12 Best Anime Like Naruto

Nine hundred-plus episodes of Naruto and Shippuden leave a very specific hole: you don't just miss the fights, you miss watching a loud, written-off kid earn respect one bruise at a time, rivalries that hurt because both sides are right, and a village's worth of side characters with their own dreams. These twelve series were picked for those exact ingredients. For each one we spell out what it shares with Naruto, what it does differently, and how big the time commitment really is.

All 12 recommendations at a glance

#	Anime	Shares with Naruto	Length
1	Bleach	Big-three pillar, rival dynamics	366 eps + TYBW
2	Hunter x Hunter	Exams, mentors, smart power system	148 eps
3	One Piece	Found family, dream chasing	1,100+ eps
4	Black Clover	Loud underdog, elite squads	170 eps + movie
5	My Hero Academia	Academy setting, quirkless underdog	7 seasons
6	Jujutsu Kaisen	Three-person team, doomed rival	2 seasons+
7	FMA: Brotherhood	Brotherly bonds, cost of power	64 eps
8	Demon Slayer	Kind hero, sibling devotion	4 seasons + films
9	Fairy Tail	Guild as family, escalating wars	328 eps
10	Dragon Ball	The blueprint for all of it	Franchise
11	Wind Breaker	Delinquent earns his place	2 seasons
12	Boruto	The actual sequel	Ongoing

1. Bleach — the sibling rivalry of the Big Three

Ichigo Kurosaki inherits Soul Reaper powers the way Naruto inherited the Nine-Tails: unwillingly, and with everyone around him convinced he'll break under it. Bleach trades hand signs for zanpakuto releases and the Hidden Leaf for Soul Society, but the skeleton — squads with captains, a stoic rival (Byakuya sits exactly where Neji and Sasuke sit), invasion arcs that redefine the power ceiling — is pure Big Three. The Soul Society arc remains one of the best sustained arcs in shonen history. Route through it with the Bleach watch order, because the filler placement matters.

2. Hunter x Hunter — what the Chunin Exams could have been

If your favourite stretch of Naruto was the Chunin Exams — tactics under pressure, kids outthinking adults — Hunter x Hunter is 148 episodes of exactly that. Gon and Killua map neatly onto Naruto and Sasuke, except the "dark rival" actually stays by his friend's side, and their friendship is the show's heart rather than its wound. Togashi's Nen system out-engineers chakra: every ability has a cost, a condition and a counter (compare them in our Nen explainer and chakra natures guide). The Chimera Ant arc is the genre's high-water mark.

3. One Piece — the bigger, longer dream

Luffy declaring he'll be Pirate King lands the same way Naruto's Hokage speech does — everyone laughs, then spends decades being proven wrong. One Piece runs on found family more than rivalry, and its emotional payoffs (Enies Lobby, Marineford) hit as hard as Pain's assault on the Leaf. The honest caveat is length: over 1,100 episodes. Our One Piece watch order and filler list cut the commitment down to size.

4. Black Clover — Naruto's loudest heir

No anime wears its Naruto inspiration more proudly. Asta is born magicless in a world that runs on magic, screams his dream at everyone, and joins an elite corps where a rival prodigy (Yuno = Sasuke, minus the betrayal) pushes him forward. What it adds: almost zero filler across 170 episodes and a final stretch of fights that rival anything its generation produced. Start with the Black Clover watch order.

5. My Hero Academia — the academy years, modernised

Deku starts quirkless the way Naruto started dead-last, and inherits power from a mentor exactly as Naruto did from Jiraiya — with the same grief built in. The class-of-rivals structure gives you twenty Rock Lees and Shikamarus to attach to. If you want to know how its power system compares to chakra, our quirks explainer has you covered, and the MHA watch order sequences the movies correctly.

6. Jujutsu Kaisen — the dark mirror

Yuji, Megumi and Nobara are Team 7 with the optimism inverted: their world does not reward believing in people. Gojo is Kakashi if Kakashi were the strongest being alive and knew it. Watch it when you're ready for a version of Naruto where the Uchiha massacre would have been the opening episode, not the backstory. The JJK watch order shows where the movie fits.

7. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — the tight one

Where Naruto sprawls, Brotherhood is sixty-four episodes with zero fat — and it's built on the same fuel: two brothers who broke a rule for love and pay for it with their bodies. Consistently ranked the best shonen ever made (it tops our best shonen list), it's the pick for viewers who loved Naruto's emotional core but not its pacing.

8. Demon Slayer — sibling devotion as a superpower

Tanjiro carrying Nezuko is Naruto and the Nine-Tails inverted: the monster strapped to his back is the person he loves most. Simpler story than Naruto, spectacular execution — see our Demon Slayer watch order for the season-movie sequence.

9. Fairy Tail — the guild as a village

Fairy Tail's guild hall functions like the Hidden Leaf: a home full of ridiculous, loyal people who go to war when one of their own is threatened. It's warmer and messier than Naruto — power of friendship played completely straight for 300+ episodes. The watch order covers all three series.

10. Dragon Ball — the source code

Every Naruto beat — the training arcs, the rival who defects, the transformation reveals, the tournament brackets — traces back to Goku. Watching Dragon Ball after Naruto is like reading the genre's family tree; our Dragon Ball watch order tells you what's canon and what's skippable.

11–12. Wind Breaker and Boruto — the wildcard and the sequel

Wind Breaker strips the formula down to fists: a friendless delinquent joins a school that protects its town and accidentally finds a family — Naruto's arc with zero jutsu. And Boruto is the literal continuation; tempered expectations advised, but seeing Naruto and Sasuke as adults is worth the price of admission for any Shippuden veteran.

Frequently Asked Questions

What anime should I watch after Naruto Shippuden?

Bleach or Hunter x Hunter if you want another era-defining epic; Black Clover if you specifically miss the underdog-with-a-dream formula; Boruto only if you want to see the next generation, flaws and all.

Is Black Clover really similar to Naruto?

Yes — it's the most openly Naruto-inspired hit of the last decade: magicless underdog, prodigy rival, elite squads, a demon sealed inside the hero. It also has far less filler than Naruto.

Which is better to watch next: Bleach or One Piece?

Bleach if you want sword fights and a manageable length; One Piece if you want the biggest adventure in anime and don't fear a four-digit episode count (our filler list makes it shorter).

Is Boruto worth watching?

It's uneven, but the Kawaki storyline and adult Naruto/Sasuke material justify a watch for invested fans. Newcomers should finish Shippuden first.