The breakout anime hit, Jujutsu Kaisen, is many things at once: a typical action-adventure shonen story, a dark fantasy that's part of the Shonen Weekly Jump's popular "Dark Trio," and most of all, a "monster hunter" anime. "Monster Hunter" is not an official anime sub-genre, but it's a common and easily recognized concept that can make for a great anime. Jujutsu Kaisen's entire combat system is built around the monster hunter concept, since its sorcerers are trained experts who exorcise the supernatural curses that haunt humanity.
Many of Jujutsu Kaisen's best scenes and fights actually involve people who fight against each other rather than scouring the streets for monsters like a shonen Ghostbusters. However, Jujutsu Kaisen's earliest episodes do have some monster hunter vibes that helped Jujutsu Kaisen stand out from its shonen peers like My Hero Academia and One Piece. Those who love a monster hunting premise have some appealing options to consider when it comes to these popular anime.
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20 Strongest Curses In Jujutsu Kaisen, Ranked
Curses are supernatural horrors born of humanity's negative emotions, and the strongest ones can slaughter any JJK sorcerer with ease.
10 Jujutsu Kaisen Shows Yuji Itadori Fight Wild Curses
Jujutsu Kaisen
A boy swallows a cursed talisman - the finger of a demon - and becomes cursed himself. He enters a shaman's school to be able to locate the demon's other body parts and thus exorcise himself.
The Jujutsu Kaisen anime truly shines when it allows human characters like its intrepid protagonist, Yuji Itadori, and Aoi Todo to fight one another. This definitely dilutes the "monster hunter" vibes, but Jujutsu Kaisen isn't just an excuse to watch Yuji beat people up with his supernaturally-charged fists. Yuji is new to the world of curses and jujutsu sorcery, but he is fully committed to keeping humanity safe from various monsters.
Jujutsu Kaisen Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.62
- IMDb: 8.6
- Anime Planet: 4.52/5
Yuji tests the waters early on in Jujutsu Kaisen when he fights lower-grade curses. He and Nobara both excel as rookie sorcerers, much to Satoru Gojo's satisfaction. In fact, Jujutsu Kaisen introduces a formal grading system for curses, which is a fairly common element in "monster hunter" anime. It makes sense that hunters need a way to categorize the monsters that they fight. Grade 4 curses are easy to squash, but Grade 1 or Special Grade curses are a formidable challenge, even for the likes of skilled experts like Kento Nanami.
9 Chainsaw Man Has Devil Hunters Slay Humanity's Fears
Chainsaw Man
Following a betrayal, a young man left for dead is reborn as a powerful devil-human hybrid after merging with his pet devil and is soon enlisted into an organization dedicated to hunting devils. When his father died, Denji was stuck with a huge debt and no way to pay it back.
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15 Strongest Devils In Chainsaw Man, Ranked
In Chainsaw Man's world, any widespread fear can become a devil. Only the most feared devils become the strongest.
Tatsuki Fujimoto's shonen manga, Chainsaw Man, burst onto the anime scene back in 2022 and it immediately found standout success, despite being up against stiff competition like Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War and Bocchi the Rock! Chainsaw Man tells the bloody, subversive story of its protagonist, Denji, and his devil-slaying adventures as the brutal antihero, Chainsaw Man.
Chainsaw Man Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.54
- IMDb: 8.4
- Anime Planet: 4.36/5
Chainsaw Man is set in a parallel world where devils -- manifestations of humanity's worst fears -- are unleashed on society. These devils range from diverse fears that include zombies, bats, guns, and even eternity. It's up to professional devil hunters like Denji, Power, Aki, and Himeno to slay these creatures and protect humanity. This sometimes requires the use of devils' powers against other evils. Plenty of devil hunters engage in temperamental contracts with devils in order to gain new abilities. It's a grim reality, but it sometimes feels like this is the only way to win and survive.
8 Demon Slayer Has Tanjiro Defeat Demons Of All Shapes & Sizes In Taisho-Era Japan
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is unarguably one of the best anime in the past year, and one of the best anime of the past decade. Swordsmen that move with the grace of dancers, savage demons imbued with horrific powers and flashes of steel that strike at the perfect moment are hallmarks of this remarkable series.
- Genre
- Adventure, dark fantasy, martial arts
- Language
- English, Japanese
- Number of Seasons
- 2
- Debut Date
- April 6, 2019
- Studio
- Adult Swim
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10 Demon Slayer Scenes That Always Hype Fans
Demon Slayerdelivers emotional plots, gorgeous animation, and excellent fight scenes that hype fans and breaking the internet.
