Best Anime Like Death Note

Highlights

• Death Note and Code Geass offer viewers intricate narratives with mature themes, engaging even seasoned anime fans.
• Death Parade explores philosophical questions about death and life, presenting a unique concept of purgatory in a bar setting.
• Kaiji and Death Note share similarities in psychological thrillers, showcasing intense mind games and high stakes encounters.

Anime such as Naruto and Death Note have been able to carve their respective niches into the mainstream media of the Western world. With Death Note, fans had an intricate encounter with the two main characters, Light Yagami and L. It weaved a tale that captivated fans new to anime, and even seasoned watchers of the genre. The series also showed a sense of maturity as its events raised pertinent points regarding morality and philosophy.

With there being a lot to unpack from the show itself, fans were left with a sense of dread when the series wrapped up. It left a hankering for anime that kept people on their toes and made them question life itself. Fortunately, even though there can’t be another Death Note, there are a few shows that maintain a high standard of both visuals and storytelling.

Update March 17, 2024 by Mark Sammut: Death Note is a “once in a generation” type show. Very few anime have come close to leaving as big of an impression on the cultural zeitgeist as Light and L’s epic battle of wits. The manga spawned Madhouse’s great anime, two pretty good live-action Japanese movies, a pretty bad third Japanese film, and an underwhelming Netflix adaptation. While not lending itself to endless expansion like Dragon Ball, One Piece, or My Hero Academia, Death Note is arguably as popular as any of those properties, and it has also served as a gateway show for a lot of people. As singular of a property as it is, there are still plenty of anime like Death Note that are worth checking out.

Code Geass

Protagonist Has Similar Ability To Light…Also, Mechs

Veteran watchers of anime will stand by the visual storytelling that Code Geass offers. Alternate timelines come into play as fans follow the exploits of Lelouch Lamperouge. A student of the Holy Britannian Empire, which has taken over Japan, Lelouch is handed Geass, also known as the “Power of Kings.”

This power forces anyone who speaks to Lelouch to obey his command, no matter how problematic or silly it may be. This, of course, brings in the issue of life or death. A student who is given a power of this enormity may not have the maturity to wield it properly or wisely.

Death Parade

A Game Of Life & Death

Another awesome anime for anime beginners to delve into, Death Parade brings a lot to the table. It deals with the philosophical questions that follow the concept of death. In this show’s world, after people die, they do not go into heaven or hell. In fact, they go to a bar that is managed by Decim, a bartender.

The bar acts as a sort of purgatory as Decim plays against the person (or their soul?) in a random game. If the person manages to win, they will get reincarnated. However, if the person loses, their soul will head straight to a void of nothingness, and cease to exist. This is a fascinating concept, and it’s quite intriguing to watch the intricacies of the story play out.

Kaiji

Gambling With Genuine Stakes

Another Madhouse production, Kaiji is in some ways the inverse of Death Note. While the latter focuses on extraordinary people engaging in battles of wit, the former takes an average Joe and places him in high-stakes gambling situations. Kaiji is intense and unpredictable. The eponymous character finds himself in debt and accepts an invitation to take part in a series of gambles to try and wipe the slate. Freedom is not guaranteed.

While on a smaller scale, Kaiji is just as much about mind games as Death Note. Both shows are psychological thrillers overflowing with suspense, memorable characters, and crowd-pleasing (or angering) moments.

Classroom Of The Elite

Stoic Protagonist Manipulates Everyone Around Him

Classroom of the Elite centers around an academy filled with Japan’s finest students, all of whom are split up depending on their potential. Assigned to Class D with the other underperformers and misfits, the unassuming Ayanokouji largely wants to be left alone, which is easier said than done considering the students are expected to take part in grueling physical and mental tests.

Classroom of the Elite is all about characters trying to outwit each other, while the protagonist pulls the strings from behind the curtain. While the show’s mind games are nowhere near as deadly as Light’s battles in Death Note, Classroom of the Elite can get quite intense at times, even if sometimes it feels like the characters are making a big deal out of nothing.

Monster

Deliberate Thriller & Character study

Monster is another anime that plays around with multiple heavy themes. It’s based on a manga by Naoki Urasawa and follows the life of Dr. Kenzo Tenma. Tenma is a neurosurgeon – a genius in his field, and quite successful.

After saving the life of a young boy, Tenma finds out nine years later that the serial killer that has been rampaging the city is actually the boy that he had saved all those years ago. What follows are the ups and downs of Tenma as he tries to make amends for what he considers to be a mistake. It brings in questions of ethics, morality, life, death, and consequences.

