In need of anime like SAO! Can you guys recommend?

[Senpai AJ]

[Ohayotaku]

The currently airing Infinite Dendrogram has the immersive MMORPG & sentient (or nearly so) NPC aspects.

I haven’t seen them yet but hear that Log Horizon & Grimgar of Ash & Fantasy  are also similar.

[Guest]

Overlord

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On the night his favorite MMORPG is scheduled to be shut down, veteran player Momonga stays logged in until the clock hits zero. The screen goes dark for only a few moments before he finds himself completely immersed in the online world of Yggdrasil. Left with all of his character’s devastating powers, total dominion over his loyal NPCs, and nothing better to do… Momonga decides to try his hand at taking over the world. All the hours he’s spent grinding and dungeon crawling have certainly paid off, and as he tests his strength on local rogues and legendary beasts he comes to realize that not one opponent can stand against his might. Embracing his new identity as the fearsome mage Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga continues his search for bigger, badder adversaries. Leaving the people of Yggdrasil to wonder who exactly is trapped with who? - Anime Planet

 

Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions

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When Haruhiro awakens, he's in the dark surrounded by people who have no memory of where they came from or how they got there. As the darkness fades, a fantastic new world called “Grimgar” appears before them and their adventure begins—but first, they'll have to choose their guild, class, and special abilities. - Anime Planet

 

No Game, No Life

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An urban legend states that those exceptionally gifted at gaming will be sent a special game invitation, and the winners of the challenge will be whisked away to another world. When Sora and Shiro, two hikikomori NEETs who happen to be both siblings and notorious gamers, receive this invitation, they defeat it with ease. And like the legends tell, they're transported to another world where conflicts, peoples' lives and even country borders are decided by competitions and games. Always up for a challenge, the pair quickly take on the obstacles that come their way, whether it be restoring lowly humanity's good name compared with the other races or helping influence who will become the next king. - Anime Planet

 

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

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Lonely thirty-seven-year-old Satoru Mikami is stuck in a dead-end job, unhappy with his mundane life, but after dying at the hands of a robber, he awakens to a fresh start in a fantasy realm...as a slime monster! As he acclimates to his goopy new existence, his exploits with the other monsters set off a chain of events that will change his new world forever! - Anime Planet

 

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

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Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is set in the world of Orario, where adventurers band together and look for treasures in an underground labyrinth known as Dungeon. However, for Bell Cranel, fame and riches are secondary to what he wants to find the most: girls. He soon finds out though, that anything can happen in Dungeon, and winds up being the damsel in distress instead! - Anime Planet

 

Accel World

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In a world where everyone connects to an online network, pudgy Haruyuki Arita can't seem to catch a break. Constantly bullied, afraid to face reality and paranoid his two childhood friends pity him, the teenager uses online games as a way to escape his problems. But things change one day when Haruyuki's beautiful upperclassman Kuroyukihime approaches him with a mysterious time-decelerating program known as Brain Burst - there‘s just one catch. To keep the ability, he must defeat other Brain Burst wielders in Accel World, an exclusive, virtual MMORPG, and the newbie player will need all the help he can get. Eager to prove he's not a pathetic weakling, Haruyuki joins forces with Kuroyukihime to challenge fierce competitors and discover just how incredible Accel World and he truly are. - Anime Planet