10 Best Anime Like Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man ruins other anime a little. After Denji's blend of gutter-level desperation, tragicomic romance and devils that fight like horror-movie monsters, ordinary "dark shonen" feels tame. The ten picks below were chosen for the specific things Chainsaw Man actually does: morally compromised institutions, monsters with ideas, humour that sits inside tragedy, and violence with real consequences. For each one, we say exactly which part of the CSM itch it scratches.

All 10 recommendations at a glance

#	Anime	The CSM itch it scratches
1	Hell's Paradise	Condemned protagonist, gorgeous brutality
2	Jujutsu Kaisen	Monster-hunting bureaucracy, doomed youth
3	Dandadan	Chaotic energy, horny-teen honesty, wild fights
4	Tokyo Ghoul	Becoming the monster you hunted
5	Gachiakuta	Discarded-by-society hero, stylish grime
6	Fire Force	Uniformed devil-adjacent horror, slick action
7	Akame ga Kill!	Nobody is safe — truly nobody
8	Attack on Titan	Institutional rot, despair-grade stakes
9	Devil May Cry	Devil-hunting for cash, style over sanity
10	Bleach: TYBW	Reaper aesthetics, spectacle kills

1. Hell's Paradise — the closest cousin

Same magazine generation, same "beautiful things doing horrible violence" philosophy, same MAPPA gloss. Gabimaru is a death-row ninja offered a pardon for retrieving an immortality elixir from an island that turns people into flower-riddled husks. Like Denji, he's a weapon who wants an ordinary life — a wife, a quiet house — and the show takes that longing seriously while dismembering everything around him. If you only take one recommendation from this list, take this one.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen — the respectable sibling

JJK is what Chainsaw Man would be with its tie straightened: teenagers consumed by a curse-hunting institution that treats them as ammunition. Sukuna occupies the Makima slot — the charismatic monster living rent-free inside the hero's life — and MAPPA animates both shows, so the fight language feels familiar. It's less vulgar and more structured than CSM, which makes it the easiest recommendation here to show anyone. Start with our JJK watch order; the movie matters.

3. Dandadan — the same chaotic voice

From Tatsuki Fujimoto's former assistant, and it shows: teenage horniness played honestly, absurd premises (aliens vs yokai vs a cursed grandma) escalated with total conviction, and animation from Science SARU that bends reality when the fights start. Dandadan is funnier and warmer than CSM, but the comedic timing and the whiplash between stupidity and sincerity are unmistakably from the same school. Our Dandadan explainer covers the Turbo Granny lore.

4. Tokyo Ghoul — the tragedy version

Kaneki's first date ends with him waking up half-ghoul — the monster equation Denji lives, but played entirely for tragedy. Season 1 remains some of the best body-horror-as-identity-crisis in anime. The adaptation gets messy later (we're honest about that in the Tokyo Ghoul watch order), but the first twelve episodes are essential viewing for any CSM fan.

5. Gachiakuta — the new blood

A slum kid framed for murder is thrown into the Pit — the literal garbage dump of a floating city — where discarded objects fester into monsters. It's Chainsaw Man's class rage made architectural: the rich live above, their trash becomes the monsters below. Stylish, angry and new enough (2025) that you can catch up in a weekend; the Gachiakuta explainer covers the Cleaners and their soul-tools.

6. Fire Force — flashier, stranger, secretly bleak

People spontaneously combust into monsters and firefighter-exorcists put them down — a premise CSM would respect, from Soul Eater's creator. Behind the fan-service and gag reflexes is a genuinely dark cosmology that goes full apocalypse by the end. Watch it for some of the best fire animation ever produced.

7. Akame ga Kill! — the body count

Chainsaw Man taught you not to get attached; Akame ga Kill! made that lesson a whole series first. A country boy joins an assassin cell fighting a rotten empire, and the show kills beloved characters with a regularity that still shocks. It's pulpier and less controlled than CSM, but the "anyone can die, and will" contract with the viewer is the same.

8. Attack on Titan — the institutional despair

Where CSM's horror is intimate — the devil in your dreams — AoT's is systemic: walls, armies and governments built on lies, with humanity's freedom in the debt column. The Survey Corps' expendability mirrors Public Safety's, and no series does hopeless-odds spectacle better. Full sequencing (four seasons plus specials) is in our Attack on Titan watch order.

9. Devil May Cry — devil hunting as a day job

Dante hunts devils for money, is permanently broke, and treats apocalyptic threats like pizza deliveries — Denji's dream career, basically. The 2025 animated series turns the game franchise into slick, stylish action-comedy with real emotional weight in its family drama. Lighter than CSM, but the "blue-collar devil hunter" fantasy is identical.

10. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War — spectacle with a scythe

Soul Reapers, hollows and executions rendered with 2020s production values. TYBW is here for CSM fans who loved the imagery — Denji is, after all, a chainsaw grim reaper — and want big-budget supernatural battles with an older-school heart. Check the Bleach watch order first.

Frequently Asked Questions

What anime is most similar to Chainsaw Man?

Hell's Paradise — same generation, same beautiful-brutal aesthetic, and a protagonist who kills monsters while dreaming of an ordinary life. Jujutsu Kaisen is a very close second.

Is Dandadan really like Chainsaw Man?

Tonally, yes — the creator worked under CSM's author, and the blend of absurd comedy, sincere emotion and explosive fights feels like family. It's just aliens and spirits instead of devils.

What should I watch after the Chainsaw Man Reze Arc movie?

Hell's Paradise for intensity, Dandadan for the same energy with more laughs, or Tokyo Ghoul if you want the monster-identity tragedy played straight. Then read the manga from chapter 53 — see our Chainsaw Man watch order.

Are there any lighter anime like Chainsaw Man?

Devil May Cry and Fire Force keep the devil-hunting premise but lean into style and comedy over despair.