Anime like Basilisk: Kouga Ninpouchou

Juubee Ninpuuchou

Also known as Ninja Scroll.

Studio: Animate Film , Nippon Victor , Toho , Movic , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Horror , Romance

Jubei Kibagami has always been the master dealer of death, but in rescuing a ninja woman from a monster he sets loose a chain of events that puts death in his own veins and sends them on a nightmarish odyssey through a surreal and devil infested ancient Japan. How do demonic possessions, an annihilated village and a man Jubei thought safely buried in his past all connect? If Jubei can't piece the blood-soaked clues together, his only consolation will be that he won't live to regret it for very long! Prepare your mind and steel your gut for the insanely gore-packed orgy of violence that still stands alone and unchallenged as the ultimate anime action feature.



Tags: Ninja , Historical , Gore , Swordplay , Heterosexual , Travel , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Rural , Politics , Nudity , Tragedy , Ships , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes

Kimetsu no Yaiba

Also known as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Studio: ufotable , Aniplex , Shueisha , Aniplex of America , ufotable
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Supernatural

It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself. Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a “demon slayer” so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.



Tags: Demons , Shounen , Vampire , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Travel , Monster Girl , Revenge , Orphan , Gore , CGI , Mythology , Primarily Male Cast , Rural , Historical , Rotoscoping , Super Power , Body Horror , Curses , Chibi , Time Skip , Animals , Food

Dororo

Also known as Dororo.

Studio: MAPPA , Twin Engine , Tezuka Productions , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Supernatural

Dororo, a young orphan thief, meets Hyakkimaru, a powerful ronin. Hyakkimaru's father, a greedy feudal lord, had made a pact with 12 demons, offering his yet-unborn son's body parts in exchange for great power. Thus, Hyakkimaru - who was born without arms, legs, eyes, ears, a nose or a mouth - was abandoned in a river as a baby. Rescued and raised by Dr. Honma, who equips him with artificial limbs and teaches him sword-fighting techniques, Hyakkimaru discovers that each time he slays a demon, a piece of his body is restored. Now, he roams the war-torn countryside in search of demons.

Tags: Demons , Revenge , Disability , Curses , Swordplay , Tragedy , Samurai , Estranged Family , Youkai , Anti-Hero , Orphan , War , Male Protagonist , Parenthood , Historical , Travel , Rural , Urban Fantasy , Gore , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Crossdressing , Tomboy , Body Horror , Episodic , Kuudere , Shounen , Primarily Adult Cast , Ghost , Primarily Male Cast , Cannibalism , Prostitution , Heterosexual , Nun , Body Image , Martial Arts

Shigurui

Also known as Shigurui: Death Frenzy.

Studio: MADHOUSE , WOWOW , Geneon Entertainment , Akita Shoten , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological

Two damaged warriors wear the scars of a twisted and violent past. Bitter rivals for the secrets of their master's sword and the right to his daughter, these samurai inflict wounds on each other that would destroy lesser men. The final chapter of their saga unfolds within a brutal samurai tournament, a gruesome contest arranged to satisfy the bloodlust of a cruel tyrant overlord.

The disfigured legends of the blade must summon the strength for one last battle - a final lesson in the artistry of violence where nothing is more beautiful than the kill.



Tags: Samurai , Gore , Swordplay , Tragedy , Historical , Nudity , Body Horror , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , Cannibalism , Philosophy

Jigokuraku

Also known as Hell’s Paradise.

Studio: MAPPA , Twin Engine , MAPPA
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Mystery , Supernatural

The Edo period is nearing its end. Gabimaru, a shinobi formerly known as the strongest in Iwagakure who is now a death row convict, is told that he will be acquitted and set free if he can bring back the Elixir of Life from an island that is rumored to be the Buddhist pure land Sukhavati. In hopes of reuniting with his beloved wife, Gabimaru heads to the island along with the executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri. Upon arriving there, they encounter other death row convicts in search of the Elixir of Life... as well as a host of unknown creatures, eerie manmade statues, and the hermits who rule the island. Can Gabimaru find the Elixir of Life on this mysterious island and make it back home alive?



