Best Psychological Anime Like Tomodachi Game

Tomodachi Game was an exciting and over-the-top addition to anime’s psychological genre, and the adaptation was hopefully successful enough to encourage viewers to check the manga. Like most of the best stories of this type, this show tackles fairly dark themes, all the while dropping cliffhangers at the end of most episodes.

A popular theme within the psychological anime genre is that of a high-stakes game. These series get viewers on the edge of their seats while they watch their favorite characters compete against each other to survive whatever horror lurks around the corner.

Updated December 14, 2024 by Mark Sammut: As there are only so many anime like Tomodachi Game out there, a special case has been added. This story technically has an anime, but it is not meant to be the definitive representative. Click on the link below to jump to this recommendation.

17 Liar, Liar

A School System Based Entirely On Mind Games (& Actual Games)

Although nowhere near as dark as Tomodachi Game, Liar, Liar has a fairly similar core concept. Set on Academy Island, students compete in games to collect stars, with the goal being to amass seven. They engage in a wide range of competitions while using different buffs and tricks to try and claim victory. Even though the matches are not amplified by life-or-death stakes, the protagonist and his closest companions are constantly on edge since they must win to hide a few key secrets.

A mixed bag, Liar, Liar plays it a bit too safe at times, and its main characters’ strengths and weaknesses can be hard to pin down. Still, the show is a fine watch for the most part, and it should be able to scratch someone’s itch for battles of wits presented through life-size games.

16 Talentless Nana

Not Everything Is As It Seems

Tomodachi Game‘s protagonist is a classic “wolf in sheep’s clothing” archetype, and a lot of the show’s entertainment value comes from learning more about Katagiri Yuichi’s background and cutthroat nature. Talentless Nana takes a similar approach to its main character, even if everything else is relatively different. In a world where superpowers are a thing, talented children attend a special school, and they very much act like they are the chosen ones. However, they might not be as invulnerable as they think they are.

Similar to Tomodachi Game, this show needs to be experienced blind. Otherwise, Talentless Nana is a fun thrill ride and a solid introduction to the manga. That said, the latter is far better since the adaptation ends before the source material hits its stride.

15 Kaiji

The Ultimate Gambling Anime

This recommendation comes with the disclaimer that Kaiji and Yuuichi are nothing alike. If a viewer is specifically craving a mastermind-led gambling anime, they are better off checking out Akagi or One Outs, both of which are fantastic psychological thrillers with a game element (mahjong and baseball, respectively). However, Kaiji shines for one simple reason: a fallible protagonist.

After getting saddled with a massive debt due to signing a guarantee he should not have signed, Kaiji goes to great lengths to try and dig himself out of the hole. Unfortunately, he finds himself dragged into an underworld where the rich use the desperate as entertainment. While not dumb, Kaiji makes plenty of mistakes and suffers his share of losses, two facts the story establishes early on. Consequently, this series is unpredictable in a way like nearly no other gambling or death game anime, making for a consistently intense and captivating watch.

14 Tower Of God

Work Together To Overcome Tests And, Hopefully, Avoid A Knife To The Back

Based on one of the most beloved webtoons, the Tower of God anime has a mixed reputation, with both seasons being very divisive. Before proceeding anything further, it needs to be stated that newcomers should seek out the source material since the adaptation is by no means a substitute. While hardly unwatchable, especially the 2020 entry, the anime speedruns through chapters, resulting in a muddled and relentless experience that lacks the great world-building and character nuance found in the manhwa. However, once someone is familiar with this universe, they can watch the show to get a cliff-notes version of the same story with the occasional well-animated fight (again, especially in the 2020 season).

Tower of God is way more action-oriented and fantastical than Tomodachi Game. Set in a world where a chosen few are invited to try and climb a tower in pursuit of achieving their dream, participants have to endure an array of tests to prove their worth. More often than not, these challenges require the Regulars (or Irregulars) to work as a group, which is easier said than done when everyone involved cannot be trusted. Core differences aside, Tower of God‘s structure and tests should hit the mark with people who enjoyed Tomodachi Game‘s focus on unreliable teamwork.

13 The Ones Within

Very Similar Premise, Different Execution

The Ones Within and Tomodachi Game seem like perfect companion pieces. After all, they both center around a group of teenagers who are forced to take part in dangerous games while putting their fragile relationships through the wringer. Unlike Tomodachi Game, The Ones Within revolves around gamers who have strong online presences, and they are kidnapped and dropped on an island where their skills will be put through real-life tests (in front of a live audience). They generally do not know each other, which adds an element of intrigue since they should, realistically, be more willing to turn on each other. Also, the game master wears a llama mask.

