15 years ago, a gate opened over the Pacific to a fantasy world. In the present day, San Teresa City hosts two million immigrants from the other world and those from our world live side by side. As with any city, crime has started to run rampant, but justice is handed out by a police force combined of cops from our world and knights from the other. This is the tale of one such team.
Mm, the buddy cop anime we always needed. The characters really carry the show here over some hurdles of clunky animation, but if you are looking for anime like it, then look no further.
Anime Like Cop Craft
For Fans of Buddy Cop Shows
Ryoko’s Case Files
After graduating from the elite Department of Law at Tokyo University, Ryoko shot up the ranks of the Tokyo Police Force. This is the tale of the bizarre and difficult cases that this talented and beautiful police officer works.
Both series are a buddy cop show in a different dynamic. Cop Craft is a gruff man with a pretty girl. Ryoko’s Case Files is more of a case of a beautiful genius with a more cynical older man. Regardless, cases get cracked.
Bem
Although ostracized by humans, Bem, Bela, and Belo are yokai that fight for justice. Of course, they hope that they will be rewarded with humanity because of it.
Despite the distinct supernatural themes in Bem, rest assured that there is a similar dynamic going on. Bad guys are caught, wise is cracked, and a deeper mystery presents itself as time goes on.
Dimension W
In the future, humans have discovered the fourth dimension, or Dimension W, which is supposedly a source of infinite energy. Harnessing this energy in coils, the New Telsa Energy corporation has now set up a monopoly on its sale. Ex-soldier Kyouma Mabuchi is skeptical of this energy and still drives a gas-powered car for his job to hunt down illegal coils.
While Dimension W isn’t quite police work, you find the same buddy comp dynamic presented in Cop Craft is in it as well. You have gruff man and a younger girl partnered up to conquer whatever the plot demands of them.
For Fans of Portals
Gate: Thus The JSDF Fought There
Japanese Self-Defense Force solider and otaku Youji Itami is in the Ginza district of Tokyo feeding his hobby one afternoon when a gate to another world opens and medieval soldiers flood modern day Japan. While Itami, in conjunction with the local police, manage to save many civilian lives, his hero status forces him to go beyond the gate with his fellow soldiers to explore a mysterious new world filled with swords, magic, elves, and dragons.
Gate is essentially Cop Craft in reverse. In Cop Craft, the fantasy dwellers come over here and a city is formed. In Gate, they send the military through the portal to investigate it a bit. As such, Cop Craft is more about us getting along together while Gate is distinctly more investigatory in nature.
Blood Blockade Battlefront
Vampires, fishmen, supersonic monkeys – They are all normal residents living alongside humans in Hellsalem’s Lot, formerly known as New York City. When a gate between Earth and the Beyond popped up there three years ago, old NYC became dominated by monsters, and now Libra, a secret organization, is tasked with keeping it in order. After hobbyist photographer Leonardo Watch obtains the All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods, he finds himself recruited into Libra.
Cop Craft and BBB are actually quite alike in a lot of respects. In fact, if BBB didn’t have so many supernatural powers in it, it would almost be the same show about an organization trying to keep order in a mixed society.
Re:Creators
Sota Mizushino is a high schooler and avid anime fan that dreams of writing his own light novel. While watching a new anime for inspiration, he is dragged into the world of that series. After witnessing a battle between two characters, he returns home and is shocked when one of the characters comes back with him. He soon discovers that other characters from other media have been brought over and aligned with a mysterious military uniform-clad princess. Sota aims to gather these characters and send them back home.
While these two go about it different ways, both shows are about cultures melding together and occasionally clashing. You also have a dynamic in which the main character teams up with a cute girl to kind of control the tide of chaos happening around them.
For Fans of Gritty Settings
B The Beginning
On the islands of Cremona, a vigilante named Killer B is running rampant taking justice into his own hands with seemingly superhuman abilities. After being unsuccessful in their attempts to capture Killer B, the Royal Investigation Service brings in Keith Flick, an eccentric detective that was exiled to the archives department after a personal trauma effected his work. However, as the crimes of Killer B begin to escalate, it becomes abundantly clear more than one person is responsible.
B gives you the same kind of gritty cop drama setting as Cop Craft, but without the buddy cop couple to break up the seriousness. Instead, it explores several story threads that all relate to the serial killer.
Psycho-Pass
In the 22nd century, the justice system has changed. The Sibyl System now determines the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for criminal intent. This has become known as their Psycho-Pass. Once criminal intent has been identified, Inspectors like Akane Tsunemori are in charge of subjugating them. However, this tough job is not without dangers. This is why Inspectors are paired with Enforcers, like Shinya Kougami, latent criminals with just the right amount of psychopathy to keep other criminals in their place.
Dark, gritty, and about crime. That is what Psycho Pass has in common with Cop Craft. However, Psycho Pass goes into more depth with the criminal process as well as poses more ethical and moral questions. Cop Craft likes to just focus on the mystery at hand and how the partners grow.
Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex
In the not so distant future, mankind has advanced to a state where the transplant of the complete body from flesh to machine is possible. This has blurred the lines between physical and technological worlds. Unfortunately, criminals can also make use of this technology, which led to the rise of Sector 9, a government agency that operates independently and deals with this new kind of cybercrime. Section 9, led by Daisuke Aramaki and Motoko Kusanagi, deals with these crimes typically with success, until they find themselves faced with the rise of a new hacker who goes by the nickname The Laughing Man.
Both series have a dark atmosphere and follow a cop team that is hunting down criminals in a society somewhat different from our own. However, while both have some wise cracking to break up the darkness, Ghost in the Shell goes more in depth with its plot than Cop Craft.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Cop Craft? Let fans know in the comments section below.
I would add Tiger and Bunny to the buddy cop shows.