The "monster slayer" concept is built right into Demon Slayer's name. As the anime's title suggests, Demon Slayer's main characters are professional demon hunters who risk their very lives to protect innocent people across Japan from flesh-eating demons. The entire Demon Slayer Corps is established with this mission in mind and this organization has battled against Muzan's monster hordes for centuries.
Demon Slayer Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.49
- IMDb: 8.6
- Anime Planet: 4.47/5
Tanjiro Kamado, Demon Slayer's protagonist, gladly uses his black Nichirin sword to slay demons wheever it's appropriat.e However, Tanjiro's best fights are the ones that include more personal stakes. Tanjiro fights the Lower and Upper Moon demons so that he can find a cure for his sister Nezuko's demon condition. This is the entire reason tht Tanjiro becomes a Demon Slayer in the first place.
7 Fire Force Is All About Exorcising Infernals Across The Tokyo Empire
Fire Force
A superhuman firefighter force is formed to deal with supernatural fire incidents.
- Genre
- Anime
- Language
- Japanese/English Dub
- Number of Seasons
- 2
- Debut Date
- July 6, 2019
- Studio
- David Production
Fire Force is technically a post-apocalyptic anime, albeit one where human civilization gets rebuilt after everything burned down 200 years ago in a culling Cataclysm. Humanity gradually recovers, but there is still the constant threat of Infernals, monsters who are born from spontaneous combustion victims. Unfortunately, once someone becomes an Infernal there's no going back.
Fire Force Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.71
- IMDb: 7.6
- Anime Planet: 4.06/5
Fire Force follows Shinra Kusakabe, a fresh fire soldier and trained pyrokinetic, who uses his powers to defeat Infernals and save the day. He and his fellow fire soldiers and priests are in for a shock once an entirely new foe arrives. Mysterious villains create new Infernals on purpoe to advance their own nefarious plans. This fight quickly turns personal for Shinra.
6 Bleach Features Soul Reapers Who Slay Evil Spirits With Swords
Bleach
TV-14
Action
Adventure
Fantasy
Bleachrevolves around Kurosaki Ichigo, a regular always-grouchy high-schooler who for some strange reason is able to see the souls of the dead around him.
- Release Date
- October 5, 2004
- Cast
- Masakazu Morita , Fumiko Orikasa , Hiroki Yasumoto , Yuki Matsuoka , Noriaki Sugiyama , Kentarô Itô , Shinichirô Miki , Hisayoshi Suganuma
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 17 Seasons
- Creator
- Tite Kubo
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10 Scariest Shinigami In Bleach
These Shinigami are willing to do practically anything to get what they want, leading to some extremely dark or controversial actions on their part.
Bleach is one of the shonen genre's "Big Three." However, unlike its rivals, Naruto and One Piece, Bleach contains some monster hunter elements that give its combat system structure. Bleach is set in a shonen world where some individuals' anguished souls mutate into Hollows, which are monstrous spirits that actively prey on innocent souls, including those of the living.
Bleach Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.93
- IMDb: 8.2
- Anime Planet: 3.98/5
It's a Soul Reaper's duty to hunt and exorcise Hollows with their zanpakuto -- otherwise known as soul-cutting swords -- in order to purify a slain Hollow and send it to the Soul Society. Soul Reapers like Rukia Kuchiki regularly patrol the world as reverse-isekai guests who hunt Hollows. This puts Rukia in the position to meet Ichigo Kurosaki, Bleach's protagonist, one fateful night.
5 Tokyo Ghoul Shows What Happens When Monsters Also Have Humanity
Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul took the world by storm when it debuted during the summer of 2014. Studio Pierrot does some wonderful work adapting author Sui Ishida’s dark fantasy series. Tokyo Ghoul isn’t for the faint of heart. This anime combines several genres such as horror, psychological thriller, action, and drama to great success.
- Genre
- Animation, Action, Horror
- Language
- English
- Number of Seasons
- 4
- Debut Date
- July 3, 2014
- Studio
- Pierrot
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Tokyo Ghoul: Just How Many Kanekis Are There?
It's hard to keep track of the many different versions of Ken Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul. Just how many personalities does the tragic hero have?