Despite sharing a similar premise, The Ones Within strikes a very different tone than Tomodachi Game. While over-the-top and try-hard at times, the latter undoubtedly wants to tell a dark story that taps into humanity’s uglier side. Meanwhile, The Ones Within is just kind of cute. The show strikes a surprisingly lighthearted tone considering its central concept, and the characters are not quite fleshed out enough to make them worth rooting for.

Criticisms aside, the 2019 series works well enough as turn-off-your-brain entertainment or a kid-friendly version of death game classics like Danganronpa.

12 Death Parade

Intense Games For Eternal Survival

Death Parade is an example of a high-stakes game in an anime, much like Tomodachi Game. This one has a little bit of a twist though, as the players of the game are already dead. The players arrive at Quindecim, a bar that determines which one of these two people can go to either heaven or hell.

These games are fueled with tension, guaranteed to hook psychological anime fans within the first episode. You see the realization set in for each participant as they arrive, and it’s easy to empathize with their anguish.

11 Kakegurui

High-Stakes Matches Featuring Gambling Addicts

A high school that allows gambling on the premises sounds far-fetched, but not in anime. Kakegurui takes place in Hyakkaou Private Academy, a school for rich kids who have power. Due to the mass of money that the majority of students have, they decide to gamble said money with each other.

These aren’t just any type of gambling game though, they get extremely violent at times. Throughout the show, the viewer is introduced to a variety of students who take gambling a little bit too seriously.

10 Darwin’s Game

A Fast-Paced Mobile Death Game

Kaname Sudou, Darwin’s Game‘s main character, is invited to play a mobile game. When a green snake breaks the fourth wall and literally comes out of his phone, it bites his neck. That experience would put most people off from opening the mobile game ever again.

In typical anime form, Kaname decides to open the game despite what previously happened. The mobile game performs like any other mobile game would, until his opponent appears in front of him with a knife. The games provided give a generous reward to those who survive, making the games incredibly competitive. Similar to Tomodachi Game, Darwin’s Game is not meant to be taken that seriously, and the anime prioritizes entertainment and over-the-top mayhem over tight storytelling. Basically, it is a fun ride.

9 Psycho-Pass

A Gripping Psychological Sci-Fi Thriller

While Psycho-Pass isn’t an anime about survival games, it is undoubtedly one of the most well-known psychological anime to date. There are not all that many anime that blend the genres of crime and psychological, which made Psycho-Pass a hit with fans searching for a mature story.

Members of the public are all monitored through the Sibyl System, which analyzes the criminal activities of individuals and determines how dangerous they are to society. This system is used to make Japan a safer place and to filter out evil members of society. The series follows Akane Tsunemori, and her experiences working in Division 1, a crime unit tasked with capturing or executing people with dangerous Psycho-Pass levels.

8 Deadman Wonderland

In This Prison, Losing Is Not An Option

Ganta has the school trip from hell when visiting an amusement park named Deadman Wonderland. Suddenly, his entire class is murdered, with only Ganta being spared. As if his day wasn’t already going terribly, Ganta is then framed for the crime and taken to jail. However, this jail isn’t the typical type.

A collar is placed on Ganta’s neck, which slowly injects poison throughout the day. The only way to slow down the effects of the poison is to consume “Candy”, a reward given to those that win the cruel games that take place within Deadman Wonderland prison. Fans are still waiting for season 2 to become a reality.

7 Danganronpa

The Definitive Mind Games Survival Anime

While Danganronpa is mostly known as a video game franchise, it has also spawned a pretty popular anime series. Hope’s Peak Private Academy is a famous school that accepts only the best students, but Makoto and his classmates are in for a rude awakening when they first arrive at their new home.

They suddenly lose consciousness and later wake up in an abandoned school, only to find out that it’s actually Hope’s Peak. A bear called Monokuma appears and informs the students that the only way to escape the academy is to kill a fellow classmate and not get caught. Offering regular shocks and creative kills, Danganronpa takes audiences on an unpredictable roller-coaster ride filled with intrigue, thrills, and twists.

6 The Future Diary

The Ultimate Battle To The Death

Another addition to the survival game sub-genre, The Future Diary has a lot of notoriety within the anime community. Each participant in the game must kill each other to win until eventually there is only one participant left. The device they must all carry is called a Future Diary, which has the universal ability to predict the user’s future.

