Shows Like Penance
After experiencing Penance, you will appreciate how these films questions the purpose and weight of our choices while delivering targets the intellect with complex, multi-layered ideas. Carefully balances character depth with narrative flow makes this a deeper look into what makes these stories stick.
Standard feature-length experiences.
Best for fans of who appreciate concise storytelling.
★ Top Picks
Into the White Night
What happens with two children commit two different muders in order to protect each other? Does salvation exist for them? In order to walk beneath the sun once more, Ryouji and Yukiho find themselves in a twisted web from which neither can escape without abandoning the other. Having no one but each other, this drama follows the events the follow that fateful day… 14 years ago.
Erased
After finding his mom killed, Satoru's time-traveling ability takes him back 18 years for a chance to prevent her death and those of three classmates.
The Missing
A gripping anthological relationship thriller series exploring the emotional fallout of a child's abduction not only on the family but on the wider community, told over two time frames.
The Perfect Insider
Souhei Saikawa is a college professor who is obsessed with genius Shiki Magata’s work. He, Moe Nishinosono, and a group of his other students plan a retreat to the remote island where Magata currently resides, which may put them in danger’s way...
ERASED
Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who has the ability to turn back time and prevent deaths. When his mother is killed he turns back time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary school, just before the disappearance of his classmate Kayo.
Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation
Shōtarō Tatewaki is a normal high school student with a serious demeanor hangs around with Sakurako Kujō. Sakurako is an extraordinarily beautiful woman in her mid-20s from a rich family who loves "beautiful bones." The two live in the city of Asahikawa in Hokkaido, and they get involved in various incidents regarding bones.
The Promised Neverland
Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” 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, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.
Higurashi: When They Cry
After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem.
More Shows Like Penance
Banana Fish
A teenaged gang leader in New York City faces his abuser and rival gangs alongside a photojournalist from Japan as they investigate a deadly new drug.
Ghost Hunt
Telling ghost stories is a favorite past time of Mai Taniyama and her friends—that is, until she meets 17-year-old Kazuya Shibuya, the man sent by Shibuya Psychic Research Center to investigate paranormal activity at a supposedly haunted school. When Mai gets caught in a dangerous situation, she is rescued by Kazuya's assistant. Saving her lands the assistant incapacitated, and Kazuya demands that Mai become his assistant, instead...
Agatha Christie's Marple
The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Unnatural
Mikoto, a forensic investigative examiner, and her partners trace down the evidence of crimes and unravel the puzzles behind mysterious deaths.
Monster
Kenzou Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon in Germany, finds his life in utter turmoil after getting involved with a psychopath that was once a former patient.
Another
When Kouichi arrives at his new school, he immediately senses something frightening in the atmosphere of his new class, something that no student wants to talk about and that seems to be related to a mysterious and silent girl.
Sharp Objects
Reporter Camille Preaker confronts the psychological demons from her past when she returns to her hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls.
Elfen Lied
The Diclonius, a mutated homo sapien that is said to be selected by God and will eventually become the destruction of mankind, possesses two horns in their heads, and has a "sixth sense" which gives it telekinetic abilities. Due to this dangerous power, they have been captured and isolated in laboratories by the government. Lucy, a young and psychotic Diclonius, manages to break free of her confines and brutally murder most of the guards in the laboratory, only to get shot in the head as she makes her escape. She survives and manages to drift along to a beach, where two teenagers named Kouta and Yuka discovers her. Having lost her memories, she was named after the only thing that she can now say, "Nyuu," and the two allow her to stay at Kouta's home. However, it appears that the evil "Lucy" is not dead just yet...
Kindaichi Case Files
Kindaichi Hajime may look dumb, but he is one of the smartest you will ever see. He encounters mysteries after mysteries with his good friend, Miyuki, and he swears to solve them in the name of his grandfather, which was a great detective.
13 Reasons Why
After a teenage girl's perplexing suicide, a classmate receives a series of tapes that unravel the mystery of her tragic choice.
Hell Girl
A supernatural system allows people to take revenge by having other people sent to Hell via the services of a mysterious entity and her assistants who implement this system. Revenge, injustice, hatred, and the nature of human emotions are common themes throughout the series.
Fishbowl Wives
Due to an accident, Sakura Hiraga gave up on her dream. She is now married and her husband runs a hair salon. They live in a luxurious penthouse apartment. Her life seems glamorous and she is envied by everyone. What everyone does not know is that Sakura Hiraga is abused physically and verbally by her husband. She is unable to leave her situation. Sakura Hiraga considers herself a goldfish in a fishbowl. One day, due to a goldfish, she meets a man.
Why These Shows Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Penance (2012): Drama and Mystery themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of Penance.
See full details for Penance (2012)
