
The suspense horror/dark fantasy story is set in Tokyo, which is haunted by mysterious "ghouls" who are devouring humans. People are gripped by the fear of these ghouls whose identities are masked in mystery. An ordinary college student named Kaneki encounters Rize, a girl who is an avid reader like him, at the café he frequents. Little does he realize that his fate will change overnight. (Source: Anime News Network)
When Kouichi Sakakibara transfers to a new school, he senses a frightening atmosphere in his new class, a secret none of them will talk about. At the center is the beautiful Mei Misaki. Kouichi is immediately drawn to her mysterious aura, but he begins to realize that no one else in the class is aware of her presence. Soon after his arrival, what is known as the Calamity begins, and it claims the lives of many students. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
Eren Jaeger swore to wipe out every last Titan, but in a battle for his life he wound up becoming the thing he hates most. With his new powers, he fights for humanity's freedom facing the monsters that threaten his home. After a bittersweet victory against the Female Titan, Eren finds no time to rest—a horde of Titans is approaching Wall Rose and the battle for humanity continues! (Source: Funimation)
Saya is a seemingly normal girl living with her father in a shrine. During the day she goes to school and spends time with her friends at a local cafe. But when night falls Saya is called upon to protect her village from strange monsters. (Source: Anime News Network)
During daylight hours, an exclusive, elite private school prepares its illustrious students for careers in business, politics, and high society. But when darkness falls, the halls of this esteemed establishment transform into an underground gambling den where bright-eyed youngsters learn the timeless art of bluffing, backdoor dealings and social manipulation. In this school for the rich and elite, money is power, and the tyrant of the betting books rules with an iron fist. So when the beautiful Yumeko Jabami upsets the academy hierarchy with her voracious appetite for the thrill of the gamble, the entire student body mobilizes to send her house of cards tumbling down. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
Once you make a decision, does the universe conspire to make it happen? Is destiny a matter of chance, a matter of choice or the complex outcome of thousands of warring strands of fate? All twins Kanba and Shoma know is that when their terminally ill sister Himari collapses at the aquarium, her death is somehow temporarily reversed by the penguin hat that she had asked for. It's a provisional resurrection, however, and it comes at a price: to keep Himari alive they need to find the mysterious Penguin Drum. In order to do that, they must first find the links to a complex interlocking chain of riddles that has wrapped around their entire existence, and unravel the knots that tie them to mystifying diary and a baffling string of strangers and semi-acquaintances who all have their own secrets, agendas and "survival strategies." And in order for Himari to live, someone else's chosen destiny will have to change. It's a story of love, fate, life, death... and Penguins! (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
The Japanese government was rescued from the brink of financial collapse by the Sovereign Wealth Fund. For its citizens, however, life has not improved and unemployment, crime, suicide, and despair are rampant. Kimimaro, raised by his maternal aunt after the disappearance of his father and the death of his mother, is a scholarship student whose only dream is to live a stable, ordinary life. One day he meets a man who offers him a large sum of money if he will allow his "future" to be held as collateral. From then on his fate is radically altered as he's drawn into a mysterious realm known as the Financial District, where he must compete in weekly tournaments called "deals" in order to keep his money and avoid losing his future. (Source: Wikipedia)
When a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous “black cupid.” (Source: Funimation)
Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she’s sold as a lowly servant to the emperor’s palace. But she wasn’t meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she’s making a name for herself solving medical mysteries! (Source: Crunchyroll)
During the early 1930s in Chicago, the transcontinental train, Flying Pussyfoot, is starting its legendary journey that will leave a trail of blood all over the country. At the same time in New York, the ambitious scientist Szilard and his unwilling aide Ennis, are looking for missing bottles of the immortality elixir. In addition, a war between the mafia groups is getting worse. On board the Advena Avis, in 1711, alchemists are about to learn the price of immortality. Based on the award winning light novels of the same name, this anime adaptation follows several events that initially seem unrelated, both in time and place, but are part of a much bigger story—one of alchemy, survival and immortality. Merging these events together are the kindhearted would-be thieves, Isaac and Miria, connecting various people, all of them with their own hidden ambitions and agendas, and creating lifelong bonds and consequences for everyone involved. (Source: MAL Rewrite)