After a meteor fell to Earth, the D2s invaded a large portion of the United States. In order to prevent angering the D2s who hate music, all music was banned. Despite this, D2 attacks aren’t uncommon. The only defense against them remains Musicarts and their Conductor companions. Takt, a piano prodigy, finds himself transformed into a Conductor after his friend Cosette is killed and transformed into his Musicart named Destiny. Together with Cosette’s sister Anna, they travel to New York City in hopes of stabilizing their pact.
Something beautiful, unique, not terribly campy, and not another god damned isekai. It is music to my ears! If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Takt Op. Destiny, then head on down below.
Anime Like Takt Op. Destiny
For Fans of Music-Themed Action
Listeners
While humanity eeks out an existence, they are constantly threatened by mysterious beings known as Earless. To defend their towns, powerful heroes known as Players wield equipment and sound to take down Earless. Echo is a boy obsessed with Players and dreams of becoming one. However, he never had a shot until he meets Mu, a girl with amnesia, an input jack in her waist, and a mysterious connection to the most infamous Player of all time.
These series actually have quite a bit in common in terms of the world. Both are about fighting beings drawn out by and defeated with music. Both series feature a powerful female that needs her less powerful male companion to fight. Both series even focus on the characters taking a trip.
Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song
In a theme park ran by AI, there is a lonely stage where the first-ever autonomous humanoid sings in order to fulfill her mission of making everyone happy with her songs. This AI, Diva but given the nickname of Vivy by a young fan, has an encounter with an AI named Matsumoto who explains he traveled from 100 years in the future where AI have advanced so far that they rebelled and started exterminating humanity. Together, he guides her to singularity points on a hundred-year journey in order to change the course of history.
Both Takt and Vivy, though different in key themes and genres, are mature stories where music is a crucial element that ties everything together. Music in Vivy isn’t necessarily used for battle, but it is used to accent certain portions of the story. It you want a story that takes itself seriously and is absolutely beautiful, Vivy is an excellent next watch.
Symphogear
Under constant assault by an alien race called Noise, society doesn’t know that the idol duo Zwei Wing use their songs to charge powerful weapons known as Symphogear to fight back. After an attack at a concert, part of the duo sacrifices themselves to save a young girl, implanting a fragment of her symphogear in her. Years later, that same girl awakens the power to defend humanity.
Both series use music as a weapon. It’s just that Symphogear is a little bit more campy and less serious about it. If you want something fun for the ears, it has a great soundtrack, but it is more the standard bright action battler.
For Fans of Battle Partners
The Fate / Stay Night Series
The Holy Grail War is a battle royale in one city in Japan among seven magi selected to be Masters. These Masters summon a Servant, a Heroic Spirit of historic or mythical heroes past, and gain command seals to order their Servant to do their bidding. Together, Masters use their Servants to fight a proxy war for the Holy Grail—a magical artifact capable of granting its wielder any wish. In the Fifth Holy Grail War, Rin Toosaka is among the magi entering the competition. With her Servant, Archer, she hopes to obtain the Holy Grail and have her wish granted. However, when Rin’s classmate Emiya Shirou accidentally enters too, things get much more interesting.
What are Takt and Destiny if not like any other Master and Servant in the Fate series? Destiny is the more powerful servant while Takt takes a bit of a back seat like most Masters. Now just multiply those partnerships several dozen times and you have the Fate series.
The Fate series can be a bit complicated to get into. However, if you want to get into it, check out our Fate / Stay Franchise Watch Order.
Eureka Seven
Renton Thurston hates his boring life in the backwater town of Bellforest. He wants nothing more than to have an adventure, but his grandfather insists he become a mechanic. However, one day adventure literally falls through his roof in the form of Eureka, the pilot of a Nirvash type Zero and member of mercenary group Gekkostate.
While Renton is certainly less mature compared to Takt, Eureka Seven features the same dynamic between a guy and his more powerful female companion that they grow closer to over time.
Guilty Crown
After being ravaged by the Apocalypse Virus, Japan has fallen under control of the GHQ, an independent military force dedicated to the restoration of order. However, a guerrilla group called Funeral Parlor seeks to put an end to their despotism. After a fateful run in with a key member of Funeral Parlor, weak and anti-social Shuu Ouma finds himself with a powerful new weapon, the ability to pull out manifestations of a person’s personality to wield as weapons. Now he must make use of it in order to free Japan once and for all.
While vastly different in plot, Guilty Crown and Takt both feature main characters that are not necessarily powerful themselves, but posses a unique power that allows them to topple over enemies. Both series focus, primarily, on the main character’s relationship with their female companion.
Unbreakable Machine-Doll
The Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart was founded to train puppeteers in order to control automatons. After failing his entrance exams, Raishin and his automaton Yaya must defeat one of the top hundred students to gain entry as well as access to a forbidden secret art. However, the pair they challenge gets attacked by other students and they are forced to defend them. This means they must now explore other ways to gain entry to this exclusive school.
While Unbreakable Machine-Doll is distinctly more school focused, if you enjoyed the battle relationship between Takt and Destiny, then the series has much of the same. It’s just that they are actual automatons and not just acting like them.
For Fans of Road Trips
Appare Ranman
After drifting in the sea between Japan and America, socially awkward genius Appare and cowardly yet wise samurai Kosame hit land. Without any money, they decide to enter the Trans-American Wild Race so they can go back to Japan. With their steam-powered car, they must overcome bandits, challenges, and just plain weirdos in order to get from Los Angeles to New York.
Appare Ranman is more “race” than “road trip”. However, what it and Takt has most in common is the fluidity of the animation, the unique design of so many characters, and a frantic pace to the action scenes. They definitely are most tied together by how visually appealing they are. It really helps the lovable characters shine.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
In 1868, Dario Brando saves the life of English nobleman George Joestar. When Dario dies, George hopes to repay the favor by taking in his son Dio. Unfortunately, Dio wants the Joestar household for his own and tries to take it with the help of an Aztec stone mask with supernatural powers. This triggers a chain of events that will affect the Joestar house for generations to come.
Of course, since Jojo is so damn girthy at this point, not every series is like Takt. However, Stardust Crusaders has those same sort of road trip adventures filled with interesting characters and problems in every place that the characters end up.
Lost Song
Rin is a songstress in a rural village capable of singing magical songs. She has been told to keep her power a secret, however. One day, she finds an injured knight named Henry and sings a song of healing to help him. Unfortunately, she was seen and soldiers attack her village to try and capture her. Rin flees with her brother and begins to journey to the capital where her fate will intersect with another desired songstress.
Well, most obviously, these series both have music as a major element in the show. However, they end up being most similar in the journey. The characters in both shows are forced to leave their home and travel to a much larger city. Takt has a rather clear goal in mind while Lost Song just sort of lets things unfold.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Takt Op. Destiny? Let fans know in the comments section below.