Tomodachi Game

Students Dragged Into Outlandish Games

Can you put a price on friendship? Tomodachi Game seeks to answer this question when five school friends are brought together to compete in an array of games to clear a shared debt. In the open, they agree to work together; however, if someone is willing to betray their companions, they could clear their slate and leave everyone else to the wolves.

Yuuichi Katagiri just wants to do right by his friends, but the teenager might not be as innocent as he pretends to be. The same could be said for everyone else forced to take part in this game.

My Home Hero

“Normal” Guy Pushed To Desperation

Death Note focuses on extraordinary people, crafting a battle of wits between two geniuses; conversely, My Home Hero puts an ordinary family in an extraordinary situation, challenging them to rise to the occasion. Tetsuo is a fairly typical father who has a strained relationship with his daughter. While he is somewhat seen as spineless, he proves to be anything but when he accidentally hears his daughter’s boyfriend talk about abusing her. Tetsuo kills him, and the murder becomes even more complicated when it is revealed that the deceased is the son of a made man.

My Home Hero follows Tetsuo and his wife as they try to get out of a sticky situation. If they want to survive, they will need to outwit a few different characters who all have blood on their hands. Moving at a blistering pace and prioritizing cliffhangers and twists above everything else, My Home Hero is a fun one-cour show.

The Future Diary

Imagine A Battle Royale Among Death Note Users

Another anime about a teenager who is granted an extremely powerful book, The Future Diary follows Yukiteru Amano as he enters a battle royale to determine a new god. Also taking part in this contest are various other intelligent and dangerous individuals, including a girl who has a rather unsettling fixation on Yuki.

The Future Diary is a thrill ride from beginning to end, all centered around a twisted relationship that is not as one-sided as Light and Misa’s dynamic in Death Note. Yuki’s personality is far removed from Light’s, with the former teenager being far more insecure and hesitant to indulge in morally gray acts.

Steins;Gate

Actions & Consequences

In Steins; Gate, Rintaro Okabe is a college student whose favorite task is to discuss conspiracy theories. He’s a college student who also considers himself to be a genius. Okabe shares his main interest with a few others from his college, who love talking and discussing scientific theories such as time traveling and multiverses.

This anime is also quite psychological and philosophical, as it delves deep into the curious nature of human beings, and the mysterious state of the universe itself. Watch this one for complex scientific theories and masterful writing.

Link Click

Unique Abilities & A Deranged Killer

Link Click is a detective story about two guys who run a private agency. Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang take on special cases of a personal nature, with their clients generally looking to move past regret or to rediscover information lost to them. By using a photo, Cheng can travel back in time and take over the photographer’s body, allowing him to gather data. In the meantime, Lu keeps track of everything while trying to ensure they do not change history.

Link Click starts as a case-of-the-week show, and these episodes are entertaining and well-written. However, the Chinese anime eventually shifts to serial storytelling as the protagonists find themselves in the crosshairs of a serial killer with his own unique abilities.

Parasyte – The Maxim –

A Symbiotic Relationship

This is a different take on the “alien parasite takes over the body trope”. Alien parasites do invade the Earth and settle themselves inside the bodies of humans. However, there is one particular alien parasite that didn’t quite manage to do its job. It tries to burrow into the head of a student named Shinichi but is unable to complete the process.

It then finds out that its alien comrades hate it and want it killed. The parasite and Shinichi are forced to work together and save themselves from subsequent dangers. Along the way, both learn a little something about life and share their experiences as different beings. There’s an almost absurd comedic vibe to this anime, making it worth a watch!

Ergo Proxy

Cyberpunk Thriller

Ergo Proxy takes place in a future where the Earth has faced an ecological disaster. Due to this, it is no longer inhabitable as we know it. Humans have to create and occupy special domes that mimic habitable conditions. Since humans are still recovering from the disaster, androids by the name of AutoRevis are created to speed up the process.

However, the AutoRevis start to gain self-awareness with a virus called “cogito virus.” The main protagonist, Re-I Mayer, decides to find out what is causing the AutoRevis to behave this way. It is with this psychological and thrilling intrigue that the anime captures the viewer’s attention.

Terror In Resonance

Geniuses Target Society

Terror in Resonance shares a lot in common with Death Note. Both anime revolve around genius protagonists doing questionable acts in the name of a self-identified greater good. Their actions attract the attention of the police, with the detectives serving antagonistic but not necessarily villainous roles.

Terror in Resonance is more of a mystery anime than Death Note, as audiences are not provided as free access to the leads as they are to Light. Terror in Resonance is also grounded in reality far more than Death Note; outside the over-the-top nature of the characters’ mind games, a lot of what happens in the anime could feasibly transpire in the real world.

