18 Anime With Unique Plots That You Can Watch On Netflix Over A Sleepless Night

High school student Hanabi Yasuraoka has been in love with Narumi Kanai, her older childhood friend who is now her homeroom teacher. But from the look in Narumi's eyes when he sees the new music teacher Akane Minagawa, Hanabi realizes that he is in love with Akane and not her.

Hanabi meets Mugi Awaya, another student who is in love with Akane, who was his tutor when he was in middle school. Hanabi and Mugi make a pact and begin a fake relationship to satisfy each other's loneliness from their respective unrequited loves. They agree to not fall in love with each other and end the relationship if their love is returned from the people they are in love with.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- A romance series
- It will make you cry
- Set in high school
- A seinen (mangas marketed towards young adult men)

Watch it here.

Norman, Emma, and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. Under the care of the woman they refer to as 'Mama', all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes, and the perfect environment to learn - what more could an orphan ask for? 

One day, Emma and Norman uncover the dark and twisted truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing. Soon, they must make haste to plan their escape and save other orphans.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- A dark fantasy and science fiction series
- A mystery and psychological drama
- It has some gruesome and disturbing scenes
- It is hailed as one of the best anime series released last year

Watch it here.

'Puberty Syndrome' is a mysterious syndrome that only affects those who enter puberty. Sakuta Azusagawa discovers the syndrome when he suddenly sees a bunny girl in a library. The girl is actually Mai Sakurajima, a famous actress who has been on hiatus from the world of entertainment. For various reasons, people around Mai can't see her. When Mai tries to solve the mystery, more people with Puberty Syndrome begin to appear.

Episode count: 13

Reasons to watch:
- A supernatural and psychological drama
- A romance series
- It is hilarious
- Set in high school

Watch it here.

On his way home from the convenience store, teenager Subaru Natsuki is transported to another world, where he gains the power to reverse time by dying. Before knowing his power, he and a silver-haired half-elf girl, Emilia, are killed. After going back in time, he can only remember the events of the previous timeline. Why was Natsuki summoned in this mysterious world, who gave him the power to reverse time? Natsuki goes on an adventure to find out.

This series is where the popular character Rem, a blue-haired maid working in a mansion, is from.

Episode count: 25

Reasons to watch:
- A suspenseful murder mystery
- A dark fantasy, adventure, and psychological drama
- It will make you cry
- It has elements of romance

Watch it here.

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. Meeting this man causes the student to reflect upon his past two years at college, which he spent trying to break up couples on campus with his only friend Ozu. He decided to make the most out of his college life by asking engineering student Akashi out for a date, but he fails miserably.  

As soon as this thought passes through his head, he is sent through time and space to the beginning of his years at college and given another chance to live his life.

Episode count: 11

Reasons to watch:
- A romantic series with time travel elements
- A mystery and psychological drama
- It is hilarious
- A very different anime art style

Watch it here.

Ryuuji Takasu is a gentle high school student, but has an intimidating face that often gets him labelled as a delinquent. On the other hand is Taiga Aisaka, a small, doll-like student, who is anything but a cute and fragile girl.

One day, an embarrassing mistake causes the two students to cross paths. Ryuuji discovers that Taiga actually has a sweet side: she has a crush on the popular vice president, Yuusaku Kitamura, who happens to be his best friend. But things only get crazier when Ryuuji reveals that he has a crush on Minori Kushieda - Taiga's best friend.

Episode count: 25

Reasons to watch:
- A romantic comedy and slice-of-life series
- Set in high school
- It is hilarious
- Each character is relatable to the audience in their own ways

Watch it here.

Inside the human body, roughly 37.2 trillion cells work energetically 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Among them is the cheerful Red Blood Cell AE3803, who is fresh out of training. She is ready to take on the important task of transporting oxygen. The series humanises each cell and tells the story of how they keep the body healthy against wounds, bacteria, and allergies, among other things.

Episode count: 13

Reasons to watch:
- An educational series about biology
- It is hilarious
- A science fiction series
- You will love it if like to see kawaii and 'smol' characters

Watch it here.

In the year 2022, a new game, Sword Art Online (SAO), is launched. The game allows players to control their avatars using nothing but their own thoughts.

Kazuto Kirigaya logs into the game and discovers the world is filled with medieval weapons and gruesome monsters. However, in a cruel turn of events, he and other players realise they cannot log out. They are trapped in the new world until they complete all one hundred levels of the game. If they die in the game, they die in real life. In order to escape, Kirito will have to interact and cooperate with his fellow players. The series is commonly hailed as one of the most tear-jerking anime of all time.

Episode count: 24

Reasons to watch:
- Action-packed
- A science fiction and adventure series
- It also has a romance plot
- It will make you cry

Watch it here. There is an SAO movie and a spin-off series on Netflix too, namely:
- Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale
- Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online

When he was a child, Souma Yukihira worked in his father's restaurant. Throughout the years, Souma developed a passion for entertaining his customers with his creative, skilled, and daring culinary creations. At 15 years old, his father sends him to an elite culinary academy that is famous for its 'Shokugeki' - or food wars. The students are put to test in high-stakes cooking showdowns.

As Souma and his new schoolmates struggle to survive the extreme lifestyle in the academy, more challenges await him. He puts his years of learning under his father to the test.

Episode count: 61 episodes across three seasons

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life series
- It is hilarious
- The series will make you have 'foodgasm'
- You will love it if you have ever craved food in anime
- It has ecchi (playful sexual themes) elements
- It features Malaysian dish curry laksa in one of the episodes

Watch it here.