Tags: Survival , Swordplay , Body Horror , Gore , Shounen , Ninja , Samurai , Battle Royale , Religion , Historical , Travel , Anti-Hero , Tragedy , Fugitive , Nudity , Gods , Primarily Adult Cast , Death Game , Super Power , Cultivation , Heterosexual , Gender Bending , Philosophy , Martial Arts , Primarily Male Cast , Crime , Cult , Orphan , Bisexual , Cosmic Horror , Amnesia , Cannibalism , Male Protagonist

Mugen no Juunin: IMMORTAL

Also known as Blade of the Immortal (ONA).

Studio: LIDENFILMS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

Damned to wander the Earth in an endless cycle of carnage and murder, the fallen samurai known as Manji seeks the chance to win back his mortality. To do so, he must first balance the deaths weighing against him by slaying 1000 evil souls, a task that would take even the greatest warriors a lifetime. Manji, however, has all the time in the world to kill, and his lonely quest leaves a trail of bloody bodies in his wake… until his path crosses with that of Rin, who has sworn vengeance against the murderers of her family and school, even though the cost will almost certainly be her own life.



Tags: Tragedy , Revenge , Swordplay , Samurai , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Gore , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Body Horror , Prison , Human Experimentation

Kurozuka

Also known as Kurozuka.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Sony Pictures Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Horror , Romance , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Adaptation of Takashi Noguchi’s manga, which itself adapts Baku Yumemakura’s supernatural romance novel.

The original novel is about a 12th-century man named Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Kurou). Kurou flees into the mountains after losing to his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Shogun to rule all of Japan. History records that he committed suicide, but instead, Kurou meets a strange, beautiful woman named Kuromitsu in her mountain hermitage. Eventually, Kurou falls in love with Kuromitsu, but then realizes she conceals a dark secret. He learns that he is unable to die and continues to live for a thousand years as Japan evolves into a future society.



Tags: Historical , Vampire , Gore , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Urban Fantasy , Time Skip , Swordplay

Romeo × Juliet

Also known as Romeo x Juliet.

Studio: GONZO , GDH , Funimation , Kadokawa Shoten , CBC , SKY Perfect Well Think
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

In the floating continent of Neo Verona, the Montague family seized control and murdered every member of the Capulet family with the exception of Capulet's daughter, Juliet Fiammata Asto Capulet. 14 years later, Juliet and the remnants of Capulet's retainers live hidden from the iron fist of the Montague family. Juliet has long forgotten the murder of her family or her identity, and cross dresses as Odin and the town's hero of justice, "Red Whirlwind". A sudden escape in her daily escapades leads her to meet Romeo Candorebanto Montague, the kind son of the tyrannical Montague. Destiny has been set as these two individuals soon to be "star-crossed lovers" are cruelly toyed with by fate in the midst of war. Loosely based on the play by William Shakespeare.

Tags: Tragedy , Classic Literature , Politics , Revenge , Historical , Crossdressing , Swordplay , Female Protagonist , Gender Bending , Kuudere , Medieval , Male Harem

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan

Also known as Rurouni Kenshin.

Studio: Studio Gallop , Studio DEEN , SME Visual Works , Fuji TV , Media Blasters , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Romance

Himura Kenshin is a vagabond with a dark past and sunny disposition. Not a ronin but a rurouni, he was never a samurai, but an assassin of utmost skill in the Meiji restoration, who in the turning point of the war simply walked away. His travels lead him to Tokyo in the 11th year of the Meiji era, where he befriends a female Kendo master, a former thief, a brawler and a doctor all with their own secrets. Together they fight off the enemies surfacing from the dark past that Kenshin cannot escape.



Tags: Swordplay , Martial Arts , Samurai , Historical , Heterosexual , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Cultivation , Tsundere , Politics , Travel , Conspiracy , Rehabilitation , Love Triangle , Religion

Ga-Rei-Zero

Also known as Ga-Rei-Zero.

Studio: AIC Spirits , Funimation , Asread
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Supernatural , Thriller

An elite squadron trained to combat supernatural forces is called in to investigate reports of invisible monsters terrorizing Tokyo, but their mission is complicated by the interference of a rogue exorcist. When the mysterious female slaughters the overmatched attack force, her former comrades are ordered to lock down the crime scene—and forever silence their old friend.



Note: This series is a prequel to the manga series, Ga-Rei.

Tags: Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Super Power , Gore , Swordplay , Disability , LGBTQ+ Themes , Work , Zombie , Achronological Order , Shounen , Nudity , CGI