12 Best Anime Like Demon Slayer

If you want anime like Demon Slayer, start with Jujutsu Kaisen: it follows the formula most closely, right down to the secret corps of young monster hunters. Beyond that, the best pick depends on what hooked you: the sword duels, the Taisho-era setting, demons with tragic pasts, or Tanjiro's stubborn kindness. Below, twelve series ranked by how much of that DNA they share, with what differs, how long each runs as of October 2026 and where to start.

All 12 anime like Demon Slayer at a glance

#	Anime	Shared DNA	Length (Oct 2026)	Best for
1	Jujutsu Kaisen	Teen curse hunters, elite fight animation	59 episodes plus a film; more coming	Closest overall
2	Bleach: TYBW	Named sword techniques, Hashira-style captains	50 episodes, complete	Swordplay
3	Hell's Paradise	Period Japan, grotesque enemies	25 episodes, 2 seasons	Historical setting
4	Chainsaw Man	Devil hunters, tragic monsters	12 episodes plus a film	Darker tone
5	Dororo	Demon slaying in Sengoku Japan	24 episodes, complete	Mature drama
6	Fire Force	Squads mourning the monsters they kill	73 episodes, complete	Elemental fights
7	Kaiju No. 8	Monster-fighting corps, kind lead	23 episodes; final film 2027	An adult hero
8	Solo Leveling	Weak-to-strong hunter	25 episodes, 2 seasons	Power-up payoff
9	Blue Exorcist	Demon-born hero, twin bond	73 episodes, 5 parts	Sibling stakes
10	Gachiakuta	Condemned boy joins monster cleaners	24 episodes; Season 2 confirmed	A newer pick
11	Black Clover	Underdog in an elite corps	170 episodes; Season 2 airing	Long-running comfort
12	Naruto Shippuden	Sibling tragedy, training arcs	500 episodes	The classic long haul

How we chose: every pick shares at least two of Demon Slayer's five pillars, namely a ranked monster-hunting organisation, enemies who were once human, a family bond at stake, duels built on named techniques, and a studio willing to spend on them.

1. Jujutsu Kaisen: the anime most similar to Demon Slayer

Swap demons for curses and the Demon Slayer Corps for Tokyo Jujutsu High and the skeleton barely changes. Yuji Itadori is a decent, stubborn teenager in a secret organisation whose members die young so ordinary people never find out. Like Tanjiro, he lives alongside a monster, except that the curse sharing his body is a threat rather than a little sister. MAPPA swaps ufotable's painted water and flame for fast, weighty hand-to-hand combat, and the tone is more cynical: mentors are not safe.

Watch Season 1 (24 episodes), the film Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Season 2 (23 episodes, 2023) and Season 3, The Culling Game Part 1 (12 episodes, January to March 2026). Part 2 is billed as Season 4 and is in production, undated as of October 2026. Our Jujutsu Kaisen vs Demon Slayer comparison goes deeper.

2. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, for the sword fights

If the blade work hooked you, from Rengoku's last stand to Zenitsu's single Thunderclap and Flash, Bleach is the genre's original sword showcase. Every Soul Reaper's zanpakuto has its own name and released forms, like a cast where everyone owns a breathing style, and the thirteen captains fill the Hashira's role. Thousand-Year Blood War is the final arc, the Quincy invasion of the Soul Society, and Pierrot's animation is a clear step up from the 2004 series. It ended on 26 October 2026 (27 October in Japan) after 50 episodes in four parts, so you can binge it.

The catch is homework: TYBW assumes you know Ichigo Kurosaki and the captains, and the original 366 episodes are around 45 per cent filler. Our Bleach watch order shows what to drop.

3. Hell's Paradise: beautiful and brutal in equal measure

Hell's Paradise shares Demon Slayer's habit of setting gorgeous colour against horrible violence. Gabimaru, a condemned Edo-period shinobi, is promised a pardon if he brings back the elixir of life from Shinsenkyo, a supposed paradise where flowers grow out of human bodies. His reason to survive is the wife waiting at home, the same family-shaped motive that drives Tanjiro, and his executioner minder Sagiri, who doubts her own right to kill, gives the show its moral spine.

MAPPA has made two seasons: 13 episodes in 2023 and 12 from January to March 2026, reaching roughly volume 9 of the 13-volume manga, which finished in 2021. Pick it if you loved Demon Slayer's period atmosphere and want sharper edges.

4. Chainsaw Man: demon hunting without the safety rails

Denji does Tanjiro's job, killing the creatures that prey on people, but for Public Safety, regular meals and the vague hope of a girlfriend. Its institutions are as predatory as its devils, and it is crude where Demon Slayer is earnest, which is why the gut-punches land harder. MAPPA's 12-episode first season (late 2022) covers the opening 38 chapters, and the Reze Arc film continues straight on, opening in Japan on 19 September 2025 and in North America on 24 October 2025.

