Despite having its fair number of critics, ‘Naruto’ is one of the most popular anime ever made. It starts in the village of Konoha when the Fourth Hokage (Head of the Village) had to seal a Nine-Tails Demon Fox inside a newborn boy, sacrificing his own life in the process. This boy was none other than Naruto. The shows depict his epic journey as he tries to get some recognition and respect from the villagers and become the next Hokage. Not only that, he also plans on becoming the strongest ninja ever lived. But nothing is easy for our hero as he is constantly struggling within himself because of the presence of a demon inside him.
In the end, ‘Naruto’ is the story of an ultimate undergo. Not that we all have a “Nine-Tails Fox” trapped inside of us per se, but it’s the will and determination to face any adversity for achieving something that makes Naruto very relatable. The original Naruto series has 220 episodes in total and also has a sequel known as Naruto Shippuden. With that said, here is the list of best anime similar to ‘Naruto’ that are our recommendations. You can watch several of these anime like ‘Naruto’ on Netflix, Crunchyroll or Hulu.
19. Nabari no Ou (2008)
If you were gravitated towards ‘Naruto’ because of the mysterious ninjas using powerful and secret techniques, then you should try ‘Nabari no Ou’ next. This series is also about ninjas hailing from ninja clans and having powerful techniques. The anime has a total of 26 episodes with each episode being 24 minutes in length. Rokujou Miharu, the protagonist of the anime, is 14 years old. He is silent and lacks any deep emotions and yet sometimes he can be mischievous. Rokujou possesses hijutsu, Shinrabanshou, a powerful technique various ninja clans would love to possess to be able to rule Nabari. To protect Miharu from the various threats he has his English teacher Kumohira and his classmate Kouichi, both of whom are ninjas. Initially, his indifference holds as Miharu tries not to accept their invitations to the ninja club but after getting into danger a couple of times, he decides to be a member to ensure his survival.
18. Ao no Exorcist (2011)
The protagonist of ‘Ao no Exorcist’ is quite similar to Naruto. Both of them are orphans and have a dark power within them which can cause huge destruction and because of that, they are ostracized by others. But they don’t falter, rather they try their best to become a better version of themselves and protect their friends and families.
Assiah and Gehenna are the worlds that humans and demons live in respectively. Demons can only approach the human world via possession. But there is no vessel powerful enough for Satan, so he decides to have an offspring and when the time is right, he will possess his son and thus enter Assiah. Rin Okamura, the protagonist of the anime, is a sort of troublesome teenager but is nothing out of the ordinary. But then one day, he is ambushed by a bunch of demons and he finds out that he is the son of Satan when the latter kills his adoptive father. But Rin does not want his fate to be decided yet, so he decides to enroll in the Exorcist academy to become powerful and defend Assiah from demons.
17. Owari no Seraph (2015)
The reason as to why ‘Owari no Seraph’ is on this list is because of the protagonist. Both Naruto and Yuuichirou have similar motivations and want to make things right. They both start off as weak but their determination to achieve their goal makes them work harder and become stronger. There are a total of 12 episodes in this anime, with each episode being 23 minutes in length. The anime takes place during a time when there is a mysterious virus outbreak. The virus proves deadly to anyone above the age of 13. As human beings are slowly falling, vampires, who were previously hiding, emerge and decide to take control. They promise to protect humans but they need to donate their blood. Yuuichirou and Mikaela are two orphans. They along with other kids from the orphanage are kidnapped. Mikaela is tired of this and hatches an escape plan. But the plan fails and the sole survivor is Yuuichirou, who is picked up by the Moon Demon Company, an organization dedicated to fighting against the vampires. This starts Yuuichirou’s training to become one of the rebels.
16. World Trigger (2014-2016)
‘World Trigger’ is an anime which has tonnes of action and deals with sci-fi and supernatural stuff. Like Naruto, even here, the protagonists go through various physical transformations while they change their modes. It is a moderately long shounen anime having a total of 73 episodes with each episode being around 23 minutes in length. Suddenly a gate to another world opes on Earth. From this gate, a peculiar group of creatures named Neighbors start invading the Earth and cause destruction. Traditional weapons do not work with them, so humans create the border defense agency, which consists of personnel using special weapons known as Triggers to fight against the Neighbors. Even several years after the gate opens, Neighbors still possess a threat, so training still goes on for the members of the Border Defense Agency. The trainees are not allowed to use their weapons outside of the training facility. But when a bunch of Neighbors attacks a boy by the name of Yuuma Kuga, Osamu Mikumo cannot sit back and so he decides to break the rule and attack the creatures. But Yuuma surprises him by taking down the aliens alone. Turns out Yuuma is a humanoid Neighbor in disguise and is quite powerful.
