The innovative upgrade to a 7G network promised technological advancements beyond belief. However, the aftermath of its official launch has turned Japan upside down. With people now suffering from a wide range of bizarre mutations and the landscape itself transformed, society has crumbled.
In the rural town of Agano where everyone over the age of majority has turned into an animal, high schooler Shizuru Chikura is desperate to find out what happened to her friend, Youka Nakatomi. Youka had gone to Ikebukuro on the day of the official 7G launch, and hasn’t been heard from since. However, with the world dangerous and all transportation shut down, she struggles to find a way to search for her.
However, hope comes in the form of an abandoned country train and a senile conductor that teachers Shizuru how to drive it. With three classmates that decide to tag along at the last minute, Shizuru sets out on a long, strange trip to Ikebukuro to find her friend.
This is a series you can enjoy perfectly fine without thinking too hard about, but the more you think about it, there is some ponderous depth and symbolism in the stories. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Train to the End of the World, head on down below.
Anime Like Train to the End of the World
For Fans of Girls on a Journey
A Place Further Than The Universe
Upon discovering an old list she made in the last year of middle school, Mari Tamaki, who is now in her second year of high school, realizes she is not making the most of her youth. Whenever she tries to do something new, she is paralyzed with inaction.
Then one day she meets Shirase, a girl who’s mother went missing when she was in middle school on an expedition to Antarctica.
Knowing full well it is close to impossible, she works hard in order to go to search for her mother and invites Mari along for the ride.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and A Place Further Than The Universe
- Four girls on a journey
- They they experience self-growth and emotional growth on the trip
- Small stories involving other characters they meet before quickly moving on
- Visually pleasing showcase of various destinations
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and A Place Further Than The Universe
- A Place Further Than The Universe is set in our modern world and depicts a pretty realistically grounded trip to Antarctica, unlike the was-modern Train to the End of the World where 7G turned the world weird.
- Train to the End of the World has comedy with the character drama and emotional storytelling often happening in the background of the weird events, A Place Further Than The Universe is much more focused on the emotional character drama and not particularly eccentric.
- In short, A Place Further Than The Universe is a realistic trip while Train to the End of the World is a surreal fantasy trip.
Kemurikusa
In a desolate, dark land, a handful of girls live inside a railcar with a tree growing through it. Their life now revolves around the increasingly difficult search for water to keep them alive. However, their day-to-day struggle is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Wakaba, a boy who has no memories beyond his own name.
With their new companion, the girls begin a dangerous journey across the dead land, trying to avoid a sea of burning red fog that is consuming everything. Between the fog and swarms of robotic bugs, they must use glowing leaves that awaken new powers that will help them find the last sparks of life in this world.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Kemurikusa
- Group of characters on a train traveling the post-apocalypse
- Characters have to manage their food and resources on the journey
- The plot is slowly unraveling what has happened to the world
- Both face dangerous journeys through an unknown world
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Kemurikusa
- Kemurikusa is a dark series, both literally with its visuals and metaphorically with its almost horror-like presentation of the world
- Kemurikusa follows male main character that takes up with a group of girls
- Not all the characters traveling together in Kemurikusa are completely human, often possessing unique abilities
Kino’s Journey
Accompanied by her talking motorcycle, Hermes, Kino travels through her mysterious world, spending only three days and two nights in each town. The idea is that three days is enough to learn almost everything about a place. This is the story of her journey.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Kino’s Journey
- Journey through a post-apocalyptic world where communities are cut off from each other
- Female main characters traveling
- Episodic stories where each episode is a new location
- Thought-provoking story themes
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Kino’s Journey
- Kino’s Journey has a singular main character who has no end destination, unlike the four main characters headed to Ikebukuro in Train to the End of the World.
- Kino’s Journey is set in a fantasy world to justify things like talking motorcycles and cities built with completely different types of governments and cultures, but still reachable by road.
- Kino’s Journey is less “eccentricity hiding deeper themes” like the various location-based stories in Train to the End of the World, and it is more an thoughtful exploration of various philosophical concepts presented through visiting flawed societies.
Wandering Witch – The Journey of Elaina
Ever since she was a child, Elaina has been enamored by the stories in her favorite book. It tells the tale of Nike, a famous witch who enjoyed many great adventures around the world.
After becoming a fully-fledged witch herself, she departs, becoming entangled in a number of stories of those she meets around the world.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Wandering Witch
- Journey through the world
- Female main character that visits various locations
- Stories that seem pretty light, but hide unexpected darkness
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Wandering Witch
- Wandering Witch has a singular main character with no end destination to her trip unlike the four characters offered in Train to the End of the World on their way to Ikebukuro
- Wandering Witch is set in a fantasy world where magic exists
- Wandering Witch works with magic and the dark stories that lurk under the “cute and whimsical” veneer while in Train to the End of the World, it is surrealism that covers the dark undertones.
For Fans of Surrealism
Humanity Has Declined
After constantly declining birth rates, human civilization is almost extinct. The few humans left now coexist with fairies who have extremely advanced technology and very little regard for humans safety.