However, each Future Diary has different powers depending on the user. This device allows the participants to plan ahead and try to survive as long as possible, but if the Future Diary is destroyed, the user ceases to exist. While the show has amassed its share of criticisms due to its polarizing protagonist and frustrating plot development, Future Diary works well as a “shut-off your brain” style anime.

5 Death Note

A Legendary Battle Of Wits

For those who have been in the anime community for a long time, they will surely know of Death Note. While not telling a survival game-type story, the show primarily revolves around mind games, instigated by Light Yagami and his experience with the Death Note. If someone’s name is written in the book, they die; the owner can even identify how the act happens.

Light decides to use this power to rid the world of evil individuals, but the power takes hold of him. The series follows the investigation of the mysterious deaths of criminals, and Light’s journey using the Death Note. In the world of anime, no cat-and-mouse battle is as iconic as Light’s struggle against L, and they are evenly matched throughout most of the story.

4 When They Cry

A Psychological Horror Classic

It’s 1983 in Hinamizawa, a rural village where all residents know each other. Keiichi Maebara transfers to the local school after moving to the village and soon becomes friends with four classmates. Everything seems normal, and Keiichi begins to live a fairly usual life. This is until the mystery of several murders becomes apparent to Keiichi.

Understandably, he questions his friends about this, and to his dismay, he is met with hostility and silence. Keiichi’s suspicions rise as his friends start to act strange and secretive, thus making Keiichi try to work out what’s going on within the village. It’s important to note that this anime covers multiple arcs which can get confusing at first. Each episode is its own experience, and the characters descend into madness more and more throughout the series.

When They Cry
has plenty of seasons, and the timeline can be confusing since the 2020 release initially comes across as a remake. However, that is not the case. The best order to watch the episodes is to just start from the 2006 entry and go from there.

3 No Game, No Life

Another World Defined By Games

One of the most popular isekai anime of all time, No Game, No Life follows Sora and Shiro, master gamers who are summoned to Disboard, a world where everything is decided by games. They are challenged by this realm’s god, who wants to prove they are not infallible. Throughout 12 episodes (and a prequel movie featuring other protagonists), No Game, No Life goes through a range of creative battles of wits revolving around familiar games.

Now, this anime not only has quite a lot of fanservice but is also notorious for it, to the point that it can be off-putting. That said, the actual games are all interesting, intense, and visually appealing. As the leads are quite overpowered, they are good power fantasy alternatives to Tomodachi Game‘s Yuuichi.

2 Classroom Of The Elite

A Quiet Protagonist Who Is A Master Manipulator

Classroom of the Elite is cut from the same cloth as Tomodachi Game, with both anime revolving around a manipulative protagonist who, at first, seems to be just a quiet and normal guy. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji joins a school designed to create Japan’s next leaders, a process that involves an array of curated mind games that have high stakes (for this universe, anyway). Due to minding his own business and taking steps to appear as average as possible, Ayanokouji is not only thrown into the worst class but also does not excel in it; however, there is much more to this character than meets the eye.

Unlike Tomodachi Game, Classroom of the Elite does not utilize death/challenge games, instead framing its arcs around class tasks. However, they follow very similar formats, with the characters trying to manipulate their rivals to get the desired result. While almost everyone is out for themselves, bonds gradually form as the storylines progress.

1 Special Mention: Alice In Borderland

Read The Manga Or Watch The Live-Action Series…But Read The Manga

OK, this one is a bit of a weird case. Alice In Borderland is arguably the best anything for people craving something similar to Tomodachi Game, with the manga being right up there with the greatest high-stakes game stories of all time. Haro Aso’s shonen manga is riveting, intense, clever, and complete. While ideally it should be experienced blind, the manga’s basic premise revolves around a group of guys who suddenly find themselves in an alternate reality where they have to take part in games, with death being very much on the cards. The story maintains a strong sense of mystery throughout its 80+ chapters, and the main characters have a great rapport that helps ground the absurdity they encounter.

Now, Alice in Borderland technically has an anime; however, it would be kind to describe the 3-episode OVA series as an adaptation. At most, it is an advertisement for the source material. In fact, the episodes were included with volumes of the manga rather than released organically. While the content is not bad and works well enough as a companion piece to the manga, the anime should not be somebody’s first or only exposure to Alice in Borderland. Read the original story.

That said, Netflix’s live-action adaptation is also pretty good and a fun alternative to the manga. While not quite managing to match the source material’s depth, at least not in the currently available two seasons, the show manages to be a really fun ride regardless. The acting is great, the games are mostly fun, and the setting is well-realized. Alice in Borderland season 3 is expected to drop in 2025.