One Outs

A Psychological Twist On Baseball

Most sports anime adhere to a standard shonen formula, which is perfectly fine as it has produced plenty of fantastic shows. However, occasionally, a series comes along that takes things in a different direction. Ping Pong: The Animation is the most famous example, but One Outs deserves a shout-out as well; more importantly, the 2008 series should hit the mark with Death Note fans. For one, both anime are Madhouse productions that debuted during roughly the same era, so their visuals are similar while still having unique identities. Furthermore, One Outs‘ protagonist, Toa Tokuchi, is the definition of cool, and he can be just as convincing and manipulative as Light Yagami, albeit without all the murder.

Despite centering around baseball, One Outs is closer to a gambling anime than a sports one. Toa is a street pitcher who gains notoriety through a game of One Outs; basically, he faces off against a batter, with the winner earning money. The undefeated pitcher is recruited by the Lycaons, and he agrees to a ridiculous contract that sets up a long bet against the team’s owner. One Outs is an absolute thrill ride that chronicles Toa’s vicious mind games as he mentally destroys batters and his behind-the-scenes opponent. Compared with Death Note, this anime lacks a mouse-and-cat dynamic since Toa does not have an equal; however, watching his schemes play out is always entertaining. Still, this show is solely for those who want to watch an overpowered protagonist destroy every hapless fool who comes before them. It is all about Toa’s mind games, with very little characterization beyond that.

Oshi No Ko

A Showbusiness Murder Case

One of the best anime of 2023, Oshi no Ko does not really have any peers in terms of content. The anime takes ideas from the thriller, slice of life, idol, and reincarnation genres and themes, weaving a strange thread that seems to be always on the edge of buckling under its ambition. Yet, the story clicks, and a lot of that has to do with the quality of the characters and the anime consistently nailing its big moments.

Determined to get revenge for the death of his famous mother, Aqua joins the entertainment industry to track down the killer, a process that starts with him searching for his father. In the meantime, Aqua’s sister, Ruby, tries to follow in her mother’s footsteps by reviving her idol group.

Akagi

High-Stakes Mahjong

Based on Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s lengthy seinen gambling manga, Akagi is all about mahjong. On the surface, that might not sound particularly exciting, however, the anime uses the board game as a way to fuel its eponymous protagonist’s gambling addiction. The ultimate thrill-seeker, Akagi’s interest in a match is directly tied to his potential losses, and he is more than willing to put his life on the line.

Every match boils down to a battle of nerves, wits, and tactics, with Akagi and his enemies utilizing mahjong as a hammer to break each other. Eventually, Akagi finds himself sitting opposite Iwao Washizu, a powerful criminal overlord who is borderline evil. While the protagonist tends to be stone-faced, Iwao is the exact opposite, and he can out-cheese Light on his best day.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

Comedic Mind Games

In terms of tone and genre, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and Death Note are nothing alike. The former starts out as a comedy with hints of romance before shifting to a romance with splashes of laughter. Except for a few backstories, A-1’s show is generally lighthearted and features exactly zero serial killers, although some characters are occasionally murdered by words.

Despite these differences, Kaguya-sama could very well hit the mark with Death Note fans who love Light and L’s rivalry. At Shuchiin Academy, Miyuki and Kaguya not only run the student council but are also considered geniuses. The two teenagers have mutual crushes on each other, but they are hesitant to be the first to reveal their interest out of fear that it could be used against them. As a result, the two engage in hilarious and pointless mind games to try and get the other person to come clean.

The Promised Neverland

Children Vs. Monsters

This dark and gritty anime is about Emma, an orphan who lives at the Grace Field House. Lady Mary takes care of the children in the house and all seems to be well. In reality, Lady Mary is responsible for kidnapping these children and selling them to demons who devour them.

Similar to Death Note in its approach to the narrative, The Promised Neverland likes to hold its viewers in bated breath. There’s very little predictability in how the story pans out, and multiple characters go through extensive arcs. Unfortunately, season 2 is generally regarded as a downgrade from its fantastic predecessor, but season 1 is great enough to merit a watch on its own.

Psycho-Pass

A Psychological Thriller & A Systemic Breakdown

Psycho-Pass talks about a future (the year 2113) where the Sibyl System has been set up to find out the probability of people committing crimes. The “Psycho-Pass” itself is the measuring system used for checking the probability. Two enforcers, Akane Tsunemori and Shinya Kougami work together to track down possible criminals based on the “Psycho-Pass” rating.

However, things change when they realize that the Sibyl System, like any other artificial system of profiling, is flawed in nature. In essence, this show brings up themes of utilitarianism and consequentialism. It also raises pertinent questions on morality, ethics, and law. Viewers will also enjoy the character development of the show’s protagonists.