An Assassins Arc adaptation was announced in December 2025, and the film's director, Tatsuya Yoshihara, is back for it, but its format and date were unannounced as of October 2026. The Chainsaw Man watch order shows where the film fits.

5. Dororo: the quiet masterpiece of demon slaying

Before Hyakkimaru was born, his father, a Sengoku-era lord, offered the baby's body to twelve demons in return for prosperity for his domain. Grown up, Hyakkimaru hunts them one by one, and each kill returns a piece of him: his skin in the first episode, his hearing a few episodes later. MAPPA and Tezuka Productions remade Osamu Tezuka's manga in 2019 as one complete 24-episode season. It is slower and sadder than Demon Slayer, but his bond with the orphan thief Dororo hits the same nerve as Tanjiro and Nezuko: two damaged people becoming family on the road. It also asks what Demon Slayer sidesteps: if the pact feeds a province, is one boy's body worth the price? Best for older viewers.

6. Fire Force: squads, uniforms and spectacular flames

From Atsushi Ohkubo, creator of Soul Eater: Special Fire Force companies fight Infernals, ordinary people who spontaneously combust into burning monsters. Like Demon Slayer's demons, nearly every Infernal was somebody's family, and Company 8 treats each kill as a funeral, with a prayer as the flames die. Shinra Kusakabe, whose feet fire like jet engines, is chasing the truth about the blaze that took his mother and baby brother, Tanjiro's kind of unfinished family business. David Production's flames are among the best elemental animation of the decade. The comedy is louder and the fan service more frequent, but it is complete: three seasons, 73 episodes, the last aired in April 2026.

7. Kaiju No. 8: the monster corps, years too late

Kafka Hibino promised his childhood friend Mina Ashiro they would join the Defense Force together, fell short, and ended up cleaning kaiju corpses instead. At 32 he swallows a tiny kaiju, becomes a monster himself, and hides it while trying out again. It has Demon Slayer's warmth, a kind lead the whole cast roots for, plus something rare: a hero whose body was already complaining before the kaiju part. Production I.G animates it, with Studio Khara supervising kaiju designs. Seasons 1 (12 episodes, 2024) and 2 (11 episodes, 2025) are out, and on 24 October 2026 the conclusion was revealed as a 2027 film, Kaiju No. 8: The Final Mission.

8. Solo Leveling: the power-fantasy side of the itch

Demon Slayer's training arcs, from the boulder to the Hashira drills, made you cheer for measurable growth; Solo Leveling makes that the whole show. Sung Jinwoo starts as an E-rank hunter, the weakest licensed fighter in a world where gates spill monsters into Seoul, until a mysterious System lets him level up like a game character. A-1 Pictures and a Hiroyuki Sawano score make every level-up feel huge. There is far less emotional nuance, and his hospitalised mother and younger sister motivate him without sharing the screen the way Nezuko does, but the catharsis is relentless. Two seasons are out (12 episodes in 2024, 13 in 2025); skip the ReAwakening film, which is largely a recap.

9. Blue Exorcist: demons, faith and found family

Rin Okumura learns he is Satan's son, and when his guardian, the priest and exorcist Shiro Fujimoto, dies protecting him, he enrols at True Cross Academy to train as an exorcist and defeat Satan. The twin bond at the centre, Rin and his straight-laced brother Yukio, already a qualified exorcist and one of Rin's teachers, carries the weight Nezuko carries: family is the reason to fight and the thing the fight endangers. Picture Tanjiro defending a demon sister before the Hashira, except the demon is the hero. Watch the 2011 season (25 episodes; Kyoto Saga picks up from episode 17 and ignores the anime-original ending after it), then Kyoto Saga (2017), then Studio VOLN's three parts from 2024 and 2025.

10. Gachiakuta: the newest heir to the formula

Bones Film's 2025 adaptation follows Rudo, a slum kid from a floating city who is falsely accused of killing the man who raised him and thrown into the Pit, where discarded junk turns into Trash Beasts. There he joins the Cleaners, who fight with Vital Instruments, everyday objects charged by people who treasure them. The overlap is clear: an unfairly condemned boy, a stylish corps of monster killers and a power system worth learning. It even links to entry six: creator Kei Urana is a former assistant of Atsushi Ohkubo. Its 24 episodes won Best New Series and Best Background Art at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and Season 2 is confirmed but undated as of October 2026.