Tokyo Ghoul, a popular seinen manga and anime franchise, has strong monster hunter energy. That being said, Tokyo Ghoul's monsters also have a distinct human side, which creates some compelling moral ambiguity with its battles. Tokyo Ghoul, even more so than Demon Slayer, humanizes its monsters and indicates that they share the same emotions and personalities as humans. This is especially true for characters like Touka Kirishima and Hinami.
Tokyo Ghoul Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.79
- IMDb: 7.7
- Anime Planet: 4.14/5
Most Commission of Counter Ghoul investigators simply carry out their duty to slay ghouls. They view ghouls as a dangerous "other" that are unfit to exist in mainstream society. However, protagonist Ken Kaneki doesn't see the world in such black and white terms. Ken knows what it's like to be both a human and a ghoul, which pushes him to fight hard to reconcile his two warring sides so that unjust individuals aren't viewed by society as monsters.
4 Goblin Slayer's Hero Only Kills Goblins To Save The Day
Goblin Slayer is a dark fantasy anime series whose heroes are almost like a Dungeons & Dragons party, complete with warriors, clerics, and even an elf archer for good measure. The heroes are all likable individuals, but Goblin Slayer gets quite vicious and brutal once the fighting begins.
Goblin Slayer Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.42
- IMDb: 7.4
- Anime Planet: 4.01/5
Goblin Slayer's world is highly conducive to monster hunter adventures. Adventurer guilds even offer rewards for brave heroes who can slay monsters from across the world. That being said, the anime's titular Goblin Slayer only hunts Goblins. He holds an intense personal grudge against their kind. The Goblin Slayer even optimizes his gear and combat strategies to specifically fight goblins and nothing else.
3 Cells At Work! Hunts Monsters On A Microscopic Level
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10 Most Educational Anime With Interesting Facts
Anime has branched into the "edutainment" sphere and has figured out ways to organically share enlightening information with audiences.
The edutainment anime series Cells at Work! is a lighthearted and comedic affair that depicts the entire human body as a massive city. Cells are uniformed people who do manual labor jobs all day long in order to keep the human body in motion. The protagonist, Red Blood Cell, can only run from bacteria and parasites as they invade the body. However, Red Blood Cell can rely on White Blood Cell and his friends to routinely save the day.
Cells at Work! Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.55
- IMDb: 7.5
- Anime Planet: 3.96/5
White Blood Cells have knives that they use to slay bacteria in bloody combat. A truly nasty infection sometimes sets in, which means that the elite killer T Cells will step up to the plate and answer the call. Cells at Work! also spends time with non-combat cells as they do their organ-specific jobs, but hunting monstrous bacteria is definitely the anime's most exciting material.
2 Attack On Titan Blends Mecha With Horror & Politics
Attack On Titan
TV-MA
Action
Adventure
Original title: Shingeki no Kyojin.
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan.
- Release Date
- September 28, 2013
- Cast
- Bryce Papenbrook , Yûki Kaji , Marina Inoue , Hiro Shimono , Takehito Koyasu , Jessie James Grelle
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 4 Seasons
The famed Attack on Titan anime blends a few different genres into a single compelling package that's far more than the sum of its parts. Attack on Titan is a monster hunter anime on a terrifying scale that depicts brave soldiers who use complex tech to take to the skies and fight against lumbering, flesh-eating Titans. The slaying of these giants initially appears to be humanity's best shot at survival.
Attack on Titan Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.54
- IMDb: 9.1
- Anime Planet: 4.35/5
Attack on Titan's monster hunter atmosphere takes on a totally different feeling once the concept of Titan Shifters gets introduced. Titan Shifters are a rare group of humans who can weaponize unique Titan powers to help even the odds. Curiously, Attack on Titan's monster hunter ethos gets reversed after Titan Shifter antiheroes fight against alleged antagonists who use anti-Titan technology and weapons.
1 D.Gray-Man's Monsters Hide In Plain Sight Until They Strike
D.Gray-Man is an anime from the early 2000s that newer fans may not know about, but it's a must-watch for anyone who enjoys monster hunter series like Jujutsu Kaisen. D. Gray-Man chronicles Millennium Earl's international travels as he tricks people into reviving their deceased loved ones as deadly monsters known as Akuma.
D.Gray-Man Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.01
- IMDb: 7.7
- Anime Planet: 4.01/5
Akuma are sneakier than most anime monsters due to the fact that they assume a human form until they are ready to attack. This makes Akuma substantially harder to track. D. Gray-Man's monster hunters are the exorcists of the Black Order who wear conspicuous uniforms so that they can bait the Akuma into atttacking them and revealing themselves.
