Interest Stacks

In the near future, 10 percent of the population will consist of Humanoids—machines with advanced functions and artificial intelligence resembling human personalities, easily recognized by their sideways pupils. These specialized patients likewise require a special doctor. By day, Dr. Hikaru Sudou runs a medical clinic for Humanoids; by night, under the moniker of Moggadeet, he performs illegal procedures and gathers information about his lost mother. Hikaru encounters patients with varying problems unique to this society: a Humanoid struggling with the question of whether she and the source of her backup data are the same person, a teenage Humanoid who cannot improve athletically, and even a robot teddy bear with memories of multiple owners. As the world's technology constantly evolves, newer and more complex questions surrounding humanity arise. With each new advance, it becomes more difficult to define what truly makes one human or Humanoid. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

With great advancements in technology, mankind has created hIEs, human-like robots that act as public and personal servants for society. Unlike many others, the kind-hearted high school student Arato Endou treats hIEs as equals, but his financial situation keeps him from ever owning one. However, his normal life is shattered when an ordinary run to the local grocery store goes horribly awry. Viciously assaulted by a hacked hIE, Arato is on the verge of death; but luckily, he is saved by an abnormal hIE carrying a weaponized coffin. Her name is Lacia, one of five highly advanced hIEs that recently escaped the clutches of the mysterious MemeFrame Corporation. Faced with a hacked car threatening to run them over, Lacia offers Arato a deal: in exchange for saving his life, he must register as her new owner, thus taking full responsibility for her actions. With little choice, he decides to trust this artificial girl and allows her to live in his home. Though Lacia begins to adapt to her new, peaceful lifestyle, she warns the entranced Arato of one thing—she does not have a soul. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

At first glance, Ibara Naruse and her friends Aoi Fukasaku and Taeko Nomura look like average, carefree high school students. But the streets they walk on, their destination, and their surroundings are anything but normal. As they continue forward, the trio find themselves stepping deeper into an uninhabitable version of Tokyo, one that has been ravaged by a nuclear disaster 20 years ago. As part of the Dispatch 3rd Special Force Coppelion, known as the Health Care team, Ibara, Aoi, and Taeko are supported by the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and Colonel Onihei Mishima as they scour the eerily silent streets for survivors. Finding the last remaining humans and having them evacuated by the JGSDF's helicopters is a daily occurrence for the girls. But as their work progresses, Ibara and her friends start to question their own humanity—namely, how they themselves are able to survive in Tokyo without any protective gear. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

In the near future, augmented reality has become a key part of daily life. A gentle middle school girl named Yuuko "Yasako" Okonogi and her family have just moved to Daikoku City despite rumors of people disappearing. There, her grandmother, nicknamed "Mega-baa," runs a shop called Megasia that specializes in illegal tools which interact with parts of the virtual world. Mega-baa also hosts an unofficial detective agency called "Coil," a group of children around Yasako's age who find and handle corruption of the virtual world. Yasako gets involved with the group when Fumie Hashimoto, a playful member of Coil, helps rescue her cyberdog Densuke after getting trapped in virtual space while chasing a mysterious virus. Also investigating these corruptions and viruses is an abrasive hacker named Yuuko Amasawa, who the others take to calling Isako. Can Coil discover the truths behind the mysterious viruses and corruption, and if they can, at what cost? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Transferring the human consciousness into a robotic "I-Machine" is now a reality thanks to the discovery of a valuable ore called "orichalt." However, there is the possibility of the consciousness failing to return to the host's body, rendering them stuck inside their new metallic frame for good. Such is the situation of members of the Excavate Company, a reckless band of I-Machine miners led by the notorious Grayman that aims to gather orichalt for profit. During a mining incursion, the group rescues Maya Mikuri, a student who was abandoned by her crew. Accused of stealing classified information on orichalt by her former colleagues, she joins the Excavate Company in hopes of clearing her name. They then begin an adventure that will change their lives—including that of Ido, an ace member of the group with no memory of his past. For the first time, Ido might have the chance to rediscover his true identity. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

In the year 2029, Niihama City has become a technologically advanced metropolis. Due to great improvements in cybernetics, its citizens are able to replace their limbs with robotic parts. The world is now more interconnected than ever before, and the city's Public Security Section 9 is responsible for combating corruption, terrorism, and other dangerous threats following this shift toward globalization. The strong-willed Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 spearheads a case involving a mysterious hacker known only as the "Puppet Master," who leaves a trail of victims stripped of their memories. Like many in this futuristic world, the Puppet Master's body is almost entirely robotic, giving them incredible power. As Motoko and her subordinates follow the enigmatic criminal's trail, other parties—including Section 6—start to get involved, forcing her to confront the extremely complicated nature of the case. Pondering about various philosophical questions, such as her own life's meaning, Motoko soon realizes that the one who will provide these answers is none other than the Puppet Master themself. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

