Movies like AIKa: Special Trial (1998)
The best movies like AIKa: Special Trial (1998) are Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987), Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Invasion!! Alien Shiriri (2017) and Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Little Star Wars 2021 (2022). If AIKa: Special Trial hooked you with its animation and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGhost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)7.4/10 from 1,054 votes
- NewestPatlabor EZY File 1 (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseMetal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987)Also in Japanese
Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987)
Ace female test pilot Kusomoto Elle humiliates macho tank driver Lt. Kilgore in the first demonstration of the advanced personal battle tank, the MADOX. Kilgore vows revenge, and gets his chance when the army rather carelessly loses the prototype in Tokyo. The MADOX is found by engineering student Sujimoto Kouji, who doesn't take the time to completely read the manual and ends up zooming around Tokyo trapped in a machine he doesn't quite know how to operate. Guess who gets the job of stopping the now mobile missing MADOX? Poor Kouji. If he's late for his date, it's over between him and his girlfriend. His current attire redefines the term "over-dressed." And to top it all off, Kilgore wants to make him late- as in "the late Kouji!"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: Invasion!! Alien Shiriri (2017)
When the mysterious Shiriri turns his parents into children, Shin-chan must trek across Japan to help return them to adult form.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon the Movie: Nobita's Little Star Wars 2021 (2022)
During summer vacation Nobita picks up a small rocket containing Papi, a palm-sized alien president escaping rebels on his home planet Pirika.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II (2008)
Seth Green and Matthew Senreich serve up more hilarious Star Wars-inspired satire in this second compilation of sketches featuring the zany stop-motion animation of Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken." Gary the stormtrooper deals with irascible boss Darth Vader on Take Your Daughter to Work Day, while Anakin babysits a certain up-and-coming Jedi.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: The New Record of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009)
Nobita finds a passage to a spaceship in another dimension. With their new friends, he and Doraemon fight the cruel leader of an exploited planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2020)
Phineas and Ferb travel across the galaxy to rescue their older sister Candace, who has been abducted by aliens and taken to a utopia in a far-off planet, free of her pesky little brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon the Movie: Nobita's Sky Utopia (2023)
Doraemon, Nobita and his friends go to find Utopia, a perfect land in the sky where everyone lives with happiness, using an airship having a time warp function.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCat Soup (2001)
The surreal black comedy follows Nyatta, an anthropomorphic kitten, on his travel to the land of the dead and back in an effort to save his sister's soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaruto OVA 7: Naruto, the Genie, and the Three Wishes, Believe It! (2010)
Naruto discovers a genie's bottle while he and the gang are at a genin grill party. When everyone finds out about the genie's ability to grant wishes, the ultimate chase begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirls und Panzer der Film (2015)
When the Ministry of Education goes back on its promise to keep Ooarai Girls Academy open, the task of saving the five-mile-long Academy Ship from the wreckers falls to Miho and her barely-seasoned tankery team. However, things go off track almost immediately. While the Oorai tank crew may have won the high school tournament, they’re now facing a larger and more experienced university team, and if they fail, their armored vehicles will be forfeit! Will they be swapping their tanks for the memories? It’s possible, but winning a tank battle is all about tactics and teamwork, and the fledgling Ooarai students have more friends and allies than anyone suspects.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Steel Troops (1986)
Doraemon and Nobita decide to build a perfect toy robot. However, their creation turns out to be a little more uncanny than an object of appreciation and wonder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: My Moving Story! Cactus Attack! (2015)
The Noharas must survive a hoard of man-eating killer cacti after Shin-chan's father relocates the family to Mexico for work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: The Legend Called: Dance! Amigo! (2006)
Something sinister's afoot in Kasukabe. Shin-chan doesn't know what it is, but he's pretty sure it involves samba-dancing doppelgängers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody (2006)
In Karakura Town, unidentifiable spirits begin appearing en mases. While attempting to deal with these strange souls, Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki meet Senna, a mysterious shinigami who wipes out most of them. Senna refuses to answer any questions, so Ichigo is forced to follow her while Rukia tries to find out what's going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Windmasters (2003)
After a typhoon hits Nobita's town, he and Doraemon discover a wind sprite who, with some help from Doraemon's 22nd-century tech, takes them and their friends to a fantastic world of wind and storm people. But the wind sprite, named Fuuko by Nobita, had brought them to her world for a reason, as her peoples' gods are battling, and Suneo might be a key player in their feud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita's Dorabian Nights (1991)
Shizuka ends up in the fantasy world of the 'Arabian Nights' story. However, Doraemon, Nobita, Suneo, and Jyaian must find her from the imaginary Middle East and bring her back to the real life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: Action Kamen VS Leotard Devil (1993)
Everyone's favorite TV superhero Action Mask shows up in Kasukabe, and he's trying to get something from Shin-chan -- but what could it be?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Garden of Sinners: Future Gospel (2013)