In 1972, a popular student at Yomiyama North Middle School, named Misaki, passes away. Since then, the town has been shrouded in a fearful atmosphere. 26 years later, 15-year-old Kouichi Sakakibara transfers into the school where Misaki used to study. He discovers a strange, gloomy mood that seems to hang over all the students.

In the school, he is drawn towards a mysterious, eyepatch-wearing student named Mei Misaki. However, the rest of the class and teachers seem to treat her like she does not exist. Despite that, Kouichi begins to get closer to her and attempts to find out the truth behind the gruesome atmosphere plaguing his classroom.

Episode count: 13

Reasons to watch:
- A suspenseful murder mystery
- Filled with gruesome and graphic scenes
- A series with supernatural elements
- Not for the faint-hearted
- Set in high school

Watch it here.

Picking up 15 years after the beginning of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, the new series looks at a world where Artificial Intelligence is beginning to threaten humanity's continuation as a species. However, the public at large hasn't realised the threat yet. But when mysterious beings called 'post-humans' begin to appear, the former members of Public Security Section 9, the protagonists of the previous series, are called back into action to protect humanity from its impending doom.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- Action-packed
- A science fiction series
- A 3D anime art style series
- Scarlett Johansson once starred in a live-action adaptation of the Ghost In The Shell franchise
- Set in a dystopian future

Watch it here.

Umaru Doma is the perfect high school girl. But that is until she gets home. Once the front door closes, Umaru dons her hamster hoodie and transforms from a refined, over-achieving student into a lazy, junk food-eating otaku. She leaves all the housework to her responsible older brother Taihei. The series tells the adorable story of Umaru's daily adventure with Taihei and her friends.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life series
- It is hilarious
- Each character is relatable to the audience on their own ways
- You will love it if like to see kawaii and 'smol' characters
- Set in a high school

Watch it here.

Keiichi Maebara has just moved to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa in the summer of 1983, and quickly becomes inseparable friends with a few schoolmates. However, darkness lurks beneath the seemingly idyllic life they lead. Keiichi learns about the local legends surrounding an annual festival and finds out about several murders and disappearances in the village that happened in recent years. All of which are connected to the festival and the village's patron god, Oyashiro.

Keiichi tries to ask his new friends about these incidents, but they refuse to divulge. As more and more bizarre events occur, he wonders just what else his friends might be keeping from him, and if he can even trust them at all.

Episode count: 26

Reasons to watch:
- A murder mystery series with supernatural elements
- A psychological drama filled with gruesome and twisted scenes
- There are also multiple game titles based on the series
- Not for the faint-hearted

Watch it here.

When Lisa Tepes, beloved wife of Vlad Tepes - also known as Dracula - is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake by a bishop, Dracula declares war on the people of Wallachia and unleashes an army of murderous demonic creatures from hell. Luckily, Trevor Belmont, the last survivor of the Belmont clan who is known for hunting all kinds of monsters, is still in town. He agrees to take the fight against the lord of vampires.

Episode count: 22 episodes across three seasons

Reasons to watch:
- A dark fantasy and horror series
- Filled with gory and gruesome scenes
- A Netflix original series
- The series is based on games with over 10 titles
- It is produced in the US with English voice-overs; a Japanese dub option is also available

Watch it here.

Having a friend that knows you inside out should be a good thing, but in Nishikata's case, the opposite is true.

His classmate Takagi loves to tease him on a daily basis, and she uses her extensive knowledge of his behavior to predict exactly how he will react to her teasing, making it nearly impossible for Nishikata to ever make a successful comeback. Despite this, Nishikata vows to someday give Takagi a taste of her own medicine by making her blush out of embarrassment from his teasing.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- A  slice-of-life and romance series
- It is hilarious
- It is heartwarming to see the two protagonists interact and the chemistry they have with each other

Watch it here.

The series tells the story of the Holy War taking place in the 18th century, 250 years before the original Saint Seiya series. It centres on the fight between Pegasus Tenma, one of the 88 Saints following Athena, and Alone, the reincarnation of God Hades.

The series is a prequel to the Saint Seiya franchise, which has over seven seasons and five movies.

Episode count: 26

Reasons to watch:
- Action-packed
- A mythological and adventure series
- The Saint Seiya franchise was popular among kids growing up in the late 80s and 90s

Watch it here. There is also a reboot series of the franchise produced by Netflix in a 3D anime art style, namely:
- Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya

In the immediate future, a giant meteorite has collided with earth. All living organisms, including mankind, have been wiped out. The government foresees this outcome and takes measures to ensure the continuation of the human species. They create 'Project 7SEEDS', which consists of five sets of seven young men and women who are carefully selected and placed into teams (Spring, Summer A, Summer B, Autumn, and Winter).

Each participant is then put under cryogenic sleep and when the teams wake up, they find themselves suddenly thrust into a cruel world. While bereft and grieving over losing their loved ones forever, they try their best to find ways to survive.

Episode count: 24 episodes across two seasons

Reasons to watch:
- Strong and empowering women characters
- A science fiction and survival series
- It also has a romance plot
- A Netflix original series
- The series is based on an award-winning manga, first published in 2001

Watch it here.

The story follows a team of mercenaries known as Lagoon Company, who smuggle goods around the seas of Southeast Asia. Their operation base is located in the fictional city of Roanapur in Thailand and they transport goods in patrol torpedo boats. Lagoon Company does business with various clients, but has a particularly friendly relationship with the Russian crime syndicate Hotel Moscow. The team takes on a variety of missions, which may involve violent firefights, hand-to-hand combat, and nautical battles in various Southeast Asian locations.

Episode count: 29 episodes across three seasons

Reasons to watch:
- A crime and thriller series
- Filled with epic hand-to-hand and shooting scenes
- The franchise has been running since 2002
- It features a badass woman character

Watch it here.