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Here are my top picks for animes like Attack on Titan. The list is in no particular order.
Claymore
In a world rife with deadly creatures called “youma”, a young silver eyed woman, Clare, works on behalf of an organisation that trains female youma halfbreeds into warriors with the ability to destroy these creatures. Considered a rogue for picking up a stray child & almost losing herself to her youma side by “Awakening”, she is constantly assigned rather dangerous missions…
Similarity:
Both have that aspect of living in a desolate world, focusing on survival
Claymore is known for it’s strong female characters, and Shingeki no Kyojin is just the same.
Both are about humanity struggling against overwhelming odds against monsters.
Black Bullet
In the year 2021, mankind was defeated by Gastrea, a parasitical virus, and is forced to live within a wall made of Varanium Monoliths, a metal that is able to subdue Gastrea. Soon, the “Cursed Children”, children born with the Gastrea virus who are able to control it—which gives them superhuman abilities—were discovered. Due to the Gastrea virus’ intervention, the Cursed Children could only be female.
Civil Securities are formed to specialize in fighting against Gastrea, operating with the pair of an Initiator, who are cursed children, and a Promoter, serving to lead the cursed children. Ten years after the war, Rentarō Satomi, a high school student who is also a Promoter in his childhood friend Kisara Tendō’s Tendō Civil Security, along with his Initator Enju Aihara, receives a secret mission to prevent the Tokyo Area’s destruction.
Similarity:
Humans almost extinct
In Shingeki no Kyojin the cause of extinction is titans while in Black Bullet is Gastrea walls
The main character’s parents are dead
Also in both the MC voiced by Kaji Yuki
Berserk
Guts, a man who calls himself “The Black Swordsman” looks upon his days serving as a member of a group of mercenaries, the Band of the Hawk, nicknamed “the Grim Reaper of the Battlefield.” Led by an ambitious, ruthless, and intelligent man named Griffith, together they battle their way into the royal court, and are forced into a fate that may change their entire lives.
Similarities:
Both series have many epic moments, a dark atmosphere, and a lot of blood.
In terms of their settings, Berserk and Shingeki no Kyojin are both set during medieval times.
Both anime deal with demons, revenge, battle, and are both male power fantasies.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Two brothers lose their mother to an incurable disease. With the power of “alchemy”, they use taboo knowledge to resurrect her. The process fails, and as a toll for using this type of alchemy, the older brother, Edward Elric loses his left leg while the younger brother, Alphonse Elric loses his entire body. To save his brother, Edward sacrifices his right arm and is able to affix his brother’s soul to a suit of armor. With the help of a family friend, Edward receives metal limbs – “automail” – to replace his lost ones. With that, Edward vows to search for the Philosopher’s Stone to return the brothers to their original bodies, even if it means becoming a “State Alchemist”, one who uses his/her alchemy for the military.
Similarities:
The loss of mothers plays a significant roll in shaping the characteristics of the protagonists of these two shows.
The main characters are siblings + childhood friend
Almost the same amount of blood/violence/gore
There are also some strong female characters, without fan service
Knights of Sidonia
It’s been a thousand years since the Gauna, a strange alien race with no known method of communication, destroyed the solar system. A portion of humanity managed to escape using enormous “seed ships” like the Sidonia, which have allowed them to maintain the population while drifting through space.
Nagate Tanikaze is a young man who has been raised deep in the bowels of the ship. When he goes into training to pilot the huge robotic weapons known as Gardes, Nagate is entrusted with piloting the legendary unit known as Tsugumori. Nagate and his fellow pilots put their lives on the line against the Gauna, in the ultimate battle for the survival of humanity.
Similarities:
Both are placed in a world where humanity is in danger and need to defend themselves from this dangerous enemy who can push them to the brink of extinction.
There is lots of mystery around the creatures, where they came from, why they are attacking and what do they want, if they want anything.
Plenty of plot twists
Neon Genesis Evangelion
At the age of 14 Shinji Ikari is summoned by his father to the city of Neo Tokyo-3 after several years of separation. There he unwillingly accepts the task of becoming the pilot of a giant robot by the name EVA01 and protect the world from the enigmatic invaders known as “angels.” Even though he repeatedly questions why he has accepted this mission from his estranged and cold father, his doing so helps him to gradually accept himself. However, why exactly are the angels attacking and what are his father’s true intentions are yet to be unraveled.
Similarities:
Both series revolve around Humanity trying to fight powerful enemies they don’t quite understand, and young people are forced to take up the fight.
Humanity unites against monstrosities.
Giant monsters that have almost wiped out all of humanity.
Both shows deal with teenagers and their psychology.
Tokyo Ghoul
Ken Kaneki is a bookworm college student who meets a girl names Rize at a cafe he frequents. They’re the same age and have the same interests, so they quickly become close. Little does Kaneki know that Rize is a ghoul – a kind of monster that lives by hunting and devouring human flesh. When part of her special organ – “the red child” – is transplanted into Kaneki, he becomes a ghoul himself, trapped in a warped world where humans are not the top of the food chain.
Similarities:
Gore, action and fight for humanity
Similar characters, very good deep plot and more humans vs monsters
In both anime the main character becomes what he fears the most.
A supporting character who is much more skilled than the main with powers that exceed what is expected of her age.
Deadman Wonderland
Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn’t committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
Similarities:
Revenge is the main theme for both Shingeki no Kyojin and Deadman Wonderland.
Both characters have either their family or friends killed by supernatural beings. Also, in both animes they long for freedom in the outside world.
Both anime storyline revolves around a young boy protagonist – it’s both clear they both had amnesia about their superpowers, some of their past, and little by little started remembering things about it.
Akame ga KILL!
Tatsumi is a self-acknowledge country bumpkin who is nonetheless a well trained fighter. He and two companions leave their remote village to head to the Imperial City to find a way to relieve their friends and family from ruinous taxation imposed by the authorities. Yet the Imperial City is filled with unimaginable amounts of corruption and evil from supernatural sources. Tatsumi is immediately swindled after reaching the City and nearly loses everything soon after, but finds himself allied with an unlikely group of assassins.
Similarities:
The art of brutality at its finest whether it’s for a cause or just pure madness. Friendships are hard to find and trust is not easily earned.
Both animes are based in a historical setting.
They are both about killing, it both has violence, blood, and it will both make you cry.
Both main characters have to go through hell in order to become stronger because they want to protect what is dear to them.
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign
After an unknown virus wiped out all adults on earth, vampires appeared and ruled over the surviving children, treating them like livestock. Yuichiro Hyakuya survived along with other orphans by giving their blood to vampires, until Yuichiro escaped four years ago. Now he is a member of the Moon Demon Company, a unit in the Japanese army dedicated to hunting down the vampires he blames for the death of his family.
Similarities:
Both shows are about a teenage boy seeking to eliminate a race of monsters that killed the people he loves.
In terms of story, in both worlds, humanity is at the brink of extinction and is endangered by another species (titans – vampires).
Strongly puts across that no-one is safe
There you have it folks. These alternatives to Attack on Titan are great animes to watch!
References:
My Anime List
Image: Wikipedia
ANN summaries