A side story of the original Kara no Kyōkai - the Garden of sinners movie series divided into 2 parts. In the first part, Shizune Seo, who finds her life too predictable due to her precognition, and Mitsuru Kamekura, who uses his precognition to be a professional bomber, meet Mikiya and Shiki, respectively, and their futures begin to change. In the second part, 10 years after the original series, Shiki and Mikiya's daughter, Mana Ryōgi, spends a day with Mitsuru.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSee Me After Class (2012)
Due to an error the male student Kagami Yuuki is registered for a room in the girls dormitory of his new co-ed high school. Since no male rooms are available he is left with no other option than to sleep in the girls dormitory in the same room as the teacher that made the mistak in the first place, Ayane-sensei. To avoid getting kicked out of the school for being a boy in a girls dormitory he has to cross-dress whenever he is leaving his room. Needless to say that this brings him a lot of trouble.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026)
Iroha's life gets knocked off its orbit when Kaguya, a carefree runaway from the Moon, moves in and convinces her to perform in a virtual world together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDoraemon: New Nobita's Great Demon - Peko and the Exploration Party of Five (2014)
Nobita is followed by a stray dog on his way home and decides to help it find its original owner with the help of Doraemon. They find out that the dog is actually a prince in its homeland in Africa.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDokidoki! Pretty Cure the Movie: Memories for the Future (2013)
One day, Mana Aida receives a wedding dress from her mother and grandmother that they had worn in the past. While thinking about who she would wear this beside someday, a mysterious man named Marsh appears, and Mana is thrown back into the past. She was happy to see her grandmother she loved and her old dog Maro, but she then realizes that Alice and Rikka aren't there because memories have been altered. In order to save precious memories, the future, dreams and hope, Mana transforms into Cure Heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
Appleseed Alpha (2014)
The Third World War (2099–2126) devastated part of the Earth. Former nations are reforming while new powers emerge, and groups of humans struggle to survive in ruined cities. The story follows Deunan Knute and her partner Briareos as they search for the legendary city of Olympus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGluttomy (PILOT) (2026)
Appel, a hardworking scholarship student, arrives at an elite private high school ready to embark on his new academic journey. However, what awaits him is unforeseen chaos. Enter the mysterious pink-haired twins, Glista and Glyde, who have taken a burrowing interest in Appel. They’re sweet, bright, and wiggling their way into every part of his life. As his quiet routine begins to unravel, will Appel uncover the true nature of the twins to keep his life from rotting away? The line between intrigue and madness is razor-thin, and the worm is already at the core of the apple.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (2026)
When a massive alien flower known as "Darol" unexpectedly erupts in a deadly event, unleashing monstrous creatures that decimate the population of Japan, Rita is caught in the destruction—and killed. But then she wakes up again. And again. Caught in an endless time loop, Rita must navigate the trauma and repetition of death until she crosses paths with Keiji, a shy young man trapped in the same cycle. Together, they fight to break free from the loop and find meaning in the chaos around them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRyoma! The Prince of Tennis (2021)
Inspired by his tennis champion father, Ryoma is determined to take his game to the next level and train in the US. But in the middle of an intense tennis battle to save his classmate Sakuno from dangerous villains, they somehow find themselves transported back to the past, just as Ryoma’s father is about to undertake his final championship match at the US Open – when he was mysteriously forced to retire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
Fist of the North Star - TV Compilation 3 - Legend of the Conqueror of Century's End - Raoh Must Die! (1988)
Compilation film covering the fourth arc of the Fist of the North Star TV series involving Raoh
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Patlabor EZY File 1 (2026)
The first of a 3-part theatrical series taking place in 2036, 38 years after the events of Patlabor on Television and The New Files.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
Cyborg detective Batou is assigned to investigate a series of murders committed by gynoids—doll-like cyborgs, which all malfunctioned, killed, then self-destructed afterwards. The brains of the gynoids initialize in order to protect their manufacturer's software, but in one gynoid, which Batou himself neutralized, one file remains: a voice speaking the phrase "Help me."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagic School Lunar: Secret of the Blue Dragon (1997)
Barua of the Magic Race (Vile Tribe) has kidnapped students of the Magic School. Elie, Rena and Senia, are asked to look for them by the schools master. Along their search they find interesting and crazy things, and get into trouble as usual. Upon finding the students, they find their magic is not strong enough to save them, but they get some help from an unwanted friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
Like AIKa: Special Trial and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like AIKa: Special Trial?
The closest matches to AIKa: Special Trial are Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987), Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Invasion!! Alien Shiriri (2017) and Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Little Star Wars 2021 (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after AIKa: Special Trial?
Start with Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987), the closest match to AIKa: Special Trial.
What is the highest-rated movie like AIKa: Special Trial?
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), rated 7.4/10 by 1,054 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like AIKa: Special Trial?
Patlabor EZY File 1 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like AIKa: Special Trial?
Yes: Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987), Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Invasion!! Alien Shiriri (2017) and Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Little Star Wars 2021 (2022).
How are movies similar to AIKa: Special Trial chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside AIKa: Special Trial, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.