In a future where a massive disaster has devastated Earth, most of humanity has abandoned their physical bodies and relocated in digital form to DEVA, an advanced space station orbiting the ravaged planet. Free from the limitations of traditional existence, such as death and hunger, the inhabitants of this virtual reality reside in relative peace until Frontier Setter, a skilled hacker, infiltrates the system and spreads subversive messages to the populace. Labeled a threat to security by authorities, Frontier Setter is pursued by Angela Balzac, a dedicated member of DEVA's law enforcement. When the hacker's signal is traced to Earth, Angela takes on physical form, transferring her consciousness to a clone body and traveling to the world below in order to deal with the menace. On Earth, she is assisted by Dingo, a charismatic agent, and during her journey to uncover the mystery behind Frontier Setter, she gradually discovers startling realities about the wasteland some of humanity still refers to as home, as well as the paradise above. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Justice, and the enforcement of it, has changed. In the 22nd century, Japan enforces the Sibyl System, an objective means of determining the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors uphold the law by subjugating, often with lethal force, anyone harboring the slightest ill-will; alongside them are Enforcers, jaded Inspectors that have become latent criminals, granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the Inspectors' dirty work. Into this world steps Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with an honest desire to uphold justice. However, as she works alongside veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is, and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted fourteen-year-old, is one of the many girls from her school to receive a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda—the very same Chisa who recently committed suicide. Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology; yet, when the technophobe opens the email, it leads her straight into the Wired, a virtual world of communication networks similar to what we know as the internet. Lain's life is turned upside down as she begins to encounter cryptic mysteries one after another. Strange men called the Men in Black begin to appear wherever she goes, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than even she herself knows. With the boundaries between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurring, Lain is plunged into more surreal and bizarre events where identity, consciousness, and perception are concepts that take on new meanings. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka, whose other works include Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments Lain is a psychological avant-garde mystery series that follows Lain as she makes crucial choices that will affect both the real world and the Wired. In closing one world and opening another, only Lain will realize the significance of their presence. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

In a post-apocalyptic society, much of earthquake-riddled Japan has been left to ruin, resulting in an abundance of greenery. Governments manage much of the world's emissions, resulting in a massive class divide and economic disparity. The Japanese government launches "Project Atlas," a utopian city that will replace Tokyo but can only fit a certain amount of people. This limitation means that some people will have to live outside the city in jungles, as refugees. However, with any flawed plan comes those who are willing to challenge it. These include Kuniko Houjou, an heir to a renegade town; Mikuni, a mysterious and powerful child kept in a secret temple; Kunihito Kusanagi, a soldier for the high-tech and exclusive monopoly Atlas; Karin Ishida, a genius economics whiz with her hand in markets across the world; and the villainous Ryouko Naruse, leading Atlas in its domination of this future world. Can this group of rebels, forming a movement known as "Metal-Age," band together to demonstrate that inclusion and teamwork prevail over cruel segregation? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

In the dark underground city of Lux, people live in fear and despair under the rule of various criminal factions. Almost secluded from the surface, the gangs' only interaction with the outer world is their mining operation of "raffia," which is the raison d'être of the city. Available only in Lux, this rare substance is the basis of "texhnolyze" transplants that permit humans to replace parts of their body with cybernetic prostheses. The latter have the particularity not to trigger an immune response in their hosts and the "Class" has the privilege to conduct research on them. This elusive organization, also in charge of the raffia production, delegates its executive authority to a group called Organo led by Keigo Oonishi—a self-righteous man with texhnolyzed legs who is rumored to hear the "voice of the city." The fragile balance of powers in Lux is disturbed when a mysterious visitor named Kazuho Yoshii begins committing a series of crimes that puts the gangs at each other's throats. In the midst of the chaos, new actors emerge: Ichise, an ex-boxer mutilated by Organo and recently texhnolyzed by Eriko "Doc" Kamata; and Ran, a young florist who can see the future. While Lux steadily plunges into insanity, both Ichise and Ran find themselves involved in the greatest crisis the city has ever faced. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

In the cyber city Tom Sawyer, society revolves around earning "Love," akin to receiving likes on social media. Citizens of this augmented reality exchange Love for public services and appearance-changing avatars via the Decoration Customizer, also known as "Deco," a hologram device implanted in an individual's eyes from early childhood. Under the government's careful management, the people of Tom Sawyer live a peaceful existence, outside the occasional appearance of Phantom Zero, a mysterious criminal who brings all Love to zero within their vicinity. Berry, a mischievous girl fascinated by Phantom Zero, lives comfortably in the system of Tom Sawyer until her Deco malfunctions, enabling her to see a camouflaged prankster named Hack. Believing Hack to be Phantom Zero, Berry chases after the suspect and, in the process, begins to uncover society's most well-kept secrets. As it turns out, Hack is not the only person living outside the system's rules—and the vibrant colors of Tom Sawyer hide a darker nature. [Written by MAL Rewrite]