AKB0048: Next Stage

Both have CGI scenes for dances, other than turning ordinary girls into idols. 

The main correlation between the two franchise is on full-fledge displayment; in their apparent revealing of an initially light-hearted scenario, gloomy themes of galactic battles are occurring. Both have fabulous artwork now apparently layered over by loads of fan service, which may or may not be distracting at times. A great watch for mecha fans, though AKB the next stage still consists of chiefly slice of life scenes, and lots of great soundtracks which fulfill their purposes within and outside of the actual series. AKB first season was much more honorable in focusing on hope-relate themes of the idols' future, which holds less significance in this sequel; whilst, Macross Frontier is a lot more consistent with its romance developments throughout, in contrast. read more 

Similar to AKB0048, this includes Idols, mecha and singing ! I found that this gave the same rush of "oh this is just another cute girl anime" however the deeper plot is quickly revealed 

They're both about idols and music 

Similar story with young girls and music but AKB0048 have more actions with its musical space opera.  

- Both are sequels - Both feature storylines focused on the censorship of entertainment (in AKB0048: idols, Library Wars: books) - Both are character-driven