11. Black Clover: the elite corps for the long haul

Black Clover swaps the Corps and its Hashira for Magic Knight squads and their captains, with a far louder underdog. Asta is the only person in his kingdom born without magic and plans to become Wizard King anyway, a cousin of Tanjiro's refusal to quit. The first 170 episodes (2017-2021) start rough and, in our view, hit their stride with the Royal Knights arc (episodes 66-96). Season 2 began on 3 October 2026, continuing the Spade Kingdom Raid, and the manga ended in May 2026, so the story finally has a finish line. Skip the main filler block (episodes 142-149) and slot the 2023 film Sword of the Wizard King after episode 157.

12. Naruto Shippuden: the blueprint for half of Demon Slayer

If Demon Slayer was your first long shonen, Naruto is where many of its beats come from: an outcast carrying a sealed monster, mentors who die for the next generation, and two brothers whose tragedy drives the plot. Sasuke and Itachi are the dark mirror of Tanjiro and Nezuko: a brother who wiped out his clan and the younger sibling sworn to kill him. Shippuden runs 500 episodes (2007-2017) after the 220-episode original, and most counts put its filler near 40 per cent, so follow our Naruto watch order.

Near misses we left out

Attack on Titan has man-eating monsters and a military corps but becomes a war story about cycles of hatred. Hunter x Hunter swaps the corps for a licensing exam and plays its fights as puzzles. Dan Da Dan and Mob Psycho 100 match the animation ambition but lean on comedy.

What should I watch after Demon Slayer Infinity Castle?

First, where the finale stands. Infinity Castle is a film trilogy, not a fifth season. Part 1 opened in Japan on 18 July 2025 and has streamed on Crunchyroll since 28 July 2026 everywhere except Japan and mainland China. As of October 2026, Parts 2 and 3 have no official release dates; a September 2027 placeholder on a box office tracking site is not an announcement. Our Demon Slayer watch order tracks confirmed dates.

Then choose by what Part 1 left you craving. More rival duels like the Akaza fight: Bleach TYBW, finished and 50 episodes long. Tragic enemies: Fire Force, whose Infernals were all ordinary people, or Dororo, where the hero's own younger brother stands in his way. Something else building to a return: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 4 or Chainsaw Man's Assassins Arc. Or just read the ending, since Koyoharu Gotouge's manga finished in May 2020 after 205 chapters.

Is Jujutsu Kaisen or Bleach more like Demon Slayer?

Jujutsu Kaisen matches the structure: a secret organisation, a teenage recruit carrying a monster, studio-defining fight episodes. Bleach matches the swordsmanship: named blades with transformations, ranked captains like the Hashira, duels that fill whole episodes. If the Rui fight and Hinokami Kagura were your peak, start with Jujutsu Kaisen. If Rengoku against Akaza was, start with Bleach, which is complete while Jujutsu Kaisen's Culling Game is still unfinished on screen.

Is there an anime with animation as good as Demon Slayer?

ufotable's look rests on its in-house digital compositing: painted effects over hand-drawn characters, with 3D-assisted camera moves through detailed backgrounds. The closest match is ufotable's own Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (2014-2015) and the Heaven's Feel films. From this list, Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc, Bleach TYBW and the Chainsaw Man Reze Arc film match Demon Slayer for spectacle, while Hell's Paradise and Gachiakuta stand out for art direction. Solo Leveling Season 2 won Best Animation at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What anime is similar to Demon Slayer?

Jujutsu Kaisen is the most similar, followed by Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War for sword fights and Hell's Paradise for a brutal period-Japan setting. Chainsaw Man, Dororo, Fire Force, Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling, Blue Exorcist, Gachiakuta, Black Clover and Naruto Shippuden round out the twelve.

Is Hell's Paradise like Demon Slayer?

Yes. Both set gorgeous visuals against grotesque violence in historical Japan, and both heroes fight to get back to family. Hell's Paradise is bloodier and set on a monster-filled island in the Edo period. MAPPA's anime has two seasons totalling 25 episodes, the second airing in early 2026.

When does Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Part 2 come out?

No official release date had been announced as of October 2026. Part 1 opened in Japan in July 2025 and has streamed on Crunchyroll outside Japan and mainland China since 28 July 2026. Rumoured 2027 dates come from an unconfirmed placeholder listing and early press reports, not an announcement from ufotable, Aniplex or Crunchyroll.

Which anime like Demon Slayer are already finished?

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (50 episodes, ended October 2026), Dororo (24 episodes, 2019), Fire Force (73 episodes, ended April 2026) and Naruto Shippuden (500 episodes) are all complete. Kaiju No. 8 concludes with a film due in 2027.

Is Chainsaw Man like Demon Slayer?

In premise, yes: both follow young hunters killing monsters that prey on people. In tone they are opposites, since Demon Slayer is sincere and hopeful while Chainsaw Man is crude, cynical and more violent.