The story follows a mediator between humans and fairies that tries to make it so both races can live peacefully.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Humanity Has Declined
- Episodic adventures in a pretty peaceful post-apocalyptic world
- Surrealism masking commentary about society
- Eccentric adventures and side characters while the main characters often play the straight man to the antics.
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Humanity Has Declined
- Humanity Has Declined tells its arc-based stories non-linearly in a way that doesn’t make too much sense until the end, Train to the End of the World has a more easily accessible narrative.
- Train to the End of the World follows four girls on a train, Humanity Has Declined features one girl who mediates weird occurrences between near-extinct humanity and the comical elves that are inheriting the planet.
- Train to the End of the World is weird sometimes, Humanity Has Declined is weirder.
Flip Flappers
Paprika and Cocona hold the keys to open the door where they can meet from their different times in a dimension called Pure Illusion.
In this dimension, they search for the Shard of Mimi which is said to grant any wish. However, finding it will not be easy.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Flip Flappers
- Girls traversing surreal, wild environments
- Starts off as a weird adventure, becomes more emotionally rich as the characters are explored
- Episodic adventures that don’t get stale
- Technology made the world surreal
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Flip Flappers
- Flip Flappers is more Alice in Wonderland-styled adventures while Train to the End of the World is about what weird things are happening in places on the way to Ikebukuro
- Flip Flappers follows a duo of one normal, one mysterious girl while Train to the End of the World has the four main characters be less mysterious in their motives.
Sarazanmai
One day, after a weird run in with his classmate, Kazuki and two of his classmates knock over a Kappa statue in Asakusa and meet a creature named Keppi.
Before they know it, they are turned into kappa-like creatures and tasked by Keppi to destroy kappa-zombies if they want to become human again.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Sarazanmai
- The future and our technology has gone weird
- Surrealism masking commentary about society
- Group of young people as main characters that get pulled into eccentric situations
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Sarazanmai
- Sarazanmai is about three boys that fighting for the Kappa Kingdom rather than four girls and a dog traveling the apocalypse on a train
- Sarazanmai is more action-focused, but also more clearly focused on social commentary with the story that is playing out
- Sarazanmai is way more overtly weird than Train to the End of the World
For Fans of Cute Girls Doing Apocalypse Things
School-Live
Yuki Takeya is in love with school life. She loves it so much that she joined the School Living Club with three other girls, their supervising teacher, and the club dog Taroumaru. This club makes the most of living at school.
However, Yuki’s blissful school life is all a delusion.
The real purpose of the School Living Club is to prevent Yuki’s fragile reality from shattering. In reality, these girls are surviving the zombie apocalypse by barricading themselves within the school.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and School Live
- Four girls in the post-apocalypse with a dog!
- Cute girls doing cute things, but also terrifying looming apocalypse threats
- The series acknowledge that they need to scavenge and manage food and water supplies
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and School Live
- As School-Live happens in a still-happening zombie apocalypse, it is distinctly more overtly horror than Train to the End of the World.
- School-Live features more death and graphic violence than Train to the End of the World
- For the most part, School-Live has the characters remain stationary in a school, not traveling like Train to the End of the World.
Girls’ Last Tour
With all civilization dead, only Chito and Yuuri remain. Together they decide to hop on their motorbike and wander aimlessly looking for their next meal and fuel.
Despite a bleak existence, they remain each other’s light in this dead world.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Girls’ Last Tour
- Girls traveling the apocalypse in a vehicle
- Visiting locations for small stories and to gather supplies
- Cute girls doing cute things in a setting that is a bit dangerous and melancholy
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Girls’ Last Tour
- Girls’ Last Tour, as there are only like five people left alive in the post-war apocalypse, is more melancholy and empty than the four main characters visiting small, weird, but alive villages in Train to the End of the World.
- Girls’ Last Tour takes place in a fantasy post-war world and displays the world as very “post-war” destroyed.
- There aren’t as many “wacky, but low-key dark” stories in Girls’ Last Tour like in Train to the End of the World, it is more about appreciating small, nice moments when they happen because they are rapidly fleeting.
Sound of the Sky (So Ra No Wo To)
On the outskirts of Helvetia lies the tranquil town of Seize. The only notable thing in this idyllic rural town is the Clocktower fortress where the 1121st platoon of the Helvetian army is stationed.
They have recently received a new recruit that joined the army solely to play the bugle. This is the story of their spirited platoon and the town they occupy.
Similarities Between Train to the End of the World and Sound of the Sky
- Cute girls in a post-apocalypse setting
- Starts lighter, more slice of life, but develops more emotional depth as it goes on
- The apocalypse of the world is unclear at first, but explored as the series goes on
Differences Between Train to the End of the World and Sound of the Sky
- Sound of the Sky has a big focus on music with a distinct military theme
- The characters in Sound of the Sky are stationed in a rural outpost, so they are not traveling on a train like Train to the End of the World.
- Sound of the Sky isn’t as obviously post-apocalypse. At a glance, it could look like a fantasy World War-set series. This is unlike Train to the End of the World where you watch the world end and see the glaring effects of it.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Train to the End of the World? Let fans know in the comments section below.
easily one of the most unique and interesting anime of the season
poor waiting, poor person