15. Boku no Hero Academia (2016)
‘Boku no Hero Academia’ is probably one of the most popular anime right now. If you are a fan of the superhero genre, then you will definitely like this anime. It is really entertaining and funny as it is a parody of the superhero genre. Again, the similarity between the protagonists puts this anime on this list. Humans start developing superhuman abilities they call quirk and as time passes, most of the population have these quirks. But as with great power comes great responsibility, it also signals the arrival of scumbags who are going to use their powers for bad. To stop them are heroes who use their quirks to uphold peace and protect the law. Midoriya Izuku has always wanted to be a hero but being quirkless his chances are bleak. But after a chance encounter with his inspiration All Might, he learns that the latter’s quirk is transferable. So, Midoriya begins to train hard so that he can inherit All Might’s quirk before the entrance exams for the UA Academy, which is a training academy for heroes.
14. Attack on Titans (2013-)
‘Attack on Titans’ is another popular anime which has been making some buzz in the anime world recently. The second part of the third season of the anime is hopefully going to come out this month. The anime gets a spot on this list because of the similarities between the protagonists. Eren becomes an orphan after a large monster kills his mother. He later learns about the secret power within him. But the secret is too much for the people around him who don’t trust him and thus they fear him. He needs to work hard and try to move towards his goal of protecting the humans from the monsters surrounding them.
The anime takes place a thousand years ago when humanoid monsters by the name of Titans roam the Earth and treat humans like fodder. To fight against them, humans have developed special fighting gears which give them better mobility and allow them to land blows on the monsters. After seeing a Titan kill his mother Eren, the protagonist of the anime vows to join the military and train hard so that he can exterminate all the Titans.
13. Ninku (1995-1996)
The anime ‘Ninku’ gets a spot on this list because it is about ninjas who have powerful techniques that allow them to be badasses in the battleground. Ninku is a ninja clan consisting of some of the most powerful ninjas. During the war, they come quite close to annihilating the imperial army but for some reason, they lose the war and are forced into hiding. The imperial army wins the war and through propaganda make people believe that they are the good guys and that the Ninku are the ones who started the war. Fusuke, a weird looking kid, used to be the captain of the first division of Ninku. During the war, the imperial army took his mother and now he is out to get her back. On the way, he meets other captains of the Ninku clan and teams up with them. Together they will need to fight the forces who want their technique and would do anything to get them.
12. Mushibugyou (2013)
‘Mushibugyou’ is all about bug exterminating action using swords. Yup, the show revolves around people trying to kill big monstrous bugs. The anime takes place in Feudal Japan where suddenly, humongous bugs begin appearing and causing destruction. The citizens are fed up with this and pleads the government to help them which is why the Insect Magistrate Office is created. Jinbee Tsukishima wants to become a great swordsman like his father but when something happens due to his fault, he decides to atone for his actions and joins the Insect Magistrate Office. The series has a total of 26 episodes with each episode being 23 minutes in length.
Read More: Anime Like Attack on Titan
11. Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou (2005)
‘Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou’ is again an action-filled anime about ninjas. Iga and Kouga are two rival ninja clans constantly clashing with each other. Then a powerful warlord, Ieyasu, orders them to a ceasefire. Currently, the leaders of the two clans are in love and want to bring peace to the long rivalry by marrying but it ends up reigniting the feud between them. Meanwhile, there are two heirs to the throne of the shogunate and they challenge each other. So, 10 of the best fighters from both the clans must fight in a battle royale representing one of the two heirs, the prize being the favor of the shogunate for many years to come.
10. Saint Seiya (1986-1989)
Seiya is an Orphan boy who goes to the Sanctuary in Greece to earn the Bronze Cloth worn by the protector of the reincarnation of Athena. These protectors are known as ‘Saints’. The show is heavily influenced by the Greek Mythology and the action is breathtaking, to say the least. At first, the matches are all about games but they soon turn into a matter of life and death. Original ‘Saint Seiya’ series, which aired in the late ’80s, has 114 action-packed episodes.
